O's Fountain of Youth: The Birds look to a stream of young talent to fill major league holes

2001 was supposed to be the year of rebuilding for the Orioles, the year of the kids.

It wasn't.

Instead, 2001 was the closing down of an era. The Orioles spent more time saying goodbye to the old — with lavish ceremonies for Cal Ripken and a more subtle sadness over the demise of Brady Anderson's Baltimore career — than welcoming the young onto the team.

The regulars were not really that young, with veterans filling most starting positions.

But now the Cal Ripken era really has ended. The men who dominated Orioles baseball over the past decade — Ripken, Anderson, Mike Mussina, Rafael Palmeiro, B.J. Surhoff, Chris Hoiles and Roberto Alomar — are all gone. The opportunity is there for youth to blossom in Baltimore this year. At first glance, the team that will start in 2002 also is a veteran squad, with David Segui (35) at first, Mike Bordick (36) at short, Tony Batista (28) at third; Marty Cordova (32), Chris Singleton (29) and Jeff Conine (35) in the outfield; and Brook Fordyce (31) behind the plate. The only legitimate youngsters expected to be in the Opening Day lineup are Jerry Hairston (25) at second and Jay Gibbons (25) at DH. But there is a difference this year. Manager Mike Hargrove has a freer hand with Ripken no longer on the roster, and he has indicated that he will be more amenable to putting youngsters in the lineup than he was a year ago.

“The people that are gone, they're all quality people who in their prime were very good players and good for the club,” says Hargrove, who has demonstrated a tendency in the past to favor veterans over youngsters. “But given the situation this ballclub is in, there comes a time when older players get in the way of what you're trying to accomplish. If you are looking long term, and in our case we have to, then young players make more sense than older players. I'd like to see our young kids really push the people who have been here.”

That should be music to the ears of young position players like Brian Roberts, Tim Raines Jr., Luis Matos. Fernando Lunar, Eddie Rogers and Larry Bigbie. While most are slated to start the year in the minors, they will have a better chance to make the club this season than young Orioles prospects have had in many years. And while some will open the season at Bowie or Rochester, if they perform well in the minors, they are likely to be back in Baltimore shortly.

But the position where youth will have a chance to flourish this season is on the pitcher's mound. And the Orioles have a wealth of young pitchers champing at the bit to impress Hargrove and pitching coach Mark Wiley and win a place on the roster.

Four of five starters are likely to be in their 20s.

Scott Erickson (34), who is returning from ligament replacement surgery, probably will be the only veteran starter. And there is no certainty that Erickson, despite his incredibly dogged work ethic, will be able to overcome the effects of the surgery at his age. One of the big questions of spring training for the Orioles will be to watch whether Erickson can return to his old form. If he can't, another position will open for a youngster.

The next three spots in the rotation, after Erickson, will probably be occupied by Sidney Ponson (who seems like a veteran, he's been around so long, but is only 25), Jason Johnson (28) and Josh Towers (25). Battling it out for the fifth slot will be Calvin Maduro (27), Sean Douglass (22) and Rick Bauer (25).

“It's going to be a dog fight,” says Mike Flanagan, the Orioles broadcaster who helps Wiley work with pitchers, of the competition among the youngsters for the final starter's position.

“They said there's a spot open, and my name has been mentioned,” says Bauer. “It's like we have three guys fighting for one spot. I'm going to have fun and enjoy the competition. I strongly feel if I pitch the way I did in September, then there's no way I can lose that job. This year there's going to be emphasis on performance.”

That emphasis on performance is something of a new concept for an Orioles' training camp; in the past, despite what management likes to say about open competition, most spots on the Orioles roster were locked up before players even set foot on Fort Lauderdale soil. This year will be different. Young players will be able to earn spots on the basis of how they play in Florida. Bauer began his 2001 season in Bowie, worked his way up to Rochester, where he went 10-4, and then pitched six games for the Orioles in September and October. Though he didn't win a game, he had three “quality” performances in six starts as a rookie, and showed enough to Hargrove that the manager believes he can be in the rotation this season.

