Tag Archives: Orioles

Pro Sports, Sports

Orioles new hopes on the horizon

The Orioles are shaping up well as the season creeps closer. With one month until spring training, baseball season is dawning back on. With the 2023 season ramping up and the off-season moves, it’s time to look at the O’s possibilities. Looking at how the Orioles ended the 2022 season and the prospects that were grabbed during the off-season, we can look at how the birds are shaping up.

In 2022 the O’s really started heating up. After an average start that in recent years has become expected from the Orioles, the team really started to hit their stride. This run would begin in May as they would push a record well over .500 and continue this hot streak for months in the highly competitive AL East. This run would bring excitement to Camden Yards as week after week, the Birds would make win after win. This spike in productivity would lead them to finish the season with a record of 83-79. Although they would not make the postseason, the Orioles only missed the Wild Card by 3 games. This shows great promise for the upcoming 2023 season as the Birds seemed to have broken the long streak of disappointing yearly seasons that were sadly commonplace in Baltimore.

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The Orioles aren’t just relying on the high they finished last season on either, as they have made multiple moves during the offseason. They continue to strengthen as they acquired starting pitcher Kyle Gibson and a prominent bullpen arm in Michael Gibbons. Although a bit older, Gibson is a solid pitcher who can offer great depth to the starting rotation. Gibbons is a reasonably young arm that could be seen for some late relief this season. The Orioles also picked up veteran catcher James McCann who can bring a solid bat to the Orioles lineup. He shows a good stick in the lineup with a career batting average of .243 and an on-base percentage of .296. The most exciting pickup for the O’s is acquiring second baseman Adam Frazier from the Seattle Mariners. This addition to the Orioles’ infield can be great for the upcoming 2023 season. Frazier also brings a pretty good bat to the Orioles that could set up some good game moves.

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Not only have the Orioles made some notable off-season moves, but the real excitement is also in the young players coming up from the farm system. Returning stars Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson show immediate promise. After their entrance mid-way through last season was a sight to see. The young talent broke out in stride and immediately impacted the team as a whole. Seeing an entire season with these young superstars in no doubt a daily starting position shows an excellent sign for the Orioles coming season. O’s fans also hope to see more young talent rise through the minors and come to the show. Hopefully, the good farm system of the Baltimore Orioles can help them hit stride mid-way through the season, just as Rutschman and Henderson did last season.

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Overall the 2023 Orioles are looking promising as we move closer to spring training. There is no doubt in any baseball fan’s mind that the Orioles can go far this season. Finishing only 3 games back last year from the Wild Card while playing in one of the toughest divisions is sure to be taken to a new level in 2023. We only have a short wait to see what the Orioles can accomplish. There are sure to not disappoint.

Braylon Sims is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

Pro Sports, Sports

What’s in store for the Orioles this offseason?

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The MLB Playoffs are in full effect, but the Orioles are not involved. The Orioles surprised many this year, going from an abysmal 52-110 record in 2021, to 83-79 in 2022. General Manager Mike Elias has the team going down the rebuilding route, but they seem ahead of schedule. Many top prospects have been called up, such as SS Gunnar Henderson and C Adley Rutschman. The rookies have become an essential part of the lineup, and a huge reason why the O’s have had recent success. The front office made some sneaky good pickups last offseason, like SS Jorge Mateo and SP Jordan Lyles. Both players were snagged on cheap deals and have been very productive down the stretch.

The O’s came alive during a 10-game winning streak in July, and have been consistently winning since. Unfortunately, the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Rays also kept winning, which made the playoff race challenging. Making the playoffs would have been nice, but finishing with a winning record is a huge success. Elias has said he wants to spend in the offseason, but who could he pick up? There are some big names on the market, like Dodgers speedster Trea Turner and Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, but they will likely head elsewhere. The O’s have never been a big spending team, but I expect them to make small additions to improve the team.

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The main focus should be a backup catcher. Starter Adley Rutschman can’t catch every day, and his backup Robinson Chirinos is 38 and on the verge of retirement. Current Rangers catcher Kevin Plawecki would be great for the role. Plawecki provides solid defense, as well as an average bat. The O’s have not had a serviceable backup catcher since Caleb Joseph, who left the team in 2018. Having a backup catcher would be crucial to winning games when Adley needs rest.

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The next concern has to be pitching. Top prospect Grayson Rodriguez is expected to be added to a rotation that overachieved this season. Rodriguez seems to be the long-term ace, but they need an ace now. Dean Kremer and Tyler Wells had solid seasons, but they weren’t consistent. 2022 ace Jordan Lyles will enter free agency and is not expected to return to the team. The pitcher market features some big names, like 3x Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, and Giants All-Star Carlos Rodón. Those two aren’t impossible to acquire, but it will be tough. My choice among the many solid pitchers in free agency would be Michael Wacha of the Red Sox. Wacha has a decent ERA at 3.06, and has been reliable this year, pitching 123.1 innings. Sure, it’s not a flashy signing, but it will get the job done.

