David Nehf

UA - LTD - Cam Sims Truther - Jayden Daniels gives me hope

[𝙆am Brice @kambrice1tv]

Pete Alonso has been everything the Orioles could’ve hoped for.

Team leader in HR (18), RBI (52), Hits (74), SLG (.475) and OPS (.812).

Safe to say Baltimore won’t regret this signing.

[Birdland Minute @birdlandminute]

Jim Palmer telling Kevin Brown he has to let it go is incredible.

I love Orioles after dark.

[Goat Vaughn 🐘 @rolltide2023]

Why in every sports post-season do we end up having to play the team of destiny? 😂

[Underdog MLB @UnderdogMLB]

HR Derby is ditching the clock, per @EvanDrellich:

1st round: 20 swings
2nd round: 15 swings
Championship: 15 swings

Last pitch each round is "swing until you don't go deep."

[Pardon My Take @PardonMyTake]

We told Hank we were interviewing Brian Windhorst last night

[Julian Baron @JulianTBaron]

This is downright bizarre ... I have never seen a manager defend the opposing team hitting his own player.

I was optimistic about Albernaz, but after this and the Basallo situation, that optimism is fading very fast.

[Hunter Johnson @BurnerLJohnson]

At least we get Texas or Georgia on Monday

[Admiral Bear @AdmiralBear01]

These people are truly incredible.

[David Nehf @big_dave16]

@masnRoch

[Birdland Metrics @birdlandmetrics]

Blaze Alexander turns 27 today and it's worth remembering how he landed in Baltimore.

In 2018 he was an 11th-round pick, 339th overall. The scouts loved his arm (he threw a legendary 99 mph toss from shortstop at PG National), but they doubted his bat.

That same year he was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and needed heart surgery at 19. He worked through it without missing a beat.

Then the minors:
A pandemic that erased his 2020 season.
A .218 year at Hillsboro.
Three IL stints at Amarillo.
A broken thumb at Reno that cost him two months.

And when he finally made it to the big leagues, he spent two years stuck on Arizona's bench behind an All-Star infield.

Blaze was loved in the clubhouse, but was never truly given the runway to play consistently.

In February, Baltimore saw it differently. The O's sent Kade Strowd and two prospects to Arizona for a guy most fans had to Google. When Jordan Westburg went down with an elbow injury weeks later, the depth move suddenly looked like a good investment.

Blaze's reaction to being dealt: "I couldn't reverse the trade, so it was like, 'Hey, this could be really good for me.'"

It didn't start that way. He hit a team-worst .137 in April and the old scouting report seemed to be true.

But something shifted in May. He raked .365 with a .911 OPS last month while starting at 2B, 3B, SS, and CF.

He's followed it with a scorching June so far:
A team-leading 1.119 OPS and .368 BA.

His teammates and coaches aren't surprised.

"He brings joy to the game. You can be down as a team, and all of a sudden he beats out an infield single or turns a single into a double." -James McCann (former teammate in AZ)

"He's just a baseball gamer. He has all the confidence in the world on defense, he wants the ball hit to him."
-Craig Albernaz

And Blaze himself: "If I gotta put my body on the line... run through a wall, jump, dive...I'm doing it, man. I'm doing it for the team."

A gritty, 11th rounder doesn’t always find his time in the sun on the baseball diamond. Blaze has, and it’s hard to root against the guy.

Happy 27th to one of Baltimore's hottest hitters and reliable fielders so far in 2026.

His unlikely success story this season is proof that sometimes the “gamers” just find a way.

[Bmore fan @Osfann]

So fucking sick of watching Gunnar Henderson batting 2nd for the Orioles. Albernaz needs to grow some balls and put him down to the 6 or 7 spot.

[Trod @TrodeeBoy13]

Maybe I’m delusional, but for the past week or so, exit velos in MLB The Show have felt HORRIBLE

If it’s not a perfect, it feels like I’m swinging a plastic 2x4 against a bowling ball

[David Nehf @big_dave16]

that was incredible

[Hunter Johnson @BurnerLJohnson]

Can’t wait to get one of these from @JNJApparel. Get yours here: https://t.co/IoEH4SCvxN

[Minery @HumphreyIsland]

Gunnar throws his equipment in anger but jogs to second on the pitch #WeKnowWhoYouAre

[Minery @HumphreyIsland]

@kylegoon Please ask Albernaz if Gunnar’s hustle on the full count 2 outs lead was acceptable

[David Nehf @big_dave16]

so incredibly sick and tired of gunnar henderson

[Yea Alabama @yea_ala]

The road to Omaha in Polaroids 📸

[College World Series of Omaha @CWSOmaha]

ROLL TIDE! 🐘

WELCOME TO OMAHA @AlabamaBSB!

#MCWS x #RoadToOmaha