Category Archives: Baltimore Orioles News

Baltimore Orioles: What role should loyalty play in sports?

I would submit that there are few organizations in professional sports as loyal as the Baltimore Orioles. They take care of their own for the most part. You can look at how many former stars that retain jobs with the organization to see that. It is that good or bad?

The father of NBA star Anthony Davis recently stated that he wouldn’t want his son playing for the Boston Celtics because the organization has no loyalty. Mr. Davis was referring to how the Celtics had traded Isaiah Thonas Jr. after he led them to the eastern conference finals, and after he had to miss time to deal with the death of his sister. It does come off as incredibly cold.

However Boston’s simply wheeling and dealing – at least that’s what GM Danny Ainge would say. He’s trying to better the team. But the price of doing it in that manner appears to be loyalty. Speaking for myself, I much prefer the Orioles’ approach of taking care of their own.

Granted the O’s traded almost their entire team last year. However it wasn’t as coldly done as some franchises do it. There’s also a difference between busting up a losing team and continually wheeling and dealing while you’re a contender.

There’s also another reason why loyalty is a good thing in sports. It allows your community and your fans to form bonds with the players. Baltimore fans had a bond with the Orioles of the 1970’s and 80’s. They lived in the community, their kids went to school with the kids of their fans, etc. We also saw that level of bonding with the most recent crop of O’s; the Machado, Hardy, Jones, etc. group.

That makes things a lot easier in the sense that the community is imbedded with those players. If you simply import the best team money can buy every year, I’m not sure there’s the same draw to the players or the team. When you allow it to happen organically, it can make a difference.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. Time will tell which way works better. But given any circumstance, I’ll take loyalty every time.

Baltimore Orioles: Brandon Hyde and a Super Bowl takeaway

With the Super Bowl now being over, the Baltimore Orioles and the rest of the Major League Baseball are now on the clock. Pitchers and catchers report next week. I can sense the excitement already.

That said, there’s something I’ve noticed about manager Brandon Hyde in his limited public remarks thus far. He seems very dedicated to forming relationships with the players. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s trying to be “buddy-buddy” with them. But he’s trying to get to know them, and what makes them tick. And certainly I’m sure, he’s hoping that they’re trying to do the same thing with regard to he and his staff.

I noticed a similar motif regarding the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots last night. Coach Bill Belichek and quarterback Tom Brady of course are the constants over 17 years of success. But I heard more than one player say that it was about relationships. That’s what makes a team a team.

So that really boded well for the Orioles’ future in a sense. If there’s one organization that any team in any sport would want to emulate, it would be the Nee England Patriots. If the Patriots are all about relationships and the Orioles are trying to form relationships, that probably means that the Orioles are doing something right.

Baltimore Orioles: Super Sunday

The Baltimore Orioles are roughly a week-and-a-half away from pitchers and catchers reporting. However that and everything else in the sports world takes a back seat today. It’s Super Sunday!

Baltimore of course has a rich history in the Super Bowl, with the Colts playing in two and winning one, and the Ravens winning in both of their appearances in the big game. It’s also worth mentioning that the CFL Baltimore Stallions won the Grey Cup, which is Canada’s version of the Super Bowl. And of course no discussion of Baltimore’s pro football championship ties is complete without mentioning the great Johnny Unitas and the 1958 NFL Title Game – the greatest game ever played.

Ironically, there is an old school tie to Baltimore football in today’s Super Bowl game. The original owner of the Baltimore Colts was Carroll Rosenbloom. In 1972 he executed a tax-free swap of franchises (basically a straight up trade) with Robert Irsay, then the owner of the Los Angeles Rams. That second name of course is one that still makes hair on the backs of necks stand up across town – not limited to my Dad, who was a HUGE Colts fan as a kid.

Obviously the direction of both franchises since then is well-documented. Having said that, Rosenbloom died in 1979, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited the team. Ironically Rosenbloom had redrawn his will so that his son Stephen would get it, however he died before that will could be executed. However the Rams have since been sold and are no longer in the Carroll Rosenbloom family.

