Tag: Camden Yards

Notre Dame appearances at MLB ballparks through the years

The Irish have been well-represented during ceremonial first pitches.

This is an exciting week for Notre Dame. Not everyone can say they’ve been at MLB’s two oldest ballparks during the same week, but this year’s Irish will be able to make that claim. They’ll face Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Tuesday before meeting Boston College at Fenway Park on Friday. The best part for us at Fighting Irish Wire is that we’ve been credentialed for both games, so we’ll be reporting the action directly from these historic venues.

With these two games taking place during the final week of the regular season, we thought it would be nice to take a look back at Notre Dame figures making appearances at MLB ballparks over the years. We’re not talking about when the football team has played games there or former Irish players who have made the big leagues. We’re talking about when figures have made appearances on behalf of the university. If you have a really good memory, maybe you can recall at least one of these:

The Orioles’ dumb decision to move back the LF wall robbed Ryan Mountcastle of a 407-foot HR

Can’t believe they did that.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a stadium that inspired nearly all of the new ballparks across baseball these past two decades. But at 30 years old, the stadium has been in dire need of upgrades for years.

That made the Orioles’ decision to dedicate resources into moving back the left-field wall so puzzling.

This past offseason, the Orioles leadership pushed the left-field wall back 30 feet and raised it to 13 feet tall. Aesthetically, it looked awful with an awkward corner jetting out into left-center field. And sure, the team wanted to make it more difficult for opponents to hit home runs, but by doing so, they made it more difficult on themselves.

Just ask Ryan Mountcastle.

During the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Mountcastle smoked a hanging breaking ball from Zack Greinke to left field. Dead baseball aside, it should have been a home run. But because of the new wall, the baseball remained in play, and Mountcastle had to settle for a long double instead of a game-tying home run.

And just to put that 407-foot double into perspective, that hit would have been a home run at every other ballpark in baseball.

The Orioles ended up losing, 6-4, and they can partly thank that dumb left-field wall for that.

New York Yankees welcome Trey Mancini back to Yankee Stadium

First-class gesture from an Orioles division rival.

We all know about the health struggles former Notre Dame player and current Baltimore Oriole Trey Mancini’s had to go through. Having been diagnosed with colon cancer, he missed the entire 2020 season. Now cancer-free, he has reclaimed his spot in the Orioles’ lineup. On Monday, the Orioles traveled to New York to play the Yankees, who tweeted out how happy they were to see Mancini, who started as the designated hitter, back in the Bronx:

Mancini’s last game at Yankee Stadium was Aug. 14, 2019, a 6-5 Orioles loss. He walked and scored twice in that game. Entering Monday, he has a career slash line of .271/.323/.475 at the ballpark and 13 RBIs. His six home runs there are the most at any stadium other than Camden Yards.

Through three games, Mancini has gone 3 for 12 with a double while driving in three runs, scoring three more and achieving an OPS of .619. He also has one sacrifice fly.

2020 MLB Futures Odds: How many games will the Baltimore Orioles win?

Looking at 2020 MLB futures odds for how many games the Baltimore Orioles will win in the 60-game MLB season.

How many games will the Baltimore Orioles win in the 60-game 2020 MLB season? We look at the Orioles’ MLB futures odds, including their projected 2020 win total and Over/Under odds at BetMGM, and make our best bet.

Baltimore Orioles’ 2019 recap

Despite an abysmal 2019 for the Baltimore Orioles, going 54-108 and finishing last in the AL East, it was a seven-win improvement in Brandon Hyde’s first season as manager. That’s the silver lining in the Orioles’ 2019. At one point, they were 51 games out of first place and had the second-worst record in MLB. The Orioles’ 72-90 run line record was the third-lowest mark in baseball, and their Over/Under record was 80-71-11. It was the third consecutive season the Orioles finished Under their season win total.

Baltimore Orioles’ offseason

Ranked dead last in team payroll, the Orioles don’t have a lot of news to be excited about in this section. The added SS José Iglesias and SPs Wade LeBlanc, Tommy Milone and Kohl Stewart. Notable departures include SP Dylan Bundy and 2B Jonathan Villar. 

Also see:

Baltimore Orioles’ 2020 schedule

It’s an all-East regional format for the Orioles, which includes 40 games against AL East foes (10 games vs. each) and the other 20 games against NL East teams. Last season the Orioles’ 24-52 division record was the third-lowest mark in the MLB. 2020 figures to be a tough season for the Orioles, which already plays in a tough division, and slated to play a competitive NL East featuring reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB futures bet at BetMGM in CO, IN, NJ and WV. Bet now!

How many games will the Baltimore Orioles win in 2020?

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Sunday, July 5 at 3 p.m. ET.

The Orioles’ regular-season win total is 21.5 games (second-lowest on the board behind the Detroit Tigers’ 20.5 wins). The Under is a favored at -125 with the Over at +105. We’ve already discussed Baltimore’s horribleness last season and noted there wasn’t any talent acquired this offseason. The O’s suffered a major blow last month when RF Trey Mancini — their leader in doubles, home runs, runs batted in, on-base percentage and slugging percentage — was placed on the 60-day IL to recover from colon cancer surgery. Also, only one starting pitcher — ace John Means — had an above .500 record last season at 12-11.

2019 was a year-over-year improvement from 2018, but still, they finished Under their regular-season win total for a third straight season. BET ORIOLES UNDER 21.5 WINS (-125).

Baltimore Orioles’ World Series odds

Forget everything I said in their season wins handicap above because as the great Kevin Malone from “The Office” once said, “If anyone gives you 10,000 to 1 odds on anything, you take that bet.”

If you have a spare $10, why not pretty much throw it away on the ORIOLES +100000 TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES? It pays out $10,000.

Baltimore Orioles’ playoff odds

The Orioles going off at +8000 to win the AL East doesn’t meet that +10000 must bet minimum and Baltimore winning the division, even in a COVID-shortened regular season, would be similar to the Cleveland Indians’ miraculous run in the movie “Major League.” PASS ON THE ORIOLES TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. 

Want action on any 2020 MLB futures? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

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