Steve Melewski

Some of the reasons to play a season

May 18, 2020, 3:47pm

Orioles

Upon seeing some elements of the 67 pages of health protocols to have a 2020 major league season, some readers here indicated why bother. Too much to try and overcome and it's not worth it. They must have thought, do players really need to sit and locker six feet apart? Do they need to throw baseballs out of play after several players touch them? Do they really need to stay in hotels and not go out on the road and do they really need to skip showering at the ballparks? What about no more...

Tags:

Mountcastle on workouts, hopes for season and more (with video)

May 17, 2020, 5:34pm

Orioles

Mountcastle on workouts, hopes for season and more (with video)

As he awaits the start of a season that could see him make his major league debut, Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle has been working out with other pro players in Florida. Like all of us, he's waiting to hear official word about the 2020 season. In a recent video interview with the 23-year-old Mountcastle, we discussed a variety of topics. Everything from fitting in within the O's clubhouse as a young player to his defense to playing at all levels on the O's farm. The 2019 season was a...

Tags:

orioles ryan mountcastle steve melewski orioles farm report frontstory_orioles3

MLB's efforts to keep players safe and healthy

May 16, 2020, 4:09pm

Orioles

MLB's efforts to keep players safe and healthy

According to an article in The Athletic, Major League Baseball has presented the players with a 67-page document detailing health protocals for the 2020 season. A season they hope can begin sometime in early July. One that will apparently consist of only 82 games and begin, at least at the outset, without fans in the stands. This includes plans for players to practice social distancing when not on the field, to avoid high fives and shaking hands after wins, no pregame exchange of lineup cards...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3 mlb

Will these minor league southpaws have major league success?

May 15, 2020, 2:18pm

Orioles

Will these minor league southpaws have major league success?

To say the least, Orioles minor league left-handed pitchers Alexander Wells and Zac Lowther have a lot in common. A lot. They are close in age, with Wells 23 and Lowther just turned 24 on April 30. They were both non-roster invitee pitchers in O's big league camp in Sarasota. Both have been named the Orioles' Jim Palmer Award winner as Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Both excelled last year at Double-A Bowie. And here is another one - both have some doubters as it relates to their big...

Tags:

alex wells orioles steve melewski zac lowther orioles farm report frontstory_orioles3

Mountcastle's workouts, season safety discussed, plus other notes

May 14, 2020, 3:38pm

Orioles

Mountcastle's workouts, season safety discussed, plus other notes

When you are pro baseball player that lives in Florida, you can probably often find other pro players to work out with and train with. That is true for Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, who lives near Orlando. In an interview yesterday, he told me he is spending his days right now working out, playing ball and hanging out by the pool. Sounds like a pretty good day, right? So when Mountcastle looks to take part in some baseball activities these days, he is doing that with other accomplished...

Tags:

coronavirus orioles ryan mountcastle steve melewski featured_sidebar rob manfred scott boras frontstory_orioles3

A visit with O's top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez (with video)

May 13, 2020, 12:55pm

Orioles

A visit with O's top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez (with video)

Like other minor league players right now, Orioles top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez is spending time at home while trying to stay ready for a season that might not be played. While fans are hoping, maybe even expecting to see some version of Major League Baseball in 2020, play on the farm is less certain. But the O's No. 2 ranked prospect, behind only Adley Rutschman, is doing his best to prepare, he told me during a video interview this week. Rodriguez said he has a small baseball...

Tags:

grayson rodriguez orioles steve melewski orioles farm report frontstory_orioles3

More talk about a season, Teixeira's comments and more

May 12, 2020, 3:59pm

Orioles

More talk about a season, Teixeira's comments and more

One way to see it was that a former player abandoned the interests of the current baseball players. That is probably how most took the comments on ESPN yesterday by former New York Yankee Mark Teixeira, someone not very well liked by Orioles fans. The Severna Park native essentially sided with the owners in what appears to be a brewing dispute with players as the sides try to hammer out plans to have a 2020 season. Owners have reportedly approved a proposal of 82 games with seven playoff teams...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles1 mark teixeira

A schedule based on geography could be tough in the East

May 11, 2020, 10:52am

Orioles

A schedule based on geography could be tough in the East

If reports of the latest proposal to play Major League Baseball in 2020 are true, the Orioles may have a very tough schedule. Whether it be 78 gmes, 82 games or some other number. The latest plan reportedly calls for teams to only play in their geographical region. The Orioles would play against teams in the American League East and the National League East. The same would be true for the Central and West in both leagues. The six divisions would remain intact, but instead of the Orioles playing...

Tags:

steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3 orioles

A Cooperstown road trip to honor the Earl of Baltimore

May 10, 2020, 2:16pm

Orioles

A Cooperstown road trip to honor the Earl of Baltimore

He was the Earl of Baltimore, and among the Orioles' many fans, just about as popular as any great player ever to wear the orange and black. On his way to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., Earl Weaver managed the Orioles to 1,480 wins, including six American League East titles, four AL pennants and the 1970 World Series championship. Between 1969 and 1980, his teams won 100 games five times. No O's team ever managed by anyone other than Weaver ever won 100 games. Fans...

Tags:

earl weaver orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar spiro morekas frontstory_orioles3

Quick check-in on the KBO (and a possible MLB season plan)

May 09, 2020, 9:35am

Orioles

Quick check-in on the KBO (and a possible MLB season plan)

The Korea Baseball Organization season is underway. It is nearly a week old and began without any fans in the stands. For now, it will stay that way and we'll see if that changes at some point. I haven't watched a lot of KBO action yet, but I've enjoyed what I have seen. I admire the ESPN announcers for calling games at 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. from their homes and doing such a good job. As for games without crowds, let me first say I want the fans back. All of them, when it becomes safe to do...

