The memory still makes Tom Flynn laugh. The sound rings in his ears like the ones created each time that Coby Mayo smacked another baseball.

Mayo was an 8-year-old hitter on his Little League team in South Florida. The Spanish-speaking players in the Latino community would affectionately bark out his nickname after another home run.

“Coby always had a lot of pop in his bat and they used to call him ‘The Hammer.’ ‘El Martillo,’” Flynn said last week.

“They called him that all through Little League. And he had a different stance, too. He used to lean back with his front leg real straight and long, and just turn on balls and explode on them. ‘El Martillo!’”

Flynn goes back much further with Mayo, the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2020. Mayo was 4 and a preschool classmate of Flynn’s son, Colin. They played travel ball together and were high school teammates.

As the calendar year 2023 comes to an end today, we can reflect on what a special year it was for the Baltimore Orioles and their fans. It was a year they returned to the playoffs, they returned to the top of the AL East and they returned to a club that won 100-plus games.

The Orioles finished 101-61 to hold off the Tampa Bay Rays by two games to win their 10^th AL East championship. Their 101 wins were the most in the American League and second in the majors, behind Atlanta, which won 104.

The season ended with a three-game sweep by the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series. But what a ride it was until the season came crashing down with a 7-1 loss Oct. 10 in Arlington, Tex.

It was a year where:

* The Orioles recorded their sixth all-time season with 100 or more wins and came up with their most since 1980.

Coby Mayo isn’t bothered or distracted by the passing traffic. By the Orioles prospects in the fast lane and the attention that's tailgating them.

Prior to the farm system’s rise to a No. 1 ranking, Mayo would have been the center of attention and recipient of the organization’s top player award. Rarely is a hitter ignored who slashes .290/.410/.564 at the two highest levels with 45 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs and 99 RBIs in 140 games.

No one had more doubles, homers or RBIs or a higher slugging percentage and OPS, and his 93 walks ranked second behind Jackson Holliday, who won the award and is the top prospect in baseball.

Holliday could make the team out of spring training despite turning 20 this month and appearing in only 18 regular season games with Triple-A Norfolk. Mayo is 22 and he played in 62, but he’s likely to return until a spot opens for him.

Patience and understanding are two other tools that rate highly on any scale.

If you look at the Orioles' possible Opening Day roster as 2024 approaches, we can see that it’s crowded between Triple-A and the majors. Once again this year, it is not easy to find playing time for all that might be good enough to make that roster.

It’s been said many times, but having too much talent doesn’t seem to be a problem except for getting all those players on the field.

The Orioles have rebuilt their major league roster while building an elite talent pipeline and the No. 1 farm system in baseball. They are good, deep and talented, and it’s getting harder for some kids to break in.

Just a few years ago, the rebuilding Orioles were giving playing time to players whose resumes now would maybe not stand much of a chance of gaining playing time. These are different times in Birdland.

If the Orioles carried two catchers and just four outfielders to begin the year (yes, five seems more likely) they could carry seven infielders. They currently have seven infielders on their 40-man roster with Gunnar Henderson, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn, Joey Ortiz, Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg.

Mike Elias expressed confidence on Feb. 3, the first day of the Birdland Caravan, that the Orioles would concentrate on contending. The rebuild “is behind us,” he said. They were set up to be “a very competitive team for years.”

Then, they exceeded expectations by country miles.

They’d love to stick with the old script in the new year, with deletions made in the postseason chapter. Not another one-and-done scenario, swept out of the Division Series and sent back to Baltimore in crushed packaging.

The ball dropping in Times Square won't create the same thud as the ending to the Orioles’ season. However, those 101 victories and the many awards that followed allowed 2023 to rank among the best in franchise history.

Some people might say it all began on the first day of spring training, when Elias, now entering his sixth season as executive vice president/general manager, surprised the media by revealing that reliever Dillon Tate would go on the injured list with a strained flexor/forearm that could keep him out until May, and closer Félix Bautista would be slow-played while doing exercises to strengthen his left knee and right shoulder. No promises that he'd be ready for Opening Day.

During the Winter Meetings we found out the Orioles signed closer Craig Kimbrel, and also that top prospect Jackson Holliday could begin the 2024 season in the O's starting lineup.

We also got some very good draft news for the club. The assumption, confirmed in Nashville, was that the Orioles would have three picks well up in the draft.

Sure they won't have the No. 1 pick, as they did in 2019 and 2022, or a top five pick not No. 1, as they did in 2020 and 2021, but they will have three of the first 34 selections next July.

Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and his staff have led five previous drafts for the club since taking Adley Rutschman No. 1 in 2019, and they've never had three picks among the first 34.

In 2019, they selected 1, 42 and 71. In 2020 they picked 2, 30 and 39. Then it was 5, 41 and 65 and then 1, 33 and 42. Last year they selected 17, 53 and 64.

