BALTIMORE — There's no crying in baseball, and as WMAR found out, there isn't much of that in Baltimore right now.
After the untimely end of a memorable season, Orioles fans are staying optimistic—sharing a positive outlook after coming up short.
Around town, especially around the ballpark, it's a lot quieter than fans would like it to be. Despite it, you'll still see a lot of orange around the city.
Being a true fan means sporting the colors in good times and in bad. Herb Hawkins, a lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan, sported an Orioles jersey in Federal Hill on Thursday.
"They’ll be ready next year," Hawkins told WMAR. "They’ll be ready."
It was a clean sweep. Two losses at Camden Yards and one at the Rangers home ballpark in Texas
Not the ending the town wanted—but with Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and the rest of the squad largely returning in full, it feels more like a temporary setback.
Fans like Connor McKinney from Elkridge are keeping things in perspective.
"[They] haven't done it in 44 years to break 100 wins," McKinney said, "so what else can you ask for?"
Fans tell WMAR they want to see pitching addressed this offseason. It's unclear whether that's in the cards for the O's this winter, but at a post-postseason press conference, general manager Mike Elias says they're working on things as we speak.
READ MORE: 'This is Baltimore, we do baseball here': Orioles GM, Manager proud of team despite ALDS exit
"One of the unwanted consolation prizes of getting eliminated early is you have a little bit more time to prepare for the offseason," Elias told reporters Thursday. "So we are sprinting ahead with doing that as baseball ops department. We got people upstairs right now cranking on it."
Baseball legend Rogers Hornsby once said, "People ask me what I do when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." There'll be a lot of staring from now until March, but with fond reflection and hope.
"I'm so glad they came this far; it's been a while—what, 2016 since they came that far? It gives us hope, man. It really does, I love it, man," shared Frank Arthur, a lifelong Orioles fan.
The Orioles open next season at home on March 28, 2024, against the Los Angeles Angels.
For those keeping track at home, that's in 168 days as of the writing of this article.
