2014 Baltimore Orioles | ||
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American League East Champions | ||
League | American League | |
Division | East | |
Ballpark | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | |
City | Baltimore, Maryland | |
Record | 96–66 (.593) | |
Divisional place | 1st | |
Owners | Peter Angelos | |
General managers | Dan Duquette | |
Managers | Buck Showalter | |
Television | MASN WJZ-TV (CBS 13) (Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, Mike Bordick, Jim Hunter) | |
Radio | WBAL (AM) Baltimore Orioles Radio Network (Joe Angel, Fred Manfra, Jim Hunter, Dave Johnson) | |
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The 2014 Baltimore Orioles season was the 114th season in franchise history, the 61st in Baltimore, and the 23rd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Birds would finish in first place in the American League East Division and return to the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, claiming their first division championship since 1997. The Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series and advanced to the AL Championship Series, where they were swept by the Kansas City Royals.
New Oriole Nelson Cruz led the majors in home runs with 40; following Chris Davis' 2013 title this was the first time in franchise history two Orioles (or Browns) had won back-to-back home run titles. As a team the Birds hit 211 home runs to lead baseball, their third consecutive 200-homer season (another franchise first).
Entering the offseason, the Orioles had 11 arbitration eligible players, three contract options, and several outgoing free agents. They looked to make additions to their starting rotation, to add a "big bat", as well as to improve their bullpen, which was strong in 2012, but "average" in 2013. [1]
On March 31, the Orioles won their 2014 regular season opener against the Boston Red Sox, but then proceeded to lose their next four games. After a full week and a 4–2 loss to the New York Yankees, the Orioles were in last place in the American League East and 3 games below .500. Orioles All-Star 3rd baseman Manny Machado, still recovering from off-season surgery, did not play in any games for the Orioles during the month of April; but Orioles catcher Matt Wieters got off to an uncharacteristically fast start hitting .338 with 4 home runs and 15 RBIs. [26] The Orioles finished the month with 11 wins and 12 losses. [27]
Tommy Hunter started the season as the Orioles closer and was successful in 11 of his 12 save opportunities, but he blew 2 consecutive saves on May 10 and 13 and then was placed on the 15-day disabled list. [28] On May 11, the Orioles placed catcher Matt Wieters on the disabled list. Wieters was hitting over .300 and would ultimately be lost to the team for the entire season. The Orioles finished May with 15 wins and 15 losses but moved up to 3rd place in the American League East. The one bright spot in an otherwise mediocre April–May was the torrid hitting of new Oriole Nelson Cruz; by May 31 Cruz led all of MLB with a staggering 20 home runs and 51 runs batted in.
On June 6, the Orioles lost to the Oakland Athletics, 4–3 in 11 innings, dropping them 6 1/2 games out of first place. It would be the farthest out of first that the Orioles would be all season. [27] Adam Jones batted .348 with nine homers and 20 RBIs in June. [29] Utility player Steve Pearce, who had appeared in only 3 games for the Orioles in April, batted .361 in June with 5 home runs and 13 RBI's. [30] The Birds finished the month with 16 wins and 12 losses, trailing the first-place Blue Jays by one game. [27]
On Saturday July 5, the Orioles split a double-header with the Boston Red Sox and moved into sole possession of first place in the American League East and would remain in first place for the rest of the season. [27] By the All-Star break, the Orioles had increased their lead to 4 games [27] and three Oriole players were voted by the fans to the American League squad: Matt Weiters (his third), Adam Jones (his fourth) and Nelson Cruz (his third). This marked the first time in club history that three Orioles were voted onto the American League squad in consecutive years. [29] By the end of the month, new Oriole closer Zach Britton had 11 saves for the month [31] and the Orioles led the American League East by 1.5 games. [27]
On August 9, reserve catcher Caleb Joseph hit a home run in the Orioles' 10–3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals; making him the first Orioles catcher to homer in 5 consecutive games. [32] Orioles 3rd baseman Machado injured his right knee on an awkward swing against the New York Yankees on August 11. After going on the disabled list and trying to rest his knee, he decided to have his knee surgically repaired thus ending his season. [33] Oriole shortstop J. J. Hardy batted .322 for the month with 5 homeruns and 18 RBI's. [34] First baseman Chris Davis filled in for Machado at third and hit 7 homeruns with 17 rbi's for the month. [35] The Orioles ended the month of August with four consecutive wins; increasing their lead in the American League East to 9 full games over the second place Yankees.
