Baltimore Orioles

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Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore orioles.jpg
Established in 2017
Names
  • Baltimore Orioles (2017-present)
Other Nicknames
O's
Ballpark
MLR Titles
Paper Cup titles (0) None
American League Pennants (0) None
East Division titles (0) None
Wild card berths (0) None

The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional fake baseball franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are in Major League Redditball's American League Eastern Division, and are one of the twelve Inaugural teams in the league. They were created by league charter member Dom Dunquette.

2017 season[edit | edit source]

As an original team in the MLR, the Orioles were granted 4th in the inaugural draft order.

In the 2017 Inaugural Draft, the Orioles selected Sam Smith with their first pick, the 4th overall. They drafted Rob Pancakes in the 6th round as the team's starting pitcher for the 2017 season. Other notable draftees were Johnny Dickshot in the 7th round, Whit Merto in the 9th round, who was the 2017 AL Crystal Cleat RF winner, and Ludd Van Shark as a steal in the 12th round.

The Orioles struggled in the inaugural season, finishing with a record of 1 win and 6 losses. The team had a weak offense, and Rob Pancakes went through growing pains as a young pitcher, leading the league in walks given up, hits allowed, and earned runs allowed. He did, however, also lead the league in strikeouts for the 2017 season, demonstrating his potential as a future ace.

The team's only win of the season came against the Toronto Blue Jays in session 5. The game was grim for the Orioles, and they were down 5-2 in the bottom of the 5th inning. However, the Orioles starting center fielder Aaron Range, who to that point had done nothing except auto-strikeout in every plate appearance, put the O's in the lead with a grand slam in the bottom of the 5th inning. Unfortunately, the hit cost Range his career, as he tore his ACL on the swing and had to be helped around the bases. Range announced his retirement from the sport shortly following the conclusion of the game.

The Orioles had several close games following their win, but ultimately came up short in their pursuit of the 2017 Paper Cup and failed to make the one-game Paper Cup playoff.

2017/2018 Season[edit | edit source]

Shortly before the beginning of the 2017/2018 season, the Orioles signed free agents Meerkat Timmons and Chipper Dipper to entry level contracts, as a replacement for A. Range in center field and to bolster pitching depth, respectively.

The expansion draft brought a few changes to the Orioles' roster. Most surprising was Johnny Dickshot's announcement that he would declare for the expansion draft as a pitcher, leaving the team immediately at the conclusion of the 2017 season. He was eventually drafted 5th overall in the expansion draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, in part because of his active and competitive nature and due to his strong pitching performance in the Rookie Showcases. As compensation for Dickshot's free agency declaration, the Orioles received the 12th overall pick, which they bundled with other picks and traded for the 7th overall pick, which they then used on shortstop Earl Leicester, a utility infielder.

The only other move came as Clipper Charge, the team's original 2nd round pick, requested and was granted a trade to the San Francisco Giants. In exchange, the Orioles received a second round pick in the expansion draft, which they used to select second basewoman Nikki Falke.

In Session 2, a game that has come to be known as "The Maginot Line Game" took place between the Orioles and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The game set a record for the longest MLR game on record, beginning on December 8th and ending on December 26th. The players continued the game long after all others games in the session had finished, and even played through the Christmas holidays. In addition to the length of the meme-filled game, the general holiday spirit and several hilarious happenings, including the first ever MLR triple play, created a camaraderie between the two teams that has lasted to this day. Although the Devil Ray's ultimately won 4-3 in the 8th inning, the teams agreed that the real treasure was inside them all along the real winners were the friends we made along the way.

2017/2018 Roster[edit | edit source]

At the start of the 2017/2018 season, the Orioles roster was as follows

Pitchers
1st 2nd 3rd
Starters Rob Pancakes Chipper Dipper --


Position Players
Position Starter Secondary Tertiary
Catcher Indy Sayne -- --
First Baseman Hans Goober -- --
Second Baseman Ludd Van Shark Nikki Falke --
Third Baseman Sam Smith -- --
Shortstop Bernie Petrol Earl Leicester --
Left fielder Randy Nummer -- --
Center fielder Meerkat Timmons -- --
Right fielder Whit Merto -- --