Adley Rutschman represents hope for Baltimore Orioles fans.
He is everything a franchise can hope for in a franchise player: charismatic, a great teammate, likes to be around fans, and above all things, supremely talented.
Since taking over as the O’s catcher, the team has a positive record.
In fact, he helped transform the whole organizational culture and turned the Orioles into winners after taking over with the team holding a 16-24 record.
He is turning 25 today and already has a 5.3 WAR season.
Happy birthday, Adley 🥳 pic.twitter.com/V4upyuPQJZ
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) February 6, 2023
WAR means Wins Above Replacement and tells us how much better (or worse) a player is relative to the replacement-level player.
He was recently hanging out with Orioles fans, who absolutely adore him and wish him a happy birthday.
More than anything, they wish Rutschman can remain in the organization until he retires.
We haven’t seen a young player be considered a young leader since the Adam Jones and Manny Machado days, and that seems like a long time ago.
Rutschman is certainly capable of big things.
In his first season in The Show, he was among the league’s best framers, he hit .254/.362/.445, he homered 13 times and doubled 35 more.
His ability to communicate, motivate, and guide his pitchers is what makes him truly great, though.
The Orioles changed not just offensively when he arrived: their pitchers started to reach their potential in part thanks to him.
The overall impact of his arrival can be compared with just a handful of players in recent years.
The O’s have a chance to compete and make the playoffs in 2023, but only if Rutschman is healthy.
NEXT: Adley Rutschman Showed Off Yet Another Elite Skill
