Hello, friends.
We have made it to the month that has real Orioles baseball! It is March and Opening Day is 25 days away. From now through the 23rd, though, the O’s will be playing near-daily exhibition games to keep getting ready for the season. A road trip to the Red Sox spring home awaits with a 1:05 start time this afternoon. This game will be on both TV and radio in the Baltimore area.
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Yesterday’s spring training game ended up in the loss column as the Orioles were on the wrong end of a 7-5 score in their game against the Braves. The ultimate difference-maker late in the game was reliever Chayce McDermott giving up three solo home runs in the span of three pitches. Not great! It is often the case in spring training games that some guy who was never going to matter for that year’s team is the one to struggle late, so it’s not important.
McDermott is someone who the Orioles are hoping will succeed. His struggles matter a bit more than some complete random guy. Although maybe they shouldn’t, which is a whole separate thing. Nothing about the career statistics of McDermott paint him as a guy to be relied upon for anything, and he’s 27 now so it’s not like he’s even really still a prospect or anything. Regardless, he’s not in the projected Opening Day bullpen and any McDermott dislikers can hope that other players will pass him by in short order.
Some good things did happen in yesterday’s loss. Namely, Adley Rutschman hit his first homer of the spring and had a double off of Spencer Strider earlier in the spring. Also, the possible revival of outfield prospect Vance Honeycutt continues. The strikeout-prone slugger hit his third home run since spring games began – this one off of seven-year MLB veteran pitcher Sean Reid-Foley. It’s not like Honeycutt roughed up some High-A jabroni who was there just in case.
Does it mean anything yet? Probably not, but Honeycutt continues to be interesting and he might just be worth keeping more of an eye on when the real games begin than he would have been if he wasn’t having this kind of spring. With multiple Orioles outfielders committed to World Baseball Classic teams, there will be a little time for Honeycutt to keep playing deeper into camp than a player in his situation might have otherwise gotten.
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Orioles stuff you might have missed
Notes from yesterday: Rutschman impresses from both sides of the plate, Honeycutt homers again (School of Roch)
Roch Kubatko delivers some impressions from yesterday’s game, with quotes from manager Craig Albernaz about both Rutschman and Honeycutt.
Adley Rutschman’s pair of extra-base hits build confidence for an Orioles bounce-back (The Baltimore Banner)
I’ve just been burned too many times to really believe, but it would sure be nice, wouldn’t it?
Breaking down the bubble of Orioles roster battles (Orioles.com)
There are a WHOLE lot of names on the pile for the final two bullpen spots. Hopefully that means whoever gets them has really earned them.
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Orioles former pitching prospect aim for post-hype success (The Baltimore Sun)
On reading the headline, I asked myself, do the Orioles even have any former pitching prospects still around who had hype once? Your own hype level may have been and still may be higher than mine for McDermott, Cade Povich, and Brandon Young.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Nothing of particular note is recorded for this day in Orioles history. That probably won’t change here in 2026 unless something very weird (and probably bad) happens.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2003 pitcher Omar Daal, 1973 infielder Larry Brown, 1958 pinch hitter Bert Hamric, and 1954 pitcher Howie Fox.
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Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: composer Frédéric Chopin (1810), trombonist and big band leader Glenn Miller (1904), Mercury Seven astronaut Deke Slayton (1924), The Who vocalist Roger Daltrey (1944), actress Lupita Nyong’o (1983), and singer-songwriter Kesha (1987).
On this day in history…
In 293, joint emperors Diocletian and Maximian of Rome appointed two Caesars to share authority. This period of Roman imperial history, known as the Tetrarchy, lasted for 31 years before a series of civil wars eliminated most people who claimed power.
In 1692, three women were brought before the magistrates in Salem in the colony of Massachusetts, marking the beginning of the now-infamous witch trials.
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In 1867, Nebraska was admitted into the United States as the 37th state of the union.
In 1932, Charles Lindbergh’s 20-month-old son was kidnapped from his home in New Jersey. Though there was a ransom note and payment made, the child was eventually found dead more than two months later.
In 1954, four militants supporting independence for Puerto Rico opened fire in the House of Representatives, injuring five members of Congress.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a little book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ll ask a question in this space each time it’s my turn until I run out of questions or forget. The book gives multiple choice answers, but that would just be too easy for us. Here’s today’s question:
Who was the first Orioles pitcher to record a 20-win season for the team?
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 1. Have a safe Sunday.