The Orioles started the month with a 6–4 loss to the Minnesota Twins but still maintained an 8 1/2 game lead over the second place Yankees. [27] Newly acquired outfielder Alejandro De Aza also started the month with the Orioles and before September was over he would hit 3 triples, 3 home runs, drive in 10 runs and bat over .300. [36] On September 7, the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7–5; Nelson Cruz went 4-for-5 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. [37] On September 12, Orioles' first baseman Chris Davis was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for amphetamine. [38] Davis claimed he tested positive due to the use of adderall—for which he previous had a "therapeutic use exemption" but did not have for the 2014 season. [39]
External videos | |
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Orioles clinch AL East YouTube video |
On Tuesday, September 16, the Orioles clinched the American League East Championship by beating the second place Toronto Blue Jays 8–2. The Orioles had not won an American League East title since 1997 and Tuesday marked the first time since 1969 that the Orioles won a division title in front of their fans at home. [40] Steve Pearce, who had replaced Chris Davis at first base, blasted a three-run homerun off Toronto right-hander Drew Hutchison to give the Orioles a 3–1 lead in the first inning. Oriole right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez, who hadn't been in the starting rotation for a month, picked up the win. [40] On September 25, the Orioles gave up a walk off hit to Derek Jeter in his final game at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles finished the season with 211 home runs. 2014 is the third consecutive season the Orioles hit more than 200 home runs and the first time in franchise history that they did it 3 years in a row. [41] The Orioles 401 walks were also the fewest walks as the modern Orioles [41] and their 44 stolen bases were their fewest since 1961. [41]
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
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Baltimore Orioles | 96 | 66 | .593 | — | 50–31 | 46–35 |
New York Yankees | 84 | 78 | .519 | 12 | 43–38 | 41–40 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 83 | 79 | .512 | 13 | 46–35 | 37–44 |
Tampa Bay Rays | 77 | 85 | .475 | 19 | 36–45 | 41–40 |
Boston Red Sox | 71 | 91 | .438 | 25 | 34–47 | 37–44 |
Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
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Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | HOU | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
Baltimore | — | 11–8 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 13–6 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 12–7 | 6–1 | 11–8 | 12–8 |
Boston | 8–11 | — | 4–3 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 4–3 | 6–1 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 7–12 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 9–10 | 4–2 | 7–12 | 9–11 |
Chicago | 1–5 | 3–4 | — | 9–10 | 9–10 | 3–3 | 6–13 | 1–5 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 11–9 |
Cleveland | 4–3 | 5–2 | 10–9 | — | 8–11 | 5–2 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 11–8 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 2–4 | 10–10 |
Detroit | 5–1 | 5–1 | 10–9 | 11–8 | — | 4–3 | 13–6 | 3–4 | 9–10 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 1–5 | 12–8 |
Houston | 3–4 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 2–5 | 3–4 | — | 3–3 | 7–12 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 8–11 | 9–10 | 2–5 | 11–8 | 4–3 | 5–15 |
Kansas City | 4–3 | 1–6 | 13–6 | 9–10 | 6–13 | 3–3 | — | 3–3 | 11–8 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 15–5 |
Los Angeles | 2–4 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 12–7 | 3–3 | — | 7–0 | 2–4 | 10–9 | 7–12 | 5–2 | 14–5 | 5–2 | 12–8 |
Minnesota | 3–4 | 2–4 | 10–9 | 8–11 | 10–9 | 3–3 | 8–11 | 0–7 | — | 3–4 | 1–6 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 9–11 |
New York | 6–13 | 12–7 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 4–3 | — | 2–4 | 3–3 | 8–11 | 4–3 | 11–8 | 13–7 |
Oakland | 4–2 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 2–5 | 11–8 | 2–5 | 9–10 | 6–1 | 4–2 | — | 9–10 | 4–2 | 9–10 | 4–3 | 13–7 |
Seattle | 2–5 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 10–9 | 5–2 | 12–7 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 10–9 | — | 4–3 | 9–10 | 4–3 | 9–11 |
Tampa Bay | 7–12 | 10–9 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 5–2 | 2–4 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 11–8 | 2–4 | 3–4 | — | 5–2 | 8–11 | 10–10 |
Texas | 1–6 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 1–6 | 3–4 | 8–11 | 1–5 | 5–14 | 5–2 | 3–4 | 10–9 | 10–9 | 2–5 | — | 2–4 | 10–10 |
Toronto | 8–11 | 12–7 | 2–5 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 2–4 | 8–11 | 3–4 | 3–4 | 11–8 | 4–2 | — | 13–7 |
Past Games Legend | |||
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Orioles Win | Orioles Loss | Game Postponed | Clinched Playoff Spot* |
Boldface text denotes an Orioles pitcher | |||
* The codes in larger text are those which will be used most frequently. The codes in smaller text are only used for one game per season and needn't be concerned about in early months (Apr.-Aug.) of the season. |
Baltimore Orioles 2014 Season Game Log — Season Record: 96–66 (.593) — Home: 50–31 — Road: 46–35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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March/April: 12–12 (.500) — Home: 5–6 — Road: 7–6
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May: 15–15 (.500) — Home: 6–6 — Road: 9–9
