This one moment on Opening Day could set the tone for Orioles’ 2026 season

The Baltimore Orioles' 2025 season was a massive disappointment, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of fans who had entered the year thinking the team was on an upward trajectory. The excitement that surrounded the team as they ascended from 2022 through 2024 dissipated with every blowout the team suffered.

In 2026, the Orioles are hoping to recapture some of the hype and excitement they lost, and one moment has an outsized opportunity to last for a long time in the memory of the Orioles fanbase.

The anticipation for Pete Alonso's first regular-season at-bat as a member of the Orioles began to mount when they signed him in early December and the expectancy began to grow exponentially with every homer he hit in spring training.

Pete Alonso's first at-bat in an Orioles uniform has the potential to be historically significant

When Alonso steps into the batter's box for the first time on Opening Day, it's going to be its own mini event. Fans in the stadium will make a point of not being in line for concessions or in the bathroom. Fans watching at home will put their phones down and turn up the volume. Thousands of TVs in the Queens area will rapidly tune in to an Orioles-Twins game.

And yet, as much as everyone in Birdland is excited for Alonso's first at bat as an Oriole, it will be a "can't lose" endeavor for him. If he recorded an out, it's just baseball, and 99% of people will go about their business as usual. However, if he gets a hit, he'll receive a strong ovation from an excited crowd. And if he hits a home run, it could easily result in the loudest non-playoff game crowd pop in Camden Yards this century.

If Alonso homers in his first at-bat and the Orioles go on to see any success at all during his tenure, then that moment will be remembered for a long time as a major turning point in the organization's history.