Baby named after Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman showered with gifts from star catcher

BALTIMORE -- At 1:59 a.m. on January 1, 2024, Adley Michelle was born at the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center, making her the hospital's first baby of the year. 

If the name sounds familiar to your Baltimorean ears, it's because baby Adley is named after star Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. 

"When Rutschman heard baby Adley's story, he reached out to the Orioles to help him put together a personalized gift for the family of his tiniest fan," the team said. 

The Orioles bird visited Adley Michelle this week to drop off an autographed baseball and matching Adley Rutschman T-shirts, which the family said will be worn at games this year.

The hospital said baby Adley, who has four older brothers, arrived nearly two weeks earlier than expected. Her mom Amanda said she hopes the newborn will be a baseball fan, given her name. 

Over 154 games last year - his first full season in the big leagues - Rutschman slashed .277/.374/.435 with 31 doubles, 20 homers, 80 RBIs and 84 runs scored, according to Baseball Reference. He was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger too.