Every weekday, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.
Question: During the past few weeks, almost everyone within the Orioles’ organization has mentioned how the players are friends with each other on and off the field, and that they care more about the team winning than anything else, including their personal statistics. Is that kind of camaraderie the norm among other MLB teams, or is this Orioles team an outlier? Also, how much has that contributed to the Orioles’ success? From: Rusty Wallace, Annapolis
Answer: Rusty, I think much of the Orioles’ camaraderie has come because so many of the key players —Adley Rutschman, Kyle Bradish, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Westburg, Kyle Stowers and Colton Cowser — came through the minor league system and played with each other, though not all at the same time, in the minor league system.
Clubhouse chemistry is hard to measure, but it seems as if these players do like each other.
Question: As a fan opposed to manual balls-and-strikes decisions, is there any data on the umpire accuracy rates? Is that box on the screen an accurate strike zone? From: John Miller
Answer: John, there is a website on umpire accuracy, umpscorecard.com. While their rankings are interesting, they’re not official statistics, and MLB doesn’t share its information on umpires. The strike zone you see on television isn’t official, but a good estimate.