Being a fan in Birdland has been one that has been on a whirlwind of adventure and emotion.
Excitement and joy have been replaced with frustration and questions, yet there still is hope filling the air.
Looking back on the 2024 season, we can be thankful for quite a few things. So, let’s scoop the stuffing out of the Bird, slice a piece of pumpkin pie and take a look at what Birdland has to be thankful for.
Changing of the Guard
The 2023 Baltimore Orioles exceeded expectations not only in the league but also by an ownership group that seemed disinterested in bringing a winner to Charm City.
Enter David Rubenstein and his partners, including Orioles legend and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., and suddenly, 40% of the Orioles were now in his hands.
As part of the agreement, Rubenstein would be the front man in operations, and upon the death of Peter Angelos, Mr. Rubenstein and his partners would have the first opportunity to purchase the remaining portion of the Orioles.
After the initial sale in January of 2024, the remaining part of the sale was expedited after the passing of Peter Angelos on March 23, 2024.
On August 1, 2024, it was made official. Rubenstein and Co. became the full ownership group of the Baltimore Orioles for $1.725 billion, the third highest total for a Major League Baseball team.
Talent Overload
When GM Mike Elias took over in the fall of 2019, he promised a full tear down and rebuild based on talent, skill and character.
The Orioles would endure losing 108+ games in three of the next four seasons (2020 was shortened due to COVID) before 2022 started to show that things were moving in the right direction.
Young stars such as Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez would headline the crop of talent that kept Baltimore at the top of minor league baseball rankings for years.
The Orioles would have Rutschman, Henderson and Jackson Holliday become the top prospects in all of baseball in consecutive years, the first such team to do that, while other Baby Birds like Samuel Basallo, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo would turn heads with their success.
Last year, the Orioles saw top prospects Joey Ortiz, D.L Hall, Connor Norby, Matthew Etzel, Seth Johnson and Moisés Chace traded away to bolster the big league club as it made back-to-back playoffs for the first time since the 1982-’83 seasons.
Even with top talent in the bigs, there is still plenty of talent in the minors led by the aforementioned Basallo, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Vance Honeycutt, to name a few.
With the overflow of talent, Elias can get creative in designing trades and packages to obtain higher-end talent as well.
Owners Who Want to Win
This could be the season that makes or breaks Mike Elias, as well as manager Brandon Hyde.
The reason this might be true is that the new ownership group has announced that they want to win and are willing to do what it takes to win. In fact, Rubenstein has said he will provide all the resources needed to bring a World Series back to Baltimore.
“I’m 75,” Rubenstein said in an interview a few months back. “It’s unlikely I’ll be doing this for 20 more years, so I’ve got to speed up the effort to get a World Series a lot sooner than maybe some younger owners would.”
If the Birds were to bring home a World Series Championship, it would be the first one since 1983. This is the most talent the organization has compiled in a long time, and that alone has provided hope for a fanbase anxious to win.
Excitement and Heartbreak
Looking at this section and seeing the word heartbreak as a reason to be thankful will have some scratching their heads. However, keep reading, and you’ll see what is meant by that.
The Orioles endured four long seasons where sitting on the bottom was the norm. Of course, we were told that it would not be easy and that some tough times were expected.
In 2022, there was some breakthrough, as the Birds were in playoff contention until the final week of the season. In 2023, it culminated in an AL East Title, 101 wins and the best record in the American League.
The Orioles made the postseason again in 2024, but like the previous year, were swept out of October and extended their postseason losing streak to nine straight games.
The excitement of a playoff race and being in the postseason is one hell of a roller coaster ride. Every hit, run and play is magnified as we cheer our team to victory and pick them up when they suffer defeat.
The heartbreak side of it comes from not advancing in the postseason or even winning a game in October. But it’s the heartbreak we experience that reminds us how far we have come.
Prior to 2022, the Orioles were eliminated from postseason contention before August even concluded. Even the years from 2012 to 2016 didn’t provide the same feeling Birdland is experiencing today.
The players are talented, have a brotherhood from coming through the ranks together and the fans are emotionally involved more so than ever. Without the failures endured in the rebuilding process, the excitement and heartbreak would not feel as strong and deep as they do.
There is a connection from top to bottom that involves and includes the fans, creating one big Birdland family. So, as we gather around the table this holiday season, we are reminded of what we should be thankful for and what we appreciate in our lives.
As a member of the Birdland family, remember all of these points presented. After all, the highs and lows are part of the passion we all feel for our Charm City heroes.
Enjoy one bird while cherishing another. Happy Thanksgiving, Birdland!
What are you most thankful for this holiday season? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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