1979 Baltimore Orioles season

1979 Baltimore Orioles
American League champions
American League East champions
LeagueAmerican League
DivisionEast
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record102–57 (.642)
Divisional place1st
OwnersJerold Hoffberger, Edward Bennett Williams
General managersHank Peters
ManagersEarl Weaver
TelevisionWMAR-TV
RadioWFBR
(Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell, Tom Marr, and on few occasions Charley Eckman)

The 1979 Baltimore Orioles season was the 79th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 26th in Baltimore, and 26th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished first in the American League East division of Major League Baseball with a record of 102 wins and 57 losses. They went on to defeat the California Angels in the 1979 American League Championship Series, 3 games to 1, before losing the 1979 World Series to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4 games to 3.

Season overview

The 1979 season represented a turning point in Orioles history. Attendance of games was poor in 1978, but ownership changed hands in 1979, with a 12-million-dollar sale by Jerry Hoffberger's Baltimore Baseball Group, a local, family-oriented operation, to Edward Bennett Williams, a Washington, D.C. attorney with ideas to move the club to the nation's capital.

During the season, the club played well, winning 102 games and the American League East title for the first time since 1974. Additionally, Earl Weaver used 140 different lineups during the regular season.

The cause of the rise in popularity during the 1979 season is still unknown. Some suspect that a cause could be linked to the NFL's Baltimore Colts coming apart under Robert Irsay. With the team losing and Irsay threatening to relocate, people may have been looking for an alternative. Another factor was a change in the Orioles' flagship radio station: After 22 years on WBAL, the games were now on WFBR, a smaller station, but with a younger audience.

Offseason

Regular season

A new owner

The team won 90 games and drew 1.05 million fans in 1978, maintaining an attendance level that hadn't changed in 25 years. Hoffberger was under pressure to sell the team due to player salaries rising and profits falling. He announced in 1978 that he would entertain offers. Williams' purchase was completed in August of 1979. The lawyer said he would move to Washington if attendance continued to disappoint, although the draw was up well before Williams issued his warning.

The players

The Orioles didn't have a high payroll, but won with a lot of effort and the individual skills that team members had to offer. An amalgam of All-Stars and role players jelling under Weaver, they pitched well, made key plays, hit in the clutch, came from behind, and won games in unusual ways. The phenomenon was given a nickname: "Oriole Magic".

Offense

Those carrying the heaviest loads on offense were outfielder Ken Singleton, who had a career year with 35 homers and 111 RBIs and finished second in the American League MVP voting, and first baseman Eddie Murray, who had 25 homers and 99 RBIs.

Rich Dauer, Kiko Garcia, and Doug DeCinces filled out the infield, with Garcia taking over for aging Mark Belanger at shortstop. Al Bumbry batted leadoff, stole 37 bases, and ran down balls in center field. Rick Dempsey hit .239, but his get-dirty style behind the plate made him a fan favorite.

Weaver's platoon of veteran John Lowenstein and rookie Gary Roenicke in left field was also successful. Roenicke, acquired from Montreal, had 25 homers and 64 RBIs, while Lowenstein, released by Texas Rangers after the 1978 season, added 11 homers and 34 RBIs.

Weaver also found places to plug in reserve outfielder Pat Kelly, who batted .288; pinch hitter Terry Crowley, who batted .317, and Benny Ayala, a reserve outfielder with a knack for extra-base hits. Lee May received the majority of the designated hitter at-bats, producing 19 homers and 69 RBIs.

Pitching

Pitching was still the heart of the club. The Orioles had the AL's lowest team ERA (3.28, more than a half-run lower than the next best team) and limited opponents to a .241 average, the league's lowest by 12 points. The staff was led by Mike Flanagan, whose 23–9 record, 3.08 ERA, and 16 complete games earned him the AL Cy Young Award. After Flanagan, there was Dennis Martínez (15–16, 18 complete games), Scott McGregor (13–6), Steve Stone (11–7), and Jim Palmer (10–6), who was injured and failed to win 20 games for only the second time in the 1970s. The bullpen, with Don Stanhouse, left-hander Tippy Martinez, and right-handers Tim Stoddard and Sammy Stewart, had 28 wins and 30 saves.

