Not to mention, we lost three of our All-Stars and still managed to finish on top. You can’t help but think this year’s Orioles are a team of destiny, and the man controlling that fate earns our Stud of the Regular Season.

Stud of the Regular Season for March 31-September 28:
Buck Showalter

The Line:
This season, our manager helped the Orioles earn 96 wins—tied for the second-highest in the MLB this year behind the Angels, and the most wins for the O’s since 1997.

Studliest Moment:
Showalter had a lot of studly moments this season—especially when it came to manipulating the roster to combat injuries, like Manny Machado returning from knee surgery in April only to go out again from his other knee in August. Chris Davis was on the disabled list with an oblique injury in April (and is currently riding out a 25-game suspension for Adderall) and, when he returned, Matt Wieters fell off the active roster for an elbow that needed Tommy John Surgery.

Losing three All-Stars would certainly crumble most franchises. But with Showalter and Dan Duquette at the helm, the team filled holes with unlikely replacements: Nick Hundley, a former third-string catcher for the Padres; catcher Caleb Joseph, a 28-year-old rookie; third baseman Jimmy Paredes from the Royals; outfielder Alejandro De Aza from the White Sox; and third baseman Kelly Johnson from the Red Sox. 

With this unexpected set of tools, not big names by any means, Showalter juggled playing time according to match-ups and, ultimately, created plenty of Orioles magic moments that led the team to another playoff bid. To use the phrase the manager himself coined (and has since been turned into a t-shirt and hashtag): “I like our guys.”

The Clincher:
Maybe even more impressive than his roster mechanics is his class as a leader. Starting with the clinch game on September 16, Showalter left the faltering Ubaldo Jiminez in a few extra innings because he could see in his eyes that it meant a lot to the pitcher, whose parents were attending the game. After the O’s last out, players jumped in a huddle, sprayed bottles of beer on each other and into the crowd above the Orioles dugout. But Showalter stood on the first step of the dugout, watching quietly, taking it all in and letting his players have their moment.

This graciousness continued during Derek Jeter’s last game in the Bronx, as the Orioles stayed in the visitors’ dugout to clap and watch Jeter’s celebration. After the game, Showalter explained the move in a quote that captures his humility, but he’s also quick to point out that the Orioles—unlike the Yankees—aren’t done playing yet. Classy, but tough.

“Our guys, everybody has a lot of respect for Derek and what his career has been about,” he said. “You never like to lose a game, but you try to keep a grip on reality and the whole gamut of it. We wish him well and I’m sure it was a great moment for him here. And it will be a great moment for us as we go forward to continue to play.”

I read this ESPN article a couple of years ago essentially saying that Buck Showalter was, among other things, a genius, a mind-reader, and a fortune teller. Judging by his tenure so far, I’m convinced that that is 100-percent true. I would only add to that last that he is a hard-worker (showing up at 11 a.m. for night games), detail-oriented (removing a photo from the clubhouse that depicted an Orioles loss), and can deliver a one-liner like nobody else (My favorite was his response to Buster Olney’s “What’d you like about that home run?” “I like that it went over the fence.”) 

Birdland, it’s time to #BuckleUp!

Be sure to check back for continuing coverage of Orioles post-season, as we’ll be reporting live from the pep rallies and games, beginning with Thursday’s ALDS opener against Detroit.

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Stud of the Week for September 1-7:
Nelson Cruz

The Line:
Cruz extended his career high in home runs (39) and RBIs (101) and, by far, has the team’s highest slugging percentage at .531.

Studliest Moment:
Trailing Tampa Bay 4-2 yesterday in the ninth inning, Cruz cleared the bases with a triple down the first-base line, giving the Orioles a 5-4 lead.

The Clincher:
As if his two-run shot in the sixth and game-saving triple in the ninth weren’t enough, when the O’s went into extra innings, Cruz came to the rescue again. In the top of the 11th, with Nick Hundley on first, Cruz hits another bomb to left-center, winning us and the game and ultimately giving him seven RBIs for the day, the most for an Oriole since 2009. 

While he rounded the bases, it was hard to distinguish Rays’ fans boos and the visiting Orioles fans’ “Cruuuuz.” Either way, it was a sweet, sweet sound.

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Stud of the Week for August 25-September 1:
J.J. Hardy

The Line:
In this past 22 games entering Monday, Hardy is hitting .333 with five home runs, 17 RBIs, and has one of the O’s best runners-in-scoring-position stat at .350.

Studliest Moment:
Hardy hit his fourth career grand slam during a seven-run sixth inning on Sunday, which sparked the Orioles’ 12-8 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The Clincher:
While Hardy’s batting had a slow start this season, the Gold Glovers fielding has always been impressive, something he demonstrated further in Sunday’s game, getting three separate and equally difficult outs.

