During first full-team workout, O's skipper reminds team they haven't done it yet

It is pretty clear that the Orioles are excited to be taking part in spring training and fired up for a season in which expectations are raised after the team went 83-79 last year. They had the best record of any American League non-postseason team.

Now they take aim at their first playoff berth since the 2016 AL wild card game.

“Guys are really excited. Really love the talent here. It’s a great character group,” manager Brandon Hyde told reporters Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium.

He was asked about his message to the team, which wants to show it can be a contender after the Orioles gained 31 wins from 2021 to 2022.

“Honestly, just want us to build off last year,” Hyde said. “We have a (large) core group of guys, they got a lot of confidence from last year. It’s pretty much just building off a season where nobody expected us to do anything.

“I wanted our guys to be aware that we haven’t done anything yet, either. We have a long way to go, but what we did last year, we put ourselves on the map, and we’ve just got to keep going.”

That last quote is important and somewhat noteworthy. While the Orioles have made major gains in the standings and with their farm system and player development operation, and in several other aspects, they have not made the playoffs yet. The team is getting some props for its play last year, and it should, but this is a new season and they have to prove they can be a winning team all over again. And then prove that they can be a playoff team.

Hyde was on the Chicago Cubs coaching staff when that club made what might be a somewhat unusual linear improvement on their way from being a bad team to being a World Series winner.

The Cubs won 61 games in 2012 and then followed that with seasons of 66 and 73 wins. Then came the big leap to 97 wins and a return to the playoffs in 2015. Then the 2016 Cubs won 103 games, ending the year as World Series champs. The curse was over.

The Orioles could get a boost toward making the playoffs with their early-season schedule. We have written and discussed that here earlier, but it is worth remembering the schedule in the first month or so.

Of the Orioles' first 28 games through the end of April, they will play 22 of them against clubs that had losing records in 2022. Then May begins with a series at Kansas City, meaning the Orioles will play 25 of their first 31 versus 2022 losing-record clubs.

Of those 31 games, 19 will be versus clubs that played .420 ball or worse last year, with three against Texas, four versus Oakland, two against Washington, seven against Detroit and three against Kansas City. Of the first 24 games, 13 will be played at home, where the Orioles went 45-36 last year. 

So Hyde's message to his club is consistent with the message around this team ever since 2022 ended. They are chasing the playoffs. And the early schedule could be a boost in getting off to a good start toward achieving the goal.