The Baltimore Orioles raise the first question of eligibility for the Lobby of Numbers.
For one thing, the franchise has no connection with John McGraw's Baltimore Orioles, one of the two great teams of the 1890s. The current team actually began life as the Milwaukee Brewers when the American League opened for business in 1901. They moved to St Louis the next year and played as the Browns through 1953. It was a half-century of futility that saw them win just one pennant, in 1944, when many of the real ball players were otherwise engaged. They moved in 1954 and have been the Baltimore Orioles ever since. It took them a few years to get over their Browniness, but in 1960 they posted their first winning record in Baltimore. Since then they have consistently been one of the AL's quality teams, making 10 post-season appearances, and winning world championships in 1966, 1970, and 1983.
We are only going to consider what they've done in Baltimore. Unlike the Dodgers, Braves, Giants, and A's, as far as I am concerned the Orioles have renounced their prior existence as St Louis Browns. Otherwise, of course, they'd be called the Baltimore Browns. And they're not. This doesn't stop them from including St Louis Browns players in the lists of all-time franchise leaders, but I think that's just a cheap way of taking credit for George Sisler. The next most memorable Brownie was probably Eddie Gaedel. So we're sticking with the Orioles here.
1 - Brian Roberts is off to a hell of a start this year, and if he does this for a few more years we'll acknowledge him then. But for now, the man would be Al Bumbry. He was a small (5-8) LH hitting outfielder whose career got off to a late start because he was busy in Viet Nam. He was 26 years old during his rookie year, which was pretty impressive: .337, .398, .500 with 73 runs scored in 110 games. It won him the Rookie of the Year award. It was his best year, but he played more than 1400 games for the Orioles, and was around for the 1983 World Series.
2 - The pickings are slim - this number has been favoured by utility infielders and replacement level types: Al Pilarcik, Bob Johnson, Bob Melvin, and Alan Wiggins. Johnson was the best of these guys, an infielder with a pretty decent bat. The fact that he couldn't get regular playing time suggests that his glove was not so decent. The best would probably be Mark McLemore, who arrived in 1992 after wandering around the majors and minors for three years. McLemore resurrected his career with three useful years in Baltimore, and is still active today at the age of 40.
3 - At the age of 21, Curt Blefary was the AL rookie of the year in 1965. In the era of the pitcher, he was actually one of the better offensive players in the AL while batting .260 with 22 HRs. He had the exact same season in 1966, and his future looked very bright. But his career went right off a cliff. He played his last game at the age of 28. Harold Baines wore number 3 during his two tours with the Orioles, and this was usually Billy Ripken's number as well. Finally, we have been a pair of slick fielding middle infielders who could both hit with some pop: Ron Hansen and Bobby Grich. Hansen, the 1960 Rookie of the Year, spent three years as the Orioles shortstop before being traded for Luis Aparicio. Grich spent five years as the Orioles second baseman before moving on to the Angels for a career very near Hall of Fame caliber, even if Cooperstown seems unlikely to ever call his name. He was a superior defender, and a hitter who gave you 80 walks and 45 extra base hits every year.
4 - Bob Nieman was an outfielder who gave the Orioles three good years in the late 1950s; Jim Gentile started late and didn't last long, but he slugged 124 HRs in four seasons, before being traded straight-up for Norm Siebern whose best years behind him. But in Baltimore, this digit belongs to the umpire's friend, the most quotable manager since Casey Stengel, the one and only Earl Weaver.
5 - Five different players wore this number during the Orioles first three seasons, and then in 1956 they gave it to a young infielder named Brooks Robinson. He didn't give it back. You've heard the stories about his glove - they're all true. He did things that simply seemed impossible. Brooks was a pretty decent hitter, although the dead ball conditions of the mid 1960s swallowed his prime years. He is also one of the finest gentleman to ever play the game - he is one of the game's famous nice guys, and one who didn't finish last. In Baltimore, people named their children after him. I shook his hand in the SkyDome press box one day - it was indescribably exciting. Thinking: "This is the hand that threw out Lee May after that ridiculous stop in the 1970 World Series..." I mean, Gosh!
