Baltimore Orioles: Plenty Of Reasons To Be Thankful This Thanksgiving
There are plenty of reasons to be thankful for the Baltimore Orioles this season.
Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Baltimore Orioles fans. I’m writing this on Wednesday morning, sitting next to my two-month-old at my in-law’s house as we prepare for round one of the Thanksgiving with two families who don’t understand that you don’t need a pie per person who shows up to dinner, but it’s always highly appreciated. Before the madness begins, I thought I would write a few words about our favorite baseball team.
Times aren’t the most entertaining in Birdland at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of reasons to be thankful for our beloved O’s, not just this holiday season, but all year long.
As Orioles fans, we bicker amongst ourselves about the direction of the rebuild, whether or not certain players should stay or go, oftentimes just argue for the sake of arguing because what else is there to do? But at the end of the day, we all rally around this team and want the same exact thing, to be celebrating a World Series victory together in Baltimore.
I don’t know about you, but the Orioles are more than just a baseball team for me and my family. Trips to Camden Yards provide for quality family time and have been an instrumental keeping us close together, even though we have all grown up and moved away.
It’s been difficult to watch this team drop 100+ games in each of the last two seasons and the forecast for 2020 doesn’t look much brighter, but that’s not our focus for today. Instead, we came up with three big reasons why we’re thankful for this franchise.
Is there anywhere more special than Baltimore Orioles baseball at Camden Yards?
My wife and I started a fun life-long project of visiting every MLB, NFL, and NBA stadium on our journey across this great country and we have seen some unbelievable sights, met some of the most friendly and welcoming people, enjoyed the finest local beer one can find, and visited many beautiful ballparks.
However, it’s hard not to compare every other ballpark to the majestic sight that is Camden Yards. The iconic warehouse and views of the ballpark from the upper-levels of the warehouse that can’t be described with words are unmatched.
No matter how many times you walk past them, taking a stroll down Eutaw Street and looking at the home run markers is always a fun trip down memory lane. Just make sure you don’t miss the Ken Griffey Jr.marker on the warehouse.
From the smell of Old Bay in the air, to conversations with everyone’s favorite ballpark employee, Fancy Clancy, to walking through the statues of Orioles legends, to the voice of Ryan Wagner blessing your ears between at-bats, you are hardpressed to find a better ballpark experience than Camden Yards.
I could write 10,000 words on why each and every trip to Camden Yards is special, but my time is limited and the turkey is almost done. I’d love to hear your favorite OPACY memories in the comments.
Take some time to visit a Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliate.
Thankfully, over the last few years, Orioles fans have taken a much bigger interest in the minor leagues and the stories of many hardworking players have been highlighted and celebrated as the organization continues to build up the talent pipeline down on the farm.
As Orioles fans, we’re lucky to have every affiliate just a short drive away from Baltimore. Growing up next to Harbor Park, I spent entire summers enjoying quality minor league baseball along the Elizabeth River in one of the more underappreciated minor league ballparks.
During my time with the now-defunct website Baby Birdland, I was able to meet many fantastic employees of the Frederick Keys, Bowie Baysox, and Delmarva Shorebirds who all treated a guy with no experience in a professional press box like an old friend. It’s difficult to understand just how much work these men and women put in behind the scenes of a ballgame until you see them work in action.
We also can’t ignore the growing list of quality baseball players who are now gracing the rosters of these affiliates. Thankfully, when times get tough with the big league squad, you can hop in your car and take a quick drive to watch one of the top prospects in all of baseball in Adley Rutschman or exciting young prospects like Adam Hall and Yusniel Diaz.
Do you want to watch high-quality pitching prospects? We get to enjoy that as Orioles fans now! From Grayson Rodriguez to DL Hall, Dean Kremer, Alex Wells, Zac Lowther, Michael Baumann, Brenan Hanifee, Drew Rom, and many more, every night features big-time pitcher somewhere down on the farm.
Enjoy the minor leagues, be thankful that they are all so close, and say hello to the wonderful people working these games.
The Baltimore Orioles are going in a new and exciting direction.
Many Orioles fans likely aren’t very happy after yesterday’s news that Jonathan Villar has been placed on waivers and is now available for any team to claim, but the organization is still moving in the right direction. While I strongly disagree with the move, let’s look past it for a second to appreciate the positives that are taking place.
In many instances, what is taking place in Baltimore isn’t just a rebuild but a build from scratch operation. In his first year on the job, Mike Elias has heavily invested in the international market, is in the process of putting valuable time and money into facilities and resources throughout the Dominican Republic and many areas of the world where the Orioles had no presence before.
We have already seen the effects of the organization’s new analytically-driven player development plan. From the rise of John Means to a surge in production from prospects up and down the system, there was plenty of initial success. These developments take time, but players are responding positively already.
The additions of Sig Mejdal and his team and new Director of Player Development Matt Blood and Director of Pitching Chris Holt are just a few pieces now in place to guide this organization into a new direction. Along with several new coaching hires down in the minor leagues to directly work with and develop the growing pool of talent on the farm.
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Several recent hires were plucked from the college ranks or private training companies, even a few former Orioles minor leaguers themselves like Collin Woody and Branden Becker have joined the coaching ranks for minor league affiliates.
The non-traditional approach and hiring of inexperienced coaches is risky, but every single person hired by Mike Elias has one thing in common- they are all in on his plan and vision for the organization and their path to development is deeply rooted in an analytical approach that other organizations have already bought into and found success with, while the Orioles have continued to fall further and further behind.
I will close by saying I’m also thankful for you, our readers. We have seen tremendous growth over the last year and that’s all because of you. Even those of you who seem to disagree with everything we say, you keep coming back. Happy Thanksgiving and Let’s Go O’s!