Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Just three weeks remain in the slog that has been the Orioles’ 2025 season. There are six series left to play, some of them utterly meaningless (such as the Pirates series that starts tonight, and next’s week tilt against the White Sox) and some that will be hugely important for the Birds’ pennant-contending opponents (including a three-game set in Toronto and two separate series against the Yankees). The Orioles already threw some chaos into the NL West race with their
series wins against the Padres and Dodgers last week. Can they similarly alter the course of the AL East down the stretch?
No matter how eventful these games may or may not be, the O’s will continue to use this time to audition some players who are fighting for spots on the 2026 roster. And there’s been no shortage of players who have gotten auditions this season, some of them much longer than others. Yesterday, Mark Brown challenged Camden Chatters to Remember Some Guys from the 21st century Orioles, but you could also play that game solely with random players from this 2025 team. Anyone remember Vidal Bruján? Cooper Hummel? Cody Poteet? All of those guys have played for the O’s this very season, but if you blinked, you missed them.
The Orioles have already set a franchise record by using 67 different players this season (and it would be 68 if Houston Roth, who was on the active roster for a week, had gotten into a game). That raises the question: could they set an all-time MLB record? The current record, set by the Marlins just last year, is 70 players (three of whom were Trevor Rogers, Emmanuel Rivera, and, yes, Vidal Bruján).
To beat that mark, the O’s would have to add four new players within the final three weeks. It’s unlikely, but not impossible. The Orioles currently have three hurlers on their 40-man roster who haven’t yet pitched for the team this year — Jose Espada, Carson Ragsdale, and Josh Walker — so any or all of those three could get a cup of coffee in the big league bullpen in September. Or maybe Roth will come back and finally get to pitch. Or the O’s could bring up a starter like Cameron Weston from Triple-A Norfolk if neither Dean Kremer nor Tomoyuki Sugano can return from their injuries before the season ends. Plus there’s always the possibility of the O’s making a random waiver claim, as they’ve done countless times this year.
Is it weird that I’m kind of hoping the Orioles break the players-used record? Yes, cycling through 71 different players in one season is not exactly the sign of a well-constructed, successful team. But hey, if the Orioles are going to be this bad anyway, they might as well set a record while they’re at it.
Links
Leftovers for breakfast – School of Roch
Don’t look now, but Jackson Holliday is heating up again — and drawing walks, too. Holliday finishing the season on a roll would go a long way to making me feel confident about 2026.
Does Coby Mayo have a future with Orioles? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
In response to a Coby Mayo critic, Rich Dubroff states that Mayo has nothing left to prove in the minors and is showing signs of improvement. I agree on the first point. I wish I could agree on the second.
O’s Coby Mayo: Staying upbeat & positive even if the stats are not there yet – Steve Melewski
Mayo, for his part, thinks he’s making progress, too. Again, it would be great if there were anything in his performance that indicated this was true.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Six former Orioles were born on this day, including right-hander Edwin Jackson (42), who set MLB’s all-time record by playing for 14 different teams (a record that Rich Hill tied this season). The Birds were the 12th of those 14 stops for Jackson, who made three forgettable relief appearances in 2017. Jackson is a godsend in Immaculate Grid, I’ll tell you that.
Other ex-Orioles with Sept. 9 birthdays include infielders Pat Valaika (33) and Todd Zeile (60), first baseman Rhyne Hughes (42), and righties Kurt Ainsworth (47) and the late Jim Corsi (b. 1961, d. 2022).
On this date in 1999, two prominent Orioles hitters achieved milestones — one positive, one less so. On the plus side, Albert Belle collected his 100th RBI, giving him an eighth consecutive 100-RBI season. He would stretch that streak to nine in a row in 2000 before his career abruptly ended due to injury. On the minus side, Cal Ripken hit into his 324th career double play, setting a dubious new MLB record. Cal finished his career with 350 GIDPs, a mark that has since been obliterated by Albert Pujols (426).
And on this day in 2009, Brian Roberts hit his 50th double, marking the third 50-double season of his career. He became just the fourth major leaguer to achieve that feat, joining Hall of Famers Tris Speaker, Paul Waner, and Stan Musial.
Random Orioles game of the day
On Sept. 9, 1989, the Orioles notched a 4-2, 10-inning win season in Texas. The Orioles rallied back from a late 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the seventh, then won it on Randy Milligan’s two-run homer in extras. Rookie of the Year closer Gregg Olson got the last four outs of the game, escaping a two-on, two-out jam in the bottom of the ninth followed by a perfect 10th. The win kept the Orioles 1.5 games back of the division-leading Blue Jays.
