It’s been 40 years since our beloved Orioles last played in the World Series. But unless you’re a Baltimorean solidly into middle age, you wouldn’t really remember the ’83 club—a mix of veterans and some young stars, namely a couple of fellows named Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray—or the massive championship parade that followed the five-game Series win in Philadelphia.

In fact, outside of the aforementioned dynamic duo and World Series MVP Rick Dempsey—and a maybe a handful of others—younger fans likely did not recognize a lot of faces when the members of that team returned to Baltimore last month for a pre-game reunion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their epic achievement.

That ’83 club won 98 games, and basically led the AL East all season. From spring training on, they were all but certain that they were going to win the World Series.

Currently, the 2023 Orioles are on track to win even more games—and, of course, they also sit in first place in the AL East. But this time, no one, not even the team itself, saw this season coming.

So, with playoff hopes and even World Series aspirations, we thought it might be fun to look at how these 2023 Orioles compare to the ’83 O’s. We’ll go position by position, but first, a few general observations:

• The ’83 and ’23 clubs are almost nothing alike, except that they hustle, play sound defense, and don’t beat themselves. The ’83 Birds missed the playoffs the year before with a loss in the last game of the season. Earl Weaver had retired after the ’82 season, but it hardly mattered. The veteran club knew how to prepare and win. New manager, Joe Altobelli, moving up from Rochester, didn’t have to do much more than write out the lineup card.
• Meanwhile, the ’23 Orioles did produce a surprising winning season last year after a number of long rebuilding seasons. But who thought they’d have the best record in the American League at this point? Unlike Altobelli, no doubt a fine skipper, current O’s manager Brandon Hyde has masterfully juggled a young and ever-evolving roster all season.

Let’s compare side-by-side:

Catcher: Rick Dempsey vs. Adley Rutschman
Both are the heart and soul of their respective clubs. Dempsey may have been the best defensive catcher of his generation, but he was also not an All-Star caliber hitter like Rutschman. (The ’83 World Series being the notable exception).
Edge: 2023 O’s

First Base: Eddie Murray vs. The Ryans (Mountcastle and O’Hearn)
Mountcastle and O’Hearn are having terrific years and hitting in the clutch a la Eddie. But in ’83, Murray was the league MVP runner-up for the second year in a row.
Edge: 1983 O’s

Second Base: Rich Dauer vs. Adam Frazier/Jordan Westburg
Dauer was a fine infielder as are the veteran acquisition Frazier and the rookie Westburg. But Dauer only hit five home runs and batted .235. Both Frazier and Westburg have more pop, with Westburg, in particular, looking like a potential five-tool player.
Edge: 2023 O’s

Shortstop: Cal Ripken vs. Gunnar Henderson/Jorge Matos
All three are great defenders and Henderson will no doubt win the AL Rookie of the Year this season, as Cal had done previously. But in ’83, Cal was the AL MVP.
Edge: 1983 O’s

Third Base: Todd Cruz vs. Ramon Urias/Gunnar Henderson
A former shortstop, Cruz played exceptional defense, but he also hit .208. Urias won a Gold Glove last year, and Henderson can also make spectacular plays. They are also dangerous at the plate, however, particularly the phenom Henderson, who has so far smashed 25 home runs.
Edge: 2023 O’s

Left field: John Lowenstein and Gary Roenicke vs. Austin Hays
Hays made the All-Star team and is true all-around player. Lowenstein and Roenicke combined for 34 home runs and 124 RBIs, making them probably the greatest platoon in Orioles history.
Edge: 1983 O’s

Center field: Al Bumbry vs. Cedric Mullins
The Bumble Bee is one of the all-time most beloved O’s, but he was 36 in ’83. Mullins can change a game any night—and often does—with his glove, speed, and power.
Edge: 2023 O’s

Right field: “Disco” Dan Ford vs. Tony Taters
Ford had a solid year in ’83, batting .280. Anthony Santander is headed to another 30-plus HR season and plays an underrated right field.
Edge: 2023 O’s

