World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966 American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969 American League Wild Card 2012, 1996 Wednesday, September 17, 2014 Game Stories: With 8-2 win Tuesday, Orioles clinch first American League East title since 1997 The Sun 9/17 Orioles use power, good pitching to beat Blue Jays for AL East title The Sun 9/16 Orioles rout Toronto for first AL East crown since '97 MLB.com 9/17 AL East champs: O's beat Toronto and are headed back to the playoffs MASNsports.com 9/16 Orioles claim first division title since 1997 AP 9/17 Columns: No one could have seen this magical Orioles season coming The Sun 9/16 Fans join in celebration as Orioles win first AL East title since 1997 The Sun 9/16 Orioles first base prospect Christian Walker to join expanded roster The Sun 9/17 Reflecting on memorable scenes from the Orioles' celebration Tuesday The Sun 9/17 Orioles players, Buck Showalter, Dan Duquette react to club's AL East title The Sun 9/17 It's a Mid-Atlantic Clinch-mas The Sun 9/16 Buck Showalter talks about Steve Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Peter Angelos, more The Sun 9/16 Turn back the clock: O's return to perch atop AL East MLB.com 9/17 Barlow close to O's hearts on celebratory night MLB.com 9/17 Orioles to call up No. 4 prospect Walker MLB.com 9/17 Ubaldo digs deep to earn win in O's clincher MLB.com 9/17 Home field throughout postseason in play for O's MLB.com 9/17 Shrewd moves main reason why O's won AL East MLB.com 9/16 Jays focused on Wild Card race after O's clinch AL East MLB.com 9/17 Fans, players revel into night at Camden Yards MLB.com 9/17 Orioles adding Walker to expanded roster MASNsports.com 9/17 Orioles remember Monica Barlow on the day they clinch MASNsports.com 9/17 Duquette: "We're going to party like it's 1969" MASNsports.com 9/17 Hearing from Showalter after division-clinching win MASNsports.com 9/17 The Orioles won the AL East and their fans soaked it up for every minute MASNsports.com 9/17 Some quotes from the AL East champions' clubhouse MASNsports.com 9/16 O's game blog: Orioles go for the clincher against Toronto MASNsports.com 9/16 The long wait is over: Orioles are AL East champs CSN Baltimore 9/16 As O's win, a toast to Dan Duquette CSN Baltimore 9/17 Showalter gets to savor Orioles' AL East title CSN Baltimore 9/17 O's local product to have shoulder surgery next week CSN Baltimore 9/16 What will Showalter's coaching staff look like in 2015? CSN Baltimore 9/16 On verge of title, Orioles ready to celebrate CSN Baltimore 9/16 If the warehouse at Oriole Park could talk Press Box Online 9/17 Nationals-Orioles parkway series may be more than a dream Press Box Online 9/17 History in the making: Orioles claim American League East title Press Box Online 9/17 Orioles plan fan rallies around Baltimore WBAL TV 9/17 We Won’t Stop! Birdland Still Celebrating After O’s Clinch A.L. East WJZ 9/17 Preview: Orioles Vs. Blue Jays AP 9/17 A Magical Night At The Ballpark CBS Baltimore 9/17 Beltway World Series? Nats, O’s First to Clinch Respective Divisions CBS Baltimore 9/17 Buster Olney Enjoyed Seeing The Orioles Celebrate Division Championship CBS Baltimore 9/17 Losers no more, Orioles celebrate AL East title AP 9/17 Joy in Birdland: Orioles clinch 1st AL East title since '97 USA Today Sports 9/17 Baltimore Orioles clinch first AL East title since 1997 with win over Toronto Blue Jays Washington Post 9/17 Nationals, Orioles clinch respective divisions; Beltway Series possible? SI.com 9/17 Orioles fans can enter postseason ticket lottery ABC7 News 9/16 http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-orioles-clinch-american-league-east-title-first- time-since-1997-20140916,0,2540424.story With 8-2 win Tuesday, Orioles clinch first American League East title since 1997 Club beats Blue Jays to earn second playoff berth in last three seasons By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun 1:41 a.m. EDT, September 17, 2014 After the Orioles drained bottles of champagne inside the home clubhouse of Camden Yards, leaving behind not a dry spot in a room littered with corks and empty beer bottles, they ran toward the dugout for a postgame party that Baltimore had long awaited. They celebrated their first American League East division title in 17 years Tuesday night after their 8-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays with their hometown fans at Camden Yards. Their coronation as newly recrowned