There is publicly available data from outlets like FanGraphs.com and BaseballSavant.com that can provide us some, shall we say, just beyond the basic stats information.

My curiosity yesterday led me to this question: How did opponents pitch the Orioles this season? Did they get more fastballs than other teams saw or less? Which pitches did they see more than others?

Here is what the O's batters were thrown this year and how that ranked in MLB and the ranking is from first (as in they saw the most fastballs to 30th, they saw the least) to least.

* Fastballs - 47.6 percent, 16th in MLB.

* Sliders - 20.1 percent, 30th in MLB.

Game 1 of the 2024 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees was seen by 15.2 million viewers on Fox television.

That number was up 62 percent from last year’s Game 1 when 9.35 million watched the Diamondbacks and Rangers. It was the most-watched World Series opening game since Astros-Dodgers was seen by 15.33 million in 2017.

A Baseball America article called the audience “massive” and noted that often the World Series total average viewership for the series exceeds the Game 1 number.

Said BA: “While 2016’s 22.8 million average viewership is unlikely to be exceeded, an average of 15 million viewers would blow away any recent World Series. Last year’s Rangers-Diamondbacks World Series averaged an all-time low 9.1 million viewers per game, and there hasn’t been a World Series to top 12 million in average viewership since 2019. A 15-million average viewership would rank as the third highest since 2010, which is impressive given TV viewership for anything but football has dwindled dramatically in the past decade-plus thanks to the demise of cable TV and the rise of streaming services and social media.”

According to Sports Media Watch, Game 2 on Saturday averaged 13.44 million viewers on FOX (13.8 million across all Fox Sports platforms). That was the largest audience for Game 2 since Dodgers-Red Sox in 2018 (13.51M) and a 65% increase from last year’s record-low 8.15 million for Diamondbacks-Rangers.

Jumping around the baseball world with a few random notes and takes.

Well at least this year the narrative that the top teams don’t win in baseball and that it’s hard to have a five-day layoff before the playoffs for division winners, were blown all to heck.

We need a new narrative!

Last year wild card teams played in the World Series when No. 5 seed Texas beat No. 6 seed Arizona.

This year’s matchup is the top-seed New York Yankees from the American League and No. 1 seed Los Angeles Dodgers from the National League.

They came to see Dylan Crews do something big in his major league debut. They left having seen a pedestrian night from the Nationals’ top prospect, three big blasts from the Yankees’ potent lineup and three soul-crushing catches at the wall that spoiled any chance of a victory on one of the most anticipated nights in recent franchise history.

Gleyber Torres, Austin Wells and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each homered, and though Aaron Judge did not, the majors’ leading home run hitter did rob two potential bombs at the wall in center to dazzle a bipartisan crowd of 32,812 and steal the show during a 5-2 New York win on a night that belonged neither to Crews nor Juan Soto.

Crews, the Nats’ first-round pick in last summer’s draft, went 0-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, a flyout and a groundout in his first career game. It was a rather uneventful night for the 22-year-old, whose biggest moment may have been a fourth-inning throw from right field that just missed nailing Anthony Volpe at the plate.

"First off, playing against the Yankees, and playing against Judge and Soto for the first time, it was a pretty surreal moment going out there," he said. "And obviously playing with my new team I'm playing on now, the Nationals, it's a great feeling. I'm just going to come out tomorrow and do it all over again."

Batting second behind CJ Abrams and in front of James Wood, Crews came up to bat with runners on base only once; he struck out with two on and one out in the sixth, unable to connect with a 3-2 fastball from Nestor Cortes.

ATLANTA – James Wood hasn’t been a big leaguer long enough to offer much advice to anyone, but he has been a big leaguer long enough to share some words of wisdom with Dylan Crews as the latter prepares to debut tonight for the Nationals.

“I remember it was a lot, in a good way,” Wood said of his first major league game just eight short weeks ago. “You’ve just kind of got to take it all in. You only get one of them. I’d just tell him to enjoy it.”

There are no shortage of similarities between the two events. Each highly rated outfield prospect will have debuted on a Monday night. Each in the first game of a weeklong homestand. Each against a team that hails from New York.

Here’s the biggest difference for Crews: His debut is coming against the Yankees, with Juan Soto (and, oh yeah, Aaron Judge) in the other dugout.

As far as star-studded debuts, this is about as big as it gets. Bryce Harper played his first big league game at Dodger Stadium, with Stephen Strasburg on the mound, but the most notable Dodger on the field that night in 2012 was Matt Kemp. Strasburg’s 2010 debut was perhaps the most hyped in history, but it came against an inferior Pirates club that had a young Andrew McCutchen leading off and – believe it or not – Lastings Milledge batting third.

ATLANTA – The Nationals are calling up Dylan Crews to make his major league debut. Against Juan Soto and the Yankees.

Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in last summer’s draft, will be promoted from Triple-A Rochester prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Yankees, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. The 22-year-old outfielder’s first big league game will be a star-studded affair, with fellow top prospect James Wood joining him in the Nats lineup against a Bronx Bombers lineup led by Aaron Judge and former Nationals star Juan Soto.

The news of Crews’ pending promotion, which was first reported by 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen, comes three days prior to his planned debut. That mirrors the timeline the Nats used when promoting Wood to make his debut July 1, also the Monday night opener of a homestand, also against an opponent from New York (the Mets).

Unlike Wood (one of five prospects acquired from the Padres in the August 2022 blockbuster trade for Soto and Josh Bell), Crews hasn’t dominated in the minors this season. He enters Friday night’s game with a solid-but-unspectacular, .272/.343/.456 slash line, 21 doubles, 13 homers, 68 RBIs and 25 steals in 99 total games split between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. But Crews has steadily improved as the season has progressed and over his last 19 games sports a .309/.370/.531 slash line.

It remains to be seen how Crews fits into the Nationals lineup and outfield, but he has most frequently led off for Rochester while playing center field. He has, however, shifted to right field the last two days, and that figures to be his most likely initial position in the majors, with Wood starting in left field and Gold Glove Award candidate Jacob Young in center.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The All-Stars will walk the red carpet this afternoon in their fanciest attire and try to make it inside Globe Life Field in under 20 sweat stains.

Players will change into their uniforms and take batting practice before tonight’s game. The roof is closed. Not a single complaint beneath it.

The media gets a little clubhouse time rather than pulling quotes on the field. And finally, the Midsummer Classic will commence.

Here are some leftovers from yesterday:

* The All-Star break didn’t force Jordan Westburg into doing much traveling.

They are the top two teams in the American League East, with the Orioles (57-36) leading the Yankees (56-39) by two games atop the division. But both have been playing under .500 ball for a couple of weeks or more. 

Heading into the weekend series, the Orioles are coming off being swept three straight by the Cubs. They have lost four of five and five of their past seven games. They are 8-11 since June 21. But they have actually gained 2.5 games on the Yankees since that date as New York is 5-13 since then.

The Yankees have lost three of four and seven of their last nine games. They are 6-17 since June 15 with a -35 run differential and 5.91 team ERA in that span, allowing 40 homers in those 23 games.

Will one team get well at the expense of the other this weekend?

Both have struggled with pitching lately, although the Orioles scored just two runs in the series with the Cubs. They still are among the best pitching staffs in baseball on the stat sheet. With a 3.60 team ERA, the Yankees rank second in the AL and at 3.66, the Orioles are fourth. O's starters have a 3.54 ERA to rank third while New York is fifth in the AL with a 3.66 rotation ERA. The Yankees bullpen is second (3.55) while the O's are eighth (3.86).

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already at the last full day of the Winter Meetings. The Rule 5 draft is the last event of the week and marks the end of baseball’s biggest offseason gathering.

In years past, the Rule 5 draft has been held on the Thursday morning of the Winter Meetings. But they bumped it up to Wednesday afternoon this year, meaning there probably won’t be a whole lot of commotion tomorrow morning before everyone leaves for the airport.

The Nationals are expected to make their first pick in the Rule 5 draft in 12 years with the No. 1 overall pick later today. Thanks to a decade of success, they didn’t feel the need to use a spot on their active roster on a fringe major league player.

Mark Zuckerman had a preview of the Rule 5 draft this morning and check back for the selection later today.

Elsewhere in the baseball world, the big news earlier this morning was Aaron Judge agreeing to return to the Yankees on a nine-year, $360 million deal, multiple outlets confirmed.

These Winter Meetings got off to a fast start yesterday with Trea Turner agreeing to an 11-year, $300 million deal with the Phillies and Justin Verlander agreeing to a two-year, $86 million deal with the Mets.

The Nationals will definitely feel the ramifications of two division rivals signing two of the biggest free agents on the market. And although general manager Mike Rizzo isn’t expected to dish out large contracts to other top free agents like Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Rodón and Dansby Swanson, that doesn’t mean this week will be uneventful for the Nats.

Today is the first of two major events for the Nationals this week in San Diego, with the first-ever MLB Draft lottery taking place at 8:30 p.m. ET.

After a 55-107 record this year, the Nats are one of three teams with the highest odds to land the No. 1 overall pick. Along with the Athletics (60-102) and Pirates (62-100), the Nationals have a 16.5 percent chance at the top selection in next year’s draft.

The first six spots in the draft will be determined by the lottery. All 18 non-playoff teams are eligible for the lottery, with declining percentages in reverse order of their records, down to a 0.23 percent chance at scoring the top pick. After that, picks 7-18 will be determined in reverse order of standings. So the lowest the Nats can pick is No. 7 overall, which, at 19 percent, they have a better chance of getting than the No. 1 pick.

