1954 Baltimore Orioles season
| 1954 Baltimore Orioles | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
| |
| Location | |
| |
| |
| Results | |
| Record | 54–100 (.351) |
| League place | 7th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Jerold Hoffberger, Clarence Miles |
| General manager(s) | Arthur Ehlers |
| Manager(s) | Jimmy Dykes |
| Local television | WMAR-TV/WAAM |
| Local radio |
WCBM (Ernie Harwell, Howard Williams, Bailey Goss) |
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The 1954 Baltimore Orioles season was the franchise's 54th season (it was founded as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901, then played as the St. Louis Browns from 1902–53) but its first season as the Baltimore Orioles. The season involved the Orioles finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses, 57 games behind the AL champion Cleveland Indians in their first season in Baltimore. The team was managed by Jimmy Dykes, and played its home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.
Offseason
- November 30, 1953: Chuck Diering was purchased by the Orioles from the San Francisco Seals.[1]
- February 2, 1954: Satchel Paige was released by the Orioles.[2]
- February 5, 1954: Johnny Groth and Johnny Lipon were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Neil Berry and Sam Mele.[3]
- April 8, 1954: Dave Koslo was acquired from the New York Giants.[4]
Regular season
- April 13, 1954: The Orioles opened their first season as the reborn Browns on the road, on April 13, 1954, at Briggs Stadium against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers won, 3–0, on three solo home runs (from Ray Boone, Walt Dropo and Frank Bolling). Steve Gromek hurled the complete game shutout and Don Larsen (who would lose 21 of 24 decisions that year) was the hard-luck loser.[5]
- April 15: Thousands of Baltimoreans jammed city streets as the new Orioles paraded from downtown to their new home at Memorial Stadium. During the 90-minute parade, the new birds signed autographs, handed out pictures and threw styrofoam balls to crowd as the throng marched down 33rd Street West. Inside, more than 46,000 watched the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–1, to win their home opener and move into first place in the American League.[6] Ironically, the Orioles lost their last home game of the season, 11–0, to the same White Sox, finishing with 100 losses and 57½ games out of first place.[7]
- September 12: At Memorial Stadium, Joe Durham hit a solo home run off Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Al Sima in the sixth inning, to become the first African-American position player to belt a homer in Baltimore Orioles history.[8][9]
Opening day lineup, April 13, 1954
| 5 | Bobby Young | 2B |
| 3 | Eddie Waitkus | 1B |
| 16 | Gil Coan | CF |
| 20 | Vic Wertz | RF |
| 15 | Sam Mele | LF |
| 4 | Vern Stephens | 3B |
| 6 | Billy Hunter | SS |
| 11 | Clint Courtney | C |
| 27 | Don Larsen | P[5] |
Season standings
| American League | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Indians | 111 | 43 | .721 | -- |
| New York Yankees | 103 | 51 | .669 | 8 |
| Chicago White Sox | 94 | 60 | .610 | 17 |
| Boston Red Sox | 69 | 85 | .448 | 42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 68 | 86 | .442 | 43 |
| Washington Senators | 66 | 88 | .429 | 45 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 100 | .351 | 57 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 51 | 103 | .331 | 60 |
Record vs. opponents
1954 American League Records Sources: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | NYY | PHI | WSH | |||||
| Baltimore | — | 11–11 | 7–15 | 3–19 | 8–14 | 5–17 | 10–12 | 10–12 | |||||
| Boston | 11–11 | — | 5–17 | 2–20–2 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 15–7 | 13–9 | |||||
| Chicago | 15–7 | 17–5 | — | 11–11 | 12–10–1 | 7–15 | 17–5 | 15–7 | |||||
| Cleveland | 19–3 | 20–2–2 | 11–11 | — | 14–8 | 11–11 | 18–4 | 18–4 | |||||
| Detroit | 14–8 | 8–14 | 10–12–1 | 8–14 | — | 6–16 | 13–9 | 9–13 | |||||
| New York | 17–5 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 11–11 | 16–6 | — | 18–4–1 | 13–9 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 12–10 | 7–15 | 5–17 | 4–18 | 9–13 | 4–18–1 | — | 10–12–1 | |||||
| Washington | 12–10 | 9–13 | 7–15 | 4–18 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 12–10–1 | — | |||||
Notable transactions
- May 11, 1954: Neil Berry, Dick Kokos and Jim Post (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Jim Brideweser.[10]
- May 12, 1954: Don Lenhardt was acquired from the Orioles by the Boston Red Sox.[11]
- May 25, 1954: Dick Littlefield was traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Cal Abrams.[12]
- June 1, 1954: Vic Wertz was traded by the Orioles to the Cleveland Indians for Bob Chakales.[13]
- July 4, 1954: Marlin Stuart was claimed off waivers from the Orioles by the New York Yankees.[14]
- August 7, 1954: Bob Kuzava was claimed off waivers by the Orioles from the New York Yankees.[15]
Roster
| 1954 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
| ||||||
Player stats
