Absent anything but a 2014 American League East championship banner and a couple of good years of attendance, the most lasting relic from the early-to-mid-decade Orioles clubs that now seem a distant memory was established three years ago Wednesday: the seven-year, $161 million contract with two-time home run king Chris Davis.
At the time, it was a marker to fans and the team alike that the Orioles were willing to spend money to keep what they believed could still be a championship core together, though it was an expensive marker that seemed to be far outside the market for Davis' services.