5 October 2023
During the rebuild, coming up with 10 great moments from an Orioles season would’ve been a herculean task.
This year, keeping it to 10 is the challenge.
In a season with 101 wins, 48 comebacks, 11 extra-inning wins, six walk-offs, five prospect debuts, four All-Stars, two clinch celebrations and one playoff appearance, the 2023 Orioles provided more than their fair share of memorable moments.
Here are the 10 best, in chronological order.
Adley Rutschman’s 5-for-5 opening day at Fenway Park
Entering the season, the Orioles were expected to win about 75-78 games, according to projections systems and sportsbooks. Rutschman’s dominant performance on opening day kicked off the season and was the first piece of evidence that the Orioles were ready to exceed expectations.
The second-year catcher made history in the Orioles’ 10-9 win over the Boston Red Sox on March 30. He went 5-for-5 with a home run to become the first hitter to do so on opening day since 1937. Since 1920, only Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Billy Herman had recorded five hits without making an out while driving in multiple runs in their team’s first game.
Rutschman, who tallied four RBIs in the win, also walked, making him the only Oriole to record five hits or reach base six times on opening day since the team moved to Baltimore in 1954.
It was Rutschman’s first memorable moment this year. It wouldn’t be his last.
Grayson Rodriguez’s MLB debut in Texas
Less than a week passed until the Orioles’ next exciting moment.
Rodriguez was expected to make Baltimore’s opening day roster, but he struggled in spring training and opened the year in Triple-A. But an injury brought him to the major leagues, and he made his debut in Texas against the Rangers. He grew up about three hours away from Arlington, Texas, in Nacogdoches, and scores of his family and friends made the trip to Globe Life Field for his first big league outing. The fireballer overcame a rough first inning to pitch five innings of two-run ball.
His debut wasn’t the first for an Orioles prospect in 2023. Infielder Jordan Westburg made his much-anticipated debut in late June at Camden Yards and earned “Wes-ty” chants from the home crowd. Fellow current or former top 100 prospects Joey Ortiz, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad also made their MLB debuts this season.
The youngsters were key to this team’s success. But so were the veterans.
Ryan O’Hearn and Félix Bautista deliver win over Blue Jays
The Orioles developed a reputation as a scrappy, come-from-behind team early in the season. It was solidified in May against the Blue Jays in Toronto when O’Hearn, a veteran in his age-29 season, hit a game-tying three-run home run with two outs in the eighth.
O’Hearn, a castoff from Kansas City in his first year with Baltimore, established himself that day as a pivotal bat for the Orioles. In the months since, he’s been a middle-of-the-order presence against right-handed starting pitchers, and his .289 batting average leads the team.
Bautista then displayed his extra-inning heroics for the first of four times this season. After pitching the previous day, the closer threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. Manager Brandon Hyde then chose to play small ball in the top of the 10th, playing for just one run, because he had Bautista to pitch another inning. The 6-foot-8 flamethrower stranded the inherited runner and struck out the side of a two-inning win — one of four this year.
The sweep of the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre was the Orioles’ first since 2005. They would take another step in June when their youngest player became their best.
Gunnar Henderson’s scorching-hot summer
In his first 100 at-bats, Henderson was hitting just .170. He started to heat up in late May, broke out in June and spent the rest of his summer as one of the best players in the majors.
He won the American League Rookie of the Month Award after hitting .320 with a .994 OPS in June. Early in the month, he hit late game-winning homers against the Milwaukee Brewers and San Francisco Giants. Then, on June 11, he clobbered his first long ball onto Eutaw Street for a projected distance of 462 feet, the farthest ball ever hit onto Eutaw Street, according to Statcast tracking data.
It didn’t stop in June, though. On July 6, he opened the Orioles’ game at Yankee Stadium 4-for-4 with two home runs to propel Baltimore to a 14-1 win — one of the club’s most impressive of the season. He became the second player since 1984 to record a hit in each of his team’s first four frames with two homers.
That was the first four-hit game of his career, but it wasn’t his last. On Aug. 18 in Oakland, Henderson was a single away from recording the eighth cycle in Orioles history when he stepped to the plate in the eighth against the Athletics. He roped a line drive down the right field line, and instead of staying at first, he sprinted to second for his fourth extra-base hit of the day — a decision that sparked a friendly debate among his teammates and Baltimore fans.
