Buster Posey, Trey Mancini Named 2021 NL, AL Comeback Players of the Year
Nov 22, 2021
San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey talks during a news conference announcing his retirement from baseball, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini and San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey were named the American and National League Comeback Players of the Year on Monday:
Trey Mancini and Buster Posey are your AL & NL Comeback Players of the Year! š pic.twitter.com/KXiZruMHD2
Mancini's story was one of the most inspiring in the entire sports world in 2021, as he returned to the field after missing the 2020 campaign because of Stage 3 colon cancer. Posey also missed the 2020 season after choosing to step away from the game because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Orioles called Mancini winning this award "inevitable from the moment he took the field on Opening Day" and shared a story of his comeback:
If great comeback stories inspire, then Trey's is truly one of the greatest.
As Andrew Golden of the Washington Post detailed, Mancini was diagnosed in March 2020 and underwent chemotherapy until September of that year. He also underwent surgery to remove a malignant tumor.
Orioles fans gave him an emotional standing ovation for his first at-bat at Camden Yards of the season.
"It was 25 percent capacity at the time, but it felt like a full stadium," Mancini said, per Golden. "The city really rallied around me last year and was so supportive. For it to come full circle and for me to be back in a game ā¦ it was really special."
He did more than just return, though, and was a key part of Baltimore's lineup. Mancini slashed .255/.326/.432 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI while appearing in 147 games and notably advanced to the championship round of the 2021 Home Run Derby at Coors Field in Colorado before falling to Pete Alonso.
As for Posey, he helped lead the Giants to the best record in the league at 107-55, which was quite the improvement from their 29-31 mark during the shortened 2020 campaign without him.
The catcher slashed .304/.390/.499 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI while making his seventh career All-Star Game and taking home his fifth Silver Slugger. He now has the 2021 Comeback Player of the Year to add to an illustrious resume that includes an NL MVP, three World Series titles, a Gold Glove and a batting title.
Posey won't be adding to that on-field resume any longer after electing to retire this offseason.
Orioles' Trey Mancini Discusses June Cancer Scare: 'I Was Thinking the Worst'
Oct 14, 2021
Baltimore Orioles' Trey Mancini in the first inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Trey
Mancini said he went through a scare in June after he received
carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) test results that suggested his colon
cancer may have returned.
Mancini, who sat out the 2020 season
while undergoing chemotherapy treatments before being declared cancer-free, told Dan Connolly of The
Athletic on Thursday subsequent tests showed the cancer cells hadn't
returned.
"Me, overthinking it, I just
couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my CEA was normal for
quite a few times, and now it's elevated," he said. "I was
thinking the worst. And I couldn't shake that."
The 29-year-old Florida native put
together a career year for the O's in 2019. He posted a .291 batting
average, .899 OPS and 35 home runs across 154 appearances. His
career-best 3.5 WAR ranked in a tie for 56th among all MLB hitters
that season, per FanGraphs.
After the one-year hiatus, he returned
to a full-time role for Baltimore in 2021. His numbers dipped slightly from the career-high marks in 2019, but he was still a valuable
contributor with a .758 OPS and 21 homers in 147 games.
Mancini told Connolly he struggled with
the uncertainty between the concerning June 21 results and the July 4
confirmation the cancer hadn't returned, and he wants to share his
story for other people who may be going through a similar situation.
"Maybe this can put their minds at
ease because there's a number of reasons why this marker can be
elevated. And you don't have to spend weeks and weeks with it racing
through your head," Mancini said. "Above all, listen to your
doctors and health professionals. They know what they're talking
about."
Eight days after being given the
all-clear, he was at Coors Field in Colorado to take part in the 2021
Home Run Derby as part of MLB's All-Star festivities.
Mancini defeated the Oakland Athletics'
Matt Olson and Rockies' Trevor Story to reach the finals before
coming up short against reigning champion Pete Alonso
of the New York Mets.
"I've never been on a stage like
this before," he told reporters. "And it was just an
incredible day, an incredible evening, and I was just so honored to
be a part of it and just to be asked. To make it to the finals is
something that I think we're going to look back on and really cherish
and appreciate."
Mancini saw his OPS drop 80 points from
the first half of the season (.791) to the second half (.711), but
the slugger said he was pleased to endure the physical toll of an
entire campaign.