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June: 16–12 (.571) — Home: 9–9 — Road: 7–3
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July: 17–8 (.680) — Home: 8–3 — Road: 9–5
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August: 19–9 (.679) — Home: 12–3 — Road: 7–6
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September: 17–10 (.630) — Home: 10–4 — Road: 7–6
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Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; AVG = Batting average; SLG = Slugging average
Player | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | AVG | SLG |
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Adam Jones | 159 | 644 | 88 | 181 | 30 | 2 | 29 | 96 | 7 | 19 | .281 | .469 |
Nick Markakis | 155 | 642 | 81 | 177 | 27 | 1 | 14 | 50 | 4 | 62 | .276 | .386 |
Nelson Cruz | 159 | 613 | 87 | 166 | 32 | 2 | 40 | 108 | 4 | 55 | .271 | .525 |
J.J. Hardy | 141 | 529 | 56 | 142 | 28 | 0 | 9 | 52 | 0 | 29 | .268 | .372 |
Jonathan Schoop | 137 | 455 | 48 | 95 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 45 | 2 | 13 | .209 | .354 |
Chris Davis | 127 | 450 | 65 | 88 | 16 | 0 | 26 | 72 | 2 | 60 | .196 | .404 |
Steve Pearce | 102 | 338 | 51 | 99 | 26 | 0 | 21 | 49 | 5 | 40 | .293 | .556 |
Manny Machado | 82 | 327 | 38 | 91 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 32 | 2 | 20 | .278 | .431 |
Ryan Flaherty | 102 | 281 | 33 | 62 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 32 | 1 | 22 | .221 | .356 |
Caleb Joseph | 82 | 246 | 22 | 51 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 17 | .207 | .354 |
Delmon Young | 83 | 242 | 27 | 73 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 30 | 2 | 10 | .302 | .442 |
David Lough | 112 | 174 | 31 | 43 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 15 | .247 | .385 |
Nick Hundley | 50 | 159 | 17 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 19 | 1 | 10 | .233 | .352 |
Matt Wieters | 26 | 104 | 13 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 6 | .308 | .500 |
Steve Clevenger | 35 | 89 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | .225 | .337 |
Alejandro De Aza | 20 | 82 | 11 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 6 | .293 | .537 |
Steve Lombardozzi Jr. | 20 | 73 | 6 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .288 | .329 |
Jimmy Paredes | 18 | 53 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | .302 | .491 |
Kelly Johnson | 19 | 39 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | .231 | .410 |
Christian Walker | 6 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .389 |
Jemile Weeks | 3 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .273 | .455 |
Alexi Casilla | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Cord Phelps | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Quintin Berry | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
Pitcher Totals | 162 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .056 | .056 |
Team Totals | 162 | 5596 | 705 | 1434 | 264 | 16 | 211 | 681 | 44 | 401 | .256 | .422 |
Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts
Player | W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
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Chris Tillman | 13 | 6 | 3.34 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 207.1 | 189 | 83 | 77 | 66 | 150 |
Wei-Yin Chen | 16 | 6 | 3.54 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 185.2 | 193 | 77 | 73 | 35 | 136 |
Bud Norris | 15 | 8 | 3.65 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 165.1 | 149 | 68 | 67 | 52 | 139 |
Miguel González | 10 | 9 | 3.23 | 27 | 26 | 0 | 159.0 | 155 | 61 | 57 | 51 | 111 |
Ubaldo Jiménez | 6 | 9 | 4.81 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 125.1 | 113 | 68 | 67 | 77 | 116 |
Kevin Gausman | 7 | 7 | 3.57 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 113.1 | 111 | 48 | 45 | 38 | 88 |
Zach Britton | 3 | 2 | 1.65 | 71 | 0 | 37 | 76.1 | 46 | 17 | 14 | 23 | 62 |
Darren O'Day | 5 | 2 | 1.70 | 68 | 0 | 4 | 68.2 | 42 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 73 |
Brad Brach | 7 | 1 | 3.18 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 62.1 | 48 | 24 | 22 | 25 | 54 |
Tommy Hunter | 3 | 2 | 2.97 | 60 | 0 | 11 | 60.2 | 55 | 22 | 20 | 12 | 45 |
TJ McFarland | 4 | 2 | 2.76 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 58.2 | 70 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 34 |
Brian Matusz | 2 | 3 | 3.48 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 51.2 | 51 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 53 |
Ryan Webb | 3 | 3 | 3.83 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 49.1 | 50 | 21 | 21 | 12 | 37 |
Evan Meek | 0 | 4 | 5.79 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 23.1 | 26 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 16 |
Andrew Miller | 2 | 0 | 1.35 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 20.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 34 |
Josh Stinson | 0 | 0 | 6.23 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
Preston Guilmet | 0 | 1 | 5.23 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10.1 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
Troy Patton | 0 | 1 | 8.10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
Joe Saunders | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3.1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Ramón Ramírez | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Team Totals | 96 | 66 | 3.43 | 162 | 162 | 53 | 1461.1 | 1342 | 593 | 557 | 472 | 1174 |
The Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series.
