Very few people had the Baltimore Orioles playing above .500 ball as of August 10, let along fighting for a spot in the postseason.
Baseball is full of surprises, though: that’s what makes it such a beautiful game.
Before Wednesday’s games, Baltimore is 58-52, in fourth place of the AL East division.
They are just half-a-game behind the Tampa Bay Rays and two games behind the second-placed Toronto Blue Jays in the East.
If they played in a different division, however, they likely would be in possession of a playoff spot and even a division lead.
For example, if the Orioles were in the AL Central, they would be leading the division with their current record, according to @YankeeWRLD on Twitter.
The Baltimore Orioles would be in 1st place in the AL Central pic.twitter.com/VlVEf6LdcP
— AT (@YankeeWRLD) August 10, 2022
Yes, not only the Orioles have been better than the Boston Red Sox, but they also have a better record than the Minnesota Twins, the leaders of the AL Central.
A Diverse Team
There are no established stars in Baltimore: they do have lots of great prospects turned into contributors from the go, like Adley Rutschman, and rock-solid role players in Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Jorge Mateo, Jordan Lyles, Tyler Wells, Spenser Watkins, Anthony Santander, Ramon Urias, and others.
And, of course, they have a revamped bullpen led by the excellent Felix Bautista, who ascended to the closer role after the Jorge Lopez trade.
The best part of all this is that the Orioles have some impact players in the upper minors that they could opt to call up if they want to go all-in on the 2022 campaign.
Gunnar Henderson, DL Hall, and Grayson Rodriguez belong to this group.
After years of mediocrity, the Orioles’ contention window is opening.
That’s great news for baseball.
NEXT: Odds Provide Hope For The Orioles To Go Far