6 - This was one of several numbers Brooks Robinson wore while trying to establish himself as a major leaguer. The class of the field was Paul Blair, who was as fine a centre fielder as you could ever hope to see. He was developing into an extremely dangerous hitter until he was seriously injured after being hit in the face by Ken Tatum in 1970. He never quite recovered as a hitter, but he came back to win a bunch more Gold Gloves.
7 - This seems to have been reserved for middle infielders - light hitting defensive wizards like Willie Miranda and Jerry Adair. And in 1965, the Orioles came up with the ultimate in this type of player. Mark Belanger played 18 seasons, 2016 games, in the major leagues. He hit .228 with 20 HRs in those 18 years. Do the math, and arrive at your own conclusions as to how well he could play shortstop. Frank White, a pretty fair infielder himself, said "I never saw anybody play shortstop better than Mark Belanger."
8 - Andy Etchebarren was the catcher on 1966 championship team, but the Orioles came up with a young third baseman in 1981 named Cal Ripken. He'd grown up around the team; his father was the third base coach, and had managed in the farm system for 13 years. The Orioles traded Doug DeCinces to open a spot for the younger Ripken, and then Earl Weaver turned the whole manoeuvre on its head by switching Ripken to shortstop in mid-season 1982. This left a gaping hole at third, but Ripken filled short for the next fourteen years. I never thought the consecutive games streak was a good thing - I thought Ripken would have been a better player if he'd taken a few days off. Furthermore, he became known more for the streak: for the simple fact that he was playing, rather than the fact that he was an outstanding player, a fine power hitter and an even better defender. That said, his streak is not just longer than Gehrig's - it is more impressive and much more legitimate.
9 - Billy Gardner, who later managed in Minnesota and Kansas City spent a few years as the O's second baseman, and Russ Snyder was a LH fourth outfielder type in the early 60s. Don Buford was the first really good player to wear 9; Buford's career got off to a late start. He had a fine rookie playing 2B for the White Sox in 1964, but he was already 27 years old. He was 31 when he came to Baltimore, who batted him leadoff and put him in LF. He gave them four excellent years, and was a key part of the 69-71 pennant winners. Buford was followed by Reggie Jackson, who gave the Orioles one good year before moving to New York. Jim Dwyer switched to 9 midway through his 8 year tenure as a lefty bat off the bench. Finally, the best of them all, Brady Anderson arrived along with Curt Schilling in a trade for Mike Boddicker. Brady is probably best remembered for one of the great fluke seasons of all time, the 50 HRs he hit in 1996. But he spent 13 years in Baltimore, scored more than 100 runs four times, stole more bases than any Oriole in team history, and is among the franchise all-time leaders in hits, runs, and HRs as well.
10 - Not much to report here: Ellie Hendricks, platoon catcher and long-time coach. Terry Crowley spent most of his 15 year career as a bat off the bench in Baltimore, and he wore this during his second tour (1976-82). So we'll go with Miguel Tejada, who led the majors in RBIs in 2004, already has an MVP on his resume, and seems certain to be an Oriole fixture for the rest of the decade.
11 - Terry Crowley wore this during his Baltimore tour; before that we had Gus Triandos and Luis Aparicio. Luis was not much of a leadoff hitter, but he was a superb base stealer back when nobody stole bases and quite possibly the best defensive shortstop ever, at least until Ozzie Smith came around. But Luis spent his best years in Chicago, and I think a little respect is due Doug DeCinces, who had the unenviable job of replacing Brooks Robinson in Baltimore.
12 - John Orsino was a catcher who didn't develop, and Dave May was an outfielder who didn't hit the way everyone expected. Lenn Sakata was a backup infielder. The best players to wear 12 were men who made their reputations in other cities: Tommy Davis, Will Clark, and Roberto Alomar. Alomar was probably the best, but Mike Devereaux had seven pretty good years. He was a superior defender who could chip in with the stick.
