The Baltimore Orioles haven’t precisely been attracting large crowds in the last few years.
The team, to be fair, hasn’t been good in years, and was actually very bad in 2021.
There just weren’t many reasons for fans to go to the game.
In fact, Baltimore ranked 26th out of 30 MLB teams in average attendance to home games last year, with 10,169 people.
It’s a sad stat for such a storied franchise.
On Monday, however, the place was rocking.
Maybe it’s because it was the home opener in Oriole Park at Camden Yards, or maybe fans gathered to watch Cedric Mullins get his well-deserved Silver Slugger award.
But even though official attendance numbers are not yet available at the time of writing this piece, it was evident that the place was loud.
“Cedric Mullins ropes a 2-run single into centerfield and the Orioles take a 2-0 lead over the Brewers!,” Talkin’ Baseball tweeted, along with a clip of the moment in which the Orioles’ biggest star drove in the first two runs of the game against Adrian Houser of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cedric Mullins ropes a 2-run single into centerfield and the Orioles take a 2-0 lead over the Brewers! pic.twitter.com/RuZHG4xUCv
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 11, 2022
When Will The O’s Be Competitive?
The Orioles want to gift their fans a home win in the first game there in 2022.
They realize they may not be able to contend this year, with the other teams in the AL East all vying for postseason spots, but the future, for the first time in God knows when, may be bright in Baltimore.
Adley Rutschman is the catcher of the future and will see time in the majors this season, and Grayson Rodriguez and DL Hall are impressive pitching prospects.
The O’s offense is actually not bad, with Mullins, Anthony Santander, Ramon Urias, Trey Mancini, and Ryan Mountcastle, among others.
For Baltimore, the biggest challenge will be retaining their homegrown talent and develop more impact players.
Keeping Mullins is a must if they want to win soon.
If they do those things, they may be competitive sooner than we all realize.
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