As champagne sprayed, Orioles outfielders reflected on enduring the rebuild – The Baltimore Banner

Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays stood huddled in the back corner of the Orioles clubhouse.Around them, players soaked each other in champagne and shotgunned beers, screaming and shouting and running as music blared. But these three needed a moment to themselves.Four years ago, they had stood together in the outfield during a pitching change and wondered about this day.The present was bleak. They were on their way to losing 108 games, the fourth-worst season in franchise history. But they, for the first time in a while, felt some hope. Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson had just been drafted. Santander, Mullins and Hays had a feeling those guys were going to be special. And they knew that, with the way the season was going, they were going to have a top pick again the next year, which would bring even more talent.Even they have been surprised by just how right they were, though.The Baltimore Orioles go wild in the clubhouse following the team’s playoff-clinching win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, September 17, 2023. The Orioles earned a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. (Ulysses Muñoz/The Baltimore Banner)It took two more dreadful seasons, including
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