McLouth: "I had so many great memories"

The Orioles are taking batting practice outdoors beneath a darkening sky. Rain is in the forecast. What else is new? Tonight marks the 1,300th game of Nick Markakis' major league career and the 1,200th game of J.J Hardy's career. Markakis ranks 11th on the Orioles' all-time list, 28 behind Brian Roberts. Nate McLouth only made it to 201 games before leaving the Orioles as a free agent over the winter and signing a two-year, $10.75 million contract with the Nationals. He's in the visiting clubhouse this afternoon at Camden Yards, as the Orioles and Nats continue their home-and-home series. "It's a little odd," he said after exchanging friendly barbs with a couple of Baltimore reporters. "I had so many great memories. That's all I'll think of is how much fun it was here, how many good friends I made." Leaving them wasn't easy. "The baseball part is not the hard part," he said. "The hard part is the relationships and the friends you make. I don't really like the guys here that much." The jab was for the benefit of reliever Ross Detwiler, who sat a few feet away and broke out in a big grin. "No, I'm kidding," McLouth said, "but you form friendships and you feel comfortable and that was the hardest part. I can't think of one thing I didn't like about playing here." The Orioles never made an effort to re-sign McLouth, whose deal includes a $6.5 million club option for 2016. They knew he would land a multi-year deal in the $10 million range and didn't want to venture into that financial territory. "That's completely fine," said McLouth, who hit .261/.333/.409 with 43 doubles, five triples, 19 home runs, 54 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in 50 attempts with the Orioles. "It didn't hurt my feelings or anything. That's just how it works. I didn't feel at any point like it was going to work out, unfortunately, and you just deal with it. It's not like it's personal. It's not personal. It's how it works." McLouth has appeared in 65 games with the Nationals and collected 124 at-bats. He's hitting .194/.308/.266 with six doubles, a home run, seven RBIs and four steals in five attempts. "I had a really bad start," he said. "It's been a little bit of a tough adjustment not getting consistent at-bats, kind of being able to maintain a rhythm in the batter's box. So, that's something I've had trouble adjusting to. "With everybody back now, I haven't been playing very much. That's been the hardest part, adjusting to not playing every day and being able to kind of make adjustments on the fly because you know you've got your next two or three at-bats or the next game. So, it's been a little tough." The Nationals are tied with the Braves for first place in the National League East. The Orioles sit alone atop the American League East, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Blue Jays. Anyone up for a Beltway World Series? "Awesome, I think if for no other reason than the travel," McLouth said. "It's possible. It's very possible."