"I hate to use the word grind, but I
had to grind it out those last couple months, and I did," he told
Connolly. "I'm happy that I made it to the end of the season, that
I didn't go on the [injured list] one time. It is a big
accomplishment."
The Orioles fell well short of the
playoffs with a 52-110 record, but Mancini figures to remain a key
building block as they continue their rebuilding efforts heading into
2022.
Cedric Mullins Becomes 1st Player in Orioles History to Join 30-30 Club
Sep 24, 2021
Baltimore Orioles' Cedric Mullins plays during an interleague baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cedric Mullins added another chapter to his breakout 2021 on Friday night when he hit his 30th homer of the season in the second inning against the Texas Rangers.
The 26-year-old is the first player in Orioles history to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a single season.
The first player in Orioles history to reach 30/30, and the first player in baseball to do it this year.@cedmull30 has put together one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen in Birdland. pic.twitter.com/KRSIA6lNv2
Even though the Orioles remain mired in a rebuild and entered Friday tied with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the worst record in Major League Baseball (49-104), Mullins has been an incredible bright spot for the franchise.
Mullins was named to the American League All-Star team earlier this year. He entered Friday ranked fourth in MLB with 30 stolen bases and is now tied for 19th in the AL with 30 homers.
Per FanGraphs, Mullins ranks fourth in the AL among position players with 5.6 wins above replacement.
In a season featuring several breakout performances, Mullins' has been one of the most unexpected. He was an unheralded 13th-round draft pick out of Campbell University in 2015.
MLB.com did rank Mullins as the fifth-best prospect in Baltimore's system prior to the 2017 season. He made his big league debut in 2018 but never showed this kind of potential. The North Carolina native hit .225/.290/.342 with seven homers and 10 stolen bases in 115 games from 2018-20.
There is a bright future in Baltimore with an improving farm system. Catcher Adley Rutschman, the top pick in the 2019 MLB draft, is the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball. Grayson Rodriguez is one of the top pitching prospects in the sport.
Assuming Rutschman and Rodriguez debut at some point next season, the Orioles will have a strong foundation with that duo and Mullins to build around.
Orioles Snap 19-Game Losing Streak vs. Shohei Ohtani, Angels
Aug 26, 2021
Baltimore Orioles right fielder Anthony Santander jogs off the field during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
The Baltimore Orioles broke their 19-game losing streak with a 10-6 comeback win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday.
Outfielder Anthony Santander scored three runs and had three hits to lead Baltimore to its first win since Aug. 2, when the O's beat the New York Yankees 7-1.
Santander and Cedric Mullins each hit solo home runs in the first inning off Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani to give Baltimore a 2-0 lead.
Per Joe Trezza of MLB.com, the Orioles became the only team to hit multiple home runs off Ohtani in the same game with those blasts. The presumptive American League MVP entered the night with an 8-1 record, 2.79 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 100 innings this year.
However, the Angels scored six consecutive runs (two in the second, four in the fourth) to take a 6-2 advantage. The fourth inning featured Brandon Marsh's three-run blast and a solo shot by Jared Walsh.
The Angels went down in order in the ninth. The victory means the longest losing streak in MLB's modern era will stay at 23 gamesāset by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies en route to a 47-107 season.
The 1988 Orioles, who started their season 0-21, are second on that list. The 1969 Montreal Expos, the 1916 and 1943 Philadelphia Athletics and 1906 Boston Americans are tied at third with 20 losses apiece.
The Orioles are now 39-86 after the win.
How Low Can the O's Go? A Look at Orioles Historic Losing Streak and What's Next
Zachary D. Rymer
Aug 24, 2021
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - AUGUST 19: Jorge Mateo #26 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after being struck out to end the game and lose to Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 7 to 2 at Tropicana Field on August 19, 2021 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
The Baltimore Orioles are pretty bad right now.
Well, maybe not this exact moment since they were idle on Monday and won't return to action until they take on the Los Angeles Angels later on Tuesday. But the Orioles have certainly been bad of late, as their 3-1 loss to Atlanta on Sunday made it 18 in a row since August 3.
Baltimore's losing streak is the longest since the Kansas City Royals lost 19 straight in 2005. If the O's lose again on Tuesday, they'll have tied that mark.
