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Friday, November 4, 2016

Columns:  Orioles Zach Britton details the impact of Chiti and Wallace on his career The Sun 11/4  Assistant hitting Mark Quinn will not return to Orioles coaching staff The Sun 11/3  End of marks official beginning of an intriguing offseason for the Orioles The Sun 11/3  Leftovers for breakfast MASNsports.com 11/4  Chiti disappointed that he’s leaving Orioles MASNsports.com 11/3  Assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn leaving Orioles MASNsports.com 11/3  An O’s who elevated his game this year MASNsports.com 11/4  How Did Last Offseason's Decisions Pan Out For Orioles? PressBoxOnline.com 11/4  Orioles Celebrate 25th Anniversary Season At Oriole Park With New Logo CBS Baltimore 11/4  Some thoughts on the Orioles’ coaching staff BaltimoreBaseball.com 11/4  Chiti on not being pursued by Orioles: ‘It bothers me a lot’ BaltimoreBaseball.com 11/3

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-closer-zach-britton-details-the- impact-of-chiti-and-wallace-on-his-career-20161104-story.html

Orioles closer Zach Britton details the impact of Chiti and Wallace on his career

By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun November 4, 2016

What does Zach Britton think about coaches Dom Chiti and leaving the Orioles? The best example of the impact that pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti had in their three years with the Orioles has to be the development of left-hander Zach Britton into one of the game’s best closers.

On Monday, Britton could be named among the three finalists for the American League Cy Young award following a historic season that saw him convert all 47 opportunities and record a 0.54 ERA. Last week, he was named the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year.

Britton has credited much of his success to working with Wallace and Chiti, who both left the Orioles organization to return to the this week. Chiti, who said he wanted to return to the Orioles but never received a contract renewal, will be the Braves’ director of pitching, and Wallace, who retired from active major league coaching but expressed interest in remaining in the organization in another role, will be Atlanta’s special assistant to pitching.

When both joined the Orioles before the 2014 season, Britton’s career was in a much different place. He was a struggling starter who was about to enter the season out of minor league options. And the decision to move Britton to the bullpen – he would eventually take over the closer role that May – was without question the best one for his career.

“The things that really stand out to me is how open-minded they were,” Britton said. “They didn’t have an ego that they were trying to push on you to get you to buy into them. It was more, ‘What do you think you’re good at? Here’s what we see and let’s try to work together to get you successful.’ To me, it was a lot of things I had been fighting from previous things or struggles or injuries, and a lot of it was turning the page on that. Hey, let’s forget about that stuff and move forward and get you back to being successful.”

Britton said from the first time he worked with Wallace and Chiti, when they went to California in the offseason to familiarize themselves and work with a group of Orioles before began, he could tell both had his best interests at heart. And over time, they preached to Britton how to pitch to his strengths, specifically to have faith in throwing his heavy sinker, which has been the key to his success as a closer.

“Dom had seen me as a scout with Atlanta, so he had seen me before when things were going well,” Britton said. “And he brought that to my attention, and that just gave me confidence. There was a lot of effort working with me in that first spring training we had them.

"And the other thing was the tough love. It wasn’t just, ‘Hey we think you’re great,’ but there was some tough love in there too. There was a period of, ‘You need to be accountable to yourself. You can’t just rely on other people all the time. You need to learn to take the reins and figure out what you need to do and go out there and do it well and do it. And don’t let anyone sway you one way or another.’

“Sometimes they’d be tough on you when they needed to be and they were also realistic,” Britton added. “It wasn’t about putting you in your place, but it was about keeping you in check and staying humble. Whether or not you were having success, and I was having success, they taught you how to approach the next day. … They taught that you had to work hard every single day to be successful, and that’s what they taught me.”

Britton remembers being told by former Braves Jair Jurrjens, who pitched briefly for the Orioles in 2013, that he would love working with Wallace and Chiti.

“[He said they] were the best thing that happened to him,” Britton said. “And he had a really good career before he had some injuries, and he was right. He was dead on, and that’s the same thing I hear about them all the way through. When they were in our organization and other teams, other pitching coaches, asked me how much I loved working with those guys. So they were really respected throughout the game. It wasn’t just our pitchers. There were a lot of pitchers throughout the game who respected them and obviously still do. Atlanta’s really lucky to get both of those guys back in their organization.”

While their titles were different, Britton said that Wallace and Chiti worked together closely on all pitching matters with the entire major league staff, and receiving one cohesive message from both was important. He also said the stability the two provided in those positions – their three years with the club marked the longest tenure in those positions since Buck Showalter took over in 2010 – helped both veteran and younger pitchers develop.

“I think it’s really important,” Britton said. “It’s one of those things that people don’t notice until you don’t have that type of structure and they really brought stability to that role and pitchers knew what to expect year after year after year. The message was the same. You knew how they were going to go about it. And it was nice to not have to worry about that. You just showed up to the park every day very familiar with the pitching coaches and what the message should be and you just get very comfortable with that.

"I think it allows pitchers to settle in and develop, especially younger guys. When you get older, they just help you get back on track. It’s not, ‘Hey, let’s develop you as a pitcher.’ You get to a point where you’re kind of there, but these guys are there when maybe you a little rut and you’re trying to figure it out. They’ve seen you so much that [they notice] just that one little thing [and can say], ’Hey you’re not doing this,’ and you can get back on track.

“And that’s what was great about having those guys for so long,” Britton said. “When you have to develop relationships with a new pitching coach who doesn’t know you and how you work, it can be a long process. I’ve been through it quite a bit now. It’s not ideal, but it’s not my job to make those decisions. I’ve got to work with whoever is there, but obviously, I would have liked it if Dom was still around.”