DH: Ken Singleton vs. Ryan O’Hearn/James McCann/Adley Rutschman
The current Orioles use a lot of different players in the DH slot, and Hyde manages the lineup well. That said, Singleton, though on the downside of his career at 36, filled out the middle of the ’83 O’s batting order, delivering 18 HRs and 84 RBIs while hitting .276 and leading the club with a .393 on-base percentage.
Edge: 1983 O’s

Starting Pitching
With veterans Jim Palmer and Mike Flanagan battling injuries and Dennis Martinez struggling, Scott McGregor, Storm Davis, and Mike Boddicker led the rotation. It was a different era without a doubt. That said, McGregor, who went 18-7 with a 3.18 ERA, and Boddicker, who went 16-8 with a 2.77 ERA, put together elite seasons. Let’s not forget, along with Davis, the ’83 O’s “big three” averaged more than 200 innings pitched. Perhaps the most surprising thing about the 2023 O’s has been the development of their starting pitching—Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer first and foremost. Veteran acquisition Kyle Gibson has won 14 games and rookie Grayson Rodriguez is starting to look like he’s arrived, as well. We’ll see what John Means can add down the stretch and potentially in the playoffs, but right now, outside Bradish and, on a good night, Kremer, this staff is still a work, albeit a promising work, in progress.
Edge: 1983 O’s

Bullpen
Until Felix Bautista went down with an elbow injury, this was almost no-brainer. Let’s just not forget that Tippy Martinez and Sammy Stewart went a combined 18-7 out of the pen for the ’83 O’s while logging a combined 247.2 innings. With Yannier Cano, as well as just the development of the modern bullpen, the new O’s have much more late inning fire power.
Edge: 2023 O’s

If you’re counting, the overall edge here goes to the 2023 Orioles, 6-5. There is a caveat, of course, which is the baseball bromide that great pitching beats great hitting.
Translated: the 1983 O’s edge in starting rotation needs to count twice. Also, the two best position players on either club—far and away—are Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray.

So, the “too long, didn’t read” conclusion is: Until this current crop of young O’s—who really remind us more of the young birds who brought home Baltimore’s first World Series in 1966—prove us wrong, we’re naturally sticking with the ’83 Orioles as the better club. But hey, we’d love to see our minds changed come October and November.

One 24-hour weather postponement aside, the start of the Orioles season at home couldn’t have gone any better. At the home opener Friday, the birds clinched a 7-6 win over the New York Yankees when closer Felix Bautista snagged a thrilling save in the ninth that brought the entire stadium to its feet. But, as veteran fans know, Opening Day is about so much more than the action on the field.

More than 45,000 revelers decked out in orange and black packed Camden Yards to crack open a Boh, shout “O!” during the national anthem, cheer on their favorite bottle in the condiment race, and bob their heads to John Denver during the seventh-inning stretch. And even more flocked to Pickles Pub and the new Section 771 across the street (plus other birdwatching spots around town,) in celebration of the city’s unofficial spring holiday. There were Orange Crush toasts, fireworks, and plenty of hugs and high-fives—all signifying an exciting start to the season ahead.

Talk about Orioles magic. Below, we capture the energy of the day in photos.

In baseball, we are all Monday Morning General Managers. Lots of people mock and deride the seven-year, $161-million contract Chris Davis signed with the Orioles back in 2016—and rightfully so—but we conveniently forget that we were all clamoring for it at the time.

Davis had just come off a 47 home run, 117 RBI season. He was one of the most exciting players in baseball. His nickname was Crush. I mean, how cool was that? Every time he came to the plate, it seemed like he would either hit a home run or strike out. It was thrilling! And he played an above average first base, too—stretching that muscular body beyond all laws of physiology. Plus, he was a good guy—handsome, a community leader, a gentle giant, a man of God.

The idea of Chris jacking home runs for another team—God forbid, the New York Yankees—seemed unthinkable. So the fans held signs with “Sign Crush” on them, they chanted his name, they called talk radio shows whining about how ineffectual and cheap the O’s front office was.