Of course the Rams since then moved St. Louis, and now they’re back in Los Angeles. But that’s Baltimore’s slight connection to today’s game. For what it’s worth, it’ll be a very close game. Personally I’m rooting for Los Angeles. But it’s tough to pick against Tom Brady.

Baltimore Orioles: Super Sunday

The Baltimore Orioles are roughly a week-and-a-half away from pitchers and catchers reporting. However that and everything else in the sports world takes a back seat today. It’s Super Sunday!

Baltimore of course has a rich history in the Super Bowl, with the Colts playing in two and winning one, and the Ravens winning in both of their appearances in the big game. It’s also worth mentioning that the CFL Baltimore Stallions won the Grey Cup, which is Canada’s version of the Super Bowl. And of course no discussion of Baltimore’s pro football championship ties is complete without mentioning the great Johnny Unitas and the 1958 NFL Title Game – the greatest game ever played.

Ironically, there is an old school tie to Baltimore football in today’s Super Bowl game. The original owner of the Baltimore Colts was Carroll Rosenbloom. In 1972 he executed a tax-free swap of franchises (basically a straight up trade) with Robert Irsay, then the owner of the Los Angeles Rams. That second name of course is one that still makes hair on the backs of necks stand up across town – not limited to my Dad, who was a HUGE Colts fan as a kid.

Obviously the direction of both franchises since then is well-documented. Having said that, Rosenbloom died in 1979, and his widow, Georgia Frontiere, inherited the team. Ironically Rosenbloom had redrawn his will so that his son Stephen would get it, however he died before that will could be executed. However the Rams have since been sold and are no longer in the Carroll Rosenbloom family.

Of course the Rams since then moved St. Louis, and now they’re back in Los Angeles. But that’s Baltimore’s slight connection to today’s game. For what it’s worth, it’ll be a very close game. Personally I’m rooting for Los Angeles. But it’s tough to pick against Tom Brady.

Baltimore Orioles: Camden Yards needs to make a difference this year of all years

The Baltimore Orioles play in the best ballpark in baseball in Camden Yards. Granted those of us who cover the O’s or go to the games are going to view that in a biased manner. However when in fact what you have has been copied time and time again, it goes without saying that you have something special.

And with Camden Yards it’s never been just about the ballpark. I mean…the park itself we know is special. But it’s that special park combined with the old fashioned manner in which the game is presented. Almost every hill thing is a part of a tradition – whether it’s Country Boy during the stretch, the Oriole Bird running around, or the songs they play between innings. It’s all tradition-based, this as opposed to some parks where rap music blasts and so forth.

Point here being that the game is presented in a very old school manner at Camden Yards, and most Orioles fans like it that way. As the 2019 season draws near, it’s that game day experience on which the Orioles will want to lean. With a young team, young manager, and a not-so-hot outlook for this year, there might be a few games where attendance could be dicey. Throw in a cold night or unpredictable weather, and who knows how many fannies are in the seats.

But the Orioles really need to hone in on the fact that they have the best setup in the league. Who wouldn’t want to come to Camden Yards on a summer evening or afternoon and take in a big league game? It’s spring and summer in Baltimore; baseball is what we do!

Incidentally, contrary to popular belief this doesn’t mean offering mass discounts on tickets. The Orioles already are one of the most reasonably priced franchises in sports. When you offer a discount often times you’re just discounting tickets for people who are already planning on coming to the game. So in essence you’re cutting into what would have been your profit margin.

Maybe you can have a few games here and there where you have a discounted food item, but in general discounting already cheap tickets doesn’t work. If there’s one change I’d make if I were the Orioles, I’d offer a “happy hour” at a beer stand – maybe from the time the ballpark opens until the scheduled first pitch. They did that awhile back but apparently that’s no longer a part of their concessions strategy. Just an idea. Point being that the more ways in which you drive home the point that Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the place to be this summer, the more fans will show up.

Baltimore Orioles: Camden Yards needs to make a difference this year of all years

The Baltimore Orioles play in the best ballpark in baseball in Camden Yards. Granted those of us who cover the O’s or go to the games are going to view that in a biased manner. However when in fact what you have has been copied time and time again, it goes without saying that you have something special.

