Orioles fans should be proud of unlikely success.

AP Photo

By A.J. Gersh '15

Well, it's the end of the baseball season for us Baltimorons.

Sadly, as the Royals completed a miracle ALCS sweep, the Orioles will be watching the Fall Classic from their couches.

Yes, the team could have and should have performed better offensively in the ALCS, but I am not complaining. Our starting pitching staff held up their end of the deal, keeping the Birds in some games that definitely did not deserve to be competitive. The relief pitching (for the most part) did a fair job getting batters out in key situations. Sadly for the Orioles, the American League's most powerful offense seemed to cool down at the wrong time.

However, this postseason loss does not give fans a reason to shrug and frown. The Orioles were going up against the hottest team in baseball (Kansas City) who seemed to match up perfectly with all of their flaws (an advanced base-running team with pitchers that rarely gave up the long ball). In that situation, there is simply nothing that could have been done. I, certainly, am not mad.

This team faced adversity throughout the entire season, starting and ending the year without Platinum-Glove winning third baseman Manny Machado, while losing All-Stars Matt Wieters and Chris Davis along the way, as well. With the loss of three of their most valuable players, did this team choke and fall to last place (much like half of the baseball "experts" predicted pre-season)?

No.

The "next-man-up" mentality of this team helped Buck Showalter's squad thrive during the midseason and pennant race, eventually leading to the team's first AL EAST DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP since 1997. 

Guys like Steve Peace, Ryan Flaherty and Caleb Joseph stepped into unlikely starting positions and exceeded expectations, defensively and offensively.

After signing a $50 million dollar deal in the offseason, Ubaldo Jimenez was almost immediately considered a bust. However, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez, and Kevin Gausman "turned on the heat" during the late-season stretch and pitched the Orioles to the best record in the AL in the second half.

It did not matter who was in the starting lineup or which players were performing well. Manager Buck Showalter, throughout the entirety of the season, continually stressed that, "[He likes] our guys."

Even though the incredible season did not culminate in a World Series victory, this team managed to carry a starting lineup of journey-men, rookies, and so-called "washed-up" players to an AL East title and to the AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES.

That, my friends, is quite the accomplishment and is DEFINITELY something to be proud of.

Tip your caps, Orioles fans, to an incredible season... and hopefully another in 2015.