With a 66-96 record the Baltimore Orioles finished in last place in the American League East. They spent no days in first place, and at their worst they were 36 games behind the divisional lead. They were never over .500 and at their worst they were 41 games under. They got their manger fired, but Buck Showalter actually finished the year with a winning record at 34-23. They went just 24-48 against their divisional rivals. However they were 9-9 against the Boston Red Sox.
On the offensive side of things the Orioles scored the fewest runs (613) in the American League. They hit the fifth fewest home runs, and collected 1,440 hits. As a team they hit just .259. None of the regular nine starters hit .300 for the year, but RF Nick Markakis and DH Luke Scott came pretty close. All in all this team has some talent, and it seems Showalter gets the most out of them.
Things do not get much better for the pitching staff. They had the second least amount of wins at 66, and the staff ERA was the second worst in the AL at 4.59. They did strike out 1,007 batters, but they also walked 520 batters. They also gave up the second most hits in the AL at 1,508. While two of their regular five starters did have double digit victories, none of them finished with a winning record.
This is a team that is in desperate need of upgrading their talent, sure they have some but one or two guys cannot carry a MLB team. I really admire the job Showalter has done there, and if they get him some talent they may be able to compete in the AL East sooner rather than later.
Related Links:
- Baltimore Orioles news and notes
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com