| 29 April 2011
Here's a litte of my latest piece for MASNSports.com
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Over the past few months, fans and sports pundits have wondered whether or not Matt Wieters
is a bust - despite the Orioles catcher only having played in the major leagues for less than two full seasons.
I remember the Friday night of his major league debut like it was yesterday. It was a warm one in June 2009 and 42,000 fans jammed Oriole Park at Camden Yards to get a glimpse of a man who could potentially become the next Baltimore legend.
We all cheered wildly for the young man. The feeling that night was a like a playoff game and it felt like a page in a not-so-lovely decade was about to be turned and bring us all a new, brighter chapter.
Many expected Wieters to join the pantheon of Charm City legends such as Johnny Unitas, Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson or any other athlete who has so touched a community. I thought the comparisons of Wieters being a young Joe Mauer - just with power - was a tad ridiculous, considering he had not even played a major league game yet.
It's obvious that prospects - no matter where they were drafted - sometimes don't pan out.
We all know Wieters was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, praised by umpteen publications and christened the next big thing by many. He's a tall, photogenic, young man whose swing and ability behind the dish could potentially play a huge role in lifting the Orioles from second-division, also-ran status.
I'm sure fans wanted someone - or something - to believe in year after year of seeing a franchise struggle. Wieters was honestly that vehicle and while he has become a very serviceable catcher, the visions of him becoming a Baltimore legend are right now on hold.
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