The Baltimore Orioles, a season in review
The 2019 Baltimore Orioles season ends with some question marks as well as some insight into what was a rebuilding season for the birds.
The 120th MLB season was an exciting, frustrating and progressive experience for any fan of the Baltimore Orioles. All that is left now is the coldness of the fall, MLB Playoffs, and the thoughts of the season that has passed.
New Faces in The Front Office
Fans came into this season knowing that at least 99% of the Showalter and Duquette era would be gone. So new faces in the front office meant changes all over the board from April to September.
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Mike Elias, the Vice President of Operations/GM of the Orioles focused mainly on rebuilding the farm system, updating a franchise left in its archaic ways of player development. Brandon Hyde took the helm as the rookie manager for the Orioles in 2019.
Hyde’s first season wasn’t anything short of a learning curve. Managing a team full of players who never took the diamond together was one of the impossible feats this manager had to deal with. Pitching woes and fielding errors plagued this team a lot during the 2019 season.
The upside is that the GM was one of the architect Houston Astros( who went on to win a world series) and a manager from the tree of Madden. Pay close attention to moves made this off-season by this organization for 2020.
What To Do With Chris Davis?
According to Roch Kutbatco, Chris Davis is on the team during Spring Training but said nothing about opening day or the 2020 Season. Davis has underperformed for a couple of seasons now and the 2019 season was the last straw for a few Orioles’ fans.
Davis has about three years left on his contract that went for $161 million that includes $42 million deferred. The first basemen went 6 for 18 with two homers in the last five games of the season.
So with an abysmal 2019, season the ” solo workout ” is over. Elias and Hyde had a meeting with the first baseman to map out the offseason plan for him. Don Long will work with Davis as well as the assistant hitting coach for the season. This saga of Chris Davis will probably lead into 2020 will be watched closely by fans in the Baltimore area for sure.
Analytics Galore
2019’s introduction to the practice led to the creation of the department as well as bringing more people in. Introducing the age of data and information to an organization that never ventured there was not easy. Before the Elias era, the Orioles were in the dark with analytics.
The new gm’s presence brought more emphasis for what is sweeping the league in the 2010s and looks to be the trend in the next decade. This past season was the first time the Orioles expanded the resources into their organization from on the field and utilizing talent in different farm systems.
Next. New York Mets: Who will be the next manager. dark
The biggest thing that will face the Baltimore Orioles in 2020 is will they be able to get up to speed even further with the analytics provided.