Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser are Baltimore's new bromance

The Baltimore Orioles have a history of of great duos playing for their greatest teams. The 1960s and '70s teams had many great players, but the duo of Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson stands out to many. The 1980s had the duo of Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. lead the franchise to its most recent World Series.

Since then, there have been several quality duos that were fan favorites. The infield pair of Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora were the bright spots during Baltimore's dark days in the early 2000s, and the outfield pair of Adam Jones and Nick Markakis carried the O's back to the postseason on several occasion's in the 2010s.

Today's Orioles are full of young talent and feature one of baseball's best duos in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson. Rutschman, who finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022 and ninth in AL MVP voting in 2023, is currently considered by many to be the best catcher in baseball. Henderson, who won AL Rookie of the Year and finished eighth in AL MVP voting in 2023, has gotten off to a hot start this year and is an early front runner for MVP. Not only are these two among baseball's best, but they're also very good friends.

Rutschman and Henderson are only in their second full season of playing together in the majors, but they're no longer the new duo in town.

Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser have forced themselves into the Orioles' everyday lineup and have given the Orioles a second great young duo. Both players have been named AL Player of the Week in the first full month of the season, and like the great duos before them, are great friends.

In a recent postgame interview, Orioles broadcaster Kevin Brown questioned the relationship between Cowser and Westburg, saying, "I know there's like a goofiness but a sincerity that comes with it. How would you define it?" Westburg said, "Yin and yang...is the best way to put it."

Cowser continued, saying, "He brings out, you know, some seriousness in me and I bring out some goofiness in him," going on to say how they balance each other out on the field and have fun. Cowser continued by giving Westburg a friendly jab about his lack of smiling.

Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg are Orioles' newest standout duo

Cowser earned Player of the Week honors for the week of 4/7-13 when he batted .435 (10-23) with four doubles, four home runs, six runs scored, 12 RBI and two stolen bases. For the season, Cowser is hitting .333 with six doubles, six homers, 17 RBI and three stolen bases while playing stellar defense in left field.

Westburg followed Cowser's effort by earning Player of the Week honors the following week (4/14-20) when he batted .478 (11-23) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, five runs scored, eight RBI and a stolen base. Westburg is batting .310 with five doubles, one triple, five home runs, 18 RBI and four stolen bases, all while playing very good defense at both second and third base.

Westburg might be the yin to Cowser's yang, and the balance is clearly working early in the season. The O's are 16-8, which is the fourth best record in baseball, good enough for first place in the AL East by percentage points. That exceptional record is in no small part because of Westburg and Cowser's contributions. Westburg usually looks very serious while playing, but his interview with Cowser showed his lighter side. Cowser, on the other hand, seems to always be smiling, even when he "yeeted" the ball that he caught to secure Craig Kimbrel's 422nd save into the water tank in Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals, and had to get help from the stadium staff to recover it.

Whatever these two are doing is working, and I hope they continue to balance each other out. They should be a fun pair to watch for years to come.