Baltimore Orioles: Some people rock the world

The Baltimore Orioles drafted a pitcher out of Spring Arbor University in 1965 named Don Roth. He was an eighth round draft pick, and never made it out of the minor leagues. An alumnus of George Mason High School in Falls Church, VA, he played in Bluefield, WV, Aberdeen, SD, and Stockton, CA. All of which were Orioles’ farm teams at the time.

Roth also played some outfield, and was a career .951 fielder in the Orioles’ system. As a pitcher he had a 3.45 ERA over three seasons. Over his five seasons in the minor leagues, he was a career .247 hitter.

Roth isn’t unsimilar to a lot of guys who even today never make it out of the minor leagues. He gave it a shot, and unfortunately didn’t make it. But obviously looking at his competition in the Orioles’ system at the time, most guys wouldn’t have made it. But he certainly got further than I and most people reading this would have gotten.

Roth later became the varsity Baseball and Golf coaches at James Madison High School in Vienna, VA. He also taught Phys Ed and Driver’s Education. And it just so happened that in the mid to late 1990’s, a future author of a Baltimore Orioles’ column was attending school there.

Mr. Roth was my P.E. and Driver’s Ed teacher. When I entered his class I knew who he was because he was already a legendary coach at the school. He was kind of an institution in those hallowed halls. What I quickly found out was how nice of a person he was. Anyone who ever came through his class was treated in as honest and genuine a manner as one could possibly be. That always spoke very loudly to me.

Since graduating, I’ve always maintained that my high school was special. And Mr. Roth was one of the people who made Madison special. Certainly his various championships as a coach didn’t hurt. But the care he gave to every student who was privileged to come through his classroom was second to none. It sounds cliche to suggest that a teacher made the content come alive in a sense. But when the content is Phys Ed, it naturally comes alive. However they say you’ll never forget how someone treated you or made you feel in a certain situation. And to this day I’ve never forgotten how Mr. Roth treated my fellow students and I.

His gentle hand was a guiding force during what are shall we say complex years in anyone’s life. Teenage years can be rough. He understood that, and speaking for myself the manner in which he handled his students was always appreciated.

As I said, I knew who he was when I went into his class because he was a Madison legend. What I found out on day one was that he had been an Oriole. Not included in his minor league stats was the fact that he started one spring training game – his only start at the big league level. I remember him telling me that. And if I recall it didn’t exactly go according to plan. But as I’ve written many times in February and March, that’s why those games are played!

I was in his class during the famed Jeffrey Maier incident, when the then-youngster robbed Orioles’ outfielder Tony Tarasco of a ball in right field at Yankee Stadium in the playoffs. I remember stopping by his classroom the next morning, and both of us were fit to be tied. He called it one of the most atrocious things he had ever seen let go in a sporting event. But it doubly hurt him because it hurt his former team. He never forgot that he was an Oriole, and while I haven’t seen or spoken to him in years, I suspect it was a lifelong affiliation.

I came to find out that Don Roth passed away this week. Through the grapevine I had heard he was sick awhile ago. I would simply say that he was one of the most decent gentlemen one would ever have the pleasure of knowing. He retired from teaching soon after I graduated in 1999 as I recall, but I’d still bump into him here and there as a substitute teacher/faculty member given that my sister was still at Madison. I’ll always remember him fondly, and to his family I send my deepest of condolences. Don Roth may have never been a major league ball player, but there’s no question he was a big league guy in the grand scheme of the world. May he forever rest in peace.

Baltimore Orioles lose Frederick

According to MASNsports’ Steve Melewski, the Baltimore Orioles will no longer have the Frederick Keys as their Single-A affiliate starting in 2021. As of now, this will leave the Birds with Aberdeen and Delmarva as their Single-A affiliates. Of course they also have Double-A Bowie, and Triple-A Norfolk. Not to mention the Sarasota Orioles of the Gulf Coast League.

Frederick is expected to join new MLB Draft League, which is a new amateur league starting next summer. They would be the sixth team to join. So the Frederick Keys will exist moving forward, just not affiliated with the O’s. And I for one am happy about that.

