Dwight Smith Jr. on the Players League and the boom boom room

Dwight Smith Jr. on the Players League and the boom boom room
No, it was not real baseball on an actual diamond. But the MLB the Show Players League provided a few weeks' worth of entertainment, as all 30 big league teams were represented by one of their players in the three-inning video game contests. Fans could watch live via the Internet and the playoffs were actually televised on ESPN networks and FS1. Tampa Bay and pitcher Blake Snell won in the championship series, three games to none over the Chicago White Sox and pitcher Lucas Giolito. For the...
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Remembering the O's World Series champions (with video)

Remembering the O's World Series champions (with video)
The Orioles' history since their 1954 arrival in Baltimore includes three World Series wins. It also includes three World Series losses. But today, seeking some happy news for a change, we'll focus on the three winners. My colleague, Roch Kubatko and I, got together to tape this video, discuss and even rank those championships. We have unique perspectives because we're both from the Baltimore area and have lived a lot of the history. We were in the stands for some of those games at Memorial...
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From player to coach: Collin Woody makes transition on O's farm

From player to coach: Collin Woody makes transition on O's farm
The day will come for all professional baseball players. Through their choice or a team's decision, their playing days will end. Sooner for some than others. Being told you are not good enough to continue would be not easy for anyone to hear. For 25-year-old Collin Woody, the words came late in spring training in 2019. A 38th-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2016 out of UNC-Greensboro, Woody played from 2016 through 2018. He never hit over .226. He had a 228-game career that reached as high...
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Former Oriole Tyler Wilson ready to go as baseball returns in Korea (with video)

Former Oriole Tyler Wilson ready to go as baseball returns in Korea (with video)
While Major League Baseball hopes to have a season at some point later this year, one pro baseball league will be starting a new season tomorrow. The 10 teams in the Korea Baseball Organization open a 144-game season that will run through Nov. 2. The KBO started with six teams in 1982. The Doosan Bears are the defending league champions and they've won the league in three of the last five years. The league was set to open its season on March 28, but just like with MLB, the KBO ended spring...
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A few questions for O's fans

A few questions for O's fans
So we're down to asking just five questions this time around. And that is fine, a bit less than the usual 10. But for now, we're excluding some of the standard baseball questions about who might start opening day, who may bat leadoff or who may lead the team in home runs. Hopefully, we are getting closer to a time when those questions become more prominent, relevant and of interest to all of us. This is a sort of a baseball shutdown and speculative edition because right now that is dominating...
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The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season

The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season
If there is a baseball season this year, we may still see one major event take place before any games do. That would be the First-Year Player Draft. A draft that was once 50 rounds and then reduced to 40 could be as few as five rounds later this year. It now appears that the draft will start on June 10, the date which was set to begin the draft all along. Previously there were reports the draft could be moved to late June or July. An earlier negotiation between Major League Baseball and the MLB...
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When last we saw baseball, the O's were building a better bullpen

When last we saw baseball, the O's were building a better bullpen
We don't have games to talk about right now, but that doesn't mean we still can't speculate on what the Orioles roster might have looked like had opening day been March 26. How would it have looked at the start of the 2020 season? In earlier postings here I've done my own speculation on what a 26-man roster might have looked like to begin a new season. I've gone over the rotation, the infielders and the outfielders. When baseball shut down in mid-March, the Orioles were putting together...
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Orioles announce refund policy for games impacted by coronavirus

Orioles announce refund policy for games impacted by coronavirus
The Orioles today announced a policy for fans who held tickets to Orioles home games in the 2020 season through May 31. Fans can get a 125 percent ticket credit for any home games through 2022 or can receive a full refund. "We certainly recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has created great hardships for many families and businesses. The Orioles will also offer fans the choice of a full refund for the impacted games, if preferred. Refund requests will be processed within 30 days and must be...
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Checking in with O's prospect Gunnar Henderson (with video)

Checking in with O's prospect Gunnar Henderson (with video)
Like all professional baseball players right now, O's prospect Gunnar Henderson is not playing in any games or getting any needed at-bats. This was slated to be his first full pro season after the Orioles drafted him last June. The O's selected Henderson with the first pick of the second round, No. 42 overall, out of Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala. He was a two-sport star there and was the Player of the Year in the Alabama high school ranks in both basketball and baseball. Henderson said...
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Trey Mancini's update and the latest plan for MLB

Trey Mancini's update and the latest plan for MLB
Trey Mancini has become the leader of the Orioles, a role he embraces and takes very seriously. Recently, he showed us he could even lead from his hospital bed or his couch at home. Mancini updated all of us in an article in The Players' Tribune yesterday. He underwent surgery on March 12 to remove a malignant tumor from his colon and confirmed that he's been undergoing chemotherapy treatments since April 13 that will last for six months. "If baseball returns in 2020, it will probably be...
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Another look at the chances to have a baseball season

