Orioles great Adam Jones is on the ballot with no votes received so far.
Hello, friends.
There are now two months and eight days remaining until Orioles Opening Day, where they’ll be in Toronto to play the Blue Jays. At least we know they won’t be facing Roki Sasaki on that day. It’s only 24 days to go until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota to mark the beginning of spring training.
The next date of note on the baseball offseason calendar sits two days away, when the results for the BBWAA Hall of Fame voting for this year’s induction will be announced. If you’ve been following the intrepid Ryan Thibodaux and his Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker team, you may already know that based on ballots revealed so far, Ichiro Suzuki is a unanimous choice, with each of CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner, and Carlos Beltrán above the 75% threshold for induction.
This probably signals a three-person class with first-timers Suzuki and Sabathia getting in along with 10th-timer Wagner, who came up just short last year. Beltrán has made a big gain over last year, but last year the voters who were not accountable by keeping their ballots private were harsher on him and that will likely continue this year.
Great Oriole Adam Jones is on the ballot, has not received any votes so far, and probably will not receive one. A number of other former Orioles whose final season was 2020 could be eligible to be placed on the ballot for next year: Chris Davis, Nick Markakis, and Matt Wieters. They probably won’t get any votes either. The infrequently-posed hypothetical of what if Markakis got 3000 hits came up 612 short. It’s going to be a while before the Cooperstown ceremonies are of much interest to Orioles fans.
Around the blogO’sphere
Orioles international program adds more talent in busy week (Steve Melewski)
Steve runs down the current talent in the system that’s come in as international signings.
Orioles continue making noise in international market (Orioles.com)
Jake Rill’s latest on this week’s signing class includes some notes about a few players who had signing bonuses in the hundred thousands of dollars.
Zach Eflin has pitched like an ace before. Can he be one for the Orioles? (The Baltimore Sun)
Mike Elias seems to be willing to bet a lot of the 2025 season on the answer to this question being yes, based on how he’s put together the rotation this offseason.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2013, legendary Orioles manager Earl Weaver passed away at the age of 82.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 1995-97 pitcher Rick Krivda, 1994 infielder Chris Sabo, and 1959/63/68 outfielder Fred Valentine.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: steam engine pioneer James Watt (1736), writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809), musician Janis Joplin (1943), and J-pop icon Hikaru Utada (1983).
On this day in history…
In 1419, the French town of Rouen surrendered to England’s Henry V, marking a high point in the Hundred Years’ War for England as it regained full control of the Normandy area.
In 1953, an episode of I Love Lucy aired in which Lucy gave birth. An estimated 71% of all TV sets in America at this time tuned in to the network to watch.
In 1981, an agreement was reached between the United States and Iran that led to the release of the embassy hostages after they were held in Iran for 14 months.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on January 19. Have a safe Sunday.