Minor league teams are integral to the local economies of their areas. Frederick may not be a huge place, but the Keys are huge there. I know people in Frederick who aren’t necessarily baseball fans. But they love the Keys and they enjoy going to the games.

The Frederick Keys became an Orioles’ affiliate in 1989. It was one of the longest-standing relationships in baseball. It’s been a desirable relationship on both ends. And again, I feel it’s a shame that it’s coming to an end.

Keep in mind, Major League Baseball is trimming the number of minor league teams that are out there. So this isn’t the result of the Orioles or the Keys souring on the relationship. It’s been mutually beneficial. This is an initiative by MLB. And in my view a very poor one. But like it or not, this is apparently what’s happening.

Baltimore Orioles Trade Jose Iglesias

Yesterday the Baltimore Orioles traded SS Jose Iglesias to the Anaheim Angels. The move came as a surprise, seeing that the Birds had re-upped Iglesias for at least another season. In return for Iglesias, the Orioles received RHP’s Garrett Stallings and Jean Pinto.

GM Mike Elias spoke to the local media after consummating the trade, and attested to the importance of getting young talent into the system:

He’s not a player that we would have traded lightly, but we knew there were some open shortstop jobs around the league, we knew he was very attractive for his offensive and defensive and leadership skills that he put on display here with the Orioles. And I think we got two quality arms from the Angels. One of whom, in particular, is somebody that we’ve been focused on since he was in the 2019 draft, Garrett Stallings, one of the best pitchers in the Southeastern Conference that year. Went in the fifth round. We were impressed with him then and while he has not officially played professional baseball because he was shut down after throwing 100 innings at Tennessee, which the Angels do with their draft picks, and then the minor league cancellation is here, we got to scout him in person and also video and data this year through their instructional league. He also appeared briefly at their summer camp when they had some spots open up due to some players leaving camp on their team.

I think it’s another great starting pitching prospect to add to what’s becoming a very impressive stack up in our system. We’re getting all that we can get. I’ve said before that I don’t know that I would trade our starting pitching in the minor leagues right now for anyone else’s and this makes me feel even stronger that that might be the case. So we’re looking forward to working with him. We’re sad to see Iggy go, but this is the business of getting this organization to a long-term period of sustainability.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

What Elias is in effect saying is that the Orioles’ goal in 2021 isn’t so much to win. It’s to continue developing and to get younger. It’s about the future, not 2021. The prospects that the Orioles got in return aren’t top tier prospects per se, but you never know – with any prospect. Stallings was the number 21-ranked prospect in the Anaheim farm system.

I’m sure that different fans will have different opinions on this trade. Personally I believe that you always have to have an eye on the future. The Birds will need to find a new starting SS now, and my prediction is that they look outside the organization for that. Just a prediction – not to be taken as gospel!

Baltimore Orioles avoid arbitration with Pedro Severino

The Baltimore Orioles and catcher Pedro Severino yesterday reached a contract, avoiding arbitration. The Birds will pay Severino $1.825 Million next year. The arbitration deadline was yesterday afternoon.

I’ve long said that salary arbitration is a wasteful and cumbersome process. First off, most teams and players avoid it. Just because the deadline passes doesn’t mean you’re going to arbitration. The deals can still be made, in some cases right up until just before the hearing.

But I say it’s a wasteful process because it can cause bad feelings. The team is literally arguing that the player isn’t worthy of the money the player thinks he is. And the player is arguing that the team is underpaying him. It doesn’t do much in the area of goodwill.

Needless to say, it’s a good thing that they’re avoiding arbitration with Severino. It would be a good thing to avoid it with anyone.

Baltimore Orioles land Miguel Padilla as a PTBNL

You know things are slow with the Baltimore Orioles (and across MLB) when a Player to be Named Later is a story. But it is, because…2020. Nevertheless, the Birds have acquired Miguel Padilla from the Houston Astros as of yesterday.

