Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Baseball stars lack in popularity compared to NBA, NFL stars

Baseball stars lack in popularity compared to NBA, NFL stars
Why are stars of Major League Baseball not quite as popular as those of other sports? This was an interesting question discussed in a New York Times story published yesterday with the headline "How Popular is Baseball, Really?" While this article (subscription may be required) points out that baseball blows away the National Football League and National Basketball Association in ticket sales, of course baseball has so many more games in which to sell tickets. The article also notes how well...
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Steve Melewski

Looking at the pitch mix for the World Series teams and the O's

Looking at the pitch mix for the World Series teams and the O's
The World Series teams both have plenty of quality starting pitchers who can throw big-velocity fastballs. They just don't throw them as much as many other teams. For instance, the Houston Astros this year threw the lowest percentage of fastballs of all 30 major league teams at 45.6 percent. This despite the fact that Houston's average velocity of 94.2 mph ranked second in the big leagues, according to FanGraphs stats. As for Washington, the Nationals this season rated 15th in fastball usage...
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Steve Melewski

Looking at 2019 notes on Castro, Villar, Mancini and more

Looking at 2019 notes on Castro, Villar, Mancini and more
The Orioles public relations staff sent out a package of extensive season-ending notes on the club and its players recently. Let's take a look at a few of those notes today. Miguel Castro: His 73 1/3 innings as a reliever ranked as the 10th-most in the American League. He posted a 0.89 ERA when pitching on three or more days of rest. Castro is durable and often available - he threw 86 1/3 innings the year before - but you can't afford to have a reliever who would need that much rest each...
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Steve Melewski

The path to .300: strikeouts down, base hits up

The path to .300: strikeouts down, base hits up
Can a player with a career batting average of .192 coming into the 2019 season hit over .300? Can he do that if he was waived four times between the 2018 and 2019 seasons? If that player is Hanser Alberto, he can. Alberto stunned a lot of people this year when he became the first Oriole to hit .300 or better since 2008. His making the team was a mild surprise since the Orioles designated him for assignment on Feb. 19 and re-signed him on March 1. By the way, Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff both...
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Steve Melewski

Are big changes on the horizon throughout minor league baseball?

Are big changes on the horizon throughout minor league baseball?
The look of affiliated Minor League Baseball could be in for major changes beginning in 2021. Baseball America's J.J. Cooper reported Friday that 42 teams could be eliminated, reducing the number of minor league clubs to 120 starting in 2021. This is a proposal from Major League Baseball in current negotiations with Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as part of a remodeled agreement from the one that ends with the 2020 season. It is a long story, but is filled with details and worth your...
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Steve Melewski

Richie Martin made big improvement in second half; what does that mean for 2020?

Richie Martin made big improvement in second half; what does that mean for 2020?
There was just one position this year where the Orioles used only two players for the entire 2019 season, and that position was shortstop. Rule 5 pick Richie Martin made 90 starts at short and Jonathan Villar made 72. For Martin, that was the third-most shortstop starts by a rookie in Orioles history behind Cal Ripken Jr. with 91 in 1982 and Ron Hansen with 149 in 1960. But the immediate future of the position in Baltimore is uncertain. Villar could be retained, offered arbitration and wind up...
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Steve Melewski

Cedric Mullins' season included slow start, fast finish

Cedric Mullins' season included slow start, fast finish
Things can change fast in a year in baseball. Outfielder Cedric Mullins won the Brooks Robinson Award as the Orioles' 2018 Minor League Player of the Year. Adam Jones moved over to right field that August so that Mullins could take over in center for the parent club. But in 2019 Mullins lasted just 22 games as the O's starter in center, was sent down to Triple-A Norfolk in late April and then was demoted to Double-A Bowie in mid-July. He ended the year playing well for the Baysox, both late...
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Steve Melewski

Which of these players has the most potential?

Which of these players has the most potential?
Today let's take a look at five young Orioles position players. Then give us your take on how much promise and potential they hold for future Orioles teams. Rate these five - listed here alphabetically - on future potential and upside: Hanser Alberto, Austin Hays, Rio Ruiz, Anthony Santander, Dwight Smith Jr. Alberto hit .305 in 139 games and finished eighth in the American League in batting average. It was the 44th time an Orioles player finished at .300 or better, and the first since Nick...
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Steve Melewski

A statistical look at O's pitching in 2019

A statistical look at O's pitching in 2019
Captain Obvious checked in to remind me that the Orioles will need to pitch better in 2020. He said that O's fans have seen 223 losses and a lot of poor pitching over the last two years. The Orioles were last in the American League in ERA, bullpen ERA, homers allowed, first-strike percentage, homers-per-fly-ball ratio and rotation OPS in 2019, to point out a few categories. If you want a stat that is hard to explain, for the second year in a row, the Orioles allowed a lower hard-contact...
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Steve Melewski

After inconsistent 2019, is Mychal Givens' future role in doubt?

