One particularly cruel thing about the timing of John Means’s UCL injury two years ago is that it robbed him of the opportunity to be a part of both the team’s reversal in fortunes from June onwards in the 2022 season, as well as the chance to be a part of the great 101-win Orioles of 2023 except for a handful of September starts.
Means was a fantastic pitcher through the dark years, including his incredible individual achievement of throwing the no-hitter three years ago. That year, Means starts were one of the few things to look forward to on a regular basis about the team. It was natural to latch onto him as a highlight, and to come up with puns involving his name. John Means what? The answer was John Means Business. There was even a bobblehead giveaway and everything.
Our friends at BreakingT came out with a great John Means shirt during that 2021 season, and now that he’s back, it’s just as great. The year may have changed, but John still Means Business. This MLBPA-licensed shirt is available in adult sizes small through 3XL as both a t-shirt and a hoodie, and the same with youth sizes small to large. You can just tell everyone you’ve had it all along. How are they going to know?
BreakingT’s shirts are usually available in the team store at Camden Yards, but they’re going to cost you more there, even if you count shipping. If you like the look of any of these designs, either old or new for 2024, get them cheaper here and support your hard-working Camden Chat site manager – which is to say, me – in the process. Thank you for your consideration.
Fresh for this season is a design that shows some love to the new Orioles homer hydration station. We’ve gotten to see it in action in its maximum glory, with four guys taking a drink from four different hoses after a grand slam, and it’s great. The O’s took last year’s water celebrations to another level this season.
Maybe you don’t feel like explaining the whole origin of the hydration station to the non-Orioles fans in your life. As a habitual avoider of conversations that seem like they might be awkward, I get it. More straightforward is this 2024 edition of the Birdland acrostic shirt, including player names we’ll hopefully see doing good things all year:
You can check out the full collection of BreakingT Orioles merch here to see if inspiration strikes you with any design, whether it’s old or new.