13 - Dour Doyle Alexander was involved in a number of fascinating trades. Towards the end of his career he was traded straight up for, first, Duane Ward, and later for John Smoltz. He came to the Orioles along with three other guys in exchange for Pete Richert and Frank Robinson. Four and a half years later, he went to the Yankees as part of a ten-player swap. But I'm going to go with another pitcher who went from Baltimore to New York. People began to notice Steve Barber in 1960 - first, he made the jump from D ball to the majors, and second he was one of a group of pitchers whose fastballs were clocked by some new-fangled contraption, one of the first radar guns. Barber was clocked at 95.5, fastest of the group, which also included a guy named Koufax. His first two years, Barber didn't have a clue where that fastball was going - he was impossible to hit, but he was walking enormous numbers of hitters. Beginning in 1962, he dialed it back some and cut the walks drastically and won 20 games in 1963. He went 91-66 from 1960-66, but missed the 1966 World Series with an injury and began wandering the majors as a sore-armed lefty the next year. His wanderings included a year with the immortal Seattle Pilots - everyone who read "Ball Four" remembers Steve Barber. "It's not sore, it's just a little stiff."
14 - Houston traded Joe Morgan, among others, to get Lee May, and after three years they traded May to the Orioles to get Enos Cabell. In case you were wondering why Houston has never been in a World Series. May was slowing down when he got to Baltimore, but for five years he averaged 24 HRs and 96 RBIs. Other notables include Gene Woodling, Merv Rettenmund, Mickey Tettleton, and Mike Bordick.
15 - Dave Johnson - the Orioles have employed all three major leaguers named Dave Johnson - was a fine player in the classic Oriole tradition: a second baseman with a superior glove who drew walks and hit with some pop. He turned out to be a hell of a manager, as well. But in August 1958, veteran reliever Hoyt Wilhelm was 36 years old and had gone 8-20 for three teams over the three previous years. The Orioles picked him up on waivers, and put him in the rotation. In 1959, he went 15-11 with a 2.19 ERA. He moved permanently into the bullpen the next season and saved 40 games over the next three years while cutting his ERA from 3.31 to 2.30 to 1.94. The Orioles sent him to Chicago in the Aparicio deal in January 1963, but Hoyt was nowhere near being finished. He would pitch in 494 games with a 2.22 ERA after turning 40. He pitched his final major league game (two shutout innings) two weeks before his 50th birthday.
16 - Boog Powell and Bobby Grich both wore this number briefly at the start of their careers. Sam Bowens had a fine rookie season in 1964 as a RF but it was apparently a fluke. But one of the five players obtained in the ten-player trade with the Yankes in June 1976 was a 22 year old LH named Scott McGregor. He moved into the rotation in 1978 and stayed for 9 seasons, winning 138 games and never wearing another uniform in his career. In 6 post-season starts he was just 3-3 but with a 1.63 ERA and a pair of shutouts.
17 - Wayne Garland went 20-7 for the 1976 Orioles and signed a ten year deal with Cleveland. He injured his rotator cuff in the first year. Let's go with the first player chosen in the 1985 draft. B.J. Surhoff was a catcher in his first six seasons, but began moving out behind the plate after that, first to 3B and finally to LF. He has played almost as many games for Baltimore as he did for Milwaukee - but the Orioles got twice as many HRs from him.
18 - This is an undistinguished group - Wes Stock, Pat Kelly, Larry Sheets, Bob Milacki - so the choice here is Mr Marlin. Jeff Conine came to the Orioles after Florida's 1997 champions were dispersed and gave the Birds almost five productive seasons before returning to south Florida. Conine was a 58th round pick by the Royals back in 1987. Got to like that.
