It's Wieters-mania in Baltimore for former Jacket

"In baseball, one guy isn't going to carry the team," said Wieters, who played three seasons at Georgia Tech before the Orioles selected him with the fifth pick of the 2007 draft. "Maybe that works for short stretches. But it's nine guys who have to go out there every day and compete. That's what's key to a successful organization. One guy can't do everything."

Wieters, who stands 6-foot-5, 230 pounds and makes his offseason home in Atlanta, might be the only one in Baltimore who feels that way. Named last season's minor-league player of the year by Baseball America, he's already being hailed as the Orioles' savior in shin guards, a subjugator in a chest protector.

When he made his major-league debut on May 29, nearly 43,000 fans flooded into Camden Yards, where the average attendance is barely 22,000 fans a night this season.

"I remember getting called up as a young guy in Tampa," recalled Orioles' first baseman Aubrey Huff. "I opened up against the Cleveland Indians in front of 5,000 people. I was nervous as hell for that, so I can't imagine what he was feeling."

Fans in the outfield bleachers waved signs that read, "Hit it here, Matt!" A group of seven gathered in the upper deck and painted block letters on their chest, spelling out, "W-I-E-T-E-R-S." And this was for a guy with just a couple seasons of the minors under his belt.

Shortly before Opening Day, 23-year-old fan Daniel Moroz launched a Web site in the tradition of Chuck Norris hyperbole. MattWietersFacts.com lists all of Wieters' accomplishments and future feats, pronouncements such as "Matt Wieters beat cancer. ... literally with his bat. There is no more cancer," and "Matt Wieters once stole second, third and the shortstop's hat on the same pitch."

"Most of the baseball accomplishments on there probably aren't possible by the rules of the game," notes Moroz, "or even by physics."

Even The Onion, the popular satirical newspaper, plopped a cherry on the Matt Wieters Expectations sundae, reporting: "Widely hailed as his franchise's best prospect in years, catcher Matt Wieters fulfilled all expectations last Friday with his first major-league at-bat, leading the Baltimore Orioles to their first World Series championship since 1983. 'It's an incredible feeling — I'm happy I've lived up to everyone's expectations,' said Wieters, who has also retroactively led the Orioles to three division titles and a pennant in the last five years."

The only slight drawback for Orioles fans seems to be the fact that Wieters didn't instantaneously live up to the hype, which has prompted curious calls to local talk radio shows and message board posts with the headlines, "Everything was looking up 'til Wieters got here," and "Should we send Wieters back to the minors?"

After starting the season in Class AAA Norfolk (Va.), where Wieters hit .305 with five homers and 30 RBIs, Wieters has played 10 games with the Orioles and is batting .229 with eight hits and just as many strikeouts.

"Those who were expecting him to hit .600 or hit 1.000, I think that's very commendable, but I don't think that was realistic," says Orioles' manager Dave Trembley. "I don't think that's realistic for anybody."

"I think his demeanor has been tremendous," Trembley said, "and I honestly think that, when all is said and done, the guy will put up some very solid offensive numbers by the end of the season."

Those who watched Wieters' rapid ascent through the minors have little doubt of that. Rookie pitcher Jason Berken was with Wieters last season at Class AA Bowie (Md.) and says teammates grew accustomed to fans waiting in hotel lobbies and mail piling up in front of Wieters' locker — all for good reason, he says.

"The things he did last year, it was stuff I'll never see again," said Berken. "It was unbelievable. He was just up there messing around with pitchers, just waiting for a pitch he wanted."

Berken remembers one game last July, in which Wieters was given a rare night off. Bowie was trailing by five runs with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning. The manager sent Wieters to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Wieters, not even wearing his game spikes, took two practice swings before drilling the first pitch he saw over the wall for a grand slam.

"That doesn't happen. It's just not normal," Berken says. "It's something from a movie, not something that actually happens."

What most impresses fans, teammates and team officials is the way Wieters is handling the attention. He shrugs it off, like a fastball far out of the zone. A franchise that has suffered through 11 consecutive losing seasons thinks it finally has found a player who can help them compete in one of baseball's toughest divisions.

"This organization has longed for a winner for a while. I think people are definitely buying into the idea that he'll play a big part in us getting better," said Joe Jordan, the Orioles' director of scouting.

"There's some smart baseball fans in this city, and I think they're reacting this way because they understand what he could mean to our long-term success."

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HOW GOOD IS MATT WIETERS?

Here's a sampling of the expectations bestowed on rookie catcher Matt Wieters by Orioles' fans and the Web site MattWietersFacts.com:

• Chuck Norris won't attend Orioles games because he's afraid of Matt Wieters.

• Matt Wieters signed autographs today — for 5,000 people using 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.

• Matt Wieters took batting practice today, and wouldn't give it back.

• Next year U.S. currency will be replaced with Matt Wieters baseball cards.

• When Matt Wieters is hungry, he snacks on batting donuts.

• Matt Wieters went to the U.S. Virgin Islands on vacation. They are now referred to as "The Islands."

• The day Matt Wieters was called up to the majors, every pitching record in history was given an asterisk because they'd never had to face Matt Wieters.

• Even atheists believe in Matt Wieters.

• We live in an expanding universe. All of it is trying to get away from Matt Wieters.

• Matt Wieters hit a ball off the Green Monster. The Orioles were playing in Seattle.