Top 10 from 2012

With the 2013 season fast approaching, we here at Bird’s Eve View want to take one last look at the magic from 2012. We chronicled the season in podcasts and posts, and attended far more games than usual (to the mixed chagrin and excitement of our wives), so we had a lot to draw from. Your friendly neighborhood podcasters spent a good deal of time brainstorming and arguing over this one. It was very difficult to narrow the list down to 10. Needless to say, it was a welcome change from previous years.

This started as a “Top 10 Moments” and moved to “Top 10 Plays” then “Top 10 Games,” but we were never fans of coherence or consistency. with that in mind, we humbly present our Top 10 from 2012:

10. Jason Hammel’s near no-nos

Jason Hammel’s arrival in Baltimore was not universally heralded (especially around these parts). Hammel was part of the package that sent popular “ace” Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies, and put yet another question mark in the rotation.

Hammel worked hard to prove his critics wrong in his Orioles’ debut: he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. Though his no-hit bid ended with a Justin Morneau double, the effort set the bar for the starter who would soon become the anchor (if not ace) of the patchwork staff. Hammel flirted with a no-hitter again in June, holding the Atlanta Braves hitless through six and two-thirds innings.

These outings were special, because they represented the first time in a long, long time that Baltimore fans could foresee history happening in their favor.

9. 18-inning marathon in Seattle

Yes, this was a long game, but not historically so – so why does it make the list? This was one of those games where fans could tell the season was getting serious. The Orioles were playing well in September. The swoon we all expected in May (and June, and July, and August) hadn’t arrived. Even though attendance was a subject of debate (particularly on Bird’s Eye View), increasing interest in the team was undeniable, and MASN viewership supported that.

This game started at just after 10:00pm on the east coast, and ended 5 hours 44 minutes later. Most sane Orioles fans read about it the next day, but there was a bleary-eyed minority that watched the whole thing. It’s impossible to know how many people watched the game and how many slept in front of it, but the fans who made it were treated to one of those “never say die” games that made the Orioles so successful in tight games.

8. Manny Machado joins the Orioles

The Orioles’ infield defense was a mess before Machado was called up. His arrival meant a sure hand at third, and it put Mark Reynolds on the path to being a competent defender at first base. Anything Machado brought to the plate was a bonus.

That bonus went on display in his second game with the Orioles, when he hit two home runs to the same fan. Manny didn’t play like a rookie – he was a key contributor to a winning ball club, and he appears higher up on this list.

7. Chris Davis carries McLouth after a walk-off

This was the game that led Nate McLouth to liken Camden Yards to a college football atmosphere. It’s hard to tell whether this moment was memorable for McLouth’s walk-off heroics, or Davis’ frightening/endearing exuberance. We’re OK with both. The O’s beat the Rays in dramatic fashion to remain tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. In September. You’ll excuse players and fans alike for celebrating like kids – it’s baseball, it’s supposed to be fun.

6. Orioles clinch playoff berth

The Orioles didn’t go about clinching their playoff berth in story-book fashion. If the script had gone right, the team would have celebrated on the field at Camden Yards, as players and fans watched the end of the Angels/Rangers game.

Instead, the Angels played spoiler, and the Orioles headed off to their next game. Not before making an emergency stop because their plane caught fire. Of course that’s how they planned it. Style points aside, the Orioles celebrated clinching a playoff appearance in the Jacksonville airport bar. Fans, too, celebrated the news that the long-suffering franchise would participate in the post-season.

It’s impossible to tell if the players really “get” how much playoff baseball means to Baltimore, but the fact that they were so hopeful to be able to share the moment with their fans was impressive.

5. Manny Machado’s fake-out

Machado’s return to the countdown.  It was already memorable due moment #7. But Machado’s heads-up play stole the show.

The play confused everyone – the fans in attendance, the MASN cameras, and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles’ 20-year old converted shortstop made a play at third base that defies description. It was simply bad-ass.  No matter how many times you watch it, it’s hard to believe a rookie made this play.

4. Orioles advance to the ALDS

The AL Wild Card game was weird. First, the format was new, and no one was sure they could convince themselves that it was “really a playoff game.” Then there was the fact that it was in Texas, against a team who had mopped the floor with the Orioles, who for their part, had backed into the playoffs. Fans didn’t know how to react – their team was in the playoffs. This could happen.

And then it did. The Orioles beat the Rangers, and advanced to the ALDS to face the hated Yankees. The O’s first playoff win since 1997 was followed by champaign baths for the players, Showalter, and Duquette. Fans who waited the whole season for the other foot to drop jumped up and down with both feet in bars and living rooms across the Baltimore area.

3. First playoff win at OPACY in 15 years

The playoffs had been a little unfulfilling to this point. The Wild Card win was amazing, but it was a time zone away. ALDS Game 1 was a fantastic atmosphere, but it ended in a deflating loss.

ALDS Game 2 was a defining moment for the fans. In what turned out to be the final game at Oriole Park in 2012, the fans whipped themselves into a 121 dB frenzy and cheered their team on to a (shocker!) one-run victory over the damn Yankees. If this game didn’t give you goose-bumps, get yourself checked.

2. Jones HR breaks ties at the Cal Ripken statue game

This was a fangasm, plain and simple. A game in September against the Yankees that had a meaningful impact on the standings, and a night to pay tribute to baseball’s Iron Man. Unlike most recent O’s/Yanks games, the park was a sea of orange. Fans packed the park to watch Ripken’s statue ceremony, and stayed, as the Orioles put a thumping on the Yankees for 7 innings.

The Yankees tied the game at 6 in the top of the 8th, and the crowd grew nervous. “Oh no,” they seamed to groan in unison “not tonight, not like this.”

And so was the feeling until Adam jones took a 1-2 pitch into the left field seats.  The birds went on to pile on three more runs, but the Jones’ homer was the real story. You could feel the momentum turn, and the game was no longer in doubt.

and… check back to see the #1 from our Top 10 from 2012!