“This is great access, isn’t it, Jon?” Brandon Hyde called out as he crossed between fields last week at Orioles camp.

He’s right. We’re talking four or five fields, plus bullpen sessions, running at once, and the ability to get eyes (and ears) on it all. I’m pretty sure he didn’t think it was great back in 2020 when I snuck up to a fence to hear him colorfully tell a group of players how the 2019 team made too many mistakes and that wasn’t going to fly for another year. But at this point, it’s water under the bridge.

Honestly, I can’t believe what I was able to see last week — in a good way. For better or worse, I have had to tell you all throughout the fall and the winter that the Orioles were not (and never were) going to change their hitting philosophies and did not (though seemingly tried to) change their roster-building philosophy.

Now, I can confirm what anyone with the stomach to still scroll through social media already knows: This team is uniquely charming and charmingly unique. I can’t figure out what it means for their fortunes on the field. I just know it means something.

You’re going to read this and think that Orioles camp is just a bunch of goofs goofing off. None of said goofing off happens when there’s work being done. But this has grown to be the culture of this team. They genuinely enjoy each other’s company and push each other to work harder, and their cups are filled by seeing those around them succeed.

When the team has a road game, there’s still “stay back” activity at camp for the players who don’t make the trip. I was at one of those Sunday, given the timing of my flight home, and it was full of little moments that left a big impression.

It started as clubhouse access was ending and I noticed that Ryan Mountcastle had a shark tooth necklace matching the ones Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson were photographed in. Their whole spring training house has them, and Mountcastle was kind enough to pull his first one out of his locker and gleefully demonstrate that after it broke, it fit like a choker, requiring him to get a new one. I knew I was in for a fun day. (I can also report exclusively there may be an attempt afoot to bring back Phiten necklaces).

There was a group taking early ground balls, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could — albeit from the first base dugout — watching guest coach and three-time Gold Glove winner J.J. Hardy working with Henderson as he took reps at shortstop. There’s just so much value to interactions like that, and it felt like there was some gravity to it. A field away, though, there were belly laughs.

To replicate the unpredictable nature of infielders’ throws, minor league infield coordinator Tim DeJohn was hitting foam balls with a fungo bat to Ryan O’Hearn and Ryan Mountcastle. The foam balls accentuate whatever movement the ball’s spin would create, and every few reps one would either scream directly at one of the players or sail 20 feet over their head. Both were appreciated in equal measure.

The infielders joined the pitchers for the team stretch — though, as they noted, they were already past the point of warming up — and with a gap in some of their schedules before they hit, Henderson called a group of them inside to play darts.

The rest of the day was pretty routine. I felt fortunate to have stayed back on the day Félix Bautista faced hitters for the first time. Tyler O’Neill, the first batter he faced, took him deep to dead center field but Bautista looked like himself otherwise — and most importantly grinned a smile we’ve all seen so many times as it was finished.

Rutschman was one of the hitters that morning, which meant he wasn’t far from my perch behind home plate when he stood in the on-deck circle and the catcher took a foul tip off the top of his mask. The extended, soft, “Owwww” that Rutschman let out was sincere and funny, which about sums up the whole week — especially for him.

One morning, he was waiting for his pitcher to come over to warm up in the bullpen and decided to tackle, then elbow-drop, the blue plastic batter dummy beside him. As he was getting water and fans yelled his name from across the field, presumably for autographs that he couldn’t sign given he was about to catch a bullpen, he asked if he could throw them water or sunscreen from the cart.

It was like that all week, over all the fields. Drills where outfielders had to start with their backs turned to the plate then find the ball and track it down were equally helpful to those executing them—finding a ball and reacting quickly is a skill they need to have—and funny to watch. When third base coach Tony Mansolino did a round of grounders where everyone had to complete some kind of trick — transferring the ball behind their back or through their legs — the stars on the infield fully bought in. (For what it’s worth, Mansolino declared Jordan Westburg the winner of the first round.)

Back when Hyde took over in 2019 and made what at the time felt like radical changes (playing music during workouts and not keeping players at the facility deep into the afternoon), it felt necessary to note the differences from the structured, buttoned-down camp Buck Showalter ran. There ended up being concern from the team that it would come off as a circus where nothing was being accomplished.

Seven years on, the seeds of the culture he and Mike Elias set to build are fully grown. There’s a growth mindset, yes, but there’s also a camaraderie between the players and even the staff that feels like it’s not an accident. I’ve always felt that part of the reason the team struggled down the stretch last year came down to empathy and players taking on too much responsibility to cover for their injured or underperforming friends.

Now, however, there’s none of that. Just the ideal environment for a team full of players mostly entering their primes to become as good as they possibly can be. This team will go as far as Rutschman, Henderson and that group will take them. That hasn’t changed, either. And neither have they. That’s a good thing.

Talent Pipeline

Brandon Young

Brandon Young averaged 92.7 mph on his fastball in 2024, his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. He has great extension and life on the pitch, so it’s not about velocity, but velocity matters in the big leagues. So, seeing him average 95 mph Sunday in his spring debut, even if it’s just his spring debut, bodes really well for him. I’m not sure what the path to major league starts is for him, but if that’s where his fastball is all year, he’ll make his own.

For further reading

🧐 Thoughts on the pitch challenge system: I agree with Kyle that challenging balls and strikes is a ton of fun. I particularly enjoy the accountability aspect of it. Let’s get it into real games fast.

🧡 Ugly works: A full season of Jordan Westburg is going to be a boon for the Orioles, with his third base defense part of that benefit. He could be like a five-win player. Nothing ugly about that.

🎬 Need a movie recommendation? I was chatting this week with a team official about this story from Danielle and we were trying to come up with the civilian equivalent of rehabbing for over a year just to be able to do your job again. We couldn’t. I hope Félix watched “Wet Hot American Summer.”