While Eric Davis was undergoing colon cancer surgery and chemotherapy treatments in 1997, one of the most popular players in franchise history - a member of its Hall of Fame and satisfier of pit beef cravings - would be subjected to a similar procedure and regimen in the exact same summer. Davis was diagnosed in June during the first of his two seasons in Baltimore. Former first baseman Boog Powell, who played in four World Series with the Orioles and was voted Most Valuable Player in the...

We don't have games to talk about right now, but that doesn't mean we still can't speculate on what the Orioles roster might have looked like had opening day been March 26. How would it have looked at the start of the 2020 season? In earlier postings here I've done my own speculation on what a 26-man roster might have looked like to begin a new season. I've gone over the rotation, the infielders and the outfielders. When baseball shut down in mid-March, the Orioles were putting together...

OK let's get selfish, Nationals fans. Yes, we absolutely want 100 games of Nats baseball this year. A recent proposal provides a glimmer of hope that the 2020 season might be played in some way after all. And if that proposal comes to fruition, that means that the coronavirus shutdown might be slowly coming to an end, with baseball starting in late June or early July. That is the hope, anyway. Then we all can get back to enjoying baseball again, which Nats fans, especially, have reason to be...

Ryan Zimmerman insists he's got a lot of baseball left in him, but he sure seems to be laying the groundwork for a post-retirement career in broadcasting. It began two weeks ago with the Nationals team Zoom chat, during which Zimmerman turned into something of a co-moderator with MASN's Dan Kolko and showed an impressive ability to ask teammates pertinent questions while maintaining some control over a disorganized group of talkers. And it continued Wednesday when Zimmerman recorded a...

The Orioles today announced a policy for fans who held tickets to Orioles home games in the 2020 season through May 31. Fans can get a 125 percent ticket credit for any home games through 2022 or can receive a full refund. "We certainly recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has created great hardships for many families and businesses. The Orioles will also offer fans the choice of a full refund for the impacted games, if preferred. Refund requests will be processed within 30 days and must be...

Trey Mancini is finding strength during his health crisis from family, friends and teammates who keep offering their love and support. Who have been propping him up without violating orders for social distancing. His girlfriend, Sara, held his hand as the doctor in Baltimore passed along the diagnosis of Stage 3 colon cancer. "Squeezing it, actually," he wrote in The Players' Tribune. Inspiration also comes from former Orioles outfielder Eric Davis, who learned in June 1997 that the...

Like all professional baseball players right now, O's prospect Gunnar Henderson is not playing in any games or getting any needed at-bats. This was slated to be his first full pro season after the Orioles drafted him last June. The O's selected Henderson with the first pick of the second round, No. 42 overall, out of Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala. He was a two-sport star there and was the Player of the Year in the Alabama high school ranks in both basketball and baseball. Henderson said...

The symptoms and signs began as a curiosity and evolved into concern. Trey Mancini would become fatigued while performing drills in spring training, having to push himself through them. He tried to dismiss it as a product of growing older. He braced for news that he was experiencing something far less serious than colon cancer - a diagnosis that rocked the entire Orioles organization and led to his March 12 surgery in Baltimore. The story progressed to the point where Mancini began undergoing...

In a possible three-division realignment for an abbreviated and rescheduled 2020 campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Nationals would be placed in the East alongside the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Blue Jays, Rays and Marlins. Breaking down the teams in this potential division for 2020, the Yankees and Rays made the postseason last year. The Nats, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox and Mets all had winning records. The East division would include every member of the...

It's still impossible to say with any semblance of certainty when, where or how the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. But it doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines in recent days to recognize the powers that be in this sport strongly believe there will be a 2020 baseball season. The length, format and other particulars of a potential season remain very much uncertain. But as various proposals get tossed around, it does seem like everyone involved fully expects something...