The 2018 Orioles went 47-115, the worst finish in team history. The 2019 Orioles finished 54-108—hardly a giant leap for mankind, but a tiny kind of triumph for a team with no stars, no hype, and no expectations around it.
In other ways, these two teams looked very different. The 2018 team featured big (biggish) names—Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Zack Britton, Brad Brach, Jonathan Schoop, Darren O’Day, Chris Tillman, Tim Beckham, and Pedro Alvarez—who underperformed and got cut or traded through the season for parts.