The Orioles hit a lot of home runs, but the more they hit, the less it looks like this is a team simply bucking convention with brute force.
It's hard for many of the players contributing to that trend to pinpoint why, exactly, they've been so prodigious. It could be that they don't feel that special doing it.
Nearing the All-Star break, this year's edition of the Orioles is on pace to challenge the single-season home run record, pacing a league-wide burst of offense that could put it near a record pace, too.
"It's pretty awesome," center fielder Adam Jones said.
Three homers Friday night _ by Jones, second baseman Jonathan Schoop and right fielder Mark Trumbo _ gave the Orioles 134 on the season through 85 games, a 162-game pace of 255. The Seattle Mariners set the single-season record in 1997 with 264, and had 138 at the 85-game mark, putting the Orioles near that pace. But the rest of the league is on a high home run rate itself.
Through Friday, teams were hitting 1.16 home runs per game _ a total of 3,021 for a full-season pace of 5,643. Considering teams have played a different number of games, total home runs per game is the best comparable metric for past seasons. Only in 2000, when teams hit 1.17 home runs per game and 5,693 on the season, were home runs hit at a higher rate.
So the Orioles, though their total leads the league, aren't doing anything too crazy. Everyone hits a lot of home runs, it seems.
What's crazy is that they were explicitly built to do this and are following through _ the combination of a young generation of players developed toward home run power, a series of shrewd acquisitions of flawed sluggers and a total disregard for the negative consequences of swinging for the fences.
"I don't know how to explain it," said outfielder Mark Trumbo, whose 27 home runs entering Saturday led the majors. "I think there is probably more of a shift with teams. You see less sacrifices, things of that nature. Guys are probably given the opportunity to swing the bat more than ever. From what I'm reading, you don't want to give anybody an easy out. If guys get an opportunity to swing more, some of these power numbers are going to be up."
"Small ball is definitely not what it used to be," Jones said. "Usually, each team will probably have two or three really good bunters. These days, ain't nobody bunting. Strikeouts are up, ERAs are down. There's just always fluctuations, somehow."
Aaron Boone, an ESPN analyst who on Monday will be on the call as Trumbo showcases his power in the Home Run Derby, also thinks it's part of a shift in the game.
"We've seen a generation of players now kind of being bred or coached to hit for power," Boone said. "Get on base _ patience and power, and not really having a fear of the strikeout."
For the Orioles, their young power comes in the form of third baseman Manny Machado and Schoop. Both 24, they've come of age in an era when power is at a premium. Boone said Machado's power was evident when he hit 51 doubles in his first full season.
"You knew that as he got a little bit older and continued to get stronger that eventually it was going to turn into home run power," Boone said.
Machado entered Saturday with 19 home runs this year, and Schoop had 14. The latter's production is another reason the Orioles' home run pace is so prolific.
Second base is no longer the slap-hitter's domain that it once was, nor is the bottom third of the lineup, where Schoop has hit for most of the season. His 14 home runs had him go into Saturday tied for sixth at his position.
"Now, the seventh, eighth, ninth hitter in the lineup can take you deep, can hurt you, has a lot of power _ more so than back in the day, where you had three or four guys in the lineup that simply weren't a power threat," Boone said.
The same goes for the leadoff spot, where Machado was slotted earlier in the season, and where Jones hit 12 of his first 17 home runs this year.
The Orioles' most substantial power, however, comes from a pair of hitters whose power was never in doubt: Trumbo and first baseman Chris Davis. The varying opinions of the value of that power, and the rest of the overall package of each player, made them available on the cheap.
The Orioles acquired Trumbo for third-string catcher Steve Clevenger in December, in part because of his high arbitration salary projection but also because the Seattle Mariners couldn't overlook his strikeouts and defensive deficiencies.
Davis was part of a 2011 trade for closer Koji Uehara. At that point, Davis was an up-and-down power guy who couldn't put it all together in the majors. He has led the majors in home runs twice in the past three years, and entered Saturday with 21 this year.
Even designated hitter Pedro Alvarez, who has nine home runs in limited playing time, was a bargain signing who was available in mid-March.
"First, you've got to give them credit for making quality evaluations," Boone said. "To be able to get these guys essentially on the cheap, I think, speaks to their evaluation process and having if you want to call it a knack for being able to identify guys who are good fits in their lineup, are good fits in their ballpark, but then helping them to flourish as well and become more than just the potential, but unlocking that potential. ... Essentially, you're taking flyers on guys who haven't done it on a consistent level yet, and they've hit on it."
At least this season, all of that adds up to a chance at history by season's end, and a spot atop the American League East as the All-Star break nears.
"We knew that coming in," Trumbo said, "if everyone plays to their potential, you're not necessarily penciling guys in for career years, but if everybody does what they've always done, the numbers should add up and be on our side, at least in the power department.
"I think everyone's just trying to do their part. I think the bigger picture is we're in a great division, and I think most guys have had enough experience that they're far more concerned about winning these games. And if we are able to win it by hitting a few home runs, it's all the more better."
