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Home , Boog Powell (outfielder), Cody Sedlock, Ed Smith Stadium, Ellis Burks, Ken Singleton, Oliver Drake (baseball)

World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2016, 2012, 1996

Monday, April 3, 2017

Game Stories:  Orioles and Tides dodge raindrops in 3-3 tie at Harbor Park The Sun 3/31 Columns:  Opening Day starter is hoping to make a grand entrance The Sun 4/3  Fans still wait to rub elbows with former slugger at his BBQ stand The Sun 4/3  The Orioles' opening act is set to begin, and early games could be crucial this season The Sun 4/2  Orioles notes: Chris Tillman feeling good after session The Sun 4/2  Orioles return Rule 5 Aneury Tavárez to Red Sox after failed trade attempts The Sun 4/2  Orioles select contract of outfielder Craig Gentry; Opening Day roster now set The Sun 4/2  For these Orioles fans, 25 years of Opening Day memories at Camden Yards The Sun 4/2  Schmuck: -A Ron Johnson an asset in key role with Orioles The Sun 4/1  5 things you might not know about Camden Yards The Sun 4/1  Reliever Oliver Drake makes team, Orioles' Opening Day roster nearly finalized The Sun 3/31  Orioles hoping Chris Tillman will be ready to rejoin rotation in early May The Sun 3/31  Orioles argue TV rights fee case before New York appellate panel The Sun 3/31  Five up, five down as Orioles prepare for Opening Day The Sun 3/31  Nothing else imminent: Duquette seems satisfied with composition of Orioles' Opening Day roster The Sun 3/31  Orioles' speaks his mind The Sun 3/31  OD for Jays, O's a Wild Card Game rematch MLB.com 4/1  No big surprises as O's finalize OD roster MLB.com 4/2  5 Statcast storylines for '17 Orioles MLB.com 3/31  O's hope to have Tillman back in early May MLB.com 3/31  O's sign Cal Ripken's son to Minors deal MLB.com 3/31  Gausman hopes OD nod 'first of many' MLB.com 3/31  Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays MASNsports.com 4/3  Duquette: “This should be a big year for the O’s” MASNsports.com 4/3  Drake on making the team, Duquette on Tavárez talks and more MASNsports.com 4/2  Tillman’s side session, the roster, opening day and much more MASNsports.com 4/2  Orioles set 25-man roster MASNsports.com 4/3  Smith atop the order, O’Day and Miley health updates and more MASNsports.com 4/3  Ceremonies completed and time to start 2017 season (updated) MASNsports.com 4/3  More on Mancini and props for the Tides from the Orioles MASNsports.com 4/1  Quietly confident Orioles are ready to start a new season MASNsports.com 4/2  Orioles’ minor league break-camp rosters MASNsports.com 4/2  Kevin Gausman on opening day start: “I’ll try to set the tone” MASNsports.com 4/2  Jones on raising the bar to win, Mancini’s great quote and more MASNsports.com 4/3  Orioles players talk about that down the orange carpet MASNsports.com 4/3  O’s ‘pen should certainly be good again MASNsports.com 4/3  O’s game blog: Kevin Gausman on mound in season opener MASNsports.com 4/3  Andrew Stetka: Anticipation for new season brings new expectations MASNsports.com 4/3  Eager For Special Opening Day In Baltimore PressBoxOnline.com 4/3  2017 Orioles Preview: Who Will Be The X-Factor For The Orioles In 2017? PressBoxOnline.com 4/3  Orioles Set Opening Day Roster, Get Ready For Big Day PressBoxOnline.com 4/2  Orioles Gearing Up For Opening Day, Partner Up With KidsPeace CBS Baltimore 3/31  Orioles Finalize 25-Man Roster Ahead Of Opening Day CBS Baltimore 4/2  Blue Jays, Orioles Renew Rivalry In Wild-Card Rematch CBS Baltimore 4/2  Orioles VP Greg Bader Talks Opening Day Festivities At Camden Yards CBS Baltimore 4/3  The Latest On Orioles Opening Day CBS Baltimore 4/3  Myriad Orioles Thoughts: Smith leading off; Miley’s schedule; Buck on Opening Day BaltimoreBaseball.com 4/3  Orioles Opening Day lineup is set BaltimoreBaseball.com 4/3  Kim: ‘I hope they don’t boo me this year,’ and other Orioles’ thoughts (Tavarez, Mullins, Drake, Duquette) BaltimoreBaseball.com 4/2  Everything you need to know about Orioles Opening Day WBAL 4/3  Orioles show the way on economic development return on investment Sarasota Herald- Tribune 4/3  By the numbers: Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards WBAL 4/3 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-and-tides-dodge-raindrops-before- norfolk-scores-3-2-victory-at-harbor-park-20170331-story.html

Orioles and Tides dodge raindrops in 3-3 tie at Harbor Park

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

For most of Friday morning, there appeared to be no chance the Orioles and the would be able to play their scheduled exhibition at Harbor Park, but the heavy rainstorm relented just in time to get the field ready for the game.

The only question after that was who would win -- the Orioles' likely Opening Day lineup or a Tides lineup that featured seven players with major league experience that competed all spring to be on the opposing team.

The answer: nobody did.

Ryan Flaherty drove in the tying run twice, first on a groundout and then on a single in the ninth as the Orioles came back to tie the Triple-A Tides, 3-3.

An eighth- sacrifice fly by Johnny Giavotella had given the Tides the lead in a game that also featured J.J. Hardy's second of the spring and a two-run by Tides catcher Francisco Pena.

Hardy's home run came off Norfolk starter Brandon Barker and benefited from a stiff breeze that was blowing out to left field. Chris Dickerson scored the winning run from third base after walking, advancing to second on a and to third on a balk by Richard Rodriguez.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-opening-day-starter-kevin-gausman-is- hoping-to-make-a-grand-entrance-20170402-story.html Opening Day starter Kevin Gausman is hoping to make a grand entrance

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun April 3, 2017

When right-hander Kevin Gausman takes the mound against the in the Orioles' regular-season opener today, he won't be looking over his shoulder and neither will his teammates.

The Orioles will be starting off against the team that brought a frustrating end to their 2017 season in the one-game American League wild-card playoff last October, but that was then and this is now.

"No, it's the first game of the season so we're not thinking about the last game of last year,'' said Gausman, who will be making his first career Opening Day start in place of injured Chris Tillman. "[I'm going to go] out there and throw strikes and try to establish the way we're going to pitch this year, which is what we've done the last couple years.

"I've said it multiple times, I think we all got better as the season went on, especially myself, and so kind of trying to figure out why that is and the ground running this year and be that good the whole year."

Gausman isn't discounting the importance of the opponent, but it's more about starting the season well against a Blue Jays team that is expected to again be a major rival within the division.

"Any time you play in the division those are the games that matter,'' Gausman said. "Buck [Showalter] talked to us the other day about games in April, which can be the difference between playing in October and further."

Gausman appeared destined for the Opening Day start from the first day of , when it became apparent that Tillman's sore shoulder would not allow him to start his fourth consecutive opener.

"Obviously, a big game, and to have this honor I'm obviously very happy,'' Gausman said before Sunday's final preseason workout at Oriole Park. "[Like] a lot of guys who came before me who did it -- guys like Mussina, and obviously Tilly -- you try to set the tone and just kind of feed off the environment. It's going to be rocking and it's going to be fun, so I'm definitely looking forward to it."

The Orioles have been a playoff contender throughout Gausman's young major league career, and he doesn't expect this year to be any different.

"I think we all expect to make the playoffs every year,'' he said. "We have a great pitching staff, great bullpen, great home run-hitting team and we play real good defense, too. So, there's a lot to like about our team, and I think if you come and watch us play here at Camden Yards I think you're going to like the team a lot."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-boog-20170329-story.html Fans still wait to rub elbows with former slugger Boog Powell at his BBQ stand

By Mike Klingaman / The Baltimore Sun April 3, 2017

One day last summer at Camden Yards, approached Boog's BBQ stand and stepped up to the plates.

"I'd like some turkey," the Orioles' outfielder said.

Boog Powell hit the roof.

"You can't hit no damn home runs on turkey!" Powell bellowed. "I'm gonna give you some beef."

That he did. Now every time they meet, Jones says, "I had the beef."

For 25 years, Powell has served up barbecue and banter from his stand on Eutaw Street at Orioles games. His place has become a model for others, run by old players, around baseball. On Monday, Powell will be there again, doling out sandwiches and a slice of life to fans who stand in line as much to meet the 75-year-old slugger as to eat the food. They'll shake hands, take snapshots and swap memories with the man who helped lead the Orioles to two world championships and who won the 1970 American League Most Valuable Player award.

"I'm, like, the official greeter at the ballpark," Powell said. "People come looking for something positive, a confirmation about their own lives — and they find a guy standing there, smiling, and trying to make them happy. I want you to feel good when you leave me."

Clearly, it works both ways. Powell is anxious to return to Camden Yards on Opening Day, having spent the winter at his home in Key West, Fla., where "nobody knows me on the street. If I'm having a problem with self-esteem, all I have to do is walk into that ballpark and, wow, it's back. People want a piece of me, and I of them, and we converse, and then they may whip out a 20-year-old picture of me with my arm around their mother."

Powell has held his ground, a looming presence peddling pit beef, pork and turkey, for nearly every home game since Camden Yards opened. He gives about 200 autographs a night, but a mere figurehead, he is not. The meat recipes are his, honed by the countless backyard cookouts Powell had while playing for the Orioles, hitting 303 home runs from 1960 through 1974.

"We had a row house, five blocks from Memorial Stadium, and I'd come home after a night game, at maybe 2 a.m., start a fire in the back yard and cook supper," he said. "The smoke went into neighbors' windows and they'd lean out and yell, 'Hey, Powell, maybe you don't have to go to work tomorrow, but we do!' And BAM! Their windows would slam."

A latecomer to barbecue, Powell grew up in , the son of a used car salesman who earned $3,000 a year. Powell's mother died when he was 12 and, as the oldest of three boys, he often fixed meals. Macaroni and cheese. Tripe. Salt pork and bread.

"I didn't have a steak until I was 16, but we were never hungry," he said. Though a meat-and- potatoes guy, he has acquired a taste for sushi.

"I never thought I'd get used to eating bait," he said.

A prodigious eater — "I'll try anything but Brussels sprouts" — he met with officials of Aramark, then the Orioles' concessionaire, prior to the 1992 season and sealed a deal to feed the fans. For a month and a half, Powell toiled in a test kitchen, perfecting dry rubs and spice mixes alongside Russell Szekely, then executive chef at Camden Yards.

"Boog was an iconic player who happened to be quite a cook," Szekely said. "He was our ultimate taste tester; if he didn't approve it, it wouldn't be served. Boog always said that barbecue was 'like a party in your mouth,' and his vision was a hit."

On April 6, 1992, however, Powell had butterflies, not barbecue, in his belly. He had surrendered the marina he owned in Florida ("I didn't have enough business experience to get that done") and was no longer a pitchman for Miller Lite beer, for whom he'd done 17 commercials.

"I was quite apprehensive [about the food stand]," he said. "I thought, if this fails, I don't have any other things going. I had no clue how the barbecue would do. I imagined people saying, 'Let's see if this big boy knows anything.'"

On Opening Day, the 500 pounds of prepared beef and pork went fast. Lines stretched 50 yards; folks waited up to 30 minutes for grub.

"His stand was No. 1, right out of the gate," Szekely said.

A quarter-century later, business remains brisk, and not just among fans. Most nights, the visiting team orders "eight or 10" sandwiches, Powell said, and the umpiring crew always wants a few. Moreover, just as Camden Yards served as the prototype for a bevy of similar ballparks, Boog's BBQ has spawned others run by old-timers in baseball venues. In Pittsburgh, the Pirates' Manny Sanguillen hawks barbecue; in San Francisco, it's Giants' Hall of Famer , while Philadelphia has Greg "Bull" Luzinski. But Powell, the onetime 6-foot-4, 230-pound first baseman, batted lead-off.

"On Monday, we'll probably go through 1,200 pounds of beef and 800 pounds of both pork and turkey," said Annie O'Brien, who manages the place. "It's hard to keep the line moving with Boog there. Everyone has stories, and they all want their stories heard by him. His autograph can't be worth anything, at this point, but they still come for it.

"He's the epitome of Baltimore — nothing fancy and never full of himself, just a super gracious guy who genuinely cares about people. Even if I didn't want to work here anymore, I wouldn't know how to tell Boog."

Powell has fed celebrities, from basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley to Olympic star Michael Phelps to actor John Astin (Gomez on "The Addams Family").

"Governor [Larry] Hogan is a regular," Powell said. "We've had similar life issues [cancer]."

Twenty years ago, during baseball season, Powell was diagnosed with colon cancer. During his recovery, patrons brought prayer cards to his food stand. He has since bonded with others who've survived the disease.

"I'll see them, eight or 10 people back in line," he said. "When they get to me, I act surprised and say, 'Are you still here? Congratulations on your fourth year of being cancer-free.' Then they cry and I do, too.

"I get so carried away, being amongst people. I don't know how else to do it."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-opening-day-0403-20170402- story.html The Orioles' opening act is set to begin, and early games could be crucial this season

By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun April 2, 2017

Orioles manager Buck Showalter compared Monday's season opener to the opening night of a Broadway play, with his team taking its place under the spotlight after weeks of dress rehearsals in Sarasota, Fla. After each Orioles player — one by one — runs down the orange carpet for Opening Day introductions, it finally becomes time for the opening act.

There's no question that every slice of the 162-game regular season matters. One game in April can make the difference in earning a playoff spot in October. Last year, it was the difference between the Orioles hosting the American League wild-card game and traveling to Toronto, and no Orioles fan needs a reminder of how that night played out north of the border.

"It's a constant test," Showalter said. "You go through all these different things. … There's a lot of different acts to a season, and tomorrow starts Act 1. But we don't get up the next morning and read the reviews to see if we're going to stay open."

Considering that 24 of the Orioles' first 27 games are against American League East opponents, there's an added importance to the Orioles' opening act.

"You lose one game in April and you might lose the division by one game in September, so every game is important," shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "I think playing in the division a lot in the beginning is the most important thing because those games always mean more and teams sometimes get off to bad starts or get off to good starts. Every game matters in the end, so they're definitely very important games."

While this club has seen marked success over the past five years — a stretch that includes three postseason berths and the most wins in the American League — its biggest strength might be its ability to manipulate its roster.

The Orioles officially set their Opening Day roster Sunday at noon before holding a workout at Camden Yards. There were no roster surprises, with outfielder Craig Gentry's contract being added to replace Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavarez, who was returned to the Red Sox after an attempt to work out a trade with Boston failed.

Two starting — right-hander Chris Tillman and lefty Wade Miley — were placed on the disabled list; three days off in the first eight days of the season allowed the Orioles to carry just three starting pitchers. The opening roster includes eight relievers and a deep bench of 14 position players, including Gentry and rookie Trey Mancini.

The Orioles are always innovative in maneuvering the 25 spots on an active roster, and this season is no different. The new 10-day disabled list — which was negotiated into the collective bargaining agreement this offseason — is another rule the club can use to its advantage.

"The club can make more aggressive decisions to decide to put the player on the roster, because now the player doesn't have to be out for two weeks," Orioles executive vice president said. "And by putting them on the DL, you don't have to wait in that limbo period, to wait a couple of days. We always try to wait a couple of days for the veteran position players to see if they can come back before we put them on the DL. Now, with the 10 days, for pitchers especially, you can have some soreness and can skip a start and come back for your next start with the 10-day DL."

Add in that the Orioles will carry two long relievers with options — and have an upgraded surplus of arms in Triple-A Norfolk — and they can prevent the bullpen from being overworked by consistently importing fresh arms from the minors.

The Orioles will eventually lose the luxury of carrying so many position players because they will likely have to add a fourth starter April 9 and a fifth starter on April 15. But Showalter said he has those moves plotted out through the end of the month, adding that rainouts could shift that schedule either to the benefit or detriment to those plans. Last year, the Orioles had four rainouts in their first five weeks.

"It takes some imagination," Showalter said "There's a way to maneuver around and keep 11 [pitchers] and still have seven in the pen. … It's going to take some foresight and imagination to go. … It was really tough to do it last year. This year, it's got a chance to be easier, but you've got to stay on top of it. People say, 'Well what are you doing there all that time?' That's what you're doing. You're grinding. You have to have cooperation with your staff in Norfolk and Bowie, but we'll see what develops. I'd love to have the same 25 all year, but I know we eventually need a fourth and fifth starter."

Through May 4, all but three games — an interleague series in Cincinnati from April 15 to 17 — are against division opponents. But the Orioles have the benefit of five days off in their first 25 days, which can help the team get the most out of its improved depth.

"I think anytime you start a new year, you want to get off to a good start just to get the ball rolling early," first baseman said. "It kind of gives you a little bit of breathing room, so to speak, and it kind of sets the tone for the whole season. Obviously, the situation we're in right now with guys being on the DL and having a bunch of off days at the beginning, it plays well for us, but I think it's always important to get off to a good start."

Last season, the Orioles won their first seven games, which provided a strong foundation to the season and allowed them to survive some second-half dips. They were just 15-30 in July and August, but remained competitive.

This year, the club's early stretch against AL East opponents includes nine games against the defending division champion Red Sox, and six apiece against the Blue Jays and Yankees, so a similar start will have greater impact on the division race early on.

"If you look at our schedule in April, it really rings true playing in our division most of the time, which is very important," Showalter said. "I'm not going to say that if things don't go well early that the season is over. I mean heck, it's a long grind."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-notes-chris-tillman-feeling-good- after-bullpen-plus-drake-trumbo-kim-20170402-story.html Orioles notes: Chris Tillman feeling good after bullpen session

By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun April 2, 2017

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman reported no problems after the first of three scheduled bullpen sessions Saturday at Camden Yards, and manager Buck Showalter said the session was “real encouraging” for the club’s veteran starter.

“It went really well, and he feels good today,” Showalter said Sunday. "Plus, he liked throwing inside because when guys throw inside, the mitt makes a louder noise. It looks like you’re throwing hard. ... I think he might be on his way. You guys have got that schedule. He’s right on it.”

Tillman’s spring was hampered by shoulder soreness that lingered from last August through the offseason, and he was already this far into his comeback before discomfort shut him down and required a cortisone shot in mid-March.

He has two more scheduled — Monday and Wednesday — before he’s scheduled to fly back to Sarasota to throw a live batting practice Saturday and an extended spring training game on April 11.

Tillman said Saturday was a different feeling from the previous bullpens he threw before the shot was required.

“My bullpens down in Sarasota went well — no pain, no nothing,” he said. “I felt like this one was better — everything. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself and say we’re great, because the other ones were good too, but I felt pretty good yesterday.”

Now, he said, it becomes a matter of knowing how to manage the shoulder throughout the season—something he said he is prepared for.

“I know when it’s something to pitch through and when it’s not,” Tillman said. “It’s just being smart and taking care of it and staying on top of it. You might have to change a few things here and there, but that’s all part of it.”

Lineup to be fluid: Showalter said he had a “good idea” of how his lineup would shake out for Opening Day, and didn’t caution against reading into the one he used Friday in Norfolk, when outfielder Seth Smith batted leadoff against a right-handed pitcher.

Smith has leadoff experience in his career and is known for on-base capabilities, something executive vice president Dan Duquette said was an area the team hoped to address.

“It looks like we’ve got a pretty solid lineup," Duquette said. "We should hit a lot of home runs. Hopefully, we get some guys on base a little bit more this year so we can leverage that and have guys on base when we do hit our home runs. Seth Smith is a good on-base man. Joey Rickard is back, he’s a good on-base man.”

Rickard is a leading candidate to lead off against left-handed pitching, beginning Wednesday against Toronto’s J.A. Happ.

Drake glad for opportunity: Reliever Oliver Drake, who secured one of the final bullpen spots on the roster, said he’s looking forward to erasing his difficult spring and working toward keeping his job for the entire year.

“I’m just excited to be able to get out there and help out when I’m called upon,” Drake said. “Now is when it really matters, to go out there, get people out and get the offense back out on the field.

Drake, who is out of minor league options, had an 8.78 ERA in the spring, but wants to go back to his form from September, when he posted a 1.59 ERA in nine outings.

“Just try to get people out — throw strikes, throw quality strikes, get ahead of guys and work quickly. That’s kind of what I was able to do last September, and that’s my plan going forward.”

Trumbo’s homerless spring: In something of a statistical oddity, Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo didn’t hit a single home run in spring training a year after leading the majors with 47 homers.

“I’ve done it before,” Trumbo said. “I hit 34. I think we’ll be OK.”

Around the horn: Showalter said reliever Darren O’Day is close to 100 percent after a bout with the flu. … Showalter said he hoped for a better reception for outfielder Hyun Soo Kim than the one he received last Opening Day, when some fans booed him for not accepting a minor league assignment. “I think it’s a reminder to all of us, how things are perceived and how they really are, reality-wise. He did a lot of things after Opening Day [last year] to make it. I think it’s a real identifier of our fans, too. They saw he’s a good player, a hard trier, having a good year, and respected his decisions. It worked out well for us, and him, so tomorrow could be… I don’t know how much he’s expecting this, that, whatever, but I think he’ll get a different response.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-return-rule-5-outfielder-aneury- tavarez-to-red-sox-after-failed-trade-attempts-20170402-story.html

Orioles return Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavárez to Red Sox after failed trade attempts

By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun April 2, 2017

Returning Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez to the , which the Orioles were forced to do Sunday, was a decision the team agonized over but couldn’t avoid, team officials said.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette said the Orioles “exchanged a number of names” with Boston as possible trade pieces, but “under different circumstances, we might have given up more in the trade to acquire him."

“We tried to work out a trade and didn’t want to really trade Manny [Machado] for him,” manager Buck Showalter said. “I’m just kidding, but we looked a lot. We liked him, just like we did when we took him in the Rule 5, and tried to make every step possible up until 8 or 9 o’clock this morning, Dan and I were looking at ways to keep him. But I think with a couple emergences of some things, we must have talked about six or seven variables to that. And one was how you would acquire him.

