'You're going to hate this ...' O's great gives postseason comp

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- In the sports world, pundits are always looking to make comparisons between teams from different generations. For example, some might say the resurgent 2023 Orioles remind them of the ‘12 O’s, who snapped a 15-year postseason drought. This year, Baltimore is likely to end a seven-year absence.

Adam Jones, who was a member of the 2012 Orioles, doesn’t quite see the similarities, though. He likens this year’s O’s to a different past team.

“You’re going to hate this, but this team reminds me of the ‘14 Royals,” Jones said Friday afternoon, shortly after he signed a one-day contract to retire as an Oriole. “I know, I hate saying that. It burns my damn soul to say that. But they are athletic, they put the ball in play. …

“It’s easy to dog it down the line, but every night, I watch guys one to nine play the game hard. When you put the ball in play, play hard, steal bases, make the defense make errors, good things happen. And that’s what they’re doing. They’ve been doing that for the last two years.”

The 2014 Royals aren’t too popular in Baltimore. They swept the Orioles, 4-0, in the American League Championship Series, ending the World Series hopes of a Baltimore team that had won its first AL East title in 17 years and then swept the Tigers in the AL Division Series, 3-0.

Kansas City reached the World Series that year, but it fell to San Francisco, 3-2, in a Game 7 classic. The Royals then made it back to the Fall Classic in ‘15, when they beat the Mets in five games.

The Orioles are hoping to get to the point at which they’re a perennial World Series contender. They’re eying a run of sustained success even longer than that of the 2014-15 Royals, who haven’t returned to the postseason since that two-year stretch.

The groundwork for Baltimore’s present success was laid just as Jones’ time with the Orioles ended. He watched as the organization traded key players who helped it reach the postseason three times from 2012-16. In 2018, the O’s dealt Manny Machado to the Dodgers, Zack Britton to the Yankees, Jonathan Schoop to the Brewers and the trio of Brad Brach, Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Braves.

Baltimore likely would have traded Jones, had he not exercised his 10-and-5 rights to veto potential deals.

After the 2018 season, Jones never played another game for the Orioles, who went in a different direction that offseason. As they focused on replenishing the farm system, their big league team struggled from 2019-21 (131-253), before turning a corner in ‘22 (83-79).

Prior to Jones’ departure, though, he left his impact on a clubhouse that was getting younger.

“When we started to really stink in the summer of ‘17, and again in ‘18, I tried to let the young guys who were coming up -- once we did all the trades -- let them know that the big leagues are tough,” said Jones, who played 11 of his 14 MLB seasons for Baltimore. “‘I’m not going to be this rude veteran to you guys. I’m going to try and explain the game in a crash course, because we’re all going to be gone after these two months.’

“So I just tried to explain to those guys how the Major League life is and give them the best advice I could.”

Among the players who Jones mentored were fellow outfielders Anthony Santander (who debuted in 2017), Austin Hays (also in ‘17) and Cedric Mullins (‘18). That trio has been instrumental to the Orioles’ success in 2023.

“They are leading this charge,” Jones said. “You hear them talk, they’ve been through the tough years. And to see what they have now, it’s fun that they’re getting to lead it. There’s nothing better than when you go through the mud and then you get out.”

And now, those three and the rest of Baltimore’s talented core could lead the franchise to even greater heights than Jones did.

“They need to just stay exactly with what they’re doing and believe in each other, believe in that clubhouse,” Jones said. “Stay focused and stay the course.”