Dan Duquette on Bowie's title and more after Baysox win Eastern League championship

BOWIE, Md. - Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette was at Prince George's Stadium tonight to watch the Bowie Baysox as they won their first Eastern League championship with a 7-2 victory over Reading in Game 5.

Duquette spent some time in the Baysox clubhouse postgame congratulating players and coaches.

"The staff here did a great job and we have some real gritty players here that learned how to win," Duquette said. "We had some good veteran players here along with some prospects to help the club. It was a good reflection on the organization and these guys deserve a lot of credit. That was a lot of fun. The fans really came out to support the team and it was a real terrific night."

Bowie gave the Orioles their first minor league title since Since Single-A Frederick won the Carolina League in 2011 with a team led by Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop.

"I think it is important for the culture of winning. Winning begets winning. When you have a lot of people that have a lot of good habits, it breeds winning and is a good reflection on the manager," Duquette said.

Bowie manager Gary Kendall told reporters a story after the game that is interesting, to say the least. And was maybe a big mistake by someone with the Reading team. After the Fightin Phils went ahead two games to one in the best-of-five series and were one win from the title, they made a call to the Bowie clubhouse.

"The Phillies called over here when they went up two games to one and they wanted to buy our champagne and beer rather than get their own," Kendall said. "They called our clubhouse manager and wanted to purchase it from us. Dusty (Wathan, Reading manager) is a good man and he has some good players over there, but I thought that was a little confident. As tempers flared out there, we just rose to the occasion. That was right down our alley. We've got guys that like to fight - not physical fighting - but real determined guys."

Kendall has managed Garabez Rosa for three seasons and tonight saw him hit two huge home runs.

"Garabez, before the season ended, was swinging it really good," Kendall said. "His swing wasn't there early in the year. He had to get his feet on the ground and he started to hit like last year. You saw what happened. He's a guy that has a lot of tools, is physical and has power to all fields. He plays multiple positions and is kind of a super utility guy that did a nice job for us. He wasn't hard to put him in the lineup each day."

Rosa talked about his performance in the postseason, when he hit .385 with three homers and 10 RBIs in nine games. Pitcher Marcel Prado served as an interpretor for Rosa.

"I just used the same approach, just like more relaxing, having fun and just played the game hard. I'm happy. We really played together as a team," Rosa said.

"People say that the minors leagues is a grind, but they don't talk about these experiences right here," outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said. "It was so fun to meet these guys and bond with them all. To celebrate a championship with this group is really special."

Said first baseman Trey Mancini: "That was absolutely incredible. We came out with a little more fire tonight. I think yesterday the game got a little chippy and it kind of gave us more motivation - if we even needed any. We just came out ready to play and ready to win. Rosa was so clutch today. Fun to watch."

Check this blog Sunday morning for more from the Baysox.

Photos courtesy of Bowie Baysox