2009: A terrible yet memorable season

[Frobby]

I was thinking this morning about how sometimes even a terrible season has a lot of memorable moments.    I think 2009 was a poster child for that.   

Before the season began, the O’s made some interesting moves.    They locked up their young star, Nick Markakis, to a 6-year, $66 mm deal.     After shopping Brian Roberts and almost trading him to the Cubs, they signed him to a 4-year, $40 mm deal that didn’t kick in until 2010, thus guaranteeing that Roberts would be an O for five more seasons.

The O’s also made their first-ever inroad into the Asian market, signing Koji Uehara.    And after much speculation that Felix Pie would be included in a Brian Roberts trade, the O’s acquired Pie for Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson.

Once spring training got underway, there were three major story lines.   First, there was the surprisingly good showing by Brad Bergesen, something of an afterthought among Orioles prospects even though he’d been the Eastern League pitcher of the year in 2008. Second, there was the roster battle between Pie, who was out of options, and Nolan Reimold, who tore up the Graptefruit League that spring.

But those story lines were somewhat dwarfed by a story getting national attention: the uber-prospect, switch hitting Jesus, Matt Wieters.    Even though it was a foregone conclusion that Wieters would begin 2009 in the minors to preserve service time, his every move was under scrutiny.   

The season began with Bergesen, Reimold and Wieters all in the minors.   The O’s trotted out this rotation to begin the year: Jeremy Guthrie, Uehara, Alfredo Simon, Mark Hendrickson and Adam Eaton, who to the dismay of many had been signed in the middle of spring training.   Waiting in the wings: Rich Hill, acquired in the offseason but on the DL with a pulled lat.

The team got off to a promising 4-1 start but quickly headed south, falling to 8-8 and then 9-13 by the end of April.    Fans were crying out for Reimold, who was tearing up Norfolk, to replace Pie, who played in 20 of 22 games in April to a .461 OPS.   The rotation already was crumbling, and on April 21, the O’s called up Bergesen, whose successful debut presaged both a fine season for him and a series of debuts for promising O’s prospects.   

The other huge story of April was the brilliant play of both Markakis and Adam Jones, who were making Andy MacPhail look like a double genius for extending Markakis early and trading for Jones in the ‘07-‘08 offseason,    At the end of April, Markakis was carrying a 1.020 OPS, only to be outdone by Jones at 1.062.     

The debut theme really dominated May:

- Reimold finally debuted on May 14, after posting a 1.228 OPS in 130 PA at Norfolk.

Jason Berken debuted on May 26, earning his first major league win.

- David Hernandez debuted on May 28, winning his maiden major league start as Bergesen had in April.   He was replacing Uehara, who went on the DL after pulling a leg muscle mid-game on May 23.

- In a game attended by 42,704 fans, Matt Wieters finally debuted on May 29.    The next day he got his first major league hit, which improbably, was a triple, one of five he has hit in his major league career to date.    

Somewhere in this period, the Adam Jones pie in the face tradition was born, with the rookie pitchers getting it after their first win.    And Jones continued to rake in May, still carrying a 1.005 OPS by the end of that month.    Markakis had cooled considerably by then.

The rest of the season isn’t as memorable.    Jones cooled off in June.    Reimold stayed red hot through the end of June, then cooled some and got hurt in mid-September.    There were two more big debuts, Chris Tillman on July 29 and Brian Matusz on August 4.    Bergesen’s excellent season was cut short when a line drive broke his leg on July 30, prompting the Matusz call-up.    Wieters was somewhat disappointing through mid-September but finished the year on an hellacious hot streak (1.008 OPS in his final 19 games) that had fans believing that it was just a matter of time before the forecasted Mauer with Power emerged in 2010.    

In the end, the team finished 64-98, their worst record in 8 years and second-worst of their 14-year losing streak.    And yet somehow, that year had a feeling of promise for the future.   

Ten years later, I hope 2019 will produce some memorable moments even if it’s another losing season.    

[OFFNY]

25 minutes ago, Frobby said:

 

 

In the end, the team finished 64-98, their worst record in 8 years, and second-worst of their 14-year losing streak ........ And yet somehow, that year had a feeling of promise for the future.  

 

o

 

It certainly did for me, also.

 

 

 

o

[Palmoripken]

That was ten years ago already. Wow.  I was there for Wieters first home run. I remember it because it was raining before the game and my dad and youngest brother were a little unsure whether we should go. 

[Spy Fox]

I still remember being pumped about how good Jones was at the beginning of '09.

Markakis had been a pretty solid hitter for three years by then (and was coming off what would turn out to be his best season) but that was the first time we saw Jones really show his potential at the plate. 

[howboutthoseos]

I believe that was the year they came back from 10-1 down to beat the red Sox 11-10.  Nothing beats 9/28/11 or the Chris Davis win on the mound in May 1012, but that one was a highlight of the most recent dark ages. 

[El Gordo]

21 hours ago, Frobby said:

I was thinking this morning about how sometimes even a terrible season has a lot of memorable moments.    I think 2009 was a poster child for that.   

Before the season began, the O’s made some interesting moves.    They locked up their young star, Nick Markakis, to a 6-year, $66 mm deal.     After shopping Brian Roberts and almost trading him to the Cubs, they signed him to a 4-year, $40 mm deal that didn’t kick in until 2010, thus guaranteeing that Roberts would be an O for five more seasons.

The O’s also made their first-ever inroad into the Asian market, signing Koji Uehara.    And after much speculation that Felix Pie would be included in a Brian Roberts trade, the O’s acquired Pie for Garrett Olson and Henry Williamson.

