The Adley Rutschman effect

[Tony-OH]

On top of it all, he just legitimately seems like a guy you can really root for. 

[emmett16]

The guy is unreal.  He was the same way in the minors with org filler pitchers and teammates.  The intangibles are too many to list.  He is an additional coach out there on the field with his team.  He makes everyone believe they can have success and win.  He’s a joy to watch.  

[Billy F-Face3]

10 hours ago, sevastras said:

He is a leader, he seems likeable and the pitchers trust him.

This is the key. By contrast, you can look at the St. Louis Cardinals with how they lost Yadier, and signed Contreras in the off-season. The Pitching Staff revolted against Contreras, saying they didn't like how he called games. Basically Wilson Contreras didn't have the work ethic or team chemistry to get on the same page as the Cardinals pitchers and as a result, they stopped using him as a Catcher.

But if you look at Adley, all the pitchers seem to love him. Adley puts in a lot of work and studying to understand his pitchers. The chemistry is good between them.

I think the Orioles are proving how important team chemistry is to winning. And Adley is a good teammate to have for any player.

[ChuckS]

23 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

This is the key. By contrast, you can look at the St. Louis Cardinals with how they lost Yadier, and signed Contreras in the off-season. The Pitching Staff revolted against Contreras, saying they didn't like how he called games. Basically Wilson Contreras didn't have the work ethic or team chemistry to get on the same page as the Cardinals pitchers and as a result, they stopped using him as a Catcher.

But if you look at Adley, all the pitchers seem to love him. Adley puts in a lot of work and studying to understand his pitchers. The chemistry is good between them.

I think the Orioles are proving how important team chemistry is to winning. And Adley is a good teammate to have for any player.

I put team chemistry in the same category as veteranosity.  It only exists (or is pointed out) when a team is winning.  It's not a real thing in baseball that contributes to wins in any quantifiable way.  I will admit that developing a good rapport with your pitchers, as a catcher is somewhat valuable but it doesn't apply to any other position on the field. 

I think the Orioles are proving how important good players are to winning.  

Edited May 23, 2023 by ChuckS

[AnythingO's]

15 minutes ago, ChuckS said:

I put team chemistry in the same category as veteranosity.  It only exists (or is pointed out) when a team is winning.  It's not a real thing in baseball that contributes to wins in any quantifiable way.  I will admit that developing a good rapport with your pitchers, as a catcher is somewhat valuable but it doesn't apply to any other position on the field. I think the Orioles are proving how important good players are to winning.  

While this might be the "conventional wisdom" I was around for Frank's arrival and in 1966 he turned a very good team into the best franchise in baseball for about 25 years. The "Oriole Way" was real, and it was copied by teams like Cleveland and St. Louis. Other than Frank, I can't recall ANY OTHER PLAYER that had this dramatic an impact on a MLB roster, period!! You think Gunnar and GRod did this? Frazier? Gibson?  The #Orioles are 94-66 (.588) in the 160 games that Rutschman has played in during his MLB career.. The Orioles were a 51-109 (.319) the previous 160 games before his arrival. Has any player ever changed one team's fortunes that quickly?

[jdwilde1]

20 minutes ago, AnythingO's said:

While this might be the "conventional wisdom" I was around for Frank's arrival and in 1966 he turned a very good team into the best franchise in baseball for about 25 years. The "Oriole Way" was real, and it was copied by teams like Cleveland and St. Louis. Other than Frank, I can't recall ANY OTHER PLAYER that had this dramatic an impact on a MLB roster, period!! You think Gunnar and GRod did this? Frazier? Gibson?  The #Orioles are 94-66 (.588) in the 160 games that Rutschman has played in during his MLB career.. The Orioles were a 51-109 (.319) the previous 160 games before his arrival. Has any player ever changed one team's fortunes that quickly?

Adley putting up a 43.0 WAR through his first 160 games.  

[oriolediehard]

12 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

Yes, I know we have a lot of Rutschman talk over the board, but I felt this deserved it's own thread. 

I thought of Frank Robinson when it came to player's who turned a franchise around, but Frank just took a really good Orioles team in 1965 (94-68) and turned it into a World Series Championship team that went 97-63 in 1966. So that's certainly worthy of being revered, and rightfully so, I can't find any player in Orioles history or improved the team by so much over his first 160 games in the big leagues.

I suppose you could go back to the 1989 team and perhaps find someone (maybe) because of the big turn around from 1988 to 1989, but it's pretty clear, Rutschman is the single best thing to happen to this team on the field. 

