As an Orioles fan who got into baseball as a nine-year-old in 1998, there wasn’t much excitement in Birdland when I became a fan. I vaguely remember my dad being excited about the 1996 and 1997 playoff teams. I heard stories from the adults in my life about Brooks, Frank, Boog, and Eddie. Only the tail end of Cal Ripken’s career was a bright spot during those dark years in which I became an O’s fan.
The first spark of real hope I had as an Orioles fan came in 2010 with the hiring of Buck Showalter.