“We felt strongly that he had a chance, and still do, and Boston does too because they took him back. You aren’t always able to keep him. We’ve probably been way ahead of the curve. We’ve still got one of them and we felt like coming out of the draft, we’d end up keeping one of them. [Anthony] Santander is still very much a part of it. We like him.”

Tavarez hit a solid .292/.382/.396 with a home run and eight stolen bases in spring training, but the team’s major league outfield situation couldn’t accommodate him, even in a limited role. The team put him on waivers Wednesday, and no team claimed him, so a return to Boston was inevitable.

The Orioles will open the season with seven outfield possibilities — Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, Seth Smith, Hyun Soo Kim, Joey Rickard, Trey Mancini and Craig Gentry. However, Duquette said the presence of a comparable player in the minor leagues, outfielder Cedric Mullins, made a Tavarez trade less appealing.

“I’ve got to tell you, we were so impressed with Cedric Mullins coming into spring training and doing what he did that we have him in Double-A,” Duquette said. “He’s going to start the season in Double-A, so we can take a look at him. He might be able to do the job that we had in mind for Aneury Tavarez later in the season. You never know.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-select-contract-of-outfielder-craig- gentry-set-opening-day-roster-20170402-story.html Orioles select contract of outfielder Craig Gentry; Opening Day roster now set

By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun April 2, 2017

The Orioles 25-man roster for Opening Day, revealed in bits and pieces over the past few weeks, didn’t contain any surprises when fully announced Sunday.

Outfielder Craig Gentry had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk, meaning the veteran fourth outfielder has made the club. He’ll join a crowded outfield that also includes Adam Jones, plus Mark Trumbo, Seth Smith, Hyun Soo Kim, Joey Rickard, and Trey Mancini rotating through the corner spots.

The and catching corps are composed as expected, with Welington Castillo and Caleb Joseph the two backstops and Chris Davis, Jonathan Schoop, J.J. Hardy, and the infield starters, backed up by Ryan Flaherty.

A schedule heavy on days off early this month allows the team to carry just three starting pitchers — Kevin Gausman, and Ubaldo Jimenez.

The team will likely need to add another by April 9, and then call up a fifth starter by April 15.

Eight relievers will be in the Orioles' bullpen to start the season. Five — closer Zach Britton, Brad Brach, Darren O’Day, Mychal Givens, and Donnie Hart — were locks all camp long. Vidal Nuno and Tyler Wilson were the two long relievers taken out of spring training, while Oliver Drake, who is out of minor league options, grabbed the final bullpen spot despite a difficult spring.

The three players expected to start the season on the disabled list — right-hander Chris Tillman (right shoulder bursitis), left-hander Wade Miley (upper respiratory infection) and outfielder Anthony Santander (right forearm strain) — were all placed there Sunday, paving the way for a roster heavy on position players. Those moves are retroactive to March 30, meaning Miley can start on April 9.

Additionally, Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez was returned to the Boston Red Sox. The club placed him on outright waivers Wednesday, but none of the other 28 teams claimed him. The Orioles could still trade for him to get him back without the Rule 5 roster requirements.

To pare the roster to 25, right-hander Gabriel Ynoa and left-hander Jayson Aquino were optioned to Norfolk. Those two are candidates to start on April 15, when the club needs a fifth starter.

Two other players on the 40-man roster had their assignments transferred. Dariel Alvarez, the Cuban outfielder who is converting to pitching this season, was sent from Norfolk to Class-A Delmarva, while right-hander Jason Garcia was sent from Norfolk to Double-A Bowie to begin the year. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-every-home-opener-0403-20170331- story.html

For these Orioles fans, 25 years of Opening Day memories at Camden Yards

By Jonas Shaffer and Childs Walker / The Baltimore Sun April 2, 2017

An announced 44,568 attended the Orioles' home opener in 1992. An estimated 44,568 left that first day at Camden Yards happy.

The games and seasons following that 2-0 win over the were, at times, trying. The club finished above .500 in five of its first six seasons after moving out of Memorial Stadium, but didn't make the playoffs until 1996. After a hard-luck loss in the 1997 American League Championship Series, the Orioles went 14 years without a winning season.

Only the most diehard of fans kept coming back, year after year, for the start of each Orioles season in Baltimore. But why?

"It's an opportunity for a fresh start," said Larry Bloomer, 60, of Catonsville. "Obviously, we suffered through a lot of difficult seasons until recent history, when we've actually been a lot more competitive. But during the seasons when we weren't, it was just looking forward to teams starting even. For Opening Day, everybody has a chance and everybody has an opportunity to get to the . As the season progresses, maybe that wore off a little bit. But you have that sense of excitement and anticipation that, 'Hey, this might be the season that we actually get back to the playoffs.'"

Ahead of the start of Camden Yards' 25th-anniversary season Monday, The Baltimore Sun spoke with six fans who have been to each of the first 25 Orioles home openers at Oriole Park. It is not quite Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive-games-played streak, but they have returned to the ballpark each time for the same reasons: a love of the game, the pull of family, an abiding curiosity to discover something they've never before seen.

Wes Michael, 59, Towson

Michael joined friends to buy a 13-game season-ticket plan in 1991, wanting to guarantee he'd have tickets for the debut of Camden Yards the next season.

"I had seats in the bleachers in '92," he recalled. "And nobody knew it at the time, but those were great seats."

He lived near the construction site for the new ballpark and had frequently stopped to snap photos at various points in its evolution.

When he finally walked inside for a game on April 6, 1992, he was struck by how much the place reminded him of Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, the park of his youth. "Except there, the seats were all broken and everything smelled of cigar smoke," he recalled with a chuckle.

He has held on to a 13-game plan since. Aside from the first Opening Day, his favorite home opener came in 2013. Chris Davis had homered in each of the first three games at the that year. And then he did it again at Camden Yards, belting a game-winning grand slam against the .

"How could that happen?" Michael said, the wonder still apparent in his voice.

Cinda Raley, 70, Towson

Raley and her husband, Carl, did not have tickets to the first Opening Day at Camden Yards. They got in the door by agreeing to hand out gift packets for the Orioles Advocates.

"I must have said 'Welcome to Oriole Park at Camden Yards' thousands of times that day," she said.

She loved Memorial Stadium, but the new ballpark quickly won her heart. "Oh, everybody was raving about the beauty of the Warehouse," she remembered. "It was a showpiece right from the beginning."

Her favorite Opening Day memory came 11 years later. She and Carl had upper-deck seats that day as the Orioles opened against the Cleveland Indians under sunny skies. Because of their vantage point, they had a better view than most of the snow clouds that formed out of nowhere.

"It snowed to beat the bandits," Raley said. "You could see the players standing there, terrified, because they couldn't see the ball."

In the third inning, Jay Gibbons stood blind and frozen as Ellis Burks' pop fly landed inside the line to give the Indians a lead. "Oh, we were furious at the umpires," Raley said.

After a brief delay, the sun re-emerged, and the Orioles eventually rallied to win in the 13th inning. Raley has seen plenty of oddities in her 25 years going to the park, but never anything quite like that.

Leo Resop, 66, Damascus

Resop's relationship with baseball is tied to the balls themselves. In his defining moment as a fan, he caught 's 500th home run at Memorial Stadium in 1971 (he had grown up three miles from the ballpark but had never even caught a foul ball). He now keeps more than 200 souvenir balls in his basement.

So perhaps it's no surprise that his favorite Opening Day at Camden Yards was in 1997, the lone time the Orioles handed out commemorative balls to celebrate the beginning of the season.

"I believe it was the only time they gave out something besides the magnet schedule," he said. "And they went wire-to-wire in first place. Sweet."

Jimmy Key beat the , 4-2, in his Orioles debut that day.

Resop also cherishes his memories of 's shutout in the first Camden Yards opener and of the snow game in 2003. The 1997 game probably wasn't as indelible as those. But for him, the ball was the thing.

Rodney Clem, 67, Arcadia

The night before Camden Yards opened, Rodney and his son, Travis, had a sleepover in the ballpark.

Rodney had been a vendor for more than a decade in Baltimore, beginning as a soda vendor at Memorial Stadium in 1980 before moving to beer sales a few years later. When hip problems arose, he joined ARA Services (now Aramark) as a retail vendor for the final seasons at the old ballpark. With the opening of Camden Yards in 1992, he had his own retail location in left field.

Travis was about 10 or 11 then. Rodney would be working the April 6 game against the Indians, which was important. That was Travis' way into Opening Day; he didn't have a ticket.

On April 5, father and son helped set up the stand and stock up. Rodney brought food and drinks to snack on. They watched the NCAA men's basketball tournament on the TV in their storefront. At bedtime, they dozed off on two canvas Army cots Rodney had lugged in.

When they woke up, they waited, the stand and stadium closed. Then the Camden Yards gates opened and Travis was in, just another Orioles fan among the announced 44,568.

"It worked out great," Rodney said. "I was happy to get him in there." Larry Bloomer, 60, Catonsville

Bloomer had just finished recounting his favorite memories of Camden Yards home openers spent with his four children when he did the math in his head.

There were 27 years, he said, separating the age of his oldest, Eric, and youngest, Michael. No, wait, he quickly corrected himself: It was actually 17.

The flub could be forgiven. Bloomer spent a good deal of his time raising his two boys and two girls (Jennifer and Meghan) in the ballpark. At least one has been with him for each Orioles home opener, and there have been 25 of those.

"I think that's the thing that I take away from it more so than anything else, is just being able to share that experience with my children," he said. "It's certainly an important aspect of this."

Each child became a kind of marker for his Orioles fandom, their arrival at the ballpark delineating a new iteration of the team or his own place in the ballpark. Bloomer remembers Eric wandering around his section a few rows out by the left-field foul pole as a toddler, then having to "wrangle" him back to his seat.

"I can kind of in my mind visualize when each one was with me," Bloomer said.

Howard Saks, 56, Catonsville

Saks has a home-opener tradition, and it involves a plastic bag.

Every year since 1978, he has been collecting an Orioles Opening Day pin, scorebook and schedule. Since he has been doing this for nearly four decades now, he knows well enough to bring proper storage, lest they get misplaced or wet or torn.

The pins, once secured, go onto a Camden Yards pennant. The scorebooks get supplemented with a box score. But it's the schedules that document his enduring fidelity to the club.

His method is refined. On each schedule, he affixes a dot to the games he expects to attend. When he does, he boxes it off, indicating whether the Orioles won or lost, then adds the result to his monthly tally.

"Name a year, I can go back and check it out and tell you what the record was," he said.

For instance: The Orioles went 11-9 in Camden Yards games he attended in 1978, the first year he started noting his attendance. They went 8-9 last year. Overall, his record is Hall of Fame worthy: 565 wins, 324 losses.

If this sounds like the handiwork of a baseball obsessive, well, it is. "I used to keep the tickets of all the games I went to," he said. "But then, of course, after a while, it was like: 'Oh, this is crazy.'"

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-schmuck-column-0402-20170401- story.html

Schmuck: Triple-A manager Ron Johnson an asset in key role with Orioles

Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun April 1, 2017

When Ron Johnson says being the manager of the Norfolk Tides is "the best job of anybody" in the Orioles organization, it's OK to scratch your head.

How can it be such a wonderful job when your best-laid plans can be upended at any moment by a late-night or early-morning phone call from Baltimore? How great can it be when you have to rearrange your starting rotation at a moment's notice or pull your cleanup hitter out of a close game?

It's simple, really. The expectations and rewards at the Triple-A level are different than at any other level of . Winning is nice, but the emphasis — especially in the Orioles farm system — is on the harvest.

Johnson is highly regarded for his ability to think along with Orioles manager Buck Showalter as emergency needs arise on the big league club. He's the guy at the other end of the "Norfolk Shuttle" that has fed the Orioles throughout a five-year period during which they have won more regular-season games than any other American League team.

"This is an extension of our major league club," Johnson said. "I think Buck would agree with that. You go through 162 games, you're not going to play the same guys and keep the same roster throughout the year. Your depth is the guys that are down here that can come up and fill when you have certain guys go down."

But that's why it's one of the most important jobs, not why it's the best. Johnson loves his job because he also is — generally — the final gatekeeper for the talent that rises through all the levels of the minor league system; the guy who sends the Orioles' best young players off to the big city.

"There's nothing more exciting than telling a guy he's going to the big leagues," Johnson said Friday. "That's why I have the best job of anybody in the organization. It happens in Double-A a little bit, too. But I get to do it with a message and usually it's a message that comes from all the guys that work with players throughout the system as they come through and I get to deliver that message."

He also gets to be the bearer of good news to the assortment of journeyman players who pass through Norfolk to prepare for that moment when the Orioles need an experienced bat or glove. Those moments are more frequent in the Orioles organization because of the importance that Showalter and baseball operations chief Dan Duquette put on keeping veteran depth in reserve.

"They do a great job here of understanding the way it works," Showalter said during the Orioles' visit to Harbor Park on Friday. "It's something that

Frederick and Delmarva and Bowie don't have to go through much, but it's not like any other level. You don't have it in pro football. You don't have it in pro basketball. You don't have it in golf and anything else, the dynamic between Triple-A and the major leagues. It's very important that everybody's pulling on the same rope. If not, it's a long year."

Showalter joked about all the conversations he has had with Johnson during the wee hours of the morning.

"If I had a nickel for every time at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning I've talked to RJ and we're trying to see if we can get somebody there [to Baltimore], but we also know it affects this team and we try to be very aware of it. But I think everybody understands where the priority is."

It's about winning as many games as the Orioles can win in a division that requires every ounce of output from a middle-market team. Last year, the Orioles barely slipped into the playoffs, so the importance of salvaging even one more win during a personnel crisis is difficult to overstate.

"We're in a tough division," Duquette said. "We've got to slug it out every night. We've got to do whatever we can to be resourceful within our market and having our team be as strong as we can every night, night in and night out. We work really hard on that."

"It's a very valuable thing," Johnson said. "You know, Buck talks about it all the time. When were at spring training and at those meetings, he talks more about the depth of the players than the starting nine and the people that he has, because he knows that he's going to have to reach down and get them. If we're here and they're performing the way they should, then they're available."

This year's Norfolk roster is filled with players who figure to show up at Camden Yards over the course of the season. The starting lineup for Friday's exhibition game against the Orioles included seven position players who have significant major league experience. Ron's son, Chris Johnson, was one of them.

Chris was signed by the Orioles to augment their corner infield depth, but it was a two-for-one deal for Ron, a new grandfather who did not get to spend a lot of time watching his own kid battle his way to the big leagues with the .

Johnson shares credit with pitching Mike Griffin for handling a complex situation that requires that "you always have a Plan B," and never complains about a job that others might view as thankless.

"It's easy because we have done this long enough and I know what the big picture here is and my job is to have this team prepared to service our major league team," Johnson said. "If we're fortunate enough to win games in here and do stuff, that's great, and I think we will. But we never lose sight of what we're really here to do."

And clearly, Showalter has never lost sight of how important that job is.

"I think he's the best Triple-A manager in baseball in terms of understanding the job and understanding what the priorities are," Showalter said, "and I think it's probably one of the hardest jobs in baseball and sports maybe, to be able to keep a good frame of mind. I think he creates a great culture down here — he and Griff. They don't have an ego. They just want to do what's right and they treat people the way you would like to have your son treated."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-camden-yards-five-things-20170401-story.html

5 things you might not know about Camden Yards

By Jeff Barker / The Baltimore Sun April 1, 2017

Here are five things you might not know about Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which turns 25 this season:

1. There were many people who once wanted the warehouse — the stadium's classic right-field backdrop — demolished. "I really pushed for the warehouse," said M. J. "Jay" Brodie, former president of the Baltimore Development Corp.

But not everybody felt that way.

"John Steadman went crazy," said former Maryland Stadium Authority chairman Herb Belgrad, referring to the late Baltimore Sun sportswriter. "He thought this was an eyesore and this should be torn down."

2. Officials once considered using the warehouse as the right-field wall instead of the backdrop. That would have eliminated the Eutaw Street plaza. It would have been akin to San Diego's , which uses the Western Metal Supply Co. warehouse as an outfield wall.

3. The stadium's name represented a compromise between the team — which favored "Oriole Park" — and former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, who wanted it called "Camden Yards" after the former rail terminal at the site operated by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. But Schaefer, who was intent on building a new stadium to make sure the Orioles didn't leave Baltimore, would have been fine with having the stadium named for him, said Alan Rifkin, who was Schaefer's chief counsel before becoming outside counsel to the Orioles.

"The ultimate irony is Camden Yards has turned out to be an iconic name," said Rifkin. "It didn't turn out to remind people of New Jersey."

4. The field is below ground. "The initial drawing, which I have in my office, was for four levels," Belgrad said. "What we wanted was a structure that was integrated into the community. It became three levels and it was excavated."

5. More than one early stadium design proposed a domed facility. Another showed a baseball- only park oriented more directly north than the current version. Alternate locations were considered — from the Memorial Stadium site to Baltimore County and from the opposite side of the warehouse to closer to Washington.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-norfolk-0401-20170331- story.html

Reliever Oliver Drake makes team, Orioles' Opening Day roster nearly finalized

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

The Orioles still have some housekeeping to do before the 25-man roster is finalized, but baseball operations chief Dan Duquette all but ruled out any more surprise additions before Opening Day.

Duquette and manager Buck Showalter met with reporters before Friday's exhibition finale against a Norfolk Tides lineup that illustrated the organization's improved second-level depth. Both expressed confidence that they have created a solid major league roster with maximum minor league flexibility.

It appears that the only thing remaining to do other than putting three players on the disabled list will be moving Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavares off the 40-man roster to make room for reserve outfielder Craig Gentry. Showalter said Friday that right-hander Oliver Drake (Navy) has won the final spot in the bullpen. Drake, 30, had a rough spring, but is out of options after being one of the top relievers in the minors the past two seasons.

Though there has been speculation that the Orioles might bring back veteran swingman Vance Worley, Duquette seemed fairly confident that no one would be arriving from outside the organization before the club takes the field against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

"We're always working to build our roster, but I think we've got the people to start the season with," Duquette said. "I think we've got the people with us. You never know, but I think we're in pretty good shape with our roster, with the people we have in camp.

"We have a little more depth to choose from, and hopefully we picked the right ones to help us get off to a good start. And then, if we didn't pick the right ones we'll have some others here in Norfolk."

That much was apparent at Harbor Park, where the Tides starting lineup included only two players — top catching prospect Chance Sisco and 26-year-old first baseman David Washington — who do not have significant major league experience.

To put that in better perspective, consider that the two veterans at the heart of Norfolk's lineup, Pedro Alvarez and Chris Johnson, will have combined to earn more than $50 million by season's end.

"I really like the Norfolk club," Showalter said, "if we can play well enough to leave them alone."

Of course, there's little chance the Tides will have a set lineup or starting rotation this year. No major league team gets through the season without pulling players off the top of its minor league systems, and few teams use their Triple-A roster as much as the Orioles.

The Norfolk Shuttle is always warmed up and ready to roll, which is why a player such as Alvarez, who hit 22 homers as an Oriole last season, is willing to cool his cleats for a while in the minors.

Showalter puts a tremendous premium on the ability to move players up and down, but he's also satisfied the Orioles came through this particularly lengthy spring training in reasonably good health. "I'm real comfortable where we are," he said before the Orioles and Tides played to a 3-3 tie Friday. "If you would have told me we're going to have one guy missing from the first five days of pitchers and position players, if we get through this one today, we'll start in good shape. And with Chris Tillman, it's when not if."

The uncertain weather forecast for the next two weeks on the East Coast prompted Showalter to speculate that he might be able to manage the Orioles' uncertain pitching situation without dipping into the Norfolk rotation. The Orioles have three days off over the first eight days of the regular season and there is a significant chance of rain in the long-range forecast for almost every game day through the first road series in Boston.

"Heck, we could get rained out three or four days," he said. "We've got three off days in the first [eight] days; we could have two rainouts in there and the next thing you know, we could play the whole month of April with three starters. Who knows?"

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-hoping-chris-tillman-will-be-ready- to-rejoin-rotation-in-early-may-20170331-story.html

Orioles hoping Chris Tillman will be ready to rejoin rotation in early May

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

Orioles manager Buck Showalter indicated on Friday that the best-case scenario for Chris Tillman to return to the major league rotation would be May 2.

Showalter told reporters Thursday that Tillman would throw three bullpen sessions and a simulated game before throwing in an extended spring game on April 11. If all goes well, he would make four more extended spring or minor league starts (April 11, 17, 22 and 27) before his first possible major league slot comes up on May 2.

It is possible, however, that Tillman could make one or two more minor league starts, which would move his return back to May 7 or 12.

"That's withholding any setbacks," Showalter said. "And we made that schedule before and had to readjust it. I feel better about what I'm seeing and I'm feeling -- even his face and his body language as opposed to last time we did it -- but I'll feel a lot better when he takes that hard side day and recovers for a work day. Then I think we're on our way."

Tillman spoke before Friday's exhibition game at Harbor Park and said he's making progress, but was not willing to speculate on how long it will take to get completely healthy.

"I have no idea," he said. "That's a little bit down the road for me. I think it's a little ways off here. It has been a long process and it's not something I'm willing to rush and push through just to get back on the field. It kills me not being on the field, but I want to do it right and come back healthy and ready to pitch and not get too far ahead."

Around the horn

Reliever Darren O’Day was left behind in Sarasota because he’s suffering from a significant case of the flu. Showalter said O’Day will not rejoin the team until he’s OK. Showalter said he believes O’Day will be in Baltimore to run down the orange carpet Monday on Opening Day, but said he could not guarantee that. … Outfielder Craig Gentry also did not make the flight. He had to attend to a family matter and is expected to rejoin the team in Baltimore on Saturday.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-orioles-nationals-dispute-20170331-story.html

Orioles argue TV rights fee case before New York appellate panel

By Jeff Barker / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

The Orioles and their television network continued their quest Friday to have an independent body finally decide a TV rights fee dispute rather than , which the club says predetermined the outcome.

