Cedric Mullins makes Baltimore Orioles history

The Baltimore Orioles, as a franchise, have existed since the dawn of the American League. They were one of the inaugural teams, spending their first year as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis and renaming themselves the Browns. Finally, after the 1953 season, they moved east, calling Baltimore their home.

While Ken Williams became the first member of the 30-30 club back in 1922 with the Browns, the franchise did not have anyone else reach those marks in the same season. That changed on Friday night, when Cedric Mullins became the first member of the Orioles to join that club with his home run to center.

Cedric Mullins makes Baltimore Orioles history

Mullins joined a very exclusive club with that homer. He became the 37th player in major league history to produce a 30-30 season, and just the 16th 30-30 season in American League history. It is the first in the AL since 2018, when both Mookie Betts and Jose Ramirez joined that group.

It is remarkable that the Orioles had not had a 30-30 player prior to this season. With the likes of Paul Blair, Manny Machado, and Brady Anderson‘s fluke 1996 campaign, one would have imagined that someone would have hit both of those benchmarks.

This also continues what has been a breakout season for Mullins. He has produced a career best 142 OPS+ over his 648 plate appearances, hitting 36 doubles to go along with his 30 homers and 30 steals. Although the Orioles have struggled this year, Mullins has been one of their bright spots.

It remains to be seen if he will replicate this season, or at least come close to doing so. At the very least, he has cemented his place as one of the Orioles’ building blocks going forward, someone that they can point to as a reason to be optimistic about the future of the franchise.

Cedric Mullins has the first 30-30 season in Baltimore Orioles history. At just 26 years old, this may not be the last one he has.