Now, the Orioles will start over. Interviews for a new pitching coach are continuing, and the new hire will have input on the new bullpen coach. But for the Orioles pitchers, they must now get accustomed to new coaches – different messages and maybe new philosophies -- again during spring training, just as they did back in 2014.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-assistant-hitting-coach-mark-quinn-will- not-return-to-orioles-coaching-staff-20161103-story.html

Assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn will not return to Orioles coaching staff

By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun November 3, 2016

Assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn will not be returning to the Orioles.

Orioles assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn will not return to the team next season, according to an industry source.

Quinn, who played parts of four major league seasons with the , served as the team’s assistant hitting coach for just one season after being hired in January. In his role, Quinn worked aside Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh.

The Orioles led the majors with 253 homers, but they ranked seventh in the American League in runs scored (744) and 10th in the AL in on-base percentage (.317).

Quinn is the owner of The Baseball School in Houston, a hitting academy that works with players at all levels.

He declined to comment about his status with the team when reached by phone Thursday.

He was selected for the Orioles position from about 100 candidates and was ultimately hired over Royals minor league instructor Milt Thompson, who was the other finalist for the job. Quinn was working under a one-year contract.

Prior to Quinn, Einar Diaz served as assistant hitting coach, but Diaz moved into the bullpen to replace bullpen Rudy Arias after the 2015 season.

With Quinn’s departure, the Orioles must now fill three vacancies on the club’s major league staff. Pitching coach Dave Wallace retired from major league coaching duties at the end of the season and has joined the Atlanta Braves as a roving pitching instructor and senior adviser. Bullpen coach Dom Chiti also left the organization to join the Braves as the team’s director of pitching.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-end-of-world-series-marks-official- beginning-of-an-interesting-offseason-for-the-orioles-20161103-story.html

End of World Series marks official beginning of an intriguing offseason for the Orioles

By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun November 3, 2016

Do you think the Orioles will give catcher the qualifying offer for the second straight year?

If you’re a little groggy this morning, join the club. Yes, the baseball season ended well past midnight as Wednesday night turned into Thursday morning, but the end of Game 7 of the World Series offered an unforgettable finish to a memorable season.

Now that the have won their first World Series title in 108 years – since when Teddy Roosevelt was president – they have been released of the curse of the billy goat and the sting of Steve Bartman.

And as everyone wakes up today, the MLB offseason begins in earnest.

Free agents can officially file for free agency beginning today. And today starts a five-day window in which teams can exclusively negotiate with and sign their own free agents.

For the Orioles, it’s the opportunity to reach out to free agents such as and Matt Wieters to gauge the likelihood of retaining them. The Orioles also have until Tuesday night to make their free agents a qualifying offer for a one-year, $17.2-million contract.

The Orioles will likely make that offer to Trumbo, who will enter free agency coming off the best year of his career. They are still weighing whether to make the offer to Wieters, but it seems unlikely.

Teams make these qualifying offers in order to gain a supplemental draft pick next year, but it also muddles the market on certain free agents attached to the qualifying offer because any other team that signs that player must forfeit its highest unprotected draft pick in 2017.

In the case of Trumbo, it’s an easy decision. If he accepts the offer, you retain the majors’ home- leader for another season. But if he walks – which he’s likely to do because he faces the prospect of an attractive multiyear deal at age 30 – the Orioles get an extra draft pick.

Wieters’ situation is more complicated, especially given that he bucked the trend last season and was among the first three players to accept the qualifying offer. A decision on Wieters could affect the team’s remaining offseason plans.

Last offseason, Wieters took the qualifying offer and played a full season to prove he was healthy coming off Tommy John surgery, raising his stock while making $15.8 million.

Though Wieters’ offensive numbers weren’t great in 2016, he will be the top catcher available on a thin free-agent market, so he’s looking at the possibility of a four- or five-year deal.

Still, the Orioles have to consider the possibility Wieters takes the qualifying offer again if it’s made, meaning the team would have invested a combined $33 million in Wieters over a two-year span. That’s a lot of money.

The Orioles can also exclusively negotiate with free agents Michael Bourn and Steve Pearce, two players the team might be interested in retaining. If recent history is any indication, don’t expect much movement on those fronts early.

After Tuesday, free agents can sign with any team, so that’s when the proverbial hot stove starts to simmer.

Other important dates to note this offseason: On Nov. 18 teams must set their 40-man rosters for the upcoming Rule 5 draft (which takes place Dec. 8). Dec. 2 is the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players.

The Orioles could see a lot of roster movement between now and then. For the first time in a long time, they are not only committed to a lot of money in guaranteed deals to players, but also face the prospect of significant raises for their arbitration-eligible players. That will balloon their payroll before making any offseason additions. So the team could have to make some tough decisions on fringe arbitration-eligible players in order to trim payroll.

This is also the time for the Orioles to entertain extension talks with a variety of players, including right-hander Chris Tillman, who becomes a free agent after the 2017, as well as , Zach Britton and Adam Jones, who all become free agents at the end of the 2018 season. doesn't become a free agent until after 2019, but he is another possible extension candidate.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/11/leftovers-for-breakfast-54.html

Leftovers for breakfast

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com November 4, 2016

You may have noticed yesterday that former bullpen coach Dom Chiti was upset that the Orioles didn’t reach out to him about a new contract, which led to his departure and a new position with the Braves.

