Top 10 from 2013

You may remember last year’s Top 10. We wavered on the actual definition – was this a list of top games, top plays, top moments? We settled on not making a decision. Therefore, it’s simply a Top 10 “something” list.

2013 failed to build on the successes of 2012, but still managed to provide its own magic. Here are our favorites, our Top 10 from 2013:

10. 5 All-Stars Represent Baltimore

The Orioles provided five representatives to the American League All-Star team. No longer a cellar dweller, Baltimore proved to be a power house with five deserving guys (rather than pity picks like Ty Wigginton). Though Chris Tillman never made it into the game, it was a thrill to see the three starters and, of course, Manny being Manny.

9. Opening Day 2013

Hope springs eternal in Birdland, but this year, there was reason to believe the hype. Once a spring rite of passage (cheer for the Orioles before they’re hopelessly out of contention), this game took on a new tenor: watch out for the resurgent Orioles. Opening Day, with something tangible to root for is an electric experience, and one that should not be overlooked.

8. Chris Davis Hits 51st HR

Chris Davis may have cooled from his torrid HR pace from the first half, but he still had enough in the tank to take over as the Orioles’ single-season home run record holder. The man we call Crush handled the attention (good and bad) with charm and humility. All of Birdland was rooting for #51, and it was a thing a beauty: smooth swing, opposite field dong. It seemed fitting that Davis would break Brady Anderson’s record in the same building where Anderson had broken Frank Robinson’s. See? Davis even has a poetic side.

/swoon

7. Tommy Hunter Bear Claw

Tommy Hunter stopped a ball hurtling toward center field with his bare hand. He is all that is man. Sure, it maintained a 3-2 lead with the bases loaded, but he stopped the ball with his bare freaking hand. ‘Nough said.

6. Chris Davis Hits 3 HRs Against Toronto

Chris Davis put on a serious display of power in a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays. He hit solo home runs in the second and fourth innings, and with the crowd already on its feet, sent a two-run shot into right field, and the crowd into hysterics. After delivering three home runs, Davis quipped that he went into his fourth at bat just trying to draw a walk.

5. Matt Wieters’ Walk-off Grand Slam

One of the best parts of this moment was the way Gary Thorne called it: Wieters swung the bat, and Thorne responded “…and the ballgame is over.”  The Orioles took the Rays to the 10th inning, tied at 6. After loading the bases, the Rays brought one of their outfielders in to cut off a run in the infield. Wieters made the effort moot. This felt like 2012 – late inning heroics against an AL East opponent.

4. Chris Dickerson’s Walk-off Earl Weaver Special

Chris Dickerson collected a BEVy for this home moment. This one was even MORE 2012-esque. This was late-inning heroics from the last guy you’d expect. Down to their final out, Buck sent Dickerson in against Jose Valverde. Against all odds, Dickerson drove the ball into the right field seats and, as Joe Angel said in his great call, “WON THE DARN BALLGAME!”

3. The 82nd Win

A second consecutive winning season is no small matter. The Orioles proved that 2012 wasn’t simply a fluke. The fans enjoyed a positive season, that along with its disappointments, provide hope for the 2014 season. The second consecutive winning season means that the Orioles are back: no longer a doormat, and able to make a run at the playoffs.

2. Adam Jones Wins it Against Mariano Rivera

The Orioles were facing an embarrassing three-game sweep, and had been blanked over 8 innings. Things looked pretty bleak. Or at least until Adam Jones took the best closer to ever play the game deep. “It’s off the greatest closer in the history of the game. I’ll always remember it.”

1. Manny Machado: The Play

Did you hear that Manny Machado is pretty good? The kid converted from a shortstop has become one of the best third basemen in the league. He puts on a clinic every night, and spoils Orioles fans with his stellar play. He makes the hard plays look easy, and he makes the impossible extinct. Bobbling the ball, after ranging to his right, Machado should have had no shot at this play. And yet…

That’s our list. Feel free to let us know exactly how wrong we got it. What are your moments from 2013 that we’ve left out?

Highlights are fun, but what about “lowlights?”Keep your eye out for our 10 WORST items from the 2013 season.