“The three plays J.J. made in the field today—the ball up the middle, the shift play that he goes over and makes in a key situation, and the play that ended the game is a very difficult play,” Showalter told media. “Just with the naked eye, people see a play up the middle, kind of routine. They are far from routine. Those are plays he’s spoiled us with, but we don’t take them for granted. He’s a special defender.”

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Stud of the Week for July 21-27:
The pitching staff

The Line:
With lackluster bats (aside from Delmond Young and Manny Machado), our pitching is what saved us this week—whether it was Wei-Yin Chen (11-3, 3.92), Miguel Gonzalez (5-5, 3.91), Chris Tillman (7-5, 3.92), Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.67), T.J. McFarland (4-2, 3.07), or Zach Britton (3-2, 1.71) on the rubber.

Studliest Moment:
Chen had a dominant performance against Seattle on Thursday night, pitching eight scoreless innings (an Orioles career-high-tie) and running his winning streak to four games (and 11 wins total this season). Not only did he deliver a tight 109-pitch game, but he also made two great defensive plays: one at the plate in the first and a good grab from the mound in the fifth.

The Clincher:
To cap off the road trip, the Orioles went into extra innings last night in Seattle. But Britton came out of the bullpen in the 10th and struck out the side to secure the O’s victory. Great ending to a successful road trip!

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Stud of the Week for July 7-13:
Manny Machado

The Line:
Since his five-game suspension stemming from his antics against the Oakland A’s, Machado’s average has jumped from .243 to .270 and he has reached base in every game. 

Studliest Moment:
The third baseman was the star in Monday night’s victory over the Nationals, and began the game with three hits in his first three at-bats against Stephen Strasburg. He had two more hits in extra innings and concluded with a two-run homer that capped off the Orioles six-run 11-inning rally. (ESPN came out with a neat stat about his performance).

The Clincher:
Since his suspension, Machado is 15-for-31 (.416) and has made some pretty
amazing defensive plays. While he certainly looked immature when he flipped out in Oakland, the 22-year-old has since displayed resolve beyond his years by keeping his head down and grinding it out. Let’s hope it continues in the second half of the season!

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Stud of the Week for June 16-22:
Steve Pearce

The Line:
Pearce currently has the best batting average on the team of .339 and has had four multi-hit games in a row.

Studliest Moment:
After tinkering with his batting stance, Pearce really began to shine early last week against the Rays—batting .500 in the series with three doubles and three RBIs. This led Buck Showalter to move Pearce up to the No. 2 spot in the order, shifting Manny Machado down to seventh.

The Clincher:
The outfielder found himself in a bit of a predicament yesterday against the Yankees, when he was sent to third by a ground ball from Nelson Cruz. Yanks third basement Kelly Johnson fielded the ball and stepped on the bag, but was tripped by a sliding Pearce. Manager Joe Girardi came out to argue interference on the play, but the call stood as an error on Johnson. 

We agree that his slide wasn’t intended to hurt Johnson, but just a good defensive move. Not only can he hit plenty of RBIs, but he can prevent double plays, too.

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Stud of the Week for May 26-June 1:
Nelson Cruz

The Line:
Cruz is leading the entire league in home runs (20) and RBIs (52).

Studliest Moment:
Though the Orioles lost to Milwaukee on Wednesday, Nelson Cruz hit two home runs (which were the Orioles first two hits, in the second and sixth innings). The multi-homer game was his second of the season, and put him on pace to hit 60 home runs this year.

The Clincher:
His three RBIs in the Orioles 4-1 victory over the Astros on Saturday gave Cruz a club record 52 RBIs before the end of May, which was previously held by Chris Davis last year. To put it another way, Cruz has driven in 23.1 percent of the Orioles runs this season. Good thing his injury, which has been diagnosed as just a hand contusion, wasn’t more serious. 

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Stud of the Week for May 19-25:
Chris Davis

The Line:
Davis hit four home runs and had two doubles this week, while going 8 for 19.

Studliest Moment:
That would be his monster game against Pittsburgh: 4 for 5 with THREE homers and 5 RBIs. Not only was it a game for the ages, it was reassuring to Os fans, who had been getting a little antsy over Crush’s lack of home run power this season. The best news? Chris tends to hit ’em in bunches.

The Clincher:
Going 4 for 5 with three dingers wasn’t even the highlight of his week! On Sunday, Chris and his wife Jill welcomed their first child, a 7-pound girl. Congrats, guys!

