It took postseason baseball to do something that has not been done in the regular season since May of 2022. After not being swept all season long, spanning 91 series from last season, the Baltimore Orioles were swept by the Texas Rangers in the best of five ALDS.
Sure, we can discuss the fact that the starting pitching held an ERA north of 14 or that capitalizing in scoring moments never happened, but it would just dampen an otherwise magical season.
The Baltimore Orioles entered the 2023 season with most writers and pundits predicting a last place finish, barely reaching 70 wins and not being able to compete in the mighty AL East.
Instead, the Orioles won 101 games, compiled a winning record against every AL East team, did not have a losing record against any AL opponents and won the AL East in route to the best team in the American League, second best in MLB.
In the end, the Birds became a team of excitement that would lose four games in a row only two times all season. Gunnar Henderson cemented himself as a superstar in the making while all but officially winning AL Rookie of the Year honors.
Adley Rutschman reminded baseball that he is one of the best young catchers in the game while being a leader for a team that made him the foundation of a rebuild. The positives outweigh any negatives by far with this team.
Unfortunately, the ALDS did not go as many fans had hoped for. But with it, we must understand that the surface of how great this team will be is just being scratched. The Orioles hit a buzz saw in the Rangers, who happened to have gotten hot at the right time.
Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer all experienced pitching on the grandest stage. Though hindsight is 20/20, nearly everyone agreed with how the starters should have been rolled out in this series, that is, until after they had rough outings.
The pressure of the playoffs was big, but for a player like Henderson, who hit .500 with a 1.288 OPS, he showed he is up for the challenge.
Anthony Santander (.273 avg, .930 OPS), Austin Hays (.273 avg., .749 OPS) and Jorge Mateo (.800 avg., 2.000 OPS) made the best of the moment and produced when the offense struggled.
Tyler Wells, D.L. Hall, Cionel Pérez and Kyle Gibson all pitched well for the series. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop a red hot Texas team that swept the Rays before ending the Orioles’ season.
We could rehash each game, but it would remind everyone why we came up short. Instead, we need to remember that this is just the first full season out of a rebuild that promised growth and a young nucleus to stay competitive and in contention on a regular basis.
It all was summed up in the end when a picture showed the young Birds standing at the dugout railing. They weren’t feeling sorry for themselves or dejected, maybe disappointed the season is over, but they were watching as the Rangers celebrated their series victory.
The young squad was watching, soaking it in. They knew they fell short of what they wanted, but they also knew that they wanted to be on the other side of the guardrail, celebrating. They won’t forget.
The Orioles’ 2023 season has come to an end. With it, there was magic, memories and a lot of fun to enjoy en route to an AL East Title, 101 victories and the top seed in the AL. Let’s not forget how special of a season this was and how not even two years ago we lost 110 games.
Congratulations to the 2023 Baltimore Orioles. The season was successful in the team growing, unifying and achieving more than most ever thought they would.
Soak it all in, Birdland. This is just the beginning of what is to come.
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