Do not despair, O’s fans, there is still hope

I am writing to express hope for despair, assurance for grief and comfort for loss.

The Orioles are in bad shape (“Orioles reset: Even in dismal season, major league team still provides bright spots,” Oct. 4). This is disturbing for me, a native of Northern California who just turned 70 years old because, for much of my life as a baseball fan, the Orioles have been a model organization.

For years, I watched Jim Gentile, Brooks and Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Paul Blair, Boog Powell, Eddie Murray, Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Rich Dauer, John Lowenstein, Cal Ripken Jr., Andy Etchebarren and Elrod Hendricks. Hank Bauer’s Orioles swept the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series — as delicious a treat as fall persimmon pudding. Few teams can match the Oriole legacy.

Alas, there’s not so much to celebrate these days. The team’s 110 losses are still 110 losses. But as I write these words, another team I adore, the San Francisco Giants, has just won 107 games, the most since the team was established in 1883. No one saw this coming. No roster with this many holes wins 107. It cannot and should not have happened, except it did. Sure, the team has some recent success, with three World Series titles, in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and retains some canny vets in Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt. But after 2014, they fell flat on their faces. Flat, flat, flat.

There was despair, grief and loss. And then, the front office decided to hire some smart people to run the baseball side, and they got out of the way.

The Orioles can do the same. And when they do, you will see eternal spring return to the most beautiful setting in Major League Baseball. And there will be hope, assurance and comfort to go around. There will be joy in Baltimore.

Go, orange and black.