Tuesday Bird Droppings: Colton Cowser is a Rookie of the Year finalist

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

Until last season, the Orioles had gone 34 straight years without winning a Rookie of the Year award. Now they’ve got a real shot at winning their second in a row.

O’s outfielder Colton Cowser has been named as one of the three finalists for AL Rookie of the Year, alongside a pair of Yankees, right-hander Luis Gil and catcher Austin Wells. Cowser will be hoping to follow the lead of his teammate Gunnar Henderson, who won Rookie of the Year in 2023.

Keep in mind that “finalist” is not a completely accurate term here, as there is no further voting to come. All the votes were cast by BBWAA members at the end of the regular season, and these “finalists” are the players who finished in the top three of the voting. The Rookie of the Year results will be announced next Monday, Nov. 18.

None of this year’s finalists put up the kind of eye-popping performance that Henderson did last season, but Cowser, on paper, should stand a good chance of winning. He was a key contributor on offense — where his 24 home runs led all AL rookies — and on defense, where he was a Gold Glove finalist for his excellent glovework in both left and center field. And while the award won’t be decided solely on Wins Above Replacement, Cowser led the three finalists in that category, with a 4.0 fWAR compared to Wells’s 3.4 and Gil’s 2.2. (By bWAR, Cowser and Gil are tied at 3.1, with Wells at 2.5.)

Plus, can either of those Yankees players match Cowser’s delightful personality and superb vibes? Every week this guy was up to some classic shenanigans, from retrieving a ball from Craig Kimbrel’s milestone save that he accidentally threw into the Kauffman Stadium fountains, to recruiting the understudy he enjoyed at “The Great Gatsby” Broadway show to sing the national anthem at an Orioles playoff game. Cowser was a fan favorite whose every move was met with a resounding “moooooo” by the Camden Yards crowd, some of whom dressed up in cow costumes to pay homage to their hero. I mean, come on! You can’t beat that.

No other Orioles finished as finalists for the other major BBWAA awards. That’s no surprise for the MVP and Manager of the Year races, but I thought Corbin Burnes had a shot at finishing in the top three for AL Cy Young. Detroit’s Tarik Skubal will surely be the runaway winner, but Burnes was also edged out by Royals starter Seth Lugo and Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase. Burnes will have to settle for certainly a top-10 and possibly top-5 finish.

In any case, best of luck to Cowser next week. If he wins Rookie of the Year, the Orioles will get an extra draft pick after the first round thanks to the Prospect Promotion Incentive, just as they did with Henderson. Here’s to the Orioles earning that pick — and keeping it out of the hands of the Yankees.

Links

O’s Mike Elias talked about the club’s needs during the GM meetings - Steve Melewski
Reading between the lines, it seems like the Orioles will be pursuing more supplemental, role-player types of guys rather than top-tier talent. I suppose there can’t be a Corbin Burnes trade every year.

The pros and cons of Orioles’ re-signing Burnes - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Speaking of Burnes, Rich Dubroff digs into why the Orioles should or shouldn’t try to bring him back. It’s not my money; I say sign him.

Jon Meoli: Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki should want to pitch for the Orioles - The Baltimore Banner
Assuming Burnes does leave, the Roki Sasaki alternative would make me very, very happy. But I can’t fathom a scenario in which he chooses the Orioles over, say, the Dodgers, or any other large-market team, no matter how good the Birds’ pitching program may be.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! It’s the 56th birthday of Sammy Sosa, the controversial former Cubs slugger and MVP who spent one nondescript season with the Orioles in 2005. The only other ex-Oriole born on this day was the late right-hander Don Johnson (b. 1926, d. 2015), not the Miami Vice guy.

On this day in 1980, Steve Stone won the sixth (and still most recent) AL Cy Young award in Orioles history, surprisingly beating out Oakland’s Mike Norris despite worse numbers across the board except for wins. It was one of the more out-of-nowhere success stories in Cy Young history, as Stone had been a journeyman, back-end type of starter for his first nine years before his breakthrough 1980, and his career lasted just 15 more games afterward.

And on this date in 1998, the Orioles reached agreement with free agent closer Mike Timlin on a four-year, $16 million contract. Timlin ultimately lasted only one and a half seasons with the Birds, posting a 4.04 ERA and just a 75% save rate (38 saves in 51 attempts) before the O’s dealt him to the Cardinals at the trade deadline in 2000.