Tag Archives: Cedric Mullins

Baltimore Orioles’ Cedric Mullins smacks first big league homer in win

Today was an all-around good day for the Baltimore Orioles. First and foremost they defeated the Cleveland Indians. However the Orioles and Orioles fans also got to see center fielder Cedric Mullins smack his first major league home run in the game. Not only that, but it came at a clutch moment.

Not to be overshadowed, Alex Cobb pitched a masterful outing this afternoon; his first complete game in five years. Cobb’s line: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 K. I admittedly thought that Cobb should have been lifted for the ninth inning. However Buck Showalter knows better than I. And in the end if the result means anything, it was the right thing to do  – leaving him out there, that is.

The Orioles threatened in the third with a couple of runners on base and Jonathan Villar coming to the plate. And Villar gave the Birds a lead they would never surrender with a three-run home run. And save for the sixth inning, Cobb and the Orioles’ defense didn’t appear poised to let Cleveland back in the game. In that sixth inning Cleveland posted an RBI-single by Lindor, and a sac fly-RBI by Brantley.

That made things much tighter than they were at 3-0. However as I said, Mullins’ first big league homer came at a clutch point in the game. He hit it in the eighth on what looked at first to be a pop fly to right field. But it carried all the way out, giving the Orioles a very important insurance run, and an eventual 4-2 victory.

That’s a moment that Cedric Mullins and his family will remember forever. There are certain moments for a ballplayer that always stand out, regardless of how far he goes in his career. Whether you’re a player who fizzled out after just a few years or a Hall of Famer, you always remember your debut, your first big league hit, and your first big league home run. And/or first big league strikeout for a pitcher. So for Mullins, today is very much a historic day and moment.

And he got some very sage advice yesterday from one of the best hitters of his generation, former Cleveland Indian Kenny Lofton. When asked what Lofton told him, Mullins replied (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Just to stay in my game. To self-evaluate myself and just understand what my role is, what my goal is.

I always thought of Lofton as a very gracious player during his career. But it was truly a touch of class for him to go into the visitors’ clubhouse and talk to a young player like Cedric Mullins – one that was about to play against his former team. But I can’t say it totally surprises me, because Lofton was always and still is a class act.

The O’s will have a shot at a series victory tomorrow in the finale at Progressive Field. Yefry Ramirez gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Mike Clevinger. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Cedric Mullins’ debut comes in a donnybrook loss

You knew that something was different for the Baltimore Orioles when Cedric Mullins was prompted to lead the team out of the dugout before the game. Mullins, who made his major league debut last night, played center field and was prompted by the Birds’ new right fielder (Adam Jones) to lead the team onto the field. Indeed, a new era has dawned in Birdland.

And much of it was orchestrated by Jones, who’s been lobbying for Mullins to come up for some time. And it’s tough to not notice the humility on Jones’ part, in effect stepping aside for a younger player. Jones is obviously still the team leader and de facto Captain, but needless to say Mullins is going to hopefully play that role moving forward in the future.

As for the game – well, it had its moments. Dylan Bundy got bounced around during his outing, but then again pretty much every pitcher (on both sides) did. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 8 R (7 earned), 4 BB, 3 K. Bundy gave up a three-run homer to Bogaerts in the first, which set the tone.

But the O’s got a solo homer by Chris Davis in the last of the second, and Mullins later came to the plate for his first big league at-bat in that inning with runners at first and second. And Mullins made an immediate impression, smacking a two-RBI double which tied the game. Later in the inning it was Jones’ turn, and not to be totally out-done by Mullins he smacked a two-RBI single. At the hands of the Captain and perhaps the Captain of the future, the O’s had the lead at 4-3.

And they added to it in the third, ending that inning with an 8-3 lead and chasing the Boston starter. However Boston’s the best team in baseball right now. A two-run fourth inning followed by a six-run sixth gave them an 11-8 lead. Again folks, that’s all part of rebuilding. It isn’t pretty, but it’s part of the process. and it isn’t like the ball wasn’t flying in general last night.

However the Orioles did battle back. Tim Beckham smacked a solo homer in the last of the sixth, and Davis added a sac fly-RBI. The O’s would also net a homer from Trumbo later in the game, and an RBI-single by Villar. However Boston poured it on from all sides, and the Birds fell 19-12 in Cedric Mullins’ big league debut.

And that right there is what Orioles’ fans should take away from this game. Mullins made it to the big leagues, and made an immediate impact. And that was manager Buck Showalter‘s take on the game also (all quotes courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Oh yeah, that was fun to watch. I’m glad I had a seat for it. I spent a little time with Al Bumbry today. He was my player comp on Cedric the first time I saw Cedric, so I thought that was kind of apropos. Same kind of life to the body and effortless athleticism, so to speak.

That’s fun to watch. You can imagine, his family made it. Try to take stuff like that in regardless of the score of the game.

And incidentally, Mullins seems well aware of how lucky he is to have a guy like Adam Jones not only mentoring him, but seemingly advocating for him. In the business world we would call what Jones is in effect doing training your replacement. But sports is a little different, and Jones gets that – BIG TIME. Mullins thought he was kidding when Jones told him to lead the team out of the dugout:

In all honesty, I thought he was messing with me. I was looking around, ‘So is the pitcher good? All right?’ And all the players were saying, ‘Hey go, you’re leading it.’ So I took their word for it. And went out on the field. And then I took the scenic route. The long way around.

Most Orioles fans are hoping that the combo of Mullins in center and Jones in right will be around for at least the next couple of years. But that’s largely contingent on Jones and the Orioles, and whether there’s a mutual fit moving forward. My personal opinion is that there is.

The series continues this afternoon in game one of a split doubleheader (due to a rainout last month). Jimmy Yacabonis is being called up from the minors to make the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s David Price. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Why keep talent in the minors?

The Baltimore Orioles do in fact have several players in the minor leagues who are beating down the door to come to the big leagues – namely, Cedric Mullins. His name’s been thrown around various outlets for quite some time, and it in fact does appear that he’s ready. So why not bring him and others up to the majors?

It’s all but a foregone conclusion that at some point the Orioles are going to get younger this year. What’s unclear is which veteran players will stay and which will go. That depends largely on the return that the Orioles are able to get on the Machado’s of the world. It’s been reported in the national media that the Orioles have been much more engaged in trade discussions this time around than in the past. The question is whether or not that’s a good or bad thing.

It can’t truly be a bad thing – per se. However it could be that they’re just more attentive this time around, OR it could mean that they’re desperate to strike deals. And if that’s the case, other teams indubitably know that. Which puts those other teams in more of a position of power in wheeling and dealing. In their minds, they can probably get someone for cheaper in a sense.

That aside, I suspect that once cards start being played and trade pieces falling into place, we’ll see Mullins and perhaps others in the big leagues. Ideally the Orioles are going to want big league-ready talent for some of the players who are going to be traded. So if they can unload someone and in theory get his replacement back in a trade right away, that’s a plus for the Birds.

The idea thus being that when the “newbies” start showing up, someone like a Cedric Mullins gets his call to the big leagues at the same time. Then you’re in theory bringing all of these guys along at the same time. It’s called team-building.