Tags:

featured_sidebar kbo steve melewski frontstory_orioles3

Remembering No. 500 for Eddie Murray (plus draft news)

May 08, 2020, 11:44am

Orioles

Remembering No. 500 for Eddie Murray (plus draft news)

Like Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray is an Orioles legend who did not play his entire career in Baltimore. But he sure made a massive impact on the organization. His No. 33 is a retired number and there is a large bronze sculpture of Murray in Orioles Legends Park beyond the left center field wall. The O's Twitter account ran a post that featured a fun look back at Murray's 500th homer, which he hit on Sept. 6, 1996. It happened one year to the day after Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's record...

Tags:

eddie murray orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3

Trying to get reps for the minor league players

May 07, 2020, 2:18pm

Orioles

Trying to get reps for the minor league players

The question has been asked a few times: What happens to Orioles prospects if there is no minor league season? Will they get in games and get some needed reps on the mound and at-bats? Well, if it is deemed safe, almost certainly the answer is yes. No doubt, the Orioles will find a way for their minor leaguers to get those reps if they get cleared to take the field at some point this summer or fall. I would feel really badly for all the minor league teams and their fans if there is no minor...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski coronavirus minor leagues orioles farm report frontstory_orioles3

Dwight Smith Jr. on the Players League and the boom boom room

May 06, 2020, 1:06pm

Orioles

Dwight Smith Jr. on the Players League and the boom boom room

No, it was not real baseball on an actual diamond. But the MLB the Show Players League provided a few weeks' worth of entertainment, as all 30 big league teams were represented by one of their players in the three-inning video game contests. Fans could watch live via the Internet and the playoffs were actually televised on ESPN networks and FS1. Tampa Bay and pitcher Blake Snell won in the championship series, three games to none over the Chicago White Sox and pitcher Lucas Giolito. For the...

Tags:

dwight smith jr. orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3

Remembering the O's World Series champions (with video)

May 05, 2020, 2:41pm

Orioles

Remembering the O's World Series champions (with video)

The Orioles' history since their 1954 arrival in Baltimore includes three World Series wins. It also includes three World Series losses. But today, seeking some happy news for a change, we'll focus on the three winners. My colleague, Roch Kubatko and I, got together to tape this video, discuss and even rank those championships. We have unique perspectives because we're both from the Baltimore area and have lived a lot of the history. We were in the stands for some of those games at Memorial...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles1 world series

From player to coach: Collin Woody makes transition on O's farm

May 04, 2020, 3:38pm

Orioles

From player to coach: Collin Woody makes transition on O's farm

The day will come for all professional baseball players. Through their choice or a team's decision, their playing days will end. Sooner for some than others. Being told you are not good enough to continue would be not easy for anyone to hear. For 25-year-old Collin Woody, the words came late in spring training in 2019. A 38th-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2016 out of UNC-Greensboro, Woody played from 2016 through 2018. He never hit over .226. He had a 228-game career that reached as high...

Tags:

collin woody orioles steve melewski kbo tyler wilson frontstory_orioles3 orioles farm report

Former Oriole Tyler Wilson ready to go as baseball returns in Korea (with video)

May 03, 2020, 6:27pm

Orioles

Former Oriole Tyler Wilson ready to go as baseball returns in Korea (with video)

While Major League Baseball hopes to have a season at some point later this year, one pro baseball league will be starting a new season tomorrow. The 10 teams in the Korea Baseball Organization open a 144-game season that will run through Nov. 2. The KBO started with six teams in 1982. The Doosan Bears are the defending league champions and they've won the league in three of the last five years. The league was set to open its season on March 28, but just like with MLB, the KBO ended spring...

Tags:

coronavirus orioles steve melewski tyler wilson featured_sidebar kbo frontstory_orioles3

A few questions for O's fans

May 02, 2020, 2:55pm

Orioles

So we're down to asking just five questions this time around. And that is fine, a bit less than the usual 10. But for now, we're excluding some of the standard baseball questions about who might start opening day, who may bat leadoff or who may lead the team in home runs. Hopefully, we are getting closer to a time when those questions become more prominent, relevant and of interest to all of us. This is a sort of a baseball shutdown and speculative edition because right now that is dominating...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3

The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season

May 01, 2020, 3:05pm

Orioles

The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season

If there is a baseball season this year, we may still see one major event take place before any games do. That would be the First-Year Player Draft. A draft that was once 50 rounds and then reduced to 40 could be as few as five rounds later this year. It now appears that the draft will start on June 10, the date which was set to begin the draft all along. Previously there were reports the draft could be moved to late June or July. An earlier negotiation between Major League Baseball and the MLB...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski dwight smith jr featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3

When last we saw baseball, the O's were building a better bullpen

April 30, 2020, 10:03am

Orioles

When last we saw baseball, the O's were building a better bullpen

We don't have games to talk about right now, but that doesn't mean we still can't speculate on what the Orioles roster might have looked like had opening day been March 26. How would it have looked at the start of the 2020 season? In earlier postings here I've done my own speculation on what a 26-man roster might have looked like to begin a new season. I've gone over the rotation, the infielders and the outfielders. When baseball shut down in mid-March, the Orioles were putting together...

Tags:

orioles steve melewski eric hanhold featured_sidebar hector velazquez frontstory_orioles3

Orioles announce refund policy for games impacted by coronavirus

April 29, 2020, 2:06pm

Orioles

The Orioles today announced a policy for fans who held tickets to Orioles home games in the 2020 season through May 31. Fans can get a 125 percent ticket credit for any home games through 2022 or can receive a full refund. "We certainly recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has created great hardships for many families and businesses. The Orioles will also offer fans the choice of a full refund for the impacted games, if preferred. Refund requests will be processed within 30 days and must be...