Meanwhile, executive vice president Dan Duquette wants to get a new pitching coach in place before focusing on a bullpen coach, feeling that Dave Wallace’s successor should have input. Chiti was a consideration for the post, but he never heard back from the Orioles and refused to campaign for it.

Chiti leaves behind fond memories of his three-year tenure in Baltimore. He states that his work speaks for itself - no argument here - and is reluctant to take credit for progress made by closer Zach Britton, right-handers Brad Brach and and left-hander Donnie Hart, among others.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I helped Zach Britton,” Chiti said. “Look, Zach Britton helped Zach Britton. Brad Brach helped Brad Brach. Now, whatever they choose to say, that’s up to them. I’m not going to sit here and beat my chest, but the body of work ...

“I’ll make it real simple for you. This game is about production. Did our guys get better? Go down the list. That’s my body of work and I’ll let it speak for itself.

“People asked me the other day, ‘Tell me about your three years in Baltimore,’ and I said, ‘Tremendous.’ And I mean that. Tremendous. I’m sure they’ll find other people and they’ll find other quality people and things will go on. It kind of is what it is.

“I don’t regret one second of three years. I mean that.”

Britton has no idea who could replace Chiti or Wallace.

“I think we’ve got some guys internally that obviously people have worked with in the past,” he said. “I think they warrant a look or an opportunity. But I don’t know what direction they’re leaning. I was expecting Dom to come back, so it’ll be interesting to see what direction they’re heading in.”

Britton’s wife, Courtney, is due with their second child in six days.

Duquette isn’t able to provide a timetable on new hires.

“We’re working on screening a number of candidates similar to what we did a couple years ago when they joined the organization. We have to do the same thing again,” he said. “We’re working on that this week and we’re also assembling the rest of the coaching staff.”

As I reported yesterday, Mark Quinn won’t return as assistant hitting coach.

“I think we’re focused on the pitching part of it and then we’re going to continue to assemble our staff at the same time we’re doing that,” Duquette said. “We’re not going to make any announcement until we have our staff together.”

* I asked Duquette if a decision has been made regarding qualifying offers for outfielder Mark Trumbo and catcher Matt Wieters.

“We’ve got five days,” he said. “It’s currently under consideration. We’re working on that, as well.”

It would be a major upset if Trumbo isn’t given the qualifying offer.

* If you’re already going through baseball withdrawal, don’t forget that the Arizona Fall League’s 11th annual “Fall Stars Game” is Saturday night on MLB Network. Outfielder DJ Stewart will represent the Orioles on the West Division team.

Stewart is batting .226/.388/.340 with four doubles, a , five RBIs and 14 walks in 14 games with the Peoria Javelinas. In his last game, he had a run-scoring and drew three walks.

The kid’s a work in progress, but he has a knack for getting on base.

“DJ Stewart’s doing pretty well,” Duquette said, noting the former first-round pick’s improvement after moving up to Single-A Frederick over the summer. “He’s got good discipline at the plate and he’s been playing well in the field and he’s hitting the ball with some authority, so I was glad to see him make the All-Star team.

“He’s got a much better approach. I don’t know if you’ve seen him, but he’s more upright in his stance. He’s not squatting down as much as he was when he first got into pro ball, so that’s a natural evolution as a hitter. He’s doing good. He’s a pro, he competes. He comes to work every day. Durable kid. Got some extra-base power. So good for him. He’s doing what he needs to do to make his way to the big leagues.”

The Orioles must decide whether to bump up Stewart to the Double-A Eastern League in 2017.

“He had a full year in A ball and he did a good job in high A,” Duquette said. “We sent him to the Arizona Fall League to try to get him ready for Double-A. Hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity to play there.”

* Former outfielder and current vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson was inducted last night into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Orioles were well-represented within a packed room at Michael’s Eighth Ave. in Glen Burnie, the turnout including Duquette, Lou Angelos, manager Buck Showalter, director of baseball operations Tripp Norton, director of player development Brian Graham, director of minor league operations Kent Qualls, director of scouting Gary Rajsich, director of pacific rim operations/baseball development Mike Snyder, scout Dean Albany, team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs, director of public relations Kristen Hudak, media relations manager Jim Misudek, former pitcher and current pitching rehabilitation coordinator Scott McGregor, and former player and current MASN analyst Dave Johnson.

That’s not the full crew, but you get the picture.

Anderson has earned his share of accolades, including three All-Star appearances, but he was genuinely moved by last night’s honor. The emotions rose to the surface during his speech as he spoke about his father, Jerry, and 13-year-old daughter Brianna.

“To me, this is one of the best ones, for sure, because I got to share it with my daughter,” he said afterward. “She didn’t get to see me play. She’s really not that interested in watching old videos. She knows that I played, she’s aware, but I never really got to share anything like that with her. She was only a few months old during my Orioles Hall of Fame induction. So that’s why it meant so much to me.

“To be able to bring my dad and my daughter and have them both here, that meant everything to me.”

Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. surprised Anderson by walking into the room and introducing him to the crowd, offering up a couple of amusing stories before turning over the microphone to him.

“I had no clue, zero clue,” Anderson said. “I was going to call and invite him. I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to talk about him a little bit, but I don’t want to burden him.’ Cal and I were best friends, still are best friends, but we don’t talk on the phone much. I’ve always been respectful of his time and I knew that by asking, he’d say ‘yes,’ no matter what he had to do, so I didn’t want to burden him like that. But I couldn’t have been happier.

“It probably relaxed me, seeing him up there. I’m used to giving speeches, but they’re usually to set up Cal, so it was nice to have it the other way around.”