And with Camden Yards it’s never been just about the ballpark. I mean…the park itself we know is special. But it’s that special park combined with the old fashioned manner in which the game is presented. Almost every hill thing is a part of a tradition – whether it’s Country Boy during the stretch, the Oriole Bird running around, or the songs they play between innings. It’s all tradition-based, this as opposed to some parks where rap music blasts and so forth.

Point here being that the game is presented in a very old school manner at Camden Yards, and most Orioles fans like it that way. As the 2019 season draws near, it’s that game day experience on which the Orioles will want to lean. With a young team, young manager, and a not-so-hot outlook for this year, there might be a few games where attendance could be dicey. Throw in a cold night or unpredictable weather, and who knows how many fannies are in the seats.

But the Orioles really need to hone in on the fact that they have the best setup in the league. Who wouldn’t want to come to Camden Yards on a summer evening or afternoon and take in a big league game? It’s spring and summer in Baltimore; baseball is what we do!

Incidentally, contrary to popular belief this doesn’t mean offering mass discounts on tickets. The Orioles already are one of the most reasonably priced franchises in sports. When you offer a discount often times you’re just discounting tickets for people who are already planning on coming to the game. So in essence you’re cutting into what would have been your profit margin.

Maybe you can have a few games here and there where you have a discounted food item, but in general discounting already cheap tickets doesn’t work. If there’s one change I’d make if I were the Orioles, I’d offer a “happy hour” at a beer stand – maybe from the time the ballpark opens until the scheduled first pitch. They did that awhile back but apparently that’s no longer a part of their concessions strategy. Just an idea. Point being that the more ways in which you drive home the point that Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the place to be this summer, the more fans will show up.

Baltimore Orioles: Is youth the new hand of experience?

It didn’t take much to know that the Baltimore Orioles were going to go with a youth movement this year. New GM Mike Elias (who’s incidentally younger than I) and new manager Brandon Hyde certainly fit that bill. These are men who have never done their respective jobs to this point, but who have certainly seen how to do them and seen it up close.

That’a not unlike moving up in any other career path, for the record. If you get into a company out of college on the ground level, you see your superiors doing their jobs. After a couple of years maybe one of those jobs comes available, you apply, and you’re hired. You have no experience in the job, although you’ve seen it close up.

However as I look around sports, I see lots of teams getting younger in the dugout or on the sideline. The Washington Nationals, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox all have young managers. It’s one thing for the 2019 Orioles – a rebuilding team. But those are teams looking to contend. Heck, Boston won the World Series with a young manager.

The Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA have a young coach in Luke Walton. Again, that’s a team who expects to go to the playoffs each year. And look at the Ravens right here in Baltimore. When they hired John Harbaugh they were looking to contend; and he had no experience.

In my world, there’s no substitute for the steady hand of experience. That’s why Buck Showalter was the right hire in 2010 for the Orioles. And results over time proved that point to be correct. But is the sports business changing?

I think that there’s a perception out there that older and more experienced coaches or managers are less likely to think outside the box or take chances in games. They’ve always done it this way, and that’s not going to change. Younger coaches are hungry and they’re eager to make their own way.

I still maintain that there’s no substitute for the steady hand of experience. That should and will always be the case. Again, the 2019 Orioles were almost begging for a young leader. Someone exactly like Brandon Hyde. However it’s just interesting to see that experience doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to across the sports industry.

Baltimore Orioles: A different kind of spring training awaits

Pitchers and catchers for the Baltimore Orioles will report to Sarasota for spring training roughly a week-and-a-half after this weekend’s Super Bowl. That’s kind of tough to believe if you think about it! It seems like just yesterday we were bidding farewell to the horrid 2018 season. But yet here we are.

Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how new manager Brandon Hyde conducts spring training. It goes without saying that from manager to manager things will be a bit different. It also goes without saying that regardless of who the manager is, this year was always going to be a bit different.

