Congratulations Orioles, you’re going to the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Now tell them what they’ve won!
An emergency landing!
OK, so maybe they weren’t in danger of crashing, but on the team’s flight to Tampa Bay for their final series the team charter was forced to make an emergency landing in Jacksonville after a “minor incident in the galley.” The team issued a statement:
“Due to a minor incident in the galley, the Orioles charter made an unscheduled landing in Jacksonville, Fla. en route to St. Petersburg tonight. After the plane was inspected, all crew and passengers reboarded and flew to St. Petersburg without further incident. This unscheduled landing was done with an abundance of caution and at no time was anyone on the flight in danger.”
The Orioles didn’t release any details, but it sounds like there was a fire on board from what manager Buck Showalter said.
“They were getting ready to heat up coffee, that’s what happened,” Showalter told the Baltimore Sun. “So it’s my fault.
“We had a little something heat up on the plane that the professionals didn’t like what was going on. So just check it out, be on the safe side.”
So Buck tried to burn a hole in the cabin? Right?
Of course, any good “Seinfeld” fan should be reminded of the classic two-part episode with Keith Hernandez where George Costanza mused on a team plane crashing:
(By the way, notice he says 26 teams. Remember a simpler time, back in 1992, when the Rockies, Marlins, Rays and Diamondbacks didn’t exist?)
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