Jul 12, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Ramon Urias (29) smiles as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the fourth inning at Wrigley Field. Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The red-hot Orioles are a .500 baseball team

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 7/12/22

Mediocrity is not often celebrated in professional sports, but we can give the Baltimore Orioles a pass, at least for tonight.

With a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, the O's have found themselves at the peak of mediocrity, with a 44-44 record.

.500 pic.twitter.com/wMJJRazOIN
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 13, 2022

Again, it's not often we celebrate being average in professional sports, so let's take a moment to appreciate the context of this achievement for the Orioles.

The 2021 season was a bad one for Baltimore, which is saying something for an organization that has not had a winning record since 2016.

The O's finished 2021 with a 52-110 record. This season, though, they're just a few games away from that win mark and we're not even at the All-Star break yet. Baltimore is also riding a nine-game win streak.

It's historic.

The @Orioles are the second team in MLB history to lose 110+ games one season and then have a 9+ game winning streak the next.

The other was the Louisville Colonels, who went 27-111 in 1889 before having winning streaks of 12, 11 and 10 games in 1890.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) July 13, 2022

Perhaps they'll sputter out and this will all be a memory. Perhaps, though, the Orioles will keep themselves in the hunt. Sure, they're still in last place in the American League East. That said, they're only two games outside of the Wild Card.

Whatever happens, .500 is worth celebrating right now.

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