| 1996 Baltimore Orioles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American League Wild Card winners | ||||
| League | American League | |||
| Division | East | |||
| Ballpark | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | |||
| City | Baltimore,Maryland | |||
| Record | 88–74 (.543) | |||
| Divisional place | 2nd | |||
| Owners | Peter Angelos | |||
| General managers | Pat Gillick | |||
| Managers | Davey Johnson | |||
| Television | WJZ-TV Home Team Sports (Mel Proctor,Josh Lewin,Mike Flanagan,Jim Palmer) | |||
| Radio | WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson,Jon Miller,Fred Manfra) | |||
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The1996 Baltimore Orioles season was the 96th season inBaltimore Orioles franchise history, the 43rd inBaltimore, and the 5th atOriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Orioles finished second in theAmerican League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses and qualifying for the post-season as theWild Card team. The Orioles broke the all-time record for most home runs hit by a team (set at 240 by the1961 New York Yankees) with 257. During the season, four Orioles scored at least 100 runs, four drove in at least 100 runs and nine hit at least 20 home runs (Eddie Murray hit 10 home runs with the Indians before being traded to the Orioles, where he would hit 12 more home runs for a total of 22 for the season. Todd Zeile hit 20 home runs with the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League before he was traded to the Orioles, which technically did not count for his home run total for the season after being traded to the American League Orioles). The Orioles pitching staff allowed 209 home runs, 1,604 hits and had an ERA of 5.15. The Orioles defeated theCleveland Indians in theALDS and then lost in theALCS to theNew York Yankees.

| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 92 | 70 | .568 | — | 49–31 | 43–39 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 88 | 74 | .543 | 4 | 43–38 | 45–36 |
| Boston Red Sox | 85 | 77 | .525 | 7 | 47–34 | 38–43 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 74 | 88 | .457 | 18 | 35–46 | 39–42 |
| Detroit Tigers | 53 | 109 | .327 | 39 | 27–54 | 26–55 |
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | — | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 11–2 | 9–3 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 3–10 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 3–10–1 | 8–5 |
| Boston | 6–7 | — | 8–4 | 6–6 | 1–11 | 12–1 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 |
| California | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 5–8 | 4–9 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 8–4 | 6–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–8 | 10–3 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 7–5 | 11–1 | 9–4 | 8–5 | — | 12–0 | 7–6 | 7–6 | 10–3 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 7–5 |
| Detroit | 2–11 | 1–12 | 6–6 | 3–10 | 0–12 | — | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 |
| Kansas City | 3–9 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | — | 4–9 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Milwaukee | 3–9 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 6–7 | 8–4 | 9–4 | — | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–6 | 3–10 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | — | 5–7 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 8–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 7–6 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | — | 9–3 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–5 |
| Oakland | 4–9 | 5–8 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | — | 8–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 5–8 | — | 10–3 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 10–3–1 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 9–4 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 5–7 | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–10 | — | 10–2 |
| Toronto | 5–8 | 5–8 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 2–10 | — |
| 1996 Game Log: 88–74 (Home: 43–38; Away: 45–36) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 14–12 (Home: 10–6; Away: 4–6)
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May: 14–10 (Home: 8–5; Away: 6–5)
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June: 14–14 (Home: 6–6; Away: 8–8)
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July: 11–16 (Home: 5–13; Away: 6–3)
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August: 19–11 (Home: 7–4; Away: 12–7)
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September: 16–11 (Home: 7–4; Away: 9–7)
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| Legend: = Win = Loss = Tie Bold = Orioles team member |
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| 1996 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches | ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Note: G = Pos = Position; Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Chris Hoiles | 127 | 407 | 105 | 25 | 73 | .258 |
| 1B | Rafael Palmeiro | 162 | 626 | 181 | 39 | 142 | .289 |
| 2B | Roberto Alomar | 153 | 588 | 193 | 22 | 94 | .328 |
| 3B | B. J. Surhoff | 143 | 537 | 157 | 21 | 82 | .292 |
| SS | Cal Ripken Jr. | 163 | 640 | 178 | 26 | 102 | .278 |
| LF | Jeffrey Hammonds | 71 | 248 | 56 | 9 | 27 | .226 |
| CF | Brady Anderson | 149 | 579 | 172 | 50 | 110 | .297 |
| RF | Bobby Bonilla | 159 | 595 | 171 | 28 | 116 | .287 |
| DH | Eddie Murray | 64 | 230 | 59 | 10 | 34 | .257 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
| Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Devereaux | 127 | 323 | 74 | 8 | 34 | .229 |
| Luis Polonia | 58 | 175 | 42 | 2 | 14 | .240 |
| Billy Ripken | 57 | 135 | 31 | 2 | 12 | .230 |
| Todd Zeile | 29 | 117 | 28 | 5 | 19 | .239 |
| Gregg Zaun | 50 | 108 | 25 | 1 | 13 | .231 |
| Tony Tarasco | 31 | 84 | 20 | 1 | 9 | .238 |
| Mark Smith | 27 | 78 | 19 | 4 | 10 | .244 |
| Manny Alexander | 54 | 68 | 7 | 0 | 4 | .103 |
| Brent Bowers | 21 | 39 | 12 | 0 | 3 | .308 |
| Pete Incaviglia | 12 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 8 | .303 |
| Mark Parent | 18 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 6 | .182 |
| Jeff Huson | 17 | 28 | 9 | 0 | 2 | .321 |
| César Devarez | 10 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .111 |
