Fourteen years ago (1998), I was about to begin kindergarten; the only things I focused on was Lego’s and Star Wars. Baseball was just beginning to become part of my life and as far as I was concerned the Baltimore Orioles was just the name of my six under little league baseball team. When I began to take interest to the actual team, it unfortunately came at the beginning of the longest losing season streak in Orioles history.
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My first Orioles game was on my fifth birthday; they took on the last place Tampa Bay Devil Rays (Yes, the Rays were once a franchise in worse shape than Baltimore). They ended up winning that game, 5-2, off a B.J. Surhoff three run home run; that was the moment when I truly became a fan. As I grew up, playing baseball, I came to understand how bad the Orioles were; honestly the only benefit to them sucking was the cheap seats and small crowds at the games. But I continued to be a fan; I adopted the Phillies to support my brothers during their recent surge and World Series ring. But I grew up here and the O’s were my team no matter how bad they were.
I can remember players like Javy Lopez, Rafael Palmerio, Adam Loewen, Sidney Ponson and Daniel Cabrera giving us hope to emerge and break out of the their years of ineptitude. Sadly this never happened; in 2005 the addition of Miguel Tejada seemed to be paying off as the O’s were in contention going into All Star Break. That of course led to one of the worst collapses in not only team, but MLB history, as they finished in fourth 14 games under .500. I then dealt with a decade of washed up veteran player signings, failed draft picks, disappointing trades and a small army of new coaches.
All of these factors made most of you give up on the team once July came around and rightfully so; they always seemed to lose momentum and begin the march to the cellar of the AL East around that time. But as most of you wallowed in self-pity, my love for them grew stronger. At 14 my parents started letting me go to games by myself and I took full advantage of it, heading to 20 to 30 games a season. But as my faith grew stronger by the hiring of Buck Showalter and a stronger farm system, most of my friends still believed they would fall apart in the end; they were always right. This year we made the same bet; how many games they would win. I was the winner with the closest number, picking them to win 86 games and a winning season. This wasn’t a blind faith guess; if you look at Showalter’s teams, it takes them about two seasons to get on track. My belief was this would be the year for much improvement; in the back of my mind I still had a lot of doubt for their success.
Despite everyone’s questions, even my own, this team has played beyond expectations with 53 players having made a contribution to the major league club. This season means so much more than just the reemergence of a great franchise; it honestly gives the people of Baltimore hope. We can sit back and watch a team that is the ultimate underdog go out and win games no matter who is in the lineup, who is in the rotation, or who is on the DL. It’s something we as fans should hold onto because in a world with so much bad in it, this can be your escape from it all for just a couple hours.
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The players themselves truly care about bringing a championship back to Baltimore. How many of you saw CC break Nick Markakis thumb and as he went back to the dugout with tears in his eyes, gave Showalter a hug knowing his season was done. That raw emotion shows you just how much this season means, especially to a guy who has never been on a winning club but has stuck it out with the organization waiting for this moment. This is how baseball has always been for me, whether I’m playing coaching or watching, and hopefully it can be for you fans too.
Just think the Orioles almost took the division from the Yankees this season, which is an accomplishment all by its self. But you can go on about how astonishing this season has been; 16 extra innings wins in a row, 73-0 after leading in the 7th inning, 29-9 in one run games and 178 roster moves. Not only have they taken the hardest path to win but they have shown us that they will be relentless in their pursuit for victory.
