Good morning, Camden Chatters.
We’ve made it. We’re finally at the finish line of this slog of a 2026 Orioles season. The O’s play their final game of the season today at Yankee Stadium. Or maybe they won’t even play it! The weather forecast in New York isn’t great, and the game time has already been moved up from 3:05 to 1:05, but it’s possible it could be rained out anyway.
Whatever the case, I can’t say I’ll miss watching the Orioles. I mean, I like baseball, and the O’s had their share of entertaining
moments — mostly from Pete Alonso — but for the most part this season was a daily exercise in futility from a team that should have been so much better. I’ve had enough of the constant defensive blunders and fundamental mistakes and the Orioles’ irritating habit of blowing winnable games. The 2026 Orioles weren’t the worst team of my lifetime, but they sure were one of the most disappointing.
This is the Orioles’ second straight year missing the playoffs, but the bad vibes have lingered longer than that. Their magical 101-win season in 2023 was short-circuited by their three-and-out in the Division Series, and the O’s hit a swoon midway through the 2024 from which they’ve never really recovered. Since July 9, 2024, the Orioles have a record of 188-207, a dispiriting 19 games under .500. They’ve gone through three managers in that span and their current one is arguably the worst of the lot.
It’s an organization that’s in dire need of change, and I’m not convinced we’ll get much if the O’s run it back with the same leadership group next season. It’s now been 43 years since the last time the Orioles made it to and won a World Series, and they don’t seem any closer to reaching that goal. You have to wonder how many more years we’ll need to wait.
As for today, while the Orioles game (if it happens) is meaningless, there are still postseason spots and seedings on the line around MLB. In the American League, the Guardians clinched the AL Central and a first-round bye yesterday, assuring that the White Sox will be third wild card team. But the AL West race between the Astros and Rangers is coming down to the final day. One team will become the first in major league history to make the playoffs with a .500 or worse record. The other will head home for the winter.
In the National League, the surging Diamondbacks have a chance to surpass the collapsing Phillies today for the final wild card spot. If that happens, I’m sure the response from Phillies fans will be calm, rational, and even-keeled.
There’s a lot of fun stuff going on in baseball today. There might also be an Orioles game. Time to say goodbye — and also say good riddance, if you’re so inclined — to this underachieving club.
Links
Rico Garcia: Strong start, strong finish to his 2026 season for the Orioles – Steve Melewski
The Orioles’ bullpen-building strategy of “throw things against a wall and see what sticks” has ended up with plenty of duds, but a few some success stories, too. Rico is one of the best examples of the latter.
3 managerial candidates Orioles should have considered instead of keeping Craig Albernaz – Birds Watcher
I’m not happy with Albernaz, but I’m not particularly excited about any of the veteran managers mentioned in this article, either. I guess choosing a manager isn’t such an easy task after all.
Would Orioles’ minor league teams be affected by a lockout? | MAILBAG – Rich Dubroff
Get ready to watch a lot of minor league baseball in 2027. I have a feeling it’s going to be the only game in town for a long while.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with three former O’s, including a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame, the late right-hander Dick Hall (b. 1930, d. 2023). The reliever spent the final nine seasons of his 16-year MLB career with the Birds, racking up 60 saves and posting a 2.89 ERA in 342 games while winning two World Series. Other ex-Orioles born on this day are 1998 one-game righty and Sidney Ponson’s cousin Radhames Dykhoff (52), and 1978 outfielder Carlos López (78).
On this date in 1970, the birthday boy Dick Hall picked up a victory in Cleveland with three innings of perfect relief, completing a season in which he had more wins (10) than walks (six). Hall became the first major league player in 51 years to accomplish that feat.
In 1974, the Orioles threw a 17-inning shutout against the Brewers in a walkoff 1-0 victory at Memorial Stadium. Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched 12 scoreless innings for the Orioles but was one-upped by Milwaukee righty Jim Colborn, who threw 13. After Palmer, O’s relievers Bob Reynolds and Grant Jackson combined for five shutout innings before the O’s finally won on a 17th-inning RBI fielder’s choice by Bob Oliver.
And this was a dark day in 1996, when Orioles second baseman Roberto Alomar spit in the face of home plate umpire John Hirschbeck after being ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The incident set off a firestorm throughout the professional sports world, even more so when Alomar’s punishment was a paltry five-game suspension that he didn’t have to serve until the following season. That allowed him to stay on the O’s roster for the entirety of the 1996 postseason, when he helped the Birds to a Division Series upset of a heavily favored Cleveland team.
