How the Baltimore Orioles went from raw talent to really good
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Tim Kurkjian, ESPN Senior Writer
BALTIMORE — A WEEK into the 2023 season, the New York Yankees came to Baltimore. It was far too early to tell in which direction the Orioles might go, whether they would build on their 83-79 season in 2022, their first year with a winning record since 2016. Ahead of the series, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was typically reposed, never agitated, never flustered. He flashed his signature smile to an approaching writer.
“Team is good,” the writer said.
“Team is talented,” Hyde said.
There is a difference, especially in baseball, between talented and good. Just ask the 2023 San Diego Padres, who have tremendous talent yet remain under .500. The Orioles have great young talent, and over the past four months, a relatively short time, they have gone from talented to really good. They have the best record in the American League, only two years removed from finishing 39 games out of fourth place in the AL East. From 2018 through 2021, the Orioles had the worst winning percentage (.326) of any team over a four-year period since the 1962-65 Mets (.300). Now, the Orioles have a chance to join the 1969 Mets as the only teams in baseball history to go from 100 losses to 100 wins in a three-year span.
“It has been an awesome season, but we haven’t won anything yet,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. “The process is still on the way up, but the rebuild is over. There is a sense of relief that it worked. It has rejuvenated baseball in this city. That is so cool to see.”
This, after all, is a franchise that, from 1966 to 1983, was the model in baseball. The Orioles posted a .588 winning percentage (the best in baseball) and won world championships in 1966, 1970 and 1983. They were so good for so long that, in 1969, Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver growled to no one on the team bus after losing a game late in the season, “Damn, it’s hard to stay 50 games over .500!”
Highs and lows, mostly lows, followed the 1983 championship season, which was celebrated last weekend at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The 1988 Orioles lost their first 21 games, demolishing the major league record for most consecutive losses to start a season. After American League Championship Series appearances in 1996 and 1997, more struggles ensued before the team made the playoffs three times from 2012 to ’16. But in 2018, the Orioles finished 61 games behind the Red Sox in the AL East, the furthest from first place that any team has finished since the 1942 Phillies finished 62½ out.
After that season, Elias, 40, one of the architects of the championship rebuild of the Houston Astros (in town this week in a possible AL playoff preview), was named the general manager. From Houston, he brought Sig Mejdal, a statistical wizard for multiple teams, a former NASA engineer, a former blackjack dealer, and made him his assistant general manager. Elias and Mejdal promised, like in Houston, a similarly slow, methodical rebuild. Elias was questioned many times along the way by impatient fans. More severe critics claimed the Orioles were tanking in order to build a better farm system.
And then the 2022 season happened.
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM terrible to talented to good began quietly, on April 24 of that year. The Orioles were 6-10, with no sign of escaping last place, or even getting better, anytime soon. They had clawed back from a 6-0 deficit against the Los Angeles Angels only to lose 7-6 on a run scored after two walks and a hit batter in the next inning. Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander was hit by a pitch for a second straight game, and, Hyde said, “we decided right then that we’re not going to take it anymore. We’re coming.”
It took another month before the transformation began publicly, when catcher Adley Rutschman, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Oregon State, made his major league debut on May 21. Since that day, the Orioles have the fourth-best record in baseball; they have not been swept in a series. That is not a coincidence. Rutschman has been that good. He is a switch-hitter with power and born leader whose defense is so advanced that some talent evaluators insist that he was ready to catch in the major leagues when he was a freshman in college.
“I can’t believe how short a time it took for him to take control of the staff,” said former Orioles pitcher Jordan Lyles. “Within a week, whatever finger he put down, that’s what I threw.”
It wasn’t that any of this came as a surprise, exactly. Rutschman won the 2019 Golden Spikes Award for the best college baseball player in the country. He has caught since Little League, even though he didn’t become a full-time catcher until his senior year in high school. Until then, he also played third base, second base and was the team’s closer.
“I was just trying to be as athletic as possible,” he said.
He also was a terrific high school football player in Oregon, a star running back, linebacker and place-kicker. He went to Oregon State on a baseball scholarship but also was the kicker on the football team. His longest field goal was 63 yards. Famously, in a game against Stanford, he tackled star running back Christian McCaffrey on a kickoff return.
Does McCaffrey know he was tackled that day by the Orioles catcher?
“I’m sure he has no idea who I am,” Rutschman said humbly. Has Rutschman ever met McCaffrey?
“No, the only time was that day,” Rutschman said humbly, with a smile.
Rutschman smiles a lot these days. His team is winning, Orioles fans are jazzed about the present and the future, and Rutschman made the All-Star team for the first time this year. At the All-Star Game, he competed in the Home Run Derby. With his father as his BP pitcher, Rutschman hit 27 homers in the first round. Though he lost to Derby winner Vlad Guerrero, he had one of the event’s signature moments when, in the middle of the round, he switched to right-handed and hit six straight homers.
“My dad has thrown BP to me my whole life,” Rutschman said. “Sometimes, we’d finish a round saying, ‘OK, these last five are for the Home Run Derby.’ Life is full for all of us right now.”
With just over a year in the major leagues, some have called Rutschman the best catcher in the game and a future Hall of Famer. His marvelous smile disappears when that is mentioned.
“I tune all that out,” he said. “I just want to play and win with these guys. We just show up to the field with a common purpose. It has been awesome for me to be part of their journey.”