When he did sign, we celebrated. Never forget how much we celebrated. Sure, a few baseball sophisticates groaned that it was dangerous to sign a 30-year-old slugger to a massive seven-year deal. That we could trade him and reap the benefits in our farm system for years to come. That we could save money to sign the young superstar Manny Machado when the time came. But most fans were pumped. Baseball fans tend to have a “What have you done for me lately?” mindset.

That mindset would later come back to haunt Davis.

Today, Chris Davis announced his retirement from baseball. He’d missed all of this season with a hip injury, and lots of the previous season, too. But he really hadn’t been Chris Davis—the guy we all cheered for, the superhero in cleats—for several years before that.

Right after he signed that giant deal he had a subpar year, for him at least: .221 batting average, 38 home runs, 84 RBI. Maybe he was nervous? Putting too much pressure on himself? Surely he’d be back to his old self in 2018.

Instead, his stats continued to go downhill. He wasn’t just bad—he was historically bad. In 2018, he batted .168. That’s abysmal, 32 points below the dreaded “Mendoza Line.” In 2019, he batted .179 and hit 12 home runs, at one point staggering his way through an 0-54 slump. He was officially the worst regular player in the major league baseball. Little kids wrote him letters to cheer him up.

What happened?

Everyone’s got a theory, of course. Some said it was the yips, a famous sports condition where an athlete gets so far in his own head, he can no longer rely on simple muscle memory. So a third baseman can no longer throw the ball to first. A pitcher can no longer toss the ball back to the catcher. A power hitter can no longer hit home runs. (Simone Biles’ “twisties” that she experienced during the recent Summer Olympics is a variation of the yips—albeit a much more dangerous one, what with all the flying through the air and everything.)

Of course, there were whispers that he used performance enhancing drugs—that always happens when a guy has so much power. (Notably, he was suspended 25 games in 2014 for the use of Adderall, a drug he said treated his ADHD.)

Others thought it was sheer stubbornness on his part. Teams adjusted to Crush—the way they pitched him and, more importantly, the way they fielded him. (They put on something called the shift, where the infielders moved back into the outfield to field his hard-hit grounders and line drives.) But he never adjusted his approach. He didn’t change his batting stance or his grip. He didn’t try to pull the ball less. He didn’t try to sneak in a bunt to counteract all those infielders milling about in the outfield. In a way, how could you blame the guy? He’d achieved so much success doing it the old way. But the old way simply wasn’t working anymore.

So now, here we are, 2021 and it’s official. After 10 years, Chris Davis is no longer an Oriole. He still has two years left on his contract. He is still owed $46 million by the team.

And the question is: How should we remember him? I think right now it’s inevitable that people will talk about that massive contract, that albatross around the Orioles’ neck. They’ll talk about the money he is still owed, money that could been spent on better, more productive, younger players. People will remember the horrible slump, the wretched batting average, the pain of watching our superstar shrink down to decidedly human size.

Hopefully, though, in time, we’ll focus more on the good times. For starters, the incredible charity work he and his wife, Jill, did with the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital. And then, his heroics on the field. He gave us a lot of excitement for a while there—leading the league in home runs twice, coming third in voting for MVP in 2013. There was even that time he stepped in as a pitcher against Boston, threw two scoreless innings, struck out two Red Sox, and got the win. And you want to feel pumped up? Go to YouTube and search for “Chris Davis home runs.” Or watch this beautiful tribute video the Os just posted to their social media accounts.

Man, how loud we cheered. How majestic those shots were. How much fun it was while it lasted.

Here is some much-needed good news: Orioles fan favorite Trey Mancini is cancer-free.

He’s about the most down-to-earth baseball star we’ve ever encountered, so when the 28-year-old—considered the elder statesman of the O’s during their current rebuilding project—was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in February, the outpouring of support he received was not surprising.

Nine months later, we’re pleased to report that Mancini is on the other end of his cancer battle. On a Zoom call with reporters this week, he said he finished chemotherapy treatments in September, recent blood tests show he is cancer-free, and he is very much looking forward to being back with the Orioles in 2021, starting with spring training.

