Wednesday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles will have to wear ugly hats

Good morning, Birdland!

It felt very Orioles to go from positive P.R. regarding the announcement of a quality giveaway schedule for the upcoming season on Monday to getting ripped online all of Wednesday because in a line of ugly hats, the Orioles have the ugliest.

I get what MLB was going for with these hats. The concept is interesting:

And some of them look neat. The Rockies and Rangers basically just work their respective state flags into the mix. That’s nice. Houston’s looks pretty cool with the Tequila Sunrise.

But most of them are just awful. It’s a Frankenstein monster of two logos that represent the same team, but don’t work well together.

MLB is having a tough off-season with hats. Allow these latest caps to be Exhibit C, and observe Exhibit A:

And Exhibit B:

Links & Notes

What to expect at spring training - School of Roch
Pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota in just a few days! Why am I so excited to watch a team that is going to be so bad? Because, as someone born in 1993, my childhood was filled with Oriole teams that were similarly awful. Watching this team is like a security blanket. I don’t need to have it, but it sure feels better when I do.

Another look at the Orioles’ recent international signings - Steve Mewlewski
The Orioles have finally dipped their toe into international waters, and it’s refreshing. Now we get to wait five years before any of us see those signings approaching the big leagues. Yay?

Who’ll lead off for Orioles? Promotional schedule; Call for questions - Baltimore Baseball
Trey Mancini led the Orioles with a .364 OBP last season, followed by Jonathan Villar (.339), Chance Sisco (.333) and Hanser Alberto (.329). Austin Hays, in 21 games, posted a .373 OBP. None of them are especially enticing options to lead off, but things change.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Ryan Webb turns 34 today. The righty pitched in 51 games for the 2014 Orioles, posting a 3.83 ERA, 103 ERA+ and 2.95 FIP while with the club.

Another former reliever, Chris Brock, hits the big 5-0 this year. Brock played in 22 games for the O’s during the 2002 campaign, marking the end to his six-year big league career.

Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar is 52 today. Alomar was a journeyman by Hall of Fame standards, splitting his 17 big league seasons between seven different teams. He spent three years in Baltimore, compiling 12.5 bWAR from 1996-98 while donning the orange and black.

Finally, a melancholy “Happy Birthday!” to the late Chuck Diering (b. 1923, d. 2012). Diering was a utility player who spent three seasons with the Orioles from 1954 through 1956 to wrap up his nine-year MLB career.

Apart from birthdays, not much else has happened in Orioles history on this date, according to Baseball Reference. So, here is what has occurred in the world away from the diamond:

1917 - Mexico adopts their current constitution, establishing a federal republic with a separation of powers between three branches of government.

1971 - Astronauts land on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission.

1997 - The “Big Three” banks in Switzerland create a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.