The best and worst Orioles moments in 2023
BALTIMORE — For most of this century, a list of the best and worst Orioles moments of the year would have many more of the latter than the former.
Not this year.
2023 was one of the best Orioles seasons over the past four decades with 101 wins and a rare playoff appearance. It wasn't without its lows, though, from the club's lease saga to being swept out of the playoffs.
As the new year approaches, here are the best and worst Orioles moments from 2023, ordered chronologically.
Worst: John Angelos' MLK Day news conference
The year didn't start too hot.
CEO and Chairman John Angelos used his news conference announcing a $5 million donation to a local nonprofit as an opportunity to accost a reporter for asking about his family's future owning the Orioles amid a legal feud. Angelos also said he would invite reporters back to Camden Yards the "next week" to disclose the "financials of the Orioles."
Such a meeting never took place. Maybe in 2024.
Best: Adley Rutschman's 5-for-5 opening day
The Orioles' biggest star kicked off the season with a bang.
Rutschman made history in Baltimore's 10-9 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, going 5-for-5 with a home run to become the first hitter to do so on opening day since 1937.
It wouldn't be the last time he wowed at the plate.
Worst: Grayson Rodriguez optioned to Triple-A
The first two months of Rodriguez's MLB career didn't go as planned. He didn't make the opening day roster after a poor spring training and then posted a 7.35 ERA in his first 10 big league starts.
On May 26, Rodriguez was crushed for nine runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Texas Rangers. He was optioned to Triple-A the following day, raising questions about whether the fireballer could realize his potential in the show.
This moment was only a bad one for six weeks, though. He returned in mid-July and was one of the American League's best pitchers down the stretch.
Best: Gunnar Henderson's Eutaw Street home run
Rodriguez wasn't the only youngster to struggle in the spring.
Henderson hit .170 in his first 100 at-bats, but he started coming out of his slump in late May. He then exploded in June, winning the AL Rookie of the Month Award after hitting .320 with a .994 OPS. His biggest hit of the month — and his farthest — came on June 11 when he demolished his first long ball onto Eutaw Street for a projected distance of 462 feet. According to Statcast tracking data, it's the farthest ball ever hit onto Eutaw Street.
The mammoth blast was just one of many miraculous moments from Henderson's rookie season, including his historic start to a July game in New York, a near-cycle in Oakland in August and several go-ahead homers. The collection of standout performances wouldn't go unrecognized.
Best: Adley Rutschman's Home Run Derby display
Rutschman was already a national name before the All-Star break. He solidified that standing at the Home Run Derby.
Despite losing in the first round, Rutschman put on a switch-hitting show that captivated the baseball world, smashing 21 homers left-handed before switching to the right side and hitting six more.
Best: Anthony Santander walks it off vs. Yankees
In late July, the Orioles visited Tropicana Field for a four-game series between the AL East's top two teams. Baltimore won three of four and sat alone atop the division after the All-Star break for the first time since August 2016.
A week later, the first-place Orioles hosted the Yankees for one of the best-attended series at Oriole Park in years, capped with a nationally televised game on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball."
It was the first game, though, that proved to be one of the most exhilarating wins of the season, as Santander's 425-foot solo homer in the ninth walked off a 1-0 Orioles triumph.
Worst: Orioles trade for Jack Flaherty
The Orioles needed a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, and they got one with big-game experience and an intriguing repertoire.
Baltimore didn't need to give up a top 10 prospect to acquire Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals, and not every buy-side trade is going to be a success. But the right-hander struggled so much with the Orioles that he was moved to the bullpen in September.
Worst: Angelos bemoans team's financial situation to New York Times
During perhaps the Orioles' best season in four decades, Angelos threw cold water on it by detailing the struggles of owning a small-market team in an interview with the New York Times in mid-August.
Angelos was optimistic about the club's future, but he said giving out nine-figure contracts to free agents or in extensions to the team's top young players would put the franchise "so financially underwater that you'd have to raise the [fans'] prices massively."
Worst: Félix Bautista injures elbow
The Orioles' win over the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 25 was one of the best of the season, featuring a late homer by Henderson for another comeback triumph. But Bautista tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow with a 102.3 mph fastball with two strikes and two outs put a damper on the win.
Bautista missed the rest of the season and will be out for all of 2024.
Best: Orioles clinch playoff berth, division title
The first clinch — to guarantee a playoff spot — was won in extras, relying on a mix of veterans and young stars. The celebration that followed was as wild as the win, with champagne flowing and music blaring in the clubhouse.
Eleven days later, Tyler Wells' season came full circle by saving the franchise's biggest win in nearly 10 years. The clubhouse celebration was more laid back, but the satisfaction was all the same.
Worst: Midgame lease announcement a false start
In the middle of the second clinch game, Gov. Wes Moore and Angelos were shown on the video board celebrating a "deal" that would keep the Orioles at Camden Yards for 30 more years.
The announcement of what was believed to be a new lease keeping the team in Baltimore was a cherry on top of an otherwise perfect day. But it was revealed the following day that the "deal" was in fact a non-binding memorandum of understanding and that the lease saga was far from over.
Best: Orioles host first playoff game in Baltimore since 2014
Game 1 of the AL Division Series against Texas ended with a sour taste, as the soon-to-be World Series champion Rangers edged Baltimore, 3-2.
But the lead-up to the game — and just the fact it was happening at all — was one of the highlights of the 2023 season. Camden Yards was packed with fans wearing orange swag, shaking the stadium during big moments throughout the afternoon.
Worst: Rangers clobber Orioles in Game 2
The loss in Game 1 was tough. Game 2 was even worse.
The Rangers bombarded Rodriguez out of the gate, plating five runs in 1 2/3 innings en route to an 11-8 victory. The Orioles made an attempt at a comeback, but the 11 runs, 11 hits and 11 walks their pitchers surrendered were too much to overcome.
Worst: Baltimore's season ends with Game 3 loss to Texas
Game 3 was also a blowout.
After a day off and a change of scenery to Arlington, Texas, Dean Kremer fell victim to the same fierce offense Rodriguez did in Game 2. The Rangers scored six runs in 1 2/3 innings off Kremer to win 7-1 and advance to the AL Championship Series. Texas would go on to win the World Series, while Baltimore was left to contemplate what went wrong.
Best: Henderson, Hyde and others bring home awards
November was a celebratory month for the Orioles.
Despite the sour end to the season, the club was recognized for being one of the best in the sport. Henderson was named AL Rookie of the Year, Hyde won the AL Manager of the Year Award, Bautista was named AL Reliever of the Year and Henderson and Rutschman both won Silver Slugger awards.
Best: The lease saga finally ends
After a year fraught with negotiations and false starts, the Orioles and the state came to an agreement to keep the franchise at Camden Yards for at least 15, but up to 30, years.
On Dec. 18, two state boards approved the lease, ending fans' fears that the Orioles would leave like the Colts did 40 years ago. There are still negotiations to be had over development rights, but at least through 2038, the Orioles aren't going anywhere.
And with the way 2023 went, perhaps the next 15 will be just as good.
