With homers, steals and celebrations, Orioles’ young talent delivering an exciting brand of baseball
The Orioles debuted a new celebration prop Monday night, and within hours, Ben Roberts and his 12- year-old son, Owen, had plans to bring their own version to Oriole Park on Tuesday night. Roberts, an Orioles fan from Severna Park, ordered a hose on Amazon late on Monday and swung by a dollar store Tuesday to purchase a funnel and duct tape. The Orioles put together an...
The Orioles debuted a new celebration prop Monday night, and within hours, Ben Roberts and his 12-year-old son, Owen, had plans to bring their own version to Oriole Park on Tuesday night.
Roberts, an Orioles fan from Severna Park, ordered a hose on Amazon late on Monday and swung by a dollar store Tuesday to purchase a funnel and duct tape. The result: A replica of the orange-and-black “homer hose,” which Orioles players now drink water out of to celebrate home runs.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Owen, who asked Austin Hays to autograph the hose, said of coming to games. “I told [my dad] tonight — I was like, ‘We need to keep on coming.’”
The Orioles (6-5) put together an enthralling, come-from-behind victory Tuesday night against the Oakland Athletics (2-9) for their latest dramatic win.
It’s hard to define “fun,” but if home runs and steals are the barometer, there aren’t many MLB teams more fun than the Orioles right now. Baltimore has combined for 35 homers and steals through 11 games this season, which trails only the still-undefeated Tampa Bay Rays.
Throw in dugout celebrations, and the Orioles could be in a league of their own.
After a single, Orioles players mime the motion of turning on a faucet. After a double, they do a “sprinkler” dance as players in the dugout squirt water out of their mouths. And, now, after a home run, they drink water out of the “homer hose.”
The newest addition has come with criticism, however. Since it debuted Monday evening, the parents of some young Orioles fans have expressed disapproval on social media, noting that the hose celebration mimics binge-drinking behavior. Players say the celebration is meant to be reminiscent of drinking from a hose when playing out in the street as kids — but, for many, it looks like chugging alcohol. Some parents have shared that they hope the celebration does not continue.
Roberts, the father of Owen, said he sees nothing wrong with the team “having fun.”
“It’s water,” he said. “We all understand what it’s implying, whatever. It’s fine. I saw people saying, ‘Oh, think about the kids.’ It is what it is. When they go to college, they’ll figure it out anyways.”
Regardless of views on the celebration, the team’s play on the field has certainly been captivating. With speedsters like Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins, the Orioles are tied for second in MLB in steals (17) and, with a few young power hitters, are tied for third in home runs (18). Ryan Mountcastle — whose nine RBIs Tuesday tied a Baltimore record — is tied for the most home runs in the big leagues.
As fans streamed out of the ballpark after the game, one pointed at a television showing Mountcastle being interviewed. “There’s our guy!” he called out.
The slugging first baseman was Tuesday’s singular hero, but so far this season, it’s been the bats, generally, that have carried the team. Austin Hays, another Oriole who is hitting the ball well, praised the team’s balanced offense.
“We can draw walks when we’re not getting hits, we have the ability to hit homers on a pretty consistent basis and we’ve got a lot of speed in our lineup and guys can get into scoring position,” he said. “It’s just a really prolific offense that can score a lot of runs quick.”
The Orioles are among the majors’ best so far in scoring and among the worst in preventing runs. That’s made for some frustrating losses, but also some high-powered wins.
“We’ve played in a lot of weird games, high-scoring games. I think the credit goes to our offense, obviously,” manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday night. “I want to believe that we’re going to improve on the mound, I want to believe that we’re going to improve in the bullpen. I think we played good defense tonight. That’s going to continue to improve.”
The offense has been exciting, but so, too, has been the prospect of young talent. On Tuesday night, three players who fans have followed for years while they were in the minor leagues — Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez — were all in the starting lineup in Baltimore for the first time.
“The page is definitely turning,” said Orioles fan Josh Nagel, who, along with his 9-year-old daughter sported a Rodriguez T-shirt jersey from the pitcher’s time with the High-A affiliate Aberdeen IronBirds.
Fans in attendance Tuesday received a Rodriguez-themed T-shirt as he made his first Camden Yards start; the shirt featured a picture of a gas can and the words “Gas ’em up!” — a nod to the young pitcher’s flamethrowing ability.
But for all the attention on the pitching phenom, it was, once again, the offense that carried the Orioles. They trailed 7-3 after a disastrous fifth inning in which Rodriguez and reliever Austin Voth allowed five runs, but bounced back with crooked numbers in the fifth and seventh innings.
“The offense had my back,” Rodriguez said. “That’s something that I guess this team is about to be known for.”
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