After inconsistent 2019, is Mychal Givens' future role in doubt?
He still has the mid-90s fastball that can touch higher. He can still feature an at times devastating slider and solid changeup. He was still tough on right-handed batters this season and had a very strong stretch of games late in the year. But the season didn't end well for O's reliever Mychal Givens. And in 2019, he posted career worsts in ERA, homers, homer rate and Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP). In 2019 he had the second-highest walk rate of his five years in the majors. While O's...
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Steve Melewski

Early offseason edition: "10 questions for O's fans"

Early offseason edition: "10 questions for O's fans"
Welcome in to the first offseason edition of 10 questions. There will be others as we progress into fall and winter. As always, answer all 10 questions, just a few or even just one. Provide short answers or long. Respond to other readers' answers. It's all good and always interesting to check the responses. So here we go. 1) What will the Orioles' record be next year? 2) Who will lead the 2020 Orioles in home runs? 3) Who will lead them in wins? 4) Will the Orioles offer Jonathan Villar...
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Steve Melewski

His prospect status took a hit, but a door is still ajar for Yusniel Diaz

His prospect status took a hit, but a door is still ajar for Yusniel Diaz
It was a year when Orioles minor league outfielder Yusniel Diaz dealt with some injuries and saw his prospect rankings take a hit. But he ended the year hitting well and there is optimism that the key player acquired in the July 2018 Manny Machado deal could still become a key future player for the Orioles. The 23-year-old Cuban-born Diaz was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for $15.5 million in November 2015. A penalty doubled that and the Dodgers' expenditure was $31 million for Diaz. He...
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Steve Melewski

After tough outing, Kershaw shines in postgame interview

After tough outing, Kershaw shines in postgame interview
The Los Angeles Dodgers are becoming a bit of a tortured franchise. They have won seven straight division titles - something incredibly impressive - but they are already out of the 2019 playoffs. They lost Game 5 of the National League Division Series at home to Washington. Since the Dodgers started this run, four different teams have won the American League East title. But just one has won in the National League West. So the heartbreak was big when they blew a 3-0 lead after two innings and a...
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Steve Melewski

The Orioles may be forced to part with Jonathan Villar

The Orioles may be forced to part with Jonathan Villar
It is going to come down to this: Can a team still in the early stages of a rebuild in 2020 afford a $10 million middle infielder? MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday came out with its arbitration projections for this winter, and predicted that the Orioles would have to give Jonathan Villar a salary of $10.4 million for next year, more than doubling his $4.825 million paycheck from this past season. That was a much higher projection than I expected. It surely was a strong year for Villar, who hit...
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Steve Melewski

Three needs for the Orioles, and maybe one more job for Showalter

Three needs for the Orioles, and maybe one more job for Showalter
Former Orioles skipper Buck Showalter's name is coming up for some of the various managerial openings around Major League Baseball. He's been somewhat connected to the openings in San Diego and with the New York Mets. He could be a candidate if there is an opening soon in Philadelphia. Showalter certainly did great things in Baltimore. Ironically, he left the Orioles with an overall losing record at 669-684 (.494). But a lot of that, of course, was due to the last-place finishes in 2017 and...
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Steve Melewski

Has MLB reached the point of too many homers?

Has MLB reached the point of too many homers?
Rather than bore myself with hard-to-follow stories about seams on baseballs, or how they are made or how much or little drag was on the ball in 2019, I just looked at a few numbers, and they led me to a conclusion. Major League Baseball officials need to use a baseball in 2020 that leaves the bat and moves more like a baseball than a Titlelist. Yes, it has gotten ridiculous. Do fans truly like this version of the game? Attendance is down slightly, and many seem to be tiring of a steady stream...
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Steve Melewski

In September, Austin Hays showed his tools and smarts

In September, Austin Hays showed his tools and smarts
His skills were on display on offense and defense often in September, but for center fielder Austin Hays maybe they were never more evident then on the night of Monday, Sept. 23 at Toronto. In a game the Orioles would eventually lose 11-10 in 15 innings, Hays made several strong plays on defense and hit two homers as the team dug out of an early 5-0 hole. According to STATS, LLC., Hays became the first major league rookie to have five or more RBIs, a stolen base and an outfield assist in the...
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Steve Melewski

Remembering two seasons spent working with Andy Etchebarren

Remembering two seasons spent working with Andy Etchebarren
Sometime late in 2003, a mean man decided I should no longer work as sports director at WBAL Radio and that I should exit stage right. So I did, not knowing what might come next. For a few years, it was broadcasting play-by-play on the radio for both the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds and the Florida State Seminoles. I treasure the memories of working for both teams. So it was a bit jarring last night to learn of the passing of former Orioles catcher Andy Etchebarren at 76. Etch was...
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Steve Melewski

A look at season-ending rankings for the O's offense

A look at season-ending rankings for the O's offense
In an entry earlier this week I pointed out that the 2019 Orioles featured a league-average offense in the second half of the season. They hit better as the year went on. Today let's look at Major League Baseball and American League rankings in some stat categories for the entire year. In 2019 the Orioles produced these numbers: * 4.50 runs per game (22nd in MLB, 11th in AL) and MLB average was 4.83.* .246 batting average (tied for 20th in MLB, tied for 12th in AL) and MLB average was .252.*...
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Steve Melewski

Where the O's were ranked in minor league top 20 lists

Where the O's were ranked in minor league top 20 lists
Baseball America has been rolling out its league top 20 prospects lists for each minor league level, and they have completed the four full-season leagues where the Orioles have affiliates. In the Triple-A International League, first baseman/left fielder Ryan Mountcastle of the Norfolk Tides was rated as the No. 7 prospect with pitcher Keegan Akin No. 20. In the Double-A Eastern League, Bowie outfielder Yusniel Diaz was rated No. 14 with pitcher Michael Baumann at No. 15. In the Single-A...
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