Attorney Carter Phillips told a five-judge appellate panel of the New York State Supreme Court that the Orioles can't get a fair hearing from MLB in the case over how much the Mid- Atlantic Sports Network owes the Washington Nationals for the right to show their games.

Phillips appeared to find some support when one of the justices responded to a request by the Nationals and MLB to send the case back to the league's Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee for a new hearing.

"You want to go right back into the same dirty swimming pool?" Justice Richard T. Andrias asked Stephen Neuwirth, who represented the Nationals.

It is uncertain when the panel will rule on the appeal. The Orioles want to have the rights fees settled by a neutral form such as the American Arbitration Association.

The court can confirm or reject a New York Supreme Court judge's 2015 ruling tossing out the MLB panel's decision compelling MASN to pay tens of millions of dollars a year more to the Nationals in TV rights fees. The Orioles control the network, which broadcasts both teams' games.

The judge said in 2015 that MASN did not receive an impartial hearing. He cited MASN's argument that the same outside counsel — New York-based law firm Proskauer Rose — represented the Nationals, Major League Baseball and the three teams whose owners were on the arbitration panel during the years when the case was being considered.

Paul Clement, representing MLB, argued Friday that the Proskauer's representation was "at most an appearance issue."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-five-up-five-down-as-orioles-travel-north- for-opening-day-20170331-story.html

Five up, five down as Orioles prepare for Opening Day

By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

The Orioles traveled north Friday with a long spring finally behind them, eager for the games to count and the comforts of the regular season to wash over them. But not everyone returns from Sarasota, Fla., with the same standing in the organization as when they traveled south.

A 35-game spring training means a lot of time for movement, and the Orioles certainly had some. of all shapes and sizes played their way onto the roster, a young core of pitchers was put to the test to search for a few starters and the World Baseball Classic had a big effect — good and bad — on some of the veterans.

With spring training finally in the books, here are the five Orioles players trending up and five trending down with Opening Day just a day away.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/schmuck-blog/bal-noting-else-imminent-dan-duquette- seems-satisfied-with-the-composition-of-the-opening-day-roster-20170331-story.html

Nothing else imminent: Duquette seems satisfied with composition of Orioles' Opening Day roster

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

Baseball operations chief Dan Duquette said on Friday that he is satisfied with the way the Opening Day roster has come together and indicated that there probably won't be any surprises over the next couple of days.

"We're always working to build our roster, but I think we've got the people to start the season with,'' Duquette said before the Orioles played the Norfolk Tides at Harbor Park. "I think we've got the people with us.

"You never know, but I think we're in pretty good shape with our roster, with the people we have in camp. We have a little more depth to choose from, and hopefully we picked the right ones to help us get off to a good start. And then, if we didn't pick the right ones we'll have some others here in Norfolk."

Norfolk gets a break in the clouds: When the Orioles arrived in Norfolk on Friday afternoon, it didn't look like they would get the game in. Heavy rain soaked the field and left large pools of water in the outfield and around the warning track. But the sun came out about an hour before gametime and the Tides grounds crew did a nice job of getting most of the water off the field.

O'Day stays behind: Reliever Darren O'Day was left behind in Sarasota because he is suffering from a significant case of the flu, and manager Buck Showalter said that O'Day will not rejoin the team until he's OK.

Showalter said he believes that O'Day will be in Baltimore to run down the orange carpet on Opening Day this Monday, but said he could not guarantee that.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/season-preview-2017/bs-sp-orioles-special-section- trumbo-qa-20170317-story.html

Orioles' Mark Trumbo speaks his mind

By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun March 31, 2017

When the Orioles and slugger Mark Trumbo reached an agreement to keep the reigning home run leader in Baltimore for the next three seasons, the team locked up more than just a big bat.

In his one season in Baltimore, Trumbo made an impression on both the fans and the ballclub, with manager Buck Showalter constantly praising how tuned in he was to his surroundings.

That spans a lot — from his own game and his teammates to the game as a whole. Showalter said he was an asset in the team's prep meetings going over opposing pitchers. He constantly had perspective on what the team was going through, good or bad.

And that type of perception means he has opinions on plenty. In a wide-ranging interview with The Baltimore Sun, Trumbo sat down this spring to discuss his career year in 2016 and how he returned to the Orioles, the latest trends in baseball and how analytics are applied to a modern player, his love of music and travel, and what he thinks of some of the Orioles' most prominent figures.

I wanted to go back to this time last year first. You're with a new team for the fourth time in four years, you're going into your free-agent year. What's the mindset of a player when they're in that stage of their career where it's not make-or-break, but this is your biggest chance to actually make?

I think the mindset can be a little all over the place. Everyone that's played, and I guess played for a few years, knows that the magic number is six full seasons. Free agency, everything that comes with it. It's all how people handle pressure, and I know personally, I've never been very good when I add a bunch of extra pressure to anything, or try to do too much, as they say. That doesn't equal results for me. I do a much better job when I kind of keep focused on very small goals and for me, coming into a new team, a lot of it was me trying to integrate into this system as opposed to thinking about what could be in the years following. I just really wanted to be a contributor on this team. I had come off a pretty good-feeling end of the season in 2015 with the Mariners, and thought that I had a pretty good thing going offensively, and really just wanted to do what I could to keep that rolling as opposed to trying to have some monster season that could result in big dollars. That doesn't work for me. I know that.

When you were in Florida, I feel like once you got into a groove, you did seem comfortable in the clubhouse. You were performing on the field in spring training. Was there a point when you realized, in the spring, that this was going to be the place where things might come together the way they did for you?

You can't know that. I knew that I felt comfortable here. I knew that the role was something I felt like was good for me. The guys were great. Everything added up to, you know, the type of situation that can allow you to play well. But once the season starts, you never quite know exactly what you're going to get. There's a certain level where, if you've done it in the past, you're definitely capable of doing that. But if you blow through some of your previous standards, at least if we're talking hitting-wise, it's a pleasant surprise.

And you were doing that the first few months of the season. You were on an incredible pace. Is there a point as you're doing it, as it's happening, where you sit back and say, "This is different"?

That's the weird thing; no. You go and you're playing and your numbers are accumulating, but there's always the competition aspect that's going on, too. At no point do you have time to reflect and say, "Man, I'm doing something special here." Maybe at the All-Star break a little bit, because there are a few days off. It's constant, the battle mode. There are always guys around you that are putting up big numbers, so it's not like in my case I ran away with anything in that nature. I just felt like we're always in contention. We were in first place for a long time, and that was far more important than what I had going on personally.

Staying chronologically, you came to this team [with a reputation], and even as you're having the first few months that you have, you had the reputation that even Buck mentioned where the first half is always better for you than the second half. Is there anything about that that you can pinpoint as to why that happens, or is it just the natural occurrence?

The previous year, in '15, I had a much better second half. It's part of it. If you're in there every day, you're going to get tired. There are some, sure, that turn it on and have great Augusts. But I think the natural tendency is the body starts to fatigue a little bit, and some of the things you take for granted the first couple months of the season, whether it be the bat speed, the power, they don't go away entirely, obviously. But I do think it gets a little bit tougher as the season goes on.

To jump out of order, do you think a different role this year where you might DH more, play a little more first [base], might reduce that wear and tear?

I DH'ed a lot last year. I don't think that that has all that much to do with it. And sometimes, too, you get into bad habits at certain points. For me, for whatever reason, the second half sometimes I can get into a little bit of a rut. But I tend to not think about first and second halves so much. I think that can be really unproductive. I think the guys who maybe don't have the second half that they were hoping for, it can kind of really bog you down mentally when you go into the offseason. I like to just take the season as a whole and not break it up like a lot of people like to do.

And when you do take the season as a whole, I remember talking when Kevin Gausman was having his incredible run in the second half of the season and I asked, 'Is this who he is now? Is this what he is?' And you said, 'Guys are kind of who they are until they show you otherwise.' Is last year what Mark Trumbo is when everything is going right — when you find the right club, right circumstances and everything kind of falls into place?

You know, it was "who I am" last year. I think I've always been of the mindset, and I think playing with some veteran guys when I was a little younger, was always big on [saying], you know, there's certain numbers you know you're going to be able to put up, and those are usually pretty realistic goals. Last year, I couldn't have predicted I hit as many home runs as I did. I'm certainly happy I did, but to put that kind of number as the new standard, I think that leads to that pressure I was talking about earlier. Obviously, I'd like to do something similar to that, but I don't know if I have a goal to come in and hit 55 home runs or something like that. That type of mindset doesn't work for me.

And you end the season with a home run in the wild-card game. There's team disappointment, but you had a pretty good year. Dan Duquette has mentioned that they knew this was a place you wanted to come back to. This was a place you wanted to be. Specifically, in the qualifying-offer process, was there any inclination to take it?

It was an easy pass. There was a little bit of discussion, but the way everything was lining up, and if we're talking the business side of things, a lot of the predictions were a four-year contract for north of $50 million. You kind of think if enough people are saying that, there's some truth to it and that's a possibility. I'm a 31-year-old now. when you're weighing a decision of taking three or four guaranteed years, as opposed to one singular year, even though it is a lot of money, from the business side of things it makes sense to get something done now. The older you get, obviously the less desirable you'll probably become.

It has become an Orioles tradition of sorts for there to be these public and protracted negotiations that go through the and are ultimately cut off when the winter meetings end and there's no agreement. What was it like for you during that phase when you have these ideas of what your contract might be, you're seeing the market not only not develop for you but for hitters of your profile in general? Especially in that winter meetings area when you expect a big-ticket free agent might get done, what are you thinking at that point?

The emotions are all over the map. A lot of highs, a lot of lows. The one thing I know is nobody is going to have any sympathy for highly paid athletes. But the realistic answer is there's a lot of close calls, at least in my case, and it seemed like something might have materialized and then there was more waiting. Whether it be a couple weeks, a couple months, whatever it is. Mentally, I think you're just looking for a fair deal and the right home for you. And sometimes, when it takes a while, it can be a little bit discouraging. A guy like Pedro Alvarez, for example, had a very productive major league season last year. He's a proven major league veteran, and he doesn't have a job right now. [Alvarez signed a minor league deal with the Orioles shortly after this interview.] A guy like Chris Carter, hit 41 home runs and he signed a contract that a lot of people thought wasn't that much money for a guy that did what he did. I think the landscape of the game is changing, and I think the tools that are being evaluated are completely different than what they might have been in the past. It seems like there's an emphasis on a few other categories, and me personally, I was in that boat. There were a bunch of us who were all very similar players who were fighting for not too many jobs and maybe don't have the skill set that some of these teams are coveting these days.

We're going to get back into that soon, but I just want to touch first on when you did kind of come back together with the Orioles in negotiations. What spurred that in your mind, and how did that process ultimately end up working out as well and quickly as it did?

To be honest, I think my agent Joel Wolfe contacted Dan [Duquette] and Dan got back to him and said, "I want to talk about working something out," and a day later we had a deal done. As long as things took to kind of get to that point, we came to an agreement within a matter of minutes, almost. Just bizarre. But I'm obviously very happy about it. It's kind of strange how the timing of things [goes].

Were both sides ready for something like that at that point?

In most situations, when there's a deal to be done and both sides are motivated, you can work something out pretty quickly. I think for a number of reasons, it took the length that it did, but once it came time and it made sense for the Orioles and for us, we just made it happen.

STATE OF THE GAME

You mentioned how the game is being evaluated these days, how it's being played, how it's being viewed and consumed. What did your free agency tell you about baseball in 2017?

I can't speak on the pitching side of things. I'm not hyper-aware of how the contracts on that side of things are going. I think on the offensive side, the biggest thing you can have is age on your side, especially if you're a young free agent. But in addition, it seems like teams are placing a premium on other skills, whereas power used to be the most desirable trait by a ways. It seems like defense probably has taken over that category. On-base percentage is also highly sought after, for obvious reasons. Power may or may not be slotting maybe into that third category. And that's not to say that that's every time. If you have a player that does multiple things well, those are the guys who are going to get some of those really big contracts. But I think that's kind of how I see it, at least.

This team, and how it has been constructed over the years, doesn't exactly fly in the face of that, but there's a lot of players who are maybe your profile than a profile a lot of other teams might value, or people who analyze the game might value. How do you think the Orioles fit into that landscape?

I get [it] on the offensive side, but our defense is as good as anyone's. I think we have, by far, the best defense in the league, especially on the infield side. I've never had the pleasure of playing with a core group of guys that does a better job of doing the routine plays, making the tough plays, finding outs, throwing behind runners. It's really amazing. We get so many extra outs throughout the course of the year because of the work these guys put in.

But offensively, we're a team built on power. That's pretty obvious. We strike out more than most teams. I assume our walks are somewhere in the middle, maybe toward the bottom. And yet we win a heck of a lot of games, and do a lot of damage. I don't think in this game, there's no one way to skin a cat. There's a number of models that can work, and the one that we have seems kind of built on a couple of things, and they work pretty well.

You mention the infield defense, but obviously the outfield defense is a constant point of discussion around here. What did you think when Adam [Jones] said there wasn't the defense that was necessary at the corners, that there wasn't the foot speed and athleticism to compete in today's game?

I mean, that's a realistic answer. You can't take offense to it. I get what I do. I think [Hyun Soo] Kim, for example, he lacks the foot speed for some of these guys that get mentioned quite a bit, but he's as sure-handed as anyone. He plays a smart outfield. It's just his range that people would take aim at. And a lot of times, you're seeing guys that are playing corner outfield that are legitimate center fielders. It's just really not fair to try to compare myself and Kim to guys that are just superior runners and much quicker, much faster, much better athletes in certain regards. We're all fighting for the same jobs, but some of the trade-offs probably are what we bring on the offensive side of things. Are we ideal defenders? Probably not, but we're going to find a way to make it work.

A lot of those judgments are made by publicly available metrics that websites will put out there. The league is trying to get involved in having its own centralized Statcast analysis. People always want to find ways to evaluate the game in different ways. You seem like you consume a lot of baseball outside of playing it. Is there anything that has been brought about in the past few years, as stats become more public and more prevalent, that has impacted how you view the game? How you play the game? How you go about your at-bats?

There are a few things. I've spoken about it before, but I think the launch angle aspect of it has helped me. The thing that stats have done, at least in my opinion, is giving a better understanding of things that people already know. We talk about launch angle and exit velocity. Those things are not new. They just are explained a little bit better now. And depending on the type of hitter you are, especially if you're a power guy, who doesn't want to hit it high and hard? That's where the damage is done. but now, it's obviously being discussed a lot more because there's all these advanced metrics that back it up and it allows people to make perfect sense of how it does work.

Spin rate is another thing. Whereas four, five years ago, a guy would have been sneaky. Now, we can say he's got high spin rate. That makes a lot of sense. Why is this guy sneaky? I don't know, he's got a quick arm or whatever. Now we've got these stats that show he spins the ball more than the guy who pitched before him, after him, or whatever it is. That can help. If you know a guy has high spin rate, you know the mental adjustment and the physical one as well is you've got to get started a little earlier. Not that the ball is going to come in harder, but it's going to look harder, and your reaction time is going to be a little bit less.

So, rookie Mark Trumbo knows he wants to hit it high and hard. How does, whether mechanically or approach-wise, that change in 2016 or 2017 knowing launch angle is a thing?

It's got to be a mechanical change, but also a mental one, too. I just have tried to, as I've played — some years have been a lot better than others obviously, but the last couple years and last year in particular, I think watching when I was in Seattle proved pretty invaluable. There was a guy who was doing what I wanted to do, putting up the type of numbers I thought I was capable of. I realized he was doing things more efficiently than I was, so I basically tried to steal some of his moves.

You mention Nelson. You mention Torii Hunter. And growing up, I think being an Angels fan, there were a lot of players with similar skill sets that I know you looked up to. Now, being a guy who is the veteran in there, who's going to be in the Orioles clubhouse for the next three years, is going to be a presence, do you take anything from those guys or do you have to be your own kind of leader?

You watch and you figure out what you like about those guys, what do they do, and what they were doing when I was younger and who was helpful to me and try to do that with some of these guys. At the end of the day, you've got to be yourself. Some things don't come naturally to certain people, but I can do a little bit of everything. I think I've got a pretty good relationship with younger players here. Manny [Machado], for example, he doesn't need much help. He's going to be a perennial All-Star and he's going to do a whole lot of damage, but maybe every once in a while I can help. [Jonathan] Schoop, for example, he's a little bit more of a blank canvas, I guess you could say. He's an outstanding player, but some of the things I've learned may help him. Maybe not. You never know. But I do enjoy trying to help some of these guys to maybe avoid some of the pitfalls that I've had to experience, just like guys tried to do for me.

OFF-FIELD

So people know that you like to hit a long way, they know this side of you, but you seem like — probably by design — a private guy in your personal life. But you do like music, and every person who likes a certain kind of music or really identifies with one has their seminal moment where they discovered that type of music that was their gateway and it becomes a lifestyle. You really like rock music, and I know that's a broad generalization, but what was your "aha" moment when you learned about the type of music that became so important to you?

You know, it's changed over time. I remember listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. That was one of the earliest memories, getting one of their memories when I was younger. I went though a few phases like everyone does. I listened to some really heavy stuff for a while, then lighter stuff, then kind of realized I really enjoy late '60s, '70s, '80s [music]. That's pretty much all I listen to now. There's been very few records the last five or six years that have excited me, which isn't to say the music is bad, it's just not my personal choice. But yeah, maybe that Red Hot Chili Peppers album with Dave Navarro playing guitar was one of the earliest memories I can recall.

Any musical phases that you're embarrassed of at this point in your life?

At the time, no. In the late '90s, who didn't like Limp Bizkit, Korn? These bands were popular for a reason. If you like rock music, that's what you listen to. Now? Say what you want, maybe a little bit hokey, but that was all good.

How big of a role does music play in your offseason? Are you a concert guy? Do you play?

I like going to as many shows as I can, and I think through baseball I've been fortunate enough to make some friends who do that for a living, and that's one of the neat things that I know. I have no chance of knowing some of the guys that I do and getting to go hang out and maybe jam with them, or things like that. I think one of the huge perks about playing is you have the ability to meet some people, and in addition to traveling, and a few of the other hobby-type things I do, I think going to concerts is one of the most fun things I can think of.

What do you play?

I started off playing drums when I was 13 or 14, and I did that for four or five years. I can still get behind there a little bit, I'm a little rusty. And I think one or two years into pro ball, I had a buddy who wanted to take some guitar lessons and I said, "Sure, I'll do that with you." He ended up giving it up within the first month, like most people do, whether the hands are too small or whatever the excuses are, they're all over the map. I really enjoyed it, stuck with it a little bit. I'm a total hobbyist when it comes to skill level, but it is something I enjoy doing. With the stuff that goes on on the field, you've got to have a few hobbies and a few things that can just take you away. That's a good release for me.

Is there anyone you want to name drop that you've jammed with that people will be impressed with?

No, I don't think so. [Pearl Jam guitarist] Mike McCready. I talk to Geddy Lee regularly from Rush. I'm friends with some smaller bands, too. Not smaller in terms of how much I like them, but popularity-wise. Thrice, I use their walk-up music. Have for many years. They're all really good guys, and I've gotten to play with them. There's probably quite a few more that I'm going to leave out, but it's always … I'll tell you what. It's equally, I feel more comfortable playing in front of 50,000 people in a playoff baseball game than I do having to jam with some of the guys I've mentioned before, and that's a good kind of nervous. That's why it's really fun for me; it kind of takes you out of your comfort zone.

What kind of traveler are you? You mentioned traveling, but are you a "go places and shut out the world" [traveler] or do you want to see the tourist sites?

I try and do a little everything, but especially after the season is done, when possible, I try and go somewhere and just kind of forget about everything. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever. I think it's cool just to get away, and totally away. It's a good little reset, then when you get home, you can start gearing up again. But I'd recommend it to guys who, especially if you're coming off a year you weren't happy about, go do something different. Put it down. Let it go. Don't constantly spin the wheels on what happened or what you're going to do. Just put it behind you for a little while and start over again.

This wasn't that type of year for you, but where was this year's trip?

I went to London, I went to Prague and we went to Amsterdam. I've been to London three or four years in a row now. Been to Japan, Germany, France, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada. Quite a few more. Australia. Those are the ones that come to mind. I played in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and all those places are really cool. There's still so many places I'd like to see, but a lot of it is just giving you a little better perspective on how things are here, how good you actually have it. It's just kind of one of those deals.

I know last year, you guys play for six months a year and baseball kind of consumes your life. But now that you're committed to Baltimore for three seasons — I know you said you didn't get out and see the city that much — is there anything about the city you're looking forward to soaking in now that you're an Oriole for the next three seasons?

There's a lot. I think food-wise, I could have done a much better job. We kind of roamed the same area, by and large. I know there's some excellent food. I'll make a much better effort. And then getting outside of the city, too. There's so many cool areas that are accessible. I think during the season, I'm always so focused on what's going on on the field that I generally try and stay pretty narrow-minded. But I think maybe over the next couple of years, it's kind of a must to get out and see what home has to offer.

WORD ASSOCIATION

Lastly, you've gotten a year in this clubhouse to get to know the coaches and players. I just want to throw some at you and have you give what stands out most to you. We'll start at the top with Buck Showalter.

He's the best for me. His track record says that, but he's helped me immensely. Just a great manager for any team, but especially our team. He really understands what's going on here, gets the most out of his guys, great communicator. Guys just want to run through a wall for him. They really get motivated to play for him.

Seth Smith?

I know Seth well, being one of his ex-teammates, now current teammate. I've tried to help him, coming over. I think he's going to be a great addition. Fans will really like him. He's not, maybe, as open in the media as some other guys, but he is very, very committed to his team. He's going to provide that on-base presence that we're all looking for. He plays a nice right field. I think he's very underrated on defense. He does play a very good outfield. And he's having a great time so far.

