1998 Baltimore Orioles season
Encyclopedia
The 1998
Baltimore Orioles
season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League
East with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses.
1998 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Greg Vaughn all hit 30 home runs before the All-Star break and engage in a historic chase for Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs...
Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
East with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses.
Offseason
- December 11, 1997: Doug DrabekDoug DrabekDouglas Dean Drabek is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Known for his fluid pitching motion and sound mechanics, he won the National League Cy Young Award in 1990.-Early life:...
was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. - December 12, 1997: Joe CarterJoe CarterJoseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....
was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
Regular season
 Eddie Murray Eddie Murray Eddie Clarence Murray , nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game... 1B Retired 1998 |
- The 1998 Baltimore Orioles season marks the last time a team other than the New York Yankees had the highest payroll in baseball.
Notable transactions
- June 2, 1998: Cliff LeeCliff LeeClifton Phifer "Cliff" Lee is a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee has also played for the Cleveland Indians, the Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers....
was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 20th round of the 1998 amateur draft, but did not sign. - June 16, 1998: Rich BeckerRich BeckerRichard "Richie" Godhard Becker was a Major League Baseball player between 1993-2000.Born in Aurora, Illinois, Becker was selected in the third round of the 1990 Major League Baseball amateur draft out of West Aurora High School by the Minnesota Twins. In high school Becker, excelled at football...
was selected off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles from the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. - July 23, 1998: Joe CarterJoe CarterJoseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....
was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
for Darin Blood (minors).
Roster
| 1998 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers |
Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders Other batters |
Manager Coaches |
||||||
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 | Chris Hoiles Chris Hoiles Christopher Allen Hoiles is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles from 1989 to 1998... |
97 | 267 | 70 | .262 | 15 | 56 |
| 1B | Rafael Palmeiro Rafael Palmeiro Rafael Palmeiro Corrales is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985... |
162 | 619 | 183 | .296 | 43 | 121 |
| 2B | Roberto Alomar Roberto Alomar Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez is a former Major League Baseball player , regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards for a second... |
147 | 588 | 166 | .282 | 14 | 56 |
| 3B | Cal Ripken | 161 | 601 | 163 | .271 | 14 | 61 |
| SS | Mike Bordick Mike Bordick Michael Todd Bordick is an American retired professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball from 1990 to 2003 with four different teams: the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays.-Early life:Bordick's father, Michael, was in the Air Force,... |
151 | 465 | 121 | .260 | 13 | 51 |
| LF | BJ Surhoff | 162 | 573 | 160 | .279 | 22 | 92 |
| CF | Brady Anderson Brady Anderson Brady Kevin Anderson is an American former outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball... |
133 | 479 | 113 | .236 | 18 | 51 |
| RF | Eric Davis | 131 | 452 | 148 | .327 | 28 | 89 |
| DH | Harold Baines Harold Baines Harold Douglas Baines is a former right fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for five American League teams from 1980 to 2001. He is best known for his three stints with the Chicago White Sox, the team on which he now serves as coach... |
104 | 293 | 88 | .300 | 9 | 57 |
Other batters
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenny Webster Lenny Webster Leonard Irell Webster is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a platoon catcher from 1989-2000... |
108 | 309 | 88 | .285 | 10 | 46 |
| Joe Carter Joe Carter Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays.... |
85 | 283 | 70 | .247 | 11 | 34 |
| Rich Becker Rich Becker Richard "Richie" Godhard Becker was a Major League Baseball player between 1993-2000.Born in Aurora, Illinois, Becker was selected in the third round of the 1990 Major League Baseball amateur draft out of West Aurora High School by the Minnesota Twins. In high school Becker, excelled at football... |
