
Just so you don’t let the undeniably disappointing end to the Orioles’ 2013 season color your view of the whole thing — and in case you find yourself in the position of defending the birds to outsiders — here are five reasons to be proud of the hometown team.:
+ We all know Chris “Crush” Davis led the major leagues in home runs with 53, a single-season total only 17 sluggers in baseball history have ever reached, but the Most Valuable Oriole also beat out Miguel Cabrera to lead the leagues in RBIs, with 138.
+ Third baseman Manny Machado led the American League in doubles (51), posted the third highest hit total in both leagues, and ended the season with the tenth highest WAR rating (a sabermetric uber-statistic that is too complicated for me to understand).