Other inductees included former Arundel High School and University of Maryland running back Louis Carter and longtime sportswriter and official scorer Jim Henneman.

* Online oddsmaker Bovada has the Orioles 22/1 to win the 2017 World Series. The Cubs are 7/2 favorites to repeat.

Chicago Cubs 7/2 9/1 9/1 12/1 14/1 14/1 14/1 14/1 16/1 16/1 22/1 22/1 St. Louis Cardinals 22/1 25/1 25/1 28/1 Kansas City Royals 33/1 40/1 40/1 50/1 66/1 66/1 75/1 75/1 100/1 Atlanta Braves 100/1 100/1 100/1 100/1 100/1

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/11/chiti-disappointed-that-hes-leaving- orioles.html

Chiti disappointed that he’s leaving Orioles

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com November 3, 2016

The Braves made official this afternoon the hiring of former Orioles bullpen coach Dom Chiti and pitching coach Dave Wallace. All that’s left now is for the Orioles to find their replacements.

Chiti was named director of pitching and Wallace was named a special assistant to pitching, the close friends heading back where they previously worked together before joining the Orioles for the 2014 season.

Chiti wanted to stay with the Orioles, but his contract ran out on Oct. 31 and he didn’t receive any feedback concerning his future in the organization. Braves president of baseball operations John Hart, a close friend, called Chiti at 6 a.m. the following morning and asked that he make the drive from Winter Haven, Fla., to Atlanta.

A cup of coffee on his back porch turned into much more.

Asked whether he’s disappointed that his tenure with the Orioles has ended, Chiti replied, “Yes.”

“I had one kind of brief conversation with Buck (Showalter) in Toronto, the last series,” Chiti said. “I think it was two or three days after I was home, I got a call from Buck. He asked me about Roger McDowell and he also asked me about my interest in being pitching coach. My reply to that was, ‘Buck, I’m not going to answer that. I’m not a politician. You know my body of work. I’ve always been the kind of guy, give me a job and leave me alone and let me do it and then evaluate how I do.’ That was the conversation.”

“I hung up the phone and that was the end of communication with anybody in any form, fashion or anything else. I left three messages with Dan (Duquette).”

Hart confirmed that Chiti’s contract ran out and talked him into making the trip to Atlanta. Chiti said he called Showalter on the way to let him know what was happening.

“The rest of it is pretty much it,” Chiti said.

“There’s a point in time when I have to take care of my family. I work for a living. I have a family. I never made big money. You’ve been in the clubhouse. Guys make fun of me, they laugh at me, they laugh with me, I laugh at them. I’ve always been a person that, when you start messing with my family, it’s going to get real personal real quick. I think everybody should be like that. Nobody wants their family ... So what do you do? You’re basically asking me to blindly trust something that I’ve had no contact with anybody.

“This is exactly what I told Buck on the phone. Let me tell you this, and I mean it: I love him like a brother. Buck and I go way back, we’re really good friends. We’ve been down a lot of roads, we’ve been through a lot of battles. We’ve gone through the wars together and I love him, but I like my family a little more.”

The Orioles knew they had to replace Wallace. Chiti came as more of a surprise.

“Everyone knew his contract ran out on Oct. 31 at midnight and he got a great offer from a place he knows,” Showalter said. “He’s got a two-year deal and he basically runs their whole pitching, major league and minor league. The scouting in June. It’s a great opportunity for him making great money.

“He did a great job for us. Obviously, I like him. I’ve had him a long time and obviously the organization liked him because we had him here three years. I would have liked to have kept him, but he had a better opportunity. Nobody wishes him well more than I do. He’s a good man. He’s as hard a worker as you’ll ever find and he has a great body of work.

“I love the relationship I had with him and I wish him well. He has a great opportunity for him and his family.”

Duquette praised the work of Wallace and Chiti.

“Dave did a really good job for three years with us,” Duquette said. “He’s a veteran and a number of pitchers did well under his tutelage and we appreciate the work that he did. We made the playoffs two out of the three years when he was with us and I wish him a lot of luck with Atlanta. Of course, he’s returning to the same organization that he came to the Orioles from and in a similar capacity from what I understand.

“Dom did a nice job for us during his three years. Dave and Dom work well together and our bullpen was solid every year. Obviously, they enjoy working together and we appreciate the work that they did for us.

“Dave decided to retire as a big league coach and Dom decided to return to the Braves, and like I said, we appreciate the contributions they made here and we wish them good luck.”

Duquette doesn’t have a timetable for finding replacements. The Orioles already have interviewed multiple candidates for pitching coach.

Closer Zach Britton repeated today that Wallace and Chiti had a tremendous influence on his career.

“It was huge to get an opportunity to work with those guys,” said Britton, who was 47-for-47 in save opportunities and registered a 0.54 ERA. “When you look at where I was when I first got the opportunity to work with them and where I am now, it tells you everything you need to know about what they brought to the table. They helped a lot of guys for the better and I’m disappointed to see both of them go.

“Wally had kind of told me about his decision as the season was going on and what he was leaning toward doing, and you kind of got ready for that, but Dom, I’ve been speaking a lot with him during the offseason. The day before he decided to take the job in Atlanta, he had talked to me and gave me his reasons. Not that he needed to, but we have a great relationship and that’s going to continue.

“Obviously, it’s going to be tough not having him there.”

The Orioles travel to Lake Buena Vista on March 28 to play the Braves in spring training.

“We are excited to bring Dom Chiti and Dave Wallace back into the Braves organization,” general manager John Coppolella said in a statement. “They are both highly regarded and will bring a wealth of knowledge to assist our young pitching prospects.”

