Reviewing the results of the All-Camden Yards Draft

In search of a way to fill the void generated by an especially slow offseason, the "MASN All Access Podcast" had to get creative.

Joined by Connor Newcomb of the "Locked On Orioles Podcast," Brendan Mortensen and I created the All-Camden Yards Draft with the simple goal of drafting three teams whose rosters are filled with the greatest Orioles players to have ever played at "the ballpark that forever changed baseball."

And who better to judge the results than Orioles fans?

camden-yards.pngThese were the rules for our three-team draft:

* Each team was to draft a manager, a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a third baseman, a shortstop, three outfielders, a designated hitter, five starting pitchers and three relief pitchers.
* Only Orioles players who have played games and only managers who have managed games at Camden Yards (1992-present) were eligible.
* Only the production from 1992 to 2020 were considered. For example, even though Gregg Olson began his Orioles tenure in 1988, only his 1992 and 1993 seasons are factored into the equation.
* Similarly, only the production put up while the player was in an Orioles uniform was considered. For example, Jake Arrieta's success in Chicago and Philadelphia is ignored when evaluating his draft stock.
* Body of work matters. If all else is equal between two players, the one with more games played in an Orioles uniform got the nod.
* It's a snake draft, meaning the draft order of the first round reversed in the second round, then reverted back in the third round and so on.

After randomizing the draft order, I received the first overall pick, Brendan received the second and Connor received the third. With the top pick, I took Hall of Famer Mike Mussina. Brendan followed with another Hall of Fame inductee, Cal Ripken Jr., and Connor closed out the first round by selecting Adam Jones.

We split the 18-round draft into two podcast episodes. Below are our full rosters, followed by the link to the Twitter poll where you can cast your vote for the best team. Be sure to provide your feedback in the comment section as well.

Paul Mancano's team
Manager: Buck Showalter
C: Charles Johnson
1B: Steve Pearce
2B: Roberto Alomar
3B: Melvin Mora
SS: Miguel Tejada
LF: Luke Scott
CF: Mike Devereaux
RF: Nick Markakis
DH: Harold Baines
Starting pitchers: RHP Mike Mussina, RHP Chris Tillman, LHP Wei-Yin Chen, LHP John Means, RHP Kevin Brown
Relief pitchers: LHP Zack Britton, RHP Gregg Olson, RHP Brad Brach

Brendan Mortensen's team
Manager: Davey Johnson
C: Chris Hoiles
1B: Chris Davis
2B: Brian Roberts
3B: Cal Ripken Jr.
SS: Mike Bordick
LF: B.J. Surhoff
CF: Brady Anderson
RF: Jay Gibbons
DH: Jeff Conine
Starting pitchers: RHP Jeremy Guthrie, RHP Scott Erickson, RHP Miguel González, LHP Jimmy Key, LHP Jamie Moyer
Relief pitchers: RHP Jim Johnson, RHP Mychal Givens, LHP Jesse Orosco

Connor Newcomb's team
Manager: Brandon Hyde
C: Matt Wieters
1B: Rafael Palmiero
2B: Jonathan Schoop
3B: Manny Machado
SS: J.J. Hardy
LF: Nelson Cruz
CF: Adam Jones
RF: Trey Mancini
DH: Javy López
Starting pitchers: LHP Erik Bedard, RHP Kevin Gausman, RHP Ben McDonald, RHP Rodrigo López, RHP Dylan Bundy
Relief pitchers: RHP Darren O'Day, LHP Randy Myers, LHP B.J. Ryan




Noting a few more O's pitchers via spin rate data,...
Taking a look at fastball spin rate data
 

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