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It all depends on what Elias wants to do. He could spend big, or stay conservative. Prospects are what this organization is centered around, not free agents or veterans. The O’s are infamous for trading away big players for prospects yearly. These risky trades often don’t work out, but they have before. So let’s say the Orioles have one of these in the offseason. Who gets traded? The answer should be Austin Hays. While Hays is a great fielder and hitter, the O’s outfield is overloaded, and Hays has been slumping. A new change of scenery would be great for his career. OF Colton Cowser will likely take his spot anyway. It just doesn’t make sense to have a player like Hays on the bench. Hopefully, the front office makes decent decisions that can improve the team, and not hurt it like in past years.

Daniel Hurson is a freshman contributor for The Quill. This is his first published piece.

Pro Sports, Sports

How are the Orioles’ prospects handling the pressure of a pennant race?

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Orioles top prospects Gunnar Henderson, DL Hall, and Adley Rutschman have definitely proven their worth in the minors, but some are struggling with the transfer to the big leagues. As many know, the Orioles are in a tight playoff race for the AL wildcard spot. With this being said, they need their young guys to step up. So, is the Orioles’ extent of young talent enough to keep them in the playoff race?

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Shortstop Gunnar Henderson is seeing the ball well at the plate, but is struggling with the fielding transition. His primary position is shortstop; however, to fit in the lineup, he has to adapt to other infield positions. Recently he has been playing second due to other SS Jorge Mateo having an insane fielding year. On Monday, Sep 5, 2022, The Orioles faced a doubleheader against the Blue Jays. This was a huge series for the Orioles which means every play counts. For the youngest player in the MLB, this amount of pressure can get to your head. He started the game at second and cost us a couple of runs. The Orioles had two first and third situations and got perfect double play balls to get out of it without giving up any runs. Gunnar was in his own head and bobbled the ball on both plays.

Original starting pitcher DL Hall, one of our top pitching prospects, played well in the minors with an ERA never exceeding 4. However, in the big leagues, he has an ERA of 8.68 in his MLB career. Hall is definitely struggling in the transition and is having trouble with locating his pitches. With the playoffs coming up and the Orioles needing pitching, DL Hall needs to be better, or he won’t start.

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On the other hand, Adley Rutchsman already looks like a veteran. Adley is batting .257 with 10 home runs in only 89 games. Most of his stats have come from his left side, batting .285 vs. Right handed pitching. However, Adley has been struggling from the right side batting .167. All of his home runs have been from the left side. On the other side of the ball, he looks like a veteran catcher. Very few errors and has been a brick wall behind the plate.

Tyler Martin is a junior member of the Multimedia Journalism class

Pro Sports, Sports

With just a few weeks left in the season, the O’s control their destiny

Can the Baltimore Orioles pull off one of the greatest team turnarounds in Major League Baseball? After a poor start, as usually expected by the franchise in past years, a smooth winning streak hit the Birds pushing them to a possible Wild Card spot. Before the midway point of May, the Orioles were up to another season of what has been seen as normal for the club in recent years. The Orioles started their season with losing streaks and dropped multi-game series throughout the first month of the season. Baltimore fans expected another losing season for the Birds. Now the O’s are climbing their way up amongst the challenging American League East.

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The AL East is often seen as one of the toughest divisions in Major League Baseball as it holds powerhouse clubs such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays. Within this division, the Orioles have been seen as lower caliber. In the previous years games against the Yankees and Red Sox were almost a definite loss, but in the 2022 season, the birds have turned it around. Since May 18, the Orioles have been on a tear with a record over .500. Every game has been a sight to see as the Birds fight their way to the top of the division. Many wonder how this incredible streak started for the Orioles that turned a team that was out of contention into a possible Wild Card. 

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This shift can primarily be credited to the payoff of a very long rebuild by the Orioles since the times of the previous manager Buck Showalter. One of these great payoffs being the extremely talented prospect Adley Rutschman that burst onto the scene in the early parts of the season and quickly became the best catcher in baseball. On May 21, 2022, Adley was called up to the Major Leagues to be the O’s starting catcher. The switch-hitting bat and gifted defensive presence created a young powerhouse in Adley. The Orioles also remade their bullpen, shifting right-handed pitcher Felix Bautista into the closer spot. Bautista has been lights out for the Birds and is seen as one of the best in the league. Finally, the Orioles called up their top infield prospect Gunnar Henderson in August. Henderson started his big league career off strong showing that he’s a stud amongst the top in baseball. His glovework and bat are big pieces of the O’s lineup that are leading them to more and more success.

The talent showcased by the Orioles is unprecedented. This puts the O’s in great contention for a Wild Card spot and possibly an October appearance after many years of missing the playoff. This could bring the big stage to Baltimore and many more cheers to Camden Yards. These are the hopes of any fan of the O’s! All we can ask now is, will the Orioles pull off this comeback? They have it all in front of them; now they just have to execute.

Braylon Sims is a Senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.

