The Yankees ended the Orioles' season on Friday night, and Baltimore fans are aware of just how unlikely their team's 2012 season was. Stacey at Camden Chat admits that no one could have predicted such a year for the O's:
"Nearly every year, I have felt hope and at least a bit of optimism when spring training began, but in 2012 I didn't feel that at all."
But Baltimore shocked the baseball world by winning 93 games and advancing to the playoffs for the first time since 1997. In 2011, the Orioles finished 69-93 -- 28 games outside first place in the AL East. But this season was to be different. As Stacey wrote:
"Time and time again this season the Orioles defied logic and expectation, and before we knew it we had a legitimately good baseball team on our hands. Did they play over their heads? Maybe. But that doesn't mean they weren't good, because they were. They were good and exciting and special."