The All-Star Game is tonight, three cheers for Ryan O’Hearn!
Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! We’re in the midst of the All-Star break, four days with no Orioles baseball. How will you spend the time? Reading? TV? Obsessing over the draft?
Tonight is the All-Star Game, featuring Ryan O’Hearn as the starting DH. Even amid this disappointing season, watching O’Hearn has been very fun. It’s a different kind of enjoyment to watch a player who struggled to stay in the majors come around and find success. And he’s not a token, every-team-needs-a-rep player. He’s deserving.
It would be nice if there were more than one Oriole named to the roster, but the third-worst team in the American League doesn’t really deserve more than that. And as Orioles fans, we’re used to having just one representative. Aside from the stretch of good seasons from 2012-16 and the recent success of 2023-24, one O’s rep is the norm.
Hopefully soon, we’ll be back to the days of multiple All-Stars. For one thing, that will mean the team is good. For another, it’s just a whole lot of fun seeing teammates together and happy in a low-stress atmosphere where they get to celebrate each other.
The regular season will be back on Friday with the Orioles on the road against Tampa Bay. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the second half. With this team clearly not headed to the postseason, what does a successful second half look like to you?
I don’t even want to think about possible trades. People like to say that anyone who’s a free agent should be sent packing. I don’t disagree with that in theory, but some of these players I’d be sad to see go. Specifically Cedric Mullins. I also don’t think there is much trade return to be had.
For me, success is the core of this team showing that they still have what it takes. Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, and Coby Mayo are so important to the future of this team. They’ve all shown good things this year, but they also often go quiet offensively when they’re needed most. I know they’re all capable, they just need to put it together. And yes, I’m including Mayo on that list.
Pitching is trickier. I don’t even know what to hope for there. Dean Kremer, Trevor Rogers, and Brandon Young are all under team control next year, but do we honestly think Young should be in the rotation? And do we believe Rogers is really as good as he’s seemed of late? I guess success for pitching the rest of the season is two of those pitchers making a good case for next year.
Links
Orioles’ selections on Day 2 of the draft (updated through 20th round and with quotes) – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko’s post includes quotes from Matt Blood on the results of the draft.
Orioles All-Star Ryan O’Hearn discusses trade speculation – The Baltimore Banner
It kinda stinks for Ryan O’Hearn that he needs to answer questions about being traded during the All Star festivities.
‘Pipe dream’ becomes reality for O’Hearn with All-Star nod – MLB.com
More O’Hearn love.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You are birthday buddies with current Oriole Ramón Laureano. Laureano has been one of the brightest parts of the Orioles’ lineup this year. His .350 OBP is second on the team to All-Star Ryan O’Hearn, and his .517 SLG is tops. He is signed to a one-year contract with a $6.5M option for 2026 that seems like a no-brainer for the Orioles to exercise. Happy 31st birthday, Ramón!
Also celebrating today is James Baldwin (54). Baldwin had an 11-year Major League career, including 2005 with the Orioles.
On this day in 1960, Brooks Robinson went 5-for-5 in an Orioles’ win over the White Sox. Combined with the day before, Robinson was on a run of eight straight hits.
In 1996, Cal Ripken moved to third base after 2,216 consecutive games at shortstop. The move was temporary, as his replacement at shortstop, Manny Alexander, couldn’t cut it.
In 2005, Rafael Palmeiro became the 26th player with 3,000 hits. As we all know, a few weeks later it was discovered Palmeiro tested positive for steroids.