More than 20 members of the Orioles 1983 World Series championship team are in Baltimore for the 40^th anniversary celebration. A few players didn’t expect to be invited back, saying their group won’t be the most recent to win a title.

They think this Orioles team is destined to make its own history.

A three-games series against the Mets begins with the Orioles holding the best record in the American League and second-best in baseball.

“Well, it’s really nice of them to say that, but we have a long way to go and big shoes to fill,” manager Brandon Hyde said today.

“That was a great team, so I’m excited to see some of these guys, meet some of them. I haven’t met very many of them, but fortunate to get to rub shoulders with Jim Palmer on most days and hear about ’83 stories and other Orioles past stories. It’s fun to have them here. It’s nice for them to be recognized in the ballpark, and they should be. It’s an awesome feat to win a World Series and they should be celebrated throughout the city.”

The Orioles will celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the 1983 World Series title with a special pregame ceremony on Saturday, August 5, prior to the 7:05 p.m. ET game against the New York Mets. The pregame ceremony will feature returning players of the 1983 championship team, including Orioles Legends and National Baseball Hall of Famers EDDIE MURRAY, JIM PALMER, and CAL RIPKEN, JR.

The first 20,000 fans, 15 and over attending Saturday’s game will also receive an EDDIE MURRAY 1983 World Series bobblehead, presented by Royal Farms.

In addition to Murray, Palmer, and Ripken, over 20 members of the 1983 World Champion Orioles have already confirmed their attendance, including MIKE BODDICKER, AL BUMBRY, STORM DAVIS, RICK DEMPSEY, DAN FORD, GLENN GULLIVER, TITO LANDRUM, DENNIS MARTINEZ, TIPPY MARTINEZ, SCOTT McGREGOR, PAUL MIRABELLA, DAN MOROGIELLO, ALLAN RAMIREZ, GARY ROENICKE, LENN SAKATA, JOHN SHELBY, KEN SINGLETON, JOHN STEFERO, and BILL SWAGGERTY.

Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:20 p.m. to enjoy the ceremony. To purchase tickets for the August 5 game, please visit Orioles.com/tickets.

Murray and additional members of the 1983 team, along with the Oriole Bird, will participate in a clinic at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for 50 local Baltimore City youth from The Weinberg Y in Waverly, providing instruction on the fundamentals of baseball.

With the start of the World Series last night, I found myself playing around with the Stathead feature on Baseball-Reference.com yesterday checking some vary random facts and notes.

Such as which Oriole played in the most postseason games wearing the Orange and Black only? The Oriole to play the most postseason games for Baltimore was Mark Belanger, who was in 43 such games. Brooks Robinson comes next at 39 and Paul Blair is third with 35 games.

Hall of Famer Frank Robinson with nine, hit the most postseason homers for the Orioles. Brady Anderson, Eddie Murray and Boog Powell each hit six to tie for second. Don Buford and Brooks Robinson hit five each.

When I checked to see the OPS leaders for the O’s in the playoffs, if the standard was just 25 plate appearances at a minimum, here is the top of the list:

1.076 – Harold Baines
1.007 – Nelson Cruz
.955 – Brady Anderson
.949 – Geronimo Berroa
.939 – Todd Zeile

After he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Sunday against Houston, O’s rookie Gunnar Henderson saw his average drop to .276. At that point he was 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts his previous four games and 4-for-29 with 11 strikeouts his previous eight.

Reason to worry? Nope.

Henderson, still just 21, began the game Monday at Boston by drawing a walk. Then he walked again. Then he walked again. Three walks in the first five innings. Then he mashed a baseball out to center in the sixth. A two-run homer that he hit 111 mph and it went 428 feet. A mammoth blast.

What slump?

Henderson continues to show he belongs in the majors and that he has smarts and poise and composure beyond his years. When he made his MLB debut Aug. 31, he became the youngest player to make his debut for the Orioles (21 years-063 days) since Dylan Bundy (19-313) on Sept. 23, 2012 and youngest position player since Manny Machado (20-034) on Aug. 9, 2012.

Paul Mancano and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer break down the Orioles' 9-3 loss to the Yankees.

Back on St. Patrick's Day, I posted two of the many Orioles commercials I came across on YouTube. The first was a look back to 1994, and the second involved a look ahead with the "This is Where" commercial highlighting the promise of the O's cache of young talent. This time around, I'll point you to a pair of endorsements from former Oriole, Hall of Famer and current MASN broadcaster Jim Palmer. I'll never forget my dad asking me once when I was a kid, "You know who Jim Palmer is,...