O's celebrate Camden Yards with 6-3 win over the Pirates (updated)

Perhaps fueled with some momentum from the pregame ceremony and celebration of 30 years of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the current group of Birds got off to a fast start today against Pittsburgh.

Not long after the fans cheered Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray and Mike Mussina with gusto, among others that returned, the 2022 Orioles scored once in the first and twice in the second off Pirates right-hander JT Brubaker to take an early 3-0 lead.

The Pirates would close the gap but the Orioles did their part toward making the day a party and a success with a 6-3 win over the Pirates before an enthusiastic crowd of 41,086 at the ballpark. That is the second-largest crowd of the year behind opening day. 

Before the game Robinson and Murray spoke to the Orioles players. Manager Brandon Hyde said it meant so much to his team.

“Priceless day for our guys,” said Hyde. “We were so honored to have Brooks and Eddie in our clubhouse to say a few words of encouragement. Just greatness in our clubhouse. Our guys felt it, they were appreciative. The whole ceremony was fantastic. I think our whole team was out there for it to recognize some great moments here over the last 30 years and the people that were a part of it. Really impressed with everything, but the cherry on top was Brooks and Eddie being in our clubhouse.”

Memories of Mike Mussina as MASN airs more Orioles moments

Memories of Mike Mussina as MASN airs more Orioles moments
The classic coverage yesterday on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network included Game 1 of the 1997 American League Division Series between the Orioles and Mariners. A wire-to-wire team staying on its roll, and in unfriendly territory. Delmon Young's three-run double in the 2014 Division Series created the loudest moment at Camden Yards, but the '97 playoff game at the Kingdome, with 59,579 fans cranking up the volume, nearly burst my eardrums. The ringing noise didn't subside until pitchers and...

Scott and Yacabonis with opposite outings last night

Scott and Yacabonis with opposite outings last night
Tanner Scott stood at his locker late last night and wondered why anyone would want to talk to him before he headed home. He didn't feel like he had much impact on a game that the Orioles lost 17-6. Scott earned praise and the extra attention for stopping the bleeding with his three scoreless innings - a career high - and only one hit allowed after the Orioles recalled him from Triple-A Norfolk earlier in the day. "Just taking it one pitch at a time, just trying to do what we needed to do and...

Moose on call to Hall, plus one in and one out for All-Star Game

Moose on call to Hall, plus one in and one out for All-Star Game
Former Orioles right-hander Mike Mussina said it has certainly set in by now. He's a National Baseball Hall of Famer. He got the needed votes in January and he will take his place July 21 in Cooperstown among the game's all-time greats. "This is the Mount Everest of baseball and I get to be a part of it," Mussina said Sunday at Camden Yards after he threw out the first pitch and O's manager Brandon Hyde caught it. Mussina got 76.7 percent of the vote, making the Hall in his sixth year of...

Orioles announce plans for Mussina to throw out first pitch

Orioles announce plans for Mussina to throw out first pitch
Mike Mussina is coming back to Baltimore before heading to Cooperstown, N.Y. The Orioles announced today that Mussina will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before their June 30 game against the Indians at Camden Yards. Mussina spent the first 10 seasons of his 18-year career with the Orioles after they selected him in the first round of the 1990 draft out of Stanford University. He currently owns the best all-time winning percentage by a qualifying pitcher in franchise history with a...

Hall of Fame cap controversies are nothing new for Cooperstown

Hall of Fame cap controversies are nothing new for Cooperstown
Newly elected Hall of Famer Mike Mussina played 10 years with the Orioles and eight with the Yankees, so which team's logo will appear on his cap in Cooperstown? Mussina announced Friday that his cap on his plaque will be blank when he's inducted July 21. He said at the Hall of Fame press conference that he didn't know which team to choose, because he wouldn't have been going to Cooperstown without playing for either team. Mussina pitched in six postseason games for the Orioles, 17 for the...

History-making vote swells Hall of Fame class by four players

History-making vote swells Hall of Fame class by four players
The Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame two starting pitchers, a designated hitter and a closer with a history-making vote total. For the first time in 75 years, there's a unanimous selection on the BBWAA ballot. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera got every one of the 425 votes cast. Who would have thought that a closer would have that honor instead of someone like Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Bob Gibson or Henry Aaron? Ken Griffey Jr. had...

The trip started in Montoursville and will end up in Cooperstown

The trip started in Montoursville and will end up in Cooperstown
When Mike Mussina made it to Cooperstown on his sixth try last night, he also became the 23rd player, coach or front office executive with modern-day ties to the Baltimore Orioles to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After playing 10 seasons with the Orioles and eight for the New York Yankees, Mussina made it clear in two separate interviews last night that he will not express a preference as to whether he goes into the Hall with an O's or Yankees cap on his plaque. "You know,...