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/11/assistant-hitting-coach-mark-quinn-leaving- orioles.html

Assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn leaving Orioles

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com November 3, 2016

Assistant hitting coach Mark Quinn is leaving the Orioles after one season with the club, according to a baseball source.

Quinn, an outfielder who played for the Royals between 1999-2002, was hired in January to work with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. Quinn beat out Royals minor league hitting instructor Milt Thompson, the other finalist for the position.

According to the source, Quinn will return to The Baseball School, the hitting academy he owns in Houston.

Prior to last season, Einar Diaz served as the team’s assistant hitting coach, but the Orioles moved the former major league catcher to the bullpen, where he replaced bullpen catcher Rudy Arias after the 2015 season.

Quinn had been on a one-year contract with the Orioles. That deal expired on Oct. 31.

His departure means manager Buck Showalter will now need to replace three members of the coaching staff that finished the 2016 season. Pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti also won’t return, as both have opted to join the Braves organization in new roles.

Chiti today was named the Braves’ new senior director of pitching. Wallace, who retired from his major league coaching role with the Orioles at the end of the season, took a job with the Braves as a roving pitching instructor and senior adviser.

Showalter said in his season-ending press conference that he expected to have all of his coaches from the 2016 season - with the exception of the retiring Wallace - back in 2017. Now he has three positions to fill.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2016/11/an-os-minor-league-outfielder-that- elevated-his-game-this-year.html

An O’s minor league outfielder who elevated his game this year

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com November 4, 2016

It can be exciting to see a minor league player who has had more downs than ups for a certain period of his career, but then has a big year and turns a bit of a corner. This is one of those stories.

The Orioles selected outfielder Randolph Gassaway out of a prep program in Georgia in the 16th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft with the 489th-overall selection. Gassaway produced three seasons of modest stats, but that changed last summer for the 21-year-old left fielder.

From 2013-15, he played in short-season ball in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, hitting .246/.289/.324 with two homers in 451 at-bats. This year, he hit .340/.384/.535 with seven homers in 200 at-bats at Single-A Delmarva. He had so few at-bats with the Shorebirds because, for the third year in a row, he began the season in Florida at extended spring training in April. He did not make the roster of a full-season O’s farm club.

But he didn’t get bitter, he got better. Coaches and instructors from the organization I’ve spoken with paint a picture of a hard-working, upbeat kid with a great attitude in Gassaway. Some of that started paying off last season.

He went back to Aberdeen for the IronBirds’ June 17 season opener. In five games, he went 8- for-18 with four doubles and a triple. He then moved to Single-A Delmarva, where his bat continued to take off. In August, Gassaway hit .356/.405/.634 playing left field for the Shorebirds with seven homers and 15 RBIs in 28 games.

He certainly impressed Jeff Manto, the Orioles minor league hitting coordinator.

“This kid wants to learn,” Manto said. “He’s engaged all winter long. He’ll text me and send me videos. He is just a ton of fun to work with. And because he wants to work and he retains information and he wants to try everything you ask him to try, coaches love that type of player. You want to be around this guy.

“It’s a credit to him. To tell you what type of person he is, he got sent back to the Gulf Coast League and extended spring (this April). And he was upset, but he didn’t let it affect his play and he agreed he needed some work. He came back and proved he belonged and he has a chance. He didn’t pout. He played. That is when the makeup shows up, and this kid has makeup off the charts.”

So I asked Manto what allowed Gassaway to take off after three years of so-so stats.

“He just needed to be more aware of the strike zone,” Manto said. “He was chasing some breaking balls down. He saw a lot of breaking balls because when he walks up to the plate, he has a real presence (at 6-foot-4, 210 lbs.) Milt May (GCL batting coach) did a great job with him. Got him to pay attention to the strike zone, and once he got better at learning his zone, he started to hit pitches and hit them hard.”

Gassaway was certainly among the most improved on the farm this year and has a chance to break into a listing of the club’s top 30 prospects. Now the Orioles wait to see what 2017 holds for him as it figures to be his first year playing the entire year in full-season minor league ball.

A ratings winner: The numbers are out and Game 7 of the World Series between the Cubs and Indians on FOX produced the largest audience for a major league game in 25 years. The World Series average rating was the best in 12 years.

Game 7 was seen by 40.045 million viewers, the most to watch a major league game since 50.3 million viewed Game 7 of the 1991 World Series between Atlanta and Minnesota. The audience peaked at 49.9 million between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m. The Game 7 rating outpaced every night of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The series average was 23.4 million viewers, the most since the 25.4 million for the between Boston and St. Louis. The Mets and Royals last year were seen on average by 14.7 million.

World Series viewership:

Game 1: 19.4 million Game 2: 17.4 million Game 3: 19.4 million Game 4: 16.7 million Game 5: 24.1 million Game 6: 23.4 million Game 7: 40.0 million https://www.pressboxonline.com/2016/11/04/how-did-last-offseasons-decisions-pan-out-for- orioles

How Did Last Offseason's Decisions Pan Out For Orioles?

By Paul Folkemer / PressBoxOnline.com November 4, 2016

The Chicago Cubs' World Series victory Nov. 2 brought a championship not only to a slew of former Orioles -- including pitchers Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and Jason Hammel -- but also to an infamous almost-Oriole, outfielder .

Fowler, as O's fans know, shockingly backed out of his reported three-year, $35 million deal with the Orioles in February and re-signed with the Cubs for a one-year contract. Before he bolted, Fowler was expected to serve as the Orioles' leadoff hitter and right fielder, and -- based on how his 2016 season turned out -- he would've been perfect for both roles.

