Jones on lap with fans: "You could see the excitement in their eyes" (Walker quotes)

The Orioles clubhouse was a much quieter place today but there were still plenty of smiles and the usual loose atmosphere. I asked Adam Jones about his lap around the stadium last night where he interacted with fans, high-fived many of them and was hugging some. "They haven't celebrated here in Baltimore since '69," Jones said. "Sure most of the people that stayed around weren't born yet. Some were. That was pretty cool to share with the city that supports you. You could see the excitement in their eyes. "They were just happy. I was hugging some lady. Some were really grabbing me tight. My lady said she saw a woman kiss me on the cheek. 'I saw that,' she said. "If you are a baseball fan in this city, I think last night and the last couple of years have been good to them. We're just trying to put a good team on the field and grind it out. Baltimore, the type of city that it is, hard-nosed, hard-working city, they appreciate that kind of play. We appreciate their support." Some select fans even got a pie in the face from Jones last night. "That was awesome. Some people wanted it and I just gave it to them. I wanted to pie a lot of people. You win, good things happen." So now what about the remaining 11 regular-season games? "Win. Still got a job to do. Gotta win," Jones said. One locker down from the Orioles center fielder was Christian Walker, the Orioles minor league Player of the Year who got called up today and who will make his major league debut tonight. He is batting seventh at first base for the Orioles. His dream of reaching the majors came true today. "It's real exciting. I've wanted to be here my whole life," Walker said. "To achieve a goal and you know potentially keep achieving the goal is amazing. It's overwhelming. "Really happy to be here. Glad they decided I was the one to come up and looking forward to anything that lies ahead in the next few weeks." The 23-year-old Walker hit a combined .288/.357/.489 with 53 extra-base hits, 96 RBIs and 73 runs scored in 139 games with Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He led all Orioles minor leaguers in home runs (26) and RBIs (96) in 2014. Walker hit 11 homers in the minors last year. He told new minor league hitting coordinator Jeff Manto in spring training to help him improve his power numbers and they got that done this season. "Just little things," he said. "Getting into a rhythm at the plate. Keeping my body in a good position to hit. Everybody says a lot of things and every now and then some things click. Everything he was saying, it all made a lot of sense to me and for whatever reason it all came together at once." While the power numbers took off, his defense also got better. "I think my defense has made some serious strides forward," Walker said. "That was always a part of the game I wanted to work on and get better at. Really tried to bear down this year and focus on my defense. Wanted to not be a liability in the field." Walker said when he heard the news about Chris Davis and his suspension, he had to wonder if that could lead to a chance for him here. "Yeah, as a first baseman you have to think that's an opportunity, but at the same time they have a lot of depth and a lot of good guys," Walker said. "If they needed they I would come up and if not I would have understood that too."