It would be easy to say everything is different, that in the time since Stevie Wilkerson last played a game in Baltimore for the Orioles in 2021, the complexion of the franchise — and the fervor of the city — are unrecognizable for a player of the Before Times. That a great tide washed over this organization and scrubbed away what was.
This is what was: During Wilkerson’s three seasons in Baltimore, the Orioles lost more than 100 games each time.
Certainly, the cosmetics are different. As Wilkerson walked around the city last month ahead of a celebration for former teammate Adam Jones, the energy around downtown was palpable. The stands were more full that evening than he had ever seen before. The standings, with the Orioles on the verge of an American League East championship, were perhaps the most obvious sign of change.
But, when Wilkerson looked closer, the undercarriage of this success reminded him of 2019, when the losses stacked up yet a culture under new manager Brandon Hyde was beginning to come into its own.
“Not a whole lot has changed,” Wilkerson thought. “They’re just winning a whole lot of ballgames, which makes everything better.”
Dwight Smith Jr. remembers that first spring training under Hyde, in which the manager preached the essence of what has made this 2023 Orioles squad so good. Fundamental baseball was essential, with solid defense and a small-ball mentality on offense covering for what areas might otherwise be lacking.
During that first year, Hyde established himself as a manager for whom players loved to play. The team, full of players who might not be around to see the fruits of their labors, hung out together on off days and created a positive clubhouse environment, even when the loss column grew exponentially.
It’s that backbone that has led to this.
“That’s how you build a championship team down the road,” Smith said.
That championship team arrived because of the difficult moments of years prior. The 100-loss seasons led to a 101-win season and a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series on Saturday.
Only a handful of the players who witnessed the organization at its lowest experienced the champagne celebrations that marked the club’s ever-rising crest. But, for those who watched the revelry from afar, they look back on their years in Baltimore without the grimace some fans do.
There’s fondness — there’s pride — because, without them, the Orioles might not have gotten here.
“I hope that I played a very, very small role in the trajectory of the organization,” Wilkerson said. “I’m proud to be a part — a very, very small part — of what we were able to accomplish in those rebuilding years, those trying years, to lay somewhat of a foundation for these guys to then take in stride and run with it.”
Thomas Eshelman had already experienced two other rebuilding organizations by the time he joined the Orioles in 2019. There was his brief spell with the Houston Astros, then several years as part of the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization. At each stop, there was a sense of team chemistry despite the lowly product that featured at times, and Eshelman quickly understood Baltimore was following a similar path.
General manager Mike Elias had just drafted Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson with his first two selections in 2019, setting up the farm system with future stars even as the major league club struggled.
“We definitely took some bumps and bruises, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “Somebody’s got to do it.”
Over the next few years, the minor league pipeline continued to improve. And, as Rutschman, Henderson and others began their climb through the levels at the same time, Eshelman was reminded of how Philadelphia waited for Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola and other prospects to arrive and play a role in the turnaround.
“You could tell something was building and brewing,” Eshelman said.
Eshelman, who pitched 98 1/3 innings across three seasons for the Orioles, credits Hyde heavily, just as Smith and Wilkerson do.
In those first few seasons with the young manager, wins weren’t the expectation. But Wilkerson recalls hearing Hyde talk about his team playing “blue-collar baseball for nine innings,” and that message has never changed.
“That’s one of the reasons they’ve been able to win so many close ballgames this year, gritty ballgames this year, because that culture was established and now there’s some real-deal ballplayers over there,” Wilkerson said. “I think the culture was established early on, and now the pieces are there to do some special things.”
It doesn’t mean the rebuilding days were devoid of joy, however. In some ways, with so little to celebrate on a nightly basis, the breaks that went Baltimore’s way became all the more exciting.
Wilkerson’s catch at Fenway Park on the final day of the 2019 season — in which he crashed into the wall, robbing a home run from Jackie Bradley Jr. — lives on in the minds of those fans who weathered the tough times.
When he recorded a save in the 16th inning of a win against the Los Angeles Angels, it felt so much more momentous than the team’s 33rd win in late July.
“I really did feel that love from Baltimore,” Wilkerson said. “They stood behind us in a tough year.”
As Smith, Eshelman and Wilkerson watched Baltimore clinch its first American League East title since 2014, they thought of the rough times. They thought of how great it would have been to be included in that champagne spray, but they also know “some guys hang around and some don’t,” as Wilkerson said.
“That’s the nature of the business,” Wilkerson said.
For those who did hang around — Austin Hays, Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and Dean Kremer among them — the spray of alcohol in a plastic-covered clubhouse is a just reward. They experienced the lows. They’re now experiencing the highs. And their merriment at the end of a memorable regular season poured out for all those who couldn’t be there in the clubhouse with them.
“Every one of those guys deserves everything that they’re getting right now,” Eshelman said. “They grinded with us, and they’re putting themselves in a good position to possibly win a World Series.”