Spring Sports

Orioles’ FanFest: An Interview with Coach Harris

IMG_2521Orioles’ FanFest is an annual celebration where the fans interact with some of their favorite players. The Mount Saint Joe baseball program gets invited back to help out with Fan Fest every year. To preview FanFest for this year, I sat down with Mr. Harris, the head coach of the varsity baseball team, to ask him some questions regarding St. Joe’s participation in Orioles FanFest.

Jake Howell: What is your favorite memory from any of the FanFests the team has attended?

Mr. Jody Harris: Well I’d have to say when Steve Clevenger got traded to the Orioles, that was kind of a pretty special thing. Not only were we interacting with the Orioles and helping them promote baseball in Baltimore, but the fact that we had a personal connection with one of the players was special for me having coached him. It was a pretty neat thing for our players to be around someone who played in the same program that they’re playing in.

JH: Who are some Orioles players you have talked to over the years?

MH: I’ve talked to a significant number of them. It’s been my experience that for the most part those guys are pretty accommodating and just regular guys. I mean, we see them as supermen because they’re professional athletes, but the fact is they’re just regular people. I remember interacting with players who were long shots to make the team, and when they made the team I sort of felt a connection to them. For example, last year I sat next to Jimmy Paredes, waiting for one of the instructional times to come up. He doesn’t speak very much English, but I was able to communicate with him and the Chick-Fil-A cow. That is what we had in common, that we both liked chicken. But the fact of the matter was he was a long shot to make the team, and then he had the best spring of his career and made the team out of spring training. Then I felt a connection to Jimmy Paredes all year-long, because of the chicken-cow connection.

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Varsity Baseball Coach Mr. Harris and Orioles player Jimmy Paredes

JH: How do you think the Orioles’ players rub off on our players?

MH: I would say that generally the players are good role models for our guys. They see how those players interact with the community, they see how they interact with the kids, and more often than not those players are pretty friendly to our players too, so I think generally our players have come away with a pretty good feeling about those guys. It’s kind of neat to have been next to and helped in an instructional phase with a player that you see on TV that season. That’s kind of a neat thing I think is an outcome of our participation in FanFest. There have been some instances where I have been disappointed in some of the ways the players interacted with our guys and with the fans, but overall their actions have been positive.

JH: How did St. Joe’s participation in FanFest come together?

MH: I am not exactly positive, but I know that Mr. Norton and Mr. Cameron run the Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game, which is played at Camden Yards, and used to be in conjunction with the Orioles. So Mr. Norton has had a pretty long relationship with the Orioles, particularly people in their marketing department. I remember that it was the Crown All-Star Game at the time when Baltimore hosted the MLB All-Star Game, and the players that were chosen for the Crown All-Star Game were the ones that shagged flies for the Home Run Derby contest, so that connection goes back quite a long ways. I believe that was maybe 1993, so Mount Saint Joe and the Baltimore Orioles have had a pretty strong working relationship for a number of years.

JH: How did Steve Clevenger react when he found out he was being traded to the Baltimore Orioles?

MH: Well, I remember being in touch with him and how excited he was to be coming back to Baltimore. The downside was he also knew that the Orioles had Matt Wieters and that it would be difficult to compete for a regular job. So while it was exciting to come back to his home team, he also recognized that it may have been a more difficult path to stay in the major leagues than it would have been with the [Chicago] Cubs. Having said that, I think that Steve, who has now been traded to the Seattle Mariners, did the best with his opportunity here. He could not have had a stronger spring last spring, and he made the Opening Day roster. Then, unfortunately, he was optioned out after the first game, and that is because he had options. Because he had options, he did not have a lot of leverage for negotiation, and it was easy for the Orioles to send him down. And from what I understand, the life of a Triple-A player and the life of a Major League player are significantly different, not just to mention the pay check.

JH: In your opinion, how has his playing days at MSJ influenced the way he holds himself in the game today?

MH: I would like to think that St. Joe had quite a bit to do with the kind of character and man that he is. Obviously most of that comes from his family, but I think being a part of this community and being a part of this program helped him compete at a high level. It also put him in position where he had to handle himself in public because we’re a high-profile program, and he was one of the best players on a high-profile program. I think that was valuable for him to be mature enough to handle the adjustment to professional baseball.

JH: Mount Saint Joe is the only high school that helps out at FanFest. What makes MSJ stand out above other schools?

MH: From a practical standpoint, we had the connection. From the point of view as to why we’ve maintained that position with the Orioles, it’s because of the way that we do what we say we are going to do. When we say we are going to volunteer, we have people there who pay attention to the thing they are supposed to pay attention to. Now, if you’re a player and you’re running a station that has kids hitting a wiffle ball with a wiffle ball bat on a tee, and you man that station for an hour, it can be easy for you to lose your focus or concern for the next person in line. But what I think our guys recognize is that for that kid, that’s his time. We give him the attention that he deserves as if it was one of our guys who was up next. I think that attention to detail, that recognition about the importance of what it is that we are doing, and that it is a reflection on the Baltimore Orioles is a reason why the Orioles continue to ask us back.

This year, the Orioles FanFest is Saturday, December 12.