To find the last position player acquired by the Orioles, you’d have to go back to Dec. 1 with the signing of Cuban outfielder Jordan Sánchez to a reported bonus in the range of $400,000-$450,000.

MLB reporter Francys Romero had the Orioles finalizing the deal back on Oct. 26, pending the completion of a physical. Sánchez, 18, left Cuba in July 2023 and is headed to the Dominican Summer League.

To find the last major league position player, you’d have to go back to Nov. 1 with the waiver claim of outfielder Sam Hilliard from the Braves. He remains on the 40-man roster.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias left open the possibility at the Winter Meetings of bringing in another outfielder, but he also noted the internal options who could replace free agent Aaron Hicks.

“I think there’s some interesting guys there,” Elias said, “and we’re probably going to get somebody who pops out of that group and is able to step into those shoes.”

The Orioles had 36 players on their 40-man roster when the Winter Meetings began in Nashville and they made two moves with the free-agent signing of closer Craig Kimbrel and trade with Kansas City for pitcher Jonathan Heasley.

Kimbrel is a veteran of 14 major league seasons and the Orioles are his eighth team. He’s a former Rookie of the Year and a nine-time All-Star. He’s an open book.

Heasley appeared in 36 games with the Royals over the past three seasons, used in relief 12 times in 2023 after his 24 starts in 2021-22. The Orioles announced the trade on Dec. 18, surrendering Dominican Summer League right-hander Cesar Espinal.

How Heasley would be used, how he was viewed, wasn’t included in the press release and must be ascertained later.

Having one minor league option had to increase his appeal with the organization. The bullpen needs the flexibility. And we’re assuming that he’s more likely to work in relief, though he could make the occasional start.

Just a short entry today to wish all the readers at Steve’s blog and all of Birdland a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season. Enjoy your time with family and friends and I hope it’s your best Christmas yet.

A few quick thoughts on things in the news the last few days ...

Yamamoto signs: The Dodgers signed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year deal for $325 million. It will also cost them the nearly $51 million posting fee that goes to the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.

The rich get richer (in talent) here as Los Angeles wins the bidding war over several other big-market teams, even though the finalists reportedly made impressive bids. He pitched to an ERA of 1.21 (yep, not a misprint) over 168 innings and gave up just two home runs all season in 2023. His ERAs the previous two years were 1.39 and 1.68.

Kodai Senga came from Japan and pitched for the Mets. After posting an ERA of 1.89 in 2022 in Japan, he pitched to a 2.98 ERA for the Mets. That ranked fifth-best in all of MLB, one spot behind Kyle Bradish of the Orioles.

Baseball can experience an unofficial shutdown during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. However, there are some notable exceptions.

The Cubs traded starter Yu Darvish to the Padres on Dec. 28, 2020 for a package that included former Orioles minor league pitcher Zach Davies. A day earlier, the Rays traded starter Blake Snell to the Padres, the National League's Cy Young Award winner this year.

Going back to Dec. 28, 1994, the Astros and Padres consummated a 12-player trade involving Ken Caminiti, Steve Finley and Derek Bell.

Rickey Henderson signed a two-year, $4 million deal with the Padres on Dec. 29, 1995.

Keep an eye on San Diego. They don't give a fig about the calendar.

Time today for a few more facts and opinions about the 2023 Orioles and the Birds who will take the field in 2024.

Fact: The Orioles’ team ERA for last season was 3.89 which ranked fifth-best in the American League and seventh-best in the majors. In the second half, their team ERA of 3.58 ranked first in the AL and third in the majors.

Opinion: Is the O’s pitching really that good? Well it was last season and they were rolling in the second half. Several pitchers made improvements as the year went on. The back-end of the bullpen will be interesting to watch as Craig Kimbrel tries to replace Felix Bautista.

O’s executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said this in early November, before the Kimbrel signing: “I am worried about Bautista’s absence and I don’t believe we felt that fully in September of 2023. We are going to try like hell to bring in some help from the outside for the back of our bullpen.”

Well they got some help and now we see how that works out and if the bullpen, which appears a strength with some depth on paper, plays out that way once the games begin.

Ryan Minor, remembered for replacing Cal Ripken Jr. at third base on the night that baseball’s Iron Man voluntarily ended his consecutive-games streak, died tonight after fighting Stage 4 colon cancer for more than a year. He would have celebrated his 50^th birthday on Jan. 5.

Minor was placed in home hospice care last month.

Minor’s twin brother Damon, who played for the Giants from 2000-04, shared the news in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“After a courageous and hard fought battle I’m sad to say that Ryan lost his fight with cancer this afternoon,” Damon wrote. “He truly was the best twin brother you can ask for. His family and I want to thank everyone for the prayers and support during this time.”

