For much of the past half decade, sparse crowds greeted Orioles baseball as the team weathered a rebuild. Several sections in the left field upper deck at Camden Yards were usually closed to fans and entirely vacant — a green eyesore bereft of orange-clad supporters.
Only the very committed regularly attended: In 2018, and then again in , the team set low marks for attendance at a single open-admission game at Oriole Park. But the crowds have returned this year as the Orioles are in the midst of their best season in years and, by some measures, decades. Soon, fans will fill those upper deck seats — and everywhere else in the ballpark — as Baltimore hosts in early October its .
Some Baltimore-area residents who have tuned the ballclub out during a long, but productive, rebuild, might need an introduction to these . Let slugging, switch-hitting outfielder Anthony Santander provide one.
“I would say we are very competitive and we just never give up,” Santander said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “We don’t pay attention to the outside noise. All we care about is each other and the people in this clubhouse.”
How good are the Orioles?
After several dismal years, the Orioles had a surprisingly strong 2022 campaign, but most projections expected them to regress in 2023, not improve. Sportsbooks predicted they’d win about 77 games — a mark they ended up reaching Aug. 20, six weeks before the season’s end.
Baltimore, 100-59 through Thursday night, now has the second-best record in MLB, trailing only the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves, and the best mark in the American League. The Orioles have a winning record against the AL East, the AL Central, the AL West and the National League as a whole. They have a winning record at home, a winning record on the road, a winning record in extra-inning games, in one-run games, and in just about any other possible breakdown.
When the season began, the Orioles’ odds to be crowned MLB champions were +3500, according to BetMGM. Those odds have now shrunk to +600. Several sportsbooks consider them now to be the team third-most likely to win the World Series.
The team’s rise and sustained success this year has been built not on massive winning streaks, but more so on avoiding losing skids. The Orioles have not been swept all season and, in fact, have not been swept in 91 series dating back to last year. That’s the longest MLB streak in more than 75 years.
“Just the resilience of this team,” backup catcher James McCann said when asked what casual fans should know about these Orioles. “Guys don’t give up, it doesn’t matter the score of the game, it doesn’t matter who we’re facing, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, you’re going to get the same effort, the same team each and every night.”
Who are the Orioles’ best players?
There has not been a single player who has spurred Baltimore to success this year. In fact, of the top 25 hitters in MLB, based upon on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS), none are Orioles.
But the team’s depth and propensity to win close games has propelled it to the playoffs.
They’re led mostly by young players. The team’s top two picks in the 2019 MLB draft — second-year catcher Adley Rutschman and rookie Gunnar Henderson — have become the faces of the team and the cornerstones for at least the next few years.
Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick as the Orioles began their rebuild, has lived up to expectations and this year by displaying his power from both sides of the plate.
Despite a slow start, Henderson has been the team’s top hitter statistically. The 22-year-old is expected to become the first Oriole since 1989 to win honors. Other young players, like 2020 draft picks and Jordan Westburg, have debuted and impressed this season.
Baltimore’s best pitcher this year has been , a player acquired by the Orioles in a 2019 trade who has blossomed into an ace. Dean Kremer, another pitcher the Orioles acquired in exchange for a veteran player during the rebuilding years, has also been key, as has flame-throwing rookie . Although he struggled early this year, Rodriguez, 23, figures to be integral to the postseason rotation.
Anchoring the team are players who have been with the Orioles for years, including starting outfielders Santander, Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays. Those three, plus first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, have been in the organization since 2017 and formed the core of the rebuild. Now, they’re enjoying the fruits of their labor.
Then, there are the veterans who have been brought in on short-term deals. Former New York Yankee Aaron Hicks has been a productive pickup, has provided clutch hits, Ryan O’Hearn is having the best year of his career and 35-year-old starting pitcher Kyle Gibson — the highest-paid Oriole at $10 million a year — leads the team in innings pitched.
Asked recently what a bandwagon fan might need to know about this Orioles team, Baltimore’s elder statesman thought back on the club’s history.
“Obviously, the Orioles have a lot of history with just really good teams and really good players and hard-nosed, grinding, grit-it-out players,” Gibson said. “And I think this is a nice tribute to those old-school teams. I think we have a well-rounded team. We steal bases, we play really good defense, we have a really good bullpen and we have really consistent starting pitching.”
If a baseball fan tunes in to the Orioles now, “they’re gonna like how we play,” Gibson said.
“They’re gonna see clean baseball and they’re going to see a lot of young guys out there playing hard,” he said.
What will it take for the Orioles to go on a postseason run?
There remain question marks, of course. The bulk of the roster has never played in a playoff game and the Orioles will need to continue their consistent dominance into October, a challenging task.
John Means, an All-Star for the Orioles in 2019 and the team’s best pitcher for the bulk of the rebuild, missed most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons as he recovered from Tommy John elbow reconstruction. But his return in early September could be key as the pitching staff prepares for the playoffs.
Means’ return has been extra timely, given that the team’s biggest midseason acquisition, starting pitcher , has disappointed since he arrived in early August. He’s been relocated to the bullpen, which has been without one of the Orioles’ most valuable players: has been sidelined with an elbow injury since late August.
Yennier Canó, a reliever acquired last year who, like Bautista, made this year’s All-Star team, has been a suitable substitute for Bautista in the bullpen. But should Bautista be able to pitch in the playoffs, it would provide substance — he’s one of MLB’s best relievers — and spectacle: When the 6-foot-8 Bautista enters games, Oriole Park displays a light show as “Omar’s whistle,” from the TV show “The Wire,” blares.
What’s with the water?
The home run chains and pies-in-the-face of yesteryear have been replaced with water celebrations.
When an Oriole hits a single, he mimes turning on a faucet; when a double is hit, the player does a “sprinkler” dance while those in the dugout squirt water out of their mouths onto the field; when a player hits a home run, he drinks from a “homer hose” — the same vessel that players chugged beers out of after they .
Fans also participate. The in left field gets sprayed with water after especially exciting Orioles plays. This year, Orioles legend Adam Jones and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore have participated in the festivities.
Pitcher Cole Irvin, who has spent much of this season with the Orioles but was recently sent to Triple-A Norfolk, was one of the masterminds behind the splashy celebrations.
“I think for the casual fan that might not know what we do, there’s a lot of waterworks going on,” he said. “So water celebrations, you can expect, just us having a good time and being kids in the dugout with their best friends.”
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