Baltimore Orioles: CD-ROM in Grapefruit League opener

The Baltimore Orioles announced a starter today for Saturday’s Florida Grapefruit League “Opening Day.” That starter is (drumroll please)…Drew Rom. Not exactly the name you expected to see? Yeah, most people would say the same thing.

Obviously you see I’m already up to my old tricks early on this year! Yes folks, the title’s a play on words. And one that you’re going to have to have been born in the 20th century to understand at that. But nevertheless, Drew Rom to the mound it is.

Rom, a southpaw, appeared in 26 ballgames last year between double-A Bowie and triple-A Norfolk. He posted a 4.43 ERA over 120 innings. Manager Brandon Hyde was quick to say that this WAS NOT necessarily a preview of things to come in terms of the starting rotation. He quipped that it’s just sort of how things lined up.

For his part in all this, Rom appeared to be thrilled with the decision (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Especially this being my first year in camp. I think that’s kind of a big, almost confidence boost for me, especially coming into my first season when I have the potential to be in the big leagues and having that confidence from the front office. Definitely helps that they trust me to go in and set the tone for the first game.

Rom was drafted in 2018 out of high school in Kentucky. So he’s been in the organization for some time, and has been waiting for his chance at the big leagues. But for now, he’ll settle for a Spring Training Opening Day start on Saturday. (Or any spring game at all for that matter.)

I would also remind fans as we get going with these spring games that the pitching rotation is set in advance. Guys come to the ballpark everyday knowing when, if, and for how long they’ll be appearing in that day’s game. Sometimes they’re even aware of it well before game day. So Rom may only be in the game on Saturday for one or two innings. And Brandon Hyde will have a pre-set list of pitchers who will be scheduled to come in for limited appearances after that.

However it all starts with Drew Rom. For all we know this could be the highlight of his career – starting in a big league spring training game. The hope is that he throws well and has a good camp – and that we see him in Baltimore at some point this year. But it’s tough to say. The only thing we can say for sure is that he’s starting on Saturday afternoon for the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium against the Minnesota Twins.

Baltimore Orioles: A President’s Day tradition

The Baltimore Orioles and every other team are currently in Spring Training. Games start next weekend. But the rest of the country takes today off in honor of President’s Day.

I write this column every year. One of my passions in life is civics. And the American Presidency is an institution that has a relationship with Major League Baseball unlike any other sport.

President William Howard Taft unknowingly began an important tradition in 1910; he went to Griffith Stadium in Washington DC and threw out the first pitch at the Washington Senators’ game on Opening Day. It wasn’t something that was covered in great fanfare, but it’s noteworthy from a historical perspective. Since then Presidents have been an indelible part of the landscape of the game of baseball. And of sports.

President Taft and nearly every one of his predecessors threw out first pitches. Usually in DC. Also it happened from time to time in the World Series. And even in the All-Star Game. At times, the Vice-President would stand in for the President on Opening Day – this actually happened for the first time in 1912, when Vice-President James Sherman filled in for President Taft. Other “Veep’s” to do the honors over the years were Nixon, Humphrey, Agnew, Bush, Quayle, Gore, Cheney, and Biden.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of course was a quadriplegic – which for the most part was unbeknownst to the general public. (On a side note, that’s most definitely NOT something that could be concealed today.) Luckily for FDR however, back then the President threw the first pitch from the stands. In 1940 at Griffith Stadium his pitch hit a Washington Post camera. Five years later President Harry Truman did the honors at the World Series (in DC), becoming the first President to throw the first pitch as a southpaw.

In 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first to throw out a first pitch in Baltimore. He did so at the All-Star game, which that year was held at Memorial Stadium. President Jimmy Carter returned the Presidency to Memorial Stadium in 1979 for the World Series. Presidents Reagan, Bush (41), and Clinton would also visit Baltimore to do these honors, as did Vice-President Dan Quayle. President Lyndon B. Johnson also set a still-standing Presidential record on 1964 in Washington DC. He ate the most hot dogs (4) of any President ever on Opening Day.

Numerous former Presidents have also thrown out first pitches. However President Barrack Obama was the last sitting President to appear in person – this in 2010, at Nationals Park. In commemoration of 100 years since President Taft began the tradition.

And with that said, yes this is an Orioles column. But I would submit that President Biden might consider rekindling the tradition this April at Nationals Park. America’s pastime is baseball. That will always be the case. And again, baseball has a unique relationship with the White House. And I think that the President of the United States should throw out the first ball on Opening Day every year in Washington DC.

Baltimore Orioles: Pitchers & Catchers report today

It begins today for the Baltimore Orioles. For 2023, that is. Pitchers & Catchers are to report to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota no later than today, marking the beginning of Spring Training.