Minor spent parts of three seasons with the Orioles and finished in 2001 with the Expos. He also was a basketball standout at the University of Oklahoma and was drafted in two sports. He later managed at Single-A Delmarva and Frederick.

The 2021 Orioles went 52-110 and finished 48 games out of first place. In an American League East where fourth-place Toronto won 91 games that season, the Orioles were 39 games out of fourth place.

No one could forsee that team two years later would win the AL East. The Orioles went from 52 to 83 to 101 wins in two seasons. It was quite a run and rise to the top of the division. They won the division last year for the first time since the 2014 season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The Orioles, coming off that many wins - the most in the AL and second-most in the majors - are now going to have to deal with higher expectations when a new season begins, from fans and media alike.

Heading into the 2023 season and coming off a 31-win improvement, some thought the club might regress a bit before moving forward again. On their way to 100 wins, some teams surge forward, hit a bump in the road and then resume winning again. The O’s hit no speed bumps in 2023.

They got off to a good start and were 19-9 at the end of April versus a somewhat soft schedule. As the opponents got tougher in May, the Orioles held their own, perhaps showing that their winning ways of April were legit. The Orioles entered July at 6 1/2 games back of Tampa Bay, which got off to an amazing start, winning each of their first 13 games. But by July 19 the Orioles were tied for first as Tampa Bay was losing night after night. No one saw that coming, but it did.

The question to Mike Elias at the Winter Meetings was not about rookie outfielder Colton Cowser specifically. Although it could have applied to him. Elias was basically asked about the impact of a player’s performance in a small sample size. If a top prospect gets a call-up and struggles, what does that mean?

Does the organization get down on the player or does it need more time to evaluate?

Well, it should not surprise us to hear that Elias essentially said they need more time. The small sample size, in many instances, just doesn’t tell us much. While some fans and/or media might surmise a player is not ready or needs more seasoning, sometimes the small sample size just really tells us we don’t have enough at-bats to know yet.

“There comes a point in time where, even if you have been a very successful minor league player, your major league failures start to make people go uh-oh," said Elias. "But it’s a lot longer than a pretty small sample. I don’t know what your definition of that is, but if it’s measured in months rather than a year or more, I would say it’s still pretty small. We have ways of objectively looking at that through our statistical analysis and other things that we do.

“But look, the big leagues are different than Triple-A and in my opinion it’s the biggest jump in the sport. Shohei Ohtani can’t get promoted out of the majors to another league, so it’s the one league where the best players stick around forever. There is a much larger jump from Triple-A to the big leagues and some guys’ success in the minors does not convert.

The Winter Meetings wrapped up two weeks ago and the Orioles hadn't added anyone to their roster until trading for Royals pitcher Jonathan Heasley on Monday. The last deal was the $12 million paid to closer Craig Kimbrel in 2024, along with a $13 million option and $1 million buyout.

Exactly one year ago tonight, the Orioles and Mets swung a trade that provided a backup catcher to Adley Rutschman. James McCann was acquired for a player to be named later who became minor league first baseman/outfielder Luis De La Cruz.

The Mets assigned De La Cruz to their Dominican Summer League team. He didn’t play in 2023.

They also were responsible for $19 million of the $24 million owed to McCann, who had two years remaining on his contract.

McCann said he was Christmas shopping when contacted by his agent. The catcher was caught off guard.

In late October, coming off a 101-win season and an AL East championship and after the departure of Brad Ciolek, the club’s director of draft operations. for a job with the Nationals, the Orioles announced several promotions in their front office.

It was a bit of tweaking of and promotions within their scouting and player development operation. Two key staffers that have helped the club rise to No. 1 in farm rankings, once again have big roles in 2024 with promotions and slightly different titles.

Matt Blood was promoted from director of player development to vice president of player development and domestic scouting. Joining Blood to help head up player development now will be Anthony Villa, 29, who has been with the Orioles since the 2020 season. He is Blood's replacement as director of player development. Villa was first an O's minor league hitting coach, then a minor league hitting coordinator for the lower levels of the farm and last year he was hitting coordinator for the entire farm system.

“The titles are new, the working relationship (with Matt and the O's staff) is more or less the same,” Villa told me at the Winter Meetings. Blood may spend more time now heading up Baltimore's scouting operation and a bit less time in the day-to-day work of player development.

Villa (pronounced Vill-ah) was a 19th-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2016 and played in the minors for three seasons. He's been a fast riser in the O's organization and now he'll have an even larger role in player development.

At a time when the Orioles organization has gotten a lot of props for their farm system, a lot of those props came due to position players/hitters that have already arrived like Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, plus a few on the way like Jackson Holliday, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo.

On the O’s farm, the hitters are higher ranked than the pitchers. On MLBPipeline.com's O’s top 30 right now, there are just two pitchers ranked in the top 11: Chayce McDermott at No. 10 and Cade Povich at No. 11.

