With the exception of the 37 minor league players released last week, the Orioles haven't done much with their personnel since returning home from spring training. The sport is on hold and the camp roster is on ice. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Mountcastle, pitcher David Hess, infielder Ramón Urías and outfielder Cedric Mullins were the last players cut, and those moves became official back on March 19. Five days after I boarded a flight out of Tampa. Mountcastle received most of his work...

After consulting with players who expressed a strong desire to wait to receive their World Series rings until they could all gather in person, the Nationals announced they will no longer hold their originally planned virtual ring ceremony Sunday night. The Nationals still will televise a show at 7 p.m. Sunday night on MASN in which the ring design is revealed and a handful of key players are interviewed, but they won't hand out the rings to players until a future date when everyone is gathered...

Our World Series rings were originally scheduled to be presented to our players and staff prior to the second home game of the 2020 season. As fans, media, employees, coaches and players continued to ask about when World Series rings would be distributed, the Nationals planned a special, first of its kind virtual ring ceremony. We knew it wouldn't be ideal, but it would offer the collective opportunity to reconnect with our fans and support important work being done in our community by Capital...

This was the day it all came to an end, the last day of a rough streak for the Nationals. From this date onward, the Nats turned it around. One year ago today. Following a 19-31 start in 2019, the Nats went 86-43 the rest of the way. That is right, the Nats played .667 baseball from May 24 to Oct. 30 in coming away with their first World Series title. Up to May 23, 2019, they posted a record of 19-31, the second-worst in the National League at the time, third worst in all of baseball. Be...

He has been a minor league coach and manager for the Orioles organization and his tenure spans 20 years. It's a labor of love for Baltimore native Gary Kendall, whose first O's managing assignment was at Rookie-level Bluefield in 2004. Kendall, now manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, had a big hand in sending many players on to Baltimore. The list includes Trey Mancini, Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop, John Means, Mychal Givens, Hunter Harvey, Chance Sisco, Austin Hays, Anthony Santander...

After offering a partial list of athletes who would interest me in a 10-part documentary, I wanted to pile on by including an obvious choice. One that must be near or at the top. Hank Aaron would be an incredible watch. Also a difficult one, given the ugliness that followed his pursuit of the all-time home run record. But racism isn't supposed to be comfortable. Aaron has shown a willingness in the past to share his experiences, the stacks of hateful mail with threats and harassment that...

The Orioles hadn't made a final decision on shortstop Richie Martin prior to baseball's shutdown in spring training. He remained on the camp roster, which is frozen at 50 players. The club could have placed him in a utility role or, more likely, assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk in an attempt to further develop his skills. They had the freedom to go in any direction with Martin no longer holding Rule 5 status. Now what? The minor league season is expected to be canceled due to the coronavirus...

The Nationals work very hard on teaching their catchers how to guide each pitcher through their outing, making sure the duo remain on the same page, keeping them focused on the task at hand. This concentration on the next pitch - an ability to clear out distraction that might have been caused by the last play - is important in helping the pitcher and catcher stay on point. These two players have to work together for the team to be successful. "Another thing that our organization really...

Are we possibly only a few weeks away from baseball? If Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association can come to an agreement - and if society at large is ready for it - we could see "Spring Training 2.0" begin roughly three weeks from now, then the regular season begin the first week of July. In the meantime, the Nationals are all set to hold their virtual ring ceremony on Sunday at 7 p.m. on MASN, a surprise development that has caught some folks off guard this week. It's not the...

Pitchers who are confined to their homes during the pandemic are challenged to find a mound and perhaps a willing partner to provide a target. Hitters are relegated to batting cages, if they have one built or access to a facility that's open, in order to stay sharp. What's an infielder to do? José Flores, who replaced Bobby Dickerson as Orioles third base coach and infield instructor prior to the 2019 season, is trying to teach and encourage from Puerto Rico. He doesn't know whether...