2016 Great Lakes Orioles Cop ‘Four-Peat’ in 35+ Slusser Division of Detroit MSBL

Detroit MSBL 35+ Slusser Division

Great Lakes Orioles 7, Dodgers 2

‘Orioles Post ‘Four-Peat’ in Motor City’

For the fourth straight year the Great Lakes Orioles were winners of the very competitive 35+ Slusser Division of the Detroit MSBL. The O’s finished with a 23-1 regular season record, with the only loss, a 5-4 nail biter against the second place Dodgers early in the season. The Orioles playoff record was 3-1 for an overall 2016 League record of 26-2.

In the first round of the playoffs, the O’s faced the always tough River Dogs and came away with a 17-2 win. Orioles ace Mike Favoretto was the fortunate recipient of an explosive Orioles offense. That win put the Orioles into the best of three championship series against the Dodgers who beat the Cardinals 7-2 to advance. The Dodgers surprised the O’s by taking the first game of the playoff doubleheader 7-1. The O’s bounced back in the second game behind the outstanding pitching of Chris Yates winning 10-1. The championship was played five days later and was a planned nine inning game with no time limit. Sean Moran started for the Orioles and did an outstanding job pitching the first six innings. Chris Yates came in relief in the seventh inning and finished off the 7-2 Orioles Championship win and the coveted Four-Peat. In the playoffs the Orioles outscored their opponents 35-12.

Leading the Orioles offense in 2016 was Dytarious “Digz” Edwards with a sizzling .583 BA an OPS of 1.466 and an OBP of .605. The big run producer for the fourth straight year was Jason Copeland who had 44 RBI’s while batting an outstanding .519 and also had a team leading two home runs and nine doubles. He also led the Orioles in hits with 41. The Orioles had six players who hit .500 or higher with a minimum of 36 AB. As a team the O’s batted a remarkable .429 and scored 253 runs, had an OPS of 1.030 and an OBP of .517.

The Orioles pitching staff also proved formidable. They were led by veteran ace Mike Favoretto who finished with a 9-1 record, a 1.81 ERA, WHIP of .96 and OBP of .181. He also led the team in innings pitched with 90. He was followed by Chris Yates’ 7-0 record, 1.06 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and OBP of .219 and Sean Moran who finished the season with a 6-0 record, .79 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and OBP of .186. Overall the Orioles Pitching staff finished 26-2, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and OBP of .201.

However, the brightest highlight for the 2016 Orioles was the induction of O’s catcher Dino Martinbianco into the Detroit MSBL Hall of Fame. Congratulations Dino on a well-deserved honor!