The Orioles were swept by the Kansas City Royals 4 games to 0 in the AL pennant series.
2014 Baltimore Orioles Postseason Game Log |
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American League Division Series vs. Detroit Tigers (Baltimore won series 3–0) |
Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
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Baltimore | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 21 | 26 | 1 | |
Detroit | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 2 | |
American League Championship Series vs. Kansas City Royals (Baltimore lost series 0–4)
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Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
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Baltimore | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 30 | 3 |
Kansas City | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 37 | 2 |
The following players represented the Orioles in the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
DH Nelson Cruz won the MLB and American League home run championships with 40
Center fielder Adam Jones and right fielder Nick Markakis both won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
Manager Buck Showalter was named the American League Manager of the Year, his third award.
General Manager Dan Duquette was named The Sporting News' Major League Baseball Executive of the Year
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James Jerry Hardy is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Hardy attended Sabino High School in Tanque Verde, Arizona, where he was an All-State selection from 1999 to 2001 and an All-American selection in 2001. Hardy was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.
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The Baltimore Orioles' 2012 season was the 112th season in franchise history, the 59th in Baltimore, and the 21st at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They completed the regular season with a 93–69 record, good for second place in the AL East and qualified for one of two American League wild card spots. It was the first time since 1997 that they finished with a winning record and made the playoffs. They subsequently defeated the Texas Rangers in the inaugural one-game Wild Card Playoff. They advanced to play the New York Yankees in the Division Series, but lost the series to the Yankees in five games. The smiling cartoon bird head returned to the ballclub's caps and helmets after a 23-year absence.
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The 2014 Boston Red Sox season was the 114th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox finished last in the five-team American League East with a record of 71 wins and 91 losses, 25 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. It was the second last-place finish for the team in three years, and they were the second defending World Series champions to finish last in their division, the first having been the 1998 Florida Marlins. They also became the first MLB team to finish last in one season, win the World Series the next, and finish last again the following season.
The 2015 Baltimore Orioles season was the 115th season in franchise history, the 62nd in Baltimore, and the 24th at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They were attempting to defend their 2014 AL East title, but were eliminated from the division title race on September 23, 11+1⁄2 games back from Toronto. They were eliminated from the postseason on September 28, 6+1⁄2 games back from Houston for the second AL wild card spot. They finished the season .500 (81-81), their fourth straight non-losing season under manager Buck Showalter.
The 2015 Texas Rangers season was the Rangers' 55th season of the franchise and the 44th since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. After a disastrous 2014 season in which the Rangers finished last in the entire American League and third worst in all of Major League Baseball (MLB), and despite starting the season with an 8–16 record and being under .500 as late as August 13, the Rangers would clinch the American League West title on the final day of the season. It was the team's sixth division title and seventh postseason appearance in franchise history. They lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALDS, even after taking a 2-1 lead. First year manager Jeff Banister was named the AL Manager of the Year.
The 2016 Baltimore Orioles season was the 116th season in franchise history, the 63rd in Baltimore, and the 25th at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. They improved on their 2015 record of 81–81, finishing 89–73. and advanced to the playoffs on the last day of the season, October 2, where they lost to the Blue Jays in the American League Wild Card Game 5–2 in 11 innings; this was the Orioles' third postseason appearance in five years.
The 2017 Baltimore Orioles season was the 117th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 64th in Baltimore, and the 26th at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Despite a modest 22–10 start to the season, they failed to improve from their 89–73 record from 2016. They were eliminated from playoff contention on September 23 with their loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7+1⁄2 behind the Minnesota Twins for the 2nd AL Wild Card spot. With their 82nd loss, also on September 23, they ensured a sub-.500 record for the second time under manager Buck Showalter. They finished the season 75–87 (.463), their first losing season since 2011.
The 2018 Kansas City Royals season was their 50th season for the franchise, and their 46th at Kauffman Stadium. They significantly failed to improve upon their 80–82 record the previous year, reaching 100+ losses for the first time since 2006 and finishing 58–104, the second-worst record in the 2018 MLB season, ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles, who finished 47–115.