Ryan Flaherty?

Flash. The baby puppy. You've got to have guys like that on the team. Obviously, he keeps it loose, has a good time. He can be the punching bag at times for some of the guys, but the on- field stuff is vital. His versatility, his ability to go into any position on the field, it gives the team so much more comfort knowing that not only is he going to be able to play, he plays quality defense at all those spots. He's always the guy who gets called on to give a tough at-bat late in the game against one of the nastier pitches in the game, and he finds a way to go up there and battle. His role is very, very difficult, and he does a great job doing it.

Dan Duquette?

Dan has been doing this for a long time. He's got a lot of wisdom, a lot of knowledge. I really like what he has going. I think he does a great job as a general manager, and dealing with him this offseason, he can play hardball when he needs to but at the end of the day, it's always for the good of the team. I think you've got to respect that. He doesn't move quickly when he doesn't have to, and makes decision that set us up for success.

Two more. Hyun Soo Kim?

Kimmy, you've got to love what you saw last year. From spring training to getting some boos or jeers on Opening Day — that's got to be the low point of anyone's career. If you really watched how his season progressed, fans were going wild for him. After a little bit of time and that adjustment, it did take probably longer than he wanted or anyone else wanted, but he was a huge contributor to the team and will be again next year, too. Great guy, super funny. It's just been a pleasure being his teammate.

The last one is Adam Jones.

He's the leader around here. He's the vocal leader, but also a great example for younger players and older players, too. He just gives it his all. You can see he's as passionate as anyone. He takes it very seriously, works extremely hard and he's the pillar of the Orioles' team in Baltimore. He's going to have an outstanding career, and if you go by the early results here, this could very well be a career year for him. http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221881714/od-for-jays-os-a-wild-card-game- rematch/?topicId=26688732

OD for Jays, O's a Wild Card Game rematch

By Joe Trezza / MLB.com April 1, 2017

Two first-time Opening Day starters will toe the rubber when the Orioles and Blue Jays open the season Monday at 3:05 pm ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in a rematch of last season's American League Wild Card Game.

Kevin Gausman takes the ball for Baltimore, which saw its 2016 season end on Edwin Encarnacion's walk-off homer in the 11th inning of the Wild Card Game. Marco Estrada goes for Toronto when the two teams meet in what should be an emotional rematch.

"It's Opening Day," Gausman said. "Sometimes in the regular season, you've got to calm yourself down. But Opening Day, throw all your cards on the table and here we go."

Both teams re-signed big sluggers this offseason -- the Orioles locked up Mark Trumbo with a three-year deal, while Toronto brought back Jose Bautista on a one-year contract -- so neither team's lineup will look dramatically different than it did last October in Toronto. But there are some changes, most notably at designated hitter for the Blue Jays and catcher for Baltimore. Encarnacion, who anchored Toronto's high-octane offense for years, signed as a free agent with Cleveland. The Blue Jays filled his spot with , who hit 52 homers over the past two seasons with Kansas City. Another new addition, utility man Steve Pearce, will see at-bats against left-handed pitching.

"It's a little bit of a different look," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "A few new faces, but we feel confident and our goal is to really get one step further and get to that World Series. It has been exciting around here the last couple of years."

Baltimore acquired veteran Seth Smith from the Mariners to start in right field and signed former D-backs catcher Welington Castillo to replace , who signed with the Nationals. Castillo, who is coming off an excellent World Baseball Classic as the catcher for Team Dominican Republic, hit 33 homers over the past two seasons.

"We're primed," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Laying in the weeds like we always do." Castillo will direct a pitching staff starting with Gausman, who breaks Chris Tillman's streak of three consecutive starts on Opening Day. Tillman is dealing with shoulder soreness. Gausman went 9-12 with a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts in 2016, striking out 174 batters in 179 2/3 . Estrada, meanwhile, was one of the more reliable starters in all of baseball last season, earning an All-Star nod in a year that saw him go 9-9 with a 3.48 ERA in 29 starts. He led all AL pitchers in hits per nine and made three quality starts in the postseason during Toronto's run to the AL Championship Series. In the process, he cemented his status as an integral cog in a rotation that led the AL in ERA, WHIP and a year ago.

"It could've been any one of the other guys. That's how deep we are," Estrada said. "I say they basically had a hat and they just pulled my name out. It just happened to be my turn."

Things to know about this game

• Toronto and Baltimore finished with identical 89-73 records in 2016, and the Jays had a slight edge in the season series (10-9). Just one win separates their combined records since 2014.

• Estrada went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts against the Orioles last season, while Gausman went 0-2 with a 7.04 in three starts against the Jays. The two pitchers squared off twice, with Toronto winning both games.

• Any game these two teams play is special because it will feature two Most Valuable Player Award candidates, each at the hot corner. and Manny Machado finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the AL MVP Award voting a year ago, and both are considered favorites to compete for the award again this season. http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221931386/orioles-finalize-25-man-roster-for-opening- day/

No big surprises as O's finalize OD roster

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com April 2, 2017

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles finalized their 25-man roster on Sunday afternoon with no major surprises, as the club will open with 11 pitchers and 14 position players to start the season.

The O's, who have been known to use every roster rule to their advantage, will try to get creative once again in 2017.

Left-hander Wade Miley will start the season on the disabled list, along with starter Chris Tillman and outfielder and Rule 5 Draft pick Anthony Santander. The O's other Rule 5 pick, Aneury Tavarez, was returned to Boston.

At first glance, it looks impossible to keep the current roster breakdown as it's a product of some early off-days, but manager Buck Showalter said Sunday afternoon the club has discussed keeping it.

"We've thought about the possibility of being able to maneuver it," he said. "There's a way to maneuver around, with 11 [pitchers] and still having seven in the 'pen. There's a way to do it, but it's going to take some foresight and imagination as we go. Really tough to do it last year. This year has a chance to be easier. But you've got to stay on top of it … you've got to have cooperation with your staff in [Triple-A] Norfolk and [Double-A] Bowie. We will see what develops. I'd love to have the same 25 all year, but we're going to need a fourth and fifth starter." The new 10-day disabled list, down from 15 days, certainly will make roster management a little easier.

"The club can make more aggressive decisions," executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said. "By putting them on the DL, you don't have to wait in that limbo period. … We always try to wait for a couple days for the veteran position players to see if they can come back before we put them on the DL. Now with 10 days for pitchers especially, you can have some soreness, skip a start and come back for your next start with that 10-day DL. I hope that will be better for keeping the pitchers healthy. That should be interesting."

Tillman -- who is recovering from a right shoulder injury -- isn't expected back until the end of April, while Miley -- who was slowed with illness this spring -- will come back to pitch the fifth game of the season on April 9. Santander was sidelined by right elbow inflammation and recovery from offseason right shoulder surgery.

With the early off-days, Opening Day starter Kevin Gausman can come back to pitch the fourth game, leaving the Orioles in a spot where they only need to carry three starters. Depending on weather and potential rainouts, Showalter said the club could get through April without needing a fifth starter.

Baltimore will have eight relievers with Tyler Wilson and Vidal Nuno also making the club. Oliver Drake made the team in the bullpen with Jayson Aquino and Gabriel Ynoa both optioned Sunday to Triple-A Norfolk.

Outfielders Trey Mancini and Joey Rickard are on the Opening Day roster, while Craig Gentry takes the roster spot of Tavarez.

The club will have some tough roster decisions to make when Miley returns and the club decides on a fifth starter, which it won't need until April 15. Dylan Bundy will pitch the second game of the season, followed by Ubaldo Jimenez in the third game.

Having an optionable bullpen is another important factor this season for the O's, who were often handcuffed last year by not having the flexibility to send guys out to Triple-A and call up a fresh arm. This year's Opening Day club has several players with options and, coupled with the shorter DL, will once again have the O's using a rotating cast and relying heavily on players at their higher affiliates.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221719652/5-statcast-storylines-for-2017-orioles/

5 Statcast storylines for '17 Orioles

By Andrew Simon / MLB.com March 31, 2017

As the 2017 season begins, so does the third season of Statcast™, the state-of-the-art technology that has tracked every play in every Major League ballpark since Opening Day 2015. And with two full seasons of data now collected, plus advances in applying that data, Statcast™ is better than ever. New metrics, such as Catch Probability and Hit Probability, will provide a deeper layer of analysis and further our understanding of the game.

With that in mind, here are five Statcast™ facts to know about the Orioles heading into the 2017 season.

1. Two-seam terror

There's little mystery about Zach Britton's plan of attack, but that doesn't make him any easier to hit. During his dominant 2016 campaign, Baltimore's closer threw his two-seam fastball about 91 percent of the time, easily the highest rate in MLB. He can get away with that because of the pitch's superb combination of movement and velocity (97.1 mph). When hitters swung, they missed 36.5 percent of the time, a rate unmatched by any other pitcher's two-seamer/sinker. When they put the ball in play, they hit it on the ground more than 80 percent of the time -- also MLB's highest mark. Put the whiffs and grounders together and you have a pitch that opponents slugged less than .200 against.

Lowest opponent SLG% against two-seamers/sinkers, 2016 Minimum 100 AB ending with that pitch

1. Britton: .196 2. Jeurys Familia: .301 3. Jake Arrieta: .302 4. Jeremy Jeffress: .331 5. Anibal Sanchez: .333

2. Triple-digit teammates

It's an obvious point, but hitting the ball with an exit velocity of 100 mph or harder is a great way to do damage. The league as a whole posted a .629 batting average and a 1.319 on such balls last season, and two of the most prolific practitioners of the triple-digit exit velocity were Orioles. Manny Machado cranked out 165 batted balls of 100-plus mph, ranking fourth in MLB. Mark Trumbo, whose 93.9-mph average exit velocity was among the game's best, came in just behind Machado with 162.

Most balls in play at 100-plus mph, 2016

1. : 195 2. Nelson Cruz: 179 3. Robinson Cano: 166 4. Machado: 165 5. Trumbo: 162

3. Aim for the stars

Success at the plate isn't just about exit velocity, of course. Launch angle also matters, as lifting the ball for a line drive or fly ball creates more opportunities for damage. For all of his struggles to make contact, Chris Davis is one of baseball's best at generating high launch angles. In fact, he has the third-highest average of the Statcast™ Era (2015-16).

Highest average launch angle, Statcast™ Era Minimum 600 batted balls

1. Kris Bryant: 19.5 degrees 2. Brandon Belt: 18.3 degrees 3. Davis: 18.1 degrees 4. Ian Kinsler: 17.8 degrees 5. Matt Carpenter: 17.7 degrees

4. In the shallow end

Advanced defensive metrics haven't always given Adam Jones high marks over the years, and certainly not in 2016 (-10 in both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating). Might some of that be positioning, a factor that can have a significant effect on results? Jones started plays an average of about 307 feet from home plate, the shallowest out of 31 players who spent at least 9,000 pitches at the position. (Ian Desmond was the deepest, at 329 feet). Playing shallower can lead to more balls over an outfielder's head and, therefore, more extra-base hits allowed. It's also worth noting that when Jones made his incredible homer-saving catch on Machado in this year's World Baseball Classic, he started the play 321 feet from home at Petco Park.

Shallowest average CF starting distance, 2016 Minimum 9,000 pitches at position

1. Jones: 307 ft 2. Andrew McCutchen: 307 ft 3. Ben Revere: 307 ft 4. Denard Span: 307 ft 5. Billy Burns: 309 ft

5. Give me spin

It was a promising 2016 for Dylan Bundy, who finally stayed healthy and stuck in Baltimore for 109 2/3 innings, including 14 starts. Bundy used his nearly 95-mph four-seam fastball about 60 percent of the time, and the pitch exhibited an impressive spin rate of 2,489 rpm. That was the fourth-highest average out of 97 pitchers who had at least 750 four-seamers tracked, up near the likes of and Max Scherzer. The numbers show that Bundy was at his best when he got the most spin on that pitch.

Bundy four-seam spin breakdown, 2016 <2,450>rpm (396 pitches): .295 BA, .432 SLG, 16.6 percent whiff rate 2,450-2,550 (381 pitches): .306 BA, .583 SLG, 18.2 percent whiff rate >2,550 rpm (389 pitches): .229 BA, .349 SLG, 22.4 percent whiff rate

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221756930/chris-tillman-could-return-to-orioles-in-may/

O's hope to have Tillman back in early May

By David Hall / MLB.com March 31, 2017

NORFOLK, Va. -- Right-hander Chris Tillman, who will be sidelined to begin the season as he recovers from a shoulder injury, could return around May 10, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Friday.

Tillman, who has been doing long toss at about 120-150 feet and is scheduled for a bullpen session Saturday, said he's encouraged with his progress.

"You never know how the first couple of days are going to go, and that's the tough part," Tillman said. "You know how it felt when it wasn't going so well. You expect it to go well, and when it does, I think that's a big, big positive. You take a lot of positive things from that."

Right-hander Kevin Gausman will start Opening Day for the O's on Monday vs. the Blue Jays.

Hardy goes deep in exhibition vs. Norfolk

It wasn't a necessary boost of confidence, but J.J. Hardy was happy to take it. The shortstop hit a solo home run in his lone plate appearance Friday as the Orioles played to a 3-3 tie in an exhibition with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.

Hardy, a 34-year-old veteran of 11 Major League seasons, hit just .172 with one homer in Grapefruit League play after going deep nine times in 115 games last season.

"It adds to your confidence," he said. "Confidence is big, but I was feeling pretty good even before this. It's definitely nice, but I don't feel like I needed it in order to go in and have a good Opening Day or anything like that."

The start of the game was in doubt in the afternoon as heavy rain fell until just before the scheduled 3:05 p.m. ET start time. It started 10 minutes late and was played under bright sunshine.

"I don't think you could draw up much more of a perfect game," Showalter said. "The weather cleared, we got it in, we got to get some work in."

Adam Jones went 1-for-1 with an opposite-field double for the Orioles, who played all of their regulars and used 23 position players.

Drake earns final bullpen spot

After the game, Showalter named right-hander Oliver Drake as the final piece in the eight-man bullpen he'll use to start the season.

Drake had reportedly been designated for assignment, so he was shocked Thursday when Showalter called him into his office in Sarasota, Fla., and gave him the news. "Yeah, it was a weird hour or so," Drake said, adding that he had a slew of texts and calls inquiring about his status. "I'm real happy with how it turned out and excited for the season now."

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221729096/orioles-sign-ryan-ripken-to-minors-contract/

O's sign Cal Ripken's son to Minors deal

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com March 31, 2017

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles have signed infielder Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken Jr., to an Aberdeen IronBirds Minor League contract.

Ryan was drafted in the 15th round by the Nationals in 2014. In his three seasons mixed between rookie and Class A leagues, he hit .205 with a career .525 OPS. He played baseball at Indian River State College.

The IronBirds are owned by Hall of Famer Ripken and serve as the Orioles' Class A short-season affiliate. http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/221424074/kevin-gausman-hopes-od-nod-first-of-many/

Gausman hopes OD nod 'first of many'

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com March 30, 2017

SARASOTA, Fla. -- A year ago, Kevin Gausman wasn't even on the Opening Day roster, as the right-hander was plagued by shoulder soreness and started the season on the disabled list.

This year, it will be Gausman who officially starts the Orioles' season on Monday as he was tabbed -- in the wake of injury to Chris Tillman -- to get the ball first and face the Toronto Blue Jays for the 3:05 p.m. ET home contest.

"Not so much nervous, just anxious. I know it's going to be awesome," said Gausman, who will be part of the rotation for the first time on an Opening Day roster. "I love pitching in Baltimore, so I'm happy that it's at home. Hopefully the first of many, but like I said, pretty exciting and definitely looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Gausman getting the nod in place of the injured Tillman doesn't come as a surprise. He's had a solid spring and emerged last season as a consistent option for a rotation that often struggled to go deep into games.

Kevin Gausman strikes out eight and holds the Tigers to two hits over five scoreless innings "We had some options to pick from, we just thought Kevin was the best equipped in a lot of different areas," manager Buck Showalter said.

"[He's changed] a lot [the past few seasons]. He's got a feel for when to charge and when not to charge. When to slow guys down, when not to slow guys down. He's more of a complete pitcher instead of a guy who just throws 97, 98. You see him go get it when he needs it.

"He looks at a start as hopefully a long one and he uses his bullets appropriately. This guy has a good feel for the big leagues … he's learned a lot of things about how to pitch when he's not carrying his best stuff. He's a trustworthy guy now." The 26-year-old Gausman, who made the Opening Day roster as a reliever in 2015, went 9-12 with a 3.61 ERA in 30 starts last season. He pitched to a 3.10 ERA in the second half, going 8-6 after the All-Star break. His win on the final day of the season locked down a Wild Card spot for the Orioles.

"The biggest thing I did in the second half was get deep in games, which really is all you can try to do," Gausman said. "I felt like I was more consistent like that in the second half and just kind of feel like I have hit the ground running this year so far."

The Orioles' first-round pick (fourth overall) out of Louisiana State University in 2012, Gausman is 23-31 with a 3.97 ERA in 95 games (72 starts) in parts of four Major League seasons.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/orioles-lineup-vs-blue-jays-22.html

Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has chosen Seth Smith as his leadoff hitter for today’s season opener against the Blue Jays at sunny Camden Yards.

Adam Jones is batting second, followed by Manny Machado. Hyun Soo Kim is hitting seventh.

Welington Castillo is 7-for-23 (.304) with four home runs lifetime against Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada. Ryan Flaherty is 3-for-9 with two home runs.

Jones is 1-for-15, Chris Davis is 2-for-16 with two home runs and Machado is 2-for-18 with a home run.

The current Blue Jays are batting .322 against Kevin Gausman. Josh Donaldson is 6-for-16 with a double and home run, Kevin Pillar is 4-for-11, Ezequiel Carrera is 4-for-9 with a home run with a double and home run, Darwin Barney is 4-for-8 with a home run and Russell Martin is 4- for-7.

José Bautista is 1-for-13 with a home run.

Trey Mancini has switched from uniform No. 67 to 16.

For the Orioles

Seth Smith RF Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo DH Welington Castillo C Hyun Soo Kim LF Jonathan Schoop 2B J.J. Hardy SS Kevin Gausman RHP

The following starters are confirmed for the Yankees series at Camden Yards:

Friday: Ubaldo Jiménez vs. Luis Severino Saturday: Kevin Gausman vs. Masahiro Tanaka Sunday: TBD (Wade Miley expected) vs. CC Sabathia.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/duquette-this-should-be-a-big-year-for-the- os.html

Duquette: “This should be a big year for the O’s”

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

Who’s ready for opening day?

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette couldn’t hide his excitement for the team and the start of the season as he stood on the edge of field during yesterday’s workout.

“This is our first opportunity to see our new team and for everybody to see the boys. The boys are back in town,” he said.

“Should be a big year for the O’s. Twenty-fifth anniversary of Camden Yards. Still one of the most beautiful ballparks in America. And we have a new playing surface, which looks terrific, by the way. All it needs is about five or six more growing days and it will be in midseason form. Nicole (McFadyen) and her crew did a great job.”

The Orioles set their roster earlier in the afternoon, with eight relievers among their 11 pitchers.

“It’s always a relief to get the 25-man team together, so we started with over 50 and we’ve been able to whittle it down,” Duquette said. “Looks like we’ve got a pretty solid lineup. We should hit a lot of home runs. Hopefully, we get some guys on base a little bit more this year so we can leverage that, have guys on base when we do hit our home runs.

“Seth Smith is a good on-base man, Joey Rickard’s back and he’s a good on-base man. And hopefully we added some better defense to our outfield. That was one thing we were trying to improve. Certainly the addition of (Craig) Gentry on the team will add to that. And I think Seth Smith will be an upgrade for our defense in the outfield and we’re looking forward to a good year.”

Buck Showalter is getting ready for his seventh opening day as Orioles manager and he insists that the experience never gets old, is never taken for granted.

Asked what moments he takes in during the ceremonies, Showalter replied, “History. A lot of voices.

“If you dwell on it too much, you can forget the task at hand, and that’s to win a ballgame against a really good team. I try to respect everybody’s history and what have you, but it just seems to be getting more and more special. Maybe it’s just to me. But you see fans come here and we see them in Sarasota. They’ve been coming out for three or four years, making the trip.”

And here’s where Showalter delivered the line that so many people embraced after I passed it along yesterday.

“I just want the weather to be good, the beer to be cold, the baseball to be good and everybody have a great time and the Orioles win and they want to come back.”

Shortstop J.J. Hardy also will experience his seventh opening day with the Orioles.

“Here is one of the best,” he said. “It’s always a great atmosphere and it’s fun to play in front of all of these fans.”

What makes it fun?

“I think it’s the atmosphere for one, but the orange carpet, the way the fans are, it always just seems like a playoff atmosphere on the first day,” Hardy said.

Hardy also will enjoy seeing it through the eyes of first-timers like first baseman/outfielder Trey Mancini and relievers Oliver Drake and Donnie Hart.

“Yeah, it’s always fun,” he said. “It brings back memories for me. It’s something that they’re going to remember for their whole lives. I’m sure their families are going to be out there and watching. It’s just a great feeling. I’m sure they’re going to be nervous. I’m sure we’re all going to be nervous. But it’s fun to watch, too.”

I was surprised that a veteran like Hardy still gets nervous on opening day.

“I do,” he said. “It’s a big deal. You’ve got a lot of people out there watching, so it’s fun.” Hardy’s back no longer brings him any discomfort. It’s no longer a thought to him unless someone asks about it.

“It’s really good,” he said. “Spring training was kind of a long process for me this year, but I feel like I got to where I need to be to be ready for (today).”

The media will try to play up the rematch angle for today’s game. The Blue Jays beat the Orioles in the wild card game, in case anyone forgot. They met in spring training, but this one counts.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with (today),” Hardy said. “It’s a new season. I think we’ve all kind of turned the page from that. It hurt for a while. As long as baseball was being played last year, I think it was crossing all our minds, but once the season was over for everybody, then I think we moved on. At least I did.”