It’ll be interesting to see how camp unforlds for the Birds. What will be the big storyline(s)? How does the starting rotation shake down? Which young players will step up? These and others are all stories that we’ll discuss moving forward.

However for today, the big storyline is that pitchers and catchers are reporting to camp. That’s music to the ears of so many Orioles fans, and baseball fans across the board. It begins today – no turning back!

Baltimore Orioles trade for two pitchers

The Baltimore Orioles finalized a trade this afternoon. The Birds are sending infield prospect Darell Hernaiz to the Oakland Athletics. In return, they’re getting LHP Cole Irvin, and RHP Kyle Virbitsky.

End of the day, these are low-level moves by the Orioles. Hernaiz was the 16th ranked prospect in the Orioles’ farm system. Irvin led the AL in loses with 15 last year, but also started 30 games and pitched to a 3.98 ERA. He pitched to a career-high 128 strikeouts. Virbitsky was drafted in the 17th round in 2021, and is yet to make his big league debut.

It’s unclear how any of this fits into the Orioles’ plans for 2023. However it always helps to have additional pitching in the farm system. More as we hear it.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini to the North Side

Former Baltimore Orioles’ star, Trey Mancini, is headed to the North Side of Chicago. Wrigleyville, to be exact. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand is reporting that Mancini signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, pending a physical.

The Cubs haven’t yet confirmed the deal, however Feinsand is also reporting that it includes an opt-out after 2023. If Mancini wasn’t coming back to Birdland (which was all but guaranteed), this is absolutely a best-case scenario for Orioles fans. Everyone loves the Cubs! It allows O’s fans to pull for Mancini, while for the most part not rooting against the Birds’ interests. The O’s do visit Wrigley Field over the weekend of June 16-18th.

The O’s have also reached deals with all but one arbitration-eligible player. Pitcher’s and catcher’s are due to report to Sarasota on February 15th. So there’s exactly one month left in the current “phase” of the offseason. However workouts and eventually games beginning won’t stop the O’s from signing a free agent in which they’re interested. They’ve always been a force in free agency – late in the hot stove period.

Baltimore Orioles trade for James McCann

The Baltimore Orioles completed a trade late last night with the New York Mets. The Birds will receive veteran catcher James McCann, in exchange for a Player to be named later. New York will also reportedly be paying $19 million of McCann’s guaranteed $24 million salary for the next two years.

McCann’s production in New York wasn’t exactly what they thought they were signing up for. However he was signed to be the starting catcher, and in Baltimore he most certainly will not be. Barring injury, Adley Rutschman is the Birds’ starting catcher for the foreseeable future. So McCann will be a backup catcher for the most part. He’ll also provide a veteran voice in the clubhouse, and a good example for Rutschman going forward.

In short, the Birds are going to be paying $5 million over two years for a backup catcher. That’s not bad. Tyler Nevin was designated for assignment to make space on the roster for McCann.

Baltimore Orioles sign IF/OF Adam Frazier

The Baltimore Orioles have signed IF/OF Adam Frazier to a one-year contract for the 2023 season. The deal is for a reported $8 million – this accoring to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Frazier, 31, is a career .273 hitter. This give the Birds an additional veteran presence on the roster.

Frazier’s primarily a middle infielder, but he’s played in the outfield as well. I suspect that many fans will chide this as just the team being cheap and not wanting to sign top-tier talent. However keep in mind that the current regime has a great track record of plugging average players into the mix and seeing success.

Furthermore, Frazier’s a guy who will bring an aforementioned veteran presence to the team. That means something. The Orioles are still a young team, and that sort of leadership in the clubhouse can be important. Especially considering that the Birds have a young buck named Gunnar Henderson in the pipeline as a future big league middle infielder.

Baltimore Orioles: Election Day

This isn’t about the Baltimore Orioles. At least in truth, it’s not. But today is Election Day in the United States. And this is my Public Service Announcement for people to get out and vote.

Millions of Americans, myself included, have already voted by way of early voting (and mail-in ballots). I always like voting early on Election Day, but for whatever reason I decided to go in two weeks ago and vote in my precinct. I always feel like I’m a part of something grander than just me and my life by casting a ballot.

And that means regardless of what’s on the ballot. The entire U.S House of Representatives, and one third of the U.S. Senate are up for grabs. I remember in my senior High School Civics class my teacher drilled into our minds that all politics is local. It doesn’t matter if your area’s race(‘s) are national or well followed. They all matter. As does your voice. So make it heard.

And look no further than Oriole Park at Camden Yards as evidence of that. Remember the 30-for-30 on the Baltimore Colts Marching Band – The Band That Wouldn’t Die? Remember the scene where the band went down to the statehouse in Annapolis and played the fight song when the General Assembly was voting on stadium funding? It sent a message, right? And a message well-received at that.