At this time last year the O’s were expecting to contend in 2018. Heck, at this time over the course of the last several years they were expecting to contend. That effort always began on the green fields of Sarasota. That’s certainly where this year’s journey will begin as well, however there’s no real expectation of being in contention. Yes, we know that things happen and that hope springs eternal – but I’ll just leave it at that.

I think that in spring training this year we’ll see more of an emphasis on fundamentals. However even before that, we’ll see an emphasis on becoming a team. The Orioles of yesteryear didn’t have t go through that process per se. This new group will.

Once the games actually begin towards the end of February, one difference I think we’ll see is that home games and travel rosters will be much more interchangeable. Most of the time veteran players are granted a professional courtesy in a sense, and they aren’t required to travel to the road games (maybe two or three here and there, generally towards the end of the spring). However this year I suspect things will be different.

Hyde and his staff are literally trying to figure out the composition of the team. The question of who’s on first is going to be much more than a slapstick routine. So I suspect we’ll see some similarities in terms of who plays in Sarasota and who’s on the travel rosters.

And as I said at FanFest this past weekend, Orioles’ fans should look at this season and specifically at this spring training as an opportunity to “get in on the ground floor” of a new team. 2019 is going to feel much different, and that’ll be true from the very beginning. But the first time this group wins a game in walk off fashion, that old feeling of Orioles Magic will come back through the yard. And things won’t see so off.

However in the interim, Brandon Hyde and GM Mike Elias will have to get a starting lineup ready to go. And that process will start in the coming weeks in Sarasota.

Balimore Orioles: 2019 is big for Trey Mancini

One of the more unsung Baltimore Orioles this off season has been Trey Mancini. And quite frankly I think most players would prefer that. Like most of the 2018 Orioles, Mancini had a down year last year. However he’s still young enough to where he can rebound and recapture some of his 2017 season in which he hit .293.

Mancini however is in a bit of an odd position of still perhaps being considered a young player, but also being a veteran. At Orioles’ FanFest he mentioned that he had some of the younger pups asking him how to handle aspects of professional life, such as 401K. Mancini joked that last year it was him asking those types of questions.

Mancini of course came up first in 2016 – for five games. He then made the team out of spring training in 2017, and over the course of the season hit 24 homers and 78 RBI. Most people forget this, however he had a great spring training last season as well. However in the first week of the season he injured his leg crashing into the wall chasing a foul ball at Camden Yards. While he only hit .242, he still managed to smack the same amount of homers (24), but his strikeouts were up.

So this shapes up to hopefully be a bounce back year for Mancini. However it’s more than just his on the field production that will be scrutinized. As I said above, Mancini’s going to need to be though of as a leader in this year’s clubhouse. While he’s still young himself, he has a plethora of experience as opposed to some of the other guys who’ll find themselves on the roster. And it’ll be part of his job to help all of those guys along this year.

Baltimore Orioles: Why no fanfare for the minors?

All of the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league affiliates are in the mid-Atlantic region, with the exception of the Gulf Coast Orioles. The Norfolk Tides of course are a bit of a hike, but still relatively close. This as opposed to years ago when your affiliates could literally be anywhere.

Yesterday I was flipping channels and I noticed that the Capital City GoGo were being televised locally. If you aren’t aware, the Capital City GoGo are an NBA D-League affiliate of the Washington Wizards. It came across as a low-quality production, but the fact remains that the game was on television, giving fans an opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow right now.

Obviously the Wizards are the main responsibility in terms of providing coverage for the local media (in the context of basketball). But as I said, having the D-League team on television on occasion gives fans a shot to see tomorrow’s stars. So…why doesn’t MLB do this with it’s minor leagues?

In the Orioles’ case, it would be fairly easy given that their affiliates are all local. But I’m a believer that giving fans access to players as such before they’re stars simply cements those players as leaders at the big league level once they arrive. It gives fans an early stake in players who one day might become a force in the majors.

Of course the difference in baseball is that it’s everyday. It might be easy enough to say that a network such as MASN could cover a Norfolk or Bowie game on an off day, but for the most part the O’s are playing everyday. So it would probably be tough to do. But more coverage is never a bad thing.