Fowler posted a .393 OBP for the Cubs, a mark that would've led the O's by a large margin among everyday players (Hyun Soo Kim posted a .383 OBP through 305 at-bats) . His 13 steals also would've led the Birds, and he contributed 13 homers and 48 RBIs as well. And although he's never started a major league game in right field, it's easy to imagine he would have been an upgrade over the Orioles' similarly out-of-place defenders at the position. Whatever the reason Fowler's deal with the Orioles fell apart, it was a significant loss for the club in 2016 -- and a successful decision for Fowler, who now has a .

Fowler aside, there were plenty of other players the Orioles were interested in last winter who landed elsewhere. Let's take a look at a few notable names from last year's hot stove season and whether the O's should regret not adding them to the fold.

The Free-Agent Sluggers

In January, amidst the Orioles' stalled contract negotiations with first baseman , two other prominent sluggers remained on the board: Yoenis Cespedes and Justin Upton. I compared the three options and determined Upton would be the Birds' best choice, though of course they instead re-signed Davis. How did 2016 pan out for the two sluggers who went elsewhere?

Yoenis Cespedes: Cespedes spurned a lucrative multi-year contract with the Nationals to re-sign with the Mets Jan. 26 for three years and $75 million, including an opt-out after the 2016 season. Cespedes' bet on himself paid off, as he put up a strong offensive performance in 2016: he hit .280/.354/.530/.884 with 31 homers and 86 RBIs during 132 games. Cespedes is expected to exercise his opt-out and become a free agent again this winter, but he'll likely be beyond the Orioles' price range.

Justin Upton: Upton landed with the Tigers Jan. 20 on a six-year, $132.75 million contract (which includes an opt-out after 2017), but he posted some of the worst offensive numbers of his career during his first year in Detroit. He finished with nearly identical homer and RBI totals to Cespedes -- 31 and 87 -- but struggled to get on base, batting .246 with a .310 OBP. Even then, Upton needed a red-hot September to get there, as he entered the season's final month with a meager .702 OPS.

For the 2016 season, at least, the Orioles got more production from Davis than they would have from Upton, though it's too early to predict how well each contract will pan out.

The Buy-Low Starting Pitchers

When the O's were left fighting for scraps in the free-agent starting pitching market, three veteran hurlers with plenty of question marks -- righties Yovani Gallardo, Doug Fister and Mat Latos -- remained available. The O's signed Gallardo, whereas I advocated for Latos. How'd it turn out?

Doug Fister: Coming off a lousy 2015 season marred by a flexor strain, Fister joined the Astros on a $7 million deal for 2016. He stayed healthy all year, pitching 180.1 innings during 32 starts, but was no longer a particularly good pitcher. He posted the worst ERA (4.64) and WHIP (1.425) of his career and may be forced to find another short-term contract this winter.

Mat Latos: A 28-year-old former ace was as a low-risk, potentially high-reward gamble, and the White Sox took a flyer on him for $3 million. Latos started the season with four straight quality starts, allowing two earned runs in 24.1 innings, but it was all downhill from there. He was torched for a 7.25 ERA during his next seven starts, got released and finished the year working mop-up duty for the Nationals.

While neither Fister nor Latos would've been a solution to the Orioles' rotation woes in 2016, the O's arguably would've been better off failing with them than surrendering $22 million and a first- round draft pick to sign an also-ineffective Gallardo (who went 6-8 with a 5.42 ERA).

The Outfield Alternatives

After Fowler spurned the Orioles during spring training, the club was forced to look for a last- minute replacement bat, and three options stood out: outfielders Jay Bruce and Austin Jackson and Pedro Alvarez. Once again, my preferred solution-- Jackson -- didn't match the Orioles', who opted for Alvarez.

Jay Bruce: The good news for Bruce is he rebounded from two straight poor offensive years, batting .265/.316/.559/.875 with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs during 97 games for the Reds, though his numbers took a dive after he was traded to the Mets Aug. 1. Defensively, though, Bruce got harsh grades from FanGraphs, which pegged him at minus-11 defensive runs saved -- even worse than O's right fielder Mark Trumbo (minus-nine). The Orioles shouldn't have many regrets for not trading for Bruce.

Austin Jackson: Jackson, like Latos, ended up with the White Sox on a one-year, make-good deal. He didn't make good. Jackson put up meager numbers with Chicago during 54 games (a .661 OPS, no homers and 18 RBIs) and then suffered a torn meniscus that brought his season to a premature end in June. Jackson wouldn't have solved the Orioles' need for a bench outfielder who could hit lefties, as he was just 7-for-44 against southpaws in 2016.

The O's didn't have a lot of good options here, and Alvarez ended up being a fine signing, even if he pushed Trumbo -- who should be a designated hitter -- into everyday outfield duty.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/11/04/orioles-celebrate-25th-anniversary-season-at-oriole- park-with-new-logo/

Orioles Celebrate 25th Anniversary Season At Oriole Park With New Logo

CBS Baltimore November 4, 2016

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Orioles introduced a commemorative logo in honor of the 25th anniversary season of Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

The logo will be featured on the right sleeve of all Orioles game jerseys throughout the 2017 season. Additionally, the logo will be printed on official Rawlings® Major League used in all home games during the 2017 season.

The 25th anniversary commemorative logo features a silver numerical 25 on a brick background within a diamond that includes the ballpark’s name as well as the years 1992 and 2017. The logo pays homage to both the iconic B&O Warehouse and the original Oriole Park at Camden Yards logo used by the club when the ballpark first opened.

