Baltimore Orioles Have Posted Another Impressive Feat During Exciting Era

During this exciting era of Baltimore Orioles baseball, they continue to get better and better by doing this impressive feat.
Jul 20, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) celebrates with designated hitter Anthony Santander (25) in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers in the third inning at Globe Life Field
Jul 20, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) celebrates with designated hitter Anthony Santander (25) in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Texas Rangers in the third inning at Globe Life Field / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Baltimore Orioles have entered a time during their rebuild where they are now true World Series contenders for the foreseeable future.

They have superstars in Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, young players starting to blossom like Jordan Westburg, Grayson Rodriguez and Colton Cowser, plus they have veterans who are major contributors, and the best farm system in baseball.

If everything continues to progress, this group will be at the top of this game for a long time.

That's exactly what general manager Mike Elias set out to do when he took over this role in November 2018. Knowing this would be a complete teardown, the franchise allowed him to operate in that manner, getting high draft picks and selling off their assets to rebuild their pipeline.

So far, it has worked.

Enter Sunday's contest, the Orioles are 60-38, leading the AL East by two games. They have a real chance at winning back-to-back division crowns for the first time since 1973 and 1974.

Baltimore's 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Saturday got them to the 60-win mark.

It was also the earliest they have ever won this many games under Elias' leadership.

The Orioles continue to get better during this time period, something that is a scary thought for the rest of Major League Baseball considering they weren't expected to be true contenders for another few years.

Even though Rutschman has been a star for a couple seasons and Henderson burst onto the scene with his AL Rookie of the Year-winning performance in 2023, they were still seen as a group who couldn't compete with some of the best teams around the league.

That was clearly wrong.

Baltimore is ahead of schedule with a real opportunity to make a deep playoff run, and if they are able to keep Corbin Burnes on this roster, they will have an ace the front office can build around.

How dominant this team truly becomes will be seen, but this exciting time in franchise history continues to get better.


Published
Brad Wakai

BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he did work at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad currently covers the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He is also the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continues to cover Penn State athletics. Brad is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, discussing topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai