It took one pitch, just one play, for the soggy but spirited crowd at Camden Yards to have a reason Friday night to cheer super-prospect Matt Wieters.
The fans didn't need much of a reason, not after 11 losing seasons often devoid of bright spots or inspiring young talent.
So when Wieters, the fifth overall pick in baseball's 2007 amateur draft and reigning Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year, walked to the bullpen for pre-game warm-ups before his major league debut, the Orioles fans who braved thunderstorms and arrived early stood and clapped.
They roared as the 23-year-old catcher stood behind home plate for the national anthem. And they popped flashbulbs as he crouched for the first pitch.
Wieters gave them an immediate reason to scream and shout. After Detroit leadoff hitter Josh Anderson attempted to drop a bunt on the first pitch of the game, Wieters pounced on the slow roller and threw a strike to first base.
One pitch, one play, one out recorded for the Orioles franchise's newly anointed savior in shinguards.
In his first at-bat, an announced crowd of 42,704 rose to its feet for a standing ovation. Orioles officials said the team sold about 15,000 of those tickets after Wieters' promotion was announced Tuesday night.
With the crowd still standing, Wieters flied out to right field on his fourth big-league pitch. He batted again in the third, after Luke Scott cleared the bases with a grand slam, and grounded out. For the game, he went 0-for-4.
But given the palpable excitement at Camden Yards, it didn't seem to matter.
"He's not going to be a superstar right off the bat, but if he finishes the season at .250, well, that's better than our other catchers," said Orioles fan Carl Hucke of Forest Hill.
Seven guys in the left-field upper deck showed their fanaticism, painting their bare chests orange with black block letters that spelled W-I-E-T-E-R-S.
"It looked a lot better when we left the house before it rained," said 19-year-old Ben Smith, a junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the first E in Wieters, who attended the game with alumni and current students from Liberty and Century high schools.
Four hours before the rain-delayed first pitch, Wieters was already in the spotlight, surrounded by the news media in the Orioles' clubhouse while his teammates joked loudly.
"Let him breathe," corner infielder Ty Wigginton yelled.