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
As the Orioles continue making their final preparations for this weekend's FanFest event at the Baltimore Convention Center, they're also nearing the announcements on their major league and minor league coaching staffs and their non-roster invitees to spring training. One domino falls and others will tumble. The list of invitees could include infielders Ryan Mountcastle, Jace Peterson, Engelb Vielma, Sean Miller and Zach Vincej, outfielders Ryan McKenna, Yusniel Díaz and Christopher...

Cooperstown call: Mike Mussina elected to the Hall of Fame

Cooperstown call: Mike Mussina elected to the Hall of Fame
Right-hander Mike Mussina, drafted in the first round by Baltimore in 1990 and an Oriole the first 10 years of his big league career, was tonight voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Mussina got 76.7 percent of the vote, making the Hall in his sixth year of eligibility. In his first year of eligibility in 2014, Mussina got just 20.3 percent of the vote. But he just kept trending up and got closer and closer. He got 24.6 percent in 2015, then moved to 43.0 percent...

My 2019 Hall of Fame ballot

My 2019 Hall of Fame ballot
The 2019 Hall of Fame class has now been announced, and it's quite a compelling class of inductees, huh? Mariano Rivera became the first player ever to be named on 100 percent of submitted ballots and permanently sealed the career Yankee's legacy as the greatest closer of all-time. Roy Halladay was elected in his first year on the ballot, a bittersweet moment for family and fans of the Blue Jays and Phillies ace, who tragically died in a plane crash a little more than a year ago. Edgar...

What to watch for on Hall of Fame election night

What to watch for on Hall of Fame election night
The hot stove league may be tepid right now, but at least baseball is providing us something us to get excited about later today: the Hall of Fame election announcement. Yes, it's time to find out who's in the class of 2019 in addition to Lee Smith and Harold Baines (who were elected last month by what used to be called the Veterans' Committee but now has a confusing and completely unnecessary longer name). The announcement is scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern time on MLB Network, after which...

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A few more thoughts on the Hall of Fame
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Time to find out whether Mussina is headed to Hall of Fame

Time to find out whether Mussina is headed to Hall of Fame
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Mike Mussina is potentially closing in on a call to the Hall

Mike Mussina is potentially closing in on a call to the Hall
Will the sixth time be the charm for former Orioles and Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina? Is his call to the Hall of Fame coming on Tuesday? He's already an Orioles Hall of Famer, inducted in August 2012, and now it seems the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., may be calling. Finally. Without throwing a pitch, Mussina has become more popular with the voters - much more popular - in recent years. In his first year of eligibility in 2014, he got just 20.3 percent of the vote. But...

Notes on the newest Hall of Fame class and voting

Notes on the newest Hall of Fame class and voting
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A class of four elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

A class of four elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown
For just the fourth time - and second time in four years - a class of four has been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., by the Baseball Writers' Association of America The class, announced tonight on a live broadcast on MLB Network, is headed up by third baseman Chipper Jones and first baseman/DH Jim Thome, both elected on their first ballots. They are joined by outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, who makes it in his second year of eligibility, and reliever Trevor...

My 2018 Hall of Fame ballot

My 2018 Hall of Fame ballot
You can call the system flawed, you can argue whether steroids users should be in or out, you can debate whether it's more important to have been a consistent performer for 15 years or an elite performer for eight years, you can complain about who gets a vote and who doesn't get a vote. Here's what you can't argue, though: The Baseball Hall of Fame matters. It matters to so many people, from the players themselves to those who work in the game to those who are entrusted to submit ballots to...

What to watch for on Hall of Fame election night

What to watch for on Hall of Fame election night
It's Hall of Fame announcement day, which means two things: Several of the greatest players in baseball history are about to become immortalized forever, and far more attention will be paid to those very good-to-great players who aren't elected this year, for a variety of reasons. Personally, I think it's a real shame that we spend way more time and energy arguing over who didn't get in than celebrating who did get in. But that's the world we live in today. Why celebrate positives when we...

Mussina's possible call to the Hall and more Machado trade talk

Mussina's possible call to the Hall and more Machado trade talk
In his fifth year of eligibility, is this the year for former Orioles and Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina to make the Hall of Fame? According to this Hall of Fame tracker, he is at 73.7 percent of the votes that are known and 75 percent is needed for election. In his first year of eligibility in 2014, he got just 20.3 percent of the vote. But that has gone up to 24.6 in 2015, 43.0 in 2016 and to 51.8 percent last year. He keeps looking better to the voters, I guess, without throwing a single...