Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
Last season was a bump in the road of the Orioles being competitive every year. All offseason, every individual move has been scrutinized and the overall plan has been debated continually. Approaching Opening Day, it’s time to really think about it: Did they do enough to make things
better?
In this week’s survey, I asked Orioles fans to think about how many wins the team is going to end up with this season. As is often the case, the optimists take the day, as you can see below:
That’s an outright majority picking the Orioles in the 88-93 win range. Although 88 wins doesn’t feel all that exciting, if the AL East is a four- or five-way brawl the way that many projections and predictions are anticipating, that might even be enough to take the division. Anything at 90+ might feel dominant against this level of competition.
Whether the Orioles can do that is another story. A sizable minority of 30% picked in the 82-87 win range. Obviously, the 86-87 end of that range would be more interesting than the 82-83 end of it. Barely over .500 isn’t likely to do anything, not even this year. Some years, 86 or 87 gets you a wild card. That’s the kind of year the systems are currently expecting.
A much smaller number of people are expecting a romp with 94 or more wins, just 13%. I hope you’re right. Only 6% of voters see a below-.500 season. I hope they’re not right. I think there should be serious questions about whether Mike Elias retains his job if the team is below .500 again this year.
This week’s survey was sponsored by FanDuel.
