Saturday’s Bird Droppings: Where it’s Cal Ripken Jr.’s birthday!

Good morning, Birdland!

We have to talk about the Players Weekend jerseys. On Friday night, every MLB matchup featured very similar looking uniforms. One team wore all white, while the other club donned all black. The Orioles were assigned the black-out getup for their series against the Rays.

I can’t say that I am personally a big fan of either outfit, but the black ones are far superior, right? The whites are just TOO white. It doesn’t work as a baseball uniform. The sport encourages players to get dirty while sliding multiple times per game. Seems like we should be moving away from white. The clubhouse attendants have a hard enough job as it is. There is only so much that bleach can get out.

This Players Weekend promotion is still a lot of fun, though. Some of the nicknames are dumb, but it’s cool to see them on the jerseys. All of the custom cleats and colorful bats are pretty sweet too. But they just dropped the ball on the uniforms this season. The 2018 versions were way more interesting and fitting for the occasion.

Links

Orioles GM Elias starts cleaning house, fires 11 - ESPN
This is a pretty major move, but perhaps not entirely surprising. It feels like the sort of thing that comes along with a relatively new front office that did not have a ton of time in the previous offseason to add their touch to their new franchise. Will these scouts be replaced? Or are the Orioles going to simply lean more of digital analysis? Maybe a little bit of both.

Nationals Secure Key Ruling In MASN Dispute - MLB Trade Rumors
This entire case is mind-boggling and far too complicated for my small brain to understand. But this is not a positive development for the Orioles. However, it is not over just yet. The O’s legal team may have a trick or two up their sleeve.

Leftovers for breakfast - School of Roch
Roch provides a little information on some of the more notable players that were scouted by some of the now-departed O’s scouts.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

There is only one birthday among former Orioles today, but it’s for a fairly big name. You may have heard of him. He’s in the Hall of Fame. He was the 1982 American League Rookie of the Year. He won two MVP awards, eight Silver Sluggers, two Gold Gloves and 19 All-Star selections. Any guesses?

OK, if you don’t know by now I’m not sure how to help you. Cal Ripken Jr. turns 59 today. The Maryland native spent 21 season with his hometown Orioles and is perhaps best known as the Iron Man for playing in more consecutive games than anyone else in MLB history. Happy birthday, Cal!

1970 - Orioles pitcher Dave McNally wins his 20th game of the season and allows just one run despite giving up 10 hits. It marks the third straight season in which McNally has reached this milestone win total.

1983 - Tippy Martinez, a left-handed relief pitcher for the O’s, picks off three Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th inning.

2002 - The Orioles begin a 4-31 slump to end the season by losing both games in a double-header to Toronto. However, Mike Bordick sets some happy history by fielding four chances without an error, marking 428 straight errorless chances. It is a new major league record.

2012 - The Orioles become the first team to be involved in back-to-back three-home-run games. Adrian Beltre hit three homers against them on August 22nd while Chris Davis hit a trio of bombs against the Blue Jays on the 24th.