MLB: Trivial but True Facts About the Orioles' First Season in Baltimore

The Baltimore Orioles finished first in the 1954 Cactus League standings. They were 12-5 in their Arizona exhibition games before they left for a barnstorming tour that would end at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Clarence W. Miles, Orioles' president, announced that the Birds had received 20,000 more requests for opening day tickets than were available. Fans unable to purchase tickets could not obtain them on the secondary market sites such as StubHub. The goal was to draw 2,000,000 paying fans for the season.

The "experts" predicted that the Orioles would score runs but that pitching would be their problem. The conclusion was based on the 17 Arizona spring games in which the team batted .293 and hit 31 home runs. Outfielder Jim Fridley led the team with six.

Whether the predictions are for 1954 or 2011, the "experts" are as accurate as an uncalibrated ruler. The Orioles hit .251, averaged a mere 3.14 runs a game and hit a total of 52 home runs.

No Oriole hit more than eight home runs.

Memorial Stadium was a pitcher-friendly park, but few teams, even during the late 1940s and 1950s, had so little power that not a single player managed to hit at least 10 home runs.

The following season, the Orioles hit 54 home runs. Gus Triandos, who was acquired over the winter from the New York Yankees, led the team with 12 home runs, but no other Oriole hit more than six home runs.

The pitching in 1954 was better than predicted thanks to the emergence of 23-year-old fire-baller Bob Turley. He was 14-15 with a 3.46 ERA. It was an event when a batter hit the ball off Turley.

The big right-hander pitched 247 and one-third innings. He struck out 185 and walked 181. That would not go over too big today for any starter, much less one who was only 23-years-old.

The Orioles had a 3.88 ERA, which was slightly more than the league's average of 3.72. They won only 54 games while losing 100 to finish seventh, ahead of only the Philadelphia Athletics.

The Cleveland Indians won the pennant in 1954, breaking the Yankees' five-year stranglehold, but the Orioles were a major factor in the Indians' championship.

During spring training, first baseman Dick Kryhoski revealed that he was going to be traded to the Indians along with catcher Clint Courtney in exchange for Dale Mitchell, Bob Kennedy, Al Smith and Dave Pope. The deal was cancelled when Kryhoski fractured his left wrist.

The Indians continued to have problems at first base until they obtained outfielder Vic Wertz on June 1 from the Birds. Wertz shifted to first base and batted .275/.344/.478 with 14 home runs for the Tribe. Of equal significance was that Al Smith, who had a solid 1954 season, remained an Indian.

If Kryhoski hadn't fractured his wrist, it would have been him and not Wertz whom the Indians obtained from the Orioles to play first base.

It is still likely that the Indians would have won the pennant, but Willie Mays would never have had the chance to make his great World Series catch against the Indians because Wertz, not Kryhoski, would have been watching the game from home.

References:

Orioles' return to major leagues marked by successful spring training. (1954, Mar 28). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. S3. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113020090?accountid=46260

6-player deal blocked by injury to kryhoski. (1954, Mar 25). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. 38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/113002815?accountid=46260