A Birdland Salute to Anthony Santander

In a past era of the Orioles, when a player who had contributed to multiple fun teams departed in trade or as a free agent, I offered a Birdland Salute. This custom was initially extended to 2012 and 2014 O’s. Veterans of the 2022-2024 Orioles will also receive it.

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In the beginning, Anthony Santander was teammates with Adam Jones and Manny Machado. He later overlapped with such undistinguished tanking-era Orioles as Rio Ruiz and Pat Valaika. By the end, he was the veteran as a new generation of great Orioles, starting with Adley Rutschman, arrived on the scene. His eight years as an Oriole went through three distinct arcs. It was a real journey.

Hardly anyone could have guessed that…