Baltimore Orioles A Trip Down Memory Lane
It’s difficult to believe that the Baltimore Orioles; the franchise of Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Paul Blair, Boog Powell, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor Cal Ripken Jr., etc. has become synonymous with losing the last 3+ decades. The Orioles haven’t appeared in a World Series since 1983.
- 1966 = Baltimore Orioles 4 Los Angeles Dodgers 0 (LA scored 2 runs in 4 games)
- 1969 = New York “Miracle” Mets 4 Baltimore Orioles 1
- 1970 = Baltimore Orioles 4 Cincinnati Red 1 (Brooks Robinson Series MVP)
- 1971 = Pittsburgh Pirates 3 Baltimore Orioles 3 (Roberto Clemente Series MVP)
- 1979 = Pittsburgh “We Are Family” Pirates 4 Baltimore Orioles 3
- 1983 = Baltimore Orioles 4 Philadelphia Phillies 1 (Rick Dempsey Series MVP)
True the Orioles have made a few playoff appearances since 1983 but the closest they’ve come to appearing in another World Series were the years 1996, 1997, & 2014 when they lost in the AL Championship Series.
2016 was the last time the Orioles appeared in the Playoffs and since that year their records are
2017 75 – 87
2018 47 – 115
2019 54 – 108
2020 25 – 35
In other words they are a combined 201 – 345 so it’s not a misnomer to say they are In Pursuit of Mediocrity.
The 2021 “O’s” – Hope In Birdland
It’s fair to say the Orioles over performed in the abbreviated 2020 season and were even in contention for a playoff spot until faltering the last few weeks.
A positive for 2021 is the return of their best position player OF/1st Baseman Trey Mancini. Mancini sat out the 2020 season with colon cancer. In 2019 he hit .291 with 35 home runs and 97 RBI’s which is exceptional considering the team lost 108 games and opponents could pitch around him.
In all, the team is very young with only 3 position players on their roster over 30 years of age. One of those players is Chris Davis who has been worse than horrible the last 3 seasons but they keep hoping he will return to his form of 2012 to 2016 when he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball.
Pitching will determine if the Orioles can reach mediocrity in 2021. There are serious questions about the starting staff but John Means did win 12 games in 2019. The bullpen does have some good performers and should be able to keep the Orioles in a lot of games assuming the starters can hang tough until the relievers take over and the offense can muster some runs.
Alternative Fantasy Baseball – Baltimore Orioles OVER 64.5 2021 WINS
I believe the Orioles and their young roster will show improvement in 2021. Unfortunately they are in the extremely formidable AL East Division. So while the improved Orioles might not make much progress in the standings, they have enough in the tank to go OVER 64.5 WINS in 2021.
StatementGames gives Baltimore Orioles fans and Major League Baseball fans a chance to play Fantasy Baseball days before the season starts. We invite all readers to try our MLB OVER / UNDER wins total tournament!
To play this alternative form of Fantasy Baseball – log into www.statementgames.com and join the 2021 MLB OVER / UNDER WINS Total Tournament.
- Review a list of all MLB teams and their OVER / UNDER WIN Total Odds
- Select 10 OVER / UNDER WIN Total Props
- Rank your picks in order of confidence from 10 Through 1
- Play in leagues of 8-12 MLB fans
- At the conclusion of 2021 MLB Season – the individual with the most points from correct picks WINS.
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