“Everyone here wants to say they were there for the first one, they were here for the first walk, here for the first game. Will they be there for the first hit? Rutschman into right field, DOWN THE LINE, A FAIR BALL. ADLEY WILL TURN FIRST, AND HEAD FOR SECOND. HE’S TURNING SECOND AND GOING FOR THIRD. RUTSCHMAN INTO THIRD BASE STANDING. HIS FIRST HIT IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES, WELCOME TO THE SHOW KID!”(MASN) That was the play call of the beginning of a new era of Baltimore Baseball.
For the last four years, the Orioles have been nothing but disappointing, with last year’s team finishing 52-110 (.321). A team that used to consistently lose and lose and lose. This year, they were a team that was projected to lose a staggering 100+ games at the beginning of the season but came to prove their worth and completely reshaped the culture of Baltimore as well as showing signs of light at the end of this tunnel.
The Orioles finished their historic turnaround season with a record of 83-79 (.512) and were the last team in the American League to be eliminated from playoff contention. With that said, everyone has been left wondering “how?”. So let’s take a deeper dive into this historic season.
Pitching: The past couple of years have been especially frustrating for the birds because of their lack of pitching. Their team ERA (earned run average) was a disappointing 5.84. However, this year’s pitching staff managed to cut that number down by almost two runs! Pitchers like Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish, who had shaky starts to the season had locked themselves down and became solid starting pitchers. Additionally, relief pitchers like Cionel Perez and Felix Bautista (we will come back to him), ensured that late-game comebacks were non-existent. Obviously, the majority of the pitching’s success is to be credited to the ones that are playing, but the pitching coaches have done an impressive job figuring out what does and doesn’t work for the individual players. For example, at the beginning of the season, starting pitcher Kyle Bradish would position himself on the third base side of the mound and would struggle to throw consistent strikes and effectively use his pitch arsenal. Chris Holt, the Orioles pitching coach, had him move to the first base side of the mound and immediately saw positive feedback, throwing three straight 8+ inning games. Lastly, the pitching staff had gained a lot of confidence from their star catcher, Adley Rutchsman.
Farm system: For years the Orioles (under prior ownership) would focus on bringing in above-average players for too much money, and didn’t pay any attention to our farm system. This whole ideology leads to the organization paying lots of money for very little production.
Ever since Mike Elias has taken his role as General Manager, he has developed a farm system that has strength all throughout it. This has proven to be beneficial to the organization because the team can trade for more value at higher levels with little to no impact in the minor leagues.
Brandon Hyde: In his fourth season as the Orioles’ manager, Brandon Hyde has helped to produce talent at the top level in a way that hasn’t really been seen before. Ranked as the 3rd worst manager in the preseason, Hyde was in a position to have to prove his worth, and he did. Throughout the season, he had worked with his team both individually and as a group to help reduce strikeout rates and increase walk rates with hitters like Anthony Santander and produced fielders like this year’s Gold Glove winner Ramon Urias. He had figured out a way to “find the misfits and make them work” said Mr. Davis, Jemicy’s Baseball coach, and lifelong fan.
The belief in player success: One of the biggest reasons that the Orioles had such a prominent season. A prime example of this is the star rookie closer, Felix Bautista. The Dominican flamethrower was nicknamed “The Mountain” because of his height, standing at a staggering 6’5. He was originally signed to a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins but was quickly released because of his lack of pitch control. The Orioles saw him and couldn’t help but jump on the opportunity to sign him. They then worked on his pitch command and consistency, and soon enough they found a relief pitcher that could throw a whopping 103 MPH and nasty offspeed pitches that he could now control. He had quickly become one of the best relief pitchers in the league and a fan favorite in Baltimore.
Free agency this offseason: Although we are yet to see what the O’s do this offseason, General Manager, Mike Elias has stated multiple times that he is looking to spend money on talent and pull in great talent, and “Drastically increase payroll”. Some of these offseason signings could potentially be star-shortstop Carlos Correa, and Ace starting pitchers Carlos Rodon, and Chris Bassitt.
Carlos Correa is arguably the best shortstop in the league and has been for quite some time now. This season with the Minnesota Twins, he slashed a batting average of .291 and 22 home runs. Along with his incredible hitting skills, he is a recipient of multiple gold glove awards (best fielder in the league at his position) and the platinum glove award (best fielder in the league). Correa may not seem like someone who would come to Baltimore out of the blue, but he is quite fond of the O’s front office and coaching staff. After all, Mike Elias, the General Manager, did draft him when he was a part of the Houston Astros organization.
Carlos Rodon could also find a home at Camden Yards this offseason. The left-handed ace had a 2.88 ERA this season and is a constant Cy Young contender, seeing as the Orioles have money to spend and are a team on the rise. This, although less likely than Correa, are still very much a possibility.
Chris Bassitt would be an amazing fit for this young group of pitchers. Seeing as he is an incredibly consistent arm, a veteran presence would be more than ideal for this team, and seeing that the Orioles are looking to spend money on free agents this year, this would be an incredible opportunity to do just that.
Star pitchers like money, a lot of it, and the Orioles have just that. With the lowest payroll in the league today, they have more than enough money to spend on players. Another big upside to this potential signing is the right field wall being raised and moved back during the offseason. This change provides a huge advantage for pitchers to put up better statistics for their personal records and would make playing 82 games there much more ideal.
In all, the Orioles have quickly jumped from being a laughing stock to the team with the brightest futures in the league. They had created a team that completely changed the culture in Baltimore while putting every team in the league on notice. The light at the end of the tunnel is coming for Orioles baseball is on its way, and it is coming much faster than anyone could have ever expected!
MOOSE PRINTS 
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