5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Baltimore Orioles

mlb.com

In this series I am going through all 30 MLB teams and presenting five facts you most likely didn’t know about each one.  As a big baseball fan, I thought I knew a lot about the history of the game, but there’s so much I’m learning as I’m going through this, which makes it really fun to put together.  Let’s get started.  Next up in the series: the Baltimore Orioles

1.       At one time they were the Milwaukee Brewers

As one of the original eight American League teams that formed in 1901, the Baltimore Oriole franchise was then known as the Milwaukee Brewers.  That only lasted one year before they moved to St. Louis and became the Browns for 52 years.  Then finally, they relocated to Baltimore.

2.       They own the worst start to a season EVER

In a record that stands in all of professional sports, the Baltimore Orioles lost 21 games to start the 1988 season, before finally getting in the win column.  Cal Ripken Sr. was the manager for the first six, before getting fired, and Frank Robinson was the manager for the next 15 losses.

3.       Had the smallest MLB player in history

In a stunt pulled by new owner Bill Veeck in 1951, 3-foot 7 Eddie Gaedel was signed to a contract and appeared as a pinch hitter on August 19th for the (then) St. Louis Browns.  He wore the number 1/8 on the back of his jersey, and as you could imagine, walked on four straight pitches.  The president of the American League, Will Harridge, was none too happy with the stunt and voided Gaedel’s contract the following day.

4.       Were involved in the largest MLB trade in history

After the recent relocation to Baltimore to become the Orioles, the team made a trade in December of 1954 with the New York Yankees that involved a total of 17 players.  Talk about “starting over.”

5.       Only one player has ever hit the warehouse building with a fly ball

Sort of.  No one has ever hit the famous warehouse building beyond the right field wall with a fly ball in an actual game, without bouncing first.  But in 1993, when Baltimore hosted the home run derby at Camden Yards, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a ball that hit the side of the building, and is the only player to do so in competition.

Did you learn something new?  Find anything interesting?  If you did, feel free to leave a comment or add a fun fact of your own!

Garett