The club will hold its annual moment of silence today for members of the Orioles family who passed away over the past year. The list will include former pitcher Todd Frohwirth, 54, a scout in the organization who died on March 26 after being diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Frohwirth worked with reliever Darren O’Day in the spring of 2014 and a friendship was born. “It all came about because they were hoping I would work on a changeup and Todd threw a good changeup throwing similar to me, so I think Buck asked him to come down,” O’Day said.

“He’s a guy who took two weeks out of his spring to come work with me and we got to know each other during that time. The changeup didn’t take, but it was awesome that I got to know him. And every time that we’d go to Chicago, we’d sit in the dugout during batting practice and talk. I got to meet his son and give him a glove, all kinds of good stuff.

“I consider myself lucky to have known him. He was a funny dude. He had a real passion for baseball and basketball. I didn’t even know what he was going through. I didn’t know anything about what he was fighting. I feel lucky to have known him. He was a great guy.”

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/drake-on-making-the-team-duquette-on- tavarez-talks-and-more.html

Drake on making the team, Duquette on Tavárez talks and more

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

A day after Orioles reliever Oliver Drake tossed two scoreless innings in the final Grapefruit League game against the Braves in Lake Buena Vista, the former Naval Academy pitcher was summoned into manager Buck Showalter’s office and told that he made the team. Drake would be part of an eight-man bullpen on his first opening day.

It was far from a safe assumption, considering how much Drake struggled in the spring. But he’s got a legitimate minor league track record, he’s out of minor league options and the Orioles decided to bring him north.

“I wasn’t sure,” Drake said before today’s workout at Camden Yards. “You never know until you officially get told, so I was just kind of sitting there with my fingers crossed and it was awesome to finally find out I made the club.”

Drake posted an 8.78 ERA and 1.95 WHIP in 10 spring appearances, but he more closely resembled in his final outing the pitcher who gave up two earned runs over his last nine games in 2016.

“I started feeling good at the end of spring,” he said. “I started locating my fastball, keeping the ball down, and my splitter had a little more bite and a little more finish to it. When I can do that, I know that I induce more ground balls and get some swings and misses and get people out.”

Drake’s stay could be temporary, depending on other moves that are pending. The Orioles are carrying only three starters and an extra reliever and bench player on opening day.

Showalter didn’t lay out a blueprint for Drake.

“He just told me I’m on the team and now the job is to help out whenever I’m called upon,” Drake said, “to go out there and get some people out.”

Executive vice president Dan Duquette seemed to revel today in the impact of players drafted and developed on the 25-man roster. Drake made it. Kevin Gausman is starting in place of Chris Tillman, who’s on the disabled list. Trey Mancini is an extra outfielder, a new position. Cedric Mullins was so good that the Orioles refused to give up too much in order to keep Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavárez, who returned to the Red Sox.

“Oliver Drake has an established track record of success and he’s done very, very well,” Duquette said. “He was the minor league Pitcher of the Year a year ago in Triple-A. He didn’t pitch that well in spring training, but he did have a couple good outings at the end and we thought he earned a spot.

“Good for him. He came through the minors and this is his first opening day. It’s an honor to be on a major league roster on opening day, so anybody that’s on the roster certainly earned it. Oliver earned it. Good for him.

“Trey Mancini, too. Trey proceeded to hit in spring training like he did last September, so it looks like he’s going to be a pretty good hitter. He’s worked hard to earn a spot on the major league roster, and frankly we’re proud of that. He came through the minors. He was our minor league Player of the Year a year ago and he’s shown not only can he hit, but he can hit the ball the other way with power. And he’s making some adjustments playing the outfield, so I’m encouraged by him.

“I’m glad that Joey Rickard’s back. We missed him the second half of the year. And looking forward to the veteran players on our club to have great years. Manny (Machado) worked hard, Jon Schoop worked hard, Adam Jones looks like he’s primed to have a great year. And our bullpen is really strong. We should have another good bullpen. There should be a lot of hope for Orioles fans going into the season.

“We’ve tried to address the needs of the club and to add to the ballclub to eliminate some of the weaknesses from last year’s ballclub. And we’re going to find out if we did our job well, and then hopefully we’ll get Chris Tillman back soon and the young guys will develop and hold down the fort until he returns.”

The Orioles and Red Sox continued trade discussions today that fell flat, and Duquette brought up Mullins as one reason. Mullins had a .321 on-base percentage last summer at low Single-A Delmarva and totaled 37 doubles, 10 triples, 14 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 124 games. The Orioles counted seven home runs this spring, including a B game when he slammed a ball off the batter’s eye in center field and games at the minor league complex.

Mullins will start the 2017 season at Double-A Bowie while Tavárez is back in the Red Sox’s system.

“We worked hard on that. We exchanged a number of names with the Red Sox,” Duquette said. “Obviously, we liked Tavárez. We drafted him. But I can tell you under different circumstances we might have given up more in the trade to acquire him, but we were so impressed with Cedric Mullins, coming into spring training and doing what he did, that we have him in Double-A and we can take a look at him. And he might be able to do the job that we had in mind for Aneury Tavárez later in the season. You never know.

“The really good players who are natural players ... and there’s a couple signs that tells us that Mullins is a natural player. Like he’s one of five players who had double figures in doubles, triples, homers, stolen bases last year. So that’s one of them. But the fact that he can come into big league camp uninvited and hit like seven home runs in spring training this year, that’s pretty impressive. Plus, he’s probably our fastest runner.

“When we saw what Mullins can do, it wasn’t as urgent for us to acquire a player with similar ability. And that’s why we tendered Tavárez back to the Red Sox. So that’s good for us, right? We found a player that we like, that we already had in the organization.”

The Orioles also decided to keep Craig Gentry as a possible platoon player with Seth Smith in right field and a backup at all three outfield positons.

“We like Gentry’s defense on the team,” Duquette said. “Gentry’s a very good defensive outfielder and that’s what we were looking for. So based on the number of choices that we had in the spring, we were able to make what I hope were the right decisions. If we didn’t make the right decisions, we’ll try again. We’ve got some pretty good depth in Triple-A and Double-A.

“It should be a good year. I like the team, I like the upgrades, I like the depth to the pitching staff and I like that we have more qualified major league pitchers that are going to be available to us at Triple-A, and hopefully a couple of them will develop into starting pitchers.”

Gausman, the fourth overall pick in 2012 out of LSU, is the starter on Monday after opening last season on the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis.

What does it mean to fans to have Gausman on the mound in the opener?

“Well, if he pitches well, they’ll be happy,” Duquette said with a laugh.

“It’s a great honor for Kevin. He earned it based upon how he’s pitched and developed over his career. I know he’s excited about it. He’s going to give it his best. He really matured last year, the second half of the season. Opening day starter is a terrific honor, so I’m sure Kevin will treat it very seriously.

“We’re proud that he came through the system, as well, that we identified his talent and helped him develop it so that he could be an opening day starter. We hoped that he would become an opening day starter when we drafted him.”

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/tillmans-side-session-the-roster-opening- day-and-much-more.html

Tillman’s side session, the roster, opening day and much more

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

Chris Tillman was pleased with yesterday’s bullpen session at Camden Yards and said his right shoulder felt great today. He’s expected to throw again on Monday and Wednesday before heading back to Sarasota to pitch live batting practice on April 8 and start an extended spring game on April 11.

“I went actually better than I was expecting,” Tillman said. “It felt good. No issues, no nothing. “No complaints. It was good.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter also was encouraged by the session.

“Great. It went really well and he feels good today,” Showalter said. “Plus, he liked throwing inside. Guys throwing inside, the mitt makes a louder noise. It looks like you’re throwing harder. No, that was real encouraging. I think he might be on his way. You guys have got that schedule. He’s right on it.”

Tillman has started the last three opening days, but Kevin Gausman gets the assignment Monday and whatever advice is available to him.

“We talked a little bit,” Tillman said. “The biggest challenge is slowing yourself down and trying not to do too much. Regardless of how good you are, it’s going to be tough to control your emotions and stuff. I think that’s the biggest part of it.

“He asked me if it compares to the playoffs and I said, ‘No.’ It’s hard to do that. In the playoffs you’ve already played 162 games. Then it’s just another start. This is the first game, you haven’t really done much. I feel like there’s a lot more going on on Opening Day. I told him to try to control his emotions the best he can.”

Reliever Darren O’Day is at Camden Yards today and could be available on opening day. He stayed in Sarasota on Friday because of the flu.

“He’s just about back to 100 percent. Hopefully, by tomorrow he is,” Showalter said. “He had quite a bout with the flu. Anybody who’s had that stuff that’s going around, it’s a challenge.”

The Orioles will need to add a fourth starter on April 9 and a fifth starter on April 15 unless the weather alters the schedule. Showalter has a pretty good idea of which moves will be made to accommodate the pitchers.

“If you’re going by conventionality, we’ve got it lined up, and ways to wiggle, too,” he said. “If we had to do it now, we know what we would do, but some things and variables could play into it - weather and health. Let’s see where we are..”

Showalter said it’s possible that the Orioles will continue to carry 11 pitchers and hold onto Trey Mancini, Joey Rickard and Craig Gentry, the latter being out of options.

“It takes some imagination,” he said. “Especially with the off-days and everything legal. But there’s a way to maneuver around and keep the ... You’re really with 11, but you’re still having seven in the ‘pen. There’s a way to do it, but it’s going to take some foresight and imagination as we go. Really tough to do it last year. This year’s got a chance to be easier, but you’ve got to stay on top of it. You’ve got to have cooperation with your staff in Norfolk and Bowie, but we’ll see what develops.”

The Orioles and Red Sox discussed numerous trade scenarios involving Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavárez, but failed to reach an agreement. Tavárez returned to the Red Sox organization and the Orioles placed Mancini, Rickard and Gentry on their opening day roster.

“There were a lot of different variables,” Showalter said. “Cleared waivers and we tried to work out a trade and didn’t really want to trade Manny (Machado) for him. No, I’m just kidding, but we liked him, just like we did when we took him in the Rule 5 and tried to make every step possible up until 8 or 9 o’clock this morning. Dan (Duquette) and I were looking at ways to keep him, but I think with a couple of emergences of some things and ... we must have talked six or seven variables to that.

“One was we could have just kept him. Are we going to keep him over (Hyun Soo) Kim or Seth (Smith)? We felt strongly that he had a chance and still do, and Boston does, too, because they took him back. But you aren’t always able to keep them. We’ve probably been way ahead of the curve.

“We felt like coming out of the draft that we would end up keeping one of them. (Anthony Santander) is still very much a part of it. We like him.”

The Orioles believe that center fielder Cedric Mullins, who moves up from low Single-A Delmarva to Double-A Bowie, has a similar skill set to Tavárez. They weren’t going to surrender as much in a trade as they might have done in previous years.

Showalter didn’t reveal his opening day lineup and whether Seth Smith would lead off, as he did in Friday’s exhibition at Triple-A Norfolk, with Kim batting lower in the order.

“I’ve got an idea, a good idea. We’ve already done it, but I want to make sure everybody’s where I think they are physically before you make that commitment,” Showalter said. “It must be newsworthy, so I’ve got it. Is it that big of a story?”

Kim is expecting a warmer reception on his second opening day after hearing a smattering of boos last year caused by his refusal to accept an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

“I was talking with him in Norfolk (Friday) after he came out of the game and I said, ‘You know, you could have been here, you could have played here,’” Showalter said. “He loves Norfolk, the city and everything, but ... I couldn’t help myself. I just went over to him and said, ‘Remember this time last year?’ You could have been out in left field.’ No. But I think it’s a reminder to all of us about how things are perceived and how they really are reality-wise.

“I think it’s a real identifier of our fans, too. They saw that he was a good player and a hard trier and having a good year and respected his decisions and it worked out well for us and him. Tomorrow, I think he’ll get a different response.”

Opening day always is a special event at Camden Yards, but especially on the 25th anniversary of the ballpark.

“Through thick and thin, I know I’m biased, but what’s better?” Showalter said. “So many people have missed the essence of what gives a ballpark character. Obviously, it starts with the people who come and fill up the place. But it’s just so woven into the city and it’s not some relic. It’s America’s most beloved ballpark because it’s old? It’s America’s best park because it’s really good, and every year they do great work to keep it ...

“They’re constantly looking for ways to improve, whether it’s customer service, whether it’s food, whether it’s parking. I see all the work they do here in the offseason. They have a project every offseason.

“It’s the best. What makes it the best? It doesn’t look like, ‘Hey, let’s make a hill out in center field. Let’s cut out some niche out here where the ball will roll around crazy down the corner. Let’s put a big high fence here and a low fence there.’ It’s baseball the way it’s supposed to be. The warehouse was there a long ago. I’m not sure about the hotel that got stuck over there. That kind of screwed some things up, but the people who are staying there are probably happy about it.”

Fans asked to cite their favorite moments at Camden Yards often reference games managed by Showalter, including Robert Andino’s walk-off single to beat the Red Sox in the 2011 finale. “Can you imagine that being one of the bigger moments when we were how many games out?” Showalter asked. “That was just, ‘Hey, we want you to feel our pain.’ That was mean. That was just mean, OK? Let’s be honest. ‘My God, we’re going down, but we’re taking you with us.’ Right?”

Before taking the field for today’s workout - and its new grass that looks incredible - Showalter reminded his players that games in April count just as much as the others.

“That took some really good math on my part,” he said. “If you look at our schedule in April, it really rings true, playing in our division most of the time, which is very important. There will be a lot of teams playing each other in our division. But I’m not going to say if things don’t go well early the season is over. Heck, it’s a long grind.

“It’s a constant test. It’s kind of like you have all these rehearsals, which is what spring training is. You go through all these different things. It’s almost like a play or a movie and you do all these rehearsals and then it’s opening. There’s a lot of different acts to a season, but tomorrow starts Act One. But we don’t get up the next morning and read the reviews to see if we’re going to stay open.”

Showalter has been hesitant to check the forecast, fearful of jinxing it.

“I just want the weather to be good, the beer to be cold, the baseball to be good and everybody have a great time and the Orioles win and they want to come back,” Showalter said.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/orioles-set-25-man-roster-1.html

Orioles set 25-man roster

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

The Orioles announced their opening day roster this afternoon and it doesn’t contain any surprises.

It’s the same math as reported a few days ago, with 14 position players and 11 pitchers, including eight relievers.

Oliver Drake (Navy) received the eighth bullpen spot. He’s out of options and may have to be placed on waivers after the Orioles activate left-hander Wade Miley from the disabled list on April 9 or need a fifth starter on April 15.

Miley, Chris Tillman and Rule 5 outfielder Anthony Santander were placed on the 10-day disabled list. Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavárez was returned to the Red Sox to come off the 40- man roster and create a spot for outfielder Craig Gentry.

The Orioles optioned pitchers Gabriel Ynoa and Jayson Aquino, both candidates for the fifth starter’s job, to Triple-A Norfolk.

Gentry was the last non-roster player in camp and he earned a trip north after batting .321/.429/.528 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, eight RBIs and seven stolen bases, and playing defense at an exceptional level.

Trey Mancini, learning to play the outfield, also made the team after batting .333/.339/.600 with seven doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs.

Tyler Wilson and left-hander Vidal Nuño serve as long relievers in the bullpen. Also, outfielder-turned-pitcher Dariel Álvarez was transferred to low Single-A Delmarva and pitcher Jason GarcÍa was transferred from Norfolk to Double-A Bowie.

Here’s the 25-man roster:

Catchers: Welington Castillo, Caleb Joseph

Infielders: Manny Machado, J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis, Ryan Flaherty

Outfielders: Adam Jones, Hyun Soo Kim, Seth Smith, Mark Trumbo, Joey Rickard, Trey Mancini, Craig Gentry

Starters: Kevin Gausman, Dylan Bundy, Ubaldo Jiménez

Relievers: Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Donnie Hart, Tyler Wilson, Vidal Nuño, Oliver Drake http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/smith-atop-the-order-oday-and-miley- health-updates-and-more.html

Smith atop the order, O’Day and Miley health updates and more

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

Seth Smith wasn’t given a warning from manager Buck Showalter about batting leadoff on opening day. He checked the lineup card posted outside the clubhouse and returned to his locker.

“We didn’t have a conversation about it,” Smith said. “but when I’ve been able to play this spring, it’s really the only place I’ve hit, so I kind of assumed that it was a good possibility.”

Smith has batted leadoff in 80 games over his 10-year career, so it’s not uncharted territory. And it doesn’t affect his approach at the plate.

“It really doesn’t,” he said. “Honestly, the only difference is just in the first inning you’ve got to be ready to hit sooner and you don’t have time to feel out the pitcher. You’re the first guy thrown in there. But after the first at-bat it’s just kind of rolling with the lineup.”

Smith doesn’t think there’s any significance to being the leadoff hitter at home in the first game with his new team.

“It’s opening day with a new team regardless of where I was hitting,” he said. “It would be the same feelings.”

The Blue Jays are starting left-hander J.A. Happ on Wednesday, which will push Smith to the bench and put someone else atop the order, the prime candidates being Joey Rickard and Craig Gentry.

Showalter said he chose Smith today because “it kind of worked out best for today if you look at some of the matchups.”

“We’ve got some options,” Showalter said. “We’ll see where it goes. I think he’s got a chance to do a good job for us there, as some other people do.

“We’re fortunate to have a team where ego isn’t driven by batting orders and stuff. They really don’t care. I think there’s a real trust there. We’re going to do what’s best for the team. We’ll start out with Seth there and hope it evolves. We also like our pieces against a left-handed starter. “We’ve got, what, 14 to pick from? That’s nice to say. I hope we can hold onto that. It’s nice to have an eight-man bullpen and five-man bench.”

Left-hander Wade Miley said he feels great, his bout with the flu in the past, and he’s slated to pitch a simulated game Tuesday at Double-A Bowie. Miley is expected to come off the disabled list to start April 9 against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

“I feel fine right now,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting my pitch count in a better position, get it up a little bit. That way, we’re not putting the bullpen at risk, especially this early in the year. So, to be able to go out there and get to 100 pitches is pretty important.”

The Orioles want Miley to get five or six “ups” at Bowie.

“I think if everything goes smoothly, I’ll be ready,” he said.

Reliever Darren O’Day, who’s had the flu since Thursday, said he feels better today. Showalter said O’Day is “physically active and available to us as we see fit.”

Showalter isn’t going to let the opposition know if someone on the roster can’t play or pitch. Trey Mancini had his No. 16 jersey hanging in his locker, but No. 67 still on his nameplate. It’s being corrected.

Mancini said he wore No. 16 from the time he was 10 years old through high school. He wore 3 at Notre Dame because a coach already had 16, and his number kept changing through the minors.

In other words, Mancini isn’t attached to any number, but we joked that his first o-fer will lead him to change back to 67.

For the Blue Jays

Devon Travis 2B Josh Donaldson 3B José Bautista RF Kendrys Morales DH Troy Tulowitzki SS Russell Martin C Steve Pearce 1B Kevin Pillar CF Ezequiel Carrera LF

Marco Estrada RHP http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/04/ceremonies-completed-and-its-time-to-start- the-2017-season.html

Ceremonies completed and time to start 2017 season (updated)

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

Kevin Gausman’s first pitch this afternoon to Blue Jays leadoff hitter Devon Travis was a 96 mph fastball for a called strike, and the second landed in shallow right field for a single. The 2017 season was underway.

The Orioles did the usual fine job with the pregame ceremonies.

Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson was booed upon his introduction, but the volume level was nothing compared to what awaited José Bautista.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette wasn’t kidding. Fans don’t like that guy.

Buck Showalter, undefeated in six opening days since being named manager, received the usual rousing ovation. The crowd erupted for Adam Jones as he ran down the orange carpet, but Manny Machado trumped him.

Hyun Soo Kim didn’t hear any boos, unlike last year’s opening day. He was given a warm ovation.

The crowd helped MASN’s Jim Hunter introduce No. 9 hitter J...J...Hardy.

The Orioles provided a special touch to the ceremonial first pitches by having Oliver Drake, Trey Mancini and Donnie Hart catch them in their first opening days. A wonderful idea. And Richard Troxell nailed both anthems.

Mark Trumbo received his and we were ready to start the 2017 season. Showalter again was asked to reflect on what opening day means to him.

“I’d like to say one of 162, but we had, what, 38 this spring? We’re going to be at the 200 mark this year. But no, you do take it in,” he said.

“Not anxiety, but you really want the weather to be good, you want the trip in to be good, the parking to be where people enjoy it. More importantly for me, they bring their kids and there’s another generation of baseball fans and Oriole fans. Just a great memory that I think a lot of us here share some form of, whether it be covering your first game or something that made you want to do this. All of us. So, I look at it as a day of responsibility that you’re Act One of a long play. Just hope it gets good reviews as the season goes on.

“Day One is about focusing on trying to figure out a way to beat the Blue Jays after 27 outs. That’s going to be a real challenge.”

The Orioles are celebrating the 27th anniversary of the opening of Camden Yards. Showalter remembers his initial reaction to it.

“It wasn’t a ‘wow.’ It was ‘wow’ in a different way that they got it. They got it right. They blended the respect and the traditions with the nuances of new,” he said.

“I’m always so proud of the offseasons. There’s always a project going on here to keep it that way. There’s a lot of pride involved in our stadium around the country and really the world. You talk to (World Baseball Classic) guys and they know about Camden Yards. I think we’re proud of the fact that when you think about Baltimore, one of the things you think about is Camden Yards.

“I’ve heard everybody talk about, ‘It was ahead of its time.’ I think they did a good job of drawing back to bygone years, but also thinking about the future. What would you do different here? It’s like you have that new toy at Christmas. It’s one thing to have something new. What’s it like five years later, seven years later?”

Gausman received today’s assignment while Chris Tillman is on the disabled list. There’s no way to relieve the pressure, as Showalter pointed out.

