Orioles finally start getting respect after latest CBS Sports power rankings

After last season's 101-win campaign, you'd assume that Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wouldn't have to be banging the table like Deion Sanders and asking members of the media, "Do you believe now?"

While the Colorado Buffaloes' attempt to ride that early-season wave of disrespect eventually failed miserably, the Orioles are beginning to gain more national attention. CBS Sports' latest power rankings have the Orioles as the No. 2 team in Major League Baseball, bested only by the Atlanta Braves.

The Orioles started the season 8-6 and have received very little from the team's top prospect (Jackson Holliday). But Baltimore has won six of its past seven games, and it now appears that the O's are getting the attention they deserve.

Orioles finally start getting respect after latest CBS Sports power rankings

CBS Sports cites not only the Orioles' recent win-loss record, but how they've done it. Baltimore has outscored its opponents 46-29 during that seven-game stretch. While the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals aren't exactly world-beaters, the Orioles' only task is to defeat the teams who are on the schedule that day (and KC remains frisky thus far this season).

The Orioles, despite having one fewer win, leapfrogged their AL East nemesis. The New York Yankees are the third-best team in baseball according to CBS Sports, dropping out of the top spot from a week ago. The Yankees are just .500 over their past 10 games, while the Orioles are 7-3.

The Orioles lead MLB in home runs (33) and rank among the top five in runs scored, triples, RBI, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS. On the pitching side of things, Baltimore's hurlers rank among the top five in WHIP.

The only team disrespected more than the Orioles at the outset of the 2024 season has probably been the Cleveland Guardians. Not even the majority of hardcore baseball fans know that Cleveland has the best record in baseball. The Guardians' smoke-and-mirrors show is only good enough for fifth place in the CBS Sports power rankings this week.

In order for Baltimore to take the top spot next week, Hyde's club will need to take down a pair of teams who are struggling. The Los Angeles Angels are next on the docket before the O's head out west to play the Oakland Athletics in what will likely resemble the type of crowd that shows up to a high school game at Towson on a Wednesday night.

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