Yes, free agent pitching is expensive. Very expensive.

For Jacob deGrom, a pitcher that has made just 26 combined starts the last two years, a $185 million dollar deal with Texas that averages $37 million a year over the next five years. For Justin Verlander, a pitcher that will turn 40 in February, a contract that will average $43.3 million over the next two years from the New York Mets.

Both can be among the most dominant pitchers in the sport. deGrom has a 2.23 ERA since 2019. Last year, Verlander posted a 1.75 ERA over 175 innings. Wow, what a season.

Of the two deals, I think the Mets have more of a chance to get good value of their two-year deal than the Texas Rangers do for five years of deGrom.

But consider how coveted pitching is right now. So much so that top pitchers are getting $37 million per year. Contrast that with the American League MVP Aaron Judge and the fact that just two teams – the Yankees and Giants – seem serious about signing him. And he can play every day and not just once every five days. At least yesterday, finally, there were rumblings of a so-called mystery team or teams involved for Judge.

Considering he has had more than a few good days over the years at the Orioles expense, it’s pretty easy to guess where most O’s fans would like to see Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge playing next year. That is anywhere but the Bronx. San Francisco could be nice that time of year.

With the Winter Meetings now just a few days away, Judge, the No. 1 ranked free agent, is still available. While it is possible he signs somewhere that is not New York or San Francisco (the Dodgers could be involved), there have been almost no reporting from major outlets indicating we are going to get a surprise here. But it wouldn’t be the first time.

Last year, Judge recorded his best season yet, setting the American League record for homers with 62. He posted a career-best OPS at 1.111, which produced an OPS+ of 211. He led the majors in runs (133), home runs, RBIs (131), on-base percentage (.425), slugging percentage (.686) and total bases (391) this past season.

Judge of course picked a great time to have his career year. His MVP 2022 season produced a 207 wRC+ that stands as the best offensive season in recent history. Barry Bonds was the last player to match or exceed that level, and prior to him, no qualified hitter had done so since Ted Williams in 1957.

Judge has 35 homers in 87 career games versus the Orioles with a career .310 batting average and 1.133 OPS against Baltimore pitchers. That is his most homers against any team and that OPS tops all against teams he has played 25 or more games against. He has hit 19 career homers at Camden Yards, his most at any park outside Yankee Stadium and by a big margin with his 12 homers at Rogers Centre in Toronto next. His career OPS at Oriole Park is 1.154.

This has probably been true for a while now but the 2022 Orioles will be a special team in Birdland for many years to come. They may be remembered as fondly as the 1989 Why Not Orioles and the 2012 team that ended a 14-year run of losing.

With Sunday's win at New York by 3-1, the Orioles didn't just achieve a winning season. But they did so coming off their last three full seasons with a combined 333 losses. They lost 115 in 2018, 108 in 2019 and 110 in 2021.

They went from 52 wins to 82 wins.

According to many, maybe to most preseason predictions, they were supposed to lose 100 again. When they started the year going 7-14 in April, it looked like those predictions might be accurate.

They started the year 1-5 but with four losses by two runs or less against two 2021 playoff teams in Tampa Bay and Milwaukee. And they showed off some bullpen arms early on that had combinations of power and stuff. 

NEW YORK – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is noticing a playoff atmosphere at Yankee Stadium today, with reporters storming the Bronx and temperatures dipping in the 60s. Except the fuss is over Aaron Judge and his attempt tonight to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.

“What an awesome experience for some of these rookies that we have up here,” Hyde said. “This is what it feels like with the amount of media, amount of people on the field, kind of the October air a little bit right now. It’s a special time to be playing baseball, and for our young guys to be able to experience this type of attention and what it feels like, I think it’s going to be awesome for them going forward.”

The crowd will fall silent as Judge steps to the plate. Phones raised to capture the moment. The collective breath held.

“That will be a first for me,” Hyde said. “I haven’t seen a potential milestone like this. Been a part of a bunch of no-hitters and things like that, which, the place can get quiet and nervous. Some postseason series that are super cool. But not an individual accomplishment like this. I’ve never been a part of anything like this.

“I’m hoping that he waits until next series, but it’s going to be a great environment.”

BOSTON – Jordan Lyles has been moved up to Friday night at Yankee Stadium, working on short rest with Aaron Judge one home run away from breaking Roger Maris’ single-season record in the American League.

Lyles was held to two innings on Monday due to the rain.

Austin Voth is pushed back to Saturday, with rookie Kyle Bradish starting Sunday on regular rest.

“This allows Voth to get an extra day, somebody that we’re monitoring closely,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He’s thrown a lot of innings so far, so give him an extra day, and Jordan after that, bring him back a day early.”

Judge tied Maris’ record last night while in Toronto. The Yankees are off today.