Between two stints, the end of 2024 marked the sixth year Brian Moran owned Orioles season tickets. His condo overlooks Camden Yards. He and his partner, Heather, sit along the third-base line for almost every home game. The Orioles are a cornerstone of their lives.

He wondered this offseason, though, whether to renew for a seventh season. Moran, 45, ultimately did, because his passion for this club prevailed over lingering disappointment from a second straight postseason crash and a slow offseason. But hesitancy remains as the home opener arrives Monday, even as Moran prepares to sit and cheer for the Orioles all season.

“It came down to, if management isn’t going to buy into the team, what’s our motivation to buy in?” Moran said, referencing the lack of long-term contract extensions or the addition of a clear ace to the pitching staff. But, “the players themselves on the team deserve our support no matter what,” Moran said.

There are varying degrees of discontent among Baltimore’s fan base. What’s clear is that, after two straight winless postseason trips and an offseason under owner David Rubenstein that left something to be desired, the honeymoon phase is approaching its end. What’s left is cautious optimism — there’s still ample belief in this team, especially with a lineup that could be one of the best in the majors.

Under the surface, however, hovers more apprehension than past years. Part of that is because expectations have risen from 2022, when Moran became a season ticket holder again. This team won’t surprise anyone with a strong finish and a 101-win breakout, as it did in 2023.

Instead, there’s the matter of winning in the postseason. And, even with the magical moments 2023 and 2024 brought in surplus to Camden Yards, fans are waiting for the next hurdle to be cleared.

“I feel like this is a team that’s going to be good for the next decade, so I’m seeing the long game,” said Montgomery Pace, a 32-year-old from Pikesville. “Sure, when those [postseason] games happen, you’re disappointed for a couple days after, but I’m kind of holding on to the hope that it’s more experience, more postseason experience for the guys, and we’ll get ‘em again next year.”

Perhaps, Pace admits, she has a higher level of optimism because she is a newer fan. Her boyfriend hooked her on baseball in 2022 by emphasizing the statistical side and by teaching her to keep score. She is a Rougned Odor fan, remembering those moments of heroics from a bit-part player in Pace’s first season as a Camden Yards regular.

Still, after witnessing postseason heartbreak, she’s guarding herself more than in years past.

“Learning how to manage my emotions, I think I am a little more cautiously optimistic going into this season,” Pace said. “I think they’re going to be really good. I’m optimistic. But I’m starting to get a little more: I have a couple seasons under my belt personally now, and I have a better feeling of how this goes.”

The internal expectations from Orioles players have been set. They’ve spoken of winning a World Series, of getting past the postseason roadblock. It feels different now than two years ago, though, when this was all fresh. Even last year was different, with raised expectations from fans new to winning again.

When Michael Stamatos, a University of Maryland student who turns 21 Monday, first became devoted to the Orioles, he rooted for players such as Rio Ruiz and Welington Castillo. He means no ill will toward either, but Castillo was a piece at the tail end of the Buck Showalter era, when the postseason window was closing, and Ruiz featured during a dismal run of 100-loss years.

Stamatos endured those days willingly because he bought into the vision of general manager Mike Elias, who promised an “elite talent pipeline” through the minors to Baltimore. That part of the promise has come true. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday, among others, are the backbone of this lineup.

“But I’m obviously disappointed in the result and disappointed in the lack of urgency, I guess, because you never know how long a championship window lasts,” Stamatos said. “It doesn’t really feel like they’re making moves to address that this championship window seems like it’s now, and not capitalizing on it.”

Ahead of the 2024 season, the Orioles traded for right-hander Corbin Burnes in a move that immediately raised expectations. He delivered with a 2.92 ERA in 194 1/3 innings, and he pitched a gem in the postseason with one run against him in eight innings — yet he still earned a loss because of no offensive support.

Burnes left in free agency this winter, joining the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Orioles didn’t backfill his position with a pitcher of his caliber. There were, of course, few pitchers available with a skill set as advanced as Burnes’. Instead, Elias fleshed out the rotation with Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Gibson.

The upside could be there. But, as fans watched the assembly of the oldest rotation in baseball, they wondered if that would be a stumbling block.

“I knew they weren’t going to replace Burnes with one player, but I think the Grayson [Rodriguez] injury made me — if he was still there, I’d be optimistic about the starting pitching,” said Antoine Newman, a 47-year-old from Baltimore. “With him gone, and who knows how long he’ll be gone, the starting pitching gives me a little concern.”

Added Stamatos: “Burnes last year was a great step in the right direction, even for only one year, because we didn’t lose that much, in my opinion. Just the lack of having an ace this year is very frustrating. … It would really be a benefit to have a proven ace. Instead, we have [Zach] Eflin as our opening day starter, and he’s good, but he’s not an ace.”

Still, Newman said, his optimism entering the year is at an 8 out of 10, and so long as injuries don’t derail the team, he believes there’s a path to the World Series. Much of that optimism is built around the lineup and the expected steps forward from several players.

“The emergence of Cowser, being a runner-up in rookie of the year,” was critical, Newman said. “I think Jackson Holliday is going to get over the hump, and I like the [Tyler] O’Neill signing if he can stay healthy. I think the lineup from top to bottom is a very good lineup.”

In the first series of the season, the talent of the offense was on display for two of the four games. The Orioles blasted six homers on opening day against the Toronto Blue Jays and produced nine runs in the third game. Then they managed three hits in the second game and finished 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position in Sunday’s loss.

The last stat played into some of Stamatos’ frustration last season. The offense was underwhelming in the second half and appeared overly reliant on home runs. For him to feel more confident in this group’s chances in the postseason, he’s hoping to see a revived Rutschman and improved situational hitting.

As he waits, there is a feeling bordering on impatience.

“I think the honeymoon period is waning a little bit, to be honest with you,” Stamatos said. “I think cautious optimism is a good way to put it.”

Moran agrees. “There’s nothing wrong with guarded optimism,” he said, adding that those fans who lived through the “old high era” of playoff appearances under Showalter are hoping a crash isn’t coming for many years — if ever.

“[We] saw how bad it went when there was no investment made,” Moran said. “I think there’s a little bit of fear creeping in, like, ‘Please, not this again.‘”

But Moran will be there throughout the season in his seat along the third-base line. Stamatos will be there opening day. Pace and Newman, too, are frequent ballpark-goers, and they’ll see how it plays out over 162 games.

Where else would they be but Camden Yards?

“I think they’re going to be really good,” Pace said. “I feel more positive than not about how good they’re going to be.”