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Orioles coverage sponsored by Baltimore Marriott Waterfront

We’re not going to lie—this week was rough. From Tuesday’s ninth-inning choke that felt like a punch in the gut to news of Matt Wieters getting a plasma injection in his elbow to our bats being completely silenced in Kansas City on Saturday, it hasn’t been easy being an Orioles fan lately.

But there was a silver lining that came in the form of starting pitcher’s first career shutout on Friday night.

Stud of the Week for May 12-18:
Chris Tillman

The line:
In his nine starts, Tillman has a record of 4-2, striking out 43 and earning him an ERA of 3.34 (20th best in the league).

Studliest moment:
On Friday night, Tillman completed his first career shutout, an efficient 117-pitch game that led the Orioles to a 4-0 victory over the Royals (our only of the series). The starter only allowed five hits and one walk and was strong through the eighth. Manager Buck Showalter thankfully sent him back out for the complete game.

The clincher:
Tillman showed grace under pressure from the very beginning when Royals outfielder Nori Aoki hit a leadoff double in the first inning. But he got out of it unscathed on just 12 pitches. “That was huge,” the pitcher told
MLB.com on Friday. “There were a lot of early swings and early outs. Any time you get that, it really helps. I hate walking guys. It’s one of my pet peeves because that cuts down your chances of getting deep in the ballgame. Tonight, I was able to attack the zone and stay ahead.”

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Going into tonight’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Orioles are 12-12, a solid .500. And, while it hasn’t been the most glorious start to a season, at least we are back on a clean slate of sorts. But there is one thing for certain—we are happy to have this guy on our roster.

Stud of the Week for April 21-27:
Nelson Cruz

The line:
Cruz, who the Orioles signed for a mere $8 million in February, is leading the ball club in home runs (7), RBIs (25), and on-base percentage (.376).

Studliest moment:
Though watching the O’s outfielder hit a shot is now par for the course, he outdid himself last Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rodgers Centre. Cruz earned his 11th multi-homer game of his career, as he hit a solo shot in the third and a mammoth go-ahead grand slam deep to left-center in the fifth. 

The clincher:
The very next day, the Orioles announced that the game against the Detroit Tigers on May 13 will be Nelson Cruz T-shirt night. The shirt design is inspired by the power hitter’s nickname, which you can hear echo throughout Camden Yards whenever he hits a dinger: “Cruuuuuuz!”

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Stud of the Week for April 14-21:
Matt Wieters

The line:
Known as one of the game’s top defensive catchers, the two-time All Star is off to a hot start with the bat, hopefully a sign of a breakout offensive year. Entering Monday’s game, he was batting .321, tied for team-best in homers, with three, and second on the O’s with 11 RBIs.

Studliest moment:
In the 7th inning of Saturday’s O’s-Red Sox game in Boston, Wieters jumped up and got in the face of Red Sox catcher David Ross when he began jawing at Oriole pitcher Bud Norris. Ross, attempting to sacrifice bunt, took exception when Norris came in high and tight with a couple of fastballs—standard operating procedure when a batter is trying a sacrifice—and Wieters did the right thing in getting in front of Ross and defending his pitcher. Best part: Ross backed down and ultimately struck out.

The clincher:
Along with his stellar defense and handling of the pitching staff, Wieters delivered RBI hits in each of the O’s three wins last week against Tampa Bay and the Red Sox.

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Orioles coverage sponsored by Baltimore Marriott Waterfront

Continuing our tradition from last year, the editors here at
Baltimore magazine will be picking an Oriole with the best performance every week all season long. 

Admittedly, the O’s have gotten off to a rough start (with a very taxing schedule), but we don’t think it’s any coincidence that our two wins have come when this guy is on the rubber.

Stud of the Week for March 31-April 6:
Chris Tillman

The line:
In his two starts so far (against arguably the MLB’s best teams in Boston and Detroit), Tillman has only given up two earned runs in 13.5 innings, earning him an ERA of 1.35.

Studliest moment:
Tillman’s performance yesterday was that of a bonafide ace, saving the Orioles from a sweep by the Detroit Tigers. The 25-year-old pitcher outplayed former Cy Young Award winner and MVP Justin Verlander, throwing a career-high 8.1 innings, only allowing six base runners and striking out five. Our favorite moment was seeing Tillman still on the mound in the ninth inning (no other O’s starter has gone more than six this year).

The clincher:
After the game yesterday, while Tillman’s teammates and manager were hurling praise at him, he responded with characteristic modesty: “In order to get to where we want to go, we got to play against the best,” 
he told MLB.com. “So I think we have a good group of guys, and that’s our team mentality, not just me.”

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