1977 Baltimore Orioles season
Major League Baseball season
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The 1977 Baltimore Orioles season was the 77th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 24th in Baltimore, and the 24th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished tied for second place in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 64 losses. The Orioles stayed in contention for the division title until an 11–10 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 30.[1] They in turn eliminated the Red Sox 8–7 the following day on October 1.[2]
| 1977 Baltimore Orioles | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Division | East |
| Ballpark | Memorial Stadium |
| City | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Record | 97–64 (.602) |
| Divisional place | 2nd |
| Owners | Jerold Hoffberger |
| General managers | Hank Peters |
| Managers | Earl Weaver |
| Television | WJZ-TV |
| Radio | WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell) |
The Orioles entered the campaign with diminished expectations because of the departures of Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich and Wayne Garland via free agency.[3] The team's biggest boost came from Eddie Murray who hit .283 with 27 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI) and was named the American League Rookie of the Year on November 21. He also batted .364 with nine homers and 26 RBI during the last 31 games of the season.[4]
The Orioles lost a five-inning 4–0 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium on September 15 via forfeit because of third-base umpire Marty Springstead's refusal to have a tarpaulin covering the pitcher's mounds in the home team's bullpen in the left-field corner removed. Out of concern for the safety of his left fielder Andrés Mora, manager Earl Weaver protested Springstead's decision by pulling his team off the field. The forfeit was declared after 15 minutes had elapsed and the Orioles had not returned. Weaver explained, "Mora almost broke his leg on that damn thing yesterday. If that had not happened, I might not have thought of it. If a guy slips out there and hurts his leg, how am I gonna feel?"[5] American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the forfeit two days later on September 17. Even though he said that Weaver's concern for his players' safety was "not only understandable, but commendable", MacPhail stated, "There is a basic principle involved here, and that is that someone involved as a competitor cannot be allowed to dictate decisions that must be made by a neutral official."[6]
The Orioles drew 1,195,769 which at the time was the second-highest home attendance total since the franchise's first season in Baltimore in 1954, surpassed by only 1,203,366 in 1966.[7] A 10–4 defeat to the Red Sox at Memorial Stadium on September 18 drew 51,798, then the largest crowd to attend an Orioles home regular-season game, who paid tribute to Brooks Robinson who had announced his retirement as an active player one month prior on August 21.[8] The ballclub sustained a net operating loss of $43,846, primarily because of a $499,000 increase in player payroll in the first year of Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency.[7]
Offseason
- November 1, 1976: Darryl Cias was released by the Orioles.[9]
- November 5, 1976: 1976 MLB expansion draft
- Bob Galasso was selected from the Orioles by the Seattle Mariners.[10]
- Dave Pagan was selected from the Orioles by the Seattle Mariners.[11]
- December 15, 1976: Bob Babcock was traded by the Orioles to the Texas Rangers for Dave Criscione.[12]
- January 11, 1977: John Shelby was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.[13]
- January 20, 1977: Paul Blair was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt.[14]
- February 8, 1977: Billy Smith was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.[15]
- February 11, 1977: Vic Rodriguez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Orioles.[16]
Regular season
 Brooks Robinson 3B Retired 1977 |
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 100 | 62 | .617 | — | 55–26 | 45–36 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 97 | 64 | .602 | 2½ | 54–27 | 43–37 |
| Boston Red Sox | 97 | 64 | .602 | 2½ | 51–29 | 46–35 |
| Detroit Tigers | 74 | 88 | .457 | 26 | 39–42 | 35–46 |
| Cleveland Indians | 71 | 90 | .441 | 28½ | 37–44 | 34–46 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 67 | 95 | .414 | 33 | 37–44 | 30–51 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 54 | 107 | .335 | 45½ | 25–55 | 29–52 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 6–8 | 5–6 | 5–5 | 11–4 | 12–3 | 4–7 | 11–4 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 | 7–3 | 4–6 | 10–5 |