After that, the modern record for consecutive losses would be within range. Should the Orioles stretch their streak to 23 losses in a row, they'll cozy up next to the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies in a place of all-time futility.
While we're piling on, it's very much because of Baltimore's sudden inability to win games that the club now has the worst record in Major League Baseball. Whereas they had five more wins than the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 2, the latter now has a four-win edge.
As for how the Orioles got here, well, there's the small picture and then there's the big picture.
Are the Orioles Really That Bad Right Now?
The Orioles never were supposed to be good this year, as FanGraphs pegged them for just 65 wins at the outset of the season. After a brief window of positivity in the opening days of the season, they fell under .500 for the first time on April 11 and have been there ever since.
The problem isn't just that the Orioles lack talent. They're also stuck with one of the most difficult schedules in baseball, and it's only fair to acknowledge that it's been especially difficult during their losing streak.
Their 18 losses have come against the New York Yankees (2), Tampa Bay Rays (7), Detroit Tigers (3), Boston Red Sox (3) and Atlanta (3). The Tigers are the only one of those teams that's not in contention for a playoff spot, yet even their 60-66 record looks like a slice of fried gold relative to Baltimore's 38-85 mark.
As one unnamed Oriole told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic: āIt sucks, man. Weāre totally overmatched with the schedule we play.ā
But even in spite of their schedule, one would hope that the Orioles could at least play competitive baseball. They haven't. Of their 18 losses, 17 have been by more than one run. Overall, their skid is marked by a minus-102 run differential and both the most runs allowed (149) and fewest runs scored (47) of any team between Aug. 3 and 22.
At 1.86, Orioles pitchers posted the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio of any team during that window. At 2.29, they also allowed the highest rate of home runs per nine innings. Among their starters, specifically, John Means' 6.52 ERA is actually the low mark during the slide.
If there's anything to be said in defense of O's pitchers, it's that they haven't gotten much support from the guys with the gloves. The team has allowed an inordinately high .328 BABIP during its 18-game skid. Too many catchable balls have gone for hits, such as this one, this one, this one and, maybe most memorable of all, this one:
On the other side of the ball, the Orioles actually hit more home runs (22) between Aug. 3 and 22 than contenders like the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and New York Mets. And in situations when nobody was on base, O's hitters racked up a .265 average and .481 slugging percentage. Both marks were among the top 10 in MLB.
This, however, points to the obvious problem of the Orioles being tragically unclutch. During their skid, they've hit just .198 with men on base and .146 with runners in scoring position. And of their 22 home runs, a league-high 20 were with the bases empty.
The Orioles' 18-game skid has thus been a perfect storm of a difficult schedule combining with a significant talent deficit and an utter failure to execute when it matters.
As much as we'd love to tell them it will get easier, it won't. The Orioles have the hardest remaining schedule of any team in baseball. Even if their losing streak eventually ends, there's likely no stopping them from their third 100-loss season in four years.
How Did Things Get This Wrong?
It wasn't that long ago the Orioles were not only good, but really good.
Between 2012 and 2016, they had the highest winning percentage of any team in the American League. They netted three playoff berths during that stretch, making it as far as the American League Championship Series in 2014.
Though there's a case to be made for the club's ultimately ill-fated $161 million deal with Chris Davis during the 2015-16 offseason as the true beginning of the end, things didn't actually start going south for the team until 2017. After winning 89 games and making the playoffs in 2016, that was when Baltimore slipped to last place in the AL East amid an 87-loss season.
Four years later, it's easy to look back and say that Dan Duquette, then the Orioles president of baseball operations, should have blown it up. If he had, he surely would have landed prospect riches for the likes of hitters Manny Machado, Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones and hurlers Kevin Gausman, Brad Brach, Darren O'Day and Zack Britton.
Back then, though, context mattered. As poorly as the O's played in 2017, it was only one bad year after five successful years. And with both Duquette and manager Buck Showalter headed into the last years of their respective contracts, both had a clear reason to see 2018 as a last hurrah rather than the first step into a rebuild.
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 13: Manager Buck Showalter #26 of the Baltimore Orioles and General Manager Dan Duquette talk during batting practice before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 13, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
So the Orioles went for it, even going as far as to spend $73 million on starters Alex Cobb and Andrew Cashner to round out their rotation. The projection systems weren't sold on the team going into 2018, yet another playoff run wasn't totally outside the realm of possibility.
