Hello, friends.
Big news out of the way first: Samuel Basallo was hit by a pitch late in last night’s game and left the game immediately. It looked awfully painful. The Orioles said after the game that x-rays were negative for a fracture in the right wrist area. Thank goodness for that. The rest of a 6-2 loss to the Rays was pretty dumb. Check out Alex Church’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
We are down to the final four games of the 2025 Orioles season. I’m tired of looking
at these guys and I’m ready for the season to be over, but I know by the time the middle of November or so rolls around, I’ll be bummed about having no real baseball for another four months.
For right now, though, I’m thinking about how these jokers got no-hit into the seventh inning, and also about how Pete Fairbanks, the guy who hit Basallo with a pitch – which both Orioles TV and radio announcers wondered if it was retaliation for things in Tuesday’s game – later described the Orioles as a “group of LEGO-loving people.” This was brought up in response to Fairbanks appearing to blow a kiss to the Orioles dugout after he closed out the game, which he later claimed was at an Orioles fan above the dugout who was heckling. Sure, buddy. That’s a believable story. NOT. Pardon my brief expression of early 1990s slang.
In response to which one of my Orioles fan follows on Bluesky offered the following:
I do not, as a general rule, go for narratives of this nature, because I’m skeptical that this kind of thing exists within the realm that fans can perceive it. It’s not the first time this year we’ve heard it – this was part of a theme that was reportedly brought up by then-manager Brandon Hyde as he tried to rally the team (and unsuccessfully save his own job) with a meeting back in May.
The above poster, Dan Sanchez, is not someone who seems to go in on it either, but this business with Fairbanks hitting a guy in a place that could have easily broken a bone, and then talking about how the Orioles like LEGOs, is his last straw, and I don’t blame him for expressing the ire. On a day-to-day basis, I don’t want the Orioles to be a team that is looking to rumble. But I think there are negative externalities to be had when there is a team that, apparently, everyone knows will never, ever rumble.
The series concludes today. We’ll see if the Orioles can turn back around and win it. It’s a day game, 1:05 start, so don’t show up at 6:35 wondering when the game will begin. If you don’t want to show up at 1:05 because you know Cade Povich is pitching for the Orioles, well, I don’t blame you. Orioles batters, meanwhile, will be going up against Drew Rasmussen to start out. Rasmussen brings a 2.80 ERA over 30 starts to this game. Pretty good.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Judging the Orioles coaches on just this year would be a mistake (The Baltimore Banner)
Jon Meoli argues, specifically about the hitting coaches, “Starting from scratch requires a period of trust-building that might actually hinder the rapid turnaround this lineup requires.” What do you think about that?
Mansolino on Holliday, McDermott, and his uncertain future in Baltimore (School of Roch)
About how this season has played out, Mansolino said before yesterday’s game, “I hope these guys are pissed off and I hope they’re hungry, and I know they are.” Then they played how they played last night, and I think one can fairly wonder how true that is at this moment.
Orioles can’t leave good health to chance in ‘26 (Baltimore Baseball)
Peter Schmuck argues that the Orioles need to try to build a little more resilience into their rotation plan for next season – probably have one more capable starter in the mix than Mike Elias thinks he needs. Hard to argue after seeing what happened this year.
Robot umpires are coming to MLB. Phew. (The Baltimore Sun)
The Sun’s writer is a fan of the coming ball/strike challenges. Having seen enough games where it’s in action, I’m on board.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1983, the Orioles clinched the AL East title with seven games to spare. With a 5-1 victory over the Brewers, the Orioles guaranteed that the Tigers could not pass them. Storm Davis pitched the first six innings, and Tippy Martinez collected a three-inning save as he finished off the game – his 19th save of the year.
There is one 2025 Oriole who has a birthday today. Happy 32nd to Vimael Machín. Farther-off Orioles who were also born on this day: 2015-17 pitcher Tyler Wilson, 2016 pitcher Vance Worley, and 2009-11 pitcher Brad Bergesen.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author William Faulkner (1897), baseball Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto (1917), poet/illustrator Shel Silverstein (1930), actor Mark Hamill (1951), actor/rapper Will Smith (1968), and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (1969).
On this day in history…
In 1066, England’s King Harold II defeated the army of Norwegian invaders led by their king, Harald Hardrada, in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately for Harold, he had one more invader to contend with that fall.
In 1789, twelve amendments to the Constitution passed Congress. Ten of these, ratified together, became what we know today as the Bill of Rights.
In 1974, pitcher Tommy John had his ulnar collateral ligament replaced by Dr. Frank Jobe. This was the first such surgery and as you know, to this day it is still called Tommy John surgery.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 25. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!
