Baltimore Orioles: The Hopes for Raising a New Orioles Fan

The Baltimore Orioles haven’t won a World Championship since 1983, but that doesn’t stop two generations of fans from rooting for the Birds.

The Baltimore Orioles haven’t won a World Championship since 1983, but that doesn’t stop two generations of Oriole fans from rooting for the Birds to bring home a championship.

This week was a big week for me, as my second son was born on Wednesday morning. This gives me another child to raise the right way, the Oriole Way. Now, my wife is a Kansas City Royals fan, so there is an obstacle to get around there. But, I think I can succeed. I’m conceding football.

It is easy to root for a team that is successful. Look at everyone who is a New York Yankees fan right now. It isn’t as easy to for one who struggles.

The Orioles struggled for a decade and a half, in a way where they were really, really bad. Then 2012 came along, and Buck Showalter led a cast of characters to the playoffs.

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I was a young man living with my parents with extra money to spend and was at that ALDS Game One at Camden Yards. With standing room only seats, I stood on top of the scoreboard and screamed my lungs out.

Then, when Jim Johnson imploded in the ninth, we went home wet and chilly, but enthralled after the excitement of the game. Craig Sager would call it the loudest baseball stadium he had been at for a long time.

That playoff series featured some success, but ultimately 2012 ended with aanALDS loss to the New York Yankees. 2014 brought about another playoff run, and this time the team was AL East winners. The team faced Detroit in the ALDS, and this time would not be denied.

However, in the ALCS versus the Kansas City Royals, the Orioles’ great season came to a screeching halt.

2016 brought a chance at the playoffs, but it was a very brief appearance as the Orioles got thumped out of the AL Wild Card Game by Edwin Encarnacion and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now, what does the future hold? Not just for this upcoming season, or the ones after that, but the next decade. At this point, I don’t believe anyone knows.

The Baltimore Orioles’ franchise is entering into a season that could impact them for not just years, but decades to come.

Dan Duquette has one year left. Buck Showalter too. Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Zach Britton, Brad Brach and more are free agents at the end of the season.

The cornerstones that have helped make this team who they are may be spending their last year in Baltimore.

Jones is the face of the franchise, and the team and in many ways the city. Machado is one of the top players in the game. Britton has been one of the top relievers in the game. Brach helped make the Orioles’ bullpen a formidable one that helped hide pitching issues.

Showalter has been a coach who has helped return the luster to the Orioles’ franchise. He goes about the game the right way and has endeared himself to the City of Baltimore.

Duquette has been the constant talk among fans, talk show hosts and more. He isn’t exactly popular. He may have steered the O’s to success on the backs of Andy MacPhail’s work.

But, he also has made shrewd moves to help the Orioles be successful and has helped rebuild the farm system.

Next: Examining the Orioles' Internal Pitching Options

What’s next for the Orioles no one knows. But I do know that I have two young Oriole fans to raise the right way. A successful franchise for years to come will certainly help make that easier.

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