Month: August 2023

Eddie Murray stole home – 8/15/79

The 1979 season was my favorite Baltimore Orioles season since I moved here in 1976. I saw 45 games including two ALCS games and four World Series games.

I remember this game well. The White Sox had a rookie pitcher working in the 12th inning. The Orioles had a runner on first base as well as Murray on third. The runner on first distracted the pitcher and Murray stole home. It was great.

The 5/30/25 game was similar in many ways:

The Orioles beat the White Sox 2-1

The winning run was scored on a steal of home by the first baseman

Orioles edge White Sox behind Zach Eflin’s pitching, Ryan Mountcastle’s steal of home

— Baltimore Banner Sports (@sports.thebaltimorebanner.com) 2025-05-30T23:29:09.054Z

Eddie Gaedel’s one at bat 8/19/51

The 2023 Orioles and run differential

Run differential is the number of runs a baseball team has scored minus the amount given up. I think it’s a great indicator of how good a team is, especially now since we’re over 2/3 through the season

The Orioles have had a great season but their run differential would, using the pythagorean winning percentage formula, lead to a 64-52 record, instead of their actual record of 71-46. See below for more on the pythagorean winning percentage.

Their run differntial is inflated by three huge wins: 15-2, 14-1, and 13-3. To be fair, they have had a few big losses, too.

They have the best record in the American League but are fourth in run differential, only one ahead of Seattle who they are playing this weekend. They are way behind the leaders. Texas’s is 176 and Tampa Bay’s is 145. Baltimore’s is only 62. They will almost certainly make the playoffs and have a good shot of winning the division. I’m just skeptical about how far they can go in the playoffs. I am not complaining. This has been a wonderful season to watch.

The Orioles had more wins than expected in 2022 also. They went 83-79 but were expected to go 79-83 based on run differential. They had a winning record even though they were outscored.

It’s hard to know how they are doing this but they have won a lot of close games due to their closer and top set up pitcher.

From Baseball Reference:

What is pythagorean winning percentage?

Pythagorean winning percentage is an estimate of a team’s winning percentage given their runs scored and runs allowed. Developed by Bill James, it can tell you when teams were a bit lucky or unlucky. It is calculated by

(Runs Scored)^1.83

(Runs Scored)^1.83 + (Runs Allowed)^1.83
The traditional formula uses an exponent of two, but this has proven to be a little more accurate.

My take on the John Angelos fiasco

The Orioles are having a great season on the field but a terrible one off the field thanks to John Angelos who now runs the team.

They haven’t signed an extension to the lease which runs out at the end of this year. Both the Orioles and Ravens get $600 million from the state for stadium upgrades if they sign the extension which the Ravens have done.

Baltimore fans worry about moving the team because we are scarred by the move of the Colts almost 40 years ago. It’s not likely but here’s a scenario I haven’t seen discussed: How about the Orioles moving to Nashville and Baltimore getting an expansion team? Something similar happened in 1961 when the Senators moved to Minnesota and Washington got a new team (that is now the Rangers). I don’t think MLB would leave Baltimore without a team but this is a small market.

Angelos’s ideas are not realistic and asking for another $300 million is outrageous. There is not enough room downtown for what he wants to do. Why make unreasonable demands? Is this an excuse to move the team?

Camden Yards looks great but I think the next Baltimore stadium will be in the suburbs because of the perceived safety issues. I also think it will have a dome because of global warming.

Then there’s the apparent suspension of broadcaster Kevin Brown and Brown’s tweets, which as others have noted, read like a hostage video. Angelos was wrong on this, too. Brown’s contract is up and I wouldn’t be shocked if he left after this year. We have been through this before too when Angelos’s father forced Jon Miller out of town.