Later that month, in the game Bautista injured his elbow, Henderson hit a two-run homer — his third game-winning blast of the season — to lead the Orioles past the Colorado Rockies. He ended his first full big league regular season as the Most Valuable Oriole, and next month, he will likely be named the AL Rookie of the Year.
Adley Rutschman’s switch-hitting show at Home Run Derby
In the MLB ballpark closest to his hometown of Sherwood, Oregon, Rutschman performed on the big stage in July.
The catcher was one of four Orioles to be named All-Stars, including Bautista, reliever Yennier Cano and outfielder Austin Hays, for the Midsummer Classic at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. The night before, Rutschman put on a switch-hitting show in the Home Run Derby, although he lost in the first round.
He hit 21 homers left-handed before switching to the right side and blasting six long balls, leaving the baseball world in awe of the young star.
Orioles win series at Tampa Bay to claim top spot in AL East
Baltimore’s trip to St. Petersburg, Florida, was as pivotal as a July series can be.
The Orioles arrived at Tropicana Field tied atop the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays after entering the month down 6 1/2 games. They won in extra innings in the first game — one of Bautista’s four two-inning wins — to slide into sole possession of first place in the AL East for the first time after the All-Star break since August 2016.
After a loss in the second game, the Orioles reclaimed the top spot thanks to O’Hearn’s game-winning hit in the ninth. Baltimore then took a two-game lead with a 5-3 win, claiming a series win at Tropicana Field for the first time since 2017.
The Orioles didn’t fall back into second place the rest of the season.
Anthony Santander’s walk-off homer vs. Yankees
A week later, the Orioles welcomed the Yankees to Camden Yards for the clubs’ last series of the season. It was one of the best-attended series at Oriole Park in years, and there was plenty of excitement with the final game on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”
Anthony Santander capped the first game in style. A pitchers’ duel led to the Orioles switch-hitter stepping to the plate in a scoreless tie in the ninth. He ended it with a 425-foot walk-off home run to bring the 34,558 fans to their feet.
The switch-hitter admired his blast, flipped his bat and celebrated at home plate with his teammates.
Cedric Mullins does it all in Seattle
No player on the Orioles has delivered in high-leverage moments more than Mullins, whose 1.025 OPS with runners in scoring position leads the team. No game of his displayed his game-changing skill set more than Baltimore’s win in Seattle over the Mariners in mid-August.
In the bottom of the ninth, Mullins robbed Ty France’s big fly, reaching over the center field fence at T-Mobile Park to send the game to extras. Two pitches later, he crushed a go-ahead, two-run home run to propel the Orioles to another improbable win.
That wasn’t Mullins’ first time coming through in the clutch, and it wouldn’t be his last.
Orioles clinch first playoff berth since 2016
No matter how the Orioles clinched a playoff berth would’ve been exhilarating. But the club’s walk-off win over the Rays on Sept. 17 was emblematic of who the Orioles are as a team.
They rallied from behind to send the game to extras, relying on a mix of veteran leaders, castoffs from other organizations and young stars.
Rutschman and DL Hall, the club’s top pitching prospect, delivered in big moments. Adam Frazier, whose success in the clutch has defined his season, sent the game to extras with an RBI double. In the 11th, O’Hearn laid down a rare sacrifice bunt to set up Mullins, who kicked off the celebration with a walk-off sacrifice fly.
The emotions of the win extended to the Orioles’ clubhouse, where players chugged beer out of their signature homer hose, doused executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and Chairman and CEO John Angelos in champagne, and collected corks and bottles as mementos.
Another celebration was just 11 days away.
Orioles secure AL East crown for first time since 2014
In 2021, when the Orioles lost 110 games, what they achieved Sept. 28 was unimaginable.
With a 2-0 win over the Red Sox, Baltimore won the AL East for just the third time in the past 40 seasons. The victory was the 100th of the season, putting a stamp on the greatest turnaround in MLB history.
Dean Kremer, whose arrival in Baltimore in July 2018 as part of the Manny Machado trade signaled the beginning of the rebuild, pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings. Tyler Wells, the team’s best starter in the first half of the season, slammed the door for his first save since 2021, serving as a full-circle moment after the right-hander remained resilient after missing the playoff clincher.
The clubhouse celebration wasn’t as wild as the first, but it was just as sweet. Hyde reminded the team of the low expectations the projections had for them entering the year, declaring the division title as just another “step.”
The AL East crown was the last memorable moment of the regular season. But the playoffs could very well offer more.
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