Former Brave McLouth Shines with Orioles

The Atlanta Braves weren't able to make it far in the playoffs this year. One of their former outfielders made it further though, and he shined in the playoffs with the Baltimore Orioles. As a matter of fact, he was starting to shine before the playoffs and was showing flashbacks of the player he used to be.
Nate McLouth, who spent parts of three seasons with the Braves, is that outfielder. Before the Braves acquired him in 2009, he was an All-Star for the Pirates in 2008, as he had 26 home runs and 94 RBI's. Then the Braves acquired him the next year and he finished that season with 20 home runs and 70 RBI's and the Braves thought they had their center fielder of the future.
The next two seasons though were horrible for McLouth. In 2010, he only played in 85 games and had six home runs and 24 RBI's as he was injured most of the year. The next year was even worse, he played in 81 games and had only four home runs and 16 RBI's and again was injured throughout the year. At the beginning of this season, he went back to the Pirates to find his old magic, but instead he hit rock bottom. McLouth played in only 34 games before they released him, he had no home runs and two RBI's.
McLouth was signed by the Orioles and they sent him to the minor leagues. He worked really hard and got called up to the big league club in August and stayed with them the rest of the season. McLouth had some big games in those two months, including a few walk-off hits to win some games for the Orioles. He finished the regular season with seven home runs and 20 RBI's.
Then in the wild card playoff, McLouth had one of the biggest hits in the Orioles win over the Rangers. In the Division Series against the New York Yankees, he was undoubtedly the Orioles best hitter. He ended up hitting .333 in the five game series with a home run and three RBI's. His home run helped the Orioles to win game four and force a decisive game five. Unfortunately, the Orioles lost game five, and their remarkable season was over.
Now that McLouth has re-discovered his stroke and proved he can come through in the clutch, as he did multiple times, he should be back in the major leagues for good. He should be able to hook on with a team for next season. He probably hopes to re-sign with the Orioles though, and help them finish what they couldn't get done this year.

Nate McLouth almost hit another home run in game five of the Division Series, but it went just foul. An usher at Yankee stadium said after the game the ball grazed off the pole.
Photo Courtesy of images.yahoo.com