This O’s player has made May 21 a holiday

This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- This Sunday should probably be a holiday in Baltimore. May 21 now has a special place in Orioles history as a significant date during the rebuild conducted by general manager Mike Elias, one that many even view as a turning point.

Last year, that date brought the long-awaited arrival of Adley Rutschman.

From the moment the O’s selected Rutschman with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, there was a greater sense of optimism and hope from fans. One player can’t completely turn around a baseball team. But when he’s a catcher with the offensive potential, defensive prowess and natural leadership of Rutschman, he may come pretty close.

It took nearly three years in the Minor Leagues -- including a pandemic-canceled season spent at an alternate training site in 2020 -- for Rutschman to be on the cusp of the Majors. Then, there was a slight delay when the former Oregon State catcher missed the start of the ‘22 campaign due to a right triceps strain.

But on the night of May 20, 2022, Rutschman was told by Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton he was headed to The Show in a special moment that soon went viral. On May 21, Rutschman showed up at Camden Yards and was inserted into the Orioles’ lineup vs. the Rays.

“Emotional roller coaster,” Rutschman recently recalled. “I feel like you remember so many little details from that day, just because you’re thinking about so much at that time. Awesome experience. The Orioles did a great job and made it so much fun coming up.”

Behind the scenes, in Baltimore’s clubhouse that afternoon, veteran catcher Robinson Chirinos helped prepare Rutschman for his first MLB game. A lot of prep work takes place before every big league contest -- especially for a player tasked with contributing to the offense and managing the pitching staff -- but it helped that he’d be paired with a familiar hurler.

On his debut night, Rutschman caught right-hander Kyle Bradish, who was making his fifth MLB start. The two had history, having previously worked together in the Minors.

“I think everybody has nerves, but he handled it well,” Bradish said. “Pregame meeting, he talked to me and the pitching coaches about what he was thinking, and I know Robby helped him out a lot to try to calm those nerves and then how to approach the game.”

Shortly before the 7:06 p.m. first pitch, Rutschman jogged out onto the field with a smile across his face. He shook hands with home plate umpire Andy Fletcher. He kicked some dirt behind the dish, then made a slow 360-degree turn and took in the surroundings at his new home ballpark.

Finally, Rutschman put on his catcher’s helmet, knelt down, pounded his glove and went to work.

“People tell you what it’s going to be like, but when you really get there, it’s indescribable,” Rutschman said. “It’s like way more than you could ever imagine.”

“It was awesome,” said right-hander Mike Baumann, who pitched 3 2/3 relief innings in Rutschman’s first game. “The crowd was going crazy, and just seeing him be able to soak it all in, it seemed very special. ... It just seemed like a special day for all of Baltimore, really.”

Rutschman collected his first hit in his debut -- a triple roped to right field in the seventh inning -- but the O’s fell, 6-1. Over the past year, though, they haven’t lost nearly as often as they had previously.

Since Rutschman’s debut, Baltimore is 96-71 (through Friday’s 6-2 victory in Toronto). That includes the Orioles’ 29-16 start to this season, a mark that ranked second in MLB behind only the Rays (33-13) entering Saturday.

Has that success made Rutschman’s first year in the Majors even more memorable for him?

“Absolutely,” Rutschman said. “Winning makes everything better.”

The Orioles and their fans would all agree. And they’re hoping for many more years to come like Rutschman’s first.