During the course of three 100-plus loss seasons, Orioles outfielders Austin Hays, Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins leaned on one another.
It wasn’t always easy losing all of those games and becoming the punching bag for the rest of the powerful American League East.
However, they knew the club was building something special. They trusted that if they kept playing hard every day, their fortunes would turn around.
“We were able to last through those 100-loss seasons,” Hays said. “We had just found our way into the big leagues and figured out what we needed to do to stay here. Now, we are a big part of this team. It’s special to still be here after going through all that.”
Hays, Mullins and Santander still patrol the outfield at Camden Yards. There are a couple of other key players still around from those challenging years. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle has also been a boost to the club’s renaissance. Johns Means is one the few holdovers on the pitching staff.
This year, the Orioles won the AL East for the first time since 2014 and 100 regular-season games for the first time since 1980.
“It feels great,” Santander said. “As players, that’s what we are looking for when we go to spring training. We got this opportunity this year, and we’re excited.”
Orioles general manager Mike Elias was hired from the Houston Astros in November 2018 and tasked with completely tearing down the Orioles franchise and rebuilding it from the bottom to the top. It was a painful process that he had already experienced in Houston, but one that has paid obvious dividends to both the Astros and Orioles in the end.
The Orioles lost 115 games in 2018 and dropped 108 the following year. After going 25-35 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Orioles lost 110 games in 2021.
It was a tough time but one that could not be avoided, according to Elias. There were just too many areas — like scouting, player development and analytics — that needed to be overhauled.
“There was absolutely, in my opinion, no other way to fix the Orioles given where the organization was — and to fix them quickly — than to do what we did, which was concentrate on just pulling young talent in from every direction possible,” Elias said. “I don’t think anything else would have worked. I definitely don’t think anything else would have brought the team to competing for first place within five years.”
There are numerous young players, such as Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman, making a huge impact. However, it’s the old guard that has provided leadership and stability to the clubhouse.
“I feel like they’re mixing extremely well,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said of the younger players and veterans. “There is a lot of trust. Winning helps that environment. They are all really just likable guys and get along extremely well.”
However, the rebuild began before Elias took over the franchise. When the Orioles clinched a postseason berth this season, Elias was quick to credit former executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette for helping with the process.
The Orioles had 10 players drafted and developed by the organization on the active roster at the end of the regular season: Means (11th round, 2014), Mountcastle (compensation round, 2015), Mullins (13th round, 2015), Hays (third round, 2016), DL Hall (first round, 2017), Rodriguez (first round, 2018), Rutschman (first round, 2019), Henderson (second round, 2019), Heston Kjerstad (first round, 2020) and Jordan Westburg (competitive balance pick, 2020).
Duquette, who led baseball operations from 2012-2018, drafted six of those players. He fully expects the Orioles to compete for World Series titles for the next several seasons, even after an early postseason exit in 2023.
“I am glad to see that the key players I acquired, in no particular order — Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle, Austin Hays, Ryan McKenna, John Means, Mike Baumann, Dean Kremer, Félix Bautista, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez — are contributing and that the fans and city of Baltimore can again enjoy the Orioles in the playoffs,” he said. “With the players I acquired listed above along with the players acquired by Mike Elias, the Orioles are positioned to compete for the playoffs and World Series over the next three to five years. I can see the same scenario that played out in Boston right after I left the Red Sox in 2002 unfolding in Baltimore.”
“Crazy Story For Sure”
Cedric Mullins was selected by the Orioles in the 13th round of the 2015 MLB Draft and made his debut against the Red Sox in August 2018.
In 2021, Mullins became the only player in franchise history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a single season. He earned his first career Silver Slugger, becoming the first Oriole to win the award since Mark Trumbo in 2016 and the third outfielder in Orioles history to win. He also took home the Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award that season.
Mullins later revealed that he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and underwent intestinal surgery in November 2020.
“It’s a crazy story for sure,” Mullins said. “I was able to persevere through a lot of stuff health-wise. I just continued to battle and continued to keep my eye on the prize, which was to continue to be a successful big leaguer. At the same time, I wanted to help my team push through the barrier of having a great season and a winning season and a postseason.”
In 2023, Mullins slashed .233/.305/.416 with 15 home runs, 23 doubles, 74 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 116 games while missing time with a right adductor groin strain. He hit a game-winning sacrifice fly against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 17 and a game-winning three-run homer against the Houston Astros a day later, key moments as the Orioles chased a division crown.
He also made several acrobatic and leaping catches in center field that helped preserve wins.
“The guys we have, the constant communication we have and we say we’re going to be competitive, not messing around and pushing for the wins every single day,” Mullins said, explaining the mindset of the club. “… I think the vibe that we give off is intense, but not pressure. We know we have the capability of performing well and bringing wins to the team. It is about keeping that mindset to always play hard.”
At age 29, Mullins has plenty of solid baseball ahead of him and could be part of the new era of winning for the Orioles for the foreseeable future.