“You don’t,” he said. “That’s part of the process these guys go through. It’s not some magic word you’re going to say or approach you’re going to take, but you want that. It’s part of the learning curve. And I’m hoping Kevin pitches a lot of games, whether it be playoffs, whether it be opening days or whatever. I’m hoping that he’s going to have some things he reaches back for as he goes forward.

“He’s a quick learner. He’s a watcher and evaluator. Kevin’s really good at, I think he’s gotten a lot better at figuring what works out for him and what doesn’t work. Everybody’s constantly tweaking stuff and trying to critique stuff, but Kevin’s good at saying, ‘OK, that may be good for you, but it doesn’t work for me.’ He’s getting a real good feel for what’s best for him, especially on those days when he’s not carrying that 96, 95 (mph), and it’s going to happen. It’s going to happen to everybody.”

No matter what happens today, there will be 161 more games before the page turns to the postseason.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this club,” Showalter said. “I know they care a lot and I think we’ll seek our level. I just hope some outside things like injuries and stuff like that ... I think we’re better positioned to cope with some of that stuff. A lot of the maneuverability of our roster this year. The 40-man plus the Bowie and Norfolk rosters.

“Kind of knowing who you are, this how we’re going to have to do it. We’ve got a good feel for it. It’s just a bar that I think the fans have helped us raise. Once you get more Ws than you have Ls, is that good enough? No, it’s not. Our city and our fans deserve that consistency. It’s rare and hard to find. It’s a challenge and it’ll be a challenge this year.”

Update: The Orioles were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position until an RBI single by Chris Davis and RBI double by Mark Trumbo in the third inning provided a 2-0 lead. The Orioles have four doubles in three innings. Gausman has thrown 57 pitches, his fastball topping out at 99 mph.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/more-on-mancini-and-props-for-the-tides- from-the-orioles.html

More on Mancini and props for the Tides from the Orioles

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 1, 2017

Orioles first baseman-turned-outfielder Trey Mancini was a popular interview Friday at Harbor Park. And why not? He returned to the place where he had a strong 2016 season, and the Norfolk reporters wanted to ask him about making the opening day roster and adjusting to life in the outfield.

Mancini repeated again that he is feeling comfortable already playing in the outfield. He feels he has quickly earned the trust of manager Buck Showalter as an outfielder.

“It seems like he’s comfortable with me,” Mancini said. “I don’t think I’d be on the team if he wasn’t. So I’ll keep working hard and I can definitely improve, but at least they have enough faith in me already to play out there when they need me. That is very reassuring.”

Often with young players as they reach the majors, teams have a tough decision whether to keep them on the roster if said player will not play every day. It could be that Mancini is a part-time starter with the Orioles. Showalter said he is fine keeping Mancini on the team for now even without him getting regular at-bats.

“Sure. Sure,” the manager said. “We are going to do what’s best for the and that is also what’s best for Trey. We’ll see how it falls. There are a lot of different dynamics, but Trey earned an opportunity and we’ll see where the at-bats fall. Because he is not getting X- number of at-bats a week, ask him if that is worthy of him getting sent back.

“I don’t know how you can do more on your resume to get an opportunity. And the reward for that is do well to get another one. We are excited about Trey’s progress. He’s done well at every level. Most of the time these guys hit .260 or have an ERA of 4.00 and you are supposed to promote them. Trey is not cut from that statistically. He has earned his way here.”

Mancini hit .333/.379/.600 with seven doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs in Grapefruit League games and then he went 1-for-2 with a single in Friday’s 3-3 tie with Norfolk. Mancini led the Orioles in spring in hits (20), doubles (seven) and RBIs (14), and his .979 OPS topped all players with 40 or more at-bats.

Showalter admitted yesterday he wished the Orioles had moved Mancini to the outfield sooner. He said as much when asked where the idea to move Mancini to the outfield originated.

“I don’t know, it’s a baseball decision,” he said. “We’ve got Chris Davis at first base. Didn’t like him at shortstop, second, third or center. So that left the corner outfield. It is something we were wanting to do. Personally, I wish we had done it earlier. I thought we should have done it last year. As soon as Chris signed the contract.”

The Orioles-Tides relationship: Orioles club officials in Norfolk yesterday made it clear how much they appreciate what the Tides do on and off the field that helps them in Baltimore. It was a day to show the Norfolk fans, media and front office that they are indeed very appreciated.

The Tides have been the Orioles’ top affiliate since the 2007 season. This is the 11th year of a relationship the Orioles seem to hope continues for a long time.

“It’s a great relationship,” said Kent Qualls, the Orioles director of minor league operations. “They’ve done a nice job to keep up the ballpark. They renovated the playing field a couple of years ago and there is good communication. There were some things in the clubhouse that we asked for and they added a video room. It’s been a real positive relationship that we have with the Tides.”

Orioles vice president Dan Duquette said: “This is an important relationship for the Orioles. The market is important for the Orioles, also as a TV market. It allows us to introduce our players and then be part of our (TV) distribution for the major league team. A lot of our players have played here over the years and several will be coming through the organization. It’s a great stepping stone.”

Showalter gave props to the Tides fans as the game drew such a good crowd of 8,729 on a day that featured heavy rain at times. It looked like the game would get rained out, but they got it in and the fans showed up.

“It’s humbling that someone might have missed half a day of work to be here,” he said. “Our guys understand the gig and it’s an honor to be asked to come here. That is one of the reasons we have a great relationship with Norfolk and it is not a one-way thing. That relationship has played a big role in our success the last few years. It’s a great honor to be here today. I can’t imagine a better Triple-A/major league situation than we have with Norfolk. I think some people are jealous.”

In 2012, the Tides beat the Orioles 6-4 and two years later the Orioles won 4-3 in a game shortened to six innings by rain. After Friday’s tie, the clubs are all even at 1-1-1 in three exhibitions. Now the Orioles get ready to open a new season Monday against Toronto, while the Tides opener is next Thursday in Charlotte with their home opener set for April 10 at Harbor Park against Gwinnett at 6:35 p.m. http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/quietly-confident-orioles-prepared-to-start- a-new-season.html

Quietly confident Orioles are ready to start a new season

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 2, 2017

With the start of a new season now just one day away, the Orioles feel they are right about where they need to be. Sure, pitcher Chris Tillman will start on the disabled list, but this remains a team full of quietly confident players.

They’ve won more games than any other American League team since 2012. And even though they’ve faced another preseason with a mountain of negative predictions, they believe they stack up with any other team.

You will seldom find an Orioles player to make any bold statements about how well they feel they can do, but the confidence seems to always be there.

“I think we are feeling pretty good about what we’ve got. We feel good about where we’re at,” shortstop J.J. Hardy said after Friday’s game in Norfolk.

Tillman added: “I like where we’re at. I really do. I think we’ve got a good ballclub. It’s pretty similar to last year’s team. Some good guys (new players) we’ve got in there. I feel like they are a part of this team now. I think we are right where we need to be.”

Second baseman Jonathan Schoop said the goal is an obvious one.

“We believe in each other and we’ve got each other’s back,” he said. “We will push each other. We have one goal, to win a ring. Make the playoffs and win a championship.”

During spring training, Mark Trumbo offered this assessment: “I think for me, the biggest thing is, we had such a good team and got results. We had a good feeling of what we wanted to do pretty much on a daily basis. You can’t argue with the fact that we were a first-place team for a lot of the season last year and we basically have the same team back. So there is no reason to think that we can’t improve upon what we did last year and be even better.”

“No,” the skipper said. “I’m just confident we’ll be as good as we’re capable of being. We had a good spring. Wasn’t ever groundhog day. I’m real comfortable where we are.”

See, told you. The Orioles are comfortable where they are right now and ready for the challenge of 162 games and the American League East.

The season begins tomorrow afternoon against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles play two versus Toronto and three against the in a season-opening five-game homestand.

The Orioles play an AL East-heavy schedule through May 4. Their first four series and 11 games are within the division and so are 24 of their 27 games through May 4. Another fast start like last season would be big. The 2016 Orioles began the year 7-0 and 10-4, and were in first place all of April.

The Orioles went 40-36 versus the AL East, going 21-17 at home and 19-19 away. That included an 8-11 mark versus Boston, 10-9 against New York, 13-6 versus Tampa Bay and 9-10 against Toronto.

The 2016 Birds had winning records against the AL East and Central (23-9) and teams (14-6), but went a dismal 12-22 against teams from the AL West, which included a 4-14 road record.

The Orioles hold a workout at Camden Yards today and then the 64th season of Baltimore Orioles baseball begins Monday at 3:05 p.m. The long grind of another season will be underway. http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/the-oriole-minor-league-break-camp- rosters.html

Orioles’ minor league break-camp rosters

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 2, 2017

Here are the minor league break-camp rosters for the Orioles’ four full-season affiliates at Triple- A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie, Single-A Frederick and Single-A Delmarva. Some of the expected assignments are as we reported on Friday, but here the entire rosters. They could change between now and opening day on Thursday. They become final on Thursday after any potential changes or adjustments.

TRIPLE-A NORFOLK

Pitchers: Jayson Aquino, Alec Asher, Richard Bleier, Parker Bridwell, Stefan Crichton, Joe Gunkel, Chris Lee, Scott McGough, Richard Rodriguez, Zach Stewart, Logan Verrett, Mike Wright, Jimmy Yacabonis, Gabriel Ynoa.

Catchers: Chance Sisco, Francisco Pena.

Infielders: David Washington, Johnny Giavotella, Paul Janish, Chris Johnson, Robert Andino, Alex Castellanos, Sean Coyle.

Outfielders: Logan Schafer, Pedro Alvarez, Henry Urrutia, Chris Dickerson, Michael Choice.

DOUBLE-A BOWIE

Pitchers: Brandon Barker, Jed Bradley, Bobby Bundy, Garrett Cleavinger, Jason García, Matthew Grimes, Jefri Hernandez, David Hess, Jon Keller, Jesus Liranzo, Lucas Long, John Means, Ryan Meisinger, Tanner Scott, Michael Zouzalik.

Catchers: Austin Wynns, Audry Perez.

Infielders: Aderlin Rodriguez, Adrian Marin, Erick Salcedo, Drew Dosch, Jeff Kemp, Garabez Rosa.

Outfielders: Cedric Mullins, DJ Stewart, Glynn Davis, Jay Gonzalez, Tucker Nathans.

SINGLE-A FREDERICK

Pitchers: Keegan Akin, Cristian Alvarado, Michael Burke, Tanner Chleborad, Jay Flaa, Brian Gonzalez, Luis Gonzalez, Mitch Horacek, Cory Jones, Reid Love, Ofelky Peralta, Franderlin Romero, Cody Sedlock, Christian Turnipseed.

Catchers: Stuart Levy, Yermin Mercedes.

Infielders: Alex Murphy, Steve Wilkerson, , Jomar Reyes, Ricardo Andujar, Drew Turbin, Steve Laurino.

Outfielders: Josh Hart, Austin Hays, Randolph Gassaway, Ademar Rifaela.

SINGLE-A DELMARVA

Pitchers: Dariel Álvarez, Jacob Bray, Matthias Dietz, Cody Dube, Kory Groves, Lucas Humpal, Francisco Jimenez, Nick Jobst, Steven Klimek, Zeke McGranahan, Zack Muckenhirn, Jhon Peluffo, Travis Seabrooke, James Teague, Alexander Wells.

Catchers: Daniel Fajardo, Christopher Shaw, Jerry McClanahan.

Infielders: Preston Palmeiro, Alejandro Juvier, Irving Ortega, Chris Clare, Frank Crinella, Collin Woody.

Outfielders: Ryan McKenna, Cole Billingsley, Jake Ring, Gerrion Grim.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/gausman-on-od-start-ill-try-to-set-the- toneit-will-be-rocking.html

Kevin Gausman on opening day start: “I’ll try to set the tone”

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 2, 2017

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman seems to be finding the right balance of completing his preparation for tomorrow’s opening day assignment, while at the same time realizing how exciting and special the day will be for him.

While Jim Palmer and have made the most opening day starts on the mound as Orioles with six each, Gausman’s first is Monday afternoon against Toronto. Chris Tillman threw the first pitch in 2014-2016.

“To have this honor, I’m very happy,” Gausman said this afternoon. “There were a lot of guys before me that did it. Guys like Mussina, Jim Palmer, Tilly. I’ll try to set the tone and just try to feed off the environment. It will obviously be rocking and it’s going to be fun.

“I think I can speak for everyone of us - we’re ready to get going. We have a lot of guys returning and feel really confident. I’m excited to see (Dylan) Bundy as a starter from Day One. We are excited and ready to go and looking forward to just continuing to grow.”

Gausman’s 2016 stats showed a 9-12 record and ERA of 3.61, which was 13th in the American League among qualifying pitchers. But in the second half, he dialed it up a notch, going 8-6 with a 3.10 ERA.

From Aug. 23-Sept. 14, Gausman had a stretch where he went 4-0 with an ERA of 0.82 and 32 over 33 innings.

“I think I just became a better overall pitcher,” he said. “I think I pitched more than I ever have, really, in my life. Was throwing pitches I wasn’t once comfortable throwing, like 2-0 sliders and things like that. I felt confident and was throwing well, so I felt confident enough to throw those pitches. That is one thing this spring I tried to do: not throw my fastball too much and have a good percentage for each one of my pitches, and I think that helped me to learn how to throw a slider this spring.”

Gausman did not have strong numbers last year in three starts versus Toronto, going 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA. He allowed six homers in 15 1/3 innings.

As it turns out, the Orioles begin this year against the team that ended their 2016 season in Rogers Centre. But this is no revenge game.

“No, it’s the first game of the season,” Gausman said. “We’re not thinking about the last game of last year. Just go out and try to throw strikes and kind of establish the way we are going to pitch this year. I think each one of us got better as the season went on, especially myself. So trying to figure out why that is and try to hit the ground running this year.”

It would be big if the Orioles can get off to a good start. They play their first 11 games and 24 of 27 through May 4 against American League East foes. It’s going to be a big April of division play. “Anytime you play in the division, those are the games that matter,” Gausman said. “Buck (Showalter) talked to us the other day about games in April. How they can be the difference in playing in October.”

Gausman was very good at home last year, going 6-2 with a 2.67 ERA. He allowed two runs or less in eight of his 12 Camden Yards starts.

“I think everyone of us loves playing here,” Gausman said. “I seem to always pitch better here than on the road. I don’t know why that is, but I just feel confident and comfortable here. Our crowds, especially the bigger ones, are awesome. I was here in 2014 in the playoffs. This place went crazy. I was here for Delmon Young’s double, obviously. This place can be super loud and I love playing here.”

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/jones-on-raising-the-bar-to-win-mancinis- great-quote-and-more.html

Jones on raising the bar to win, Mancini’s great quote and more

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

For an Orioles team that leads the American League in wins since the 2012 season, the expectation of winning has become, well, expected. The fans expect the players to win and the players expect to do just that.

On the eve of a new season Sunday, outfielder Adam Jones said the bar has been raised in Baltimore.

“Big time,” Jones said. “When I first got here I don’t even know if there was a bar. But now there are high expectations. Not just for the fans. I think the players understand that you can do something special with this opportunity given.

“The major leagues is a very cherished thing to be involved in. Cherish this opportunity and take full advantage of it. There is something we can do on this field every day, somehow in some capacity. If you are not swinging it or not playing defense well, do something to help your team. That has always been my message. Try to help the team every day, somehow, some way. If you give your all, at some point in time, in some facet of this game, you can help your team win.” For Jones, acquired in the Erik Bedard trade with Seattle in February 2008, this will be his 10th opening day wearing the orange and black.

“There is pride in that,” he said. “Being able to do it 10 years consecutively is pretty cool. The hardest part thinking about it is 10 years of grinding every single day. Being able to make opening day and wear this uniform is pretty amazing.

“The first day is celebrated. Everyone has a chance to go out and do something special. Here’s a preseason party, now let’s go see what you can do for those next six months. See if you can have a party at the end of it.”

As the Orioles open the 2017 season this afternoon, they’ll face the Toronto Blue Jays. Right- hander Kevin Gausman will throw the first pitch of the new year and embraces those high expectations for this Orioles team.

“I think we all expect to make the playoffs every year,” Gausman said. “I don’t think there is any reason why we shouldn’t. We have a great pitching staff, great bullpen. Obviously, great home run-hitting team and we play defense really well, too. There is a lot to like about our team. If you come to watch us play at Camden Yards, I think you’ll like the team we are going to have.”

Gausman makes his first opening day start this afternoon, as Chris Tillman begins the year on the disabled list. Tillman was the starter in the opener from 2014-2016. Did he give Gausman any advice about this start?

“A little bit,” Gausman said. “He compared them to the playoffs, but said it is more intense than that. So that kind of set the bar for me for what I should expect. I’ll try to make it as much of a normal start as I can, but I’ll be jacked up. I will definitely have some adrenaline and excitement.”

Gausman (9-12, 3.61 ERA in 2016) faces right-hander Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.48 ERA in 2016) this afternoon. The O’s right-hander went 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in three starts last year versus the Blue Jays. Estrada went 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00 in four starts against the Orioles.

Gausman will be followed in the rotation by right-hander Dylan Bundy when he faces the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Here is Jones’ take on the two kids at the top of the current rotation: “I think they are going to do fine. I think they have the understanding of what they need to do at this level. They know the people behind them want them to succeed and will do everything for them to do that. So deliver strikes and let this defense work for you.”

At some point soon, maybe today, Trey Mancini will play his first major league game as an outfielder. The rookie hit three homers in 14 major league at-bats last September. For his next trick, he moves to the outfield.

“ told me, ‘You just have to be confident in your abilities. Almost have a certain kind of cockiness out there that you can make every play.’ You just have to be cool, calm and collected out there,” Mancini said. “You can’t be too jumpy when the ball comes off the bat. You have to want the ball to come to you. Just trust your ability. That helped calm me down. I try to put that into practice. (Coach Wayne) Kirby has worked with me on getting reads off the bat. Taking a drop step right when the batter makes contact to either side. Reading it for a second and then reacting.”

One thing is clear: Mancini is beyond thrilled to be on the opening day roster. He said Sunday he would have done just about anything to make that happen.

“I wanted to get on this team whatever way it was. First base, DH, outfield. I’d dance with the Oriole on top of the dugout to ‘Thank God I’m a Country Boy’ if it meant I would get on the team. It is really, really cool to be here,” Mancini said.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/orioles-players-talk-about-that-run-down- the-orange-carpet.html

Orioles players talk about that run down the orange carpet

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

It is a tradition on opening day at Camden Yards. Some players even get nervous when they do it. They run through an entrance in the center field wall and then down the orange carpet as they get introduced during pregame ceremonies.

Opening day and pomp and circumstance is on the docket for today as much as a baseball game. Reliever Brad Brach can’t wait for that jog and the cheers that go with it.

“It’s exciting. My first year doing that, in 2015, was a special experience. It is a special day and great for the fans. Getting to run down that carpet is truly an honor,” Brach said.

“Every opening day is a huge opportunity and blessing to have. I remember my first one. They reminded me to smile.”

Orioles closer Zach Britton figures to get a huge ovation today. He didn’t win a Award, but he did win the hearts of Orioles fans with his amazing 2016 season, which included him going 47-for-47 in chances. Britton believes that no club does opening day as well as the Orioles at the Yard.

“I just think the whole production of it (is great),” he said. “Running down the orange carpet in center field. A lot of teams just announce the guys and it’s nothing special. But to hear that crowd get loud when they call your name is something pretty special.

“We know the fans love opening day. It is probably the best one I’ve ever seen. Being on the road at other stadiums, this one is by far the best. For the guys that never experienced it, it will be a pretty cool thing. Something they’ll remember long after they are done playing.”

For rookie Trey Mancini, who has fast become a fan favorite, today will be his first run down that carpet.

“It’s going to be incredible,” Mancini said. “I came to games here in the summer when I was a kid. Being here and on the team is really cool. That took a little time to set in back in September and that will happen all over again this week.”

Like Mancini, Orioles reliever Donnie Hart will run down that carpet for the first time today. It’s his first opening day in the majors.

“It is pretty cool, you have to pinch yourself at times,” Hart said this morning. “I’m not too much of an emotional guy, but I think it will all sink in when everything gets going and you realize what you are being a part of and what it means to your career to be a part of something like this. I got goosebumps yesterday thinking about this.”

With three playoff appearances in the last five years, the Orioles say they have high expectations for another good year.

“In my mind, we have put ourselves to where we have to make the playoffs and go deep into the playoffs. I think that is what the fans want, and I know that is what we want as players. Let’s get off to a good start and roll through the summer,” Brach said.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/the-os-pen-should-certainly-be-good- again.html

O’s ‘pen should certainly be good again

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

We don’t know how much we will see them today but the Orioles bullpen pitchers figure to be a teams strength again this year. The O’s ‘pen led the American League with a 3.40 ERA in 2016. Beyond the talent in their bullpen, the team also enjoys strong roster flexibility. The Orioles have a host of pitchers who can be optioned back and forth between the majors and minors and no doubt the shuttle between Baltimore, Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie will be active. Having so many optionable pitchers over 162 games gives the O’s an advantage.

“Having the flexibility should make it a lot easier on everybody,” Orioles vice president Dan Duquette said. “I think we have some pitchers that have more depth to their repertoire and they a little bit more skilled than what we’ve had at Triple-A in the past. That will come into play during the course of the season. I’m excited about the Triple-A rotation also.”

There are a few pitchers, of course, who will not be optioned and will be counted on just about every day. Zach Britton went 47-for-47 in saves last year with an ERA of 0.54. That was the lowest in history among Major League Baseball pitchers throwing 50 or more innings.

Soreness in his left side delayed Britton’s work in the spring, and he threw just 5 1/3 innings in Grapefruit League games.

“I feel ready to go,” he said Sunday. “Maybe would have liked a few more innings in the spring, but the oblique didn’t allow that. But I’m about as ready as I can get. Once you get out there, it is a completely different feel than spring, so I’m ready.”

The Orioles bullpen has ranked among the best in the AL for the last several seasons. The club ranked third in ‘pen ERA in the league in 2014 (3.10) and was third again in 2015 (3.21).