ANOTHER ORIOLE WHOSE talent has never been in question is infielder Gunnar Henderson, 22, a second-round pick in the 2021 draft. After he was called up on Aug. 31, 2022, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: “He’s going to be a problem.”
Even considering a slow start at the plate this season, he already has been. Because, in part, like Rutschman, Henderson is a great athlete: 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. Fast. Powerful. He was also a great basketball player in high school in Selma, Alabama.
“If I had concentrated as much on basketball as much as I did on baseball as a kid,” Henderson said, shyly, “I probably could have played basketball in college. Maybe the NBA.”
That athleticism allows him to play multiple infield positions although now he is their primary shortstop, with an exceptional throwing arm. He has run the bases with daring aggression: When the Orioles seized first place in the AL East in a stirring series against the Rays after the All-Star break, Henderson doubled to left field, and when Tampa Bay left fielder Randy Arozarena lazily returned the ball to the infield, Henderson took a vacated third base for a triple. It was a signature moment for Henderson and a play that personified this young, hungry team: A great athlete created an advantage by pushing the action. Orioles bench coach Fredi Gonzalez has a nickname for Henderson: Clifford the Big Red Dog, because “all you have to do is throw a ball in the air, and he’ll run after it. That’s Clifford.”
A line of .189/.348/.311 in March and April has climbed to .243/.331/.477 on the year, including an impressive .994 OPS in June.
“We told him not to be afraid to swing earlier in the count,” Hyde said. “He has taken off.” Since the start of June, Henderson has hit 14 home runs and driven in 37 runs, making him a leading candidate for AL Rookie of the Year. He has also become a hero in his hometown.
“It’s been awesome how great it has been, everyone in our small town knows each other,” Henderson said. “It’s not that small, there are 20,000 people there. But from our high school, I know everyone’s parents and grandparents.”
They all know Gunnar, such a unique name.
“I get asked enough about my name, I finally asked my parents why they named me that,” Henderson said. “They were in the [birthing] room. They just decided on Gunnar. That’s it.”
THE TRANSFORMATION FROM talented to good also included the development of closer Felix Bautista, 28, who was claimed off waivers by the Orioles from the Marlins at age 19 and spent the first five years of his career in rookie ball trying to figure out how to throw strikes.
“I wouldn’t have known his name [in 2020] if you said it, but he kept throwing 100 [mph],” Elias said.
In April 2022, Bautista made his major league debut as a middle reliever. He was already throwing 100, but then he began to throw more strikes, and he became the closer when Jorge Lopez was traded to the Twins in late July. Then, Elias was criticized for trading his closer in the middle of a pennant race. But this year, Bautista made the All-Star team, has a league-leading 30 saves, an 0.85 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings (he blew a rare save against the Astros on Tuesday when Kyle Tucker hit a grand slam off Bautista’s 100 mph fastball). At 6-8, 285, he is as big as a doorway, and he has become one of the dominant, intimidating pitchers in baseball.
“And,” Elias said, “he is as emotionally stable as any closer I’ve ever seen.”
The pitcher whom Elias acquired in the Lopez trade with the Twins was Yennier Cano, 28, who posted an 11.25 ERA in 18 innings in 2022, his first year in the major leagues. He had great stuff but also couldn’t throw enough strikes. So, in spring training, the Orioles told Cano to stay with one arm slot, stop varying it, and suddenly, the strikes arrived. He didn’t allow a run in his first 17 appearances, made the All-Star team and now has a 1.86 ERA.
In 2021, the Orioles’ bullpen ERA was 5.70, the highest in baseball. In 2023, it is 3.60, fifth lowest in baseball.
And everyone in Baltimore is so relieved.
PLENTY OF OTHER talents have emerged during the Orioles’ transformation. Kyle Bradish, Cionel Perez, Mike Baumann and Bryan Baker have blossomed since 2021. Dean Kremer‘s ERA dropped from 7.55 in 2021 to 3.23. Dillon Tate (who has missed all of this season) posted a 3.05 ERA.
“In spring training,” Hyde said, “I had no idea what our pitching staff was going to look like. And then about eight pitchers stepped forward during the season.”
Position players bloomed alongside holdover outfielders Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, Austin Hays and Santander, a Rule V acquisition in 2016. Ramon Urias, claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in 2021, won a Gold Glove at third base in 2022. Shortstop Jorge Mateo, who led the AL with 35 stolen bases in 2022, was claimed off waivers from the Padres in 2021. In January 2023, the Orioles grabbed first baseman Ryan O’Hearn from the Royals. His OPS has jumped from .611 to .860.
This year, more kids from the game’s best farm system have debuted, starting with Grayson Rodriguez, one of the top young pitching prospects in baseball and the future ace of the Orioles’ staff. Infielder Jordan Westburg followed, a player Hyde describes as “just another 6-2, 220-pounder who can run.” Then came outfielder Colton Cowser.
And more are on the way. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad could be a star in the major leagues someday. And the best of the group, if not the best player in the minor leagues, is shortstop Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft. He was recently promoted to Double-A, where he is tearing it up. It’s possible that he will start next season with the Orioles. He will be the Orioles’ shortstop of the future — unless it’s Henderson. The other will be the third baseman of the future. Imagine the next five years in Baltimore, Holliday and Henderson playing next to each other on the left side of the infield, two of the best young players in baseball.
For this pennant race, under intense pressure to make a trade for a veteran starting pitcher at the deadline, Elias dealt for Jack Flaherty, 27, the former ace of the Cardinals. In his Orioles debut Aug. 3 against Toronto, Flaherty pitched six solid innings and became the first Oriole to strike out eight and walk one in his major league debut since Tom Phoebus in 1966.