But despite that, there are also some reasons to be encouraged about the O’s pitching development program.

It recently got some props and scored quite well in Baseball America’s Farm System Statcast Pitching Rankings, co-authored by Geoff Pontes and Dylan White. It was a deep dive into minor league pitchers, aggregating full-season pitching data, metrics and stats for hurlers between ages 17 and 26.

The goal was “to more accurately understand which organizations have the highest quality of overall pitching talent.” And they were attempting to “view the developing pitching talent in each organization, not the team’s ability to stock quality MiLB free agents into Triple-A bullpens.”

As we approach the Christmas holiday, I’ve decided to serve another batch of leftovers this morning.

Not from Thanksgiving. I’m brave but I also have my limits.

My mailbag is thinner but still could stand to lose a few pounds. Here are some extras from last week, with the usual reminders that I’d rather eat them than edit them.

Also, my mailbag is invited to office parties and yours is given the wrong date and address.

Do you think the acquisition of Craig Kimbrel makes it more likely that Wells starts the season in the rotation?
It might have improved his odds, but he could be destined for the bullpen if the Orioles acquire a starter, which they’re trying to do. New guy, Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, John Means, Dean Kremer. That’s five. Maybe Wells would be pitted against Kremer in camp. And DL Hall isn’t ready to bow out of the competition. Should be fun.

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher JONATHAN HEASLEY from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league right-hander CESAR ESPINAL.

Heasley, 26, did not factor in a decision while posting a 7.20 ERA (12 ER/15.0 IP) with 17 hits (5 HR), 13 total runs, one hit batter, two walks, and nine strikeouts in 12 MLB appearances for the Royals last season. He also went 2-5 with a 6.85 ERA (72 ER/94.2 IP) in 32 games (15 starts) for Triple-A Omaha. Entering 2023, 85 of his 92 professional games, including his first 24 in the big leagues, came as a starter.

A native of Plano, Texas, Heasley was selected by Kansas City in the 13^th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma State University. In 36 career Major League games (24 starts), he has gone 5-11 with a 5.45 ERA (81 ER/133.2 IP) and 85 strikeouts against 52 walks. He made his MLB debut on September 17, 2021 vs. Seattle (L, 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 HR, HBP, 2 K).

Espinal, 18, played with the DSL Orioles Orange last year, going 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA (12 ER/34.0 IP), 29 hits (2 HR), three hit batters, 11 walks, and 34 strikeouts in nine games (8 starts). The righty was originally signed by the Orioles as an international free agent on June 7, 2022 out of La Altagracia, Dominican Republic.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 38 players.

The Baltimore Orioles have agreed to a partnership with the State of Maryland, Governor Wes Moore, and the Maryland Stadium Authority that will keep the Orioles at Camden Yards for thirty years. The deal, which follows the broad, shared goals of the memorandum of understanding agreed to this fall, represents the commitment by the Orioles organization to the City of Baltimore, our fans, and the desire to reinvigorate the area in and around Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Downtown Corridor. Additionally, this new lease agreement will spur economic growth, drive community impact, and foster the ability to maintain and build a winning, competitive, and unmatched Major League Baseball team.

“When we began conversations with the state on a bigger vision for the ballpark and the greater plan for Baltimore, we had the shared goal of reaching an end result that would benefit both the city and state. I’m proud to say we accomplished that mission,” said GREG BADER, Chief Operating Officer of the Baltimore Orioles. “Thank you to the team in Governor Wes Moore’s office and the Maryland Stadium Authority for working with us to reimagine this partnership for the next generation. After a lengthy and complex process that has ultimately achieved the parties’ shared goals, we look forward to enhancements to Camden Yards that the Baltimore community can enjoy for decades to come.”

“From the very beginning I was clear that we would only sign an agreement that puts Maryland taxpayers at the top of mind, keeps the Orioles in Baltimore long-term, and benefits the entire City of Baltimore, and that is exactly what we have done here by extending the Orioles stadium lease at Camden Yards for another thirty years,” said GOV. WES MOORE. “The Orioles are a valued part of the Baltimore community, and we are grateful to continue this partnership with a deal that follows the broad shared goals of the memorandum of understanding from earlier this year. This agreement will not only benefit the world-class fan experience at Camden Yards, but the entire city as well, and we are thrilled knowing that Maryland will continue to see playoff baseball in Baltimore for years to come.”

“This agreement ushers in a new era for the Orioles organization, our fans, visitors, and the residents of this incredible city, and does so in a way that will complement the next three decades of Oriole magic,” said KERRY WATSON, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs of the Baltimore Orioles. “What’s next is an opportunity for a campus that brings life to the city 365 days a year.”

With plans to expand, develop, and implement an envisioned Downtown Corridor and Camden Yards campus, the historic agreement sets in motion the shared objective with Governor Moore to foster business, economic stability and growth, and positive community impact.