During the Orioles’ rebuild, “John Means Day” came to be in recognition of the only games fans actually felt Baltimore could win. Tuesday night, the first such celebration in almost 17 months, instead offered an occasion to recognize how much has changed in that time.
In his first start since April 13, 2022, Means — the 30-year-old left-hander who was comfortably the Orioles’ top starter during their lean seasons — allowed three runs over five innings in his long-awaited return from Tommy John elbow reconstruction. Although the performance came in a series-tying loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, such outcomes have become uncommon for Baltimore, rather than expected.
“I don’t really believe in moral victories, to be honest with you,” Means said after his outing. “I wanted to get the win today. … But it is fun to play for a winning club and be in this clubhouse and be a part of this team.”
Last season, having made his second straight opening day start for Baltimore, Means unexpectedly exited his next outing after four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. That eventual loss in that night’s game made the Orioles 132-258 since the start of 2019, the season that Means, in his view, was the last player to crack their opening day roster, only to end up as an All-Star and the runner-up for American League Rookie of the Year.
At the time, losing Means seemed to doom Baltimore to another season as one of baseball’s worst teams. Instead, his absence made what the club achieved all the more impressive.
He left behind what manager Brandon Hyde called “a team that had never won before.” But somehow, it won without him. Between the start Means left with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and Tuesday’s comeback, the Orioles went 173-126, a 94-win pace. They ended last season as the best American League team to miss the playoffs. They’re days from possibly becoming the first AL team to clinch a spot in 2023.
“We really truly do believe that we’re going to win every game when we show up to the park,” said left fielder Austin Hays, one of three players in Tuesday’s lineup who endured the rebuild with Means. “No matter what the last week’s looked like, what the last game looked like, when we walk through the doors, we really think we’re going to win every game.”
The same feeling, Hays said, emanated on the days Means started, even as the Orioles were outmatched most other nights.
“He was the leader, the guy that you knew was going to give you the best chance every fifth day,” Hays said.
Means’ injury meant he did not get to be a formal part of the turnaround, though he regularly made appearances in the Orioles’ clubhouse throughout his rehab. When around the team, he often spoke of his desire to contribute to what’s come without him.
He is among a handful of Orioles whose Baltimore career has spanned the organization’s rebuild. The roster now is littered with the young players acquired from it. Adley Rutschman, 2019′s No. 1 overall draft pick who made his debut less than a month after Means’ surgery, wasn’t behind the plate to catch him Tuesday, but he’s bound to be at some point. Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg, Baltimore’s second selections in the respective 2019 and 2020 drafts, manned the left side of the infield behind Means. Even without All-Star closer Félix Bautista — perhaps himself heading toward Tommy John surgery — the relievers backing Means are far more talented than their predecessors; only two members of Baltimore’s bullpen shared a roster with Means before Tuesday, and one of them, Jorge López, had stints with two other teams between Means’ exit and return.
“A lot has happened since he walked off the mound here in April of 2022,” executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said. “A lot’s happened for us. A lot has happened for him. I think it’s been tough for him to see the team turn the corner and be on the sidelines. I know he’s really itching to come help.”
The rotation Means returns to is far different from the ones he shepherded. From 2019 to 2021, Orioles starters other than Means had a 6.10 ERA while allowing 1.96 home runs per nine innings, a metric in which no other club’s rotation exceeded 1.61. He joins a group that entered Tuesday with a modest 4.41 ERA, carried by its youth in recent weeks.
Only right-hander Dean Kremer has previously shared a rotation with Means, getting battered early in the 2021 campaign when Means was perhaps at his most dominant, throwing a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners amid posting a 1.79 ERA in his first 10 starts. Over the past two seasons, Kremer has established himself as generally dependable, joining Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez to form a trio of young right-handers poised to lead the Orioles’ rotation come October.
Means, too, is a candidate for such status, though Elias was clear Monday that the organization recognizes what it’s asking of him: to return from a major surgery as a starting pitcher amid a pennant race. Hyde couldn’t think of another pitcher who has done what Means is doing, but teammates know what he can provide.
“He’s always been a competitor,” said center fielder Cedric Mullins, who like Means was the All-Star representative for a bad Orioles team. “Day in, day out, every time he starts, expecting great things out of him. Now, it’s no different. I think the expectation kind of stays the same, and I think he has higher expectations for himself.
“He always gives us a chance.”
During Means’ time as Baltimore’s ace, this part of the season was largely irrelevant. Tuesday’s outcome aside, he could prove to be the most significant midseason addition for a team holding a three-game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. He said he spent his absence mentally preparing for this time of year.
“I’ve had a lot of time to try and work on that over the past couple seasons,” Means said.
The veterans of Baltimore’s six-man rotation, Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty, have struggled to be consistent, and that trait alone — one that largely defined his pre-injury tenure — could be enough for Means to ensure himself a place in the Orioles’ postseason rotation.
For now, he’s in the regular-season version. After almost a year and a half, that’s worth celebrating.
Cardinals at Orioles
Wednesday, 6:35 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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