“I just got here, it was fun, but I’m glad it’s over,” Flaherty said the next day. “I barely had time to introduce myself to everyone, then I was out there. It was like …’Hi … and bye.”‘
So now the Orioles have the best record in the AL and have perhaps the league’s most exciting team, with a great set of baseball names: Gunnar, Grayson, Adley, King Felix, the lyrical Anthony Santander and the regal Ryan Mountcastle. This is a team set up to win for years to come.
“We now have flexibility on the roster, every player we have can play three positions, we have great balance between left-handed and right-handed hitters,” Elias said. “And we haven’t had a moment of drama in the clubhouse. I’ll say that I object to people saying that we were tanking it. When we got to Houston and rebuilt it, and then to Baltimore, when we got to each place, things were bad. We had to tear it down to make it as good as possible.”
The Orioles, now, are very good. From talented to very good.
The 2025-26 NHL season turned one month old on Friday.
It’s way too early to draw firm conclusions, right?
Forget it. For this edition of the Power Rankings, we’ll be taking a look at the preseason over/under point totals compared to each team’s current points pace. Which teams are the furthest off their projections — in each direction?
How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors sends in a 1-32 poll based on the games through Wednesday, which generates our list.
Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the previous edition, published Oct. 31. Points percentages are through Thursday’s games.
Previous ranking: 1
Points percentage: 75%
Preseason O/U: 103.5
Current points pace: 123
One of seven teams with a triple-digit over/under in the preseason, the Avs are currently well ahead of that projection, with just one loss in regulation through 14 games.
Next seven days: @ EDM (Nov. 8), @ VAN (Nov. 9), vs. ANA (Nov. 11), vs. BUF (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 5
Points percentage: 71.4%
Preseason O/U: 90.5
Current points pace: 117.1
A surprise entrant in the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Habs weren’t expected to be nearly this dominant in 2025-26. And yet, here we are.
Next seven days: vs. UTA (Nov. 8), vs. LA (Nov. 11), vs. DAL (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 6
Points percentage: 69.2%
Preseason O/U: 97.5
Current points pace: 113.5
The sportsbooks expected the Jets to be well off their Presidents’ Trophy-winning pace of 116 from last season, but so far they are pushing the Avs atop the Central Division.
Next seven days: @ SJ (Nov. 7), @ ANA (Nov. 9), @ VAN (Nov. 11), @ SEA (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 2
Points percentage: 71.4%
Preseason O/U: 99.5
Current points pace: 117.1
A 2025 playoff team, the Devils were expected to be back in that situation again this coming spring — and so far, they’re ahead of last season’s pace.
Next seven days: vs. PIT (Nov. 8), vs. NYI (Nov. 10), @ CHI (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 3
Points percentage: 65.4%
Preseason O/U: 104.5
Current points pace: 107.2
One of the great Western powers continues to roll along, with Jack Eichel looking every bit the part of a leading Hart Trophy candidate.
Next seven days: vs. ANA (Nov. 8), vs. FLA (Nov. 10), vs. NYI (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 4
Points percentage: 64.3%
Preseason O/U: 92.5
Current points pace: 105.4
Is Salt Lake City ready to host playoff hockey? The Mammoth appear to be trending in that direction, with one of the NHL’s most impressive young cores.
Next seven days: @ MTL (Nov. 8), @ OTT (Nov. 9), vs. BUF (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 9
Points percentage: 69.2%
Preseason O/U: 105.5
Current points pace: 113.5
Finishing a season in triple digits in standings points is nothing new for the Canes, and they are on track to pull off the feat again by the end of this season.
Next seven days: vs. BUF (Nov. 8), @ TOR (Nov. 9), vs. WSH (Nov. 11)
Previous ranking: 20
Points percentage: 73.1%
Preseason O/U: 83.5
Current points pace: 119.8
An article from the season’s first week pondered whether the Ducks had built the next great Western power. Through the season’s first month, the answer is a resounding “yes!”
Next seven days: @ VGK (Nov. 8), vs. WPG (Nov. 9), @ COL (Nov. 11), @ DET (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 8
Points percentage: 64.3%
Preseason O/U: 84.5
Current points pace: 105.4
Is the “Yzerplan” finally coming to fruition, returning the Red Wings to their rightful place in the postseason?
Next seven days: vs. NYR (Nov. 7), vs. CHI (Nov. 9), vs. ANA (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 7
Points percentage: 66.7%
Preseason O/U: 77.5
Current points pace: 109.3
Much of the Penguins-oriented chatter this preseason revolved around whether Sidney Crosby would be traded to a contender. Well, apparently he’s already on a contender.
Next seven days: @ NJ (Nov. 8), vs. LA (Nov. 9)
Previous ranking: 11
Points percentage: 60.7%
Preseason O/U: 103.5
Current points pace: 99.6
The prognosticators expected an elite performance out of the Stars, and they’re getting near a 100-point pace so far. The big question is for the spring: Can this team finally get over the conference finals hump?
Next seven days: @ NSH (Nov. 8), vs. SEA (Nov. 9), @ OTT (Nov. 11), @ MTL (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 15
Points percentage: 60.7%
Preseason O/U: 99.5
Current points pace: 99.6
Hey, sometimes the sportsbooks nail their projections! The question now is where that points pace gets the Leafs in the postseason mix.