79 | 113 | 23 | .204 | 3 | 11 |
| Jeff Reboulet Jeff Reboulet Jeffrey Allen Reboulet was a Major League Baseball infielder. He is an alumnus of Louisiana State University.... |
79 | 126 | 31 | .246 | 1 | 8 |
| Jeffrey Hammonds Jeffrey Hammonds Jeffrey Bryan Hammonds is a former Major League Baseball player. He attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and Stanford University in California before playing pro ball... |
63 | 171 | 46 | .269 | 6 | 28 |
| Willie Greene Willie Greene Willie Louis Greene was a professional baseball player for nine years in the Major Leagues and during that time he played for four different teams... |
24 | 40 | 6 | .150 | 1 | 5 |
| Lyle Mouton Lyle Mouton Lyle Joseph Mouton , is a former professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1995-2001. He also played part of 1998 in Japan for the Yakult Swallows.... |
18 | 39 | 12 | .308 | 2 | 7 |
| Charlie Greene Charlie Greene Charles Patrick Greene is a former backup catcher who played in Major League Baseball with four different teams from 1996 through 2000. Listed at 6' 1", 170 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed.... |
13 | 21 | 4 | .190 | 0 | 0 |
| Ozzie Guillen Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins. He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 before asking for his release at the end of the 2011 season.... |
12 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Clyburn Danny Clyburn Danny Clyburn was an outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was traded to Tampa Bay prior to the season for pitcher Jason Johnson.... |
11 | 25 | 7 | .280 | 1 | 3 |
| Gene Kingsale | 11 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| P.J. Forbes | 9 | 10 | 1 | .100 | 0 | 2 |
| Ryan Minor Ryan Minor Ryan Dale Minor is a retired American professional baseball third baseman and college basketball player. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1998-2001, with the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos. He is currently the manager of the Delmarva Shorebirds of the... |
9 | 14 | 6 | .429 | 0 | 1 |
| Calvin Pickering Calvin Pickering Calvin Elroy Pickering is a former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball between 1998 and 2005 for the Baltimore Orioles , Cincinnati Reds , Boston Red Sox , and Kansas City Royals... |
9 | 21 | 5 | .238 | 2 | 3 |
| Jesus Tavarez Jesús Tavárez Jesús Rafael Tavárez Alcántaras is a former professional baseball outfielder. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball, playing mainly in center field for three different teams from - seasons. He also played two seasons for the Haitai Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization... |
8 | 11 | 2 | .182 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 7 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
| Willis Otanez Willis Otañez Willis Alexander Otáñez is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. He currently plays for the Broncos de Reynosa of the Mexican League... |
3 | 5 | 1 | .200 | 0 | 0 |
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Erickson Scott Erickson Scott Gavin Erickson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.-Career:Erickson was born in Long Beach, California, and began his professional career, after being drafted by the NY Mets in 1986, Houston Astros in 1987, and Toronto Blue Jays in 1988, in when he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins... |
36 | 251.1 | 16 | 13 | 4.01 | 186 |
| Mike Mussina Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina , nicknamed Moose, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees .... |
29 | 206.1 | 13 | 10 | 3.49 | 175 |
| Juan Guzman | 33 | 211 | 10 | 16 | 4.35 | 168 |
| Sidney Ponson Sidney Ponson Sidney Alton Ponson is a Major League pitcher who is currently a free agent. According to the Atlantic League website Ponson was placed on the "Retired" list as of June 18, 2010. Ponson stands at 6'1" tall and weighs 260 pounds. He throws right-handed... |
31 | 135 | 8 | 9 | 5.27 | 85 |
| Doug Drabek Doug Drabek Douglas Dean Drabek is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. Known for his fluid pitching motion and sound mechanics, he won the National League Cy Young Award in 1990.-Early life:... |
23 | 108.2 | 6 | 11 | 7.29 | 55 |
| Scott Kamieniecki Scott Kamieniecki Scott Kamieniecki , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1991–2000 and played four years for the University of Michigan. He joined the New York Yankees in 1991.... |
12 | 54.2 | 2 | 6 | 6.75 | 25 |
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|