In lower than one week’s time, two distinctly totally different photos of the Baltimore Orioles have been introduced to their followers. One is the broadly shared {photograph} of 4 of the staff’s younger stars strolling by a tunnel at Camden Yards wearing brightly hued tracksuits that had been color-coordinated to match their cyclops-style sun shades, a glance labeled “futuristic Teletubbies.” The different was information that MASN’s Kevin Brown had been suspended from his duties offering play-by-play throughout Orioles’ TV broadcasts for the previous two weeks. Why? Apparently, for daring to acknowledge that the staff has been dropping fairly a number of video games lately — particularly towards the Tampa Bay Rays.
We depart to our readers to determine which occasion is extra temperamentally suited to nursery college.
Ordinarily, we’d be inclined to disregard inner disputes inside the native baseball franchise, notably when it’s so unrelated to the product on the sector. Brown isn’t a journalist; he’s paid by the Orioles to be an entertainer. But there’s one thing extremely insulting to O’s followers to one way or the other count on them to have conveniently forgotten that the Birds have been dropping video games (together with at Tropicana Field, the place they recorded simply two wins towards seven losses final season). Does Orioles Chairman John Angelos assume Baltimoreans are Balti-morons? One of the fun of the franchise’s turnaround has been the distinction to how they performed earlier than — from 47 wins in 2018 to 52 in 2021 to a doable 100-win tempo this season. Wasn’t Brown serving that fairly satisfying narrative by mentioning the distinction?
Now evaluate that with first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and his futuristic Teletubbies. You assume he was considering WWJAS (What Would John Angelos Say)? We don’t recall Brooks Robinson ever dressing up as “Tinky-Winky” or “Laa-Laa” or any of the opposite plush creatures on the favored BBC youngsters’s present. In reality, it’s a reasonably protected wager that not one of the veterans of the 1983 Orioles staff, who had been celebrated final weekend for his or her World Series victory 40 years in the past, have ever plotted to indicate up in comparable fits except it was the staff uniform. But we suspect these guys authorized. It isn’t that massive a leap from catcher Rick Dempsey (MVP within the 1983 World Series) famously stuffing a pillow in his uniform to do a Babe Ruth pantomime and slide across the infield tarp throughout a rain delay at Memorial Stadium. They get it.
Baltimore actually wants this youthful enjoyable dropped at us by Mountcastle, Colton Cowser, Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson — in addition to the gamers who aren’t into futuristic loungewear. It’s not simply in regards to the successful.
Although having a wholesome lead within the extraordinarily aggressive American League East and the most effective data in all of Major League Baseball is nothing to sneeze at, there’s one thing to be mentioned about how they’ve been doing it. This just isn’t a staff of prima donnas and wage disputes, not a franchise carried on the again by massive stars. It’s a staff of gifted younger males with veteran help who simply appear to mesh nicely. Just have a look at MLB statistical leaders. Only Félix “The Mountain” Bautista cracks the highest 5 (within the class of saves). Home runs, runs batted in, pitching victories, earned run common and on and on, these classes are dominated by gamers from Miami and Philadelphia, San Diego and Los Angeles. Home run king Shohei Ohtani is perhaps the best of all time. Yet his Angels are spared the American League West cellar place solely by the presence of the godawful Oakland Athletics.
What a pleasure and privilege for these fellows to be representing Baltimore proper now. In a metropolis beset by gun violence, by concentrated poverty, by inequities and a large number of persistent issues related to the entire above, isn’t it nice to have some good, clear enjoyable? That possession doesn’t appear to grasp this — notably given its failure to signal a long-term stadium lease, absolutely a no brainer contemplating the lover deal the Maryland Stadium Authority (and taxpayers) have supplied the staff — stays the largest drag on a season that many hope will finish with a return journey to the Fall Classic.
Baltimore Sun editorial writers provide opinions and evaluation on information and points related to readers. They function individually from the newsroom.
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