Next seven days: vs. BOS (Nov. 8), vs. CAR (Nov. 9), @ BOS (Nov. 11), vs. LA (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 10
Points percentage: 53.6%
Preseason O/U: 96.5
Current points pace: 87.9
Much like the Jets, the Capitals were expected to take a step back — and as of now, they certainly have.
Next seven days: @ TB (Nov. 8), @ CAR (Nov. 11), @ FLA (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 12
Points percentage: 61.5%
Preseason O/U: 78.5
Current points pace: 100.9
Aside from one playoff appearance (2023), the Kraken had been treading water — a stark contrast to the fearsome sea beast that serves as their moniker. New coach Lane Lambert seems to have gotten them pointed back in the right direction.
Next seven days: @ STL (Nov. 8), @ DAL (Nov. 9), vs. CBJ (Nov. 11), vs. WPG (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 16
Points percentage: 60.7%
Preseason O/U: 83.5
Current points pace: 99.6
After a simmering build the past two seasons, have the Flyers arrived as legitimate playoff contenders in Year 1 of the Rick Tocchet era?
Next seven days: vs. OTT (Nov. 8), vs. EDM (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 18
Points percentage: 53.3%
Preseason O/U: 98.5
Current points pace: 87.5
The final season of legendary Kings center Anze Kopitar‘s career hasn’t gotten off to the start many expected.
Next seven days: @ PIT (Nov. 9), @ MTL (Nov. 11), @ TOR (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 21
Points percentage: 57.1%
Preseason O/U: 101.5
Current points pace: 93.7
Just one win in the first seven games put the Lightning in a pretty deep hole; a subsequent five-game winning streak helped them dig out. Which is the real version of this team?
Next seven days: vs. WSH (Nov. 8), vs. NYR (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 13
Points percentage: 53.3%
Preseason O/U: 103.5
Current points pace: 87.5
Throughout the summer and most of the preseason, many surmised that a lingering lack of a contract beyond 2025-26 for Connor McDavid would be a distraction hanging over the Oilers this season. McDavid inked his extension on the eve of the campaign, and yet the Oilers have sputtered out of the gates.
Next seven days: vs. COL (Nov. 8), vs. CBJ (Nov. 10), @ PHI (Nov. 12), @ CBJ (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 19
Points percentage: 53.9%
Preseason O/U: 84.5
Current points pace: 88.3
After the Blue Jackets were in the mix for a playoff spot up until the final weeks of the 2024-25 season, there was some belief that they’d get over the hump and back into the postseason this time around. They still might, but not at this pace.
Next seven days: @ VAN (Nov. 8), @ EDM (Nov. 10), @ SEA (Nov. 11), vs. EDM (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 29
Points percentage: 56.3%
Preseason O/U: 80.5
Current points pace: 92.3
The Bruins are in a period of transition, as they wait for 2025 lottery pick James Hagens to take over as their franchise center. So far, they’ve been a bit better than most expected.
Next seven days: @ TOR (Nov. 8), vs. TOR (Nov. 11), @ OTT (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 14
Points percentage: 53.6%
Preseason O/U: 67.5
Current points pace: 87.9
Speaking of better than expected … have the Blackhawks finally arrived as legitimate contenders? It’s probably too soon to go that far in describing Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar & Co., but the pieces are definitely in place for a serious run in the next few seasons.
Next seven days: @ CGY (Nov. 7), @ DET (Nov. 9), vs. NJ (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 22
Points percentage: 53.6%
Preseason O/U: 95.5
Current points pace: 87.9
An injury to captain Brady Tkachuk appeared to take the wind out of the Senators’ sails a bit. His return — likely sometime after American Thanksgiving — can’t come soon enough.
Next seven days: @ PHI (Nov. 8), vs. UTA (Nov. 9), vs. DAL (Nov. 11), vs. BOS (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 27
Points percentage: 53.9%
Preseason O/U: 84.5
Current points pace: 88.3
Thanks to what is becoming a historic rookie season for 2025 first pick Matthew Schaefer, the Isles are creeping into the must-watch category.
Next seven days: vs. MIN (Nov. 7), @ NYR (Nov. 8), @ NJ (Nov. 10), @ VGK (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 17
Points percentage: 53.6%
Preseason O/U: 106.5
Current points pace: 87.9
With Aleksander Barkov out for the regular season and Matthew Tkachuk out until sometime in December, it’s not surprising that the back-to-back champs have taken a (hopefully temporary) step backward.
Next seven days: @ SJ (Nov. 8), @ VGK (Nov. 10), vs. WSH (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 24
Points percentage: 50%
Preseason O/U: 83.5
Current points pace: 82
At some point, one presumes, the Sabres will end the longest playoff drought in North American professional sports. But one presumes this will not be the year it happens.
Next seven days: @ CAR (Nov. 8), @ UTA (Nov. 12), @ COL (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 23
Points percentage: 50%
Preseason O/U: 95.5
Current points pace: 82
The Rangers have continually tinkered with their personnel over the past 12 months — including trading away Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider and K’Andre Miller; acquiring J.T. Miller; and hiring Mike Sullivan as head coach. The new concoction hasn’t yielded better results yet.
Next seven days: @ DET (Nov. 7), vs. NYI (Nov. 8), vs. NSH (Nov. 10), @ TB (Nov. 12)
Previous ranking: 25
Points percentage: 46.7%
Preseason O/U: 90.5
Current points pace: 76.5
The Canucks missed the playoffs by six points in 2024-25 — and are way off that pace so far in 2025-26.
