Former Baysox Make Impact on Orioles Roster
One thing these three pitchers have in common, other than the fact that they play for the Orioles, is that they all played for the Bowie Baysox while working their way through the Orioles Minor League system.
These three former Baysox standouts, along with pitchers Brad Bergesen and Brain Matusz, now headline a pitching rotation that helped the Orioles sweep a three-game road series to open a season for the first time since April 7-9, 1970 at Cleveland.
"I think [the pitching] has been big," said Tillman, who pitched for the Baysox in 2008. "Overall, Jeremy [Guthrie] set the tone for the whole series and the young guys followed suit. He gave us the game plan for the whole series and me and Brit [Zach Britton] followed it well."
After four games, the Orioles are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the American League and have the lowest team ERA in the AL, averaging just one earned run per game. Former Baysox pitchers have thrown 23 out of the 36 total innings for the Orioles this season and allowed just three earned runs over that span while striking out 22 batters.
"I think [the pitching] has given the offense a lot of confidence, especially since we are keeping them in ballgames," said Britton, who pitched for the Baysox in 2010. "I think it's big anytime the young staff can keep the team in the game and really I think everyone is hoping that we develop because we hold a real big part of whether this team is going to be successful or not, so to see us go out there and put together four good starts in a row is really encouraging."
The young pitching staff, who forged close relationships with each other during Spring Training prior to the 2011 season, have been feeding off their early season success and hope to continue helping the team win games throughout the season.
"I think a big part of baseball is how the young guys, and even the older guys, feed off each other," Tillman said. "It's a huge part of pitching. People like to call it friendly competition; we go out there and compete with each other, but at the same time we have each other's backs whenever anything goes wrong."
The success of the young Baltimore Orioles pitching staff is the result of hard work on the part of the pitchers during the offseason and a result of things falling into place at the right time. Britton was originally slated to start the season with Triple-A Class Norfolk, but that was before left-handed pitcher Brian Matusz began suffering from a muscle strain and was placed on the 15-day Disabled List.
The move thrust Britton into his first Major League start earlier than originally expected but he responded well, earning the win. Britton credited his experience in the Minor Leagues last season, with Bowie and Norfolk as helping to prepare him to pitch in the big leagues.
Britton said the Minors helped him learn to "pitch with my off-speed pitches. I rely on those when I get in tough situations because everyone up here can hit a fastball, so being able to throw quality off-speed pitches when I'm behind in the count and when guys are on base [is important]."
Other Baysox who are now playing in the field for Orioles have also gotten off to a hot start this season. In Monday's home opener, second baseman Brian Roberts, catcher Matt Wieters, and right fielder Nick Markakis were a combined 6-11 from the plate with three runs and four RBIs in a 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers.
Leadoff hitter Roberts, who played with the Baysox in 2001, has both of the team's home runs and is currently leading the league with eight RBIs. Markakis (2005) and Wieters (2008) are first and second respectively on the team in batting average with Markakis hitting .429 and Wieters coming in at .385 through four games.
Overall, nine of the 25 players on the Orioles active roster are former Baysox stars, and without the production of those players, the Orioles would not be where they are today.
Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your Sox Off. The Baysox open their 19th season as the class Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles on the road in Harrisburg Thursday, April 7. They play their first game at Prince George's Stadium Thursday, April 14, at 7:05 p.m. Baysox ticket packages are now available at www.baysox.com