Baltimore’s very own baseball team made history in the 2014 season. The Orioles made the postseason for the first time since 1997 and swept the Tigers in the ALDS.
“I expected us (the Orioles) to be atop of our division, but I didn’t expect to win it,” said Orioles fan and history teacher here at North Harford Mr. Chuck Selfe.
Oriole magic really shone through in this very memorable season for the city. Somehow, after injuries to key players Manny Machado and Matt Wieters, the Orioles were able to post a 96-66 record and win the AL East and chase the AL Championship.
“If we still had Wieters, Machado and Davis there would have been a different ending,”said Selfe, “if we’re healthy next year we should have similar success.”
The black and orange have been doing it all behind their all-star sluggers. Orioles’ very own Nelson Cruz, new to the team in 2014, leads the MLB in home runs with 40 and the team has hit a collective 211 homeruns. Steve Peirce, who wasn’t an opening day starter, has stepped up and slugged 21 dingers for the team, and normal contributors Adam Jones (29) and Chris Davis (26) have put a fair amount of balls over the fence.
When the playoffs took shape, Chris Tillman emerged as the Oriole ace, after the team had not really had an implicit “game 1” type of guy. Tillman posted the team’s lowest ERA and had 150 strikeouts, but Wei-Yin Chen had 16 wins, leading the orange. The bullpen has held its own as well, new closer Zach Britton posted 37 saves.
“Our pitching was much better than expected,” said Selfe.
The Birds took advantage of a weaker AL East division, clinching their playoff spot with more than two weeks left in the season.
The fans responded to the Orioles success by painting the city orange. Camden Yards started to sell out every night, and you could see a sea of orange and black at every playoff game. The city took over the motto “We won’t stop” to describe the refuse-to-lose mentally, where the Orioles simply seemed to not let games get away from them.
All in all the team had a very successful 2014 season; having a winning record and making a playoff run will keep fans excited about next year and maybe motivate free agents to come to charm city.