19 - Fred Lynn spent some of his declining years in Baltimore. Scott Erickson won 60 games in four years before the arm problems began. Ben McDonald was the first player chosen in the 1989 draft, but his promise never quite materialized and the doctors called off his career very early. Which leaves us with Dave McNally, who was a very fine pitcher for a very long time. He was a heady lefty who used his fastball and change to set hitters up for one of the nicest curveballs I ever will see. He won 180 games in 12 years in the Orioles rotation, including four straight 20 win seasons. Along the way he ran off a 17 game winning streak, tying an AL record since broken by Roger Clemens. His grand slam in the 1970 World Series is the only series slam ever hit by a pitcher. But his name is forever tied to one of the great turning points in baseball history. McNally didn't sign a contract with Montreal in 1975 and retired in June. He and Andy Messersmith then took their challenge of baseball's reserve clause to binding arbitration. McNally was Marvin Miller's insurance policy in case Messersmith decided he couldn't refuse the money the Dodgers were waiving in front of him; this had happened the previous year with Ted Simmons. McNally had no intention of signing with anyone but he thought Expos GM John McHale had broken a commitment. So having played in 1975 without signing a contract, Messersmith and McNally maintained that this represented the one year renewal spelled out by the reserve clause and that they were now free agents. The owners' position, as always, was that the reserve clause could be renewed again and again, one year at a time, forever. The players' grievance was upheld by arbitrator Peter Seitz on December 23, 1975. And nothing would ever be the same. Good thing, too.
20 - For the first ten years of their history, only Billy Hoeft kept this number for more than one year - but in 1966, the Orioles traded Milt Pappas to Cincinnati for a veteran outfielder from Cincinnati named Frank Robinson. Nice work, guys. F-Robby was a 30 year old with one MVP award and 324 career homers when he arrived in Baltimore. He was already on the fast track to the Hall of Fame. His time as an Oriole sealed the deal. They went to the World Series four times in his six years in Baltimore, and his Triple Crown, MVP year in 1966 is one of the great "I'll show you" seasons in baseball history. He was the first black man to manage in the majors (and if he'd stuck to playing rather than managing he surely would have ended up with more than 600 HRs). He'll be 70 this year, but we still see him in uniform and the fact that we do just thrills me. He was in town recently with his Washington Nationals, standing in front of the dugout for the anthems. All around him were guys who couldn't carry his jock strap. He was one of the greatest players who ever lived.
21 - Jimmy Key finished up in Baltimore, still pitching well, but he was only around for a year and a half. So we'll go with David Segui who wore this during his first tour with the Orioles from 1990-93 - it's not the longest stop of his career, but it is the one where he played the most games. Always a wonderful glove, he was just beginning to develop as a hitter during these years.
22 - The Orioles have gone to the World Series six times in their 50 year history and Jim Palmer pitched for them in each World Series. At the age of 20, he went 15-10 and pitched a shutout to beat Sandy Koufax in the last game Koufax ever pitched. He then missed almost two full seasons with what looked like a career ending shoulder injury. It wasn't - he went on to win 20 games eight times, three Cy Youngs, and 268 games all together. He was good-looking, well-spoken, a thoughtful man - who never stopped whining or fighting with his manager. A great pitcher, and a real piece of work. Thomas Boswell made his career telling stories about Palmer and Weaver, and Roger Angell has some wonderful ones as well. Here's my favourite. Weaver talking about Palmer:
"Do you remember Jim pitching that day in Oakland... when he started rearranging our outfielders, they way he does? Bando is coming up, with men on base, and he's a right-handed hitter of course, and Jimmy begins to move our right fielder...in, and then over a step, and then back a half step, like a goddam photographer arranging a picture, and then he holds up his hands - Hold it! Right there! - and the next pitch, the very next goddam pitch, Bando hits a shot out to right, and the fielder goes like this and like this, bending in and leaning back, but he never has to take a single goddam step and he makes the catch... Nobody like Jim Palmer."