| Boston | 8–6 | — | 7–3 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 8–3 | 10–1 | 6–4 | 12–3 |
| California | 6–5 | 3–7 | — | 8–7 | 6–4 | 4–6 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 4–7 | 5–10 | 9–6 | 5–10 | 6–4 |
| Chicago | 5–5 | 7–3 | 7–8 | — | 6–4 | 4–6 | 8–7 | 6–5 | 10–5 | 3–7 | 10–5 | 10–5 | 6–9 | 8–3 |
| Cleveland | 4–11 | 7–8 | 4–6 | 4–6 | — | 8–7 | 3–7 | 11–4 | 2–9 | 3–12 | 7–3 | 7–3 | 2–9 | 9–5 |
| Detroit | 3–12 | 6–9 | 6–4 | 6–4 | 7–8 | — | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 2–8 | 10–5 |
| Kansas City | 7–4 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 7–8 | 7–3 | 8–3 | — | 8–2 | 10–5 | 5–5 | 9–6 | 11–4 | 8–7 | 8–2 |
| Milwaukee | 4–11 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 5–6 | 4–11 | 5–10 | 2–8 | — | 3–8 | 8–7 | 5–5 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 8–7 |
| Minnesota | 4–6 | 6–4 | 8–7 | 5–10 | 9–2 | 5–5 | 5–10 | 8–3 | — | 2–8 | 8–6 | 7–8 | 8–7 | 9–1 |
| New York | 7–8 | 7–8 | 7–4 | 7–3 | 12–3 | 9–6 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 8–2 | — | 9–2 | 6–4 | 7–3 | 9–6 |
| Oakland | 2–8 | 3–8 | 10–5 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 6–9 | 5–5 | 6–8 | 2–9 | — | 7–8 | 2–13 | 7–3 |
| Seattle | 3–7 | 1–10 | 6–9 | 5–10 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 4–11 | 3–7 | 8–7 | 4–6 | 8–7 | — | 9–6 | 4–6 |
| Texas | 6–4 | 4–6 | 10–5 | 9–6 | 9–2 | 8–2 | 7–8 | 5–5 | 7–8 | 3–7 | 13–2 | 6–9 | — | 7–4 |
| Toronto | 5–10 | 3–12 | 4–6 | 3–8 | 5–9 | 5–10 | 2–8 | 7–8 | 1–9 | 6–9 | 3–7 | 6–4 | 4–7 | — |
Opening Day lineup
Notable transactions
- May 26, 1977: Randy Stein was acquired from the Orioles by the New York Yankees.[17]
- June 13, 1977: Dyar Miller was traded by the Orioles to the California Angels for Dick Drago.[18]
- July 27, 1977: Ken Rudolph was purchased by the Orioles from the San Francisco Giants.[19]
- September 19, 1977: Nelson Briles was purchased by the Orioles from the Texas Rangers.[20]
Roster
| 1977 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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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 | Rick Dempsey | 91 | 270 | 61 | .226 | 3 | 34 |
| 1B | Lee May | 150 | 585 | 148 | .253 | 27 | 99 |
| 2B | Billy Smith | 109 | 367 | 79 | .215 | 5 | 29 |
| 3B | Doug DeCinces | 150 | 522 | 135 | .259 | 19 | 69 |
| SS | Mark Belanger | 144 | 402 | 83 | .206 | 2 | 30 |
| LF | Pat Kelly | 120 | 360 | 92 | .256 | 10 | 49 |
| CF | Al Bumbry | 133 | 518 | 164 | .317 | 4 | 41 |
| RF | Ken Singleton | 152 | 536 | 176 | .328 | 24 | 99 |
| DH | Eddie Murray | 160 | 611 | 173 | .283 | 27 | 88 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rich Dauer | 96 | 304 | 74 | .243 | 5 | 25 |
| Andrés Mora | 77 | 233 | 57 | .245 | 13 | 44 |
| Dave Skaggs | 80 | 216 | 62 | .287 | 1 | 24 |
| Kiko Garcia | 65 | 131 | 29 | .221 | 2 | 10 |
| Tony Muser | 120 | 118 | 27 | .229 | 0 | 7 |
| Elliott Maddox | 49 | 107 | 28 | .262 | 2 | 9 |
| Tom Shopay | 67 | 69 | 13 | .188 | 1 | 4 |
| Larry Harlow | 46 | 48 | 10 | .208 | 0 | 0 |
| Brooks Robinson | 24 | 47 | 7 | .149 | 1 | 4 |
| Terry Crowley | 18 | 22 | 8 | .364 | 1 | 9 |
| Ken Rudolph | 11 | 14 | 4 | .286 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Criscione | 7 | 9 | 3 | .333 | 1 | 1 |
| Mike Dimmel | 25 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Palmer | 39 | 319.0 | 20 | 11 | 2.91 | 193 |
| Rudy May | 37 | 251.2 | 18 | 14 | 3.61 | 105 |
| Mike Flanagan | 36 | 235.0 | 15 | 10 | 3.64 | 149 |
| Ross Grimsley | 34 | 218.1 | 14 | 10 | 3.96 | 53 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Martínez | 42 | 166.2 | 14 | 7 | 4.10 | 107 |
| Scott McGregor | 29 | 114.0 | 3 | 5 | 4.42 | 55 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tippy Martinez | 41 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 2.70 | 29 |
| Dick Drago | 36 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3.63 | 20 |
| Dyar Miller | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5.64 | 9 |
| Fred Holdsworth | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.28 | 4 |
| Tony Chévez | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.38 | 7 |
| Mike Parrott | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | 2 |
| Nelson Briles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 | 2 |
| Earl Stephenson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 2 |
| Randy Miller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.50 | 0 |
| Ed Farmer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 |
Awards and honors
- Earl Weaver, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year
Farm system
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Ken Boyer |
| AA | Charlotte O's | Southern League | Jimmie Schaffer |
| A | Miami Orioles | Florida State League | Len Johnston |
| Rookie | Bluefield Orioles | Appalachian League | J. R. Miner |