A sampling of Hardy and Wieters from upcoming "Babe's Birthday Bash"

Among the more humorous social media reactions to the Orioles moving back the left field fence approximately 30 feet this season is how former shortstop J.J. Hardy would have scored standing up on Delmon Young's bases-clearing double in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series against the Tigers.

The loudest moment in Camden Yards history. The press box literally shook.

The new dimensions would have removed the heart-pounding excitement of a close play at the plate. Hardy's exhilarating sprint from first base - speed wasn't one of his plus tools - concluding with a skillful slide and hand sweep of home. Nelson Cruz scoring first and celebrating the go-ahead run with a backward somersault.

"Yeah," Hardy said during a recent Zoom call, "but I wouldn't have hit as many home runs."

Fair point.

Matt Wieters can tackle the fence topic from multiple angles. As a switch-hitter who launched 117 of his 146 home runs with the Orioles, and as a catcher tasked with guiding pitchers through treacherous lineups and their own trepidations about trying to get outs inside a bandbox.

"It would have made calling a game a little bit easier. That's for sure," Wieters said in the same Zoom call.

"It'll be interesting to see the change. But the great thing about baseball is, both teams are playing on the same field. With the Orioles, you've got to go to Fenway and play with that wall in left, you go to Yankee Stadium with the wall right behind second base in right. That's the great thing about baseball, why it's chess. Because you have to be able to move pieces differently with different situations."

Infielders may need to set up differently to make the cutoffs with the fence pushed back.

"I would have let the outfielder make a longer throw," Hardy said, grinning. "I probably would have stayed the same."

Wieters was the fifth overall pick in the 2007 draft and debuted two years later. Anointed the savior during a stretch of 14 consecutive losing seasons.

He would have been known as the face of the rebuild if the Orioles used that term - the same way that another first-round catcher, Adley Rutschman, is described today.

The comparisons between Wieters and Rutschman are inescapable.

"I can relate," Wieters said, "but I think what you'll see as we go through this interview is that, what was cool was when we started to have three, four, five, six, it became a team, not a face of the franchise, because baseball doesn't work like that. You can put all the pressure you want to on one guy, he can be the best player ever, (but) that's not going to relate to wins.

"So, that's what was cool about this (2012) team, because I feel like we really exemplified that in the building of kind of what the Orioles became during Buck (Showalter's) years."

The 2012 wild card season, one of the most memorable in franchise history, gets special 10-year anniversary treatment this month as part of the Babe Ruth Museum's 28th annual "Babe's Birthday Bash."

I'll provide a reminder later, but Wednesday's virtual program lets Hardy and Wieters take fans through the ups and downs of the season - an opening day win, 16 straight victories in extra innings, Chris Davis' pitching debut, Manny Machado's artistry at third base, Nick Markakis' fractured thumb, Nate McLouth's disputed foul ball in Game 5 of the Division Series at Yankee Stadium - and it also includes a live Q&A session afterward.

Hardy was on deck for McLouth's fly ball. He knows what he saw.

Click here for more information and tickets.