The Baltimore Orioles were once the beasts of the AL East, the monsters of MLB. They were a dominant team and a contender from the mid-1960s through the early 1980′s and again in the mid to late 1990′s. But it’s been hard times in “Balmor” since then, with the team usually in last or next to last place in the division. Is there any hope for the O’s to once again join the American League elite?
Some of my most vivid childhood memories include watching players like Frank and Brooks Robinson, and Boog Powell thrash Yankees’ pitching. I remember watching in awe as Dave McNally, Mike Cueller, and Jim Palmer pitched lights out baseball. Of course, I also recall watching manager Earl Weaver manipulate his players, the field, the umpires, etc., to ensure an Orioles win.
Those teams were the O’s teams of the the 3-run home run. There was no small ball; the Orioles just methodically out-pitched, out-hit, and out-defended everyone in their wake. And man could those teams field! Brooks with 16 straight Gold Gloves at 3rd base, Mark Belanger providing no pop, but fielding with the grace of a ballerina, and center fielder Paul Blair running down any ball hit to the gaps.
The Orioles, not the Yankees or Red Sox, were the team that everyone wanted to be. While Boston and New York had their heated moments and a few players exchanged punches to the face in the 1970′s, they were always looking up at Baltimore in the standings. Today Yankees and Red Sox fans hate one another and each other’s team, but back then any animosity I felt towards the Orioles was out of jealousy. The Orioles simply did everything right. And yet despite all of that, the Orioles won the World Series only twice (1966, 1970) during the era of their AL dominance from the mid 1960′s through the 1970′s. They lost to the Amazing Mets in 1969, blew 3 -1 leads in games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in both the 1971 and 1979 World Series, and ran into the Oakland A’s juggernaut in the 1973-1974 ALCS’.
Baltimore rebounded with the arrival of Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray to win the 1983 World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. But save for the 1989 season, the Orioles didn’t come close to sniffing another division title again until the mid-1990′s. They lost back -to-back league championship series in 1996-1997 and since then have not finished higher than fourth in the east (except for a 3rd place finish the 2004 season) and have played below .500 ball for the past 13 years. Gorgeous Camden Yards was always filled to the brim when it opened in 1992 and for many years after that. Now it is only packed when certain visiting teams come to town, and more than half of the fans are rooting for the guys in the road uniforms rather than the black, orange, and white of the Orioles.
It’s no coincidence that the Orioles’ downfall began when Peter Angelos, a George Steinbrenner-wannabe, bought the team in 1993. One of the cliches when a coach or owner takes over a team is, “I have a five-year plan”. It’s supposed to be a mission statement for success. Apparently, Angelos’ plan was take a successful franchise and run it into the ground. Angelos has relied too much on his own interpretation of what a ball club should be and didn’t listen to his more knowledgeable front office people. He dealt prospects for veterans and held on to veterans too long in the hopes of putting fans in the seats. There’s no better example of his mismanagement than when the Orioles held onto pending free agents Rafael Palmiero and Robbie Alomar on the 1998 squad that was 24 games out of 1st place and nearly 10 games out of the wild card race as the July trade deadline arrived.
The worst thing that could have happened for O’s fans was a nine-game winning streak in mid-July of ’98 that had Angelos thinking the team could make a run at the wild card. Shortly before the deadline, then-assistant GM Kevin Malone told the Baltimore Sun, ”I don’t think our approach and our focus are going to change. I guess it could. But I don’t think we’re looking back. I think our only concern is making ourselves better right now and for the future.” Instead of selling players at the deadline the Orioles tried to buy parts. It proved to be a huge mistake.
Palmiero, in the midst of a 43 HR, 121 RBI season, could have brought back a huge haul of front line prospects in a deal. Alomar was having a sub-par season largely due to injury, but still could have brought a young viable player back in return. Instead, the year ended with all nine Orioles starters 30 years of age or older (as well as the first two players off their bench) and no playoff spot. As expected, Palmiero and Alomar signed new deals eleswhere. Then Angelos compounded his mistake by bringing in perennial MVP – if the ‘M’ stood for ‘Malcontent’ or ‘Moody’- Albert Belle with a huge free agent deal (by 1999 standards). Belle had a very productive ’99 season (37 HR, 117 RBI), but retired after the following year due to a hip injury.
The team has yet to recover from those mistakes. Numerous managers, general managers, and other front office people have come and gone under Angelos’ tenure, but no changes have come in the won-loss columns due to Angelos’ meddling and lack of baseball acumen. It’s the reason the team’s ace, Mike Mussina, left via free agency after the 2000 season. He knew the team would continue to be stuck in the mud. During the downtime, the Yankees have won 5 championships and the Red Sox snapped an 86-year drought to capture two titles. Even the Tampa Bay Rays, who were not in existence until 1998, reached the World Series in 2008. The division’s other team, Toronto, hasn’t grabbed a playoff spot since the early 1990′s, but they generally field a competitive team.
But perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel. In June, 2007, Angelos hired the highly-respected Andy MacPhail as president of the team. MacPhail set out to straighten out the Orioles farm system and clear the roster of dead weight. Baltimore’s farm system has been poorly rated for many years, including the current crop. But the Orioles do have two of the top prospects in all of baseball in pitcher Zach Britton and 18-yr old shortstop Manny Machado. Britton is on the verge of breaking through to the Major Leagues while Machado was the O’s top pick and third overall in last season’s amateur draft. He is already ranked as the number 14 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America and number 24 by MLB.com. Baltimore also needs to spend money on international talent, something they’ve refused to do thus far.
Additionally, the team has started to move towards youth on the 25-man roster. Gone are guys like Melvin Mora and Kevin Millwood. Catcher Matt Wieters was the 5th pick in the 2007 draft and he is now growing into his role as the starting catcher. Scouts still feel he will fulfull his star potential. Pitchers Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta, and 3rd baseman Josh Bell all got a taste of the big leagues last year. They brought in slugger Mark Reynolds to give the fans some thrills with his home run and whiffs. Centerfielder Adam Jones is a star that is still rising in the baseball sky and stalwarts Nick Markakis and Brian Roberts are there in right field and 2nd base respectively.
MacPhail made a very important hire late in the 2010 season, grabbing veteran skipper Buck Showalter to teach the youngsters how to play the game right. Showalter already got the team to respond over the final 57 games (34-23) of the 2010 season. Suddenly a team that had no hope may have some hope for the future and some early expectations of increased success.
While the team still won’t be in the upper echelon of the AL East for the next few years, their time may come sooner than you think…as long as Peter Angelos doesn’t interfere.
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Original Story:
http://fullcountpitch.com/2011/03/07/...
