There are now 168 days remaining until the next real Orioles game. For the next little while, there’s playoff baseball to divert our attention a little bit, or at least there’s some of that. The Cubs avoided a sweep against the Brewers yesterday, so they’ll be playing Game 4 today. I didn’t stay up late enough to have a reaction to Phillies-Dodgers.

As for the American League, the Tigers exploded late to take their series with the Mariners to a fifth game back in Seattle on Friday. But I’m burying the lede, because the big one from yesterday is that the Yankees lost and their season is over. The Blue Jays wrapped up New York in four games on Wednesday. Too bad, so sad for them. Now, everyone in Birdland can turn to rooting for whoever wins Tigers-Mariners in the ALCS, because Cito still sucks.

If you still want to think about the Orioles a bit more, good news: There’s something current going on! The team has several prospects playing out in the Arizona Fall League, along side of and against a couple of handfuls of minor leaguers from other organizations. Yesterday, this included home runs hit by outfielder Thomas Sosa and sorta-catcher Ethan Anderson. Some not-very-good video of Sosa’s home run:

MLB.tv subscribers can watch these AFL games if you really want. I am a pretty major Orioles sicko but I’ve got to say that “willingly watching Arizona Fall League games on a regular basis” is not my level of sicko. I do hope all of the Orioles prospects out there, particularly Enrique Bradfield Jr., are able to acquit themselves well.

Orioles stuff you might have missed

Five numbers that demonstrate the Orioles offensive woes (The Baltimore Banner)
Andy Kostka is here with a number of grim statistics from the 2025 Orioles offense. The one that really stunned me was their weakness, relative to the rest of the league, after reaching a 3-0 count.

2025 Arizona Fall League prospect breakdown (FanGraphs)
Eric Longenhagen has some notes about players across the Arizona Fall League, including several of the Orioles prospects who are playing with the Peoria Javelinas. Potential dude: Luis De León, who struck out seven batters in four innings yesterday.

Camden Yards to undergo major upgrades ahead of 2026 season (The Baltimore Sun)
A reminder/summary of the coming upgrades, including a new video board and sound system.

He should’ve been the greatest hitter of all time (Baltimore Baseball)
John Eisenberg’s ongoing serious on Orioles history spotlights an early 1970s prospect who never put it all together, Jim Fuller.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1966, the Orioles completed a sweep of the Dodgers to win the World Series. Dave McNally pitched a four-hitter and Frank Robinson homered off of Don Drysdale to set the 1-0 score in the fourth and final game of the series.

In 1996, the Jeffrey Maier game happened. I still don’t want to talk about it.

In 2014, the Orioles, in between the ALDS and ALCS, announced the signing of shortstop J.J. Hardy to a three-year, $40 million contract extension. The sentiment proved substantially more exciting than the reality; Hardy OPSed .625 for the new contract.

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2015-16 pitcher Chaz Roe, 2013 four-game outfielder Jason Pridie, and 2001-13 infielder Brian Roberts. Today is Roberts’s 48th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your other birthday buddies for today include: composer Camille Saint-Saëns, baseballs Hall of Famer Rube Marquard (1886) and Joe Sewell (1898), musician John Lennon (1940), movie maker Guillermo del Toro (1964), golfer Annika Sörenstam (1970), and home organizer Marie Kondo (1984).

On this day in history…

In 1806, Prussia declared war on Napoleon-controlled France, launching the War of the Fourth Coalition. Nine months later after a French victory, Prussia was forced by treaty to surrender more than half of its territory.

In 1919, the Cincinnati Reds beat the White Sox in the World Series, a championship that was eventually marred by the Black Sox scandal.

In 1986, the musical The Phantom of the Opera had its opening performance in London. Still running in the same theater today with over 15,000 performances, this is the second-longest-running musical in the West End’s history, trailing only Les Miserables (also still running after premiering one year and one day earlier than Phantom.) On Broadway in the US, its run from 1988 to 2023 is the longest ever.

And that’s the way it is in Birdland on October 9. Have a safe Thursday.