 

Amen to that.  I really hope the O's can sign him for his career as an Oriole. I believe the next Oriole great will be Jackson Holliday.

[SteveO]

I think that Adley kind of ushered in a new karma for this organization. There are rare players who bring with them an air of confidence, an expectation of success, and a firey competitive disposition that is somehow balanced by a cool confident demeanor even when the going is tough. Adley is one of those guys. He also happens to play the position on the field that maximizes his reach and effect. 

Over the past several years most of my baseball time has been spent going to various minor league affiliates and watching the youth progress. It's been fun to watch. Adley has been a joy to watch play. Looking forward to what comes next. 

[Billy F-Face3]

1 hour ago, SteveO said:

He also happens to play the position on the field that maximizes his reach and effect.

Long before the Orioles even had Matt Weiters, I used to always say that the Orioles needed a franchise catcher... a superstar. I even hoped one day they would sign Ivan Rodriguez (unfortunately he signed with Detroit and Florida).

I had hoped Weiters would be that guy. But injury proved to be fatal to Weiters' career.

The reason I hoped for a super star at the Catcher position, is because if you think about it, Catcher is the position that impacts everything on the baseball field. Catcher gets the ball every pitch. Catcher works with every pitcher. Catcher calls pitches just like a Quarterback in football. Catcher stops base-runners from stealing. Catcher takes At Bats. Catcher sees what the opponents batters are doing right in front of him.

I don't think it can be understated how impactful the Catcher position can be in baseball. And then when you add a class act player like Adley Rutschman for just being who he is, that has even more impact.

I've waited for decades for the Orioles to find a Franchise Catcher who can impact the game. Adley Rutschman is that Catcher. He is that man. He has arrived.

[sevastras]

10 hours ago, ChuckS said:

I put team chemistry in the same category as veteranosity.  It only exists (or is pointed out) when a team is winning.  It's not a real thing in baseball that contributes to wins in any quantifiable way.  I will admit that developing a good rapport with your pitchers, as a catcher is somewhat valuable but it doesn't apply to any other position on the field. 

I think the Orioles are proving how important good players are to winning.  

I can’t tell if you are saying team chemistry isn’t real or isn’t quantifiable but you can just look at the Padres and past Yankees teams and past Red Sox teams to see that talent isn’t the only thing it takes to be a great team. The Padres have more talent than the Os but the Os are a better team. 

[Frobby]

13 hours ago, ChuckS said:

I put team chemistry in the same category as veteranosity.  It only exists (or is pointed out) when a team is winning.  It's not a real thing in baseball that contributes to wins in any quantifiable way.  I will admit that developing a good rapport with your pitchers, as a catcher is somewhat valuable but it doesn't apply to any other position on the field. 

I think the Orioles are proving how important good players are to winning.  

I think you are flatly wrong if you think having some veteran presence and good team chemistry does not contribute to winning.   I think some people exaggerate the impact of these things, but they do have an impact.   To say they are just made up is too extreme, in my view.   But I do agree that winning helps breed good chemistry as much as good chemistry breeds winning.  

[now]

I'm on board with all the Adley love in this thread. That said, I'm curious what a more dispassionate look at the roster change will reveal. And since Adley arrived early last season, it means essentially comparing 2021 to 2023. Without going too deep into it, here's a quick glance at some of the player turnover: 

Severino / Rutschman
2B: Valaika / Frazier
SS: Galvis / Ortiz
3B: Franco / Henderson
DH: Mancini / (various)

SP: Means / Gibson
SP: Harvey / Bradish
SP: Lopez / Rodriguez

RP: Sulser / Bautista
RP: Scott / Cano
RP: Fry / Baumann
RP: Plutko / Baker
RP: Valdez / Perez
RP: A. Wells / Coulombe

That's a lot of improvement to spread around... especially in the bullpen. We've come a long way--with Adley, of course, as the headliner, poster boy, MVO.

Edited May 23, 2023 by now

[btdart20]

The Tank Era has a bit to do with the 43-game swing. 

A few contenders:  Randy Johnson to the D-back.  Barry Bonds to SFG.  Ichiro to Seattle.

[ChuckS]

11 hours ago, Frobby said:

I think you are flatly wrong if you think having some veteran presence and good team chemistry does not contribute to winning.   I think some people exaggerate the impact of these things, but they do have an impact.   To say they are just made up is too extreme, in my view.   But I do agree that winning helps breed good chemistry as much as good chemistry breeds winning.  

I’d grant good team chemistry 0.5 WAR.

Baseball is mostly a culmination of individual performances unlike most other major sports. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by ChuckS

[sportsfan8703]

115-84 with him.