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 | Courtney, ClintClint Courtney | 122 | 397 | 107 | .270 | 4 | 37 |
| 1B | Waitkus, EddieEddie Waitkus | 95 | 311 | 88 | .283 | 2 | 33 |
| 2B | Young, BobbyBobby Young | 130 | 432 | 106 | .245 | 4 | 24 |
| 3B | Stephens, VernVern Stephens | 101 | 365 | 104 | .285 | 8 | 46 |
| SS | Hunter, BillyBilly Hunter | 125 | 411 | 100 | .243 | 2 | 27 |
| LF | Fridley, JimJim Fridley | 85 | 240 | 59 | .246 | 4 | 36 |
| CF | Diering, ChuckChuck Diering | 128 | 418 | 108 | .258 | 2 | 29 |
| RF | Abrams, CalCal Abrams | 115 | 423 | 124 | .293 | 6 | 25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy, BobBob Kennedy | 106 | 323 | 81 | .251 | 6 | 45 |
| Kryhoski, DickDick Kryhoski | 100 | 300 | 78 | .260 | 1 | 34 |
| Coan, GilGil Coan | 94 | 265 | 74 | .279 | 2 | 20 |
| Brideweser, JimJim Brideweser | 73 | 204 | 54 | .265 | 0 | 12 |
| Mele, SamSam Mele | 72 | 230 | 55 | .239 | 5 | 32 |
| Moss, LesLes Moss | 50 | 126 | 31 | .246 | 0 | 5 |
| García, ChicoChico García | 39 | 62 | 7 | .113 | 0 | 5 |
| Wertz, VicVic Wertz | 29 | 94 | 19 | .202 | 1 | 13 |
| Murray, RayRay Murray | 22 | 61 | 15 | .246 | 0 | 2 |
| Lenhardt, DonDon Lenhardt | 13 | 33 | 5 | .152 | 0 | 1 |
| Kokos, DickDick Kokos | 11 | 10 | 2 | .200 | 1 | 1 |
| Durham, JoeJoe Durham | 10 | 40 | 9 | .225 | 1 | 3 |
| Kellert, FrankFrank Kellert | 10 | 34 | 7 | .206 | 0 | 1 |
| Berry, NeilNeil Berry | 5 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turley, BobBob Turley | 35 | 247.1 | 14 | 15 | 3.46 | 185 |
| Coleman, JoeJoe Coleman | 33 | 221.1 | 13 | 17 | 3.50 | 103 |
| Larsen, DonDon Larsen | 29 | 201.2 | 3 | 21 | 4.37 | 80 |
| Pillette, DuaneDuane Pillette | 25 | 179 | 10 | 14 | 3.12 | 66 |
| Kuzava, BobBob Kuzava | 4 | 23.2 | 1 | 3 | 4.18 | 15 |
| Bickford, VernVern Bickford | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9.00 | 0 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kretlow, LouLou Kretlow | 32 | 166.2 | 6 | 11 | 4.37 | 82 |
| O'Dell, BillyBilly O'Dell | 7 | 16.1 | 1 | 1 | 2.76 | 6 |
| Koslo, DaveDave Koslo | 3 | 14.1 | 0 | 1 | 3.14 | 3 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chakales, BobBob Chakales | 38 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3.73 | 44 |
| Fox, HowieHowie Fox | 38 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3.67 | 27 |
| Blyzka, MikeMike Blyzka | 37 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4.69 | 35 |
| Stuart, MarlinMarlin Stuart | 22 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4.46 | 13 |
| Littlefield, DickDick Littlefield | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.50 | 5 |
| Heard, JayJay Heard | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.50 | 2 |
| Duren, RyneRyne Duren | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
Awards and honors
1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA | San Antonio Missions | Texas League | Don Heffner |
| A | Wichita Indians | Western League | Herb Brett and Les Layton |
| A | Lewiston Broncs | Western International League | Larry Barton, Sr. |
| B | York White Roses | Piedmont League | George Staller |
| B | Anderson Rebels | Tri-State League | Virgil Stallcup, Fred Boiko and Bob Knoke |
| C | Pine Bluff Judges | Cotton States League | Frank Lucchesi and Bill Enos |
| C | Aberdeen Pheasants | Northern League | Barney Lutz |
| C | Thetford Mines Mineurs | Provincial League | Bill Krueger |
| D | Wytheville Statesmen | Appalachian League | Joe Murray, Bill Enos and Jim Cisternelli |
| D | Americus-Cordele Orioles | Georgia–Florida League | Cliff Melton and Jack Landis |
| D | Ada Herefords/Cementers | Sooner State League | Louis Brower and John Densmore |
| D | Marion Marauders | Tar Heel League | Bob Knoke |
Tar Heel League disbanded, June 21, 1954
Notes
- ↑ Chuck Diering at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Satchel Paige at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Johnny Groth at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Dave Koslo transactions at Baseball Reference
- 1 2 Retrosheet box score: 1954-04-13
- ↑ Baseball Library Chronology, April 1954
- ↑ 1954 Orioles at Baseball Library
- ↑ Joe Durham, first African-American player to homer for Orioles, dies at 84. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on April 29, 2016.
- ↑ Philadelphia Athletics 5, Baltimore Orioles 4 (2). Game Played on Sunday, September 12, 1954 (D) at Memorial Stadium. Box Score and Play by Play. Retrosheet. Retrieved on April 29, 2016.
- ↑ Neil Berry at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Don Lenhardt transactions at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Dick Littlefield transactions at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Bob Chakales at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Marlin Stuart transactions at Baseball-Reference
- ↑ Bob Kuzava transactions 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.
- 1954 Baltimore Orioles team at Baseball-Reference
- 1954 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
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