Stanhouse, a closer acquired in a six-player deal with the Montreal Expos, made the All-Star team. Weaver called Stanhouse "Full Pack", as in the full pack of cigarettes Weaver smoked to get through Stanhouse's appearances.

"Wild Bill"

In section 34 in the upper deck down the right-field line, a bearded cab driver named "Wild" Bill Hagy became a symbol for the team and fellow attendees of the games. He would rise from his seat, stand in front of his section, and spell out O-R-I-O-L-E-S with his body, twisting his arms and legs into recognizable facsimiles of the letters. When other, nearby sections joined in the cheer, it grew in popularity until the entire ballpark followed Hagy's lead, sending roaring cheers into the night.

Season standings

AL East
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Baltimore Orioles 102 57 .642 — 55‍–‍24 47‍–‍33
Milwaukee Brewers 95 66 .590 8 52‍–‍29 43‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox 91 69 .569 11½ 51‍–‍29 40‍–‍40
New York Yankees 89 71 .556 13½ 51‍–‍30 38‍–‍41
Detroit Tigers 85 76 .528 18 46‍–‍34 39‍–‍42
Cleveland Indians 81 80 .503 22 47‍–‍34 34‍–‍46
Toronto Blue Jays 53 109 .327 50½ 32‍–‍49 21‍–‍60

Record vs. opponents

1979 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team BAL BOS CAL CWS CLE DET KC MIL MIN NYY OAK SEA TEX TOR
Baltimore — 8–5 9–3 8–3 8–5 7–6 6–6 8–5 8–4 5–6 8–4 10–2 6–6 11–2
Boston 5–8 — 5–7 5–6 6–7 8–5 8–4 8–4 9–3 5–8 9–3 8–4 6–6 9–4
California 3–9 7–5 — 9–4 6–6 4–8 7–6 7–5 9–4 7–5 10–3 7–6 5–8 7–5
Chicago 3–8 6–5 4–9 — 6–6 3–9 5–8 5–7 5–8 4–8 9–4 5–8 11–2 7–5
Cleveland 5–8 7–6 6–6 6–6 — 6–6 6–6 4–9 8–4 5–8 8–4 7–5 5–7 8–5
Detroit 6–7 5–8 8–4 9–3 6–6 — 5–7 6–7 4–8 7–6 7–5 7–5 6–6 9–4
Kansas City 6–6 4–8 6–7 8–5 6–6 7–5 — 5–7 7–6 5–7 9–4 7–6 6–7 9–3
Milwaukee 5–8 4–8 5–7 7–5 9–4 7–6 7–5 — 8–4 9–4 6–6 9–3 9–3 10–3
Minnesota 4–8 3–9 4–9 8–5 4–8 8–4 6–7 4–8 — 7–5 9–4 10–3 4–9 11–1
New York 6–5 8–5 5–7 8–4 8–5 6–7 7–5 4–9 5–7 — 9–3 6–6 8–4 9–4
Oakland 4–8 3–9 3–10 4–9 4–8 5–7 4–9 6–6 4–9 3–9 — 8–5 2–11 4–8
Seattle 2–10 4–8 6–7 8–5 5–7 5–7 6–7 3–9 3–10 6–6 5–8 — 6–7 8–4
Texas 6–6 6–6 8–5 2–11 7–5 6–6 7–6 3–9 9–4 4–8 11–2 7–6 — 7–5
Toronto 2–11 4–9 5–7 5–7 5–8 4–9 3–9 3–10 1–11 4–9 8–4 4–8 5–7 —

Notable transactions

  • June 26, 1979: John Stefero was signed by the Orioles as an amateur free agent.[5]
  • September 1, 1979: Elrod Hendricks was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.[4]