Next seven days: vs. CBJ (Nov. 8), vs. COL (Nov. 9), vs. WPG (Nov. 11)
Previous ranking: 26
Points percentage: 43.8%
Preseason O/U: 86.5
Current points pace: 71.8
The big winners of 2024 free agency were one of the NHL’s biggest flops last season, finishing with 68 points. They’re currently a bit ahead of that pace but certainly not threatening for a playoff spot one month in.
Next seven days: vs. DAL (Nov. 8), @ NYR (Nov. 10)
Previous ranking: 30
Points percentage: 43.3%
Preseason O/U: 94.5
Current points pace: 71.1
The Wild are scoring 2.80 goals this season, which is 22nd in the NHL. The Wild are allowing 3.67 goals per game, which is 29th (or fourth worst). That combo has not led to great results, as you might have guessed.
Next seven days: @ NYI (Nov. 7), vs. CGY (Nov. 9), vs. SJ (Nov. 11)
Previous ranking: 31
Points percentage: 46.4%
Preseason O/U: 70.5
Current points pace: 76.1
Last season’s fun bad team, the Sharks are … maybe not that bad anymore? Potential Canadian Olympian Macklin Celebrini, age 19, has 21 points through 14 games, good for a share of the league scoring lead.
Next seven days: vs. WPG (Nov. 7), vs. FLA (Nov. 8), @ MIN (Nov. 11), @ CGY (Nov. 13)
Previous ranking: 28
Points percentage: 40%
Preseason O/U: 92.5
Current points pace: 65.6
Aside from Jordan Binnington‘s puck-stealing antics, there hasn’t been much to be excited about when it comes to the 2025-26 Blues. Then again, we’re old enough to remember what happened the last time this team got off to a really bad start.
Next seven days: vs. SEA (Nov. 8), vs. CGY (Nov. 11)
Previous ranking: 32
Points percentage: 33.3%
Preseason O/U: 83.5
Current points pace: 54.7
Perhaps the 2024-25 season — when the Flames missed the playoffs because of a standings tiebreaker — was an aberration. Could the Flames again prioritize the future like they did during the 2024 trade season?
Next seven days: vs. CHI (Nov. 7), @ MIN (Nov. 9), @ STL (Nov. 11), vs. SJ (Nov. 13)
When No. 8 Texas Tech takes the field this Saturday against No. 7 BYU (12 p.m. ET, ABC), the on-field action between the two top-10 Big 12 teams may seem familiar, but something will be missing from the game’s opening kickoff aesthetic: tortillas won’t be flying in Jones AT&T Stadium.
The signature sign a Red Raiders football game is taking place has been around since the late 1980s — home or away. It reached its peak during the 1990s and has since become cemented in college football lore.
While meant for Texas Tech fans, even some players have taken part in the tradition.
Most recently, during Colorado‘s 2024 matchup against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, former two-way Heisman Trophy winner and current Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter snagged a tortilla that landed a few inches in front of him on the field seconds before a Texas Tech snap and stuffed it in his pants.
Midgame snack? Perhaps.
But the tradition seems to be over after the Big 12 doubled down on a cancellation.
Here is everything you need to know about Texas Tech’s tortilla tradition.
When and why did the tortilla toss begin?
In the late 1980s, Texas Tech fans would throw the lids of their 44-ounce Cokes onto the field, according to the Lubbock Avalanche Journal. Concessions discontinued the sales of the large sodas, resulting in fans resorting to a cheaper and easily accessible item: tortillas.
One theory traces the tradition back to 1992, when Texas Tech faced then-No. 5 Texas A&M in College Station and an announcer said there was “nothing but Tech football and a tortilla factory in Lubbock,” leading up to the game, prompting fans to toss tortillas in response.
When did the tortilla toss get banned?
Texas Tech officially announced the change to its game-day fan policy on Oct. 20, stating that objects thrown in Jones AT&T Stadium — name-dropping tortillas specifically — would result in immediate ejection and the prevention of future ticket privileges for the remainder of the season for the fans who commit the act.
The school also directly asked fans not to participate in the tortilla toss “at any point in the game.”
Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt and head coach Joey McGuire also announced the halt of the game-day tradition in a news conference that same day.
Why did the tortilla toss get banned?
In August, Big 12 athletic directors voted to penalize teams 15 yards after two warnings for objects being thrown onto the field. It was a 15-1 vote –Texas Tech’s Hocutt being the only AD to vote against the matter.
Hocutt was determined to find a way to keep the tortilla toss tradition alive, writing on social media after the decision: “the rules can change. But our tradition will not.”
Texas Tech then matched up with Kansas on Oct. 11 in Lubbock, where the Red Raiders were assessed two penalties for fans throwing tortillas in a 42-17 win. Following the victory, McGuire embraced Kansas head coach Lance Leipold at midfield, where the two had a heated exchange over the tortillas.
Leipold called out the Big 12 about the issue, saying it was “poorly handled.”
With the Red Raiders off to one of the best starts in school history, Hocutt and McGuire ultimately changed course on the tradition.
“We know that as Red Raiders, no one tells us what to do. We make our own decisions. This situation is on me. I leaned into throwing tortillas at the beginning of the football season. Now I must ask everyone to stop,” Hocutt said.
How is the tortilla toss ban being enforced?
Texas Tech says that it has installed a number of new surveillance cameras to help with security in Jones AT&T Stadium. It will refer to the cameras to point out violators who throw tortillas — or any other item — which could result in immediate ejection and the loss of future ticket privileges for the remainder of the season.
