Camden Yards facelift gives Orioles more room to become outstanding in their field
I think I felt the earth move.
Something seismic has happened — or maybe something way down south froze over.
It had to be something like that. That’s what some predicted it would take before the Baltimore Orioles started winning again.
The O’s have found some of their old magic in July.
The Orioles rode the wave of a 10-game winning streak, making them instantly relevant. They’re still in last place, but are now contending for a wild-card spot.
Enjoy it while you can.
The streak ended Friday with a 5-4 loss in Tampa Bay, which dropped the O’s to .500 for the season. Still, it’s the first time in years they’ve been able to say that this late in a season.
Change for the even better:Smithsburg's Jim Schlossnagle puts Texas A&M baseball back on national stage
So, here at the All-Star break, it’s time to ponder the next question.
Who’s the Orioles’ most valuable player in the first half of the 2022 season?
∎ Cedric Mullins or Trey Mancini, arguably the two current faces of the franchise?
∎ Or how about Austin Hays, who has been grinding out a consistent season?
∎ You like heavy hitters? Maybe Ryan Mountcastle or Anthony Santander is the pick?
∎ A dark horse could be rookie catcher Adley Rutschman. The franchise’s No. 1 prospect arrived late to the party, giving the team an instant lift, especially behind the plate.
∎ Or possibly Jorge Lopez, who has saved 17 of the 45 wins thus far this season?
All viable, but here’s my pick — the construction guys who completed the renovations at Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
It was considered one of the most controversial facelifts — this side of Hollywood — in recent years.
How dare the team’s front office condone such sacrilege to one of baseball’s jewels?
It was like tattooing a New York Yankees logo on the Oriole mascot’s wing.
The answer was easy. It was about time to give the Orioles the chance to be competitive.
Since the turn of the century, the Orioles have taken their lumps in the Murderer's Row known as the American League East. Even the best O’s teams have fought tooth and nail to get above third place in the division, which Baltimore has accomplished just three times since 2000.
The renovation has given the Orioles a chance.
Camden Yards was a launching pad for home runs with its former layout, featuring low fences and cozy surroundings.
The bullpen was equipped with a revolving door as pitchers were continually shuttling between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk because of ineffectiveness. And the offense was constantly playing from behind.
Worthy Challenger:Lumm rings bell ending Challenger Little League tenure, gets wings for his service
Now, in case you haven’t noticed, Camden Yard’s left-field wall had a growth spurt, jumping from 7 to 12 feet high.
About 1,000 outfield seats were sacrificed to pull the wall back nearly 30 feet, giving outfielders more real estate to cover and pitchers a margin for error.
Now, the contour of the outfield looks like it was cut out by a safety-scissor-wielding kindergartner. Pitchers running on the warning track need GPS to negotiate the jutting turns of the outfield wall.
All this, just to keep baseballs in the ballpark.
The change has given the Orioles a true home field advantage … even if it just makes opposing teams uncomfortable.
Opposing teams and the sport’s superstars circle trips to Baltimore on their schedule. It used to be a great spot to pad your power numbers for easy wins and fatter contracts.
Even if its only an illusion, it’s become tougher to jack the ball out of the park. There are no more accidental home runs.
And that’s all the Orioles wanted … an even playing field.
It had to be done. How long can you rebuild a team that loses 100-plus games a year before its label is ‘futile’?
This is the lifesaver thrown to Baltimore’s eternally youthful pitching staff. Young pitchers have a tendency to keep balls up until they find their control.
High pitches go a long way when hit.
Civil reenactment:VIDEO: Battle of Falling Waters 1863 Baseball Classic
Here’s some statistical data to support the renovation:
∎ The Orioles have had at least 100 losses in three of the last four years. Only the 60-game, COVID-19-shortened season of two years ago kept it from being a clean sweep.
∎ After Friday’s loss, Baltimore was 298-500 (.373) since 2016, the last time the Orioles made the playoffs. They’ve been outscored 4,346-3,402, a 944-run deficit in the last 5 1/2 years.
∎ O’s pitching has allowed 1,212 home runs, including 94 through the first 90 games of 2022. The staff is on pace to yield 169 bombs this season, far below the 200-plus totals in recent years.
∎ Conversely, the Orioles have 997 dingers, including 92 this season. Of that, 555 — 69.2% - were hit at home. Only 39 of this year's 92 (43.8%) have been hit at their newly refurbished home.
∎ The most telling stat of all; The pitching staff has an earned run average of 5.03 since 2016, and that has been lowered by 0.26 runs since the beginning of this season, thanks to a 3.92 mark this season.
Suddenly, the Orioles are no longer pushovers.
There’s more consistency on the roster, thanks to fewer transactions.
The Orioles are a team more suited to playing on larger fields. The team's lack of home run power promotes more fundamental play with situational hitting, smarter base running and strong defense.
It harkens back to how the game was played before analytics. There’s more drama and strategy that makes games more entertaining.
Home runs still steal the show, but this style of game will force fans to look up from their cell phones to pay attention to the game.
And maybe the best part of it all: The new Orioles Park at Camden Yards was a big disappointment to the Yankees when they came to town. They griped about the changes because the homers that drive their offense were suddenly hard to come by.
That, in itself, is probably worth the renovation price tag … and made the earth move a little.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Parasiliti: Orioles hit wall, take idea of rebuilding team literally
