Goodbye, Melvin Mora

In a way, it’s like watching the dude you went to high school with that always had something smart to say walk across the stage at graduation.

You spent most of your time convincing yourself not to punch him in the mouth, but you remember the times where he actually said something funny.

That’s how I feel about the Orioles declining the option on Melvin Mora. He was productive over his time in Baltimore, but he never grew on me as someone who was a team leader or wanted to put the struggling franchise on his back.

Not that he was obligated to; but it would’ve been nice to have a tenured Oriole step forward instead of the fairly middlin’ free agents they’ve brought in over the last few years.

His play was worthy of such a responsibility, and maybe it was because he, like many Orioles fans, became disenchanted with the direction of the franchise post-Cal Ripken.

Still, he was a good player who put in some good time with the organization. Here’s hoping his personality is missed more than his offense next season.

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