Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Orioles Magic
Ever since I moved to Baltimore County in 1999, I've gotten to experience most of the things that a kid growing up in America gets to go through. However, one thing that hasn't happened since I moved here is experience the hometown baseball team going to the postseason. The Orioles have not had a winning season since 1997, making being an Orioles fan a sort of painful experience. Finally this year, we've managed to put the pieces together to form a team that will go to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, and the first time since I've lived in Maryland. We have a lot of powerful hitters, and a great consistent pitching staff, the latter something we have really struggled with in years past. I have seen many playoff games for a team in Baltimore, but it's always been the Ravens. I'm used to seeing the Ravens make the playoffs at this point, and it's not going to be that big of a deal until they make it to the Super Bowl. However, seeing a team that has been a total failure as long as I have followed them have such completely unexpected success this year is very exciting. Plus, it takes so much more effort to make the postseason in baseball, as there are more than 10 times as many games in a season. This also means there is more suspense, which makes this playoff appearance more exciting. Even though the whole experience could end after one measly game, it would still be the biggest thing in sports to happen in Baltimore for awhile.
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Hey Sam thanks for making this post! I think it is awesome that the Orioles are finally making it to the postseason! Do you see the team as possibly having a chance of going all the way? Also do you think that since the team is finally pulling together some of the personell needed to make the playoffs they will be able to become more of a threat in the next few years? Thanks again for making the post and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteNick
Hi Nick,
DeleteI think the Orioles had a chance to go pretty far in the playoffs, but once it gets to the seven-game series, teams with more experience seem to prevail. I think this is what happened against the Yankees, as almost no one on the Orioles had ever been to the playoffs, for obvious reasons. Even though we have a lot of veterans on the team, I think we'll go back to the playoffs a few more times before they retire, and we go back to the rebuilding phase, or maybe we can keep bringing in good players, and become a real force in baseball, but I'll take the 3 playoff wins for now and be happy.
Thanks for the comment,
Sam
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree that supporting a local sports team is one of the hallmarks of growing up in this country. Growing up in Portland, I have always been a huge Portland Trailblazers fan. You may or may not know a lot about NBA basketball, but during the early 2000's many Blazers had some significant off-court problems that led to our team having a bad reputation in the NBA. In recent years, we have been able to turn this around and have had some huge successes on court. Nonetheless, I can totally relate to your satisfaction at a local team having success!
Keep up the good work,
Vinay
Hi Vinay,
DeleteOne thing about the NBA is that if you don't live in a big city, you're team's probably not going to have a lot of success. It seems like all the all-stars are on either the Heat, Celtics, or Lakers, and at least one of them goes to the finals every year. I've got that feeling as a Wizards fan, since we haven't been able to make it far in the playoffs, and haven't had a remotely good year in a little while. Good to hear that your team is having some success, though. Rather have them win it all than some team that just lures all the big shots.
Thanks,
Sam