Lots of leftovers for breakfast

Joe Orsulak wasn’t the biggest name on the Orioles. He wasn’t flashy and he didn’t put up gaudy numbers. But he could hit and throw and was comfortable flying under the radar.

Now comes his chance to soar with his selection to the Orioles Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony will be held tonight at Camden Yards, where Orsulak joins center fielder Adam Jones and broadcaster Tom Davis.  

“It feels great,” he said yesterday. “Like one of my friends was telling me, you’re in the same Hall of Fame with that. It doesn’t matter if you’re the top dog or the bottom dog. You’re still in the Orioles Hall of Fame. We’re in the Hall of Fame. And that’s an honor for me.”

Orsulak led the Orioles in batting average in 1988, 1989 and 1992 and was second behind Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991, but he’s probably remembered more for his defense. Orsulak led the majors and set the franchise record with 22 outfield assists in 1991 and committed only one error in 132 games.

His 54 career outfield assists in five seasons rank seventh in Orioles history.

“You work hard for that,” he said.

Hall of Famer Dave Parker lectured Orsulak about putting maximum effort into his throws during their time together with the Pirates. The rule applied in games and in workouts.

“I was messing around one day and I was just kind of chucking it, and he said, ‘Don’t do that. You’ve got a great arm. Don’t mess it up. Every throw counts,’” Orsulak recalled.

“When somebody like that tells you … you believe it. It’s the truth. And I brought it to Baltimore with me. I took pride in defense. Remember that first game in 1988, we lost like 12-0 to Milwaukee. Pathetic. Well, I got a medium-depth fly ball in right field and I could see the guy’s tagging up, and that really got me not happy that they’re gonna try to make it 13-0. I gunned the guy at the plate.

“I wanted to throw people out. I didn’t like to get taken advantage of. So I always took pride in that. It’s almost like hitting a home run for me. I didn’t hit a lot of home runs, obviously, but throwing people out was like hitting a home run for me.”

The Orioles worked on cutoffs and relays every day, and Orsulak knew how to play a carom off the wall and where to find his cutoff man.

“I didn’t look, cause if you look, he’s safe,” Orsulak said. “You can’t look and reload.”

Davis is receiving the Herb Armstrong Award that honors non-uniformed personnel. He served as a fill-in radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster for Orioles games for three decades and is a five-time Maryland Sportscaster of the Year.

Davis began his career with WBAL-TV and WCBM Radio before joining WQSR-FM as a sportscaster on the No. 1-rated “Rouse & Company” morning show. He hosted MASN’s pre-game and post-game shows and still produces and hosts “Wall to Wall Baseball” and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” as well as “Touchdown Baltimore.” Davis received the John F. Steadman Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.

Being on the other side of an interview yesterday felt strange to Davis.

“You better believe it,” he said. “The day (Bill) Stetka called me, I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. I really did. I had no idea anything like this could ever happen. All I did was have fun working for all the years I’ve been working. I wasn’t looking for any what you’d call rewards or recognition.”

Davis is the John Stockton of broadcast point guards, dishing to the talent around him and setting them up to score. In an industry filled with egos, he stands out for his modesty and unselfish nature.  

“The one thing that I think I do well is let the person that’s the guest talk,” he said. “I’m just trying to fire short questions in because, the whole thing in a nutshell is, it’s not about me. None of my shows have my name attached to them. They’re all about the guests. All I try to do is coordinate and make the thing look good.”

Jones made his teammates better and became one of the most popular players in franchise history. He remains close to the Orioles as special advisor to the general manager.

“It’s been great. It’s obviously been a learning experience,” he said.

“I love the game of baseball. I love the knowledge that it helps. Obviously, I grew up in this game and I grew up in this city, so to be able to work with (Mike) Elias and his staff and obviously on the community side, which is even more important in my eyes, it’s humbling. Because the people do remember what I did when I was playing. Now I’m able to do it in a different capacity with the Orioles. And I’m going to use their money instead of mine.

“I think we have a lot of things in the works. It’s going to be fun. What I love the most, though, is that they actually ask me for my ideas, they ask me for my advice. That right there is humbling because they don’t have to. They could run the ship the way they want to run it, but they ask me, ‘What was your experiences?’ And I really appreciate that.”

Jones talked about the tradition of excellent center fielders in Baltimore and wondered who’s next after the Orioles dealt Cedric Mullins, a friend and the player who replaced him.

“We’re thinking about that now, deeply internally,” he said. “That was one of the things obviously with trading Mullins that was something that you have to really, really put in perspective is, ‘Who can man center field?’ You can get people to play for today. You can always write a number 8 next to someone’s name. But who can solidify that position?

“Mullins was a great catalyst for doing it for seven-plus years. I had 11. (Corey) Patterson had three or four here. So we’ve had a really good run, and oh, trust me, that’s a position that I take with pride and whatever I have to do to get a center fielder there, I will do.”

* Ryan Mountcastle was thrilled to rejoin the Orioles and put the hamstring injury behind him, but there’s also the disappointment of being in last place following back-to-back playoff appearances.

“It’s just baseball,” he said. “A lot of bad luck with injuries and stuff like that. But you can only control what you can control. We’re here now, and just excited to play well now.”

These last two months are important to Mountcastle, who’s under team control for one more season before free agency. He homered last night for the first time since April 30.

“I want to play well and hopefully help the team win some more games,” he said. “The season’s not over yet, and just excited to be back with the guys.

“I put a lot of work in during rehab to get better physically, mentally and all that, and excited to see how it shows on the field.”

The nine rehab games with Triple-A Norfolk allowed Mountcastle to observe catcher Samuel Basallo and outfielder Dylan Beavers, two of the top three prospects in the system. MLB Pipeline ranks Basallo ninth.

“They’re really good,” Mountcastle said. “A lot of good players down there and a lot of bright futures ahead of them, and excited to see them up here at some point.”

* Tomoyuki Sugano leads all rookies with nine wins this season. He held the Athletics to one run last night in seven innings.

Daniel Cabrera is the last Orioles pitcher to rank first in wins among rookies with 12 in 2004. Mike Boddicker accomplished the feat with 16 in 1983.

Wally Bunker had the most victories with 19 in 1964, four seasons after Chuck Estrada won 18.

Sugano’s nine wins breaks a tie with Dean Kremer for the team lead and he’s on pace to be the first rookie to finish first with the Orioles since Thomas Eshelman and Travis Lakins Sr. had three victories in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

* Gunnar Henderson has recorded his third season with at least 25 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases. Only one other Orioles player age 24 or younger has reached those numbers. Can you name him?

Answer below. Don’t cheat.

* Orioles starters have issued three or fewer walks in 44 straight home games. The only two last night came from Sugano.

The club record is 60 in September 2014-August 2015, followed by 49 in May-August 1958, per STATS.

* From the really obscure (also from STATS):

Adley Rutschman has recorded a hit in 10 consecutive home games against the Athletics with last night's home run, the second-longest active streak after Tim Anderson’s 17.

Since 2000, the only Orioles player with a longer streak at home versus the A’s was second baseman Jonathan Schoop with 10 from 2015-17.

Rutschman has reached base in 19 of 20 career games against the A's, slashing .310/.443/.648.

Answer: Bobby Grich in 1973.




Rutschman and Mountcastle homer, Sugano registers ...