As the Orioles prepare to begin the 2021 Spring Training season, the club today announced plans to welcome a limited number of fans to attend games at Ed Smith Stadium this spring. The club will implement "pod" seating throughout the ballpark to ensure proper social distancing of at least six feet between each group of ticket holders. With this policy in place, the Orioles will make 1,833 tickets available for each game, operating at approximately 25 percent capacity. "The magic of Orioles...

Well, we've made it. Spring training has started, and a new baseball season is right around the corner. After all the havoc created by the pandemic since March, it feels good to look ahead to something with eager anticipation, doesn't it? While the Orioles get ready in Florida, we'll continue revisiting yesteryear with "Orioles Classics" on MASN. This week, we've got two distinct themes: postseason baseball from 1996 and some prodigious power displays from the guys in orange and black. So...

The Orioles are allowing fans into Ed Smith Stadium for their 2021 exhibition games. On a limited basis and with various protocols designed to keep everyone safe. The team announced today that it's implementing pod seating throughout the ballpark to ensure proper social distancing of at least six feet between groups of ticket holders. The Orioles are making a total of 1,833 tickets available for each game, operating at approximately 25 percent capacity. Policies for regular season games at...

With spring training less than a week away and the roster mostly set, it's a good time to look at the 2021 Nationals in comparison to the 2020 Nationals. Have they gotten better? Have they gotten worse? Have they essentially stayed the same? We looked at position players yesterday, and in most cases the conclusion was that the Nats should be better at most positions. What about the pitching staff? Glad you asked. Let's break it down by role ... NO. 1 STARTER: Probably better Max Scherzer...

After watching a record 6.776 homers leave ballparks during the 2019 season, Major League Baseball officials are taking an action that could produce fewer longballs this year. According to sources cited by several outlets, MLB will slightly deaden the baseballs for the 2021 season. According to an Associated Press report, MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cites an independent lab that found the new balls will fly one to two feet shorter on balls hit over...

Will the Orioles have at least two rookies in their starting rotation on opening day? Manager Brandon Hyde isn't handing out jobs a day before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Keegan Akin and Dean Kremer are expected to earn them, but that's exactly what they'll have to do. For now, Hyde is saying only that they've earned the opportunity. That is all. The rest is up to them. "I like to keep guys competitive," Hyde said during our recent video Q&A that's going to be...

The Nationals, as a team, were not very good last season. It was only 60 games, so you have to be careful about drawing broad conclusions, but nobody would try to claim 2020 was a success for the defending World Series champs. Thus, the objective entering 2021 is rather simple: Be better. Hopefully better enough to return to the postseason and then make a run at another title. But are they better? And if so, how much better? Though there's still the chance of more transactions before pitchers...

In case you thought baseball would get back to normal in 2021, and I have no idea why you'd assume so, please consider the following: Each team is appointing at least one facemask enforcement officer and automatic fines will be issued for non-compliance during games, with fines collected donated to charity. I remember when a bench coach was a new idea. Face coverings must be worn except for players on the field for games or warmups. Then it's optional. I'm amused whenever a see a report that...

The Orioles farm system got some further positive recognition yesterday when it was ranked No. 7 by Baseball America in organizational rankings. That is up from No. 12 last year. In MLBPipeline.com's latest organizational rankings, released in the fall, the O's moved up from No. 13 to No. 8. It should be pointed out that not every outlet sees the O's farm as top 10 or even top 15. The Athletic rated the O's No. 18 when it released ratings for every MLB club yesterday. Baseball America noted...

The first spring training workout is four days away. Some baseballs will be dropped, but not many clues about how the roster is going to be constructed and the pitching staff assembled. The full squad doesn't take the field until Feb. 22, but again, there's only so much you can read into early drills. Maybe where some players are taking grounders, though the media isn't permitted on the back fields. Maybe where some players are grouped - whether a fringe guy is placed with the regulars or...