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This year is different for Kevin Brown. It’s not that this is his first time calling games -- he’s been doing that for quite some time, across sports. Nor is it his first time calling Orioles games, as he’s been on the O’s flagship radio station and occasionally on MASN over the past three years.

But this is Brown’s first year as the lead play-by-play voice, named officially to the role at the beginning of Spring Training. With it comes an enhanced sense of ownership, not only serving as the voice but following a long lineage of play-by-play excellence in Baltimore.

“This is the first year where I don't feel like a bit of an outsider,” Brown said this week. “That's not to say I haven't tried to throw myself into the job, but now I'm doing most of the games.”

Brown recently sat down with MLB.com for a Q&A to further introduce himself as the newest voice of the Orioles and offer some insight into his style. This conversation has been lightly edited for content and clarity.

MLB.com: I know you’ve been around for a bit, in roaming roles. So how would you describe your first year so far as the lead play-by-play voice?

Brown: It's a different role. There's a different level of confidence, I think, that comes with knowing you are there when another person is not, knowing that it gets to be your booth, in a sense. Not to be arrogant about it, it's just that there's a level of confidence now. It's worked out well enough where I've done this for three years, I've done gradually more every year, I've gotten more familiar with the people, with the team, with the coaches, with the staff. And now I feel like I'm ready to be comfortable, night in and night out.

MLB.com: How does that sense of ownership resonate?

Brown: I think every good broadcaster has to have a little bit of an ego. You don't have to be a jerk. You don't have to be rude. You don't have to be dismissive or judgmental. But you have to be confident. Great players are confident that they can go out on the field and perform. This is a creative profession, and if I'm not confident, people are going to notice that. If I dance around my words or don't have my stories quite right or my information, I think people are going to notice that. You want people to feel comfortable when they're watching, so the easiest way for them to feel comfortable is for us to be comfortable.

MLB.com: Describe your play-by-play style in four words.

Brown: Serious, but not serious.

MLB.com: How much of your personality do you let into your calls?

Brown: I try to. The job should be fun. We're talking about baseball and getting paid. I honestly feel very silly when people ask me what I do for a living and I say I do this, because it feels so insubstantial sometimes. … But I think people come to these games in part to escape and in part to laugh and in part to learn some things. And if you're doing the job well, it should feel like a conversation between me and Jim [Palmer] or me and Ben [McDonald] or me and whoever. I want it to be a slightly heightened version of two people sitting on a couch, talking about what they see, but I never want it to be homework. I take the job very seriously. I don't take myself seriously at all.

MLB.com: What should Orioles fans know about you, and what to expect from broadcasts?

Brown: I hope people can tell that I'm truly invested in this, and part of the reason we wanted to stop living part-time in New York and be here in Baltimore was because I really wanted to throw myself into this city and not just bounce back and forth all the time. The people here have treated me wonderfully. I had no idea about the passion of this town and this area and this fanbase before I got here, and I've been pretty blown away by it and how much people care, how much they watch and the little things that they pick up on. I hear that, I see that, and I read that, and I feel a great responsibility. We have great people working here, and I am very happy to be a cog in this machine. But I don't just want this to be an ordinary broadcast. This is a great town and a great franchise, and there's a great lineage here. I want to be great for that.

MLB.com: Your best single meal thus far in Baltimore?

Brown: I don't think I could pick against the green onion chicken and waffles and Miss Shirley's. Side of hashbrowns, if you get some pancakes for the table -- which I call table cakes -- even better. The key lime pancakes there they had as a special a couple of years ago were amazing. I'm a big breakfast guy. When you work in baseball, you spend a lot of dinners in the press room. So, breakfasts and brunches are my jam. And Miss Shirley's is the finest one.

