Baltimore Orioles GM Shares Favorite Memory From Magical Season
Baltimore Orioles GM Mike Elias shared his favorite memory from the 2023 season.
Mike Elias has made plenty of good memories with the Baltimore Orioles since becoming their general manager and executive vice president after the 2018 season. He's overseen multiple successful drafts and built the best farm system in baseball, transforming the franchise from a bottom-feeder into a juggernaut.
Not surprisingly, one of his favorite moments with the club so far came during the 2023 season, when the Orioles won 101 games in the AL East en route to their first playoff appearance since 2016.
During a recent appearance on the Ryan Ripken Show, Elias relayed his top highlight from that season.
Elias recalled the day that Baltimore clinched its playoff spot on Sept. 17 against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles were battling the Rays for the division at the time, so Elias and manager Brandon Hyde unsure how or if it should celebrate making the postseason with the AL East still up for grabs. They didn't want to risk taking their foot off the gas, especially with two weeks left in the regular season.
Elias and Hyde had decided on a more subdued celebration rather than an all-out bash, until Adam Frazier caught wind of the plan. "Forget that, we're celebrating if we clinch the playoffs," Frazier said (per Elias).
Sure enough, Frazier helped Baltimore beat the Rays that day and secure a postseason berth, drilling a game-tying double in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings, where Cedric Mullins walked it off.
The Orioles ended up clinching the division in late September, so their early celebration didn't end up holding them back after all.
