Baltimore Orioles are proving Tommy Lasorda wrong
The Baltimore Orioles are proving one of former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda’s pearls of wisdom to be incorrect.
Back in the day, former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda had an excellent quote regarding success at the major league level. At some point in the nebulous past, Lasorda stated that “No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.” Considering how few teams either win or lose more than 108 games on the season, this quote has been fairly accurate over the years.
Enter the Baltimore Orioles. They have already reached the 100 loss threshold this season, the first team to do so. With the Orioles having a 41-102 record on the year, they will need to do a lot of work to catch up to Lasorda’s anticipated low water mark for even the worst teams.
In fact, in order for the Orioles to reach that .333 winning percentage, they will need to go on a hot streak. With 19 games left in the season, they would need to have, at minimum, a 13-6 record to win a third of their games.
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Is that even possible? The Orioles best 19 game stretch in 2018 occurred back in May, when they still had Manny Machado on the roster. From May 9 through May 28, the Orioles were 9-10, beginning the streak with four consecutive victories, and five wins in six games. The second best run? An overlapping section of the calendar between April 27 and May 18. During that part of the schedule, the Orioles were 8-11.
The Orioles also have played their usual brand of relatively inept ball over the past ten games. During that time, they are 2-8, with that stretch including a sweep at the hand of the almost as dreadful Royals. It’s not like the kids are lighting September afire.
The schedule makers also have not done the Orioles any favors in their question to win a third of their games. of the 19 games remaining in the season, Baltimore still has to face the A’s, Red Sox, Yankees, and Astros. How many of those 13 games could the Orioles realistically win? Three?
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Tommy Lasorda believed that even bad teams win a third of their games. The Baltimore Orioles are about to prove him wrong.