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1954 Baltimore Orioles season

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1954 Baltimore Orioles
LeagueAmerican League
BallparkMemorial Stadium
CityBaltimore, Maryland
Record54–100 (.351)
League place7th
OwnersJerold Hoffberger, Joseph Iglehart and Clarence Miles
General managersArthur Ehlers, Paul Richards
ManagersJimmy Dykes
TelevisionWMAR-TV/WAAM
RadioWCBM
(Ernie Harwell, Howard Williams, Bailey Goss)
← 1953 Seasons 1955 →

The 1954 Baltimore Orioles season saw the restoration of Major League Baseball to Baltimore after a 51-year absence, and the debut of the modern edition of the MLB Oriole franchise. Upon the transfer of the moribund St. Louis Browns on September 30, 1953, Baltimore returned to the American League over a half century after the Orioles of 1901–02 departed for New York City, where they eventually became the Yankees. The Baltimore Terrapins of the "outlaw" Federal League filled the void in 1914 and 1915, but the insurgent circuit collapsed without gaining recognition as a "third major league," and, as of 2022, its status remained in dispute.[1] During most of its 51 seasons without a major-league team, Baltimore was represented in Organized Baseball by a top-level minor-league club, the Orioles of the International League.

For the American League franchise itself, its first season in Maryland actually was the 54th in its history: the team was originally founded as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901, then transferred to Missouri as the Browns, who played from 1902 to 1953.

Inheriting the playing personnel of the 1953 Browns, the 1954 Orioles finished seventh in the eight-team American League with a record of 54 wins and 100 losses, 57 games behind the AL champion Cleveland Indians. The team was managed by Jimmy Dykes, and played its home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, where it attracted 1,060,910 fans, fifth in the Junior Circuit but a massive 257 percent improvement over the 1953 Browns' totals.[2] The new Orioles' games were broadcast over television and radio by the trio of Ernie Harwell, Howard Williams and Bailey Goss on WMAR-TV/WAAM (television) and WCBM (radio).

Offseason

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Regular season

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  • 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.[7]
  • 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 the 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. Clint Courtney hit the first home run in modern Orioles history, a solo blow in the third inning.[8] Ironically, the Orioles lost their last home game of the season, 11–0, to the same White Sox, finishing with 100 losses and 57+1⁄2 games out of first place.[9]
  • 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.[10][11]
  • September 14: Paul Richards, manager of the White Sox since 1951, resigns his post to join the Orioles as both field manager and general manager. When Richards' signing was announced, ten games remained in the O's season. Dykes stayed on to finish the 1954 campaign as skipper, and Richards took over in the Baltimore dugout starting in 1955. Richards had compiled a 342–265 (.563) won–lost record as leader of the Pale Hose, turning around the fortunes of the formerly hapless franchise.

Opening day lineup, April 13, 1954

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  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[7]

Season standings

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American League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cleveland Indians 111 43 .721 — 59‍–‍18 52‍–‍25
New York Yankees 103 51 .669 8 54‍–‍23 49‍–‍28
Chicago White Sox 94 60 .610 17 45‍–‍32 49‍–‍28
Boston Red Sox 69 85 .448 42 38‍–‍39 31‍–‍46
Detroit Tigers 68 86 .442 43 35‍–‍42 33‍–‍44
Washington Senators 66 88 .429 45 37‍–‍41 29‍–‍47
Baltimore Orioles 54 100 .351 57 32‍–‍45 22‍–‍55
Philadelphia Athletics 51 103 .331 60 29‍–‍47 22‍–‍56

Record vs. opponents

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1954 American League record

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team BAL BOS CHW CLE DET NYY PHA 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

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Roster

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1954 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

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Batting

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Starters by position

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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 Clint Courtney 122 397 107 .270 4 37
1B Eddie Waitkus 95 311 88 .283 2 33
2B Bobby Young 130 432 106 .245 4 24
3B Vern Stephens 101 365 104 .285 8 46
SS Billy Hunter 125 411 100 .243 2 27
LF Jim Fridley 85 240 59 .246 4 36
CF Chuck Diering 128 418 108 .258 2 29
RF Cal Abrams 115 423 124 .293 6 25

Other batters

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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
Bob Kennedy 106 323 81 .251 6 45
Dick Kryhoski 100 300 78 .260 1 34
Gil Coan 94 265 74 .279 2 20
Sam Mele 72 230 55 .239 5 32
Jim Brideweser 73 204 54 .265 0 12
Les Moss 50 126 31 .246 0 5
Vic Wertz 29 94 19 .202 1 13
Chico García 39 62 7 .113 0 5
Ray Murray 22 61 15 .246 0 2
Joe Durham 10 40 9 .225 1 3
Frank Kellert 10 34 7 .206 0 1
Don Lenhardt 13 33 5 .152 0 1
Dick Kokos 11 10 2 .200 1 1
Neil Berry 5 9 1 .111 0 0

Pitching

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Starting pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bob Turley 35 247.1 14 15 3.46 185
Joe Coleman 33 221.1 13 17 3.50 103
Don Larsen 29 201.2 3 21 4.37 80
Duane Pillette 25 179.0 10 14 3.12 66
Bob Kuzava 4 23.2 1 3 4.18 15
Vern Bickford 1 4.0 0 1 9.00 0

Other pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Lou Kretlow 32 166.2 6 11 4.37 82
Billy O'Dell 7 16.1 1 1 2.76 6
Dave Koslo 3 14.1 0 1 3.14 3

Relief pitchers

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Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Bob Chakales 38 3 7 4 3.73 44
Howie Fox 38 1 2 2 3.67 27
Mike Blyzka 37 1 5 1 4.69 35
Marlin Stuart 22 1 2 2 4.46 13
Dick Littlefield 3 0 0 0 10.50 5
Jay Heard 2 0 0 0 13.50 2
Ryne Duren 1 0 0 0 9.00 2

Awards and honors

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1954 Major League Baseball All-Star Game

Farm system

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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

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  1. ^ Rothe, Emil; Burtt, Richard (2005). "Was the Federal League a Major League?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Baseball Reference: 1954 MLB Attendance
  3. ^ Chuck Diering at Baseball-Reference
  4. ^ Satchel Paige at Baseball-Reference
  5. ^ Johnny Groth at Baseball-Reference
  6. ^ Dave Koslo transactions at Baseball Reference
  7. ^ a b Retrosheet box score: 1954-04-13
  8. ^ "APRIL, 1954 | BaseballLibrary.com". Archived from the original on December 23, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2008.
  9. ^ 1954 Orioles Archived October 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine at Baseball Library
  10. ^ Joe Durham, first African-American player to homer for Orioles, dies at 84. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved on April 29, 2016.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Neil Berry at Baseball-Reference
  13. ^ Don Lenhardt transactions at Baseball-Reference
  14. ^ Dick Littlefield transactions at Baseball-Reference
  15. ^ Bob Chakales at Baseball-Reference
  16. ^ Marlin Stuart transactions at Baseball-Reference
  17. ^ Bob Kuzava transactions at Baseball-Reference

References

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