The Orioles sent pitcher Hector Velazquez to Houston in July for a PTBNL. I suppose that in the grind of the season I forgot about the trade, however normally PTBNL’s are named well before now. Nevertheless, the trade has been finalized.

Padilla pitched in 19 games to a 2.08 ERA in the Dominican League in 2019. Keep in mind these Players to be Named Later are generally low level prospects. But still, it adds a prospect to the Orioles’ farm system. And with the rebuild that’s being undertaken, there’s value in that.

Baltimore Orioles: Happy Veterans Day to all who served

There isn’t much going on in the Baltimore Orioles’ world right now. That seems to be about par for the course across the league. For the most part. But baseball isn’t really to topic du jour.

Today, November 11th, is Veterans Day. So I want to take a moment to thank all who have and currently are serving our nation so bravely and so proudly. America is truly free BECAUSE of the brave. We must never forget that.

Baseball of course has a very deep connection with our Armed Services, with multiple players across various generations having served. And over time, MLB players along with athletes from other sports have joined up with the USO to entertain our brave troops stationed overseas.

So while MLB celebrates dates such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July with day games and hot dogs, I know that teams, fans, and players across the league join me today in offering a debt of gratitude to all of our nation’s brave veterans.

Baltimore Orioles: John Angelos approved as Orioles’ control person

According to an article written by Jeff Baker of the Baltimore Sun, John Angelos was approved recently as the new “control person” for the Baltimore Orioles. In short, this means that he has succeeded his father as the managing partner for the team. On paper his father, Peter Angelos, is still the owner, but he’s the guy in charge.

John and his brother Lou have been in essence running the team for two years while their father’s health has declined. So this was just a matter of housekeeping in a sense. Angelos was approved with 23 of 30 owners voting in his favor.

This would seem to point to the Angelos family’s continued stewardship of the team once Peter Angelos passes away. That’s not set in stone, however it would seem that the league is amenable to that. Again, this was just a formality. But a necessary formality. Hopefully for at least awhile, it closes the book on the franchise’s future in the city of Baltimore.

Baltimore Orioles pick up option on Jose Iglesias

The Baltimore Orioles have picked up their $3.5 million club option on SS Jose Iglesias. This ensures that Iglesias will be on the roster in 2021 – at least to start. He might be traded during the season, of course.

Iglesias of course missed some time with injuries this year, but he hit .373 on the season. The Birds faced a $500,000.00 buyout if they didn’t pick up the option. So it made good business sense.

I think that Iglesias’ continued presence could make some difference. He obviously has a steady glove, and as a veteran he can make a difference in the clubhouse. The O’s are getting even younger with more guys coming up from the minors, and that’s important. His steady hand and his savvy in terms of knowing what to do as a major leaguer could make a world of difference.

Baltimore Orioles: ChiSox look past the nose on their face with Tony LaRussa hire

The Baltimore Orioles will have a new/old face with whom to contend in 2021 when they play the Chicago White Sox. The “southsiders” have just (re) hired Tony LaRussa as their manager. It’s a return to his roots for LaRussa, 76, who’s first managerial job was with the ChiSox. He managed them from 1979-1986.

It was LaRussa’s ChiSox that were defeated by the Birds in the 1983 ALCS. Of course the O’s went onto win the World Series against Philadelphia that year, their third title. LaRussa was fired as Chicago’s manager midway through the 1986 season, and a few weeks later was hired as the manager of the Oakland Athletics. The rest, as they say, is history.

This is obviously a shocking move, and one heck of a splash by the ChiSox. And quite frankly, I applaud them. In a way, it goes against the grain of where people seem to want the sport to go. LaRussa’s certainly one of the greatest managers of all time, however at 76 those days appeared to be in the rearview mirror. It seems that fans and the league alike want both coaches and players to be younger now. To embrace analytics more…

…LaRussa’s obviously an old school coach. He’s the type who may not embrace analytics as much. But his prowess in the dugout can’t be second-guessed. So while the sport as a whole is going in one direction, the ChiSox kind of went back to their roots – in more ways than one. This is a classic case of someone looking past the nose on his face, and again I applaud that.

