Joe Orsulak, Tom Davis join Adam Jones in Orioles’ Hall of Fame; Garcia returns

BALTIMORE—In addition to Adam Jones entering the Orioles’ Hall of Fame before Saturday night’s game against the A’s, there are two other inductees, outfielder Joe Orsulak, who was a veterans’ committee choice, and longtime broadcaster Tom Davis, the winner of the Herb Armstrong Award for personnel not in uniform.

Orsulak played only five of his 14 major league seasons with the Orioles, and hit .281, but what stood out was the 22 outfield assists he had in 1991, which not only led the major leagues but hasn’t been surpassed since.

“It’s almost like hitting a home run for me,” Orsulak said at a media briefing on Friday. “Throwing people out was like hitting a home run for me … It’s a team record as much as an individual record.”

Orsulak was on the team that began the 1988 season 0-21 and played on the one that made a surprise run at the American League East championship the next season. He also played in the first game at Camden Yards in 1992.

He’s now in the Orioles’ Hall of Fame with teammates Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray.

“You’re in the same Hall of Fame with them,” he said a friend told him. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the top dog or the bottom dog. You’re still in the Oriole Hall of Fame, and that’s an honor for me.”

Orsulak still lives in Sparks in northern Baltimore County.

“I came to Maryland, and it was different. People were friendly,” Orsulak said. “It was just a fun, friendly place to live … I’ve made a lot of great friends that I’ve known for 40 years. That’s unusual. I felt no reason to go anyplace else.”

Davis has been a fixture on local radio and television for five decades and was a longtime broadcaster for the team and was especially known for skillfully hosting pregame and postgame shows.

“It’s all I ever wanted to do,” Davis said on Friday. As a young man, he was introduced to esteemed broadcasters such as Ernie Harwell and Chuck Thompson, and he learned from them.

“The people that treated me so wonderfully, I owe it to them. It was like going to college for free.”

Davis still hosts programs on MASN because he still enjoys doing them.

“It’s been wonderful. I’ve never worked a day in my life,” he said. “To be honored like this is a total shock. I never expected or thought about it.”

Garcia’s back: Rico Garcia pitched six games for the Orioles in 2022, and he’s back after being claimed off waivers from the New York Mets on Tuesday.

“There’s definitely been a lot of moving around the past few years,” Garcia said. “It’s part of the business getting used to the lifestyle of a reliever.”

The 31-year-old right-hander has been claimed off waivers three times since July 14^th. He’s pitched in eight games for the Mets and once for the Yankees.

“I’m the new guy here again,” Garcia said. “Even though it’s three years ago. I’m still trying to build a relationship with them, whether I played with them or not.”

Interim manager Tony Mansolino thinks Garcia, who was warming up in the eighth and ninth innings on Friday night, will pitch in high-leverage spots.

“I think everybody is,” Mansolino said. “I think they’re all going to get opportunities.”

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