My Favorite Stats About The 2023 Orioles
Because I can't get enough of the 2023 AL East Champs!
"Nobody gave us a chance at the start of this year. Nobody," Brandon Hyde told the Orioles' clubhouse with a Budweiser in his left hand and a bottle of champagne raised in his right. "That’s 100 wins right there. That’s 100 wins, our first step. We just won the AL East."
And then the champagne was sprayed, the cigars were lit, the beers were chugged, and a couple of guys even sang Blink 182 songs with Kevin Brown. I've watched every second of celebration videos I could find online. I can't get enough.
The whole "nobody believed in us" schtick is a common motivator for winning teams. A lot of times, it's not entirely true, but it seems to motivate teams regardless, so we tend to see it time and time again. In the Orioles' case, it's actually pretty factual. Look at these preseason predictions (courtesy of u/BLeibo on Reddit).
In addition to clubhouse celebration videos, I’ve also scoured the internet for stats about this crazy 2023 Baltimore Orioles team. The AL East champs! I’m not ready to stop celebrating just yet.
The aforementioned skipper for the O’s, Brandon Hyde, finds himself in pretty good company — that of Hall of Famer Earl Weaver.
If history is any indicator, Hyde referencing the AL East title as a “first step” will hopefully prove to be true.
And I couldn’t be more thrilled for Hyde. There aren’t many managers who get to enjoy 100 wins with the same club that they endured 100 losses with, but I think that’s a testament to the speed with which this rebuild took place.
That rebuild hasn’t been easy. We’ve watched some pretty terrible baseball to get to this point. It sure feels worth it now. How fitting was it to see Dean Kremer rack up 8 K’s to secure the AL East crown?
How can you not be romantic about baseball?
Now that the rebuild is officially behind us, it’s easier to put in perspective that the Orioles have actually had a good amount of success over the last decade.
Only the Red Sox have more division titles than the Orioles do over the last ten years. Baltimore, Tampa, and New York are all tied with two AL East titles. Toronto has one.
No matter what happens in the last three games of the regular season, the Orioles will finish the year having not been swept by any of their opponents, although they dropped the two games I saw when I was in Milwaukee.
This crazy streak has been one of my favorite fun facts about this club.
What a season it’s been. I’ve loved celebrating and seeing the diehard fans get emotional watching this club claim the top seed in the American League. It’s just the beginning.
Bring on October!