On April 6, 1992, Oriole Park at Camden Yards became the official home of the Orioles and helped inspire a renaissance of ballpark construction, which helped to play a part in the revitalization of Baltimore and many other American cities.

The Ballpark That Forever Changed Baseball™ has welcomed over 67 million fans since that time. A popular attraction for visitors to Baltimore, more than 980,000 fans have taken a tour of Oriole Park.

During the 2008 season, Oriole Park became the fastest ballpark in the history of baseball to welcome 50 million fans, a record that stood until the San Francisco Giants broke the mark at AT&T Park during the 2015 season.

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2016/11/04/thoughts-orioles-coaching-staff/

Some thoughts on the Orioles’ coaching staff

By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com November 4, 2016

The Orioles now have three spots open on Buck Showalter’s 2017 staff: pitching coach, bullpen coach and assistant hitting coach.

Technically, only bench coach John Russell is signed through next season – most of the coaches’ contracts expired Oct. 31. But Showalter has expressed confidence that the others will be back. That includes base coaches and and hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh.

Coaches are often under-the-radar types, and the best ones usually go unnoticed. But Showalter really has had some excellent lieutenants over the years.

So piecing together the 2017 staff is something that’s a priority for Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette.

“We’re working on assembling our coaching staff for next year,” Duquette said Thursday. “We’re going to be interviewing some candidates for pitching coach and bullpen coach and be assembling our staff for next season.”

Former Atlanta Braves pitching coach Roger McDowell, 55, is a candidate and the Orioles have interviewed a couple others.

If the organization decides to hire internally, Double-A Bowie pitching coach , a former Orioles’ reliever, may be the leading candidate for one of the open spots previously held by Dave Wallace and Dom Chiti. Triple-A pitching coach Mike Griffin is also well thought-of within the organization.

Wallace, 69, left at season’s end because he no longer wanted the daily grind and travel of a big- league season. Chiti’s contract expired Monday and he signed a two-year deal this week with the Atlanta Braves to be that organization’s Director of Pitching, overseeing the minor-league pitchers and assisting with the majors’ staff. Wallace has signed on to join Chiti in Atlanta as a roving instructor and advisor.

You can read more about Chiti’s departure here.

Obviously, losing both creates a big hole in the continuity of Showalter’s staff. He’s made at least one addition every offseason he’s been with the club, but the majority of the coaches on his staff had been with him for at least two-to-three years.

If history is any indicator, his new hires will be experienced baseball men – usually in their late- 40s to mid-60s – who have held similar jobs in the past. He’s a big believer in coaches that have paid their dues in the minors and have experience in player development departments.

Showalter and Duquette have countless connections throughout the game, so there likely will be no shortage of qualified candidates to discuss.

It probably would behoove the club to move quickly, though. Free agency is about to start in earnest next week and Duquette has said the club will continue to look to improve its pitching staff. Having a pitching coach hired – especially one with a track record – could be key to the recruitment effort if the Orioles, indeed, are looking to add arms via free agency.

Also, possibly the most pressing issue facing Duquette in terms of contract extensions is right- hander Chris Tillman, the club’s top pitcher who will be a free agent after 2017 (most of the club’s core isn’t eligible for free agency until after 2018).

These next few months will be instrumental in trying to lock up Tillman, and surely he’ll want to see what the club does with its pitching coaches before signing on long-term.

The other hire isn’t as high-profile. Mark Quinn, brought in before this season to be the assistant hitting coach to Coolbaugh, will not return in 2017, as first reported by MASNsports.com.

So, Showalter and company – vice president Brady Anderson has also been involved in hiring, especially when it comes to hitting coaches – will have to replace Quinn. That process should also begin soon.

Although some fans have called for the firing of Coolbaugh due to the one-dimensional approach of the offense – lots of homers, lots of unproductive outs — it would be surprising to see that happen. Coolbaugh has received high marks from his offensive players and, frankly, can only do so much with a lineup that is heavy on sluggers with limited on-base capabilities.

Besides, having to replace four coaches in one offseason would seem to be a daunting task – and an unnecessary one at this point.

Three new hires is plenty.

http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2016/11/03/chiti-not-pursued-orioles-bothers-lot/

Chiti on not being pursued by Orioles: ‘It bothers me a lot’

By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com November 3, 2016

Dom Chiti, who spent three years as bullpen coach of the Orioles before accepting the director of pitching job this week with the Atlanta Braves, didn’t mask his disappointment that he had almost no correspondence with his old team in the month leading up to the expiration of his contract – even though he says he tried on multiple occasions.

“How much does it bother me? It bothers me a lot,” Chiti told BaltimoreBaseball.com on Thursday. “Other people can attest to it more than me, but I put my heart and soul and a whole lot of work into that job.”

Chiti followed his good friend, pitching coach Dave Wallace, from the Braves to the Orioles before the 2014 season. For three seasons, the two worked in tandem with the club’s pitchers, and Chiti’s bullpen unit posted the best ERA in the AL in 2016.

After the season ended, Wallace stepped down, citing a desire to remain in baseball, but no longer wanting to deal with the daily grind and travel of the majors. Wallace also has accepted a job with the Braves this week – on the urging of Chiti — to be a roving pitching instructor and advisor.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who helped hire Wallace and Chiti, said publicly that he wanted both to remain in the organization. But there was little push towards that end result, Chiti said.