THIS WEEK IN CAMDEN YARDS HISTORY

In honor of the 30th season in Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ existence, we’re going to throw it back on a weekly basis to a great moment in the storied park’s history. From All-Star Games to League Championship Series to concerts and light shows alike, the ballpark has seen it all. These are its stories:

Machado goes slamma jamma ... twice

April 28 and May 8, 2016

There could be a list dedicated solely to “Great Manny Machado Moments in OPACY History.” The club’s last perennial MVP contender provided a laundry list of moments over his seven years in Baltimore. One week in recent memory, he went off on a euphoric tear. Twice in the span of just over a week did Machado hit grand slams -- the first on April 28 of the 2016 season merely setting up his prodigious pair of blasts on Mother’s Day just over a week later.

ORIOLES TRIVIA

Who is the most recent Oriole to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award?

A. Gregg Olson

B. Cal Ripken Jr.

C. Manny Machado

D. Eddie Murray

RUTSCH WATCH

The storyline of the Orioles’ 2022 season will be the debut of their top prospects, and none more important than Adley Rutschman, their No. 1 prospect who has taken the mantle as the face of this rebuild. We’ll keep tabs here on Rutschman throughout the season -- both before and after he makes his expected debut.

Rutschman is one call away from the Majors. That’s the news that broke this week, when he and No. 5 prospect D.L. Hall were promoted to Triple-A Norfolk following their outing with Double-A Bowie on Thursday. Both are returning to full health, with Rutschman (right triceps) doing more of the same in his time so far in the Minors -- dominating.

It’s only a matter of time before they get their long-awaited callups to the Majors. Read more >>

A SHOUT-OUT TO MOMS

Few may be having a better Mother’s Day than Polina Bautista de la Cruz. Her son, Orioles rookie reliever Félix Bautista, is carving up the Major Leagues, one of manager Brandon Hyde’s more reliable arms out of the bullpen to date. After his debut and first big league strikeout -- which happened to fall on the same day of Polina’s birthday, April 10 -- Félix said he’s saving the ball for her. It’s only one way he can pay back all she’s done for him to this point.

Click here to read more Mother’s Day stories from the league.

LET'S REMEMBER AN ORIOLE

This week, with the Orioles having made a rare trip to St. Louis, let’s remember a guy who is well known in the Gateway to the West -- for all the wrong reasons -- but before had made a stop in Baltimore:

Travis Ishikawa (2013)

There’s a select few in baseball history whose careers as a body of work are remembered for essentially one key moment. Ishikawa, who sent the Giants to the 2014 World Series with an immaculate walk-off blast, is one of those players. But before he became immortalized in San Francisco -- and demonized in St. Louis -- Ishikawa spent six Major League games in an Orioles jersey. They were forgettable, hitting just 2-for-17 (.118) with one RBI before being selected off waivers by the Yankees. All was just a precursor to his heroics in a different shade of black and orange in the 2014 postseason. Ishikawa would end his career as a two-time champion for the Giants.

FILTH OF THE WEEK

We’ve had only a few Filths of the Week to date, and all have been individual pitches. But now, we bestow a defensive play with its first Filth of the Week nod, thanks to this slick double play Jorge Mateo turned by ranging back to make a catch over his head.

It was one of five double plays the Orioles turned on Wednesday, matching a single-game franchise record last accomplished in July 1999.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

• The Orioles were challenged to wake up their offense. They responded emphatically -- and broke out a home run chain. Read more >>

• In honor of his perfect game at Maryland -- and for throwing out the first pitch at Camden Yards on Monday -- read up on the legendary moment for Terp starter Ryan Ramsey, via Dylan Svoboda. Read more >>

• Shohei Ohtani did something at Fenway Park not accomplished since Babe Ruth, as Molly Burkhardt reports. Read more >>

TRIVIA ANSWER

A. Gregg Olson

The Orioles have a handful of prospects who could soon be the next, but until then they will be trying to catch Oriole Hall of Famer Olson, who pitched to a 1.69 ERA across 64 appearances his rookie season in 1989, converting 27 saves for the “Why Not?” Orioles. Not only did Olson take home Rookie of the Year, but he finished sixth in voting for the AL CY Young award.

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