Baltimore Than a Feeling

 

5 games over .500, down only 2 major players at the deadline, with an incredible defensive infield and a Rookie of the Year candidate. Look at those damned Baltimore Orioles go!

I swear, this O's team has gotten to the point where even people from other countries are wandering in and exclaiming how incredible this team is. A British comedian I follow was apparently in town for an O's game today and was just lauding how excited he is about this team. This is a guy who, like, has BETTER SPORTS TO WATCH AT HOME. And here he is saying 'I say old chap how's about these Baltimore Orioles?'. It puzzles me. One of my favorite British comedians is a diehard Red Sox fan, I'm like 'there's NICER TEAMS IN YOUR VICINITY.'

I mean, I kinda don't blame them, because nobody thought this Orioles team was gonna be anybody, and now they have a better record than the Red Sox team that I was CERTAIN would take the division this year.

What's been great about this Orioles team is that, while the big exclamation point guys like Mullins and Rutschman have been leading the team, there's been a ton of lower-key standouts like Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo to do underrated work in the field. Urias, in addition to being an excellent defender, has 13 home runs and 44 RBIs. Urias has 27 steals, which is even more than Mullins. Anthony Santander has been slowly building a great season and is working on a 25-homer year. Cionel Perez, Dillon Tate and Felix Bautista have been excellent in relief, and Bautista has been a great 9th inning man. Austin Voth has been a solid fifth starter somehow. Things are just working in all the little places. 

And I really want this team to outdo the odds and make it into a postseason spot, even though it's still pretty unlikely. Yes, there's a chance that a 2022 Orioles postseason run could be short-lived, but...I still want it to happen. It could be the first of many. Adley Rutschman could lead a ton of teams to the postseason just on sheer force of will. This could be the start of something amazing for the Orioles.

So whatever they have right now, I hope they hold onto it.

Coming Tomorrow- A 1st baseman who was traded from two competitors to become a standout in a smaller market.