23 - This has been David Segui's number during his second Baltimore tour, and it's also been worn by some notable LOOGYs - Grant Jackson and Tippy Martinez. Blue Jays fans still have nightmares about Tippy, who also came from the Yankees in that ten-player trade in 1976. But I think we should go with a fine hitting catcher. Chris Hoiles gave the Orioles ten seasons before hip and back problems ended his career at age 33.
24 - That ten-player deal with the Yankees in June 1976 brought not just Scott McGregor and Tippy Martinez. They also acquired a young catcher named Rick Dempsey. Dempsey was trapped behind Thurman Munson with the Yankees, but he worked behind the plate for ten seasons in Baltimore. The MVP of the 1983 World Series, not much of a hitter, but threw well and played hard every day. And his rain delay entertainment for the fans will never be forgotten. He's still around as a coach, and his nephew is catching for the Blue Jays.
25 - Jackie Brandt was a notorious flake, although I can't remember why. He patrolled CF in the early 60s, and was succeeded as # 25 by Moe Drabowsky who is best remembered for his Game 1 relief appearance in the 1966 World Series. Don Baylor wore this number in his Oriole days, when he could steal 50 bases and hit 25 HRs. But the Cubs once had this young outfielder who they traded away because they didn't think he'd hit for power. Since then, Rafael Palmeiro has hit more than 550 homers, and he hit more than 200 of them in Baltimore. As we all know, Rafael brings the good wood every time.
26 - Nicknames! One of Weaver's closers was Don Stanhouse, who they called "Stan the Man Unusual." Then there was a first basman named John Powell who arrived bearing his childhood nickname of "Booger." Ewww. But Boog Powell could hit. He grew to be as big as a defensive lineman and spent most of his career at first base; when he arrived, he was only as big as a linebacker and actually played regularly in the outfield. He was the 1970 MVP and he had three other seasons just as good as that one. He is all over the Baltimore record book, and the longest lineups at Camden Yards are for Boog's barbecue stand.
27 - Buddy Groom gave the Orioles five years as a LOOGY, and Benny Ayala put in six years as a RH bat off the bench. One of the three Orioles named Dave Johnson, this one a starting pitcher, wore this number from 1989 to 1991. But Wally Bunker turned in one of the best seasons ever by a teenager, going 19-5, 2.69 at the age of 19 in 1965. A year later, he pitched a shutout in the World Series. Bunker wasn't bound for glory - his peripherals suggest that he was pretty lucky in 1965. As you might also expect, arm troubles finished him off pretty quickly (age 26).
28 - Hal Brown was a veteran swingman on the bad Baltimore teams of the 1950s. He went 62-48 for them. Jim Dwyer wore this during the first half of his Oriole tenure, and Dave Stieb's buddy Jim Traber had it for a while. Randy Myers saved 76 games in two years, and earned a big contract from Gord Ash...
29 - Dick Hall was a Baltimore insitution in the 1960s, an ancient RH reliever who never walked anybody. But with all respect to Hall, and Jeff Ballard, and Joe Carter, Ken Singleton was at the centre of one of the more lopsided trades ever made. The Orioles gave up Dave McNally, Rich Coggins, and Bill Kirkpatrick to get Singleton and Mike Torrez. Singleton was a switch-hitting outfielder who hit for power, average, and drew 90 walks every year. He was 3rd in the 1977 MVP vote, and the runner-up in 1979.
30 - This is a tough one. Leaving aside the legenday Chico Salmon, Dennis Martinez spent parts of 10 seasons in Baltimore and won 98 games. But he didn't really become El Presidente until he moved on to Montreal. The fact that he was traded along with another guy for Rene Gonzalez is not a point in his favour. So I'm going with Gregg Olson who came to the Orioles almost straight off the Auburn campus, the fourth player chosen in the 1988 draft. He was the 1989 Rookie of the Year, and turned in five strong seasons as the Baltimore closer, saving 160 games.
