These MLB teams are decidedly worse than Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides

Not everyone follows minor league baseball, so let's bring you up to speed. The Baltimore Orioles Triple-A affiliate, the Norfolk Tides, are really, really good. In fact, some fans and pundits have argued that the Tides could actually compete in the major leagues.

The Tides lead all Triple-A teams with 24 home runs. The next closest team is the Louisville Bats with nine round-trippers. Norfolk's scored 74 runs in six games. That's over 12 runs per game. The Durham Bulls are second in the category, with just over seven runs per game. But that's what happens when you have a roster that features Coby Mayo, Jackson Holliday, Kyle Stowers, and Heston Kjerstad.

The Tides pitching, however, is not good at all. Only the Charlotte Knights have a higher team ERA than the Tides (8.17). Norfolk is in the top five in strikeouts, but the team is also among the top five in walks. So while Norfolk's been quite good at scoring runs this season, they've also given up a lot. Do the Tides really pose a threat to any teams in Major League Baseball?

The Oakland (Sacramento) A's are worse than Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides

Orioles fans know all too well what it feels like to be sitting at rock bottom. Had it not been for the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, it's quite likely the O's would've lost 100-plus games four years in a row. Baltimore lost 115 in 2018, 108 games in 2019, and 110 in 2021. The Orioles know exactly what the Oakland A's are facing right now -- except for the fact that the A's are moving out of Oakland.

MLB voted to allow the A's to relocate to Las Vegas with a three-year stopover in Sacramento. Sorry, A's fans, but those are going to be some long and difficult seasons. The A's ownership has essentially taken the same approach as Rachel Phelps from the 1989 movie Major League. A's owner John Fisher has put together a team that couldn't win even if they tried. Most recently, one of the team's top young players was optioned back to Triple-A despite a red-hot start to the season.

Not only are the Tides better than this year's iteration of the A's, but Norfolk might not be the only minor league team who could beat the brakes off Oakland. The A's, sadly, are just a poorly run franchise.

The White Sox are worse than Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides

Somehow, the Chicago White Sox defeated the Atlanta Braves earlier this season. The White Sox are not as bad as the A's, but they're a close second. Chicago isn't just losing games, they're getting demolished by the opposition.

Already this season, Pedro Grifol's team has two losses by nine runs. Yikes! Other than Luis Robert Jr., White Sox fans don't have much to cheer about these days. Chicago already traded their ace prior to Opening Day, and the question now becomes, who else will be shipped out of the South Side before the trade deadline?

The Rockies are worse than Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides

The Miami Marlins haven't won a game, but that's team we've already seen get decimated by injuries to their starting rotation. The Marlins roster still features the likes of Josh Bell, Luis Arráez, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. On the other hand, the Colorado Rockies have no stars to speak of and are off to a horrific start of their own.

When 37-year-old Charlie Blackmon is your best player, there's a problem. But that's the dilemma facing Rockies manager Bud Black at the moment. The Rockies have made awful decisions over the years; parting ways with Nolan Arenado and signing Kris Bryant are two of the biggest mistakes the Colorado franchise has made recently.

So while fans will never know whether or not the Orioles' Triple-A squad could take down some of the lower-level competition in the major leagues, it's certainly worth the discussion. Of course, O's fans hope that Norfolk's stats take a bit of hit in the coming weeks and months, because that likely means that players like Holliday, Stowers, and Mayo are on their way to The Show.

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