Douglass also debuted in the majors last season. He was hit hard in a one-game July callup but then pitched decently in three late season games, including holding the Yankees to one run on three hits in five innings on September 22.

Maduro at 27 is the old man among the three vying for the fifth slot. He first joined the Orioles organization in 1992 (when Douglas was a mere 13), and spent time with the Phillies before being reacquired by Baltimore in 1999. While many might consider him a young journeyman, Maduro pitched well enough late in the season to earn the chance to compete for the 2002 rotation. In three of his last five starts he allowed two runs or less. Maduro also could make the team as a reliever if Bauer or Douglass get the starting nod.

The Orioles have a number of bright new pitching prospects in camp who hope to win roster spots as rookies, including Luis Rivera (23), John Stephens (22), Steve Bechler (22), and Erik Bedard (23). Then there are those youngsters who've had brief flings pitching in the majors and are hoping to win a longer stint this spring, including Matt Riley (22), Kris Foster (27), John Bale (27), and John Parrish (24).

Until they come up with a better alternative, Willis Roberts (26) is likely to be the team's closer, although he might be challenged by Jorge Julio (23). The bullpen has only a few names set in cement (Roberts, Buddy Groom, B.J. Ryan), so it's likely some of the youngsters have a good chance to win a spot there. It wasn't that long ago that the Orioles relief corps was a closed fraternity, composed of stalwarts like Randy Myers, Arthur Rhodes, Jesse Orosco, Armando Benitez and (a healthy) Alan Mills. Now it's open auditions.

It's possible that a youngster like Lunar (24) could get considerable playing time behind the plate. Fordyce struggled mightily in 2001, and if he doesn't right himself this spring, Lunar could step in and win the starting role. He performed well there last year before a shoulder injury curtailed his playing time late in the season. He hit .246 (37 points higher than Fordyce) and is better behind the plate than Fordyce.

Gil (26) also could be in the mix, but he is more likely to open the season at Rochester.

This will be the year that Hairston and Gibbons have the opportunity to show how good they can be. These two youngsters will be given the opportunity to play every day and improve on their 2001 performances. For Hairston 2001 was something of a disappointment; for Gibbons it was a breakthrough.

Hairston played in more games (159) than any other Oriole last season as the team's everyday second baseman. He'll be starting at second again this year, but the Orioles hope to get more out of him. He hit only .233 a year ago and often was too impatient at the plate, walking only 44 times while picking up 73 strikeouts. If he learns to curb his appetite to swing hard and aim for the fences, he could become the leadoff hitter the Orioles desperately need. He also needs to focus more on his fielding. He can make the spectacular play, but he too often booted the routine one. Roberts, who might be better suited for second than short, where he mostly played in 2001, could push Hairston if Hairston falters and Roberts shows that his sloppy fielding in his rookie year was an aberration.

Gibbons looms as the Orioles best left-handed power hitter since Palmeiro. He hit 15 homers in 2001, tying for the club lead, in just 225 at-bats. His season ended on August 4 when he broke his hand on a swing. The muscular Minnesota native only made the team last year because he was a Rule 5 draftee and would have been lost by the Orioles if they had attempted to send him to the minors. But he showed he belonged by displaying awesome power and a relatively disciplined swing for a man who can hit the ball as far as he does. He can hit home runs to all fields. The difficulty with Gibbons will be finding a position for him. First base, probably his best spot, is tied up by Segui (although Segui has a tendency to fall victim to injury, which could open up the position for Gibbons). The Orioles tried Gibbons in the outfield with not very satisfactory results. He was to work on his outfield skills in winter ball during the offseason, but his hand was slow to heal, so that experiment was scuttled. He is likely to serve as DH and occasionally fill in at first and in the outfield. But his fielding is secondary; the Orioles hope his bat, with a year of experience in the majors, will prove to be even more explosive in 2002.