That is, of course, until it was.
The Orioles won their opener in 2018, but were never over .500 the rest of the way en route to final record of 47-115. Of the aforementioned trade chips, only Jones wasn't moved before the end of the year. And that was only because he used his 10-and-5 rights to block a deal that would have sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Three years later, it's not a good look for Duquette that just one of the players (outfielder Yusniel Diaz) acquired in trades of Machado, Schoop, Gausman, O'Day and Britton is among the club's top 30 prospects at MLB.com. Apart from modest contributions (i.e., 0.8 rWAR) of reliever Dillon Tate, those trades also aren't bearing fruit in the majors in 2021.
Could Duquette have done better, though? Perhaps not. The Machado trade, in which Diaz was but one of five players netted by Baltimore, was generally well reviewed at the time. Duquette otherwise had to get what he could for the other guys, whose value had fallen off sharply from 2017 by way of injuries and inconsistency.
All this makes Duquette a valid, yet oddly unsatisfying scapegoat for the current state of the Orioles. And this isn't even to mention the fact that the Orioles are now in their third season under different leadership after Duquette and Showalter got canned in October 2018.
It's been Mike Elias' show ever since the Orioles hired him away from the Houston Astros to run their front office. The club's long-term outlook has undeniably improved under his watch, as he's boosted the club's prospect depth through three years of high draft picks and trades of inherited assets like Cobb, Dylan Bundy, Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro.
Elias did, however, make an unforced error in March 2019 when he sent Mike Yastrzemski to the San Francisco Giants. He's since turned himself into one of baseball's better outfielders, while Baltimore's end of the deal (pitcher Tyler Herb) is still languishing in the minors.
Save for waiver-wire pickup Cole Sulser and Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells, Elias has also failed to perform alchemy with players from outside the organization. Inside the organization, meanwhile, All-Star center fielder Cedric Mullins is the only Duquette-era holdover to significantly improve under the Elias regime.
Though the Angelos family that owns the team certainly shares the blame, a lack of free-agent spending has also held the Orioles back. They've spent just short of $8 million on free agents over the past three winters, according to Spotrac. This tracks with the kind of slow, steady and cheap rebuild that Elias was a part of in Houston, but it's frankly pathetic that the Orioles are spending over $100 million less on players than they were as recently as 2017.
What the 2021 Orioles are, then, is the byproduct of one regime that was understandably neglectful of the future and another that's been frustratingly neglectful of the present.
On the Bright Side...
After they secured a solid haul led by Sam Houston outfielder Colton Cowser at No. 5 overall, we liked Baltimore's farm system enough after the draft to place it at No. 10 in MLB.
The folks at Baseball America have since done us one...well, actually eight better. They rate Baltimore's system as the second-best in baseball, remarking that it's the "highest-ever ranking" for an Orioles farm system.
Leading the pack is catcher Adley Rutschman, who Elias selected at No. 1 overall out of Oregon State in 2019. He's put up a .909 OPS with 19 home runs at Double-A and Triple-A this season, numbers which both support his case as the best prospect in any organization and hint at a possible cup-of-coffee stint with Baltimore in September.
FILE - In this June 25, 2019, file photo, Baltimore Orioles first-round draft pick Adley Rutschman takes batting practice before a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Baltimore. Catcher Adley Rutschman, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Yusniel Diaz are among the top prospects in the organization. None of these youngsters are expected to be on the opening day roster, but they'll provide a glimpse of the future at camp this spring. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
Lest anyone think Duquette didn't leave anything behind, arguably Baltimore's second- and third-best prospects are holdovers from his regime: right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and left-hander DL Hall. Both look like top-of-the-rotation types who could debut early in 2022.
In addition to plentiful prospects, the Orioles also now have plentiful payroll flexibility as a result of their recent stinginess and Davis' retirement. To wit, they don't have a single player under a guaranteed contract for 2022.
In theory, the Orioles could use that flexibility to sign Mullins and noted Home Run Derby participant and fan favorite Trey Mancini to long-term extensions. Should the Angelos family and Elias finally decide to kick-start the team's rebuild, it could just as easily be put to use on the free-agent market.
It's perhaps premature to say that the Orioles' future is bright. But compared to what's going on right now, it's certainly brighter than the team's present.