“It’s a point of pride,” right-hander Brad Brach said. “We want to keep that standard up and live up to it. It’s been incredible what we’ve been able to do the last couple of years. Hope we keep it up this year.”

The same could be said of Brach. He slumped late last season, but he also had a full season where he went 10-4 with a 2.05 ERA and made his first All-Star team.

“I want to build on that and prove that last year was not a fluke thing. That I can do that year in and year out. I want to carry what I did last season into this year and just continue with it,” Brach said.

Left-hander Donnie Hart got his first call to the majors last July. In 22 games the rest of the year, he pitched to an ERA of 0.49, allowing one run over 18 1/3 innings. While right-handed batters hit .292, left-handers hit just .132 against Hart. Then he had a strong spring in Florida.

“Spring went well,” Hart said. “It was my first big league camp, so I tried to take it in, enjoy and watch how the guys go about their business.”

Hart pitched in Florida very much like someone trying to win a job, and not someone who pitched well in the majors last year. To his credit, he realizes his big league resume is not very long just yet.

“This game is always a revolving door,” Hart said. “I think the minute you get comfortable or complacent with what you are doing and what your job is, someone is knocking on the door ready to walk through it. That is probably going to be my mindset the rest of my career. I don’t think there will ever be a minute where I put a big league uniform on and take it for granted.”

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/04/os-game-blog-kevin-gausman-on-mound- in-season-opener.html

O’s game blog: Kevin Gausman on mound in season opener

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

The Orioles begin their 64th season this afternoon when they play the Toronto Blue Jays to begin a two-game series and a five-game homestand.

The Orioles and Blue Jays tied for second in the American League East last year, going 89-73. They were four games behind division-winning Boston. Toronto beat the Orioles in the AL wild card game and advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second straight year.

With Chris Tillman on the disabled list, right-hander Kevin Gausman (9-12, 3.61 ERA in 2016) makes his first opening day start. Among qualifying pitchers, he ranked 13th in the AL in ERA last season.

The 26-year-old right-hander made 30 starts, throwing 179 2/3 innings last season with 47 walks, 174 strikeouts and a .262 batting average against. Left-handed batters hit .232 and right-handers hit .288 against Gausman. He allowed just a .200 average when pitching with runners in scoring position and opponents went 1-for-10 against him with the bases loaded.

Gausman went 6-2 with a 2.67 ERA in home games in 2016. He recorded quality starts at Camden Yards in eight of his 12 starts and allowed two runs or less eight times. Opposing batters hit just .235/.282/.389 against him at the Yard. In 41 career outings (33 starts) he is 15-9 with a 3.03 ERA at Camden Yards.

Gausman was 0-2 with an ERA of 7.04 in three 2016 starts against the Blue Jays. On June 10, he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings. On July 29, he gave up six runs over three innings, and on Sept. 27, he allowed five runs over six frames. In 12 career appearances (seven starts), he is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA against Toronto.

Toronto’s starter today is 33-year-old right-hander Marco Estrada (9-9 with an ERA of 3.48 in 2016).

Estrada’s .203 batting average against last season was the best among all qualifying American League pitchers. He allowed just 132 hits in 176 innings in 29 starts.

Estrada ranked fourth in the majors in fewest hits allowed per nine innings:

6.29 - Jake Arrieta 6.50 - Max Scherzer 6.73 - Kyle Hendricks 6.75 - Marco Estrada 6.76 - Justin Verlander

Estrada got off a very good start a season ago, going 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA in four starts in April and going 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 16 first-half starts. In one stretch, Estrada set a major league record. He recorded 12 consecutive starts working six innings or more while allowing five hits or less. That streak ended July 2.

Estrada made his first All-Star team, but did not pitch as he was on the disabled list at the time. He finished 11th in the AL last season in ERA as lefty batters hit just .190 against him and right- handed batters hit .218.

He went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts versus Baltimore. In 10 career games (eight starts) against the Orioles, Estrada is 4-1 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.093 WHIP.

O’s all-time leaders in opening day starts:

20 - and Cal Ripken Jr. 13 - 12 - , and Boog Powell 11 - Brady Anderson 10 - 9 - , Ken Singleton, and Adam Jones (counting today)

The Orioles are 41-22 in season-opening games. They have won six in a row and 13 of their last 16 openers. They are 42-21 all-time in home openers.

Regulars around here know the drill for the game blog. Leave comments in here and questions throughout the game. It’s your chance to interact live during each game and interact with other fans as well. I jump in with my own comments from time to time, as well. Enjoy the 2017 season! http://www.masnsports.com/orioles-buzz/2017/04/andrew-stetka-anticipation-for-new-season- brings-new-expectations.html

Andrew Stetka: Anticipation for new season brings new expectations

By Andrew Stetka / MASNsports.com April 3, 2017

There’s something different in the air as the Orioles start a new baseball season. It’s not the smell of fresh cut grass or Boog’s BBQ; those are the mainstays in Birdland. It’s not even all that obvious to many. It’s something that has happened over time, slowly but surely. There’s an atmosphere that’s been created by the current Orioles regime of expectation, and it’s one that fans are hanging on to entering 2017.

Being a writer for EutawStreetReport.com, I’m familiar with the pulse of the fanbase. I read the comments sections in blogs, I keep up on social media and usually try to have a nose for what the feeling is among O’s fans. It’s been a while since there was this type of vibe surrounding this organization. After reaching the postseason in three of the last five seasons and posting half a decade worth of non-losing campaigns, fans are growing used to the idea of rooting for a winner.

It was something the fanbase had lost after nearly a decade and a half of losing.

In my mind, this is the first season winning has simply become commonplace. In 2012, there was no expectation of success among fans. The wild card run was a complete shock to just about everyone. No one really thought that scrappy bunch would be playing in October. Once 2013 rolled around, some believed the previous season was a fluke and weren’t prepared for even more success. Then even after a magical 2014 that saw the Birds capture their first division title since 1997, there were still doubters. Naysayers who were too plugged in to PECOTA projections or the belief that the Orioles were doing it mostly on luck.

The 2015 season was where the worm appeared to be turning, as the O’s required a five-game winning streak in the final week just to finish 81-81. That was until they turned around and made the postseason again last year, continuing the trend of bucking expectations and proving doubters dead wrong. Perhaps for some, the heavy weight of expectations has already been in place for some time. Maybe there is a group that thought after two winning seasons that the Orioles were back. The losing had subsided and everything was right in the world again. But 14 years is a long time, and it takes more than that to wash the stink of losing out of the mouth.

The Orioles once again enter this season with low expectations among the experts, but I think there’s a different feeling among the faithful. Fans are finally to the point where expectations have been risen and the O’s are expected to be winners. It’s not like there have been championships, but this new wave of Orioles baseball has had enough time to set in now. I’ve heard enough talk of championship windows opening and closing. This aura created by the current regime is impressive, and it’s had an impact on the franchise and the city.

As the Birds embark on the 2017 crusade, there’s little doubt in my mind that they will be competitive and exciting. Gone are the days of knowing they’ll be out of contention by June.

These last five years have imprinted on a fanbase and provided raised expectations. No matter if the Orioles make the postseason this year or not, the bar is raised to that point. Fans expect them to be in the hunt now, for better or worse. I’ve written a lot about expectations over the years, but we’ve finally reached a point with this team where no expectation is too small.

It’s fair to have your doubts about this version of the Orioles. Everyone else sure does, but hasn’t that been the case over the last few years? Whenever a new season arrives, everyone is full of hopes and dreams. Orioles fans have had a real reason for that over the past few years, but this year they can add expectation to that list. No matter what the experts say, these Birds expect to compete. https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/04/03/orioles-buck-showalter-eager-for-special-opening- day-in-baltimore

Buck Showalter Eager For Special Opening Day In Baltimore

By Rich Dubroff / PressBoxOnline.com April 3, 2017

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles know Opening Day is special, and on the 25th anniversary of the opening of their trendsetting stadium, it's even more unique.

"I know I'm biased. What's better?" manager Buck Showalter asked.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened April 6, 1992. Since then, 23 new parks around the major leagues have followed, but Oriole Park's intimacy and history have made it special.

"It's always an electric atmosphere," first baseman Chris Davis said. "It's something that's truly special. I hope every guy will be able to take a moment to truly enjoy it before we get rolling."

Opening Day is always a sellout in Baltimore, as fans who haven't seen live baseball since last September return.

"They're always fun. Here's one of the best. There's always a great atmosphere," shortstop J.J. Hardy said. "The orange carpet, the way the fans are."

Three hours before game time, several hundred fans and lots of extra media were on hand. The skies were cloudy, and the temperature was in the high 60s, nearly an ideal Opening Day.

Davis, who has now experienced six Orioles openers and has a contract that could keep him here for five more, is fully aware of his task.

"The older you get, the more you realize really how precious and how special each Opening Day is," he said.

Showalter, whose first game as a major league manager with the New York Yankees came one day after Oriole Park opened, said he wasn't blown away by the park the first time he saw it, but he's come to treasure it.

He said he likes that the Orioles treasure their history in a relatively quiet way, not in the boastful way the Boston Red Sox trumpet their home, the more than century-old Fenway Park.

"It's just so woven into the city. It's not some relic … It's 'America's Most Beloved Park' because it's old? It's America's best park because it's really good," Showalter said.

"It's the best. What makes it the best? It doesn't look like, 'Let's make a hill out in center field. Let's cut out some niche out here where the ball will roll around crazy around the corner. Let's put a big high fence here and a big, low fence here.' It's baseball where it's supposed to be. The warehouse was there a long time ago. I'm not sure about the hotel that got stuck over there. That kind of screwed some things up."

Outfielder Mark Trumbo didn't know much about Baltimore when he came here last season, and the lifelong Southern Californian enjoyed his time in Charm City so much that he gladly signed on for three more seasons in January.

"People ask what my favorite ballpark is, and it's here," Trumbo said. "It really is, of all the ones in the league, I think. Any time you enjoy playing in your home park, I think most guys share those same feelings. You're inspired to come, and you want to play hard. It's not an excuse. People love playing here. I especially do, and it's an advantage."

The last time the Orioles played in a game that counted they faced their Opening Day opponents, the Toronto Blue Jays.

The wild-card loss is a popular theme to those on the outside, but that's not on the Orioles' minds. History is important to the Orioles but not all-encompassing. There are 161 games after April 3.

"If you dwell on it too much, you can forget the task at hand, and that's to win a ballgame against a really good team," Showalter said.

These Orioles have a home-grown flavor. Eleven players on the 25-man roster were developed by the team and there are only four newcomers: catcher Welington Castillo, outfielders Craig Gentry and Seth Smith and left-handed reliever Vidal Nuno.

Smith will get the honor to lead off the game. Castillo will replace Matt Wieters, who after eight seasons with the team, is now in Washington.

"I've got a good feeling about this team," Showalter said.

Trumbo, who led the major leagues with 47 home runs a year ago but didn't have any in spring training, is eager to play, but he doesn't want to lose sight that there's a long path ahead.

"I'm most excited about the meat and potatoes of the season, so to speak," Trumbo said. "There's going to be a lot of attention relished on [Opening Day]. I think most guys probably relish the day-to-day stuff that goes on once all of the extravaganza gets put behind us."

Showalter, who has won each of the first six Orioles openers he's managed, has one wish.

"I just want the weather to be good, the beer to be cold, the baseball to be good and everybody have a great time and the Orioles win, and they want to come back," he said. "In that order."

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/04/03/2017-orioles-preview-who-will-be-the-x-factor- for-the-orioles-in-2017

2017 Orioles Preview: Who Will Be The X-Factor For The Orioles In 2017?

PressBoxOnline.com April 3, 2017

Stan "The Fan" Charles:

Legendary Orioles manager was fond of saying the key to winning baseball games was good pitching and a three-run home run. And while the Orioles have hit plenty of home runs during the past few seasons, the thing that haunts them is not enough have been of the three-run variety.

The Orioles simply haven't had the men on base for the home-run hitters to knock in. In 2016, the Orioles finished with a.317 OBP. In 2015, it was .307. And in 2014, it was .311. Not exactly the stuff champions are made of.

One of the fixes Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette made this offseason was acquiring outfielder Seth Smith from the Mariners. Smith brings a career .344 OBP, and the fact that he bats left-handed -- and therefore should start roughly two-thirds of the team's games -- means he could significantly impact the team's on-base challenges.

Moving into the cozier confines of Camden Yards after two seasons in Seattle's Safeco Field should have Smith salivating at what he might accomplish power-wise. But his real value is as a player who figures to be on base when the bigger power hitters do their damage.

If Smith can deliver the types of seasons he's put up in the past, outfielder Hyun Soo Kim can repeat his 2016 performance and outfielder Joey Rickard can stay healthy, suddenly, some of those solo home runs will turn into two- or three-run shots, and that extra run can make all the difference.

If Smith can help boost the Orioles' on-base percentage by even a few ticks, he will clearly be the X-factor for the 2017 season.

Glenn Clark:

This was probably the most difficult of our three Orioles preview questions due to the sheer number of players who could prove to be this team's X-factor in 2017.

Presuming the team hasn't decided to convert him into a full-time, 11th-inning specialist, I'm going to pick right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. Of course, I was also the dope who thought Jimenez should have started the American League Wild Card Game last October, so perhaps I just need to learn my lesson.

If you remember, Jimenez was outstanding last September (3-1, 2.31 ERA, 0.829 WHIP, .149 average against in five starts). He gave us reason to believe something had clicked after struggling mightily for the better part of his first three seasons in Baltimore.

Now the Orioles have even fewer reliable starters (after trading right-hander Yovani Gallardo to the Mariners) and are dealing with the question mark of right-hander Chris Tillman's shoulder injury. They really need Jimenez to come through for them this season. And perhaps Jimenez will have the incentive necessary to do just that.

The last time Jimenez was in a contract year, he came through in a big way. In 32 starts for the Indians in 2013, Jimenez went 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.330 WHIP. That season came after two miserable years. In 2011, he pitched to a 4.68 ERA in 32 starts between the Rockies and Indians; in 2012, he pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 31 starts with Cleveland. The 2013 season landed him the four-year, $50 million deal he signed in Baltimore.

Jimenez is now 33 years old and likely staring down his last opportunity to make real money on a contract after this season. If he ever delivers an inspired turnaround season, this would be it. That's of course no guarantee he'll simply be able to put things together -- if he could do that on a whim, you'd assume he would have by now. But between his strong finish to the 2016 regular season and his contract-year inspiration, there's enough reason to think things could be better.

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2017/04/02/orioles-set-opening-day-roster-get-ready-for-big- day

Orioles Set Opening Day Roster, Get Ready For Big Day

By Rich Dubroff / PressBoxOnline.com April 2, 2017

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles finalized their Opening Day roster, selecting the contract of outfielder Craig Gentry. The Orioles created a spot on the 40-man roster for him by allowing Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez to return to the team they drafted him from, the Boston Red Sox.

Right-handed pitcher Gabriel Ynoa and left-handed pitcher Jayson Aquino were optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Right-handed reliever Oliver Drake will be the eighth pitcher in the bullpen for now.

A player will have to be dropped when left-handed starter Wade Miley comes off the disabled list. Another will too when a fifth starter is added.

“If we had to do it now, we’d know what we’d do, but some variables could play into it, weather and health,” manager Buck Showalter said.

For now, the Orioles have Gentry, Trey Mancini and Joey Rickard as extra outfielders.

The Orioles could, with creativity, maintain 14 position players and 11 pitchers on the roster by often optioning a pitcher to the minor leagues. Because so many of the pitchers the Orioles have in the majors and the high minors have options, and there are many of them who feel they can pitch in the majors, there’s a chance for them to pull off this maneuvering..

“It takes some imagination,” Showalter said. “There’s a way to do it with 11 and still have seven in the pen. There’s a way to do it, but it’s going to take some foresight and imagination as we go. It was really tough to do it last year. It’s easier to do it this year, but you’ve got to stay on top of it.”

As for the batting order, Showalter won’t reveal it until Opening Day. There’s curiosity about who will be the leadoff hitter. Outfielders Seth Smith and Hyun Soo Kim are the leading candidates.

“I’ve got an idea, a good idea,” Showalter said.

The Orioles thought Tavarez wasn’t ready for the majors, but they weren’t able to make a deal with the Red Sox, so Boston gets to have him for their system.

“We tried to work out a trade and didn’t want to really trade Manny [Machado] for him,” Showalter said.

Executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said due to the emergence of outfielder Cedric Mullins, who played in 14 spring training games, keeping Tavarez wasn’t as important.

“He might be able to do the job that we had in mind for Aneury Tavarez later in the season. You never know,” Duquette said. “When we what saw what Mullins could do, it wasn’t as urgent for us to acquire a player of similar ability. That’s why we returned Tavarez back to the Red Sox.”

Mullins will begin the season at Double-A Bowie.

Drake, who is out of options, has been one of the best relief pitchers in the minor leagues in recent years, posting an ERA less than 3.00 in each of his last two seasons in Norfolk. It’s his first Opening Day with the Orioles.

“Oliver Drake has an established track record of success,” Duquette said. “He didn’t pitch that well in spring training, though he did have a couple of good outings in the end, and we thought he earned a spot.”

Right-handed pitcher Kevin Gausman gets the Opening Day start, and he can’t wait.

“I wish it had already gotten here today,” Gausman said. “Obviously, excited, ready to go. I want to get the season off to a good start.”

Showalter emphasized to the team that getting off to a good start is important. It’s not just games in August and September that are vital.

“There were some really good things we did in April and May last year that made us more connected,” Showalter said.

It’s Showalter’s seventh Opening Day with the Orioles.

“You have all these rehearsals, which is what spring training is,” Showalter said. "It’s almost like a play … and then it’s opening, there’s a lot of different acts to a season. Tomorrow starts Act 1. But we don’t get up the next morning and read the reviews to see if we’re going to stay open.”

NOTES: Miley (upper respiratory infection), right-handed pitcher Chris Tillman (right shoulder) and Rule 5 outfielder Anthony Santander (elbow) were placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to March 30.

Tillman’s April 1 bullpen session went well. He’s scheduled for another April 3.

Darren O’Day, who stayed in Sarasota, Fla., because of flu-like symptoms, is recovering and Showalter hopes he’s ready to pitch for the opener.

Dariel Alvarez, who is being converted from the outfield to pitching, will report to Class-A Delmarva. Righty Jason Garcia was transferred from Norfolk to Double-A Bowie.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/03/31/orioles-gearing-up-for-opening-day-partner-up-with- kidspeace/

Orioles Gearing Up For Opening Day, Partner Up With KidsPeace

By Tracey Leong / CBS Baltimore March 31, 2017

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Opening Day at Oriole Park is Monday, and Baltimore is buzzing with excitement for this new season. Tracey Leong explains how the O’s are also using this opportunity to shine a light on an important cause for the organization.

Tracey Leong explains how the O’s are also using this opportunity to shine a light on an important cause.

With a new Orioles season comes hope, which is a big part of one of their charities they support that helps kids in foster care.

Orioles Opening Day is an exciting time in Baltimore.

“The newness of spring is the start of a new season and going forward, there’s hope and we want to have hope for our kids who have had to be removed from a home,” says Angela Showalter.

In its eighth year, Angela and Buck Showalter are preparing for the Trick or Trot 5K in Oriole Park, to raise funds and awareness for KidsPeace, an organization helping kids in Foster Care.

“A lot of times people want a puppy and not an older dog, and the same thing applies to children. People want babies, but we have teens and young adults who stay on the foster care system,” says Angela Showalter.

The Trick or Trot 5k is not until October, but you can get involved now by becoming a foster parent.

“I became a foster parent because I had relatives and friends in the foster care system and my heart went out to them after hearing the different stories how they were treated and moved from home to home,” says foster parent Tina Miller.

People are also encouraged to show support in other ways including sponsorship opportunities to help KidsPeace fulfill their mission year round. http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/02/orioles-roster-2017-opening-day/

Orioles Finalize 25-Man Roster Ahead Of Opening Day

CBS Baltimore April 2, 2017

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Orioles today announced several roster moves to finalize their 25- man roster.

Watch WJZ’s live Opening Day coverage beginning at 2 p.m., followed by the game between the Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays.

* denotes player on the 10-day Disabled List

Pitchers

35 Brach, Brad 53 Britton, Zach 37 Bundy, Dylan 71 Drake, Oliver 39 Gausman, Kevin 60 Givens, Mychal 58 Hart, Donnie 31 Jiménez, Ubaldo 38 Miley, Wade* 52 Nuño, Vidal 56 O’Day, Darren 30 Tillman, Chris* 63 Wilson, Tyler

Catchers

29 Castillo, Welington 36 Joseph, Caleb

Infielders

19 Davis, Chris 3 Flaherty, Ryan 2 Hardy, J.J. 13 Machado, Manny 6 Schoop, Jonathan

Outfielders

14 Gentry, Craig 10 Jones, Adam 25 Kim, Hyun Soo 67 Mancini, Trey 23 Rickard, Joey 54 Santander, Anthony* 12 Smith, Seth 45 Trumbo, Mark http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/02/blue-jays-orioles-renew-rivalry-in-wild-card-rematch/

Blue Jays, Orioles Renew Rivalry In Wild-Card Rematch

CBS Baltimore April 2, 2017

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Baltimore Orioles start a new baseball season the same way they ended the last one: with a game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Opening day at Camden Yards on Monday features a matchup between AL East rivals with high hopes of making a return trip to the postseason.”Anytime you play games in the division, those are the games that matter,” said Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman, who will make his first opening day start.

When Toronto and Baltimore met in the AL wild-card game last October, the stakes were significantly higher. The winner advanced in the playoffs, the loser went home.

Toronto prevailed when Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in the 11th inning.

“It hurt. It hurt for a while,” shortstop J.J. Hardy said Sunday. “As long as baseball was being played last year, it was crossing all our minds.”

