BALTIMORE -- As per recent tradition, the conclusion of the Orioles’ final regular-season home game featured the players and staff rising from the dugout, walking onto the warning track and tipping their caps to the fans at Camden Yards. The 36,640 in attendance on Sunday afternoon returned the favor with a standing ovation.

This time is different, though. This time, there’s more to come -- Baltimore still has between three and 19 more games to play, and it will be back here in action on Saturday.

• ALDS Game 1, presented by Booking.com: Saturday on FOX/FS1

The Orioles’ 6-1 loss to the Red Sox didn’t bring the same sense of finality as the endings of the regular-season slates from 2017-22, a stretch during which the team never reached the postseason. Instead, there was growing excitement for what’s still to come.

Baltimore, the No. 1 seed in the American League and the AL East champions, will host Game 1 of the best-of-five AL Division Series on Saturday. Its opponent will be either No. 4 Tampa Bay or No. 5 Texas, which will begin a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.

• 2023 Postseason ticket information

“I want to make sure that we recognize our great fan base and all the support they gave us this year,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Fortunately, we’re going to be playing in front of them some more. We’re excited about that.”

The Orioles have large goals in their sights. But they’re also proud of what they have accomplished so far, including their first AL East title since 2014, and their first postseason berth since ‘16.

Baltimore won 101 games for the first time since 1979. It hadn’t reached the century mark since going 100-62 in ‘80.

Best regular seasons in Orioles history:
1. 1969: 109-53
2. 1970: 108-54
3. 1979: 102-57
4. 1971: 101-57
5. 2023: 101-61

Each of the four previous times Baltimore won at least 101 games, it reached the World Series. The O’s won their second of three championships in 1970, but they lost in the Fall Classic in ‘69, ‘71 and ‘79.

“Very proud,” said right-hander Kyle Bradish, who threw two scoreless innings in the finale to lower his ERA to 2.83. “We knew what we had in Spring Training, so to go out there and do it, and more games to come ... But 101 wins this year is pretty good.”

The Orioles have played well both at home and on the road. Their 49-32 record at Camden Yards is their third-best in ballpark history (since 1992), behind only 2014 and ‘16 (both 50-31). Their AL-best 52-29 record in away games is tied for the best in team history with the 1997 squad.

Baltimore has been consistent, too. It hasn’t lost more than four consecutive games, and it hasn’t been swept in 91 consecutive multi-game series, dating back to May 2022. The O’s also had a winning record in every month of play -- March/April (19-9), May (16-12), June (13-11), July (17-9), August (18-9) and September/October (18-11).

All of this is why the Orioles could be built for a long run through October.

Bradish -- who has a high chance of starting Saturday’s ALDS Game 1 -- called Baltimore “probably one of the most complete teams you’re going to find.” His teammates would agree.

“We have a pretty good team, you know?” outfielder Anthony Santander said. “We have good pitching with good defense, good offense. I would say, this year, anything can happen.”

As one of only three clubs in MLB to win 100 games this season (along with the 104-58 Braves and 100-62 Dodgers), the Orioles have proven they’re one of baseball’s best teams. They outperformed all the projection systems that thought Baltimore would regress following a fairly quiet offseason.

The O’s have never let outside noise affect how they have performed. So even if other AL teams that have players with more postseason experience -- such as the Rays and Astros -- are picked by most pundits to reach the World Series, it won’t bother the Orioles.

Baltimore is confident in what it’s capable of achieving starting next weekend.

“Very excited,” Bradish said. “It’s been on my mind since we clinched.”

The fact the Orioles will begin the postseason at Camden Yards -- with Games 1 and 2 of the ALDS on Saturday and Sunday -- makes it even more special.

“I think the fans deserve to be here in October,” Santander said. “We’re going to go out there and compete, pitch by pitch, play hard all of those games. ... We started really good this year, and we played hard until 162. And now, we have to continue doing that in the postseason.”