As for the Red Raiders program, officials will assess a warning before a 15-yard penalty and $100,000 fine is issued.
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Max Olson
LUBBOCK, Texas — I have the deal of a lifetime for you. Give me a call, bro.
Minutes after David Bailey entered the transfer portal March 28, Texas Tech general manager James Blanchard sent him that text message. The pass rusher from Stanford didn’t respond. He wasn’t answering calls, either.
Blanchard reached out to Bailey’s agent, who informed him that the coveted transfer was leaning toward going to UCLA. But Blanchard wasn’t giving up that easily. That night, he tried appealing to Bailey with one more text.
David, give me 120 seconds to have a convo with you. If you’re not interested after that, I’ll leave you alone.
Bailey remembers he was hanging out at a friend’s house on a Friday night, back home after recently graduating from Stanford. He took the phone call out of curiosity. Bailey had been at the top of Blanchard’s list of edge rusher targets in December, and the GM was willing to pay whatever he wanted.
Texas Tech wasn’t just talking about going to $2 million. They were ultimately willing to make him the highest-paid defensive player in college football with a deal exceeding $3 million in compensation, sources familiar with the negotiation told ESPN. It’s possible no defender in college football has earned more in the NIL era.
“I took that call,” Bailey said, “and, yeah, everything changed for me.”
Within two days, Bailey was on Texas Tech’s campus for a visit. He still went on trips to Texas and UCLA, trying to gather as much information as he could ahead of a life-changing decision. But in the end, the Red Raiders made an offer he couldn’t refuse.
And just like that, Texas Tech has built what it believed to be the best defensive line in college football. Bailey and Romello Height (Georgia Tech) bringing nonstop pressure off the edge. Lee Hunter (UCF), Skyler Gill-Howard (Northern Illinois) and A.J. Holmes Jr. (Houston) wreaking havoc inside. Five hand-picked players out of the portal who could transform not just their front but their entire defense.
Blanchard knew it when he first spoke with Bailey. “I’m telling you this is going to be the outcome,” he remembers saying. Bailey asked what made him so certain.
“The Big 12 isn’t equipped to deal with this,” Blanchard said.
The Red Raiders invested more than $7 million to secure these newcomers along the defensive line. They’ve been worth every penny for a program chasing its first Big 12 title and now ranks No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings ahead of Saturday’s game with unbeaten BYU (12 p.m. ET, ABC).
Bailey is the national sack leader with 11.5 and well on his way to becoming a first-round pick. He and Height, whom Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire lovingly refers to both as “Velociraptors,” are two of the most destructive pass rushers in the sport. Hunter, their star defensive tackle, is enjoying a career-best year. The Red Raiders have generated an FBS-high 175 pressures through nine games and needed just seven games to surpass their 2024 season sack total.
Now, BYU and “College GameDay” come to town in the Red Raiders’ most anticipated and consequential home game since they stunned Texas in 2008. Texas Tech assembled the most talented defensive line this program has seen — and spent all those millions — for moments like these.
“Ever since we walked in the building, I told Lee, ‘Man, this team is going to be special. We’re going to go a long way. This team is going to go far,'” Height said. “Lee was like, ‘We’re going to see.’ But now we all see.”
ROMELLO HEIGHT DOESN’T hesitate to explain why he picked Texas Tech last December.
“I’m not shy to tell you about this NIL,” he said. “It’s all over the internet now.”
Height said he made $250,000 last year at Georgia Tech. His agent was seeking a raise to $500,000 ahead of Height’s senior season, a number he felt was fair market value, but was rebuffed. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound outside linebacker had a good year for the Yellow Jackets after transferring from USC, totalling a team-high 29 pressures off the edge, but finished with only 2.5 sacks. Height insists he wasn’t looking to leave.
“They were like, ‘Nah, we overpaid him already,'” Height said. “So, my agent was like, ‘All right, we’re going to go get overpaid somewhere else.'”
Height was a big priority for Blanchard. He had watched tape of 50 other defensive ends and outside linebackers, and felt strongly that Height had all the traits he was looking for as the top pass rusher available in the December portal period. Blanchard wasn’t concerned about the lack of sack production. The way he sees it, sacks are 1% of the equation, and Height does the other 99% of his job at a high level, consistently forcing QBs to move off their spot.
“People were trying to say it was other guys, but Romello was the best one,” Blanchard said. “Y’all don’t know what y’all are looking at.”
His value in Texas Tech’s estimation: $1.5 million.
“Super jaw-dropping,” Height said.
The Red Raiders made the decision even easier for Height when they signed Hunter. The two were close friends from playing together at Auburn in 2021 and eager to reunite.
Hunter, the massive 6-foot-4, 330-pound defensive tackle from UCF whom teammates nicknamed “The Fridge,” entered the portal after coach Guz Malzahn left to become the OC at Florida State. Hunter had a lot of loyalty to Malzahn, who had recruited him since he was a high school freshman, and felt ready for a fresh start.
He lined up visits to Texas Tech followed by Texas, but committed during his trip to Lubbock. While he felt at home on the visit, he credits his mother for encouraging his decision. He said she has always been good at reading people and their “energy and vibe,” and she was totally won over by the warmth and authenticity of McGuire.
“When your mama keeps telling you something, you got to go with it, you know?” Hunter said. “Probably one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.”
