Matthew Taylor: On 40th birthday, a surprise return to innocence

Matthew Taylor: On 40th birthday, a surprise return to innocence
I celebrated my birthday in the Frank Robinson Suite at Camden Yards last weekend. It was an atypical setting for my family - you usually need binoculars to locate us in the upper reaches of the stadium - but this was a milestone occasion. I'm not afraid to tell you that I turned 40 this month. In baseball terms, I'd be in the twilight of my career; regardless, Jesse Orosco would still call me kid in the clubhouse. Age is relative. The surprise trip to Camden Yards culminated three days of...

Matthew Taylor: The Blue Jays weren't always a familiar opponent in Baltimore

Matthew Taylor: The Blue Jays weren't always a familiar opponent in Baltimore
The Orioles welcome a familiar opponent to Camden Yards for opening day. This will be the first of 19 games the O's play against the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays, who are looking to break the longest playoff drought in the majors at 21 seasons. Whether it's the Dan Duquette saga from this past offseason, the "Cito Sucks" memories from the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore, or the pain of the 1989 season when Toronto provided the unfortunate answer to the question, "Why Not?," O's fans...

MASNsports.com sets guest blogger rotation for first half of 2015

MASNsports.com sets guest blogger rotation for first half of 2015
Here at MASNsports.com, we don't live in a bubble. We realize we're one of many places you turn for your Orioles news and views, though we certainly hope our blogs are among your first stops (and a place you visit multiple times each day). That's one of the reasons why, in 2011, we started featuring guest bloggers on our site. We realized the blogosphere - or is that blog-O's-phere? - was full of die-hard fans of the orange and black who were cranking out reports and opinions on the Birds...

Matthew Taylor: On life, baseball and near loss

Matthew Taylor: On life, baseball and near loss
As I writer, I know the advice: Avoid cliches. That means I shouldn't write about fathers and baseball any more than I already do, and I certainly shouldn't pull out the line from "Field of Dreams": "Hey dad, wanna have a catch?" I'm going to do both, and more, because as a writer I also understand that sometimes you have to break the rules. This is one of those times. My dad nearly died over the holidays. He went into cardiac arrest while participating in the Military Bowl parade as...

Matthew Taylor: Everywhere you look, O's fandom endures

Matthew Taylor: Everywhere you look, O's fandom endures
I arrived for our family vacation in Florida this week with a suitcase stuffed to the feathers with five Orioles hats, seven Orioles T-shirts and an Orioles sweatshirt - and that was after whittling down my baseball clothing options. I'm not ashamed to say that I've become a billboard for Orioles pride of late; I'm absolutely basking in the reflected glory of this American League East title and this postseason run. My dedication won't carry me so far as to get an O's tattoo, although as a...

Matthew Taylor: Seeing players as human beings

Matthew Taylor: Seeing players as human beings
The appeal of sports is built on emotion, and the past week has delivered plenty of it for Orioles fans. The highs and the lows have served to humanize the players for whom we cheer and have reminded me of how limited my perspective on them actually is. If there's a common thread for me between the elation provided by the O's clinching their first division title since 1997 and the disappointment produced by Chris Davis' suspension for Adderall use, it's this: Both moments afforded me a...

Matthew Taylor: Showalter has changed his own script in Baltimore

Matthew Taylor: Showalter has changed his own script in Baltimore
The Orioles haven't been doing much according to script since Buck Showalter arrived in town. Now, amid the euphoria of three consecutive winning seasons and what's turning into a runaway division title, the team's first since 1997, it's worth noting that Showalter himself is off script. He was supposed to have worn out his welcome by now; instead, his team is having its best year under his discerning watch. Showalter built three winners prior to his arrival in Baltimore, two of them...

Matthew Taylor: Savoring the main course, and maybe O's just desserts

Matthew Taylor: Savoring the main course, and maybe O's just desserts
What is the proper recompense that Orioles fans deserve for enduring 14 consecutive seasons of losing baseball? The honest answer is nothing. If you're a longtime sports fan, you know the hard truth is that the game doesn't owe us as fans anything. The joys are few, the frustrations many. Nevertheless, I cling to my sometimes naive belief that loyalty will be rewarded in time. It wasn't so long ago, during a period when the sufferings were plentiful and often substantial (think 30-3), that...

Matthew Taylor: Orioles' road attendance and why it matters

Matthew Taylor: Orioles' road attendance and why it matters
I'm jealous of Orioles fans who are visiting Wrigley Field this weekend. I love Wrigley and wish that I had been able to make the trip out there. If the Baltimore chatter amounts to anything, there will be a lot of orange in them thar stands as fans take advantage of a golden opportunity to experience one of baseball's historic gems. The draw of Wrigley Field is obvious; you can understand why fans would make a weekend of it. Perhaps it's not only about the ballpark, though. O's fans seem...

Matthew Taylor: A reminder of the past and, hopefully, a hint of the future

Matthew Taylor: A reminder of the past and, hopefully, a hint of the future
Old is a relative term, and growing old is a relative experience. Nevertheless, there are certain mile markers for this baseball fan that indicate I have accumulated some wear on the tires. First, it was being older than most of the players I root for. Next, it was bringing my son to a baseball game. Now it's watching one of the game's legends retire at age 40 and realizing that I've watched his entire career as an adult. I may feel like a kid again when I am at the Yard, but I am not in...

