When he stopped switch-hitting, Cedric Mullins started really hitting

When he stopped switch-hitting, Cedric Mullins started really hitting
We didn't know it at the time, but we saw it with our own eyes this year. A player that batted .094 in 2019 and ended the season in Double-A two years ago was one of the best players in baseball. It was an incredible 2021 season for Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins by just about any standard, as he became the first Oriole ever with 30 or more homers and stolen bases in one season. It was a year where he started in the All-Star Game, was unanimously voted Most Valuable Oriole, was named a...
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Looking at a few more free agent starting pitchers

Looking at a few more free agent starting pitchers
Today in this space, we look at a few more free agent starting pitchers. Recently, MLBTradeRumors.com sized up the field and last week we took this look at a few pitchers from the category of older veterans/back-of-the-rotation options. We started in alphabetical order of the 13 pitchers in this grouping and that meant we sized up Brett Anderson, Tyler Anderson and Alex Cobb. Today a look at three more pitchers, two of which we've seen in the American League East and another who spend a lot...
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It's another season without a repeat champion in MLB

It's another season without a repeat champion in MLB
Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter used to say you grind all year to win in Major League Baseball to have the chance to "roll the dice" in October. He essentially meant the best or winningest teams don't always earn the trophy in October. In a short series, anything can happen. This season is another example of that. The Tampa Bay Rays won 100 games to lead all American League teams. They won an AL East that featured four teams with 91 or more wins. But they didn't even make the AL...
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Young players sometimes learned the most when times were rough

Young players sometimes learned the most when times were rough
It has been true in baseball probably for as long as there has been baseball: Players learn as much from their struggles - and maybe more - than they do from their successes. And it has been said that baseball is a game of failure. A good pitcher with an ERA of 3.00 still gives up three earned runs for every nine innings. A .300 hitter still makes an out seven times out of 10. In my coverage of the Orioles minors this year, it stood out that several players I interviewed cited overcoming...
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The pitch mix and the one the O's threw more than any AL team

The pitch mix and the one the O's threw more than any AL team
If we are going to consider and discuss the Orioles' 2021 pitching performance, you know the club will rank at or near the bottom of the American League in many team categories. For instance, they were last in team ERA at 5.84, which was just over a full run per game worse than Minnesota, next at 4.83. But we're not here today to hammer away at some rough pitching stats. Today, I wanted to take a look at the Orioles' 2021 pitch mix. This can be interesting to look at and size up how they...
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Still the O's ace: A look at John Means' strong season

Still the O's ace: A look at John Means' strong season
In 2019, left-hander John Means emerged as a surprising staff ace for the Orioles. No, he was not an ace, meaning a No. 1 pitcher, to rival the very best in the game, but he sure was the Orioles' ace. In 2021, were there still any doubters, Means proved he is still that. Outside of his own won-loss record, Means' stats in 2021 look a lot like his numbers in 2019 with a few improvements. You could look at his year broken into about three different seasons - there was a sizzling hot start to...
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Mancini, Mullins and Mountcastle are MLBPA award finalists

Mancini, Mullins and Mountcastle are MLBPA award finalists
The Orioles have three finalists for the Major League Baseball Players Association's Players Choice Awards, which were announced today. Cedric Mullins and Trey Mancini are finalists, along with Mitch Haniger of Seattle, for the American League Comeback Player Award. Ryan Mountcastle joins Randy Arozarena of Tampa Bay and Adolis García of Texas as finalists for the MLBPA's Outstanding Rookie Award. A year after missing the entire 2020 season after treatment and chemotherapy for cancer,...
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For starters, many of these guys don't pitch a lot of innings

For starters, many of these guys don't pitch a lot of innings
There are 10 teams that have played at least one postseason game this month in the majors. Of those 10, only four have used their starting pitchers more than their bullpen. Only those four - through Tuesday's games - have more innings coming from their starting pitchers. This should no longer be a surprise. The building up of bullpens has been an arms race for years now - the race to get multiple flame-throwers in the mid-to-late innings who blow fastballs by hitters. And when they can't do...
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Never too soon to talk about a few free agent pitchers

Never too soon to talk about a few free agent pitchers
Well, it is almost that time of the year. The time when baseball free agents are able to sign with any team and the hot stove season truly starts to heat up. We are not quite there yet, and most winters, things start slowly and this year should be no different. Especially with the uncertainly over the collective bargaining agreement. MLBTradeRumors.com listed several categories of free agent starting pitchers this week. And, while we don't expect the Orioles to be diving into the deep end of...
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Random stats and notes from the 2021 season

Random stats and notes from the 2021 season
When it comes to team fielding percentage, the 2021 Orioles ranked among the American League leaders. In fact, at .9869, the Orioles recorded the third-best fielding percentage in the AL and were sixth-best in the majors. This is among a host of stats and notes in the team's 2021 season summary produced by the Orioles public relations department that the media recently received. Houston rated first in the AL in fielding percentage and Oakland was second. In some other numbers, the Orioles were...
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This O's late-season addition put his best foot forward