The Orioles insist they’ve put that game behind them. Their focus is solely on this season, and it all begins with a matchup against a team they don’t like but certainly respect.

“Toronto’s a good club,” manager Buck Showalter said. “We know they’re going to be in contention, so it’s a good test for us early.”

Marco Estrada (9-9, 3.48 ERA in 29 starts last year) will start on the mound for the Blue Jays.

“It could’ve been any one of the other guys. That’s how deep we are,” Estrada said. “I say they basically had a hat and they just pulled my name out. It just happened to be my turn.”

Toronto and Baltimore both finished 89-73 last year, but the Blue Jays hosted the wild-card game because they won the season series 10-9. That’s how evenly matched these teams are.

And now, after a particularly long spring training, it’s time to get back at it.

“It’s almost like a Broadway play. You do all these rehearsals and then it’s opening,” Showalter said. “There are a lot of different acts to a season, and (Monday) starts act one.”

Just like on Broadway, sometimes the understudy gets a chance to perform. Gausman (9-12, 3.61 ERA in 2016) was selected to start the opener because staff ace Chris Tillman has a sore shoulder and will start the season on the disabled list.

“I’m going to try to set the tone and just kind of feed off the environment,” Gausman said. “It’s obviously going to be rocking.”

A full house is expected when the Orioles begin their 25th season at Camden Yards. Though there will be 161 games to follow, this one is a bit more special than most.

“It always seems like a playoff atmosphere on the first day,” Hardy said.

In mapping out his perfect scenario, Showalter has this game ending differently than that wild- card matchup.

“I just want the weather to be good, the beer to be cold, the baseball to be good, everybody has a great time, the Orioles win and they want to come back,” he said. “In that order.” http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/03/orioles-vp-of-communications-and-marketing-greg- bader-on-the-opening-day-festivities-at-camden-yards/

Orioles VP Greg Bader Talks Opening Day Festivities At Camden Yards

CBS Baltimore April 3, 2017

Greg Bader, the Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Baltimore Orioles, joined Ed and Rob to talk about all of the events going on for Opening Day in and around Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Greg began by talking about the expectations for the team this season saying, “from a team standpoint, we are really hoping this is the year…we are looking for bigger and better things this year.”

When asked about the atmosphere surrounding Opening Day Greg said, “It’s incredibly exciting! This is a civic holiday, it’s pretty cool to see Opening Day treated the way it is in Baltimore…it’s hard to get your hands on a ticket to O’s Opening Day and whether you have a ticket or not it seems like everyone gets down around the stadium and enjoy the day.”

Greg went on to talk about all the festivities going on today around the game including Fred Manfra throwing out the first pitch and more. http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2017/04/03/the-latest-on-orioles-opening-day/

The Latest On Orioles Opening Day

CBS Baltimore April 3, 2017

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Opening Day is upon us, and WJZ has you covered with everything you need to know ahead of the Orioles season opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

WJZ will have live coverage of Opening Day starting at 2 p.m.

Orioles Opening Day lineup:

Seth Smith RF Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Chris Davis 1B Mark Trumbo DH Wellinton Castillo C Hyun Soo Kim LF Jonathan Schoop 2B J.J. Hardy SS SP – Kevin Gausman http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2017/04/03/myriad-orioles-thoughts-smith-leading-off- mileys-schedule-buck-opening-day/

Myriad Orioles Thoughts: Smith leading off; Miley’s schedule; Buck on Opening Day

By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com April 3, 2017

I wouldn’t say it was a surprise. But when the Orioles’ Opening Day lineup came out Monday morning, Seth Smith’s name was atop it.

Smith, the 34-year-old outfielder acquired by the Orioles this offseason from the for Yovani Gallardo, isn’t exactly your typical leadoff guy.

But the left-handed hitter has done it in the past – he’s led off 80 times in his career – and owns a career .344 on-base percentage. And the more typical leadoff types on the Orioles’ roster — Craig Gentry and Joey Rickard — are right-handers and aren’t starting against Toronto Blue Jays’ right-hander Marco Estrada.

Manager Buck Showalter’s other options, based on his lineup Monday, were lefty Hyun Soo Kim and right-handed-hitting Adam Jones. Showalter preferred to bat Jones second and Kim seventh on Monday.

But he admitted his lineup will be a work in progress.

“We’ve got some options. We’ll see where it goes. I think (Smith has) got a chance to do a good job for us there, as some other people do,” Showalter said. “It kind of worked out best for us today, if you look at some of the matchups.”

Then Showalter said what he has said for years now, whether it’s about Jones leading off or Manny Machado or :

“We’re fortunate to have a team that ego is not driven by batting order,” Showalter said. “They really don’t care. I think there’s a real trust there that we’re gonna do what’s best for the team. Well start out with Seth there and hope it evolves.”

Another power-packed lineup

In looking at the Orioles’ Opening Day starting lineup, what really jumps out is how many guys can hit the longball. Again, this isn’t a surprise.

Jones, Machado. Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo and Jonathan Schoop all can make a baseball disappear rather quickly. And guys like Smith, Hardy and Castillo are capable of double-digit- homer seasons, too.

But the addition of Smith and Gentry, as well as the second-year carryovers of Rickard and Kim, could make these Orioles a little less of the swing-and-miss variety. At least that’s the hope.

“Scoring runs has not been our issue; it may not have been comfortable to a lot of people about how we scored them. We’re just trying to get to the end game and play to our strengths. But that’s going to evolve,” Showalter said. “Potentially on paper, what those guys bring could give us a little different dynamic that we are in need of. So, we’ll see how it goes.”

Update on Miley

Lefty Wade Miley, who started the season on the disabled list because flu-like symptoms drained him during the last part of spring training, said he feels fine and expects to be back to start Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees.

He’ll pitch a simulated game at Bowie on Tuesday, and if that goes well, Showalter said Miley will be activated from the DL.

At that point, I’d imagine the Orioles will send one of their extra relievers to the minors to make room for Miley.

Buck on Opening Day

Showalter gets asked every year about his thoughts on Opening Day. It usually has the same theme, but he puts a fresh twist on the same message. And it’s always interesting to hear.

Here’s his take this year:

“You really want the weather to be good, you want the trip in to be good, the park to be somewhere (that) people enjoy it. More important to me, that (fans) bring their kids and there is another generation of baseball fans and Orioles fans and a great memory that I think a lot of us in here share, at least some form of,” Showalter said. “I look at it is a day of responsibility. It’s Act 1 of a long play. I just hope it gets good reviews as the season goes on.”

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2017/04/03/orioles-opening-day-lineup-set/

Orioles Opening Day lineup is set

By Steve Cockey / BaltimoreBaseball.com April 3, 2017

Manager Buck Showalter has settled on his lineup for today’s opener, and there are few surprises. Here’s how the Orioles will debut in 2017:

RF Seth Smith CF Adam Jones 3B Manny Machado 1B Chris Davis DH Mark Trumbo C Welington Castillo LF Hyun Soo Kim 2B Jonathan Schoop SS J.J. Hardy SP Kevin Gausman

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2017/04/02/kim-hope-dont-boo-year-orioles-thoughts- tavarez-mullins-drake-duquette/

Kim: ‘I hope they don’t boo me this year,’ and other Orioles’ thoughts (Tavarez, Mullins, Drake, Duquette)

By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com April 2, 2017

I had a chance to talk to Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim last month in Sarasota about his thoughts concerning the upcoming season.

He said he never truly felt uncomfortable in a rollercoaster season last year, because the Orioles’ players and staff always made him feel welcome.

This year, though, feels a little different for the Korean import. He knew where everything he needed was – in Sarasota and Baltimore — and how to best complete his routine.

“I feel more comfortable this year. More familiar with everything here,” he said through interpreter Derrick Chung. “The city, the facility, and all of the people. It’s not like I wasn’t comfortable using the facility or anything like that, but I now definitely know what to do and how to go about things this year.”

By now, we all know the crazy season Kim had in 2016.

He struggled so mightily last spring that the Orioles asked him to start the year at Triple-A Norfolk and he refused the assignment, which was his contractual right. But last Opening Day, Kim was booed by Orioles’ fans when he was introduced and ran down the orange carpet.

It was a harsh beginning, but Kim turned the jeers into cheers by continually getting hits and getting on-base once he began receiving regular playing time. At the end of the year, the Orioles had a Kim T-shirt night that was well attended.

So, all is forgiven, but not exactly forgotten. When I asked Kim what he thought about this year’s Opening Day, he flashed his signature sense of humor and, with a laugh, said, “Hopefully they don’t boo me this year. Hopefully, it’s a little different.”

He’s not the only one joking about Kim’s early experiences with the Orioles last year. Manager Buck Showalter said Sunday that while the team was playing an exhibition game at Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, Showalter looked at Kim and teased the outfielder that he could have had the glory of playing there last year.

“I was talking with him in Norfolk after he had come out of the game and I said, ‘You know, you could have been here. You could have played here.’ He says, ‘Noooooo,’” Showalter said. “He loves Norfolk and the city and everything …but I couldn’t help myself. I just went over to him, ‘Remember, last year this time, you could have been out in left field. He went, ‘No.”

Like all of us, Showalter doesn’t expect a repeat of that 2016 Camden Yards introduction, especially considering how warmly Kim was treated as the season progressed.

“It’s a real identifier of our fans too. They saw he is a good player and a hard trier and having a good year and understand and respected his decisions and it worked out well for us and him,” Showalter said. “I don’t know how much he is expecting this, that and whatever, but I think he’ll get a different response.”

Losing Tavarez to the Red Sox; Mullins’ angle

I wrote earlier that I thought the big factors in the decision to offer Rule 5 outfielder Aneury Tavarez to the Boston Red Sox was the emergence this spring of veteran Craig Gentry and the health of Joey Rickard, both right-handers that can play strong outfield defense.

Showalter said there were “a lot of different variables” that led to Tavarez not being one of the 25 to start the season with the Orioles, but he said the club tried to work out a trade with the Red Sox – they talked up until early Sunday morning – but couldn’t get a deal done.

He said the Red Sox put a hefty price on a trade for Tavarez, joking that, “we didn’t really want to trade Manny (Machado) for him. … I’m just kidding. But we liked him, just like we did when we took him in the Rule 5 and we tried to make every step possible up until 8 or 9 o’clock this morning.”

There was another interesting factor brought up by executive vice president Dan Duquette that I hadn’t considered. Having Tavarez in the organization – a speedy, 24-year outfielder who can hit – became less of a need with the emergence of Cedric Mullins, a 22-year-old outfielder that really caught everyone’s attention this spring with his power and speed.

Mullins, a 13th-rounder in 2015 who will start at Double-A Bowie this April, made it easier to allow Tavarez to return to Boston, Duquette said.

It’s not that the Orioles couldn’t use a bevy of talented young speedsters, but they just felt, because they had Mullins, it didn’t make sense to give up something valuable to keep Tavarez.

Oliver Drake story gets better

One of the best Orioles’ stories in recent years is reliever Oliver Drake, who was selected in the 43rd round out of the U.S. Naval Academy – when most clubs didn’t know he was draft-eligible. He’s pitched 27 games in the majors in the past two seasons, but was out of options, and looked like he was on the roster bubble.

Instead, Drake, 30, made the roster and will be part of his first Opening Day at Camden Yards, a real accomplishment for someone who has been in the organization since 2008.

“I’m just excited. First time for Opening Day, it’s going to be a new experience, so I’m thrilled to get the season started,” he said. “It was kind of weird not knowing what my situation was or where I was going to be.”

After a rough start to spring training, Drake turned it around in his last couple outings, and his track record of success in Baltimore (a 3.48 ERA) was enough for the club to want to keep him.

“I’ve been with this organization a long time, so it’s really cool to finally get a chance to experience Opening Day here,” Drake said. “And I’m really looking forward to it. I heard it is an awesome experience.”

Duquette’s optimism and realisim

One of the things I’ve liked about covering Duquette over the years is sometimes he surprises you with his sheer candidness.

We’re used to Duquette explaining how a new player is a qualified major leaguer who can help the big league club. But he also gets that if his acquisitions don’t work, it’s on him.

And he did both during Sunday’s workout, as he detailed why he feels the Orioles can be better than last year’s 89-win playoff team: The bullpen is good, the rotation could take a step in the right direction and the powerful offense has been supplemented with some speed (Gentry, Rickard) and on-base (Seth Smith) guys.

“There should be a lot of hope for Orioles fans going into this season. We’ve tried to address the needs of the club and to add to the ballclub to eliminate some of the weaknesses from last year’s ballclub.”

And then Duquette added this honest gem, “We’re gonna find out if we did our job well.” http://www.wbaltv.com/article/everything-you-need-to-know-for-opening-day/9212654

Everything you need to know about Orioles Opening Day

By Ron Snyder / WBAL April 3, 2017

With Opening Day upon us, here is everything fans need to know about the game:

1. Pregame festivities: Orioles players and coaches will be introduced prior to the game. Orioles players will run through the center field gate on an orange carpet and take their places between first and second base. Manager Buck Showalter, coaches and staff will be introduced from the Orioles dugout. Members of the Blue Jays will be announced and will run from their dugout to line up between second and third base. The starting lineups will also be introduced.

2. National Anthem and God Bless America: American tenor Richard Troxell will perform the Canadian National Anthem and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Troxell will also sing “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch. This year marks the 11th time he has performed the National Anthem on Orioles Opening Day.

3. : Longtime Orioles radio broadcaster Fred Manfra, Mayor Catherine Pugh and state Sen. Bobby Zirkin will throw out simultaneous first pitches.

4.Silver Slugger Award Presentation – Orioles outfielder Mark Trumbo will receive his award from a Louisville Slugger representative during a special pregame ceremony. Trumbo batted .256 with 47 home runs and 108 RBI in 2016.

5. Social media - Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #Birdland on Twitter and Instagram to share their Opening Day experiences. . Major League Baseball and New Era are also encouraging fans to share photographs with their #CapsOn across social media platforms on Opening Day. Fans are encouraged to visit www.orioles.com/connect and sign up to follow all of the Orioles official social media platforms.

6. Public transportation - Light Rail and Metro Subway will provide peak-level rail service all day to ease Monday rush-hour congestion. Additional MTA staff will be available at selected platforms and bus stops to assist spectators with determining the best transit options. The fare for all local MTA services is $1.70one-way, $3.40 round trip, and $4 for a Day Pass, which includes unlimitedtravel on MTA Local Buses, Light Rail and Metro Subway for that day. Return service on Light Rail and Metro Subway for games ending after the lasts cheduled departure will be extended for one hour past the regularly scheduled final train. For more information about public transportation options, tap here.

Here are other reminders about attending Oriole games throughout the season:

1. Food and beverage policy – Outside food and beverages are allowed in the ballpark with the following restrictions. No hard-sided coolers, thermoses, glass bottles, cans, or alcoholic beverages are permitted into the ballpark. Non-alcoholic beverages in plastic bottles are permitted into the park. In addition, no plastic or paper cups of beverages are permitted into the park at the entry gates.

2. Security measures - Oriole Park at Camden Yards will again have walk-through magnetometers or hand-held metal detectors at each entrance. Fans are advised to allow themselves plenty of time for entry. Prior to screening, fans will be asked to remove their keys and mobile phone from their pockets. Wallets and other identification or money holders can remain in their pocket or size-compliant bag Bags that do not meet size requirements will not be allowed into the ballpark. For more information, tap here.

3. Bag regulations - Fans without a bag can utilize one of several Express Lanes found at Gates A, C, F, or H to go through security. Other security measures include the following: All items permitted into the ballpark will be inspected. No bags or items exceeding the maximum size of 16" x 16" x 8" are allowed into the ballpark. Permitted items must easily fit into a 16" x 16" x 8" container. Bags on wheels are prohibited.

4. Re-entry policy – No re-entry will be permitted. Once fans enter the ballpark, they will not be permitted to leave and re-enter the facility. Fans should make sure they have everything they need before entering the ballpark.

5. Vehicle drop-offs – Only vehicles dropping off or picking up guests with disabilities are permitted to stop curbside at the ballpark. No other vehicles are permitted curbside, nor will fans be able to stand and wait with their vehicles. for directions and parking information, tap here.

6. Banner and sign guidelines – Handmade banners and signs are allowed. However, the Orioles do not permit the hanging of banners anywhere in the ballpark. Banners may only be displayed before and after the game and between innings. Banners are subject to confiscation if the content is commercial, political, and/or in bad taste according to the Orioles' discretion. The Orioles reserve the right to remove any banner at any time.

7. 2017 Promotions - For a complete list of promotions for the season, tap here.

8. Printable schedule - To print out a 2017 schedule, tap here.

9. Noisemaker restrictions - Air horns, cowbells, and other noisemakers are not permitted in the ballpark.

10. Weapons banned - Firearms, knives, or weapons of any kind are not permitted at Oriole Park.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170403/orioles-show-way-on-economic-development- return-on-investment

Orioles show the way on economic development return on investment

By Mark Huey / Sarasota Herald-Tribune April 3, 2017

The Baltimore Orioles spring training baseball, which just concluded another successful year, and year-round community activity are sterling examples of the value of public-private economic development partnerships that benefit the entire community.

The 2017 numbers aren’t in yet, but the Orioles’ 2016 economic impact in the Sarasota County area was $89 million — up 75 percent from $51 million in 2013, when the $31 million in renovations were completed on Ed Smith Stadium, bringing it up to competitive standards. That’s more than twice what the Orioles were projecting in 2009 before the renovations, which have been so successful that it average 99 percent capacity at last year’s games. Season attendance totals at the stadium with seating for 7,500 have nearly doubled the levels at Ed Smith in 2008, the final year the were in Sarasota.

“Our owners believe deeply in producing a great return on investment for the community and I’m proud we have over-delivered on our promise,” said John Angelos, executive vice president and partner of the Orioles and president of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Television Network.

The Orioles’ $89 million in 2016 economic impact is a result of the team’s relocation of its year- round training headquarters, creation of a tourism marketing plan unique among all MLB clubs that reaches the entire Mid-Atlantic region and creation of its community sports park and tournament academy at Twin Lakes Park. The Orioles’ partnership concept and the economic impact it produces far surpasses any sports tourism creation in Sarasota County history.

And, of course, it benefits local companies.

“The Orioles are year-round for us,” said Nick Mavrikas, general manager of Comfort Suites- Sarasota and co-owner of a local cleaning company. Obviously, during the spring training months, hotels such as Comfort Suites do well as it is also peak tourist season. But the opportunity extends beyond that because of the Orioles’ year-round presence.

The franchise uses its Sarasota facilities all year. The Orioles have more than 250 players, coaches, athletic staff and a front office business team in Sarasota at various times that are involved with its seven minor league teams and myriad other events. Gulf Coast Orioles games are held in Ed Smith in the summer but other baseball events are held at Orioles facilities.

“All the tournaments at Ed Smith Stadium and Twin Lakes Park give us the opportunity as a hotel to go after that business,” Mavrikas said. “So the true benefit is the out-of-season time, the June-through-September timeframe for the tournaments, rehabbers, players and staff coming in.”

The tourism incubation advertising piece is unique in the Orioles-Sarasota County partnership because the Orioles own the Mid-Atlantic Sports Television Network and the Orioles Radio Network, which reach an audience of more than 6 million households and 18 million people in six states, from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

This part of the agreement came about after Angelos pored over every existing spring training agreement in Florida and and found a deep lack of marketing provisions.

“We felt that this presented our organization with a tremendous opportunity to completely re- invent the traditional spring training model and put our powerhouse multi-faceted media platforms to work driving our Mid-Atlantic fans to vacation, buy investment properties, relocate their businesses and retire to our Sarasota training home,” Angelos said.

And so the Orioles networks have provided Visit Sarasota County with a block of media inventory that has resulted in about $10 million in Sarasota-focused media exposure that has propelled visitor growth of 128 percent from that area to Sarasota County just from 2014 to 2015.

In addition, the Orioles, like many regional companies, are excellent corporate citizens.

The Orioles had donated more than $2.6 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the Sarasota County community as of April 2016. Just a few of the beneficiaries include the Sarasota Orchestra, the Library Foundation of Sarasota County, the YMCA, the Sarasota Tomorrow Fund and the Child Protection Center.

The organization also teamed with Sarasota County schools last year to launch the Orioles Health and Fitness Challenge program, offering 4,000 students from every county middle school the opportunity to learn to eat, train and live like world-class athletes.

The Orioles’ hugely successful annual economic impact and valuable additions to the community’s quality of life could be duplicated by the Atlanta Braves in South Sarasota County if an agreement to put that baseball franchise’s spring training facility in the West Villages becomes reality.

http://www.wbaltv.com/article/by-the-numbers-opening-day-at-oriole-park-at-camden- yards/9213749

By the numbers: Opening Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Ron Snyder / WBAL April 3, 2017

BALTIMORE – Oriole Park at Camden Yards turns 25 this year.

While the Orioles have had their share of ups and downs over the last quarter-century, Opening Day on Russell Street remains a must-see event that typically leaves the home fans happy.

Here’s a look at the Orioles' home openers by the numbers since 1992:

0: The number of times the Orioles have lost their home opener in back-to-back years in the Camden Yards era.

4: Times the Orioles have hosted the Kansas City Royals in the home opener, the most of any team since 1992.

6: Number of home opener starts by pitcher Mike Mussina, the most by any Oriole since 1992.

7: Number of losses the Orioles have had at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Opening Day.

9: The number of managers the Orioles have had on Opening Day since 1992 (, Phil Regan, Dave Johnson, Ray Miller, , , , Dave Trembly and Mike Hargrove).

11: Number of different teams that Orioles have played in Camden Yards openers (Indians, Rangers, Brewers, Royals, Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, A’s, Tigers, Blue Jays, Twins).

18: Number of wins the Orioles have had at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Opening Day.

44,568: Attendance for the Orioles' first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, a 2-0 victory over the Indians on April 6, 1992.

48,891: The Orioles record attendance on Opening Day, a 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays on April 9, 2010.

1,173,335: Total attendance for the Orioles 25 previous Opening Days at Camden Yards.