Orioles manager Buck Showalter talking about Manny Machado's future on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Eduardo A. Encina, Baltimore Sun video)
Kids growing up around Baltimore in the ’80s and ’90s, as I did, fought over who got to wear No. 8 on the baseball field.
Sure, some idolized Ken Griffey Jr. and wore No. 24. But as the hometown star, Cal Ripken’s No. 8 was by far the most sought after.
Flash forward to now, and I’m no longer the kid scrambling to wear the 8, but the coach.