The next morning, Hunter and Blanchard were at breakfast, and Texas kept calling.
“He said, ‘Don’t worry, Blanch, I gave my word, we good,'” Blanchard said.
Hunter flew to DFW International Airport on his way home to Mobile, Alabama. He said Longhorn coaches were waiting for him at the airport, in a last-ditch effort to get him on a flight to Austin.
“Me and my mom didn’t have much time to talk because we had like 10 minutes to get to the next gate,” Hunter said. “We kept walking. I got on a plane and went to Alabama and came back a Red Raider.”
Texas Tech paired him with two more key defensive tackles in Gill-Howard from Northern Illinois and Holmes from Houston. Many coaches were hesitant to pursue Gill-Howard based on his size (he was listed at 6-foot-1 and 285 pounds), lack of starting experience and concerns he might not perform at the Power 4 level.
Blanchard had stumbled upon him during the scouting process and trusted what he saw on tape, a disruptive player on a top-25 defense who played well against Notre Dame. He felt comfortable taking a chance on Holmes, a 16-game starter who had just played for new Red Raiders defensive coordinator Shiel Wood at Houston. Wood believed he hadn’t come close to reaching his ceiling.
All four of those moves might’ve been more than enough for Texas Tech as it aspired to build the top portal recruiting class in college football. But then, in the middle of spring practice, Bailey hit the portal after Stanford fired coach Troy Taylor.
It wasn’t hard for Blanchard to sell him to Wood. The defensive coordinator said Bailey was a “two-clipper.”
“You watch two clips and say, ‘Yeah, I like him. Absolutely,'” Wood said with a laugh. “I was like, ‘If there’s a possibility of getting this guy to come here and y’all think you can make that happen, please do so. We’ll find a spot for him to play.'”
Height was a big fan of that idea, too. McGuire needed a little more convincing.
“We’re halfway through the spring, and Romello is just unblockable,” McGuire said. “I go, ‘You’re telling me he’s better than him?'”
As they watched Bailey’s Stanford film together, McGuire knew he was a “no-brainer” evaluation just like Height and Hunter. But did Tech really need him? Blanchard kept talking him up and explaining how they could get Bailey enrolled immediately for spring practice. Then, Blanchard brought up the defending Super Bowl champs.
“What would the Eagles do? They’d take another defensive lineman.”
Bailey arrived in Lubbock in time to go through the Red Raiders’ final spring practices. As he watched Height, Hunter and Gill-Howard compete in one-on-ones, Bailey was blown away.
“I’ve never seen a D-line like this,” he said. “I’ve seen some high-caliber skill players. But a D-line like this? This is different.”
BAILEY CAME TO Texas Tech to finally win some football games.
He hasn’t seen anything close to this, enduring three consecutive 3-9 seasons at Stanford. He was underutilized last year, playing 20 to 30 snaps a game and special teams for much of the season. What he sought most in the portal — more than the money — was a team that would play as much as possible.
“I’m playing free and I’m playing fast,” he said, “because I know I got guys around me.”
Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech’s All-America senior linebacker, keeps coming back to the word “unreal” as he attempts to describe what the Red Raiders have put together on defense.
“I’ve never played football like this,” Rodriguez said. “It’s all 11 people on the field flying around and doing their job and executing at a high level. It makes football so simple and so easy. I’ve never had this much fun playing football ever.”
It wasn’t fun for Texas Tech’s offense in practices this offseason.
Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich said there were a few days when his unit couldn’t get a first down. After Texas Tech’s second spring scrimmage, he overheard tackle Howard Sampson lamenting to Blanchard, “Man, I don’t know, we’re going to suck on offense.” McGuire reminded a frustrated Clay McGuire, Tech’s offensive line coach, that it wasn’t a fair fight for the No. 2 offensive line in practice because Texas Tech’s No. 2 defensive line was made up of last year’s starters.
“Mello and David were running so fast around the edge, beating the tackle so bad, that they were running into each other before they hit the quarterback,” Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton said.
“I’m telling him to slow down, bro!” Height said with a laugh. “It takes me three seconds. It takes him 1½ seconds.”
Any concerns about how these highly paid free agents might be welcomed by this new team were squashed from the start. Morton said the newcomers didn’t act like mercenaries “just trying to get money.” They fit right in far better than most would expect in the increasingly transactional portal era.
“They’ve connected so well with this team that it really does feel like Lee Hunter and Romello Height have been here their entire career,” McGuire said. “I hope they feel that way, that they feel at home.”
McGuire and Blanchard did their homework on these transfers, calling their former coaches to find out everything they needed to know. The process of identifying the right players for Texas Tech went far beyond the tape and included input from a sports analytics firm — as well as from the folks cutting the checks.
Blanchard kept billionaire boosters Cody Campbell and John Sellers involved in the portal process from start to finish, getting together for countless meetings and videoconference sessions where they’d watch film and discuss targets and what it would cost to go get them. Campbell would even queue up film on his tablet to break down at home.
“That was a lot of fun, to be honest with you,” Campbell said.
Campbell, Texas Tech’s board chairman, was a starting offensive lineman for the Red Raiders during his playing days and tends to keep his eyes affixed on the line of scrimmage during games. As exciting as it was to piece together a highly touted portal class, Campbell’s objective from the start was winning in the trenches.
Once Bailey was on board, Campbell was confident they’d assembled the best defensive line in Texas Tech history. That’s what he’s seeing every Saturday.
“They didn’t miss on anybody,” Campbell said. “It helps a lot with keeping donors happy whenever they see that return on investment.”
