Jul 24, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Wei-Yin Chen (16, right) reacts after a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
It certainly was a great season for the Baltimore Orioles that was filled with many memories that will live on with O’s fans for a long time. I am happy for both the older Orioles fans like myself – who have lived through long stretches of mediocrity – and for younger fans who have a winning team for the first time in their memory.
With the turning of the calendar, it is a time to both look back and to look forward. We do a lot of both here with our daily posts and evaluations.
Most memories of 2014 will be good ones, with a couple of disappointments thrown in to remind us of the realities of life.
Here is my quick ranking of the top 10 Baltimore Orioles memories of 2014:
10 – 60th Anniversary Celebration – It was a great moment in a great season to tie together the players of today with the players of the past. The Orioles are doing a nice job of honoring the great players who have been in Baltimore, and they did it again with the marvelously-done video program at the Yard on August 8th after totally beating the crap out of the Cardinals 12-2.
9 – Overcoming the Critical Season-Ending Injuries – Nobody much expected the Orioles to win 96 games in 2014, and not a single person would have projected it if they knew ahead of the two critical injuries to Matt Wieters and Manny Machado. But Steve Pearce in particular will always be remembered for filling the holes with a breakout season. Delmon Young, Caleb Joseph and others also stepped up at crucial moments to save the day and redeem the entire season.
8 – Bold Acquisitions and Sad Losses / the Up and Down Year of Dan Duquette – After the slow offseason of 2013-14, few would have picked Dan Duquette to be named the executive of the year in MLB. The big move, of course, was Nelson Cruz. But there were a dozen other smaller acquisitions that made a difference, even with the disappointment of Ubaldo Jimenez. In the same year that the Orioles got Cruz and grew to love him, they had to bid him farewell, as they did also with Nick Markakis. These are sad realities of the modern business of baseball.
7 – The Surprising Chris Davis Year from Hell – Nobody expected another 53 home runs, but nobody expected a .196 season with a substance violation suspension. The defensive overshifts killed Davis, who never really got untracked. It is such a sad memory of the season that O’s fans will hope to see erased in 2015.
6 – Zach Britton Leads a Lock-Down Bullpen – Throughout baseball, 2014 will be the year remembered for back ends of bullpens locking down games, made especially popular by the Kansas City Royals. But the Orioles featured much the same with the closer role of Zach Britton. This was not anticipated just a year ago, but it contributed much to the great season along with Darren O’Day and Andrew Miller in the final third of the campaign.
5 – The Emergence of a Strong and Effective Starting Rotation – The greatest concern a year ago was the starting rotation and the need for the Orioles to get some “innings eaters” in free agency who could “go deeper into games.” Then they signed Ubaldo Jimenez, which didn’t really make sense at the time. But the prescription for success would be the emergence of Chris Tillman at the front of the rotation, with international players Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez being consistently solid. Trade acquisition Bud Norris had his best year ever, while Kevin Gausman arrived sufficiently upon the scene to show why the Orioles have been excited about having him. Together they provided the best rotation in Baltimore in many years, ranking as among the best in baseball. The trick now is to repeat that trick!
4 – The Career Year of Nelson Cruz – for the Baltimore Orioles! – The late offseason signing of Nelson Cruz was not without its critics. The cloud of the 50-game suspension had not fully dissipated. Remember the handful of Orioles players coming to a press conference to show their solidarity with him and welcome to the team and clubhouse? Few places could this have happened; but such is possible in Showalterville. Cruz reward the O’s for their welcome, and he will be warmly welcomed when the Mariners show up in Baltimore this year.
3 – Sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS – As always, the Orioles were not picked to win the divisional series any more than they were selected to win the AL East. How could they win? Pitching dominates in short series, and the Orioles were facing the past three Cy Young Award winners. They had no chance. But the Birds hung around until they could get to the bullpen of the Tigers, and a 3-0 sweep later they were moving on to the championship series (not included in these memories – let’s just forget it!).
2 – Winning the American League East
– It was nice to beat the Tigers in the playoffs and get to within a series victory of returning to the World Series. But the baseball highlight of the season was not beating a central or western team. Rather, it was finishing ahead of the Yankees, Red Sox, and Rays … and yes, the lousy Blue Jays as well. The margin was 12 games! That may not quite be like lapping the field, but it is certainly breaking the tape before the second place team even turned the corner on the homestretch. Of course, this can’t be done again – just read the writers around the country.
1 – Celebrating Being Winners – At the end of the day, the goal is to win games, and that is what the Orioles did better than anyone other than the Angels and Nationals. Never before has Camden Yards heard the noise that was a part of the championship run of 2014. It was amazing, and it was commented upon all over baseball. The celebration on the evening of September 16th at OPACY was one for the ages – the scenes of Adam Jones celebrating with the fans will never be forgotten in Baltimore.
The Orioles are winners again; the earth is rotating properly on its axis and revolving once again around the sun. All is well and in order in the universe.
