1989 Baltimore Orioles season

Major League Baseball season March 2026 November 2013 Baltimore Orioles 1989 American League East Memorial Stadium Baltimore, Maryland 87–75 (.537) 2nd Eli Jacobs Roland Hemond Frank Robinson WMAR-TV(Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson)Home Team Sports(Rex Barney, Mel Proctor, John Lowenstein) WBAL (AM)(Jon Miller, Joe Angel, Charlie Slowes) The 1989 Baltimore Orioles season was the 89th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 36th in Baltimore, and the 36th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished second in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. The team was known as the Comeback Kids as they rebounded from the 54 wins and 107 losses of the 1988 season. The season also took on the "Why Not?!" promotional slogan as the team's pursuit of the pennant went down to the final series of the regular season. The Orioles went into the three-game season finale against the first place Toronto Blue Jays down by one game in the AL East standings and needing either a sweep to win the AL East championship, or two wins to force a one-game playoff. The Blue Jays won the first two games of the series, clinching first place on the penultimate game of the season. The Orioles wore new uniforms which were unveiled on December 14, 1988. More conservative in appearance, the ensemble featured black belts replacing elastic waist bands on the pants and black numbers and letters with orange outline on the away version. The most noticeable change was the caps and helmets which went from being tricolored with a smiling cartoon bird head to monochromatic black with an ornithologically correct oriole."Orioles Step Out in New Uniforms," The Washington Post, Thursday, December 15, 1988. Retrieved May 16, 2023. The smiling cartoon bird head returned to the ballclub's caps and helmets 23 years later in 2012.Steinberg, Dan. "New Orioles uniforms, old Orioles bird logo," The Washington Post, Tuesday, November 15, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2023. Offseason October 3, 1988: Don Aase was released by the Orioles.Don Aase page at Baseball Reference November 9, 1988: Pete Blohm (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Randy Milligan.Randy Milligan page at Baseball Reference November 17, 1988: Dickie Noles was released by the Orioles.Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference December 4, 1988: Eddie Murray was traded by the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ken Howell, Brian Holton, and Juan Bell.Juan Bell page at Baseball Reference December 8, 1988: Ken Howell and Gordon Dillard were traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Phil Bradley.Gordon Dillard page at Baseball Reference March 1, 1989: Mark Huismann was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.Mark Huismann page at Baseball Reference March 31, 1989: Carl Nichols was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors).Carl Nichols page at Baseball Reference Regular season Bill Ripken's 1989 Fleer Baseball Card (#616) made national news when it included a hidden obscenity (the words "fuck face"). The obscenity was printed in black marker on the knob of his bat.snopes.com: Bill Ripken 1989 Baseball Card Once the discovery was made public, subsequent printings of the card were issued with the words obscured. The first obscuring involved a blob of white out, another was scribbled with a black pen while the last was covered with a black square. In the finale of the 1989 season, Ben McDonald tossed one scoreless inning of relief, logging his first career win.100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.207 Of note, he would become the sixth player to make the majors in the same season that he was selected as the number one overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.208 Opening Day starters Brady Anderson Phil Bradley Steve Finley Rene Gonzales Cal Ripken Jr. Dave Schmidt Larry Sheets Mickey Tettleton Jim Traber Craig Worthington Season standings Record vs. opponents BAL Notable transactions May 19, 1989: Rick Schu was purchased from the Orioles by the Detroit Tigers.Rick Schu page at Baseball Reference June 1, 1989: John Posey (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Shane Turner.Shane Turner page at Baseball