The Orioles may by on their way to a 10th straight losing season, but that doesn?t mean there isn?t a championship-caliber team wearing orange and black in Baltimore.
Youse?s Maryland Orioles appears right now to be the team to beat in the seven-team Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League. Entering the week, the Glen Burnie-based Maryland Orioles ? who are sponsored by the major league team ? are 12-3 and 2 _ games ahead of the second-place Bethesda Big Train.
Recommended Stories
“It?s just us being able to get good players,” said Maryland Orioles manager Dean Albany, who is also a scout for the big league team. “It takes us a month usually to get the team together right and then it is time to head to Johnstown which is where we seem to play our best baseball.”
Albany is referring to the 63rd annual All America Amateur Baseball Association national tournament in Johnstown, Pa. There, the Maryland Orioles are going after their fifth straight title at the August tournament, which would only help improve the reputation of the team that has won 23 AAABA titles since its initial incarnation more than 50 years ago.
Youse?s Maryland Orioles is named in honor of Walter Youse, who led the team for more than 40 years before Albany took over six years ago. Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson along with current Orioles prospect pitcher Brandon Erbe (McDonogh) and Chicago White Sox farmhand Gavin Floyd (Mount St. Joseph) ? a 2001 first-round draft pick by the Phillies ? are just a few of the dozens of professional baseball players that spent time with the summer team.
“We?ve got a good mix of kids this year,” Albany said. “That?s why we win. The Orioles name means a lot to these players. As long as the Orioles keep sponsoring the team, we?ll always be competitive.”
Albany adds that the Orioles use the summer team as a vehicle to track potential prospects as well as players they have already drafted. Alex Buchholz is one player hoping to impress the Orioles this summer. The former Old Mill infielder is currently one of the top players for the University of Delaware.
“You get a lot of exposure playing with this teams in terms of scouts coming out to the games,” Buchholz said. “Plus, there is so much great history here and it?s so great to be a part of it.”
