One key reason that Orioles Magic has been missing in 2024

What exactly is "Orioles Magic?"

It is a phrase you have likely heard before, a phrase so associated with Orioles' fans that there is a popular song about it. The phrase "Orioles Magic" originated in the 1970s and has popped up now and then when the Orioles play on the field is... well... magical. Whatever the phrase means, there has been nothing "magical" about the second half of the 2024 season.

The most recent run of magic seemingly started in 2022, when the Orioles jumped from just 52 to 83 wins. The magic continued into 2023, when the Orioles won a franchise-best 101 games and earned the number one seed in the American League. They got off to a great start this year but are just 25-27 since the All-Star break. It got me thinking - what has changed? What, or who, did the Orioles have in 2022 and 2023 that they do not have this season? Felix Bautista.

The glaring absence of closer Felix Bautista has short-circuited Orioles Magic

Bautista's numbers in 2022 and 2023 speak for themselves: 12 saves and a 2.19 ERA in 2022, and 33 saves and a 1.48 ERA in an injury-shortened 2023 season. But beyond the numbers, Bautista always seemed to be involved in the more magical games.

It was a luxury the Orioles had in 2022 and 2023 that they do not have in 2024. In a tie game in the late innings, Bautista would frequently enter and keep the other team off the board, for one or more innings. Having a runner start extra innings at second base did not matter when Bautista came in throwing gas and striking out the side.

Look back at any "magical" game in 2022 or 2023 and you will likely find Bautista. Remember when Kyle Stowers hit his first Major League home run with 2 outs and 2 strikes off of Liam Hendriks to tie the game in 2022? Guess who pitched a scoreless tenth and eleventh inning (when the go-ahead run was on second base to start each inning) to earn the win? Bautista.

What about when Ryan O'Hearn famously hit a game-tying three-run homer off of Jordan Romano in Toronto in 2023 as part of a stunning Orioles' sweep? The Orioles won a magical game because again, Bautista kept the Jays off the board in the bottom of the ninth and tenth, triumphantly striking out the side to end the game.

In a season-defining series win in Seattle last year, the Orioles won Game two 1-0 in ten innings. Bautista pitched a scoreless ninth and tenth with 4 strikeouts. He did the same thing when the Orioles won 3 out of 4 in Tampa shortly after the All-Star Break to take their first lead in the AL East all season.

It's a simple but powerful concept: Orioles Magic is possible when the Orioles' have a shutdown reliever like Felix Bautista. Magic often happens in the late innings, and having Bautista as a dominant anchor to shut the door made the O's feel like anything was possible.

Fast forward to 2024. With Bautista out for the season, the Orioles have struggled mightily to fill the void. Craig Kimbrel went from being a $13M signing to sparsely used due to struggles at the end of games. Seranthony Dominguez has pitched decently as the Orioles' closer, but Felix Bautista, he is not.

For example, Dominguez was tasked with preserving a tie game twice in a three-game series against the Mets. Both times, he allowed walk-off home runs, first to catcher Francisco Alvarez and then to pinch-hitter Jesse Winker. Similarly, in the opener against the Padres, the Orioles rallied to tie the game at 4 in the bottom of the eighth inning. While it looked like a potential magical comeback victory, Craig Kimbrel immediately coughed up the go-ahead run to the Padres in the top of the ninth. Magic averted.

To be fair, the second half of the season has been far from magical for a number of reasons: injuries to key players, poor clutch hitting, and a struggling Corbin Burnes (though he did pitch 7 scoreless in a win over Detroit Saturday night). But the lack of magic this year has largely stemmed from the absence of the Orioles' bullpen ace, Felix Bautista. With Bautista out for the remainder of the season, the Orioles can only hope to recapture the magic with the players they have, especially with the playoffs just around the corner.