Before we get all doom and gloom about the Orioles season that starts today, let’s look back at the team’s recent fortunes and try to put things in perspective.
When the Orioles won 93 games in 2012, they set a high bar for competitive expectations that would last arguably six more years. Even though the last two years of that time span — 2017 and 2018 — included winning percentages below .500, there were still reasonably realistic competitive aspirations at the outset of those seasons.
That Buck Showalter-led upturn was preceded by 14 straight losing seasons.