Davis saves his barbs, and sarcasm, for Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos -- who opposes putting a team in the District or Northern Virginia -- and his sometimes struggling team.
"My number one goal has been to bring Major League Baseball to Baltimore," Davis said. "That doesn't seem to be happening."
Thomas M. Davis
(File Photo)
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Davis said one of his key messages to Major League Baseball -- that it would be unwise to bypass the Washington region as part of a deal with Angelos -- should help both the District and Northern Virginia, which is proposing a ballpark beside Dulles International Airport.
"There may be repercussions if you bypass the Washington region," Davis said, noting that baseball "understands everything involved," namely baseball's exemption from federal antitrust laws. It's that exemption that allows Commissioner Bud Selig and fellow owners to control where teams move, just the kind of clout that helped leave the region without a team since the Senators left in 1971.
"We're not in the mode to be threatening baseball," Davis said. "We're in the mode to make nice and try to get a team."
Davis said he believes the Angelos question weighs more heavily on Selig than it does on baseball's search committee, which has been leading negotiations with local officials. Dulles's distance from Camden Yards helps Virginia's efforts, Davis said.
Northern Virginia's proposal for a 450-acre ballpark-themed development was scaled back sharply. Developers submitted what they called initial plans for a project on about 87 acres last week.
"As long as it works, the answer is, 'Who cares?' " Davis said, arguing that a host of similar "technical issues" besetting both bids can be dealt with once a team is awarded. Of course, baseball could be an economic plus for the region and a definite plus to Davis's baseball routine.
"Maryland has the Redskins. D.C. has the Capitals and the Wizards. If Virginia gets something, it isn't like we're being pigs," he said.
Davis, 55, still takes batting practice. Although he wasn't good enough to play in high school, he did manage a five-year hitting streak on a congressional team. A few weeks ago, playing around with the family cache of 100 balls, he recalls driving one "well over the 350-foot mark."
"I hit like a 45-year-old," Davis said.