| Gene Kingsale | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .--- |
| Position | Name | Games Pitched | Games Started | ERA | Wins | Losses | Saves | Innings Pitched | Strikeouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Pitchers | |||||||||
| Mike Mussina[12] | 36 | 36 | 4.81 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 243.1 | 204 | |
| Scott Erickson[13] | 34 | 34 | 5.02 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 222.1 | 100 | |
| David Wells[14] | 34 | 34 | 5.14 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 224.1 | 130 | |
| Rocky Coppinger[15] | 23 | 22 | 5.18 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 135.0 | 104 | |
| Kent Mercker[16] | 14 | 12 | 7.76 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 58.0 | 22 | |
| Relief Pitchers | |||||||||
| Jesse Orosco[17] | 66 | 0 | 3.40 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 55.2 | 52 | |
| Roger McDowell[18] | 41 | 0 | 4.25 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 59.1 | 20 | |
| Arthur Rhodes[19] | 28 | 0 | 4.08 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 53.0 | 62 | |
| Alan Mills[20] | 49 | 0 | 4.28 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 54.2 | 52 | |
| Archie Corbin[21] | 18 | 0 | 2.30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27.1 | 20 | |
| Keith Shepherd[22] | 13 | 0 | 8.71 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20.2 | 17 | |
| Terry Mathews[23] | 14 | 0 | 3.38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.2 | 13 | |
| Armando Benítez[24] | 18 | 0 | 3.77 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 14.1 | 20 | |
| Jimmy Myers[25] | 11 | 0 | 7.07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 | 6 | |
| Esteban Yan[26] | 4 | 0 | 5.79 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 7 | |
| Mike Milchin[27] | 13 | 0 | 5.73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 | 10 | |
| Garrett Stephenson[27] | 3 | 0 | 12.79 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.1 | 3 | |
| Brian Sackinsky[28] | 3 | 0 | 3.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 | 2 | |
| Jimmy Haynes[29] | 26 | 11 | 8.29 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 89.0 | 65 | |
| Rick Krivda[30] | 22 | 11 | 4.96 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 81.2 | 54 | |
| Nerio Rodríguez[31] | 8 | 1 | 4.32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16.2 | 12 | |
| Manny Alexander[32] | 1 | 0 | 67.50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | |
| Closer | |||||||||
| Randy Myers[2] | 62 | 0 | 3.53 | 4 | 4 | 31 | 58.2 | 74 |
On July 21, 1996, the Baltimore Orioles re-acquired longtime OrioleEddie Murray from theCleveland Indians in exchange for pitcherKent Mercker.[33] Murray, a member of the1983 World Series ChampionBaltimore Orioles, would subsequently hit his 500th career home run later in the season. As a commemoration of this event, an orange seat was installed in the outfield stands where Murray's 500th home run landed. The Orioles had a record of 49 wins and 46 losses before the trade, and 39–28 after the trade, not including the playoffs. During the 1996 playoffs, Eddie Murray hit .333 and hit a home run while producing 3 RBI.
The trade for Eddie Murray sparked the Orioles to have a better record after his arrival, than before. One can attribute that to his great leadership, which is well documented, as aSporting News correspondent, Michael P. Geffner said, "To think of Murray as anything other than a great player these days is not to have a dissenting opinion anymore but to be dead wrong, blind not only to the inner game but to an understanding of what truly raises baseball to something classic and beautiful--when the game is executed purely and seamlessly. Which is Eddie Murray to a T.".[34] The Orioles success after the trade can also be attributed to the theory of "Power, worth, and recognition,[35] " which Thomas S. Parish who is an associate professor of psychology at Upper Iowa University, Fayette, Iowa, describes as a type of motivation where athletes attempt to out do or "show off" to each other, which leads to better statistics, and more wins. In Eddie Murray's last at-bat with the Orioles he hit a home run off of New York Yankee pitcher,Andy Pettitte.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards,Baltimore, Maryland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 10 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:David Wells (1-0) LP:Charles Nagy (0-1) Home runs: Cle:Manny Ramírez (1) Bal:Brady Anderson (1),B. J. Surhoff (1, 2),Bobby Bonilla (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oriole Park at Camden Yards,Baltimore, Maryland
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | X | 7 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Armando Benítez (1-0) LP:Eric Plunk (0-1) Sv:Randy Myers (1) Home runs: Cle:Albert Belle (1) Bal:Brady Anderson (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | X | 9 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Paul Assenmacher (1-0) LP:Jesse Orosco (0-1) Home runs: Bal:B. J. Surhoff (3) Cle:Manny Ramírez (2),Albert Belle (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Armando Benítez (2-0) LP:José Mesa (0-1) Sv:Randy Myers (2) Home runs: Bal:Rafael Palmeiro (1),Bobby Bonilla (2),Roberto Alomar (1) Cle: None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Game | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore 4,New York 5 | October 9 |
| 2 | Baltimore 5,New York 3 | October 10 |
| 3 | New York 5,Baltimore 2 | October 11 |
| 4 | New York 8,Baltimore 4 | October 12 |
| 5 | New York 6,Baltimore 4 | October 13 |
During Game 1 of the ALCS,New York Yankees shortstopDerek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right field. Orioles outfielderTony Tarasco camped under the ball and prepared to make a catch. However, a 12-year-old boy seated in the first row of the bleachers namedJeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the ball just above Tarrasco, costing the Orioles an out. Although it was fan interference, the umpire ruled the ball to be a home run. While Maier became a hero to Yankees fans, he immediately became a "symbol of the Orioles futility."[36] The Orioles would go on to lose the series in five games.
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bluefield[37]