31 - No players wore this number from 1953 through 1984; during some of that time, it belonged to pitching coach Ray Miller. The players who have worn it - Craig Lefferts, Doug Jones - have not covered themselves with glory. This leaves us with its current occupant, Jay Gibbons, who only started wearing the number last season. When he had a lousy year. Oh well, he's been better this year.
32 - Steve Stone won the 1980 Cy Young for the Orioles before his arm fell off, and Mark Williamson was a fine pitcher in the bullpen for several years. But I have to go with Milt Pappas, whose name always comes up when people wonder why Don Drysdale is a Hall of Famer. Pappas has basically the same career W-L record. Pappas, like Dennis Martinez, didn't have big seasons. He won 17 games twice, both times for the Cubs. He made his Oriole debut when he was 18, went 110-76 over 8 years, and best of all, he fetched Frank Robinson in a trade.
33 - This is easy - there aren't too many guys with 3000 hits and 500 HRs. Eddie Murray never won an MVP award, which still seems strange. But the MVP is often won by someone having an unusually big year. There was nothing remotly unusual about Murray having a big year. He did it again and again and again. A great, great hitter and a good glove when he was young. Murray might have been the worst batting practise hitter ever - he used to spend BP working on what he called his "emergency swing," for when he was fooled in the game. Fun fact: he had the best BAVG in the majors in 1990 (playing in Dodger Stadium, no less) but didn't win the batting title.
34 - Brooks Robinson wore this in 1956, but I guess we have to give the nod to Storm Davis. He was 20 years old when he came to Baltimore, and went 54-40 over his first 5 years. Those were his best seasons, as he never did strike out quite enough hitters.
35 - Another tough one, even after we pass over Gary Roenicke, who gave Weaver some very good years in the outfield. Mike Mussina came out of Stanford to win 147 games in 10 Baltimore seasons, and he's still polishing what may prove to be a Hall of Fame resume. But in December 1968 the Orioles made one of the greatest trades ever, sending Curt Blefary and a minor leaguer to Houston for a 31 year old LH screwballer from Cuba named Mike Cuellar. After two solid years in Houston, Cuellar had struggled in 1968. That turned out to be a blip. Over the next six years in Baltimore, Cuellar would win 125 games: he won 18 twice, 20, 22, 23, and 24. He slumped to 14-12 in 1975, and finally lost his effectiveness, at age 39, the following season when he was 4-13 and Weaver finally pulled him from the rotation, saying "I gave Mike Cuellar more chances than my first wife." But let's remember the good times, shall we?
36 - If at all possible, we'd rather not honour utility infielders - Tim Hulett, Jeff Reboulet. So let's salute an interesting and almost forgotten pitcher. Tom Phoebus was a RH power pitcher, who stood 5-8 and weighed 185 pounds. He ran off three straight seasons of 14 wins or more, before his arm stopped co-operating. The Orioles then packaged him to San Diego for Pat Dobson. Who was making these trades for Baltimore? Why did the other GMs even take his phone calls?
37 - They remember Glenn Davis in Baltimore, although they'd rather not. Davis came to Baltimore in one of the worst trades in franchise history. They gave up Steve Finley, Curt Schilling, and Pete Harnisch to get the Houston slugger who promptly stopped hitting. Orioles fans have much better memories of Stu Miller, for three reasons: 1) the little right-hander was one of the best relief pitchers in baseball in the early 1960s; 2) he had one of the greatest changeups of all time, an amazing pitch; 3) the little man was actually blown off the mound by one of those Candlestick breezes at the 1961 All-Star Game.
38 - Robin Roberts was one of the greatest pitchers who ever lived, but he did most of that work with the Phillies. So let us salute the immortal Brother Lo. John Lowenstein was actually a Blue Jay for a few weeks one winter. He started with the Indians, but never accomplished much until Weaver put him in a LF platoon with Gary Roenicke. For several years, the two of them gave Baltimore more production at LF than any other AL team was getting, including the team that Jim Rice played for. Lowenstein was also a very bright and entertaining man, who loved to give thoughtful interviews on what it meant to be a Jewish ballplayer. The kicker, of course, was that Lowenstein was not Jewish. But people will make these asuumptions...
