Today we take a deep dive into one of the storied franchises in MLB history, the Baltimore Orioles. Here’s the team’s definitive all-time lineup, ranked.
Before officially becoming the Baltimore Orioles back in 1954, the team was one of the American League’s eight charter teams in 1901. Initially, the organization was known as the Milwaukee Brewers before becoming the St. Louis Browns from 1902 to 1953.
As the Brewers and the Browns, the team managed to make one World Series. It was 1944, and the Browns were taking on their crosstown rival St. Louis Cardinals.
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It only took the Cards 6-games to do away with the Browns, and as a result, 10-years later, the O’s were born.
Since then, the franchise has made it to six World Series matches, winning 50% of them. The first ring came in 1966, then in 1970, and finally in 1983.
Since then, the franchise has come close, but no cigar.
Currently, the team is in the midst of a rebuild. So what better time than now to take a look back at the organization’s greatest players?
To make our determinations, we averaged out each player’s bWAR and fWAR at every position. We then selected the player with the highest average WAR (aWAR).
1. Pitcher – Jim Palmer (62.8 aWAR)
Hall of Famer Jim Palmer is hands down one of the greatest pitchers to ever live. Aside from his stacked resume, which includes SIX All-Star selections, FOUR Gold Gloves, THREE Cy Young Awards, and TWO ERA titles, Palmer is also a 2x World Series champion with the Baltimore Orioles.
Currently, Palmer holds the franchise record in each of the following categories:
- Games Started: 515
- Complete Games: 211
- Wins: 263
- Strikeouts: 2124