“I’m feeling great,” Mancini said. “I feel totally like myself. I’m working out and hitting…There’s no reason for me to believe if spring training started tomorrow, I wouldn’t be ready to go, because I really would.”

Given the shocking nature of his story—a colon cancer diagnosis in his 20s, followed by surgery to remove the tumor and chemotherapy—and recognizing the platform he has, Mancini said he plans to advocate for colon cancer awareness and early screening, as well as help pay for colonoscopies for young people in the years ahead.

The awareness efforts started almost immediately. In late April, The Great Mancini—as we called him after a remarkable 2017 rookie season—wrote a first-person essay for The Players’ Tribune about his diagnosis, and he continued to speak out after he started chemo that month.

Along the way, upon further reading, we learned this fact: In the U.S., approximately 10 percent of colon cancer cases are found in people under the age of 50, but the resulting incidences and deaths are increasing in that age bracket, while decreasing in those over 50. “And we’re not sure why,” Mancini says.

In June, the Orioles started selling #F16HT t-shirts, featuring Mancini’s jersey number within the obvious cancer-fighting motto. The t-shirt sales have raised more than $80,000 so far to benefit the Colorectal Cancer Alliance (CCA)—a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides support to colon cancer patients and their families and funding for research. Mancini is on the group’s “Never Too Early” advisory board.

“It’s just another testament to everybody in Baltimore and their support and rallying around me during this really tough time,” Mancini said of the fundraising effort. “It means the world to me.”

We know you want to hear more from the guy, so what follows here is a lightly edited transcript from the Zoom Q&A Mancini did with reporters earlier this week.

Has your perspective changed, given what you’ve gone through this year, and in the context of a pandemic, too?
My perspective has changed a whole lot. My ultimate goal has always been to come back and be back to myself on the baseball field, but that really plays second fiddle to just wanting to be healthy. I’ve always appreciated being healthy, but never like I have this year. It’s so important in life. I don’t want to say I took it for granted before, but I have a newfound appreciation for it. In the future, every three months I’ll go get checked up and have appointments with my oncologist. We’re going to stay on top of it from here on out, and that’s my new normal. I’m also very excited to get back to normal life, too.

What has your mindset been like throughout this experience?
It’s been getting through every day. You’re going to have good days and bad days. Everybody I talked to before I started chemotherapy, and even before my surgery, they said you’re going to have some really good days, some really bad days. Don’t get too high on the good days. Don’t let the bad days drag you down and make your outlook a lot worse. You got to make it through the next day, and I did that. Honestly it flew by. I thought it was going to be the longest six months imaginable, but luckily I have the greatest support system in the world. [My girlfriend] Sara literally took care of me every day and made my life so much easier. I’m forever grateful to her for that. It was really tough, but luckily I was surrounded by some great people that made it better.

 

“You’re going to have good days and bad days. Don’t get too high on the good days. Don’t let the bad days drag you down and make your outlook a lot worse.”

 

What are the next steps for you in the months, and even years, ahead?
I get checked up every three months for this first year and then I believe it goes to every six months for the next few years after that. It’s bloodwork and getting scans. Making sure everything looks good. Because the biggest worry is a recurrence. You pray that never happens. I feel really good about things. I’ve had pretty extensive blood tests and scans and everything looks great. There was no trace of tumor DNA or cancer in my bloodstream. But it’s still something you have to monitor. At the same time, that’s something that’s largely out of my control.

I’m doing everything I can physically to be ready to play, and to still have a long career. I’m feeling really good about that. Another thing you worry about before chemotherapy are the side effects. Luckily, I’m feeling really good. Neuropathy can be a long-term side effect of it sometimes, but I’m totally good in that regard. My coordination is just as good as it was and everything feels fantastic. I feel strong and like myself.

Have you thought about why this has happened to you?
Sometimes I’ll wonder what it was that caused it. My dad had it, but he was close to 60 years old when he had it. I didn’t test positive for any genetic disorders that were inherited from him. There are so many things that it could have possibly been. I got to a point of thinking there’s no use in in guessing what it could have been. It could have been multiple things. Sometimes you’re just unlikely in that regard. I didn’t really ask why too much. I just wanted to attack it and get back to being myself.