This O's late-season addition put his best foot forward
If the Orioles want to make big improvement next year, maybe they need right-hander Chris Ellis to make every start he possibly can. Acquired by the club on Aug. 20 on waivers from Tampa Bay, Ellis went 0-0, but posted a 2.49 ERA for the Orioles in six games. Over 25 1/3 innings, he yielded 18 hits, including three homers, with 13 walks and 16 strikeouts. He recorded a WHIP of 1.224, allowing 6.4 hits per nine, with 4.6 walks and 5.7 strikeouts. He made six starts for the club and the Orioles...
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A few questions for O's fans

A few questions for O's fans
The playoffs are now well underway, but the hot stove season has not yet begun. The work to get a new collective bargaining agreement is a cloud over the sport right now with a lot of us hoping against any work stoppage. The rancor of the players and owners as they negotiated how to play the shortened 2020 season was terrible for the sport. But let's not spend time worrying about that today and instead invest some time for you to answer a few questions. My 10 questions format is changing to...
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O's brass still hopeful for the young pitchers

O's brass still hopeful for the young pitchers
It can be easy to look at some of the Orioles' young pitchers and their stats in the 2021 season and feel the odds are long against them helping the club much in the future. This would represent a rush to judgment, however. And the team's front office has likely not made such judgments, and their opinions count the most. Pitchers like lefty Keegan Akin and right-hander Dean Kremer ended 2020 looking decent and maybe ready for the majors. This past season was a very different story. Let's...
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On O's podcast, Elias talks CBA, Rule 5 and more

On O's podcast, Elias talks CBA, Rule 5 and more
The process of identifying players the Orioles could acquire for the 2022 season has begun. Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias discussed that and much more recently on the "Inside the Yard" O's podcast with hosts Geoff Arnold and Brett Hollander. Elias and all executives throughout Major League Baseball are awaiting the results of the collective bargaining talks between the sports' players and owners. A new collective bargaining agreement could be in place...
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Prospect check-in: Robert Neustrom on his big 2021 season

Prospect check-in: Robert Neustrom on his big 2021 season
It could not have been easy to do, but in 2021, on the way to a breakout season, Orioles outfield prospect Robert Neustrom made some in-season swing adjustments. Adjustments that took his offense to a higher level as he ended the year among the top hitters on the O's farm. But at the end of May while with Double-A Bowie, he had an OPS of .608 with one homer. It was then that he and Baysox hitting coach Ryan Fuller went to work. He was a power hitter putting the ball on the ground way too much....
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Birdland hopeful that wins start trending up next season

Birdland hopeful that wins start trending up next season
Maybe it is a real thing about baseball fans, particularly Orioles fans. Can there be rebuilding fatigue? Can the losses mount so much that fans just get worn out by rebuilding? And while they may understand it is needed and could very well lead to better days, the patience to get to those better days starts to wear thin? It is probably only natural. But Orioles fans are a pretty loyal group. We see that in so many coming to this website day after day after day. Fans still watching and...
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After big '21 season, Kyle Stowers heads to AFL

After big '21 season, Kyle Stowers heads to AFL
"Stowers Power" was indeed a thing on the Orioles farm in 2021. Lefty-hitting Kyle Stowers led all O's minor league players in homers and RBIs, and was third among full-season players in OPS. It was a breakout year for the corner outfielder who turns 24 in January. Tomorrow, he will join seven other O's players on the Mesa Solar Sox when the Arizona Fall League season begins. Stowers and Adley Rutschman were co-winners of the Brooks Robinson Award as the Orioles' Minor League Player of the...
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Austin Hays stated his case in 2021

Austin Hays stated his case in 2021
When the Orioles and their fans think about some of the young hitters in their lineup producing in the future, as they did in 2021, Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle immediately come to mind. But outfielder Austin Hays should be in that mix, too. And long-term, he might prove to be the best player of this group. He is certainly toolsy, as a scout might say. He's got plenty of ways to beat you. With his bat and power. With his glove, arm and speed. Yep, plenty of tools. O's fans first got a...
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Colton Cowser posted .982 OPS in first pro season

Colton Cowser posted .982 OPS in first pro season
While the Orioles were encouraged by the performance of several hitters in their minor league system, especially players at higher levels who had big years, including Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers and Jordan Westburg, the group coming behind this group also made its mark during the 2021 season. We are talking mostly about the 2021 draft class headed by outfielder Colton Cowser, selected No. 5 overall in round one in July out of Sam Houston State. Most of the draft picks got their feet wet in...
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It's a special anniversary in Birdland

It's a special anniversary in Birdland
It happened 55 years ago today at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 to complete a four-game World Series sweep built on stunning pitching. The Orioles used just three starters and four pitchers total in the entire series to vanquish the National League champions, who were led by ace pitchers Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. But it was the Baltimore quartet of Dave McNally, Moe Drabowsky, Wally Bunker and Jim Palmer that pitched the Orioles to the first of...
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