Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! And welcome to the Orioles’ off-season. After getting swept by the Yankees to end the year, the Orioles finished with a 75-87 record. That’s not good. We’ve seen a lot worse, but it’s not good.
Yesterday’s finale saw Kyle Bradish get his last start of the season, and he again looked good. He was limited to just four innings, but he struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter. He did give up two runs, one on a homer. The Orioles lost, 3-2. Their runs came on solo home runs from
Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg. It was the 17th for each, putting them into a three-way tie with Jackson Holliday for the team lead. It’s kind of depressing, but there you go.
You can get the full details on yesterday’s season-ending loss in John Beers’s game recap.
Today is the calm before the storm that is the MLB playoffs. Yesterday’s game saw the final team earn its place in the postseason. The Cincinnati Reds edged out the New York Mets for the last Wild Card spot, which means Cedric Mullins will not get a chance at a World Series win. The Mets held a playoff spot for much of the season before stumbling to the end of the season. And Mullins wasn’t much help. His poor hitting got even worse when he went to New York and now I wonder what kind of contract he’ll get for 2026. ‘
After today’s quietness, the next few days will be chock-full of baseball. There will be four games each day tomorrow and Wednesday, starting at 1 p.m. It’s two of the best days of the playoffs, in my opinion.
Links
Orioles usher in the offseason with loss to Yankees – The Baltimore Banner
Lots of reflection to be going on this winter from Orioles player and coaches
O’s ‘going home angry’ after missing postseason for first time in 3 years – MLB.com
They feel like angry failures. Makes sense.
Mansolino on catchers Basallo & Rutschman: “Good problem to have” – Steve Melewski
Even with Adley’s disappointing year, I don’t disagree.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies. The longest tenured of those is Branden Kline, who appeared in 37 games between 2019-2020. Kline is a local guy who attended high school in Frederick, MD, and who was drafted in 2012 out of the University of Virginia.
Also born on this day are former Orioles Jake Reed (33), Calvin Pickering (49), Craig Lefferts (68), and Mike McCormick (b. 1938, d. 2020). If you don’t remember Jake Reed’s eight games in 2022, I forgive you.
On this day in 1953, the American League announced that the St. Louis Browns had been sold to a group of owners in Baltimore, and approved the team to move to Baltimore the following season.
In 1996, Brady Anderson hit his 50th home run of the season. He never hit more than 24 home runs in any other season.
In 2012, the Orioles defeated the Red Sox to move into a tie with the Yankees for first place with four games left in the season. They ended two games back.
Also in 2012, the Orioles claimed Steve Pearce on waivers from the Yankees, after losing him to the Astros earlier in the year. Pearce played in 291 games for the Orioles from 2013-2016.