Another look at the chances to have a baseball season
The chance that we are going to see something resembling a baseball season in 2020 seems to be getting better. But we still have no idea what that could mean or look like. It seems many plans and options continue to be discussed. Nothing has been settled on. There is nothing that can be settled on at this point. Baseball officials obviously are aware that nothing will happen unless it can be deemed safe for all. At one point we heard about the Arizona plan. Then there was an Arizona/Florida...
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A look at two of the new hitting coaches on O's farm

A look at two of the new hitting coaches on O's farm
Had the baseball season started on time, or whenever it does begin in the minor leagues, the Orioles are excited to see several first-year pro coaches at work. There is a heavy flavor of youth, especially among the organization's hitting coaches. Among the new hitting coaches on the farm as of 2020 are Tim Gibbons at Double-A Bowie, Ryan Fuller at Single-A Delmarva, Anthony Villar at short-season Single-A Aberdeen and Patrick Jones with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles. Tom Eller is...
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Baseball shutdown impacts O's rebuilding efforts

Baseball shutdown impacts O's rebuilding efforts
So the question has now been asked countless times: Does the shutdown of baseball hurt a rebuilding team like the Orioles? An obvious answer is yes, because young players, especially those in the minors, are not getting at-bats or innings right now. They're not working with coaches and gaining information from data and analytics. They are not competing against an opponent and learning how doing the small things right can lead to big wins and big personal gains. The good news is that no team is...
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On the passing of the guy with the blazing fastball who never made it

On the passing of the guy with the blazing fastball who never made it
We don't know for sure, since there were no radar guns at the time, but those that saw lefty Steve Dalkowski pitch have said he threw his fastball well over 100 mph. Maybe 110 mph, maybe even 115 mph. Not kidding. His fastball was legendary. But so was his walk total. Dalkowski, once an Orioles farmhand, died recently at 80. Sadly, he died due to the coronavirus. As a kid, I heard about and read a bit about Dalkowski. He was an O's legend of sorts. One who never threw a pitch in the majors....
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McDonald shares insights on Ripken, Rutschman, broadcasting and more (with video)

McDonald shares insights on Ripken, Rutschman, broadcasting and more (with video)
So I was at it again yesterday, recording another Zoom video interview. That's three now with a few more coming. Hopefully, our readers here are enjoying the interviews and stories. Today's chat, with former Orioles pitcher and current MASN broadcaster Ben McDonald, featured some great insights and stories. Fans have been thrilled to have Big Ben back with the organization the last few years. He and Adley Rutschman are the only two humans on the planet that can say they were drafted No. 1...
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Which player was most important/significant in O's history?

Which player was most important/significant in O's history?
You could argue for hours which Oriole is the best of them all since the team arrived in Baltimore in 1954. Several players should get legit consideration. But for me, and today's blog, I asked myself this question: Who is the most important and significant player in Orioles history? Again, several worthy candidates. But my choice is Frank Robinson. All teams want to be able to make that trade that provides the final piece of the puzzle. To acquire the player that puts them over the...
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Baysox GM on shutdown, the 2015 champs and more (with video)

Baysox GM on shutdown, the 2015 champs and more (with video)
A lot of Orioles fans may not know Brian Shallcross' name. He is the general manager of the Double-A Bowie Baysox. This former William and Mary kicker has been with Bowie since 2003. He's one of the good guys that works hard, most of the time behind the scenes, to keep his organization humming. The Baysox have a first-rate staff and they love their fans and community. I recently chatted via Zoom video with Brian about several topics. At the of the end of this blog, you can click to watch the...
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Notes on a simulation sweep, KBO starting up and more

Notes on a simulation sweep, KBO starting up and more
So much for that. We had a 12th seed over a fifth seed in the opening round of the 32-squad MLB Dream Bracket. The fifth-seeded all-time Orioles were swept in four straight games by the No. 12 all-time Houston Astros. I recently wrote about how this simulation tournament worked here. So in the simulation, a team of Birds that included Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and Jim Palmer didn't win a game. What the heck! They lost to Houston by scores of 9-3, 2-1, 8-3 and...
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Farm instruction during shutdown spans countries, languages

Farm instruction during shutdown spans countries, languages
Recently in this space, I wrote about how the Orioles minor league staff was keeping in touch with farm players, often through Zoom videos. They have been working with and instructing players on a variety of aspects of the game. One of the coaches taking part in the videos is 28-year-old Patrick Jones, one of the organization's first-year coaches. Before the season was put on hold, he would have been working with young players in extended spring training right now and then was set to be...
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How would an all-time Orioles team fare in simulation?

How would an all-time Orioles team fare in simulation?
How would an all-time Orioles team do against all-time teams from the rest of Major League Baseball? We're about to find out through the magic of game simulation. Obviously, they can't actually take the field! MLB, in conjunction with Out of the Park Baseball, on Thursday unveiled the MLB Dream Bracket with the tournament to begin Monday and Tuesday. The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current MLB franchises, as well as teams...
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