Orioles great Adam Jones sends a World Series message after Brewers dethrone the Dodgers

Baseball is just one of those sports where players or teams can go through extended stretches of futility, only for fans to remain as optimistic as ever. Someone goes hitless over their last 10 games? They’re due. A pitcher goes winless over their last 15 starts. They’re due. A team has one of the longest active World Series title droughts in all of baseball? They are most definitely due.

At 43 years and counting since their last World Series title, the Baltimore Orioles know the feeling of futility all too well. Yet even after every disappointing finish, the team, its fans, and even its former players remain dedicated to seeing another World Series banner raised at Camden Yards. For Orioles great Adam Jones, that optimism is as alive as ever.

After watching the Milwaukee Brewers defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS and earn their first trip to the World Series in the franchise’s 57-year history, Jones appeared to be feeling an extra wave of motivation. He even took to Twitter to make sure that the entire world knew.   

“We’re next, d*****,” he exclaimed in the post. 

Now you may ask yourself, “Maybe he meant something else?” But after spending 11 seasons in Baltimore, Jones is an Oriole for life. He still remains one of the most popular players in franchise history and he never passes up the opportunity to show his former team some love. 

The Orioles have spent the last four decades on the outside looking in 

If any franchise could use some extra love this time of year, it’s the Orioles. With just seven postseason berths since their last World Series title in 1983, the team has felt the frustration of coming up short year after year. Even when putting together fearsome lineups and dominant pitching staffs, the Orioles have struggled to assemble consistent teams that are built for the long haul and capable of playing in October. 

Jones unfortunately knows that all too well. He was an integral member of one of the strongest Orioles teams in recent memory during their run between 2012 and 2016. Despite finishing at or above the .500 mark in each season, they made the postseason just three times during that stretch. They got as far as making it to the ALCS in 2014 before getting swept by the Kansas City Royals.    

But even with such strong teams in the mid-2010s, Baltimore couldn’t quite put it all together year after year. The Orioles waited more than 40 years before once again enjoying back-to-back 90-win teams in 2023 and 2024. Since that World Series title in 1983, the organization has flirted with greatness but have failed to get over the hump and grab a hold of it. 

Just look at the last two seasons for the Orioles. After making the postseason in consecutive seasons, the team has since accumulated a combined record of 154-169. That level of play just won’t cut it when it comes to achieving their postseason dreams. Even with the expanded Wild Card format, the Orioles have been unable to field rosters that can compete with clubs like the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. 

But as we’ve seen with the Brewers, it is certainly possible for smaller market teams to develop their talent and hang with the behemoths in baseball. Jones’ World Series message might seem far-fetched to some, but the Orioles have the talent to be contenders. They just need to figure out the rest of the puzzle in order to see the full picture.   

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