Getting the Bowie band back together in Sarasota

The 2019 Double-A Bowie Baysox had a terrible start to their season. On May 6, they were 7-23, not only the worst record in the Eastern League at that point, but the worst in any league in all of minor league baseball. But a few months later that club would play for the Eastern League championship.

They went 69-41 after the terrible start to win their division and make the EL playoffs. A semi-finals playoff win, three games to one over Harrisburg, sent Bowie to the EL Championship Series for the second time in club history. The great run ended there, though, as Trenton beat Bowie in four games to take the title.

That was a very good, well-rounded Bowie team that led the league in runs scored, but also in team ERA and WHIP. They had pitching and hitting. The pitching was so good that Bowie set team records for ERA (3.17) and WHIP. That WHIP number of 1.18 was not only a Bowie team record, but was the best in that league since 2001. Bowie's 16 shutouts ranked second in the EL that season.

That club had some strong pitching:

* Zac Lowther had a 2.55 ERA in 26 starts.
* Alexander Wells had a 2.95 ERA in 24 starts.
* Michael Baumann had a 2.31 ERA in 11 starts.
* Dean Kremer had a 2.98 ERA in 15 starts.
* Bruce Zimmermann had a 2.58 ERA in 17 starts.

Fast forward to present day and all five young pitchers are together in this Orioles camp. Two have made their major league debuts and the other three could join them this year. From Bowie to Baltimore.

After he threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts yesterday, Zimmermann, the Baltimore-area native, talked about how the young pitchers help each other and how nice it was to have the 2019 Bowie band back together this season.

"I mean, it's great having all those guys that I played with in Bowie," he said. "You know, Lowther and Wells and Kremer, obviously, and being up here with Baumann. It's like having the crew back together again. If they have a question or whatever, I will answer as best as I can. If not, I will pass it off to one of the older guys like (John) Means or (Paul) Fry, you know, the guys that have been here. Whatever I can help with.

"The day-to-day stuff I talk about with those guys is just pitching. It's not really anything outside of baseball. So, having those guys in camp has been a lot of fun. It brings back the competitive nature that we had in 2019 when we had such a great season in Bowie. It's been a lot of fun having those guys back in camp again."

Zimmermann is trying to win an opening day spot on the pitching staff after making his big league debut with two games late last year. In a start Sept. 17 versus Tampa Bay he gave up five runs in three innings. Six days later he allowed just one run over four innings in relief against Boston.

He became the 28th native-born Marylander to play for the Orioles.

"I like Bruce's stuff," said manager Brandon Hyde. "He's throwing the ball really well so far in camp. He's a left-handed starter with a nice arm and a couple of good breaking balls. Got his feet wet in the big leagues a little bit with us last year. But a guy that has been a starter his whole career. And we're continuing to lengthen him out. Whether it's in the starter role or a long-relief-type role we'll see. Somebody that we like with upside on the mound. Done very well so far."

Why play shorter games?: Are the Orioles games getting shorter each day? They have so far. The club played eight innings in the spring opener Sunday versus Pittsburgh and then played three straight games lasting seven innings. Yesterday it was a six-inning affair at Ed Smith Stadium in a win over Boston.

There are more than 70 players in O's camp, so why play shorter games? I asked Hyde that question during his pregame Zoom interview Thursday.

"I just think it's because the league gave us the option to make the game - just because camp is a bit different this year. There is not a minor league full camp going on, and so you don't have the usual backups that you normally would. So, some of the teams we played just haven't had the pitching. Or they haven't had the extra position players to come in after the starter. Without minor league games going on simultaneously to our games, the games have been shortened. So yesterday (Wednesday) we played a seven-inning game and today (Thursday) we play a six-inning, Little League-style game," he said.

The Orioles pitchers - and there are 37 in camp - have had to cover 35 innings thus far. The Orioles have used 28 pitchers to this early point where most hurlers are not yet throwing over two innings.

So, they have several that have not pitched yet, right? Doubtful. Hyde told us the other day that Félix Hernández, for instance, threw two innings in a simulated game. And no doubt other pitchers have done the same in sim games or on back fields. The O's have probably gotten some work in for all 37 pitchers through five spring games and sim games, etc.

This is how a major league team, carrying so many pitchers, can run out of pitching just four or five games into a spring season. This will change as starters go deeper into games and fewer pitchers will be needed to cover the innings each day. No doubt there will be more nine-inning games in the second half of the spring season.