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A Baltimore Sun sportswriter writes about Matt Wieters in the context of Oriole history and their current youth movement.

Looking at Wieters, O's fans have star in eyes

Heralded Wieters being counted on to lead revival of troubled organization

Peter Schmuck
May 29, 2009

Matt Wieters might or might not be the greatest Orioles prospect in history, but there is little doubt that he will arrive today at Camden Yards to greater fanfare than any young Orioles player who has come before him.

Want proof? That's easy enough.

The only O's prospect in the same category was pitcher Ben McDonald, who perhaps was a bigger deal when he was the first overall pick in the 1989 draft. He was valued by many as the top pitcher in the history of the amateur draft, and he didn't get anything close to the pre-promotion buildup that has accompanied Wieters to Baltimore for his debut against the Detroit Tigers. McDonald debuted late in the Orioles "Why Not?" season and made - drum roll please - six relief appearances.

Orioles fans were eager to see him, but they weren't refusing to buy tickets until the Orioles brought him up.

It was a different time. The Orioles were a different organization. Baltimore was a different place.

McDonald joined a team in the middle of the Orioles' unlikely 1989 division title challenge, so he didn't have "Savior" printed across the back of his jersey. Wieters joins a team that has not had a winning season since 1997 and has seen attendance fall by nearly half since then.

Fair or not, he will take the field for the first time as a major league player bearing the hopes of a disenchanted fan base that is having trouble deciding whether to jump on the Orioles' rebuilding bandwagon or give up completely on a once-proud team that has been in decline for more than a decade.

That's a lot to put on a 23-year-old kid, but he really is that important. Just ask one of the greatest Orioles of them all.

"I'll be peeking in on Matt," said Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., "whether I'm there [at the park] or watching on TV. I'm an excited fan as well."

Truly, this is a watershed moment in Orioles history. The club is in the midst of a great transition, and Wieters - though not the first to arrive - has become the symbol of this new generation of Orioles talent.

Maybe that designation should have gone to center fielder Adam Jones, who is already here and appears to be headed for superstardom, but Wieters was the cornerstone of the club's long-term future before the big trade that brought Jones to town. The Orioles also have two other established team leaders in Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts, but they were here before this current rebuilding program was put in place.

The organization has turned in a new direction, so the newest faces have taken on added importance. Just look at the reaction after rookie left fielder Nolan Reimold completed Wednesday's dramatic comeback with a three-run homer in the 11th inning. Look at the excitement that already has been generated by the arrival of young pitchers Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken and David Hernandez, even though - quite frankly - they aren't considered the cream of the minor league pitching crop.

Orioles fans have been clamoring for this changeover, and Wieters is the guy who makes it official. There are other highly regarded prospects to come, but he's the guy who already has changed the subject in Baltimore.

It's hard to compare debuts. McDonald and - to a lesser degree - top 1990s prospects Mike Mussina and Jeffrey Hammonds, captured the imagination of the fans based on their draft status. The importance of the entrances made by Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer and Ripken is much easier to see in the rear-view mirror. Only McDonald, of all of them, came close to being represented at the outset as the personification of an organizational renaissance, and it's important to remember that the Orioles were only six years removed from their 1983 world championship at the time.

Wieters might be better prepared to accept that role, if only because he's a position player who was given the chance to have great success at the minor league level before Andy MacPhail surprised everyone Tuesday night with the announcement that he would be coming up a week or two ahead of schedule. He also fits perfectly into the rebuilding blueprint - the top minor league prospect in baseball (according to Baseball America) moving into the starting lineup at one of the most important positions.

The fans have every right to go ga-ga over him. That was obvious when he was dominating the pitching at the Single-A and Double-A levels last year, and when he was playing with the big boys in spring training. He struggled with a hamstring injury in April, but was on a roll at Triple-A when MacPhail announced his pending promotion.

"The last step [from Triple-A] is still a considerable jump," Ripken cautioned. "He was tearing it up, and they moved him through pretty quickly but still slow enough to make sure that he got his feet wet at all levels. Hopefully, that will pay dividends. It all depends on the psyche of the player when he comes up. I was a little tentative and unsure. Fortunately, Earl [Weaver] stuck with me through that tough first year."

The timing might be just right. The Orioles have been playing better of late,and the schools are getting ready to let out. There's also going to be a fireworks show after the game, so it should be a festive night.

One last thing: It's OK to believe the hype, but give the kid a chance to breathe.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.schmuck29may29,0,4798195.column