Orioles' Chris Davis Announces MLB Retirement with 1 Year Left on $161M Contract
Aug 12, 2021
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis waits for a pitch to the Washington Nationals during an exhibition baseball game, Monday, July 20, 2020, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Four months after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his hip, Chris Davis has announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.
Davis issued a statement through the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday:
Davis was owed $17 million this season and in 2022 as part of the seven-year, $161 million contract he signed in 2016.
Per Dan Connolly of The Athletic, the Orioles will pay the remainder of Davis' salary and spread out his 2022 money over several years.
A knee injury limited Davis to 16 games last season. The 35-year-old began this season on the 60-day injured list with a strained back. General manager Mike Elias announced in May that Davis had an arthroscopic procedure on his hip.
Acquired by the Orioles in a 2011 trade with the Texas Rangers, Davis was an integral part of the franchise's return to prominence in the American League.
Davis led Major League Baseball with 53 homers, 138 RBI and 370 total bases to finish third in AL MVP voting in 2013. He also led the league with 47 homers during the 2015 season.
The Orioles finished .500 or better in five consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2016. They made the playoffs three times during that span, including an appearance in the 2014 American League Championship Series.
A fifth-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2006, Davis finishes his career with a .233/.315/.459 slash line, 295 homers and 780 RBI in 1,417 regular-season games.
Report: Orioles' Trey Mancini to Participate in 2021 MLB Home Run Derby
Jun 26, 2021
BUFFALO, NY - JUNE 24: Baltimore Orioles Designated Hitter Trey Mancini (16) hits a single during the first inning of a Major League Baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays on June 24,2021, at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Baltimore Orioles slugger Trey Mancini has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2021 MLB Home Run Derby at Coors Field during All-Star week, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.
Trey Mancini will participate in the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game in Denver, per sources. As @danconnolly2016 reported. Brandon Hyde hadn't heard the news yet. Said "that would be a great experience for Trey."
Mancini, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 2020, is enjoying a productive season at the plate in 2021 after being declared cancer-free in November. The 29-year-old has 14 home runs in 75 games this season while slashing .256/.332/.460.
Asked earlier this season if he had any interest in the Derby, Mancini told reporters he wouldn't hesitate to join the field.
"I would love it," Mancini told Dan Connolly of The Athletic. "... I'd definitely do it."
He'll certainly have his work cut out for him in Denver as reigning Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets returns to defend his title. They'll be joined by Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Five spots remain in the Derby, though sluggers Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis Jr., Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Gary Sanchez have already said they will not partake this time around.
It's unclear who will fill out the field; however, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Olson, Adolis Garcia and Jesse Winker may find themselves in a position to accept an invitation as they continue to rake this season. Still, the best story will no doubt be Mancini, who 15 months after his diagnosis has returned to baseball only to continue teeing off on opposing pitchers.
Now he'll get to do it on one of his sport's biggest stages.
Orioles Minor Leaguers Speak Out Against Housing Situation, Some May Sleep in Cars
Jun 15, 2021
MESA, AZ - SEPTEMBER 21: A detail shot of the MLB logo on batting practice balls before the game against the Peoria Javelinas and the Mesa Solar Sox at Sloan Park on Saturday, September 21, 2019 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Jill Weisleder/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Some members of the Bowie Baysox are contemplating sleeping in their cars because of low wages, according to the Twitter account Advocates for Minor Leaguers.
The account explained how staying at the team hotel would swallow up a vast majority of the money apportioned to the players.
(1/3) Weāve just been told that multiple players on the Bowie Baysox are considering sleeping in their cars beginning tomorrow night. The Baysox are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
The Baysox are the Baltimore Orioles' Double-A affiliate.
Issues regarding the working conditions for minor leaguers isn't a recent concern, though it has come under more recent scrutiny after MLB rolled out its plan for affiliated leagues in February.
A number of minor league organizations across the country were culled, and MLB said at the time the process would lead to tangible benefits for players such as higher wages and better facilities. The league had also agreed to raise the minimum salary for minor leaguers beginning in 2021.
However, Tuesday's report comes a little more than two weeks after Advocates for Minor Leaguers brought attention to the post-game meals distributed to players within the Oakland Athletics organization.
Players in the Oakland Aās organization shared these photos of their recent post-game meals.
