Hello, friends.
There are 166 days remaining until the next scheduled Orioles game. Whether an Orioles game (or any MLB game) happens on that date or any time close after is not something we are going to know until probably mid-February, when spring training begins. I’m already dreading having nothing going on in December and January, not that I expect anyone reading this to share the particular concerns of running a baseball blog.
For now, there are the playoffs as a diversion. Except, there won’t
be any games played today. Both National League series wrapped up in four games, setting up a Dodgers-Brewers NLCS rematch. Their division series would have played Game 5 today. That wasn’t needed after all.
There will be one more division series game played on Friday. The Guardians-White Sox series is going five games. They will be traveling today. Cleveland piled on the runs against Chicago to knot their series at 2-2. They staved off elimination after losing both games at home to start the series. It won’t mean much if they lose their last home game as well. This Game 4 happened to be the first time all postseason that a team that scored at least four runs lost the game. The White Sox managed this because they gave up many more than four runs in the process.
Seeing these games play out, it really calls to attention what the good teams and good-enough teams have that the Orioles do not. Maybe if they had managed to sneak in, they might have had enough to knock off the Astros, and you could probably argue there’s better pitching in the O’s stable than what the White Sox have been able to bring to bear this postseason. Mostly though, the Orioles aren’t on this level. Certainly not on the level of most of the teams that will play in the league championship series round.
Can it be better next season? That’s the question we all want to know the answer to. The labor situation means that this is not a great offseason to be a team trying to enact different plans for your players, because coaches and management will not be able to check in with anybody after the lockout hits on December 1. It will take until spring training – whenever that comes along – to start to see who really did the work and who was, as Chris Bassitt recently put it when assessing the 2026 team, just checking the boxes.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
What process are the Orioles trusting? (Defector)
It’s always worth reading when Defector turns its sights on the Orioles, even though you know this only happens when things aren’t going well.
Orioles missteps testing limits of fan support (The Baltimore Sun)
The team managed to draw around 25,000 more fans this year than last year. If things don’t improve early next year, I wonder what that picture is going to look like.
Six Orioles ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 (MASN)
Is this worth anything? Here’s an indirect way of answering that: The last time the Orioles had six top 100 prospects on this list was at the start of the 2023 season. These were the prospects: Colton Cowser, DL Hall, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Westburg. You don’t need me to tell you what those six players collectively contributed to the 2026 Orioles.
2026 Orioles draft report card (Baseball America)
Subscription required to see the thoughts on this year’s draft. People like it! For now.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1966, the Orioles won their first World Series title by finishing a sweep of the Dodgers. Frank Robinson hit a home run that scored the game’s only run; Dave McNally pitched a four-hit shutout as the O’s knocked off the defending champions.
In 1971, the Orioles beat the Pirates in Game 1 of the World Series. McNally featured again, throwing a three-hit complete game as the O’s won, 5-3.
In 1996, Jeffrey Maier happened. I’m never going to be over it until the Orioles win a title in my lifetime.
In 2014, the Orioles reached a contract extension with J.J. Hardy in between the division series and ALCS rounds of the postseason. Although this seemed exciting at the time, Hardy had negative value in two of the three years of the new contract.
There are a few former Orioles who have birthdays today. They are: 2015-16 reliever Chaz Roe, 2013 four-game outfielder Jason Pridie, and 2001-13 infielder Brian Roberts. Today is Roberts’s 49th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: French scandal figure Alfred Dreyfus (1859), baseball Hall of Famer Rube Marquard (1886), The Beatles member John Lennon (1940), movie maker Guillermo del Toro (1964), University of Maryland basketball standout Juan Dixon (1978), and professional organizer Marie Kondo (1984).
On this day in history…
In 1806, Prussia launched the War of the Fourth Coalition against Napoleonic France. Nine months later, the war was over and Prussia lost half of its territory in the peace settlements.
In 1919, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, a series that is now known for the Black Sox scandal.
In 1986, The Phantom of the Opera opened in London. The musical is still continuously running in the West End, though its record-setting Broadway run ended in 2023. Phantom is only the second-longest-running West End musical, trailing the previous year’s Les Miserables – also still running continuously there since its premiere.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 9. Have a safe Friday.
