Red Hot Baltimore Orioles Slugger Reveals How He Found Success Again

The Baltimore Orioles slugger has found success once again by making a simple adjustment to his mindset.

Sep 10, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins (31) celebrates after hitting a two run home run during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles were urged to give up on a struggling outfielder just a few weeks ago. They decided to stick by him and that investment is starting to pay off.

Cedric Mullins was in the midst of his worst season since his rookie campaign before something started to click a few weeks ago and now he looks like the slugger of old.

Mullins put the team on his back against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night in his first multi-home run game of the season.

Per MLB.com's Jake Rill, the outfielder provided an explanation earlier in the week for his recent success at the plate:

“The biggest part was for me to stop chasing [2021's success]. That season was awesome, but at the same time, I think the reason I’m putting up numbers that are similar to it is because I’m no longer chasing that guy,” said the outfielder. “I’m just being who I am.”

The 2021 season that Mullins was talking about was his breakout campaign. He put up a .291/.360/.518 slashing line with exactly 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.

That year brought high expectations for the Campbell Camels product. He went from project bat in the outfield to the team's best slugger in almost no time.

He was an All-Star, inside the top-10 for MVP voting and a Silver Slugger winner. All three are things that he hasn't been able to do since.

His 2022 and 2023 campaigns were massive steps down as well, but that was only an indicator to where things were headed for him.

By the time that the end of July 2024 rolled around, the 29-year-old was providing just a .213/.258/.374 slashing line through the first 103 games of the season.

Public outcry was beginning to get louder that the Orioles needed to do something about it at the trade deadline by adding another outfield bat.

They technically did add someone that was an outfielder when they added Eloy Jiminez, but he's only appeared as a designated hitter/pinch hitter for Baltimore. He was never going to impact Mullins' at-bats anyway.

The Orioles did not add anyone in centerfield and did not trade Mullins way. They've started to look smart for it.

In his last 38 games, even before his two-run home run game, he had put up a .290/.418/.490 slashing line.

His hot streak could not come at a better time as the team needs to find their groove again as a whole before the fast-approaching postseason.