The Orioles were robbed of Gold Gloves, Cy Young nod.
There were clearly a lot of surprises this week and, while this one seems minor in the grand scheme of things, Orioles fans were shocked with the news. For the first time since 2010, no Orioles were awarded with Gold Glove awards. This is especially jarring since third baseman Manny Machado had the highest fielding percentage and the second-fewest errors at his position. The decision not to award Chris Davis, who we saw make some impressive catches at first base this year, is a bit more understandable considering his 10 errors to winner Mitch Moreland’s two.

But the real crime is that closer Zach Britton wasn’t even named a finalist for the Cy Young Award, when he didn’t blow a save all year. Granted, relievers don’t normally factor in, but his 2016 season was exemplary with a perfect 47-for-47 in save opportunities, a league-leading 0.54 ERA for pitchers who have worked at least 50 innings, and a span of 43 appearances without a single home run (from April 30 to August 24). Needless to say, manager Buck Showalter is not pleased.

“That’s a real poor reflection on the people who are evaluating him,” the skipper told MASN. “This guy had maybe the best year in the history of relief pitching. He should have finished in the top three in MVP, OK? He should. There’s nobody in baseball who’s more valuable to their team than Zach Britton is to the Orioles.” Preach!

One possibly silver lining? Quite literally, Mark Trumbo received the 2016 Silver Slugger Award for one of three American League (AL) outfield positions, the first Oriole outfielder to win the award since 2013. And, possibly best of all, Showalter was once again named a finalist for AL Manager of the Year with some stiff competition in the Indians’ Terry Francona. The winner will be announced next Tuesday, November 15, but we all know who gets our vote.

Orioles don’t make QO to catcher Matt Wieters.
Fan favorite and hometown boy Matt Wieters may not be wearing an Orioles uniform next year. While the team made a qualifying offer to Trumbo, they passed on the chance to extend the $17.2M, single-season offer to Wieters this time around. The catcher struggled a bit this past season with a .243 average and fell well shy of the above-average offensive number he has posted in prior years. Though he was an All Star, hit 17 home runs, and had solid fielding, the team likely wasn’t willing to pay big bucks based on his age, offensive production, and future injury risk. But Wieters, now a free agent, should have his fair share of suitors.

As far as the Orioles, they may not have to look very far for a replacement since Chance Sisco was named as the best position player in the club’s minor league system by Baseball America. The 22-year-old spent most of the season at AA Bowie before a promotion to AAA Norfolk, hitting for a combined .317 with six homers, 28 doubles, and 51 RBIs.

Tatyana McFadden wins fourth-consecutive New York City marathon.
We’ve got a real-life Superwoman in Clarksville native Tatyana McFadden. After a stunning performance at the Olympics in Rio, the Paralympic athlete returned to the states to dominate at the New York City marathon on Sunday. It is her fourth-consecutive title, finishing the wheelchair race in one hour, 47 minutes and 43 seconds. Not to mention that she completed the Grand Slam by winning in London, Boston, Chicago, and New York. The New York Times beautifully recounted McFadden’s multi-burough race, in which she thrived on the uphill climb of the Queensboro Bridge and stayed focus throughout:

McFadden pushed well ahead of the field at the start, before Schär, Amanda McGrory and Susannah Scaroni caught up by Mile 6 in Brooklyn. The pack stayed tight until the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. Koch, a former New York mayor, had a trademark line — “How’m I doin’?” — and McFadden had an answer. Just fine. She even loves the crosswind. Makes it even tougher. Here she continued to pass the elite male wheelchair racers, including her coach, Adam Bleakney, a four-time Paralympian. What did he say to his star racer? “Not a word,” Bleakney said. “She was going too fast.”

Hopkins moves to No. 9.
We’d be remiss without a shoutout to one of the other top-flight local college football programs—the Hopkins’ Blue Jays have moved to 7-0 and are ranked No. 9 in the national Division III poll. Five times, they’ve put up 40-plus points this season. They hit the road the next two weeks, but they return to Homewood Nov. 12 for their regular season finale against McDaniel. Might be the year that Hopkins makes a long playoff after three seasons of post-season heartbreaks.

The Ravens are in their bye week.
Thank God.

