More reasons to appreciate the Orioles' 2023 season

The offseason remains relatively quiet for the Orioles after their Division Series loss to the Rangers.

They signed pitcher Guachi Jules to a minor league contract, and the only information I can find is he’s 19-years-old, right-handed and assigned to the Dominican Summer League orange team. Pitcher Austin Voth, catchers Anthony Bemboom and José Godoy elected free agency.

Director of draft operations Brad Ciolek is joining the Nationals as senior director of amateur scouting. Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Bradish and Ryan O’Hearn are finalists for the Major League Baseball Players Association’s Players Choice Awards. Catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and left fielder Austin Hays are Gold Glove finalists.

Reliever Nate Webb signed a two-year minor league contract that includes an invitation to spring training. Pitcher Bruce Zimmermann underwent core muscle surgery in Philadelphia and should be ready for spring training.

Otherwise, hardly a peep.

Let’s look back at some interesting developments from the regular season.

Sweepless in Baltimore and other cities.

The streak was quirky until it kept growing. Then, it became a must-inclusion in any game story.

The Orioles haven’t been swept in their last 91 regular season series dating back to May 13-15, 2022 in Detroit. Immediately after they claimed two of three games in St. Louis – a spot often cited as their launching pad toward a turnaround. The losses in Comerica Park are conveniently forgotten.

The last sweep at home was Aug. 27-29, 2021 against the Rays in a three-game series.

The Elias Sports Bureau notes that 91 is the fourth-longest streak in major league history. The 1942-44 Cardinals are first at 124.

Elias also sets the qualifiers as series with two or more decisions. So, no one-game sweeps, which never felt like a series to me anyway.

Road sweet road.

Past Orioles teams that resided in the division basement were defenseless away from home. The 110-loss team in 2021 was 25-56 on the road. The 108-loss team in 2019 was 29-52. The 115-loss team the previous season was a grotesque 19-62.

The 2023 Orioles spun the narrative. They actually posted three more wins away from Camden Yards than inside their ballpark by going 52-29, tied with the Braves for the best record in the majors. The Astros were next at 51-30.

They also tied the 1997 Orioles for best road record in club history. The 1980 team is the only other one to post at least 50 road wins.

The Orioles averaged 5.49 runs per game away from home, the second-highest mark in club history after the 6.31 average in 1996.

The secret? Being better is the simplest explanation.

The Orioles went 49-32 at home, the third-best record in the ballpark’s history after the 2014 and 2016 teams were 50-31. Only the Rays (53-28) and Rangers (50-31) had better marks this season.

Good teams win anywhere. Funny how that works.

A striking stat.

The Orioles set a single-season franchise record with 1,431 strikeouts.

The good kind. From their pitchers.

Kyle Gibson fanned the Angels’ Matt Thaiss in the fourth inning on Sept. 6 in Anaheim to break the previous record of 1,248 in 2016 and matched in 2019.

The rotation accounted for 817 to fly past the previous record of 747 in 1968. Relievers struck out 614 batters, third-most in club history after the 637 in 2021 and 625 in 2019.

Brandon Hyde’s climb.

A former bench and first base coach with the Cubs, given his first managerial job in December 2018, has accomplished a lot more than navigating and surviving a rebuild.

He’s mentioned in the same breath as a Hall of Famer.

Hyde joined Earl Weaver as the only Orioles to manage a 100-win team. He earned his 300^th career victory on Sept. 4 to join Weaver (1,480), Buck Showalter (669), Paul Richards (517) and Hank Bauer (407) as the only managers to reach that mark. His 700^th game on Sept. 22 also ranked fifth.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias didn’t choose Hyde to babysit the Orioles until they became more competitive. Until the organization was healthier. Elias believed that Hyde was the right man for the long term, drawn to him especially based on his diverse background in the sport. Managing in the minors, coaching, and serving as field coordinator and director of player development.

"I believe that we have found the ideal leader for the next era of Orioles baseball," Elias said on the day of Hyde’s hiring.

Elias has no regrets.

The clubhouse doesn’t seem to have any complaints.

“He's been through some difficult moments with us, but I think the biggest thing is that he's been able to maintain the great atmosphere with this team and great team chemistry,” said outfielder Anthony Santander. “I think his support means a lot to us, and he's been able to support us and keep us going through every step of this rebuild.”

Less roster churning.

The Orioles used 50 players this year, including 28 pitchers.

For full context, it’s the lowest number in a full season since they also used 50 in 2017.

The 2021 Orioles had 62 different players to set the franchise record, and 39 were pitchers.

Don’t feel bad or question your fandom if you forget about Konner Wade, Brandon Waddell, Brooks Kriske, Jay Flaa, Zach Burdi, Manny Barreda and Shaun Anderson.

The 54 players in 1955, in the Orioles’ second year in Baltimore, stood as the record until 56 were used in 2018, followed by 58 in 2019.

Fifty-eight also were used last year.

Winning by a 1-0 score, et cetera.

The Orioles did it four times to tie the Mariners for most in the majors. Their eight 1-0 victories since the beginning of the 2022 season are the most in baseball.

They posted a winning record in each full calendar month for the first time since 1983. They tied the Reds with 48 comeback wins, and 84 since the start of 2022 are second behind the Dodgers’ 86.

The Orioles drew 1,936,798 fans to Camden Yards in 81 dates, the most since 2,028,424 in 2017. That’s also the third-largest increase from 2022-23 at 568,431 behind the Phillies’ 775,869 and the Reds’ 642,532.

I have nothing to add. It just seems like a good place to sign off.