Opening Day talk, Holliday’s hit tool, and Hess continues his cancer fight.
Good morning, Birdland!
There remains no movement on the roster front for the Orioles, but at least there’s a little something worth caring about tonight.
At 7 p.m. the Orioles are dropping their team-produced documentary on this past season: “101: The Story of the 2023 Baltimore Orioles”. They released the trailer last week.
If you’re not subscribed to the Orioles’ YouTube page, then you’re missing out. The team puts out all sorts of interesting behind-the-scenes videos, player interviews, and other shenanigans with regularity. Have you ever wanted to watch Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall play Hungry Hungry Hippos? You’re in luck.
It seems like this documentary will be the culmination of all of that work, full of team highlights, talking heads, and little tidbits that we didn’t get to see during the actual season. It has the feel of those ESPN 30-for-30 docs, although those tend to be more journalistic in nature whereas this is likely to be quite a rosy reflection. Kevin Brown is featured in the trailer, so you can bet they won’t be bringing up his weird suspension.
It should be a fun watch regardless. The 2023 Orioles were a really fun team, so it will be neat to have this sort of time capsule to remember them by. But as soon as it’s over I will be right back to scouring MLB Trade Rumors for any potential pitching additions.
Links
Another round of rotation talk and who’d start Opening Day | Roch Kubatko
In the scenario where Kyle Bradish and Dylan Cease are both Orioles, I would start Bradish on Opening Day. My argument is pretty simple: he was the much better pitcher last year. Cease has not established himself as a bonafide ace that gets preference regardless of one season’s worth of stats. He was great in 2022, but that season now looks more like an outlier than the norm for him.
Holliday’s team hit tool drawing rave reviews | MLB.com
In news that will shock absolutely no one, Jackson Holliday is highly regarded around baseball. Should be pretty cool to see him in Baltimore this summer.
Don’t go to sleep on Orioles’ Jorge Mateo just yet | Baltimore Baseball
I really like Jorge Mateo. He is a valuable player in all facets of the game. Just don’t let him face right-handed pitching, and you will probably be fine. Fortunately for the Orioles, they have the ability to move him around to maximize his talents.
David Hess, former Orioles pitcher, enters 2024 with more hope in cancer battle | The Baltimore Banner
This is harrowing feature on what the former O’s pitcher is experiencing, and yet he is staying positive and attempting to live his life through it all. I cannot even imagine the strength it takes.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Rico Garcia turns 30. He pitched in six games for the 2022 Orioles.
- Aríel Miranda is 35 today. His Orioles career spanned one game in 2016 before he was dealt to the Mariners at that season’s deadline in a swap for Wade Miley.
- Rick Bauer celebrates his 47th. From 2001 through 2005, the righty was a bullpen and swingman option on the Orioles staff that threw 240 total innings in that time.
This day in O’s history
19591 – The Orioles send pitchers Curt Schilling and Pete Harnisch plus outfielder Steve Finley to the Astros in exchange for first baseman Glenn Davis.
2000 – After his proposed four-year, $29 million deal with the Orioles gets nixed by owner Peter Angelos due to physical concerns, Aaron Sele signs a two-year, $15 million contract with the Mariners.
2012 – Left-handed pitcher Wei-Yin Chen signs a three-year contract with the Orioles. The Taiwainese southpaw had recently been released by the Chunichi Dragons, and therefore did not have to go through the posting system.