Jul 2, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (19) comes off the field after he pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Orioles hurler reveals how 'major change' in leadership has led to success

Originally posted on Baltimore Orioles on SI
By Grant Young | Last updated Aug 20, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Baltimore Orioles' 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox on August 19 made it so Baltimore is 43-34 in its last 75 games. That makes for a .558 winning percentage, which is fifth-best in all MLB during that span, according to an X post from Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner.

Of course, this success isn't going to do much in terms of the Orioles' 2025 outlook, as they still sit in last place in the AL East standings and have a 0.3% chance of making the playoffs this season, according to FanGraphs. However, it does show a lot of growth for a young roster that had gotten used to a lot of winning (in the regular season) over the past two seasons before this year's regression.

Perhaps this adversity that Baltimore has faced in 2025 can battle-harden this roster for future success. And one way this could happen is through this adversity molding some of the team's young talents into better leaders.

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Tomoyuki Sugano Speaks on Orioles' Young Core 'Standing Up For Themselves'

It seems that this leadership process is already taking place, if the comments that Orioles hurler Tomoyuki Sugano made on August 19 can be taken as truth.

“Our core guys, like Gunnar, Jackson, Adley, I think they are kind of starting to understand the leadership role here and they’re kind of standing up for themselves. I think that is the major change," Sugano said through an interpreter when asked what has helped the Orioles improve lately, per an X post from Andy Kostka.

Tomoyuki Sugano, via interpreter, on what has helped the Orioles improve lately: “Our core guys, like Gunnar, Jackson, Adley, I think they are kind of starting to understand the leadership role here and they’re kind of standing up for themselves. I think that is the major change”
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) August 20, 2025

It's cool that the three guys Sugano alluded to (Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Jackson H olliday) are learning how to become leaders in an MLB clubhouse.

While these three were surely thrust into leadership roles earlier on in their baseball careers, given that's what happens to a team's best player, it's a whole different beast trying to lead an MLB team full of grown men. And it's no surprise that it might have taken these standouts some time to learn the best way to go about doing so.

Only time will tell whether the Orioles' core becoming leaders will have an impact on the team's success in the years to come. What's for sure is that every team needs respected members of the clubhouse who are, in Sugano's words, willing to "stand up for themselves".

It seems that this is finally happening in Baltimore's locker room.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Orioles on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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