That was some performance Friday night from Orioles starting pitcher Brandon Young.
In the 11th start of his career, Young got his first Major League win in grand style, retiring the first 23 Houston Astros he faced and coming within four outs of throwing the first perfect game in Orioles history.
As it was, it was former Orioles infielder Ramon Urias who broke up the no-hitter with an eighth-inning dribbler that Young fielded awkwardly. His off-balance throw to first sailed up the first base line, landing Urias at second.
In one fell swoop, the no-hitter and perfection were gone, but Young finished the inning and, before a collection of family and friends, gave Birds fans a cherished memory in a season that’s well worth forgetting.
If you love baseball and not just the Orioles, you may need to string together a lot more of such remembrances, as the game may be going away for a while.
The collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and its players union expires after the 2026 season.
That may seem like a lot of time but if we’ve learned anything over the last 53 years, when the first work stoppage took place, things aren’t always as they seem.
During that half-century plus, play has been halted nine times. Some were owner-imposed lockouts, while others were player strikes. Call them what you want, but they all had a central cause: money.
The average Major League player earns just under $5.2 million. Rookies and young veterans make less than that, while talented veterans make a lot more, but the middle ground of the 780 Major Leaguers, the highest of all American professional athletes is a juicy target.
Meanwhile, major league owners have raked in revenue. Last year, according to Forbes, the sport took in a record $12.1 billion, through broadcasting, ticket sales and merchandising. True, it’s not the $23 billion the NFL took in, but it ain’t poverty.
One of the ways that the NFL has become so healthy is through the instillation of a cap on how much teams can pay for player salaries.
Baseball owners desperately want such a cap, not only to depress salaries, but to keep rich teams like the Dodgers and Yankees from spending more than so called poor teams like the Orioles for talent.
Indeed, Orioles owner David Rubenstein, himself a billionaire a few times over, said as much in January and commissioner Rob Manfred, who works for the owners, has begun a low-key campaign to sell players and the public on the need for a salary cap.
The sticking point is that the players union has understandably vowed never to accept a salary cap. Why would an employee go for a limit on their pay when there is no floor on what management can spend for talent acquisition.
Philadelphia first baseman Bryce Harper reportedly told Manfred in the strongest, most profane terms just that personally a few weeks ago. The two sides seem dug in and some sort of work stoppage appears inevitable.
So, hold onto those memories, folks. Around this time next year, those of us who love baseball may need them.
And that’s how I see it for this week. You can reach us via email with your questions and comments at Sports at Large at gmail.com. And follow me on BlueSky, Threads and X at Sports at Large.
Until next week, for all of us here and for producer Lisa Morgan, I’m Milton Kent. Thanks for listening and enjoy the games.
