Baltimore Orioles

Baseball's Not So Average Joes

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By Matt Snyder 2/04/2010 4:00 PM ET

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

While they have a pretty solid franchise in place and several other stars (including former MVP Justin Morneau), Joe Mauer is the Minnesota Twins. He was born in St. Paul, Minn. His senior year, he was selected by USA Today as the National Player of the Year in both baseball and football for Cretin-Derham Hall High School (St. Paul), in addition to being an All-State basketball player. Then, in the 2001 MLB draft, Mauer was picked first overall by his hometown Twins over more ballyhooed prospects Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira.

It didn't take long for Mauer to reach the majors. He hit .308 in 2004 as a 21-year-old rookie. Since then, he's made three All-Star appearances and won two Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers all while racking up a .327 career batting average and .408 on-base percentage. He can run, handle the pitching staff and has added power to his repertoire. In 2009, he won his first AL MVP. And he's still only 26.

Simply put, Minnesota's favorite son is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. What a shame it would be if he played part of it away from the Twin Cities, a possibility with free agency on the horizon. He's only under contract through 2010 and if the Twins can't lock him up long term before he hits the open market, they'll likely be buried in the bidding process by the Yankees or another large-market team.

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By Andrew Johnson 2/01/2010 8:15 PM ET

ESPN and San Francisco Giants radio broadcaster Jon Miller was named the 2010 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame Monday. The award -- in its 33rd year -- is given out for major contributions in baseball broadcasting, and recipients typically give a speech during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Cooperstown during late July.

Miller has been the voice of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecasts for the last 20 years and, in addition to the Giants, has worked for the Orioles, Rangers, Red Sox and A's during a career that stretches back to 1974.

"For every young broadcaster, finding out who he is and becoming that person on the air is a real key," Miller said of his broadcasting journey during a conference call with the media. "Ultimately I found out who I was.

"You're out there for three hours a night, and whoever you are is going to come out."

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By Tom Fornelli 1/23/2010 12:19 PM ET

In December 2003, Miguel Tejada was one of the biggest prizes on the free-agent market and he ended up signing a six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. He would only spend four years with Baltimore before being traded to the Houston Astros for four prospects, but now that Tejada is a free agent once more, it's deja vu all over again.

Tejada has signed with the Orioles again, though this time the deal isn't quite as lucrative. All that's known at this point is that it's a one-year deal, and the details of the contract have not been released. Though it's not likely to be for $12 million a year like the last one.

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By Andrew Johnson 12/17/2009 12:35 PM ET

On the same night that the Orioles added closer Mike Gonzalez, they filled another hole on their roster by agreeing to a one-year deal with third baseman Garrett Atkins, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Atkins was non-tendered by the Rockies on Dec. 12 after seven seasons with the club.

He was let go because of a sharp three-year decline. Atkins hit .329/.409/.556 (AVG/OBP/SLG) as a 26-year-old in 2006, but his production has slipped every year since, all the way to .226/.308/.342 this past season.

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By Pat Lackey 12/16/2009 9:48 PM ET

Mike Gonzalez is close to signing a two-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, the Baltimore Sun is reporting. Signing Gonzalez adds a strong lefty to the back end of their bullpen, either as a straight-up closer or in the role he filled with the Braves in 2009, a left-handed setup man capable of closing when the regular closer needs a night off or the situation warrants it.

As good as Gonzalez is when he's healthy (last year he put up a 2.54 ERA and averaged nearly 11 strikeouts per nine innings in a career high 74 1/3 innings) and as much as the Orioles need bullpen help, it's worth noting that Gonzalez is a Type-A free agent this winter and by signing him, the O's will be forced to give their second-round draft pick to the Braves. Is any reliever good enough to justify a last place team giving up a draft pick?

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By Ed Price 12/10/2009 1:45 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Yankees and Red Sox are the movers and shakers in this division, and this year has proved no different.

But the Rays and Orioles made moves this week as well, with Tampa Bay adjusting its payroll upward to fill a hole and Baltimore picking up a veteran starter to stabilize its young rotation.

When the Yankees pulled off their trade for Curtis Granderson, some speculated the Red Sox had to "answer." But of course Boston had a plan all along to improve its team, so it's not like the Sox had to be spurred into action.

The Yankees' priority was actually re-signing Andy Pettitte, which they accomplished, allowing them to massage the rest of their rotation into shape.

Boston is less enthusiastic about Matt Holliday in left field than re-signing Jason Bay. And finishing the Mike Lowell-to-Texas deal would mean the Sox could add a bat at first or third and put Kevin Youkilis in the other spot (or give Casey Kotchman a chance at first).

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By Josh Alper 12/09/2009 4:00 PM ET

The Orioles picked up a veteran piece for their starting rotation at the Winter Meetings on Wednesday when they agreed to pick up Kevin Millwood from the Rangers in exchange for reliever Chris Ray. There's also some cash heading Baltimore's way, although the total hasn't been disclosed as yet.

Adding an experienced starter makes a lot of sense for the Orioles. They've got three talented youngsters in Brad Bergesen, Brian Matusz and Chris Tillman, but young pitchers come with innings limits and assorted other potential land mines that keep them from throwing oodles of innings. Millwood threw just under 200 innings for the Rangers last season and should do a fine job of soaking up innings. Asking for much more than that would be greedy, however.

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By Matt Snyder 12/07/2009 10:30 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS -- Managers of nine different major league teams each had approximately 30-minutes in interview sessions with the media during baseball's Winter Meetings Monday in the Indianapolis, in addition to the announcement of two new inductees to baseball's Hall of Fame. Here's a sampling of some of the more interesting tidbits from the first full day of the annual meetings.

• Bobby Cox emphatically stated that Billy Wagner is the Braves closer, "no matter what." When asked about the possibility of having both Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano back -- both are closer types and have been offered arbitration -- Cox said we'll know soon enough (the deadline for players to accept arbitration is midnight tonight), but if they both come back, "we'll have the best bullpen ever."

UPDATE: Soriano accepted and will be back, but Gonzalez declined. Still, with Wagner, Soriano and Takashi Saito, the Braves have a pretty stellar back-end.

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By Andrew Johnson 11/16/2009 7:00 AM ET

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

Thanks to an infusion of young talent, there are some good vibes floating around Camden Yards -- no small feat considering the fact that the local nine hasn't had a winning record since 1997.

Of course, an infusion of young talent won't be enough on its own in the enormously challenging AL East. The Orioles need immense improvements on the corners of their infield and especially in their pitching staff -- which ranked last in the American League in ERA in 2009. That can't all come from the maturation of a select group of youngsters groomed on the Baltimore farm, though, so there will be plenty on general manager Andy MacPhail's plate as he tries to take the next step in turning the O's into legitimate challengers.

More Footprints in the Snow

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By Andrew Johnson 10/29/2009 8:38 PM ET

Third baseman Melvin Mora's tenure in Baltimore is likely over after the Orioles declined his 2010 option Thursday. The option was valued at $8 million, according to the Baltimore Sun, making it a foregone conclusion that it wouldn't be picked up after Mora's rough 2009.

The 37-year-old, 11-year major league veteran hit .260 in 125 games this year, but, more troubling, slugged .358, the lowest mark of his career and 125 points below his 2008 mark. He also clashed with manager Dave Trembley in August when his playing time was cut.

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