The Baltimore Orioles announced on Mar. 7 a new multiyear spring exhibition series with the Washington Nationals that will run through 2029, giving fans a chance to experience a low-stake “Battle of the Beltways” as the teams wrap up their spring training schedules.
The series will begin this year with a game on Mar. 24 at 1:05 p.m. at Nationals Park. Starting in 2026 the series will consist of two exhibition games, one played at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and one in Washington, D.C.
“The Orioles and Nationals are neighbors, and it is important to both teams that we use it as an opportunity to strengthen connections and share our love of baseball with the full Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas,” said Catie Griggs, Orioles president of business operations.
The partnership comes just four days after it was reported that the teams had ended a heated legal fight that began in 2012 over the National’s contract with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, the longtime broadcaster of Orioles and Nationals games.
The dispute stemmed from the Nationals being capped at a 33% equity in the network and disagreements over fair market value payouts, which eventually resulted in two court cases, one in 2023 and one in 2024, finding that the Orioles owed the Nationals a total $624.6 million for the television rights from 2017 to 2026, CBS Baltimore reported.
The dispute had long soured collaboration and good relations between the neighboring teams, including the fun fact that the franchises have never completed a single trade with one another since the Nationals rebranded from the Montreal Expos when they moved to D.C. in 2005, with the last trade coming in 2001, the longest active drought between two MLB teams.
But things have since changed in Baltimore with the arrival of a new ownership group led by Baltimore native David Rubenstein in 2024.
After the 2025 season, the Nationals will be free to negotiate their televisions rights after two decades with MASN and all media legal disputes are considered settled.
The two geographical rivals will meet for two series during the regular season, including one in Baltimore from May 16 to 18 during MLB’s Rivalry Weekend.
Tickets for this year’s exhibition game are on sale now at nats.com/tickets.