“Once you start to get those wins you don’t want to go back,” Mullins said. “We’re finding ways to win.”
“Nobody Believed In Us”
Anthony Santander was selected by the Orioles from Cleveland in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft, and he has become one of the team’s most productive players. He won the Most Valuable Oriole Award and was a Gold Glove finalist in 2020. Santander was an AL Silver Slugger finalist in 2022 and played for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic this spring.
In 2023, Santander finished tied with Gunnar Henderson with a team-high 28 home runs. He led the team with 95 RBIs and 41 doubles.
Santander was happy to be a mentor to some of the younger Orioles players, but he admitted most of them were quick studies.
“To be honest, those kids matured quickly,” Santander said. “They learned really fast. We know they have talent but they also have the ability to make adjustments. That’s been amazing. As an older player, you don’t have to tell them too much.”
Even through the tough times, Santander was confident the Orioles were building something special. The tide began to turn in 2022 when the team pushed for a wild-card spot in the last month of the season, eventually finishing 83-79 for their first winning season since 2016.
The Orioles took another significant step this season and have the infrastructure in place to be competitive long term.
“I’ve been excited since last year because I knew what we could do,” Santander said. “Nobody believed in us even this year. As a player, we knew right away we had a good team.”
Santander is proud that he, Hays, Mountcastle and Mullins have been key contributors to the club’s newfound success.
“It was a process,” Santander said. “The big thing is we learned from all of those games a few years ago. It gives you the opportunity to be a pro and know the league, which is pretty hard because it’s the American League East. We were really happy because we got an opportunity to play every day during those hard times.”
“They Had That Faith”
Austin Hays battled through myriad injuries since being drafted in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft to become an All-Star in 2023. He finished the season hitting .275/.325/.444 with 16 home runs and 67 RBIs. Hays is also responsible for patrolling Camden Yards’ spacious left field and has one of the best throwing arms in baseball.
Hays remembers the days when the team was mired in last place, and it has been a joy for him to watch the franchise evolve into a contender.
“Going through [those losing seasons] has just made the game so much more enjoyable for us,” Hays said. “There’s nothing to take for granted. We come in every day excited to try to win a game because we know where it can be and how far away we are from that now.”
The 2022 season gave the Orioles confidence that they could compete every night with the upper-echelon teams in the major leagues. The lessons learned during that playoff race carried over to 2023.
Was there ever a time when Hays thought he might not be part of the team when it all came together?
“You’re always unsure whether you’re going to be a part of that or … if those players develop quickly, maybe the organization moves on and they’re looking at some of their other outfield prospects they drafted or worked through,” Hays said.
The outfielder is appreciative of the opportunity he was given to see the process through.
“To see the faith that [GM Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde] have had in myself, personally speaking, for them to have faith in me and grow as a player and be an everyday outfielder on this team that has turned around and is a winning organization is great. It’s a great feeling to know they had that faith in me.”
“We’re Having A Good Time”
The Orioles have overhauled their infield in recent years, but Ryan Mountcastle has remained a fixture at first base. Selected by the Orioles in the compensation round (No. 36 overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft, he was named the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year in 2019.
Mountcastle made his Orioles debut Aug. 21, 2020, against the Red Sox and has been a mainstay in the lineup almost every day since. Despite the struggles of the ballclub after he was promoted to the majors — the Orioles went 52-110 in his first full season in 2021 — Mountcastle focused on playing the game the right way.
“Whenever you are on a losing ballclub, it’s not very fun, but you try to go out there and play hard every day,” Mountcastle said. “It’s not super easy, but you have to go out there and play your game super hard.”
Mountcastle could feel a shift in the mentality of the clubhouse once the team began having success in 2022. And in 2023, despite multiple trips to the injured list, Mountcastle was one of the Orioles’ most productive players. He hit .270/.328/.452 with 18 homers and 68 RBIs.
“Once you start winning, it just becomes a lot more fun,” Mountcastle said. “Your at-bats mean a little bit more and everything else means a little more. Once you start winning, it turns me into a better player.”
GM Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde found the right mix of experience and youth to pair with the rebuild’s holdovers. That includes recent draft picks like Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg and veterans like Adam Frazier, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks and James McCann.
“We brought in the younger guys with open arms and told them to be themselves and go out there and play,” Mountcastle said. “So far, a lot of these younger guys have helped us a lot. And a lot of the veteran guys have been a great help as well.”
One of Mountcastle’s teammates since 2020 concurred.
“We have talent, but there’s a lot of teams that have talent in the locker room that just don’t mesh,” Hays said. “It’s just meshed so well. It’s created a really great culture here.”
The Orioles have a tight-knit group, and there is camaraderie among the players who often compete in billiards or cards before a game. And after a win, there is an almost raucous atmosphere in the clubhouse.
“It’s awesome. It’s a lot of fun,” Mountcastle said. “The atmosphere here is a lot better than it was a couple of years ago. The fans are starting to enjoy watching us. We’re having a good time.”
Illustration by John Pennisi