Orioles History

In recent years, the Orioles have become accustomed to going down to the wire before signing a deal with their top draft pick. The drama really heightened on Friday afternoon, though, when the Orioles and LSU right-hander Kevin Gausman agreed to a $4.32 million signing bonus just before the 5 p.m. deadline. “It was seconds [to spare],” first-year Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich said. The bonus - $120,000 higher than major league baseball's suggested slot for the fourth overall pick - is the third largest in Orioles history behind the $6 million given to catcher Matt Wieters in 2007 and the $5.25 million received by shortstop Manny Machado in 2011.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Orioles. .341 -- Matt Wieters' career batting average against the Tampa Bay Rays. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters has been slumping over the past 10 days, and his season batting average dipped below .200 during the New York Yankees series over the weekend. But if there is a sure bet to get him out of his slump, it might be playing the Tampa Bay Rays. Wieters hit a solo home run in Tuesday night's 5-4 win. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Wieters is batting .341 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 60 career games against the Rays.

July 11, 1968: Earl Weaver became the Orioles manager, replacing Hank Bauer.

We will see history tonight if Chris Davis, who had four home runs in his first four games, hits another homer. If the hottest hitter in baseball puts another out of the ballpark, he will become the first player in major league history to hit a home run in each of his team's first five games of the season. As we wait for his next at-bat here at Camden Yards, here are some Chris Davis facts, courtesy of the Orioles. --- In his first four games of 2013, Davis had more RBIs (16) than 17 major league teams and at least twice as many RBI as the Marlins (8)

Typical Brooks. Everybody who was anybody in Orioles history showed up to honor him when the Orioles unveiled his statue on the center field plaza Saturday at Camden Yards, and all he wanted to do was thank everybody else and turn his ceremony into a celebration of this year's amazing, surprising, contending team. “How 'bout them O's?" he said, to a huge ovation from the thousands of fans who crowded around the plaza and lined every terrace and exposed walkway with a view of the last bronze in the Legends Celebration Series.

I couldn't help but compare the September 20, 2012 front page picture of high-flying Nate McLouth, Adam Jones and Lew Ford to the now famous picture of airborne Brooks Robinson after the last pitch of the 1966 World Series. Nobody thought the 1966 Birds had a chance against the Dodgers; likewise, who would have thought the 2012 Birds would be giving the Yankees a run for their money! Go O's! D. Morris, Edgewood

SEATTLE - Orioles top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy was asleep in his hotel room in Sarasota, Fla., at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday when his roommate told him that Brian Graham, the Orioles' minor league instruction coordinator, was on the phone. "[Graham] told me I was on a plane at 7 a.m. and I was going to pitch here in Seattle," said the 19-year-old Bundy, the fourth overall pick in 2011. "So I said, 'Are you messing with me?' And he said, 'No, I'm not going to mess with you at 4 in the morning.' So next thing I know I'm at the airport and on my way to Seattle.

I think it is fair to say that Mark Reynolds is on a bit of a tear. In Saturday's second inning, Reynolds hit a 91-mph fastball from CC Sabathia for his 21st home run of the season. It also was his ninth in nine games and seventh in September. How locked in is Reynolds right now? Consider he had seven homers in the first half of the season. And seven since Sept. 2. Reynolds has hit seven homers this season against the Yankees, that ties for most in Orioles history (Ramon Hernandez in 2006)

It all seemed so right. The Orioles long ago chose Thursday night to unveil Cal Ripken's statue at Oriole Park because of the obvious connection to what happened here on the same date 17 years ago, but they could not have known it would be so perfectly timed to coincide with the re-emergence of the team as a late-season contender and the start of a huge four-game series against the Yankees. The significance certainly wasn't lost on Ripken, who used his edition of the Legends Celebration Series to forge a link between the Hall of Famers who will forever populate the plaza behind center field and the new generation of Orioles players who have responded so well to the leadership of Buck Showalter.

It's no secret why new Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Mussina evokes mixed feelings from the baseball fans of the Baltimore area. He is a controversial figure in Orioles history - the guy who left here in the prime of his career to pitch for the rival Yankees  and, some might say, left the Orioles to wallow in defeat and despair for the next decade. He is also the guy who played a very pivotal role on the last Orioles team that made this city proud and the pitcher who ranks third on the club's all-time win list.

The Orioles' No. 1 pick in this year's draft, 21-year-old right-hander Kevin Gausman, dazzled Sunday in his home debut at Ripken Stadium with the Aberdeen Ironbirds of the Single-A New York-Penn League. With Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson looking on, Gausman pitched three innings against the Connecticut Tigers, striking out three while allowing one hit, no runs and one walk. He threw only 30 pitches and 20 were strikes. In his first outing with the Ironbirds on Monday, he went three innings against the State College Spikes, retiring all nine batters he faced while striking out two. Gausman was inked to a $4.32 million signing bonus, the third largest in Orioles history after the $6 million given to Matt Wieters in 2007 and the $5.25 million given Manny Machado in 2010.

The pose was pure Jim Palmer. The ceremony to unveil his sculpture, as you might expect, was pitch perfect. Palmer became the third Orioles great to be immortalized in bronze and put on display in the Garden of Greats behind center field at Camden Yards on Saturday afternoon, joining Frank Robinson and Earl Weaver and awaiting the arrival of Eddie Murray , Cal Ripken and  Brooks Robinson later this season. It was a special day made even more special by the surprise appearance of Brooks, who has been in ill health and had to postpone his own statue unveiling until late September while he continues to regain his strength.