Baltimore Orioles: Ranking the Best Team Slogans in Franchise History

Number One: BUCKle Up- 2012 Orioles Postseason Push

I want to start by saying that the 2012 Orioles will always have a special place in my heart. If it were not for that team, I probably would have never become an Orioles fan as my childhood self decided he wanted to either be a Giants or Nationals fan. Looking back, I probably would have been a lot happier in my high school years had I been a Nats fan. Instead of rooting for a team that went 150-316 during my high school career, I would have spent October of my Junior year watching every postseason game as my team defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series. My opinion on Gerardo Parra would also be quite different.

Anyways, the 2012 Baltimore Orioles are the reason I fell in love with baseball and the O’s. I still vividly remember watching Joe Saunders outduel Yu Darvish in the first-ever American League Wild Card Game and being disappointed when I found out that an overnight camping trip I had signed up for was the same night as game 5 of the ALDS against the Yankees. When my parents picked me up the next morning the first thing I asked my dad was how the game went. I did not like what he had to say. Needless to say, there was no turning back on Orioles fandom at that point. Manny Machado quickly became my favorite player as he was a young phenom that could hit the crap out of the ball and made plays at third base that I did not know were possible. I dressed up as Machado for Halloween one year which essentially meant I put on his shirsey and an Orioles hat that I already owned since I was too lazy and uncreative to think of a real costume. Chris Davis, Adam Jones, and Nate McLouth also quickly won my heart because how can you not love any of those guys?

Of course, the rock of that team was manager Buck Showalter who took over in 2010 when the Orioles were in the midst of sustained mediocrity, to put it kindly. What makes the 2012 team so special is that the O’s had not had any meaningful success on the field in fifteen years and it looked like that trend would continue for eternity. Buck had other ideas as he brought the team over the hump and made them a sustained winner from that season until 2017 behind a core that consisted of Davis, Machado, Jones, JJ Hardy, and Matt Wieters. “Buckle Up” comes in at number one because of the special relationship I had with this team as well as the creativity of using your manager’s name in the slogan. It also accurately represented the team as they won an extraordinary number of one-run games which was a testament to a strong bullpen and timely hitting.

Number Two: Chaos Comin’- 2022 Orioles Postseason Push

This team has many similarities to the magical Buckle Up birds of ten years ago. Neither team had high expectations coming into the season, both teams called up a young infielder with superstar potential late in the season, and both teams have had to fight and claw for a potential playoff spot. Of course, only time will tell whether or not the “Chaos Comin'” birds will earn a Wild Card spot but regardless of what happens, this year’s team will have a special place in most fans’ hearts for their success despite the odds and previous seasons. Part of what makes this team special is that they had a slow start to the season which made it seem even less likely that they would make a playoff push. They were 21-30 heading into June in a loaded AL East where it looked like wins would be hard to come by even if the team got hot. However, the team did get hot in mid-July and racked up a 10-game win streak which propelled them over .500 and they have not looked back since. The win that seemed to solidify the O’s as a legitimate threat occurred on July 8th when Trey Mancini hit a walkoff-single to beat the Angels despite trailing 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The debut of highly touted prospects Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are the major storylines that will be ultimately remembered but the improved bullpen led by Felix Bautista, Cionel Perez, and Jorge Lopez (before the trade deadline) will also be remembered. Whether or not the O’s are playing postseason games this October, they have already caused plenty of chaos in the AL Wild Card picture and have proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with.

Number three- Why Not? Orioles 1989 Division Race

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles were bad. Up until 2018, they were widely considered the worst team in franchise history and began the season on an infamous 21-game losing streak. As the story goes, President George H.W. Bush called manager Frank Robinson during the losing streak to wish the team the best and the team had a champagne celebration after their first win to improve to 1-21. That team finished 54-107 despite having Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr.

The bad play of the 1988 Orioles is what caused a playoff push in 1989 to come as a surprise. As you can tell from previous slides, these teams pre-date me by about 15 years but many of you who are reading this will remember the ’89 team that earned the slogan, “Why Not?” In ’89, only the division winners made the playoffs and there were only two divisions in each league. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays barely squeaked past the O’s for the division title but the team still lives on as a fond memory for many fans who had to endure the 0-21 start in ’88. Many fans brought signs throughout the season that had this slogan written. Essentially, they were asking, “Someone has to win the division, Why not us?” Outside of Ripken, the team came into the season with a lot of unknown players who ended up playing well together under manager Robinson.

Number Four- We Won’t Stop- 2014 Orioles World Series Push

The 2014 Orioles are the only team on this list that actually won their division and will likely be the only team to make it to the ALCS. Similar to 2012, 2014 will always have a special place in my heart because they are by far the most successful team in my life as they won 96 games and took the division by 12 games over the Yankees. They swept the Tigers in the ALDS before facing the Royals in the ALCS and… well… you know how that ends so I do not need to remind you. Simply put, this team was awesome. Wieters went down early in the season and Machado was hurt for a good chunk and yet the O’s dominated even though Steve Pearce led the team in Baseball-Reference WAR. The offseason addition of Nelson Cruz played a major role in the success as well as a strong starting rotation and bullpen.

Just like the 2012 team, this team elicits strong memories from me. Just like many other fans, I will never forget when Delmon Young drive in three runs with a double in game 2 of the ALDS. For the first six innings or so, I secretly checked my phone in class only to be disappointed after seeing the O’s trailing after each check. My grandfather picked me up from school that day and took me to his house which, for some reason, did not have TBS so I could not watch the game but instead had to follow on the At Bat app. With the O’s trailing 6-4 in the eighth and the bases loaded, each pitch felt like a lifetime on the app tracker until I saw that Young had given the Orioles the lead and caused me to react like a maniac which sent my grandfather’s chihuahua into a frenzy and also admittedly caused me to yell out more f-bombs than would be considered appropriate for an 11-year-old attending a private Episcopal School.

The reason “We Won’t Stop” ranks fourth is because I find the slogan more generic than the other three and the team had much higher preseason expectations than the other three. Even so, 2014 will always be remembered as a magical year in Birdland, and guys like Steve Pearce and Miguel Gonzalez will be remembered for their contributions to the magic.

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