In November 2005, arguably the Baltimore Orioles’ best player, shortstop Miguel Tejada, gave team officials an ultimatum: Trade him or do something to turn the team around.

The Orioles had just finished the season with a 74-88 record, their eighth-consecutive losing season.

Tired of seeing his favorite baseball team sink further into mediocrity, sophomore music major Adrian Teti decided to take action.

“I was talking to my dad, and we both thought that something should be done about [the team],” Teti said. “In 2005, everything that could’ve gone wrong did. We were the laughingstock of baseball.”

That something ended up as a “mobile billboard,” or a billboard mounted on the back of a truck, with a message targeted to the team owner, Peter Angelos.

The billboard was supposed to be at the game on April 3, Opening Day, but it was pushed back and ran at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for Sunday afternoon’s game against the Boston Red Sox.

“Eight Consecutive Losing Seasons Are Enough. Baltimore Fans Deserve Better. Mr. Angelos, Please … SELL THE TEAM NOW!” the sign read.

Many Orioles fans blame Angelos for the team’s nearly decade-long slump. There is even a Facebook group at this university called “Peter Angelos Must Leave!” Even so, Teti knows Angelos likely won’t sell the team just because of the billboard.

“It’s mostly to send a message to the organization that there’s still passion for baseball in Baltimore, that people around here still care,” Teti said.

The father-son team ran into many obstacles while trying to get their message out.

At first, they looked into purchasing a full-page advertisement in The (Baltimore) Sun using donations from other disappointed fans solicited over online fan sites.

But because that medium was very expensive, the pair didn’t think they would be able to raise enough money. So they looked at buying space on a conventional billboard, but that wasn’t feasible either.

Eventually they discovered the idea of a mobile billboard, which cost only $1,300. They raised this money from almost 40 people through online message boards. Teti was surprised he got the kind of support he did, especially via the Internet.

“Ninety percent of [the donors] don’t even know me, and things like this don’t happen very often,” he said.

After many setbacks, Teti finally heard good news: The billboard’s artwork was finished and could run Sunday.

“I was disappointed at first [about the delay] but after I thought about it, I realized that it would be better because it’s a weekend, it’s an afternoon game, and it’s the Red Sox,” Teti said. “More people would be in Baltimore and more people would see it.”

Although Teti was unable to attend the game, he did go to the stadium and saw the billboard briefly toward the end of the game.

“I was pretty happy with how it went,” Teti said. “The driver said it was overwhelmingly well-received. People were even taking pictures.”

Teti felt the Orioles’ performance against the Red Sox last weekend, in which they lost every game in the three-game series, might generate some sympathy for his cause, albeit unfortunately.

“I thought it was terrible,” Teti said. “They got swept. It’s still early, not the end of the world yet, but it’s not indicative of anything good.”

Contact reporter Hafiz Rashid at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.