As a Red Sox fan I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t wait for the day the Baltimore Orioles are good again.
I don’t know why, but there’s something about an Orioles team being relevant again that excites me.
It may be because I remember watching the Orioles in the playoffs in the mid-'90s and the electricity in Camden Yards was amazing.
Or, it might because the Oriole is my favorite bird—yeah, I think I’ll go with the former.
There’s good news out there for Orioles fans everywhere—your team is building something special. Ever since owner Peter Angelos decided to swallow his pride and realize he’s not a very good baseball man, the Orioles have realized the importance of winning.
Hiring Andy MacPhail, who helped turn the Cubs around, has been such a smart move. What MacPhail has done in his time as Orioles president is better than anything former GMs Mike Flanagan (outside of drafting Matt Wieters), Jim Beattie, or Jim Duquette did.
The Orioles' misfortune started the minute Jeffrey Maier robbed Jeffrey Hammonds of catching a fly ball back in 1996. They have made the playoffs exactly one time after that—in 1997, when they lost in the ALCS to the Cleveland Indians.
Since then, the most exciting thing the Orioles had to look forward to was when the Red Sox and Yankees came to town.
Back in 2003, the Orioles firmly believed they had the potential to bring a winning team back to the city of Baltimore. They went out and signed one of the biggest stars in the game in Miguel Tejada to a $72 million, six-year deal. Along with David Sequi, Rafael Palmeiro and Brian Roberts, the O’s had a pretty good top half of the lineup.
However, in 2004, the O’s went 78-84. In 2005, they went 74-88. That offseason, Tejada asked for a trade, citing, “He didn’t like the direction the team was going.” For a guy who was supposed to be the poster child of the organization and lead them back to the playoffs, it just didn’t work out.
After firing Duquette, MacPhail was brought in 2007 and began to overhaul the roster. He traded guys who he didn’t see as long-term fits in the organization and started to develop the farm system.
In December 2007, Tejada was traded to the Houston Astros for reserve outfielder Luke Scott and three minor leaguers. Then, he traded ace Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for highly-touted prospects Adam Jones and Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, and two other minor leaguers. Next, he drafted Brian Matusz in the 2008 draft and this past January locked-up home-grown talent and future All-Star outfielder Nick Markakis to a six-year extension.
The Orioles are on the verge on something special. Next year, their one through five hitters can look like this: 1.) Jones, 2.) Brian Roberts, 3.) Wieters, 4.) Markakis, 5.) Aubrey Huff.
Their pitching staff can be led by Tillman, Matusz, and another guy with a live arm in Jake Arrieta.
Here’s what Baseball America had to say about the O’s:
“At least with team president Andy MacPhail now at the helm of the baseball operations, there’s a feeling the franchise has a direction and someone with the patience to execute a plan. Spending $10.6 million to get Wieters, Arrieta and Matusz in the last two drafts should pay big dividends, and the trade Seattle gave the rebuilding effort a huge boost. And owner Peter Angelos has been out of the headlines.
MacPhail recognizes the Orioles don’t have the depth of talent to compete in the East, but he has assembled several pieces that could help them take a step forward.”
I can’t wait to get back to Camden Yards and see that place packed with O’s fans again. One of the cool things about Camden Yards is that when the National Anthem plays, when the singer gets to the part, “Oh say can you see,” all the O’s fans go, “Oooooooo”.
Perhaps, that phrase is a sign of things to come for the O’s and their fans. Yes I can see—I can see something special developing in Baltimore.
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