Reference June 5, 1989: 1989 Major League Baseball draft Ben McDonald was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed August 19, 1989.Ben McDonald page at Baseball Reference Mike Oquist was drafted by the Orioles in the 13th round. Player signed June 14, 1989.Mike Oquist page at Baseball Reference Gregg Zaun was drafted by the Orioles in the 17th round. Player signed August 25, 1989.Gregg Zaun page at Baseball Reference July 20, 1989: John Habyan was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Stan Jefferson.Stan Jefferson page at Baseball Reference July 28, 1989: Brian Dubois was traded by the Orioles to the Detroit Tigers for Keith Moreland.Keith Moreland page at Baseball Reference August 5, 1989: Jamie Quirk was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.Jamie Quirk page at Baseball Reference Roster 1989 Baltimore Orioles Roster Pitchers 29 Jeff Ballard 48 José Bautista 42 Pete Harnisch 23,45 Kevin Hickey 37,51 Brian Holton 52 Mark Huismann 27,35 Dave Johnson 23 Ben McDonald 18 Bob Milacki 30 Gregg Olson 43 Curt Schilling 24 Dave Schmidt 41 Mike Smith 21 Mark Thurmond 50 Jay Tibbs 34 Mickey Weston 32 Mark Williamson Catchers 11,17 Chris Hoiles 2,36 Bob Melvin 15 Jamie Quirk 14 Mickey Tettleton Infielders 11 Juan Bell 88 Rene Gonzales 36 Tim Hulett 35,43 Francisco Meléndez 15,39 Randy Milligan  3 Billy Ripken  8 Cal Ripken Jr. 13 Rick Schu 28 Jim Traber 11,25 Craig Worthington Outfielders  9 Brady Anderson 16 Phil Bradley 46 Butch Davis 12 Mike Devereaux 10 Steve Finley 49 Stan Jefferson 1,6 Joe Orsulak Other batters  6 Keith Moreland 19 Larry Sheets Manager 20 Frank Robinson Coaches 44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen) 31 Al Jackson (Pitching) 40 Tommy McCraw (Hitting) 47 Curt Motton (First Base) 26 Johnny Oates (Bench)  7 Cal Ripken, Sr. (Third Base) Player stats = Indicates team leader 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 Mickey Tettleton 117 411 106 .258 26 65 1B Randy Milligan 124 365 98 .268 12 45 2B Billy Ripken 115 318 76 .239 2 26 3B Craig Worthington 145 497 123 .247 15 70 SS Cal Ripken Jr. 162 646 166 .257 21 93 LF Phil Bradley 144 545 151 .277 11 55 CF Mike Devereaux 122 391 104 .266 8 46 RF Joe Orsulak 123 390 111 .285 7 55 DH Larry Sheets 102 304 74 .243 7 33 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 Bob Melvin 85 278 67 .241 1 32 Brady Anderson 94 266 55 .207 4 16 Jim Traber 86 234 49 .209 4 26 Steve Finley 82 217 54 .249 2 25 Rene Gonzales 71 166 36 .217 1 11 Stan Jefferson 35 127 33 .260 4 20 Keith Moreland 33 107 23 .215 1 10 Tim Hulett 33 97 27 .278 3 18 Jamie Quirk 25 51 11 .216 0 9 Francisco Meléndez 9 11 3 .273 0 3 Chris Hoiles 6 9 1 .111 0 1 Butch Davis 5 6 1 .167 0 0 Juan Bell 8 4 0 .000 0 0 Rick Schu 1 0 0 ---- 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 Bob Milacki 37 243.0 14 12 3.74 113 Jeff Ballard 35 215.1 18 8 3.43 62 Pete Harnisch 18 103.1 5 9 4.62 70 José Bautista 15 78.0 3 4 5.31 30 Dave Johnson 14 89.1 4 7 4.23 26 Jay Tibbs 10 54.1 5 0 2.82 30 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 Dave Schmidt 38 156.2 10 13 5.69 46 Brian Holton 39 116.1 5 7 4.02 51 Curt Schilling 5 8.2 0 1 6.23 6 Relief pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L SV ERA SO Gregg Olson 64 85.0 5 2 27 1.69 90 Mark Williamson 65 107.1 10 5 9 2.93 55 Kevin Hickey 51 49.1 2 3 2 2.92 28 Mark Thurmond 49 90.0 2 4 4 3.90 34 Mike Smith 13 20.0 2 0 0 7.65 12 Mark Huismann 8 11.1 0 0 1 6.35 13 Mickey Weston 7 13.0 1 0 1 5.54 7 Ben McDonald 6 7.0 1 0 0 8.59 3 Awards and honors Frank Robinson, Associated Press Manager of the Year Frank Robinson, American League Manager of the Year Gregg Olson, American League Rookie of the Year MLB All-Star Game Cal Ripken Jr. Farm system Minor League Baseball AAA Rochester Red Wings International League Greg Biagini AA Hagerstown Suns Eastern League Jimmie Schaffer A Frederick Keys Carolina League Jerry Narron A-Short Season Erie Orioles New York–Penn League Bobby Tolan Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League Mike YoungJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007 References 1989 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference 1989 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com Category:Baltimore Orioles seasons Baltimore Orioles season Baltimore Orioles