Zach Britton saves American League’s All-Star win.
Though we really shouldn’t be surprised, our very own Zach Britton closed out a 4-2 American League victory with a scoreless ninth inning in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Britton is a perfect 27-for-27 in save opportunities this year and go to show off his skills for the last three at-bats of the game, ending with a double-play grounder that sealed the AL’s victory. In doing so, he became the second O’s pitcher to earn a save in the All-Star Game since Don Aese in 1986. More disappointing, however, were the Orioles position players, who combined for an 0-for-6 performance at the plate. One silver lining? Mark Trumbo reached on an error and had an impressive showing at the Home Run Derby the night before, clocking 30 dingers and making it to the semi-finals. Regardless, the moral of the story is that, with the American League’s win, the Orioles will have home-field advantage when they (inevitably) make it to the World Series this year.

Athletes + dogs = cute.
This formula is a no-brainer and one that we recently tested out when we visited two Orioles and their dogs at Camden Yards. (Check out the photos in the current July issue of Baltimore magazine.) And, as if we needed further proof, there were two news items relating to athletes and their pets this week. The first was that Ravens center Jeremy Zuttah and wife Heran included their dog Ace as a groomsman when they got married last month. Ace, donning a black-and-white doggie tux, put in some extra training at the Downtown Dog before walking down the aisle with Jeremy’s brother. “He’s awesome,” Heran told BaltimoreRavens.com. “I just could not imagine getting married without him.”

Plus, the Orioles announced this week that they’ll be giving away a bobblehead featuring Chris Davis and his English bulldog, Samson on August 20. The bobblehead—with Davis’s alter ego Crush and Samson with a bobbly head himself—will be given out to the first 25,000 fans ages 15 and older. That same night, the beloved Orioles pet calendar will go on sale at the park, with proceeds benefiting the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

Pokémon Go takes over everywhere.
I’m extremely hesitant to classify this as a sport. In fact, I’m hesitant to write about Pokémon Go at all. Age-wise, I completely missed this boat and I’ve heard far too many weird stories about people nearly getting hit by a car due to Pokémon overindulgence. But, alas, it’s a thing. And these creatures(?) are seemingly everywhere in Baltimore. They’ve been hanging out with the Kooper’s Chowhound Food Truck. Patterson Park is apparently crawling with them. There have been some lurking on the water in Harbor East. Local app Loople is hosting a Pokémon bar crawl this Saturday. I am honestly afraid to think which ones could be near me right now.

Good luck catching them or whatever, but just remember to look up every once in a while.

The Orioles insist they’re still in the hunt for Davis. (And reliever Darren O’Day, to whom they’ve made a competitive offer). I guess it’s always good to have a backup plan.

3. Terps hire new head football coach.
The Terps have got their man. After firing Randy Edsall on October 11, the 3-9 team had been in the hunt for a new head football coach. Lots of high-profile names came up: Tony Dungy, Mack Brown, former MD quarterback Frank Reich. But in the end, it was Michigan defensive coordinator, 37-year-old D.J. Durkin, who landed the job. While not exactly a household name, Coach Durkin has a few things going for him. Michigan’s defense was one of the best in the nation. Plus, he was a graduate assistant under Urban Meyer and a coordinator under Jim Harbaugh. If you can’t get the best, get a guy who learned from the best? Reports indicate that interim coach Mike Locksley is unlikely to return to the team.

4. Navy football racks up the awards.
Navy cruised to a 7-1 conference record (9-2 overall) it’s first year in the American Athletic Conference and it now has the hardware to show for it. Senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds was named AAC offensive player of the year—and is on the shortlist for the Heisman Award—and Coach Ken Niumatalolo was co-named coach of the year. We’re sure the rest of the league hates them already.

5. Dundalk Owls make first trip to State Championship.
Let’s focus on the positive, shall we? With junior quarterback Darrius Sample leading the way, the Owls had an unlikely and incredible season—and made it to the Class 3A football final for the first time. Alas, all good things must come to an end, as they were overmatched last night at M&T Bank Stadium by an experienced Damascus team, losing 55 to 14. But, while we’re seeing the glass half full, let it be known that Damascus stud running back Jake Funk, who scored seven touch downs last night (no, that isn’t a typo) is on his way to College Park next year to play for the Terps. D.J. Durkin must be licking his chops.