AL East Champions

For the first time since 1997, the Orioles have clinched the AL East Championship.  They did so today by routing the Blue Jays 8-2 in front of a hot crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  I'm so excited right now, I can't sleep, hence the late evening blog post.

The last time the Orioles were AL East champions, they won wire to wire.  I was a senior in High School and I remember one of the art teachers at my school was from Baltimore, so we would chat baseball every morning.  When they won the East, she gave me a photo from the Baltimore Sun that said "Wire to Wire", which I still have.

1997 was a tough year for me.  I lost a sister and a grandfather.  I remember spending the night at my cousin's house and watching the Orioles lose in the ALCS to the Indians.  That was a great team that was done in by some terrible bullpen performances that post season.

This Orioles team seems to be very resilient.  They have dealt with the losses of Matt Wieters and Manny Machado.  Sub-par seasons by Chris Davis, Ubaldo Jimenez and to a lesser extent, J. J. Hardy.  Buck Showalter has done an excellent job in putting the right pieces in place and getting the most out of his guys.

I'm so excited to be an Orioles fan right now!

(Thanks for the post card and Showalter card, Max S.).