1977 Baltimore Orioles
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record97–64 (.602)
Divisional place2nd
OwnersJerold Hoffberger
General managersHank Peters
ManagersEarl Weaver
TelevisionWJZ-TV
RadioWBAL (AM)
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
Seasons

The 1977 Baltimore Orioles season finished with the ballclub tied for second place in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 64 losses. The Orioles stayed in contention for the division title until an 11–10 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 30.[1] They in turn eliminated the Red Sox 8–7 the following day on October 1.[2]

The Orioles entered the campaign with diminished expectations because of the departures of Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich and Wayne Garland via free agency.[3] The team's biggest boost came from Eddie Murray who hit .283 with 27 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI) and was named the American League Rookie of the Year on November 21. He also batted .364 with nine homers and 26 RBI during the last 31 games of the season.[4]

The Orioles lost a five-inning 4–0 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium on September 15 via forfeit because of third‐base umpire Marty Springstead's refusal to have a tarpaulin covering the pitcher's mounds in the home team's bullpen in the left‐field corner removed. Out of concern for the safety of his left fielder Andrés Mora, manager Earl Weaver protested Springstead's decision by pulling his team off the field. The forfeit was declared after 15 minutes had elapsed and the Orioles had not returned. Weaver explained, "Mora almost broke his leg on that damn thing yesterday. If that had not happened, I might not have thought of it. If a guy slips out there and hurts his leg, how am I gonna feel?"[5] American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the forfeit two days later on September 17. Even though he said that Weaver's concern for his players' safety was "not only understandable, but commendable," MacPhail stated, "There is a basic principle involved here, and that is that someone involved as a competitor cannot be allowed to dictate decisions that must be made by a neutral official."[6]

The Orioles drew 1,195,769 which at the time was the second-highest home attendance total since the franchise's first season in Baltimore in 1954, surpassed by only 1,203,366 in 1966.[7] A 10–4 defeat to the Red Sox at Memorial Stadium on September 18 drew 51,798, then the largest crowd to attend an Orioles home regular-season game, who paid tribute to Brooks Robinson who had announced his retirement as an active player one month prior on August 21.[8] The ballclub sustained a net operating loss of $43,846, primarily because of a $499,000 increase in player payroll in the first year of Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency.[7]

Offseason

Regular season


Brooks
Robinson
3B
Retired 1977

Season standings

AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 10062 0.617 — 55–26 45–36
Baltimore Orioles 9764 0.602 2½ 54–27 43–37
Boston Red Sox 9764 0.602 2½ 51–29 46–35
Detroit Tigers 7488 0.457 26 39–42 35–46
Cleveland Indians 7190 0.441 28½ 37–44 34–46
Milwaukee Brewers 6795 0.414 33 37–44 30–51
Toronto Blue Jays 54107 0.335 45½ 25–55 29–52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League record

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore —6–85–65–511–412–34–711–46–48–78–27–34–610–5
Boston 8–6—7–33–78–79–65–59–64–68–78–310–16–412–3
California 6–53–7—8–76–44–66–95–57–84–75–109–65–106–4
Chicago 5–57–37–8—6–44–68–76–510–53–710–510–56–98–3
Cleveland 4–117–84–64–6—8–73–711–42–93–127–37–32–99–5
Detroit 3–126–96–46–47–8—3–810–55–56–95–55–62–810–5
Kansas City 7–45–59–67–87–38–3—8–210–55–59–611–48–78–2
Milwaukee 4–116–95–55–64–115–102–8—3–88–75–57–35–58–7
Minnesota 4–66–48–75–109–25–55–108–3—2–88–67–88–79–1
New York 7–87–87–47–312–39–65–57–88–2—9–26–47–39–6
Oakland 2–83–810–55–103–75–56–95–56–82–9—7–82–137–3
Seattle 3–71–106–95–103–76–54–113–78–74–68–7—9–64–6
Texas 6–44–610–59–69–28–27–85–57–83–713–26–9—7–4
Toronto 5–103–124–63–85–95–102–87–81–96–93–76–44–7—

Opening Day lineup

Notable transactions

Roster

1977 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
CRick Dempsey9127061.226334
1BLee May150585148.2532799
2BBilly Smith10936779.215529
3BDoug DeCinces150522135.2591969
SSMark Belanger14440283.206230
LFPat Kelly12036092.2561049
CFAl Bumbry133518164.317441
RFKen Singleton152536176.3282499
DHEddie Murray160611173.2832788

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Rich Dauer9630474.243525
Andrés Mora7723357.2451344
Dave Skaggs8021662.287124
Kiko Garcia6513129.221210
Tony Muser12011827.22907
Elliott Maddox4910728.26229
Tom Shopay676913.18814
Larry Harlow464810.20800
Brooks Robinson24477.14914
Terry Crowley18228.36419
Ken Rudolph11144.28602
Dave Criscione793.33311
Mike Dimmel2550.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Jim Palmer39319.020112.91193
Rudy May37251.218143.61105
Mike Flanagan36235.015103.64149
Ross Grimsley34218.114103.9653

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Dennis Martínez42166.21474.10107
Scott McGregor29114.0354.4255

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Tippy Martinez415192.7029
Dick Drago366333.6320
Dyar Miller122215.649
Fred Holdsworth120106.284
Tony Chévez400012.387
Mike Parrott30002.082
Nelson Briles20016.752
Earl Stephenson10009.002
Randy Miller100040.500
Ed Farmer1000inf0

Awards and honors

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Ken Boyer
AA Charlotte O's Southern League Jimmie Schaffer
A Miami Orioles Florida State League Len Johnston
Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League J. R. Miner

References

  1. ↑ "Red Sox Oust Orioles, 11–10, To Stay Alive," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, September 30, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
  2. ↑ "Six Oriole Homers Eliminate Boston at Fenway, 8–7," The New York Times, Sunday, October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
  3. ↑ Povich, Shirley. "Orioles Seem Destined for Third Place," The Washington Post, Wednesday, March 23, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
  4. ↑ "Eddie Murray Rookie Of Year In AL," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 22, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
  5. ↑ "Orioles Forfeit Game to the Jays in Dispute over Bullpen Mound," United Press International (UPI), Friday, September 16, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Montgomery, Paul L. "But Baltimore Loses Appeal to League Over Forfeit," The New York Times, Sunday, September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Scannell, Nancy. "Orioles Expect Loss At Gate of 150,000, Substantial Deficit," The Washington Post, Sunday, September 10, 1978. Retrieved April 18 2023.
  8. ↑ Montgomery, Paul L. "Red Sox Set Back Orioles, 10–4, As Both End Ungainful Weekend," The New York Times, Monday, September 19, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  9. ↑ Darryl Cias page at Baseball Reference
  10. ↑ Bob Galasso page at Baseball Reference
  11. ↑ Dave Pagan page at Baseball Reference
  12. ↑ Dave Criscione page at Baseball Reference
  13. ↑ John Shelby page at Baseball Reference
  14. ↑ Paul Blair page at Baseball Reference
  15. ↑ Billy Smith page at Baseball Reference
  16. ↑ Vic Rodriguez page at Baseball Reference
  17. ↑ Randy Stein page at Baseball Reference
  18. ↑ Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
  19. ↑ Ken Rudolph page at Baseball Reference
  20. ↑ Nelson Briles transactions at Baseball Reference
  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
  • 1977 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
  • 1977 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.