The Baltimore Orioles: Lovable Winners

Sep 4, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles teammates celebrate after a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles defeated the Reds 9-7. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles of 2014 are lovable winners, not lovable losers. This is a team that is easy to like, not just because of the number of wins they have registered that gives them the largest current divisional lead in baseball, but for the personalities and character that make this a great outfit.

It goes practically without saying that the clubhouse meteorologist is Buck Showalter. He sets the atmosphere that has resulted in not only a great place to play for the athletes, but also a great team to watch for the fans of the Orioles.

It all started back at the end of 2011, where the Baltimore Orioles went 34-23 after Showalter took the helm. The atmosphere was evident at FanFest in the winter of 2012. There was a palpable sense that a new wind was blowing; this clubhouse was filled with guys who liked being together and who had a vision for a new era of baseball in Baltimore. I wrote about it at the time, but I was far from the only O’s writer to make note of the change.

So what are the components of the likeable Orioles?

Leadership at the Top – This speaks of Buck Showalter primarily, but also of the relationship he has with Dan Duquette and the moves they have made together. No GM is going to make perfect moves every time, as some will work out better than others, and a few will prove to be rather poor decisions. The bulk of Duquette’s transactions have been wisely made, and even his slowest and most vocal critics are having to acknowledge his skills. To be fair, some of the key components on the current Orioles date back to the era of Andy MacPhail – particularly Adam Jones and Chris Tillman from the trade for Eric Bedard, and Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter for Koji Uehara, and claiming Darren O’Day off waivers. MacPhail was not a terrible GM, he just never had a manager bound for success like Showalter – until it was too late personally.

There is no locker for “Drama” in this clubhouse.

Showalter is the prototypical players’ manager. He puts himself in their cleats and cares about them not only as players but as people. The players know they are going to get a fair shake from a guy who wants nothing more than for them to succeed. This eliminates a lot of “drama.” There is no locker for “Drama” in this clubhouse. Beyond his people skills and perhaps over-developed sense of loyalty, Showalter is truly a good baseball guy. He is detailed and thoughtful about every decision. J.J. Hardy said of him just recently that it seems Showalter knows what is going to happen before it happens.

Clubhouse Leadership – Adam Jones is regularly considered the face of the franchise and the leader of the team. He is continually competing with great hustle, is positive at all times, and has a short memory that doesn’t cry over spilt milk – just “get ‘em tomorrow” when things go wrong. That is contagious. Out in the bullpen it is Darren O’Day who is spoken of as the leading voice. While keeping it light (along with Tommy Hunter), he also keeps the guys engaged and focused upon the roles they may be called upon to play. These are the noisy leaders.

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But the Orioles are impacted as well in the clubhouse by quiet leaders, particularly the longest-term Oriole in Nick Markakis. He is one of those people who appear to only have a budget of about 250 words to use in a day. But he is all business, and he needs to say little to be the leader by example. There are multiple excuses he could have used over the 2012-13 seasons to account for some performance drops, but he said nothing. And the O’s feature a number of other quiet leaders – Chris Tillman, Matt Wieters, Hardy, etc.

Although the general public does not know exactly what was said behind the scenes with the Manny Machado bat throwing incident, the overall sense was that not a lot needed to be said after the players in the clubhouse were done dealing with it.

Generational Development – For a lot of years – too many years – Orioles fans had little to look at in terms of players who were developed in the system. This has changed with the arrival of Machado, Jonathan Schoop, Chris Tillman, Matt Wieters, Kevin Gausman, and most recently Caleb Joseph. And there are more to come. As they arrive, it is common to see TV shots in the dugout where the veterans are working with the younger players to talk about the game and what needs to be done in varied situations. It is great to pick up a free agent like Nelson Cruz, but as Duquette has rightly said, the future strength of the organization has to come through the system. Seeing players come through the farm system is a great encouragement to fans and adds to the interest in the team.

The Renaissance – The Baltimore Orioles have become known as a place of opportunity and career renewal. Though no longer with the Orioles, a prime example is Nate McLouth who totally revived his career. The story of Steve Pearce and the year that he has had is absolutely amazing. Delmon Young is glad to be in Baltimore this year and to put up some very good numbers for the amount of playing time he had received. Consider others like Bud Norris, Evan Meek, and Brad Brach … and maybe even Joe Saunders?