39 - Earl Weaver didn't really have a closer early on, but his bullpen ace was a small (5-10) RH named Eddie Watt, who spent eight seasons in Baltimore. He gave them five years with ERAs of 2.27 or better, and lost a game in each of the 1969, 1970, and 1971 World Series. Ross Grimsley wore this when he came to Baltimore, and Randy Milligan contributed a couple of decent years in the late 1980s.
40 - The Oriole with the longest tenure wearing 40 was a back of the bullpen guy named Dave Leonhard, who went 16-14 over parts of six seasons. Rick Sutcliffe was easily the best player to wear 40 in Baltimore. He was near the end of the line when he arrived, but he still went 26-25 in his two seasons as an Oriole.
41 - The Orioles have been known to keep the same coaches on staff for decades, which may be why no player had this number from 1959 through 1979. It was Pat Hentgen's number, which didn't work out too well. So we have to go with Don Aase, always found at the beginning of the reference materials. Aase came up with the Red Sox but couldn't stay healthy long enough to establish himself as a starter. He finally found himself a role in the Angels bullpen. He came to Baltimore, as a free agent, gave them two good years (34 saves in 1986) and then his arm started hurting...
42 - This number has almost no history in Baltimore - no one wore it from 1961 through 1983, and it's now out of circulation forever. All we have really is Pete Harnisch, who started out in Baltimore, and was a key pitcher in the 1989 team's challenge to the Blue Jays.
43 - Mike Young was a first round pick who banged 28 HR with 81 RBI at age 25 - but it was all downhill from there, as he hit just 27 more HRs in the rest of his career. Curt Schilling made his ML debut as an Oriole after being acquired from Boston, but they traded him to Houston within a couple of years. Which leaves the Knight of Aruba, Sir Sidney Ponson who so far still has only one season when he's actually won more games than he's lost...
44 - Charlie Lau was a legend as a hitting coach, but as a player he was a backup catcher. Jim Hardin went 18-13 for the 1968 team when he was 24 years old, but never won more than 6 games afterwards. Rich Dauer was a first round pick, an outstanding hitting prospect with a good glove. And then he went 4-39 (.103) as a September callup in 1976 and went 1-41 through May of 1977. The traumatic start to his career completely changed him. He never became anywhere near the hitter he was expected to be. But he played a fine second base and chipped in with the stick. This number has not been worn by an Oriole since Dauer's last game, in 1985.
45 - As noted above, the Orioles have had three different Dave Johnsons over the years. This one was the least distinguished of the lot, a RH pitcher who was around briefly in the mid 1970s. Otherwise, the number has been favoured by LH pitchers of no memorable achievement: Eric Bell, Kevin Hickey, Jim Poole. So let's go with the Canadian kid who's off to such a fine start, Erik Bedard.
46 - This is a no-brainer. Mike Flanagan spent all but 3 years and a month of his 18 year career in Baltimore, and he's back as the co-GM. While he was on the Orioles pitching staff, he won 141 games and the 1979 Cy Young for a 23-9 season. Flanagan was a gamer, a guy who always took the ball. Remembered fondly in Toronto for his work tutoring the younger pitchers, especially Jimmy Key.
47 - Lee Smith and Jesse Orosco were two of the more memorable relievers of the last two decades. Smith gave the Orioles one decent year; Orosco was even older when he got to Baltimore, but the quintessential LOOGY posted four fine seasons. Well, maybe the last one wasn't so great. But it was certainly noteworthy, as Orosco worked just 32 IP in 65 appearances.
48 - Very slim pickings. We have to go with Ross Grimsley, who switched to this number in mid 1976. He was having a rough year and perhaps he was hoping it would change his luck. It didn't.