Once spring training got underway, there were three major story lines.   First, there was the surprisingly good showing by Brad Bergesen, something of an afterthought among Orioles prospects even though he’d been the Eastern League pitcher of the year in 2008. Second, there was the roster battle between Pie, who was out of options, and Nolan Reimold, who tore up the Graptefruit League that spring.

But those story lines were somewhat dwarfed by a story getting national attention: the uber-prospect, switch hitting Jesus, Matt Wieters.    Even though it was a foregone conclusion that Wieters would begin 2009 in the minors to preserve service time, his every move was under scrutiny.   

The season began with Bergesen, Reimold and Wieters all in the minors.   The O’s trotted out this rotation to begin the year: Jeremy Guthrie, Uehara, Alfredo Simon, Mark Hendrickson and Adam Eaton, who to the dismay of many had been signed in the middle of spring training.   Waiting in the wings: Rich Hill, acquired in the offseason but on the DL with a pulled lat.

The team got off to a promising 4-1 start but quickly headed south, falling to 8-8 and then 9-13 by the end of April.    Fans were crying out for Reimold, who was tearing up Norfolk, to replace Pie, who played in 20 of 22 games in April to a .461 OPS.   The rotation already was crumbling, and on April 21, the O’s called up Bergesen, whose successful debut presaged both a fine season for him and a series of debuts for promising O’s prospects.   

The other huge story of April was the brilliant play of both Markakis and Adam Jones, who were making Andy MacPhail look like a double genius for extending Markakis early and trading for Jones in the ‘07-‘08 offseason,    At the end of April, Markakis was carrying a 1.020 OPS, only to be outdone by Jones at 1.062.     

The debut theme really dominated May:

- Reimold finally debuted on May 14, after posting a 1.228 OPS in 130 PA at Norfolk.

Jason Berken debuted on May 26, earning his first major league win.

- David Hernandez debuted on May 28, winning his maiden major league start as Bergesen had in April.   He was replacing Uehara, who went on the DL after pulling a leg muscle mid-game on May 23.

- In a game attended by 42,704 fans, Matt Wieters finally debuted on May 29.    The next day he got his first major league hit, which improbably, was a triple, one of five he has hit in his major league career to date.    

Somewhere in this period, the Adam Jones pie in the face tradition was born, with the rookie pitchers getting it after their first win.    And Jones continued to rake in May, still carrying a 1.005 OPS by the end of that month.    Markakis had cooled considerably by then.

The rest of the season isn’t as memorable.    Jones cooled off in June.    Reimold stayed red hot through the end of June, then cooled some and got hurt in mid-September.    There were two more big debuts, Chris Tillman on July 29 and Brian Matusz on August 4.    Bergesen’s excellent season was cut short when a line drive broke his leg on July 30, prompting the Matusz call-up.    Wieters was somewhat disappointing through mid-September but finished the year on an hellacious hot streak (1.008 OPS in his final 19 games) that had fans believing that it was just a matter of time before the forecasted Mauer with Power emerged in 2010.    

In the end, the team finished 64-98, their worst record in 8 years and second-worst of their 14-year losing streak.    And yet somehow, that year had a feeling of promise for the future.   

Ten years later, I hope 2019 will produce some memorable moments even if it’s another losing season.    

I'll be happy for a 64 and 98 record.

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, El Gordo said:

I'll be happy for a 64 and 98 record.

Regardless of record, I’d be happy if we had a group of players debut that had as much potential as Wieters, Tillman, Hernandez, Bergesen, Reimold, Matusz and Berken, who produced 41.4 rWAR in their careers.    That doesn’t include the debuts of Justin Turner (24.1 rWAR) or Koji Uehara (13.7), who debuted with the Orioles that year but weren’t really developed by them to any substantial degree.

[Ohfan67]

1 hour ago, Frobby said:

Regardless of record, I’d be happy if we had a group of players debut that had as much potential as Wieters, Tillman, Hernandez, Bergesen, Reimold, Matusz and Berken, who produced 41.4 rWAR in their careers.    That doesn’t include the debuts of Justin Turner (24.1 rWAR) or Koji Uehara (13.7), who debuted with the Orioles that year but weren’t really developed by them to any substantial degree.

On paper the current group of prospects seems a lot more boring. Wieters was arguably one of the most hyped prospects ever (and had minor league numbers to back it up), but Tillman et al. Seemed far more exciting to me than the current group of prospects (at least the group that’s likely to make it to Baltimore this year). I think we are two years away from a spring training with that much excitement. 

[OFFNY]

o

 

The 2009 Orioles broke the Major League record of the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys for the most wins by a starting pitcher making his career Major League debut.

Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, Brian Matusz, David Hernandez, and Koji Uehara all won their first games ever pitched in the Majors that season.

The previous record was 4, set by the 1890 Alleghenys.

 

o

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Ohfan67 said:

On paper the current group of prospects seems a lot more boring. Wieters was arguably one of the most hyped prospects ever (and had minor league numbers to back it up), but Tillman et al. Seemed far more exciting to me than the current group of prospects (at least the group that’s likely to make it to Baltimore this year). I think we are two years away from a spring training with that much excitement. 

Yes, probably.    And we won’t have that many high profile debuts this year because a number of our prospects who have rookie status already debuted in the majors in 2017-18 (Hays, Stewart, Ortiz and others) while others in our top 10 are still pretty far from the majors (Hall, Rodriguez, Lowther, Knight, Hanifee).    Of the players who haven’t debuted but have played AA (Diaz, Kremer, Mountcastle, Harvey, McKenna, Kline, Tate, Pop), my guess is the O’s won’t push them to the majors in 2019 unless they’re dominating in AAA, If then.