Orioles left-handed starting pitcher Erik Bedard set career highs last season in wins (15), innings pitched (196 1/3 ), starts (33) and strikeouts (171). The 27-year-old returns this season as the team's ace. Bedard, a sixth-round selection in the 1999 draft, was born in and still resides in Navan, Ontario.
What would being the Orioles' Opening Day starter mean to you? -- It would feel good. It would be an honor to start the first game of the season. But after the season starts, it doesn't really matter.
Who was the pitcher you emulated when you were younger? -- The one that I follow[ed] the most was [former Oriole] Pat Hentgen when he was with the Blue Jays. I watched like every game in the '92, '93 World Series season. He was good. He won the Cy Young. I remember telling him, "I watched you every time you pitched."