“I was never contacted. I was never contacted by anybody,” he said. “I read stuff in the paper or in the media that, ‘OK, I’m being considered for the pitching coach job or this, that and the other,’ but I was never contacted by anybody.”

Chiti said he had a brief conversation with Showalter before the season ended about his plans for the future. And they talked by phone in late October, but primarily because Showalter wanted to know what Chiti thought of a candidate for the vacant pitching coach position.

Chiti said during that conversation Showalter asked him about his own interest in the job, and Chiti said he replied that he wasn’t going to campaign for any position, but that he’s always willing to do whatever is asked of him.

“That’s honestly the way I feel,” Chiti, 57, said. “I don’t go out looking for jobs. I’ll let my work, my body of work, speak for itself.”

Chiti, however, said he contacted Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette on multiple occasions to ask about the status of his employment, but never received a response.

“I called and left three messages for Dan Duquette and he never called me back. I left three messages for the man. ‘This is Dominic, can I get a couple minutes of your time?’” Chiti said.

That was the most disappointing part of this process, said Chiti, who is not shy in voicing his opinions, which could have rubbed some higher-ups the wrong way.

“If you don’t think you want me (back), if you don’t like me, I’m OK with that. But just call me and tell me. ‘Dominic, we’re not going to have you back.’ I’m a big boy. I’ve been in the game a long time. I know how it works.”

When asked about Chiti’s comments, Duquette said he was unaware of any phone messages.

“I’m not sure who he was trying to contact,” Duquette said. “It wasn’t me.”

Duquette didn’t go into specifics on why Chiti wasn’t re-upped before his contract expired, but lauded the job that Chiti and Wallace did.

“Dave Wallace did a nice job for us. He’s a veteran pitching coach and we appreciated the good work he did for us here. He had several pitchers that excelled during his tenure,” Duquette said. “And Dom did a nice job in the bullpen. The bullpen was strong each of the years he was here. I wish them both a lot of luck.”

Showalter, who worked with Chiti when they were with the Texas Rangers organization, said he believed the two-year deal offered by Atlanta was too good to pass up for Chiti.

“He did a great job here and got a good deal there, and he’ll be good there. It’s really good for him and his family. I know a lot of what when on, and I’ve been with him for a long time, and he did a great job for us in that capacity,” Showalter said. “He was here three years, we liked him and we were hoping we could continue there. It was just the way it kind of worked out.”

Chiti’s contract expired Monday. On Tuesday morning, he said he was sitting on his back porch in Winter Haven, Fla., drinking coffee when he received a call from his longtime friend, John Hart, the Braves’ president of baseball operations.

Hart asked Chiti what he was doing and when the answer was, “Nothing, but drinking coffee,” Hart told him to, “jump in a car and come up here.” So Chiti drove the seven hours to Atlanta to meet Hart, with whom he’s had a working relationship of 25 years. Within hours, a job offer was made and accepted.

Chiti will be in charge of the Braves’ minor league pitching operations and be a special advisor for the major-league staff. He’s already in Arizona, looking at the Braves’ prospects in the Arizona Fall League.

“John knows I like to work. I don’t like sitting at home,” Chiti said. “I’m happy with where I am now. There are some really good people (with the Braves) that I’ve worked with for a long time and I trust. And I know they are going to leave me alone and let me do my work.”

In his tenure with the Orioles, Chiti bonded with — and helped further the careers of — several Orioles, including Zach Britton, Darren O’Day and Brad Brach.

“Losing both Dave and Dom is a big blow. When we brought those guys in in 2014, I was one of the guys that they got the opportunity to work with and was a project of theirs, if you want to call it that, me and a few other guys,” said Britton, the team’s All Star closer. “I think if you just look at where I am at now compared to where I was, that just tells you everything you need to know about Dave and Dom and how much work they put into it and the relationship we built.”

Britton said he and the pitching staff were braced for Wallace’s departure, knowing the 69-year- old wanted more time with his family and less on-field responsibilities. But Britton was holding out hope Chiti would be retained in some capacity.

“This is three years now that we built this relationship. We’ve had some influx of pitching coaches and we really haven’t been able to find somebody that a lot of the guys, the pitching staff as a whole, has really bonded with. And those were the guys that we did,” Britton said. “We found two guys that we bonded well with. So, to not have Dom coming back, is disappointing for me on a personal level. And I think for a lot of guys, as well. He brought a lot to the table.

“And I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that we didn’t even kind of pursue him. Obviously, I don’t make those decisions,” Britton added. “But I feel like when you have someone of that caliber, you make an attempt to retain him. But it’s not my job to do that. It’s just disappointing that we let him go to another organization without a fight.”

O’Day echoed Britton’s sentiments about Chiti’s coaching ability, saying that he felt he, “learned something every day” from Chiti.

“If I were running a team, I’d want him to be part of it. So, I think the Braves stole a pretty good coach from us,” said O’Day, the club’s primary set-up man during Chiti’s tenure in Baltimore. “I think it’s a loss. I love Dom, but I’m not a GM; I’m a . So, I don’t know what all the innerworkings of the front office are, but I’d want him to be a part of my team.”

Chiti called his time with the Orioles, Wallace and Showalter: “Tremendous, a tremendous experience. I mean that. It was great from start to finish.”

It just didn’t finish the way Chiti would have liked.

“I wish the Orioles the best, I do. I wish the best for Buck and those guys. Buck is like a brother to me. He is,” Chiti said. “The relationship the players talk about with us, well … I felt the same way. Good, bad or indifferent, they got better. I don’t know if I had anything to do with that. I hope so. But your family is your family. And you have to take care of them.”