kings of the AL East came in front of a sea of orange -- an announced 34,297 -- entirely on its feet, standing as right-hander Tommy Hunter closed out the game with a grounder to first base. On cue, orange fireworks shot into the sky from the scoreboard and streamers were shot into the seating bowl. “It was really loud,” Hunter said. “It was fun. You got the shakes a little bit from warming up. It was cool. It was a great environment. That’s the environment it should be in Baltimore. These guys love baseball, these fans, this city. We’re bringing it back.” While players sprayed bottles of beer on each other and into a frenzied crowd above the Orioles dugout, manager Buck Showalter stood on the first step of the dugout and watched quietly wearing a AL East division champions cap and a proud smirk. "You get older, you want to get a good angle and a good seat and see good people get a return for what they put into it and what they're trying to achieve,” Showalter said. “And this is a huge step, to get a chance now. We've got to figure out a way to win 11 games." Even though this was the Orioles' ninth division title in franchise history, it was a first for the city of Baltimore. In this 60th anniversary season of Orioles baseball, it marked the first time in club history that they celebrated a division title at home while needing a win to clinch. Back in 1969, the Orioles won the AL East on a day in which they won, but had already sealed the division before their game ended. “It’s an awesome experience,” said right fielder Nick Markakis, the longest tenured Oriole. “We worked hard all season long to get to where we are now, and we got step one out of the way. Now we’ve got a couple more steps to go ... Just taking it all in and the experience itself is something I’ll never forget. Center fielder Adam Jones celebrated by giving Markakis a celebratory pie to the face. Jones also later pied a fan. Hunter pied right-hander Darren O’Day. While celebrating with their fans in the area in front of the home dugout, they stepped around empty Budweiser bottles and pie remnants. “We reached the pinnacle,” Jones said. “It’s a big moment in our history, big moment within this clubhouse. These guys worked their tails off, every last one of them, for the same goal … to win." And Jones understood how long a wait this has been for Orioles fans. “I wasn’t able to drink at that time [in 1997], so I couldn’t taste the bubbly, but I can taste it now and it tastes really good. It’s a milestone. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re going to celebrate tonight … the whole city of Baltimore. … It has been a long time coming for the city of Baltimore.” The Orioles (91-60) are heading to the playoffs for the second time in three years. For a team that endured 14 straight losing seasons before Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette brought winning baseball back to Baltimore, they became the fourth different AL East team to win the division in the last five seasons. Over the course of the season, the Orioles lost three keystone players -- Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and Chris Davis -- but other role players filled their absences holes. Once one of those players -- first baseman Steve Pearce -- blasted a three-run homer off Toronto right-hander Drew Hutchison to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead in the first inning, anticipation built, ending with a dogpile behind second base following the final out of the game. Pearce, who was reluctantly designated for assignment by the team in April because of a roster crunch, returned to the club days later after an injury to Davis and has had the best season of his career in his first real opportunity to play every day. Pearce gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead with his 18th homer of the season. He took a 0-1 fastball just over the center-field fence with two outs in the bottom of the first. “This is where I wanted to play,” Pearce said. “My decision was a no-brainer. I love everybody here, from the players to the front office, this is where I wanted to play. To have this feeling right now, it was the best decision I’ve ever made.” Throughout the season, Duquette was savvy with his roster, acquiring players like third baseman Jimmy Paredes -- who hit a solo homer Tuesday -- and left fielder Alejandro De Aza, who laced a three-run triple down the right-field line in the seventh that all but put the game away.