A former Orioles employee who had spent years working for the club under principal owner Peter Angelos was in a downtown Baltimore restaurant during Game 1 of the 2019 World Series. The establishment was packed with people wearing Nationals gear — jerseys, hats, sweatshirts — all cheering at this bar in the middle of Birdland. Most of the patrons weren’t even alive when the Orioles last appeared in a World Series in 1983.



The former Orioles’ employee had two thoughts: Where did all these Nats fans in Baltimore come from? And what the hell would Angelos think if he walked into this bar right now?



That scene’s not unique.



At least not this fall, when the Nats’ navy and red colors popped up in pockets of Maryland and Virginia previously considered Orioles-only territory. For two organizations going in vastly different directions, being in a decades-long fight over television rights fees isn’t the only crucial...