Colton Cowser's injury is a perfect encapsulation of the Orioles 2024 season

2024 was a wild ride for Orioles fans. The team started out on a tear, going 58-38 in the first half and racing out to a lead in the AL East. The second half was much less fun, with the Birds playing sub-.500 ball and a number of late injuries killing momentum on the offensive side.

The pitching staff was another story entirely. All four of Felix Bautista, John Means, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells were lost to season-ending Tommy John surgery. Danny Coulombe missed nearly four months due to elbow surgery. And Grayson Rodriguez suffered another lat injury in early August that ended his season two months early.

If it weren't for the injury bug, the Orioles might have stood a legitimate chance to compete for a World Series title this year. Unfortunately that didn't happen, as the offense went dormant in the season's biggest moment. The O's scored just 1 run in two games against the Royals in the AL Wild Card series, with the lone run coming on a solo homer by Cedric Mullins in the 5th inning of game 2.

Orioles rookie Colton Cowser suffers broken hand in final game of the year

Just moments after Mullins homered on Wednesday afternoon, Colton Cowser came to bat with the bases loaded and one out. It was arguably the biggest spot of the series for the Orioles, not just with Cowser at the plate but running the bases loaded in the 5th against Royals' starter Seth Lugo.

Lugo was pulled and replaced by Angel Zerpa, who was called upon to face Cowser in a game-breaking moment. Zerpa got two quick strikes on Cowser before putting a ball in the dirt to run the count to 1-2.

Zerpa's next pitch was a sinker that got away from him and ran up and in on Cowser. The pitch ran so far inside that it hit Cowser on the hands, but the Orioles' lefty was fooled so badly by the movement on the pitch that he took a swing at it.

Despite getting hit on the play, Cowser was rung up on strikes. Adley Rutschman grounded out weakly after the Cowser strikeout to end the threat, which wound up being the last time the Orioles threatened to score.

After the game, it was reported that Cowser had suffered a broken hand thanks to the hit by pitch. While he won't miss any further time this winter, it's a fitting end for an Orioles team that couldn't get out of its own way this year.

Cowser should be good to go for spring training next year, but there are still many unanswered questions regarding the Orioles roster in 2025. A number of important decisions will need to be made in terms of roster construction. But no matter how good the Orioles look on paper, they'll need to have better luck on the injury front if they want to compete for a title.