Following up on last night's playoff clincher

NEW YORK – Because the Orioles were put in a strange position of needing assistance to clinch a postseason berth, or maybe they stumbled into it, the anticipated intensity level of their eventual celebration was hard to measure.

Would they really go all out with the full plastic-covered, cork-poppin’ craziness like in 2023? And how would that work if their game finished but a winner wasn’t determined in other cities that impacted them?

Plastic goes up and is quickly torn down if done prematurely, like it never happened. Or don’t bother with it and just do a private champagne toast, which became one of those silly rumors that went flat.

Of course they were gonna go wild. Wouldn’t you after dealing with so many injuries and frustrating losses that turned you into a sub-.500 team in the second half?

The Orioles took care of their own business last night with a 5-3 win over the Yankees, knew that the Royals won in 10 innings in D.C. and waited for the last three outs in Minnesota. The Marlins needed to beat the Twins and that game was in the bottom of the ninth as the Orioles filed off the field at Yankee Stadium.

I’ve experienced some odd moments covering this team, including players finding out that they clinched in 2012 while flying to Tampa. The last few days go down in the memory book, tracking multiple games at once that influenced the Orioles, filing a story last night immediately after they won but not knowing that they qualified for at least a Wild Card until manager Brandon Hyde was in the middle of his media scrum in the hallway outside the clubhouse.

Hyde was told that the Orioles clinched and he’d be made available later. He had more important business at hand – raising a champagne bottle and giving an emotional speech with his team gathered around him.

“We talked a few days ago about 28 guys every single night,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’m so proud of this group. We have dealt with so much crap the last three months, and you guys continue to fight. We got in, so let’s get it on. We’ve got five more games to go to improve, and then it’s the playoffs. Let’s go!”

Hyde tried to loosen the cork on his bottle but his players were way ahead of him. They know the signal. “Let’s go” sets them off. Hyde was drenched in a matter of seconds.

Anthony Santander turned two bottles upside down over his head and emptied them.

“This feeling doesn’t get old,” said center fielder Cedric Mullins.

It doesn’t get old for Dean Kremer to start another clinching game, his third counting last year’s playoff and division title sealers.

“Dean’s not afraid,” Hyde said. “Dean likes the moment. He made that one two-strike mistake to (Aaron) Judge there, but besides that, I just really love how competitive he is. He loves to be out there. He’s not afraid of environments and matured a lot.

“Just becoming a complete pitcher.”

Hyde first met with the media and talked about the strangeness of not knowing if and when they’d celebrate. He praised the “total team effort,” the “big hits,” the “add-on runs.”

“And we got some bit outs out of the bullpen,” he said.

Was Hyde at least a little preoccupied with the scores of the Twins and Royals games?

“I had enough going on with our game, honestly,” he said with a laugh. “(Juan) Soto and Judge hit every inning it seems like.”

As Hyde was delving into the difficulty of the past few months and being on the precipice of a postseason berth, saying “we’re adversity tested,” a team official bolted out of the clubhouse.

“We’re gonna have you talk later. You just made the playoffs.”

Hyde was gone in a flash. It was cool and confusing at the same time. We milled around outside the door where he disappeared until signaled to come in, slip inside the plastic and try not to ruin your recorders and phones. There's accidentally spraying, the price of standing too close, and there's intentional targeting.

This wasn't breaking a long playoff drought and emerging from a brutality of the rebuild. This wasn't repeating as division champions, though it remained mathematically possible trailing the Yankees by five games with five left in the season. Everyone was talking Wild Card in the clubhouse. Playing October baseball, when anything is possible. Ask the Rangers and Diamondbacks.

The Orioles looked like a rejuvenated club, getting back a bunch of injured players and acting like they received a second chance.

They don't mind second place. It's where you finish that counts.

Let's go.