But while it’s hinted at in the documentary (which incidentally was incredibly well done), what’s often missed is that this involved the Orioles also. They wanted a new ballpark, and there was resistance in the statehouse to giving funding for new stadiums. This despite the wounds of the Colts leaving town still being fresh.

The image of the Colts band playing the now Ravens fight song put the vote over the top in the way of funding. There were rumors that the O’s would leave also if they didn’t get a new park. That vote may well have kept them in Baltimore.

So again, all politics is local. If you think your voice isn’t important or that your vote doesn’t matter, again look no further than Camden Yards or M & T Bank Stadium to realize that it does. All politics is local. So please folks, regardless of who you vote for or what your views are, make your voice heard. It’s important.

Baltimore Orioles: Honor by virtue of Trey Mancini

The Baltimore Orioles traded Trey Mancini to Houston at the trade deadline. We all know the story, capped off by Mancini hitting a dramatic inside-the-park home run in his final plate appearance in the orange & black at Camden Yards. Trey will always be beloved on the Baltimore sports landscape. And I think that all Orioles fans are thrilled that he’s now a World Series champion.

I would also throw in that I would hope most Orioles fans are happy for Houston manager Dusty Baker. His style and his resume always reminded me of former Orioles manager Buck Showalter. And similarly, he’s one of the game’s good guys and is equally as deserving of being a World Series champion as Trey Mancini. I would also submit that by virtue of winning it all, he’s now a first ballot Hall of Fame manager.

However both Mancini and Baker are now part of a bigger discussion regarding the Houston Astros. Normally I try to stay above the fray in terms of my views on a lot of things. (You might be able to decipher my views if you read hard between the lines, but I digress.) Not in this instance.

The Houston Astros are cheaters. In my mind so long as a core group from their 2017 title run remains in place, there will always be a black mark next to that franchise. Some people will say that’s unfair, but I’m sorry – I don’t think it is.

There’s a certain honor amongst baseball players and within baseball circles. It’s a gentleman’s game. That means that yes, you do everything possible to win. The greatest honor you can show to the game is to win and be successful at playing it.

However the unspoken part of that is that you do everything possible to win…within the rules. It wasn’t just a player or two. It was the entire organization. From the top down. They wanted the glory, and they were willing to cheat the game and it’s fans to get it. That’s not okay.

I’ll grant you that lots of teams probably cheat. Houston just got caught. And yes I’m getting caught, they bear the brunt of the scorn for cheating in general. They’re the unfaithful spouse just wanted a moment of pleasure and stepped out of their marriage for a moment. They’re the sales guy who fudges his numbers to take his bonus home. In short, they reap the rewards but they don’t earn them.

I’m not calling the legitimacy of this year’s World Series title into question. But I’m just saying that this franchise will always raise ab eyebrow as a result of what happened in 2017. They’re the team nobody wanted to see win, because now both they and their fans feel the rest of the world should eat some crow for coming after them so viciously.

Well I have news for them; they SHOULD HAVE been gone after with that fervor. THEY CHEATED. They violated the honor that’s so precious in baseball. So no, they weren’t treated unfairly. It’s fine to celebrate this year’s title – I’m all for that, and they and their fans should do that. But don’t get into the you came after us and we STILL won – egg’s on YOUR face territory. Because the legitimacy of your franchise and the honor therein is still very much in question.

In the middle of this fracas remains Trey Mancini. Again, he’ll always be special to Baltimore fans. There’s nothing that I wrote above which applies to him. Same goes for Dusty Baker. In fact, the one thing they got right was bringing such a respected manager in on the heels of the cheating scandal.

Most fans probably were thrilled seeing Mancini get to win a World Series. He’ll always be an Oriole, and needless to say the Orioles had some representation in the winner’s circle last night. Trey Mancini perhaps helped to purify the Houston Astros – in the eyes of Orioles fans. And there’s no more deserving champion than he.

Baltimore Orioles: Ramon Urias strikes GOLD

The surprises keep on coming for the 2022 Baltimore Orioles. Third baseman Ramon Urias has won the 2022 Rawlings Gold Glove award. The last Oriole to win a Gold Glove was also a third baseman, that being Manny Machado (2015).

Urias only started 98 games at third base this past year, but fielded at a .969 clip. He had 54put out’s and 197 assists. You can look at this as a measuring stick as to how far the organization has come. It means A LOT.

Incidentally, Urias not only joins the aforementioned Manny Machado, but also Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson in terms of royalty at the position. Robinson of course accumulated 16 straight Gold Glove awards for his proficiency at third base. And you can add Ramon Urias to that list now, as he’s won the 2022 Gold Glove award in the American League at third base.