BALTIMORE 鈥� It鈥檚 9:30 a.m. on a typical mid-Atlantic, January morning — the temperature having not yet clawed its way above freezing, the wind chill somewhere below that, as hundreds of orange- and-black-clad hopefuls and die-hards stand, shiver and stomp their feet outside the Convention Center at Baltimore Orioles FanFest Saturday, waiting for hope.
One such fan is an adolescent boy, no older than 14, wearing a flop of blond hair, a hoodie 鈥� and shorts. Yes, shorts. He鈥檚 of that age, old enough that the allegiances that bond us to cities and laundry in ways that are hard to explain to loved ones have already set into their lifelong, concrete mold.
It鈥檚 that kind of blind optimism 鈥� shorts in winter, that is 鈥� that might be required of Orioles fans these days. But at least the sun is out and the skies are blue, which might be enough to help you remember that it will, eventually, be warm enough to play baseball again, a fact that itself is at least worth looking forward to, even if it鈥檚 hard to find much else heading into the 2019 season.
The Orioles weren鈥檛 bad in 2018. They were historically, achingly bad. They lost 115 games, more than any team in the 118 years of the franchise鈥檚 existence. They finished 61 games out of first place, further back than the 1962 Mets, more games behind than any Major League team since 1942. At the end of the season, they fired their longtime manager and general manager. They are lying on the cold, cellar floor of the sport, with everything above and nothing but four feet of solid concrete below.
But the view can only improve.
That was the sentiment at FanFest. As Bridgett Graves, a lifelong fan who grew up walking distance from Oriole Park in Pigtown, waited for new GM Mike Elias and new manager Brandon Hyde to speak, she exuded optimism.
鈥淚t felt different this year, because they鈥檝e made a lot of changes,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t just feels positive, for the better.鈥�
She was even idealistic that the team would be competitive.
鈥淚鈥檓 just hoping that we make it to the World Series.鈥�
Elias, a 36 year-old Yale graduate originally from Alexandria, was far more measured in his expectations for the club in his first year.
鈥淚 want to see the overall talent level up and down this organization go up,鈥� he told the expectant fans.
As for making moves to win this season, Elias said he鈥檇 eschew any transaction that he deemed 鈥渘ot strategically relevant鈥� to that long-term goal. Later, with the media, he continued to talk in positive, boardroom generalities.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got some ideas in mind for what might make sense for what we鈥檙e trying to do for improving the club this year, and also possibly advancing some of our longer-term strategic goals.鈥�
That鈥檚 not exactly Davey Johnson鈥檚 infamous 2013 鈥淲orld Series or bust鈥� aspiration or bombast. But it鈥檚 what one should expect from someone of Elias鈥檚 pedigree, especially given the situation he鈥檚 walked into.
Neither his nor Hyde鈥檚 hire feel accidental. Elias helped the Astros through their teardown and rebuild that culminated in the 2017 World Series title. Hyde was a part of Joe Maddon鈥檚 staff that helped engineer their revival and a 2016 World Championship. Part of hiring people with those histories is selling the hope that, just maybe, the same thing can happen here. But Elias was careful to caution against even that.
鈥淏randon went through this with the Cubs, and I went through this with the Astros. And both of those rebuilding processes went incredibly fast. I can鈥檛 say that that鈥檚 always going to be the case with these things,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 true that the conditions aren鈥檛 nearly the same for the Orioles, or MLB at large, as they were five years ago. So many teams have elected not to seriously compete, to largely or entirely sit out free agency, maximizing their revenues instead of their wins. That means more fish swimming the same way through rebuilding (or 鈥渞ebuilding,鈥� for those that continue to tear down before they ever really get competitive) and less willing to pay out in prospects or take on the salary of aging veterans. It can mean a tougher market to thrive in.
鈥淚鈥檓 hopeful that we can do it, I know what we need to do in order to get there, but there鈥檚 going to be a lot of things happening here, depending on who we draft, how they do, how well they progress, how well the players here progress, who鈥檚 in the minor league system right now,鈥� said Elias, making mention of Jose Altuve, Dallas Keuchel and George Springer, all of whom were already in the system when Houston began its rebuild.
鈥淭he most important thing for us is that we set a course, we remain disciplined toward our decision making and we all work hard and do a good job and I think we鈥檒l get there and get there in the right amount of time.鈥�
The club did an admirable job of scaling the event to use just the right amount of the Convention Center that it always seemed busy without being overly crowded. Giveaways were plentiful, attendees carrying armloads of new gear. But the attendance figure tells the story. After drawing north of 15,000 fans in , that number . On Saturday, just 8,000 fans attended.
Elias was unabashedly impressed with the fans that did attend, though.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe the line around the building,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e coming off a bad year, and to see that type of enthusiasm and support, just for the new people that are here and just for the franchise in general, is incredible.鈥�
Father and son Jim and Daniel Hott and Daniel鈥檚 cousin Justin Schellhaus of Cumberland, Maryland were some of those fans. As a lifelong fan, Schellhaus wasn鈥檛 surprised by the enthusiasm, despite the ebb of the team鈥檚 competitive arc.
鈥淣o matter what year it is or how bad or good we do, you鈥檙e going to have fans that are still die-hards, and are still going to be out there in the freezing cold to come into this,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause it is exciting, to get back into the groove of things again, and everybody misses Opening Day and counts down to it.鈥�
The elder Hott was specifically excited about Elias and his track record.
鈥淗opefully he鈥檚 going to come in and get our minor leagues started,鈥� said Hott. 鈥淚t鈥檚 gonna be a rough year, or two, or three, but we鈥檙e on the right track.鈥�
Both Elias and Hyde stressed the kind of player they were looking for in their remarks to fans. Fielding a question about certain unnamed veterans perceived not to have hustled, Hyde wasn鈥檛 shy to vocalize his opinion.
鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 a pet peeve of mine, too. So we share that.鈥�
Elias, meanwhile, talked about finding prospects with 鈥済ood character鈥� or 鈥渕akeup,鈥� saying that the ability to continue to grow and take direction was crucial to surviving the minor, and eventually major, leagues.
鈥淲e try to look for guys that are built for that,鈥� he said.
And maybe there鈥檚 something to that for this team right now. Nobody鈥檚 selling wins, but maybe selling hustle and heart works for the kind of fans who would stand out in freezing weather for the chance to hear the front office speak more than the players on the team itself. Maybe hope is powerful enough to overcome the winter cold. After all, spring is just around the corner.
