July 18, 2018

[Sydnor]

Hi all. I’m a longtime lurker. I prefer to read the boards and articles because I truly enjoy the opinions and work that the posters and staff put into making this a great community for fans of the Orioles.

I’m writing this post largely because I think the news from yesterday evening still stings for some fans. It’s probably self-indulgent, but I think others might share similar feelings, so I’m going to give it a shot. If it should’ve been posted in the appreciation thread, I apologize. I also apologize for the length.

I’ve been a lifelong fan of the Orioles. I’m not able to remember 83 (I was only two), but they have given me many great memories with my mom (my dad is Indians fan, but we forgive him). When I was a kid, she told me stories about Brooks, Frank, Boog, Al, and Jim. She told me how she wanted to be Brooks when she played softball and my grandfather would take her to games at Memorial Stadium and in DC when the O’s played the Senators. She used to invoke Palmer’s name to get me to eat pancakes.

I remember seeing my first game at Camden Yards with my familyvagainst the Twins. I remember being at 2128. I remember my mom pulling me out of school in 1996 to see the playoff games against Cleveland and in 1997 against Seattle. These are great memories.

Although my mom had frustration or bitterness when Mussina left (her favorite player at the time), we still watched or talked about the games. In 2005, my mom and I went to Opening Day against Oakland. In July, we were at the first home game after Palmeiro got his 3000th hit. Then, I left for graduate school and got a job in New York. The Orioles were bad, so we didn’t talk about them as much and we didn’t see another game together due to geography.  Moreover, though we were still diehards, it wasn’t as much fun because of the losing and because I wasn’t around.

Then, 2012 happened. Manny got called up and I remember talking to my mom as the Orioles, finally, we’re winning again. She has never followed the minors closely and after his first game, she asked me who is Manny Machado? I told her that he was a 19 year old that the O’s has drafted in the first round and that he was the future of the franchise. She immediately fell in love with his game and we have talked about Manny on what has seemed like a daily basis since Manny’s debut.

I was fortunate enough to move back to NOVA in time to take my mom to the playoffs in 2014 and a number of games for the past five years (I have a 29 game plan and an understanding wife who has come to love the team). These more recent memories are largely because Manny and that first conversation we had after Manny’s debut. These memories are something that will always be special to me. 

That is why July 18, 2018 was sad for my mom and me. She hoped he would be the next Brooks or Cal. She had talked to me on my commute home on July 18, 2018 about how sad she was watching him play in and get interviewed at the All Star game for what was likely has final appearance in an Orioles uniform.

We understand that, rationally, Manny was unlikely to remain with the Orioles as a free agent, the team has won approximately 29% of the games it has played, has a run differential of -159, numerous players out of position (or incapable of competently playing a position), and pitching that leaves a lot to be desired.  We also understand that from a team building perspective, given the foregoing, trading Manny was probably the right thing to do. Finally,  we understand the realities of Baltimore’s marketplace.

Notwithstanding all of that, yesterday hurts, and it’s going to continue to hurt because being a fan of a team, to me, is an inherently irrational and emotional exercise. It is also going to hurt because even with the losing that is sure to endure for the next several years, we can only hope to acquire another player as nearly as talented as Manny.

I can’t get excited about Diaz/Kremer/Pop/Bannon/Valera because Manny represented the return of great memories of time spent with my mom. Manny provided excitement because we were always excited to go to a game to see what Manny would do next. Manny provided hope as a generational talent who would hopefully spend his career in Baltimore (irrational and unlikely, I know) and lead the team back to the World Series (I’ll always wonder what would’ve happened in 2014). Even this year, we would still talk about Manny and the hope that he provided in what has the potential to be the worst in franchise history—the hope that he could be the cornerstone for the next great Orioles team.

In closing, while yesterday might have been the right thing to do, it’s going to sting for a long time because Manny brought new memories for which I am grateful to him. The sting will subside, being bad is probably the best way to be good again (assuming front office competence), and hopefully the Orioles will be good again in the next few years and I can share some new memories with her. Nevertheless, on July 19, 2018,  I wish that July 18, 2018 hadn’t happened no matter how irrational that may be. I thank Manny for the privilege of watching him play and the memories he helped create.