Roster

1979 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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
C Rick Dempsey 124 368 88 .239 6 41
1B Eddie Murray 159 606 179 .295 25 99
2B Rich Dauer 142 479 123 .257 9 61
3B Doug DeCinces 120 422 97 .230 16 61
SS Kiko Garcia 126 417 103 .247 5 24
LF Gary Roenicke 133 376 98 .261 25 64
CF Al Bumbry 148 569 162 .285 7 49
RF Ken Singleton 159 570 168 .295 35 111
DH Lee May 124 456 116 .254 19 69

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
Mark Belanger 101 198 33 .167 0 9
John Lowenstein 97 197 50 .254 11 34
Billy Smith 68 189 47 .249 6 33
Pat Kelly 68 153 44 .288 9 25
Dave Skaggs 63 137 34 .248 1 14
Benny Ayala 42 86 22 .256 6 13
Terry Crowley 61 63 20 .317 1 8
Larry Harlow 38 41 11 .268 0 1
Wayne Krenchicki 16 21 4 .190 0 0
Mark Corey 13 13 2 .154 0 1
Bob Molinaro 8 6 0 .000 0 0
Tom Chism 6 3 0 .000 0 0
Elrod Hendricks 1 1 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

= Indicates league leader

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
Dennis Martínez 40 292.1 15 16 3.66 132
Mike Flanagan 39 265.2 23 9 3.08 190
Steve Stone 32 186.0 11 7 3.77 96
Scott McGregor 27 174.2 13 6 3.35 81
Jim Palmer 23 155.2 10 6 3.30 67

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
Dave Ford 9 30.0 2 1 2.10 7

Relief pitchers

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

Player G IP W L SV ERA SO
Don Stanhouse 52 72.2 7 3 21 2.85 34
Tippy Martinez 39 78.0 10 3 3 2.88 61
Sammy Stewart 31 117.2 8 5 1 3.52 71
Tim Stoddard 29 58.0 3 1 3 1.71 47
John Flinn 4 2.2 0 0 0 0.00 0
Jeff Rineer 1 1.0 0 0 0 0.00 0

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1979 American League Championship Series

The Orioles won the Series, 3 games to 1, over the California Angels.

Game Score Date Location Attendance
1 California – 3, Baltimore – 6 October 3 Memorial Stadium 52,787
2 California – 8, Baltimore – 9 October 4 Memorial Stadium 52,108
3 Baltimore – 3, California – 4 October 5 Anaheim Stadium 43,199
4 Baltimore – 8, California – 0 October 6 Anaheim Stadium 43,199

World Series

Main article: 1979 World Series

NL Pittsburgh Pirates (4) vs. AL Baltimore Orioles (3)

Game Score Date Location Attendance Time of Game
1 Pirates – 4, Orioles – 5 October 10 Memorial Stadium 53,735 3:18
2 Pirates – 3, Orioles – 2 October 11 Memorial Stadium 53,739 3:13
3 Orioles – 8, Pirates – 4 October 12 Three Rivers Stadium 50,848 2:51
4 Orioles – 9, Pirates – 6 October 13 Three Rivers Stadium 50,883 3:48
5 Orioles – 1, Pirates – 7 October 14 Three Rivers Stadium 50,920 2:54
6 Pirates – 4, Orioles – 0 October 16 Memorial Stadium 53,739 2:30
7 Pirates – 4, Orioles – 1 October 17 Memorial Stadium 53,733 2:54

Awards and honors

  • Earl Weaver, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Doc Edwards
AA Charlotte O's Southern League Jimmy Williams
A Miami Orioles Florida State League Lance Nichols
Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League J. R. Miner

Notes

  1. ^ Jeff Schneider page at Baseball Reference
  2. ^ Steve Lake page at Baseball Reference
  3. ^ Benny Ayala page at Baseball Reference
  4. ^ a b Elrod Hendricks page at Baseball Reference
  5. ^ John Stefero page at Baseball Reference

References

  • 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.
  • 1979 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
  • 1979 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
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