1966 Baltimore Orioles: Year of the Birds

1966 Baltimore Orioles: Year of the Birds

1966 Baltimore Orioles: Year of the Birds

Looking to add a spark to their offense, the Baltimore Orioles would make a key trade prior to the 1966 regular season. Sending pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson to the Cincinnati Reds, the Orioles would receive outfielder Frank Robinson. This trade is considered to be one of the most lopsided trades in Major League Baseball history as the Reds wouldn’t benefit from this trade, while the Orioles would get a boost from it.

The Orioles went 97-63 in the 1966 regular season, finishing 9 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins and 10 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers to claim the American League crown. Speaking of crowns, Frank Robinson ended up having one of the best seasons a position player could have in the game of baseball as he would win the American League Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player award. Robinson batted. .316 and blasted 49 home runs while recording 122 RBI’s, 182 hits, 34 doubles and 8 stolen bases.

First baseman Boog Powell batted .287 and crushed 34 home runs while recording 109 RBI’s, 141 hits and 18 doubles. Center fielder Paul Blair batted .277 with 84 hits and 20 doubles. Shortstop Luis Aparicio batted .276 with 182 hits, 25 doubles, 8 triples and 25 stolen bases. Reserve outfielder Russ Snyder played in 117 games and bated .306 with 114 hits, 21 doubles and 5 stolen bases. Left fielder Paul Blefary belted 23 home runs and had 107 hits and 14 doubles. Catcher Andy Etchebarren hit 11 home runs along with 91 hits, 14 doubles and 6 triples.

The Orioles also had a strong pitching staff filled with blossoming talent. Starting pitcher Jim Palmer went 15-10 with 147 strikeouts and posted a 3.46 ERA and 6 complete games. Dave McNally went 13-6 with 159 strikeouts and posted a 3.17 ERA, 5 complete games and 1 shutout. Wally Bunker went 10-6 with 89 strikeouts and had 3 complete games. Steve Barber went 10-5 with 91 strikeouts and posted a 2.30 ERA, 5 complete games and 3 shutouts.

The bullpen for the Orioles was the main strength of the team as they took turns in recording saves at the end of games. Closer Stu Miller had 18 saves and a 2.25 ERA. Relief pitcher Eddie Fisher had 14 saves and a 2.64 ERA. Pitching the most innings out of the bullpen with 145.2 innings, Eddie Watt had 4 saves and 102 strikeouts while posting a 3.83 ERA. Dick Hall had 7 saves and a 3.95 ERA. Moe Drabowski had 6 saves and 98 strikeouts and posted a 2.81 ERA.

Clearing the American League gauntlet, the Baltimore Orioles took on the National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 World Series, and in Game 1 on October 5 at Dodger Stadium, the Orioles would win 5-2. Dave McNally could only pitch 2.1 innings as he was roughed up by Dodger batters, giving up 2 hits, 5 walks and 2 runs with 1 strikeout. Moe Drabowski would come in to relieve McNally and he would pitch a gem, going 6.2 innings deep and giving up only 1 hit and 2 walks while recording 11 strikeouts.

Frank Robinson struck first for the Orioles as he belted a 2-run home run in the top of the 1st inning, and third baseman Brooks Robinson followed him with a solo home run. In the top of the 2nd inning, Russ Snyder had an RBI single. Second baseman Jim Lefebvre would put the Dodgers on the board with his own solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd, and third baseman Jim Gilliam would draw a bases loaded walk to score right fielder Lou Johnson. In the top of the 4th Luis Aparicio grounded into a forceout at second base to score second baseman Davey Johnson to give Baltimore all the scoring it needed.

The Orioles would go on to win Game 2 on October 6 in a 6-0 shutout. Jim Palmer pitched a complete game, giving up 4 hits and walks and recording 6 strikeouts. In the top of the 5th inning Andy Etchebarren reached on an error to allow both Boog Powell and Paul Blair to score. Luis Aparicio then got an RBI double shortly after. In the top of the 6th Boog Powell would get an RBI single, and Davey Johnson would get an infield single, which would lead to Brooks Robinson scoring on an error.

Returning home to Memorial Stadium for Game 3 on October 8, Baltimore decided to clamp down on Los Angeles from the pitching mound as they would win a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. Wally Bunker pitched a complete game and gave up only 6 hits and 1 walk while recording 6 strikeouts. Trying his best to keep up with Bunker, Claude Osteen went 7 innings deep for the Dodgers, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 3 strikeouts. Paul Blair smacked a solo home run to deep left field in the bottom of the 5th inning to secure Baltimore’s victory. Lou Johnson had 2 hits for the Dodgers while shortstop Maury Wills, first baseman Wes Parker, outfielder Ron Fairly and pinch hitter Tommy Davis each had 1 hit. Powell and Aparicio had the other 2 hits for the Orioles.

The Orioles continued to shut down any Dodger offensive threat from the pitching mound as they would have another pitching duel in Game 4 on October 9. The end result was the same as the Orioles won 1-0 to complete the 4-game sweep and capture their first World Series championship in franchise history. Don Drysdale pitched 8 innings for the Dodgers, giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts. Dave McNally would bounce back from Game 1 to pitch a complete game, giving up only 4 hits and 2 walks while recording 4 strikeouts. Frank Robinson’s solo home run in the bottom of the 4th inning sealed the deal for the Orioles as he would be named the World Series Most Valuable Player.