Blanchard has a theory about guys such as Bailey and Hunter and why they’ve proven to be ideal fits, something he picked up as a scout with the Carolina Panthers in 2020: He likes the best players on losing teams.
All they’ve ever done during their careers is go above and beyond to help make up for the talent around them. They’re used to having to strain, sacrifice and do more for their team to be competitive.
“Let’s put them in an environment where now they’ve got dudes around them,” Blanchard said, “and let’s see what happens.”
As the Red Raiders made their way through the tunnel into Jones AT&T Stadium to a sold-out crowd for a Saturday night kickoff against Kansas earlier this season, Hunter ran beside Height and let out a roar.
“I looked up,” Hunter remembers, “and I said, ‘This is what the f— we signed up for!'”
IT’S A RACE to the quarterback every time Texas Tech’s defensive line gets an opportunity to rush the passer.
“Nobody’s looking at each other,” Height said. “We’re looking at the ball. It’s time to go get it. It’s money time.”
Against Kansas State on Saturday, Bailey burst past the Wildcats’ right tackle on a third down and crashed into quarterback Avery Johnson within 2.2 seconds. In the fourth quarter, Height hunted him down from behind for a sack and forced fumble that Tech linebacker John Curry scooped up for a score.
After a long afternoon of hard hits, scrambles and incompletions in a 43-20 defeat, Johnson was asked if Texas Tech’s D-line was as good as advertised.
“Uh, yeah, I would say so,” Johnson said. “That’s probably the best defense I’ve faced in my three years in college.”
Texas Tech has built a top-five scoring defense thanks to an overwhelming amount of pressure up front.
The Red Raiders have generated 175 pass rush pressures this season, according to ESPN Research, despite blitzing only 20% of the time. Bailey (46) and Height (37) rank first and third, respectively, in edge pressures this season, and Holmes ranks fourth in defensive tackle pressures (18) since stepping in for Gill-Howard, who’s sidelined after undergoing surgery for an ankle injury last month. Together, they’ve already broken Texas Tech’s single-game record with nine sacks against Kansas.
“It’s a tremendous advantage when you can get pressure with four, and that’s what we’re able to do,” Wood said. “We’re able to affect the quarterback with rushing four guys on first, second and third down. It changes the complexion of the game when you can do that.”
From Day 1, though, Wood preached to his players that they had to earn the right to rush the passer. If they wanted to be a championship defense, he said, they had to stop the run. The Red Raiders have the No. 1 run defense in the country, holding six of nine opponents under 100 rushing yards, and have an FBS-high 16 forced fumbles.
But ask anyone in the program why they’re elite against the run and they point to Hunter. He’s doing the dirty work, taking on two or three linemen and creating clear gaps and easy plays for Rodriguez and the linebackers.
“I know I’m going to get two,” Hunter said. “If two people are on me, my linebackers can eat. My brothers can eat. As long as everybody around me is eating and we’re winning, I’m happy.”
Another critical byproduct of the dominance up front: Texas Tech has the most improved pass defense in the country, allowing 111 fewer passing yards per game than a year ago. Tie it all together, like Wood has with sharp in-game adjustments and a variety of creative alignments, and you get a defense that makes game-changing plays and has helped create 88 points off turnovers.
“It’s not easy to get something built and up and running at a high level in Year 1,” Wood said, “We’re sitting here because of the great effort that our players have put in.”
Blanchard knew if he got the right players up front, Tech could overwhelm its conference foes. Over the past decade, the Big 12 has produced two offensive linemen selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Both came from Oklahoma, now in the SEC. The first big test came in the Big 12 opener at Utah, against two potential first-round tackles in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu and an offensive line that Utah’s Kyle Whittingham called the best he has ever coached.
“That week, everybody was hyping us up, saying, ‘Y’all are going to kill them,'” Height said. “I didn’t hear David say a word about killing them that whole week. I dang sure didn’t say a word about killing them. We have a humble mindset going into every game, knowing we just got to do our job.”
The results? Texas Tech’s defense got 19 pressures and forced six three-and-outs and four turnovers in a 34-10 rout.
“I never would’ve believed it if you would’ve said we would lose the line of scrimmage,” Whittingham said afterward. “Never would’ve believed that in a million years. But we did.”
Bailey is performing like a first-rounder and is the No. 12 pick in Jordan Reid’s latest 2026 mock draft. Hunter is Mel Kiper’s third-ranked defensive tackle prospect, and Height is his No. 5 outside linebacker. All three have significantly boosted their draft status at Texas Tech. And that proof of concept is making it even easier for Blanchard to assemble next year’s defensive line.
Texas Tech has landed commitments from LaDamion Guyton, ESPN’s No. 1 outside linebacker in the 2026 class, and top-ranked 2027 defensive tackle Jalen Brewster. And through his daily conversations with agents, Blanchard already knows which potential transfers he wants for 2026.
“We say it all the time now,” McGuire said. “I was literally just saying to him, ‘Blanch, just go get the D-linemen and O-linemen.'”
Texas Tech’s defense used to be a punchline in the Big 12, the second worst among all Power 5 programs in scoring defense over the past decade. Not anymore. The Red Raiders will keep spending and keep bringing blue-chip big men to Lubbock. That’s what it takes to contend with the best and do what has never been done in program history.
“We told Joey to spend what it takes,” Campbell said. “We were willing to do it to be in this position we’re in now.
“We got our money’s worth.”
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