Matthew Taylor: Excited for August and everything after

Matthew Taylor: Excited for August and everything after
The Orioles lost 1-0 in extra innings to the Angels on Thursday. They mustered a measly five hits in 13 innings. Their division lead is down to 1 1/2 games with the Blue Jays having won six straight and nine of their last 10. And yet I went to bed with a smile on my face last night. Are we having fun yet? I don't know about you, but I sure am. It's August and the Orioles are in first place in the American League East. This hasn't happened since 1997 when the O's went wire to wire. What's...

Matthew Taylor: Random acts of ballpark kindness

Matthew Taylor: Random acts of ballpark kindness
Have you experienced a random act of ballpark kindness? Better yet, have you performed one? It seems we've heard much in recent years about boorish ballpark behavior. The most publicized incidents have involved fights between opposing fans that resulted in serious injuries. It's enough to make even the most dedicated fan consider passing up on the peanuts and Cracker Jack and decide to never go back. Less publicized are the simple kindnesses shared between strangers that add to the fun of...

Matthew Taylor: Where O's record is concerned, no apologies necessary

Matthew Taylor: Where O's record is concerned, no apologies necessary
Baseball's intermission is over. The second act of the 2014 season is about to get under way. Before we dim the house lights and take in the rest of the show, let's be clear about one thing: Orioles fans don't need to apologize for the team's success. The Orioles have their share of critics despite leading the American League East at the All-Star break for the first time since 1997. I was reminded of that reality by a fellow baseball fan this week when he commented of the O's first-place...

Matthew Taylor: The hits just keep coming

Matthew Taylor: The hits just keep coming
The Orioles had two batters log five hits in a game within the course of two days this past week. Nelson Cruz went 5-for-5 in a 7-4 win against the Red Sox. Manny Machado then followed suit with a 5-for-6 night at the plate in Monday's 8-2 win against the Nationals. Both players fell one hit short of the team record, which Cal Ripken Jr. established on June 13, 1999 at Atlanta. Had Cruz and Machado been playing at home, they would have matched the team record for most hits in a home game,...

Matthew Taylor: Hearing the call of Orioles Magic

Matthew Taylor: Hearing the call of Orioles Magic
Baseball in Baltimore doesn't involve near the level of mythology that it does in bigger cities. We don't have ghosts in our stadium and the only curses fans express involve neither the Bambino nor goats. If there's any bit of enduring mystical lore around this team, it's Orioles Magic, which has taken on different forms the past few seasons to be about something other than miraculous victories. Earlier this week, I wrote about Orioles Magic in terms of comeback wins and walk-offs. Those...

Matthew Taylor: Reunited, and it feels so good

Matthew Taylor: Reunited, and it feels so good
I reunited with two longtime friends last weekend. We grew up in Baltimore and share a common love for the Orioles. Life has taken us in different directions, but baseball brings us back together. Our summertime reunions have occurred in ballparks across the country. We had one in Cooperstown when Cal Ripken Jr. entered the Hall of Fame. This year, with one of my friends preparing for a cross-country move, we returned home. The trip provided me the opportunity to spend time with another old...

Matthew Taylor: How much defense makes up for a lack of offense?

Matthew Taylor: How much defense makes up for a lack of offense?
Would I appreciate Mark Belanger today? That's the question that's been on my mind lately as I watch Jonathan Schoop try to find his way a the plate, Manny Machado struggle to return to the preternatural form he displayed on offense last season or Ryan Flaherty serve as a jack-of-all-trades on defense while mastering none on offense. How much defense makes up for lousy offense? Let me state unequivocally that I'm not putting Schoop or Flaherty in the same category defensively as Belanger,...

Matthew Taylor: Orioles baseball is a family tradition

Matthew Taylor: Orioles baseball is a family tradition
My son hears J.J. Hardy's name on the Orioles broadcast and he starts a chant: "J.J. Hardy ... clap, clap, clap-clap-clap." He hears the familiar bugle music that long ago signaled the cavalry and he yells "Charge." He visits my office and immediately wants to see the "baseball men," meaning a Brian Matusz bobblehead and an Orioles garden gnome (It was a gift, OK? No judging.) He's either a fan of an Orioles legend or of off-color comedy because he plays with a replica statue and calls...

Matthew Taylor: O's single-season homer list undergoes modern renovations

Matthew Taylor: O's single-season homer list undergoes modern renovations
Cal Ripken Jr. stepped to the plate in the sixth inning on Sept. 29, 1991, and stroked his second home run of the game against the Detroit Tigers. It would be his 34th and final homer of the season. Ripken, Baltimore's career home run leader, tied Boog Powell for seventh on the O's single-season home run list with that effort; both players now rank 17th. Powell, who has the third-most career home runs in Orioles history, held four of the top 10 spots on the single-season list when Ripken...

Matthew Taylor: 1950s bonus baby Nelson never hit it big

Matthew Taylor: 1950s bonus baby Nelson never hit it big
He was buried in his Orioles jersey and his obituary read, "He especially loved having a beer or two while watching baseball on TV." Robert "Tex" Nelson is a guy who's worth getting to know more about. I first learned about Nelson, who played for the Orioles from 1955 through 1957, thanks to my wife. She sent me a profile of former O's public relations director and current director of Orioles alumni Bill Stetka that ran in The Baltimore Sun last month. I give her flowers, she...