Baltimore Orioles

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1901
• Home ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
• Owner: David Rubenstein
• Team colors: Black, orange, white, and gray

Overview

The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team playing in the East division of the American League (AL). Originally joining the major league ranks as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901 and later playing as the St. Louis Browns, the modern Baltimore Orioles team first took the field in 1954. Over the course of their long history, the Orioles have won a number of World Series championships, AL pennants, and other accolades. Heading into the 2024 season, the team had an all-time record that included 9,029 wins and 10,013 losses for an overall .474 win/loss percentage. Known for their enthusiastic fan base, the Orioles are frequently counted among baseball’s most popular teams. The Orioles are also a financially successful franchise, worth an estimated $1.7 billion in 2023.

History

The history of the Baltimore Orioles began with the 1894 founding of a Wisconsin-based minor league team called the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers moved up to the major leagues in 1901 as a charter franchise in the then-new AL. After just a single season that ended with the team finishing in last place, the Brewers relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, and became known as the Browns. Named in honor of the Brown Stockings, a former St. Louis baseball team that played in the American Association (AA), the Browns officially debuted with a 5–2 win over the Cleveland Broncos on April 23, 1902.

For much of their fifty-two-year run, the Browns were widely viewed as one of professional baseball’s worst teams. Through their early years, the team regularly finished at or near the bottom of the standings. The Browns’ first taste of success came in the early 1920s. During that period, the team briefly rose to the upper reaches of its division before ultimately falling back toward the bottom. After struggling through the latter half of the 1920s and the entirety of the 1930s, the Browns eventually found success in the mid-1940s. The height of the team’s success came in 1944. That year, the Browns won eighty-two games, making it to the postseason for the first time ever and even claiming the AL pennant. This historic run came to a disappointing end, however, when the Browns were defeated in the World Series by the crosstown rival St. Louis Cardinals. After that, the Browns once again plummeted to the bottom of the standings.

Former Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck purchased the Browns in the early 1950s and attempted to create interest in the struggling team through an array of creative promotions. The most famous of Veeck’s notorious promotional stunts came when he sent 3-foot 7-inch batter Eddie Gaedel to the plate in a game against the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1951. Gaedel walked on four straight pitches and was replaced by a pinch-runner at first base. In the end, however, neither this nor any other of Veeck’s stunts could save the flailing Browns. In 1953, he sold the team to a Baltimore-based conglomerate.

In Baltimore, the former Browns were renamed the Orioles. The new moniker was a nod to a previous team known as the Baltimore Orioles that played in the AA and later the National League (NL) in the late nineteenth century. Initially, the Orioles were no better than the Browns, recording several consecutive losing seasons and remaining at the bottom of their division. That finally began to change when the team signed future All-Star third baseman Brooks Robinson in 1955. Along with several other key players, Robinson led the Orioles to an extended period of successful play during which they would win several divisional titles and AL pennants. The initial culmination of the team’s rise came when the Orioles made it to the World Series for the first time in 1966. Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Orioles pulled off a sweep to win the first World Series championship in franchise history.

After suffering a single losing season in 1967, the Orioles resumed their winning ways. Remarkably, the team reached the World Series three years in a row from 1969 to 1971. While the 1969 and 1971 campaigns ultimately ended in defeat, the Orioles won their second World Series title with a victory over Cincinnati Reds in 1970. Through the remainder of the 1970s and into the 1980s, the Orioles continued to perform strongly. In addition to winning another AL pennant in 1979, the team made a successful return to the World Series in 1983, besting the Philadelphia Phillies to win the third championship title in franchise history.

In the latter half of the 1980s, the Orioles once again entered a prolonged slump that lasted until the mid-1990s. By that time, the popularity of the team’s new home at Camden Yards allowed for the acquisition of key players who improved the Orioles’ play. In both 1996 and 1997, the Orioles appeared in the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Soon after, however, the team fell back to the bottom of its division for some time. The situation began to improve again with a winning season in 2012 that saw the Orioles make a brief playoff run that ended in the divisional round. Two years later, the team returned to the ALCS once more in what turned out to be a losing effort against the Kansas City Royals. After that, the Orioles began to slide again. Outside of a winning season in 2016, the team once more found itself back at the bottom of the standings. That trend began to change in the 2020s. Led by a group of talented young players, Baltimore posted a winning record in 2022 and won the AL East in 2023 with an American League best 101 wins.

Notable players

Numerous former Baltimore Orioles players have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Chief among these honorees is shortstop and third baseman Cal Ripken, Jr. Widely regarded as the most popular player in Orioles’ history, Ripken played his entire 21-year MLB career in Baltimore and was part of the 1983 World Series team. In that time, he recorded 1,647 runs, 431 home runs, and 1,696 runs batted in (RBIs). Ripken also made history with his legendary streak of playing in 2,632 consecutive games, the most played by any player ever worldwide. One of Ripken’s teammates on the 1983 World Series squad was pitcher Jim Palmer. Another career Orioles player who was part of the team from 1965 to 1984, Palmer was considered to be one of the best pitchers of his day. A three-time Cy Young Award winner and a six-time All-Star, Palmer recorded 2,212 strikeouts and 268 wins over the course of his career. Third baseman Brooks Robinson was an Orioles mainstay from 1955 to 1977. Often known as the “Human Vacuum Cleaner” in recognition of his outstanding defensive play, Robinson was a key contributor to the Orioles’ first two World Series championship victories. During his time with the team, Robinson had 1,232 runs, 268 home runs, and 1,357 RBIs. First baseman Eddie Murray spent thirteen of his twenty-one years in Baltimore and was another member of the 1983 World Series team. As part of the Orioles’ roster, Murray recorded 1,084 runs, 343 home runs, and 1,224 RBIs. Pitcher Mike Mussina played for the Orioles from 1991 to 2000 before heading to the New York Yankees for the remainder of his eighteen-year career. During his run in Baltimore, Mussina had 1,535 strikeouts and 147 wins.

There have been many other notable Baltimore Orioles as well. Shortstop Mark Belanger played all but one year of his eighteen-year career with the Orioles. Part of the team from 1965 to 1981, Belanger made 670 runs, 20 home runs, and 385 RBIs. Centerfielder Paul Blair played for the Orioles from 1964 to 1976. In that time, he played in 1,700 games and recorded 737 runs, 126 home runs, and 567 RBIs. Second baseman, shortstop, and first baseman Bobby Grich joined the Orioles as a rookie in 1970 and remained with the team through 1976. Over that period, he had 730 hits, 70 home runs, and 307 RBIs. First baseman and leftfielder Boog Powell played in Baltimore for fourteen of his seventeen career years. In that span, he recorded 796 runs, 303 home runs, and 1,063 RBIs. Outfielder Brady Anderson played for the Orioles from 1988 to 2001. During that period, he had 1,044 runs, 209 home runs, and 744 RBIs. Third baseman and shortstop Manny Machado spent seven seasons in Baltimore from 2012 to 2018. Over the course of his run, he recorded 486 runs, 162 home runs, and 471 RBIs. Centerfielder Adam Jones played for the Orioles from 2010 to 2018. The 2023 Orioles were led by AL Rookie of the year Gunnar Henderson, catcher Adley Rutschman, and pitcher Kyle Bradish.

Bibliography

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