The chiseling of the Orioles' 40-man roster needs to get it down to a size that can accommodate at least one new player from the Rule 5 draft. The Orioles seem to have struck gold last winter with reliever Tyler Wells. You just never know. Among the few safe projections for the 2022 season is naming Wells the closer. He gets the initial save chances. How many are available on a rebuilding team isn't the point. Someone needs to protect a slim lead in the ninth inning and Wells has become the...

It was a sad anniversary to note recently. But when you think about the man himself, and what he meant to the Orioles for 37 of his 45 seasons in pro baseball, you can't help but smile. Elrod Hendricks was born on Dec. 22, 1940 in the Virgin Islands. He died on Dec. 21, 2005 - just one day shy of his 65th birthday. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame as a coach in 2001 and he spent 28 seasons as the club's bullpen coach. His baseball record notes that the Orioles acquired him from...

On this date in 1970, the Orioles were a day removed from clinching their second World Series title. The champagne had barely dried. But a year later, they faced a must-win situation against the Pirates at Memorial Stadium. Down 3-2 in games, the Orioles won 3-2 in 10 innings on Brooks Robinson's sacrifice fly off Bob Miller that scored Frank Robinson, who drew a one-out walk and hustled to third base on Merv Rettenmund's single. Brooks always will be remembered for his defensive wizardry in...

As we move closer to spring training - and, hopefully, toward storing the rock salt and snow shovels for the winter - it's time to throw back to some of the most memorable games in Orioles history: the 1970 World Series, where the Birds vanquished the vaunted Big Red Machine from Cincinnati in five games to win their second world championship. Future Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Tony Perez, along with eventual all-time hit king Pete Rose, were no match for Earl Weaver's Orioles. If you're...