How do you plan on advocating for early screening and cancer awareness moving forward?
I’m just getting started with that. It is something that is very important to me. I’ve gotten to know a lot of amazing people that that work with the CCA and people who have had colon cancer, as well. They’ve all helped me tremendously throughout my process. Being able to give back them to is really important to me and something I’m going to continue to do in the future. I have a few ideas to plan events to benefit the CCA and to help with early screening because people are getting it at a much younger age now, We’re not sure why, but there is a reason. We want to find that out.

And obviously colonoscopies, they can be expensive. Especially if you’re a younger person, so [I’m thinking of] helping people who can’t afford it that are in a high-risk population. It’s easy to say, “Go get screened. Go get a colonoscopy,” but some people just can’t afford to do it.

 

“Wherever they want me to play, whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it. If they want me in the outfield, I’ll play outfield. If they want me at first, I’ll be there. I never take that for granted—getting to play major league baseball every day.”

 

Have you talked with the team about what position you’ll play in 2021? So many things have changed with the club since you’ve been out.
Not exactly. I’ve been through a lot this year so that was kind of the last thing on our minds, but obviously now that we’ve turned that corner, it’s something everybody is thinking about. I said it my rookie year and I’ll say it again: Wherever they want me to play, whatever they want me to do, I’ll do it. I never take that for granted, getting to play major league baseball every day. It’s been my dream my whole life. If they want me in the outfield, I’ll play outfield. If they want me at first, I’ll be there. DH, I’ll be there. If they want to try me out at second base, I’ll do it. I don’t recommend that, but literally whatever they want, I’m thankful to go out there and perform for the team.

How long will it take you to get back into game shape?
Not long at all. When I get there in February, I really think everybody will look at me and think that nothing happened if they didn’t know what happened. I’ve been inspired. Ever since I finished my chemo, that was a huge milestone for me, then all my attention turned back toward baseball. I’m working out five times a week, and I’m hitting those days, too. Right now, I’m still [hitting off a tee]. It’s something you want to slowly progress into. I had a pretty good amount of time off. You want to retrain your muscles. I have an inkling sometimes to go in there and take swings at 100 percent right at the beginning, but you have to remember you’re not totally conditioned for that. But by the time December rolls around, I’ll probably be ahead of where I normally am in an offseason.

How creative did you get with workouts in quarantine? We saw the dog squats…
The puppy squats. I think that was really the only off-the-wall workouts. I was able to do these 25- to 30-minute cardio/light weight workouts on the weeks that I felt good. Since I got treatments every other week, in that off week I felt good enough to workout. That helped me tremendously. Once I was done with chemotherapy, I didn’t start at ground zero. Because of those workouts, I maintained a decent amount of my strength. Any day I felt good, or even if I didn’t feel good, I’d go take a long walk or something. You want to lay around all day when you’re not feeling well, but getting up and moving around really does help in your recovery.

There’s a collective sense of heartbreak being felt among players, fans, and the entire city as the Orioles head into their home opener at Camden Yards. Last night, only hours after it was announced that he had been awarded the Wild Bill Hagy Award and elected into the Orioles Hall of Fame, sports superfan Mossila “Mo” Gaba passed away at the age of 14 after his fifth battle with cancer.

Gaba lost his eyesight to a malignant tumor when he was an infant, but his infectious laughter and positive attitude made him a shining light of positivity for sports fans in Baltimore and beyond. He was known for his frequent calls to local sports talk-radio shows and sideline visits with players at the stadiums. He was also honored as the first person to read off an NFL Draft selection from a Braille card in 2019.

Gaba’s outlook on life was perhaps summed up best in a 2018 interview conducted by outfielder Trey Mancini, one of Gaba’s closest friends and supporters: “Every day when I wake up in the morning, I always feel like I’m going to achieve something that’s pretty cool,” Gaba said then, sitting in his wheelchair on the field at Camden Yards. “I just think positive.”

Many local athletes and community members have taken to social media to share tributes to Gaba and send condolences to his mom, Sonsy, and the rest of his family.