It’ll be interesting to see how exactly LaRussa handles himself. Because in a case like this (an old, albeit gifted coach returning to the game after an absence), there’s always a question of whether the game’s passed him by. We’ll obviously find out as time goes on next year, but again kudos to the ChiSox for looking past the nose on their face in their managerial search!

Baltimore Orioles: Baseball acumen triumphs in Fall Classic

Baltimore Orioles fans saw a division rival crash and burn in the World Series last night – the Tampa Rays. The sad thing is…it didn’t have to be that way. However manager Kevin Cash put his loyalty to metrics and analytics above sound baseball acumen.

Let me be clear; there’s a place in baseball for analytics. They say that stats don’t lie, and they don’t. However Kevin Cash and his Tampa Rays take it well past an extreme. I’ve said many times when they’ve been playing the Orioles that if there were a stat or a study which said that they had a better shot at recording an out on a given batter with the outfielders dressed as ballerina’s, they’d do it.

My point is this: everything in moderation. And that includes analytics. Last night in a World Series elimination game, Tampa led the LA Dodgers 1-0. (For the sake of clarity, it was an elimination game in the sense that LA needed one more win to clinch a World Series title. Had Tampa won they would have forced a game seven tonight.) Starter Blake Snell appeared to be pitching a gem. He had allowed no runs and a base hit through 5.1 innings (while striking out nine). That’s EXACTLY the type of outing you want from a pitcher in any circumstance, be it an exhibition game or an elimination game.

Snell allowed a second base hit in the last of the sixth inning. A singular base hit – he was otherwise pitching a gem, and LA was having trouble getting guys on base. And Tampa (and Snell) was winning the game. Yet out emerged Kevin Cash from the dugout to change pitchers.

The runner at first later scored on a wild pitch. Los Angeles would then take the lead on a fielder’s choice, and Mookie Betts would smack a solo homer in the eighth as an insurance run. All of that combined gave Dodger Blue it’s first World Series title since 1988.

But make no mistake, the World Series was lost from Tampa’s perspective the moment Kevin Cash left the dugout to remove Blake Snell. There’s no sound baseball logic since the beginning of time which has said you remove your starter in that situation. However apparently the metric said that Snell facing the Los Angeles order a third time (specifically Mookie Betts) around had a higher probability of securing a win than did leaving him in. That’s why the move was made.

And Tampa has a stellar bullpen. However you don’t lift a starter who’s pitching the way Snell was – REGARDLESS of what analytics say. You have to manage the game while having a feel for the game. However that’s just not the way younger managers are doing it. We saw the same thing last year in the World Series when AJ Hinch pitched to the Washington Nationals with first base open. Incidentally, Mookie Betts smacked a double in the at-bat where he otherwise would have faced Snell. The irony.

Again, analytics and metrics do play a role in the game. Odds are they always have to some degree. But to put all of your trust in a computer the way that Kevin Cash did last night, and in the way that countless others do everyday? Too much. As a manager you have to know what to do. There’s no a fan in America who thought Snell should have been pulled last night. Yet the one guy who’s opinion mattered most was the one guy who saw it as a good idea.

After the game Cash tried to defend or at least explain his actions:

We owe it to ourselves to bring it all together and try to make the best decisions. Some of the decisions I’ve made this postseason, they are gut-wrenching. You feel for Blake. What we try to do is put our team in the best position to win. I totally respect any opinion off of that.

The margin of error Blake was pitching with, I felt the different look would be beneficial.

Quote Courtesy of Gabe Lacques, USA Today

Even afterwards, he evasively tried to defend the decision. “Bring it all together and try to make the best decisions,” in essence means I’m using the analytics that are at my disposal. Again, analytics should play a role in all games. But should they take the place of true baseball acumen and feel for the game? The answer to that has to be a resounding NO!

Make no mistake, this will go down as one of the biggest managerial blunders in World Series history. There’s absolutely no question in my mind. And it allows old school guys such as myself the ability to rest easy tonight knowing that these ridiculous new age-type tactics DON’T NECESSARILY WORK.