49 - Armando Benitez started out as an Oriole, but they traded him to the Mets before he began to harness his enormous gifts. Tim Stoddard was an enormous guy (6-7, 250) who was erratic as all hell from year to year, but did give Weaver a couple of very fine years as a bullpen ace.
50 - Sid Fernandez was just about done when he came to Baltimore, and Jorge Julio is just getting started. But Julio has already saved 83 games by age 25. Although he's not the closer anymore.
51 - We're not going to go with Terry Mathews, sorry. The Orioles signed Jamie Moyer as a free agent in December 1992 - he had just turned 30, he had missed the entire season with an injury, had gone 6-20 over the three seasons prior to that, and had been released by three different organizations. But this is where Moyer began to turn his career around, as he went 25-23 over the next three years. He hadn't become Jamie Moyer yet, but he started taking steps.
52 - Jose Mesa, acquired from Toronto in the Flanagan trade was an unimpressive starter for the Orioles, before going on to a long and mostly effective career as a closer in every other North American city. And B.J. Ryan is currently finishing games for the Orioles, and doing very well at it. Mike Boddicker was a slightly built RH with a fabulous curveball, who went 16-8 as a rookie in 1983. He then pitched a CG shutout against the White Sox in the LCS. He then pitched another shutout against the Phillies in the World Series, the only WS game he ever would pitch in. The following year he went 20-8 and led the AL in ERA. He was never that good again, but he went 87-72 in his five plus years in Baltimore before being traded for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling.
53 - Sammy Stewart actually led the AL in ERA as a relief pitcher during the strike year of 1981. He was Weaver's long man and spot starter, who would work 30 games and 115 IP every year. Arthur Rhodes was supposed to be the next great Baltimore starter. That never panned out - he eventually became a solid reliever but he had his best years after moving on.
54 - There has been only one. Alas, it was John Habyan at the beginning of his career.
55 - Doug Johns was a LH who went 9-7, mostly in relief, for the 1998-99 Orioles. This number was out of circulation entirely from 1978 through 1991.
Of the oddball numbers, Alan Mills (75) was an effective reliever for several years, and who could possibly forget Rene Gonzalez (88). Juan Guzman (57) did a tour of Baltimore. The best player, and the worst contract, was obviously the notorious, legendary Albert Belle (88). Albert Belle was one of the most disliked players - by fans and media - ever. He was hated just as much as Cobb in his time, as much as Ted Williams in his time. (And, like Williams, he hit a homer in his last major league at bat.) Belle was a walking pile of trouble and contradiction. He was a very intelligent, very literate man with a great work ethic. He was also an alcoholic as a young man, and always seemed to have serious anger management problems. But in the batter's box, everything was simple. He was one of the greatest, most frightening hitters I have ever seen.
Belle had complete and utter contempt for sports journalists. He despised them, and they returned the favour. I believe it actually offended Belle's intelligence that baseball - this game - was so important to so many people, that thousands showed up at the ballpark to yell and scream, that reporters came by every day, so full of themselves, to ask him serious and intense questions about... this game. But it was his work, and he went about his work seriously, and he certainly liked cashing the cheques. He was not a fool.
I will always remember a play from near the end of his career. It was September 2000, and he was already in a great deal of pain from the hip problem. Belle was just returning to the lineup as a DH after missing three weeks. It was unusual when Belle missed a game, but by this point he was visibly hobbling. It was near the end of a dismal 74-88 season, an utterly meaningless blowout of a game in an utterly meaningless year. Belle came up with one out and a runner on and hit a routine grounder to the right side. He could barely walk, let alone run, but he hustled down the first base line trying to beat the double play. It was close, but he didn't make it. What I remember is the attempt, on one leg. I have no idea how he did it, and I have no idea why. The game was over, the season was over. The at bat meant nothing, nothing at all. I have never forgetten it.
Next up... the Boston Red Sox.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050520150556475