The Baltimore Orioles have shocked the entire baseball world, and sports world for that matter, with their recent surge.
With their 10th straight victory on Wednesday night, a 7-1 drubbing of the Chicago Cubs, the Orioles finally got their heads above water and peaked over the .500 mark.
However, there may be a method to their madness right now.
On Twitter, ESPN’s top MLB writer and analyst Jeff Passan had an interesting theory.
Ever since top catching prospect Adley Rutschman was called up to the big leagues and debuted in late May, the Orioles are 29-20, and only a few teams in all of baseball have better records than them since then.
Since Adley Rutschman debuted May 21, the Orioles are 29-20. An identical record to the Mets' over that span and better than the Padres, Brewers, Cardinals, Phillies, Jays, Rays.
Only teams superior to Baltimore since May 21: Braves, Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mariners.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 14, 2022
The Adley Rutschman Effect
There’s clearly something to the Adley Rutschman effect.
It checks out, doesn’t it?
This team has completely turned it around since he was called up to the big leagues and made his debut.
This team is also one that was expected to repeat their performance from a year ago, when they lost over 110 games and fell way short of the postseason.
However, things have been much better for them, and despite still being at the bottom of the AL East, they are only two games out of the third AL Wild Card spot, a spot which their division rival Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners are currently tied for.
The race is heating up, and the calling up of Rutschman may have been just what the Orioles needed to re-establish themselves as a contender and go on this winning streak.
We’ll see if the Rutschman effect continues to hold true for these Orioles and if they can stay hot the rest of the way.
NEXT: The Orioles Keep Setting Century-Best Marks