No employer would serve these meals to employees they care about. Why are the Aās serving them to their future Major Leaguers? pic.twitter.com/cIFqiPg6iX
"Several weeks ago, we were made aware of the postgame meals being served to players in our Minor League system," the A's said in a statement. "Those options were completely unacceptable and by no means meet our quality standards. We immediately ended our relationship with that third party vendor."
Advocates for Minor Leaguers has highlighted other cases of poor working conditions for minor league players:
Weāve been told that the Pelicans will now be providing housing for all of their players tonight. Advocacy works.
Players, agents, families, and friends, please reach out the next time any Minor Leaguer is facing a situation like this and we will do everything we can to help.
After President Donald Trump signed the Save America's Pastime Act into law in 2018, minor leaguers were exempted from federal minimum wage laws. The Arizona Capitol Times' Ben Giles reported in January 2019 that MLB was lobbying toward the same cause at the state level in Arizona.
Perhaps this will be among the issues brought forward by the players as they lay out their requests at the negotiating table.
Oriolesā Matt Harvey: āItās Frustratingā Being āHorses--tā The Last Couple Seasons
Jun 10, 2021
Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Matt Harvey throws a pitch to the New York Mets during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Baltimore Orioles starter Matt Harvey is running out of answers for his lackluster performances. He also appears to be running low on patience with himself.
After allowing seven runs on eight hits in three innings against the New York Mets on Wednesday, it was impossible for the hurler to hold back his anger.
"It's been a couple years now of being really horses--t," Harvey said after the 14-1 loss. "And it's frustrating. The amount of work that I'm putting in between starts ... this is a tough one."
"It's been a couple years now of being really horses--t. And it's frustrating. The amount of work that I'm putting in between starts" - Matt Harvey pic.twitter.com/b23LX23QPZ
Through seven starts to begin the 2021 season, Harvey appeared ready to prove he could still be a reliable piece of the rotation. He put together a 3.60 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 35 innings and only allowed three home runs.
Then came his return to Citi Field against the Metsāthe team with which he had his best yearsāin mid-May. Harvey only made it 4.1 innings that day, giving up eight hits, seven earned runs and dropped consecutive starts for the first time this season.
Facing the Mets again on Wednesday at Camden Yards didn't help repair anything.
Instead, Harvey allowed two runs in the first inning and another five in the third, including two home runs. That ballooned his already high ERA to 7.41 with a 1.68 WHIP and 47 strikeouts in 54.2 innings.
Harvey's career ERA now sits at 4.34 with a 1.27 WHIP, and those numbers don't appear to be heading down anytime soon.
After opening his career with three consecutive seasons with an ERA below 3.00 from 2012-2015, Harvey hasn't gone under a 4.86 ERA since 2016. His best ERA since leaving New Yorkāthe franchise that developed himāwas a 4.94 ERA tossed between stints with the Mets and Cincinnati Reds in 2018.
Harvey said he felt like he was capable of throwing good pitches on Wednesday but couldn't execute. It's days like these, he said, that get to him the most.
"The ones that I've been out on mechanics, there's a reason for that," Harvey said. "I guess an excuse for not pitching well. For tonight, I felt good, I just missed spots in situations where I can't."
Orioles' Chris Davis to Miss Rest of 2021 Season After Surgery on Hip Injury
May 19, 2021
Baltimore Orioles' Chris Davis looks on after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, in Baltimore. The Orioles won 5-3. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis will miss the rest of the season after having arthroscopic surgery on his left hip, general managerĀ Mike Elias announced Wednesday.
This is another setback for Davis after he played just 105 games in 2019 and 16 games during the shortened 2020 season. HeĀ started the 2021 campaign on the 60-day injured list, which will result in him not making a single appearance this season.
The 35-year-old first baseman turned heads in 2013 as an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner when he tallied a .286/.370/.634Ā slash line and drilled 53 home runs and added 138 RBI. While his batting average dropped to an unsightly .196 the next year, he bounced back with 47 long balls in 2015 and 38 in 2016.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, Davis has struggled to live up to the seven-year, $161 million contract he signed in 2016. His average has not been above .180 since 2017, and it hasn't eclipsed the .221 mark since 2015. Meanwhile, he has a total of 28 home runs since the start of the 2018 campaign.
Davis is owed $17 million this season and $17 million in 2022.
