1958 Baltimore Orioles season

1958  Baltimore Orioles
League	American League
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Record	74–79 (.484)
League place	6th
Owners	Jerold Hoffberger, Joseph Iglehart
General managers	Paul Richards
Managers	Paul Richards
Television	WJZ-TV
Radio	WBAL (AM) (Ernie Harwell, Herb Carneal)
←  1957 Seasons 1959  →

The 1958 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 6th in the American League with a record of 74 wins and 79 losses, 17.5 games behind the AL and World Series champion New York Yankees. The team was managed by Paul Richards, and played their home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, which hosted the All-Star Game that season. During the 1958 season, Gus Triandos hit 30 home runs, setting a Baltimore Orioles franchise record (since broken) for most home runs in one season. ^[1]

Offseason

• March 24, 1958: Foster Castleman was purchased by the Orioles from the San Francisco Giants for $30,000. ^[2]

Regular season

On June 6, 1958, Orioles president James Keelty, Jr. reached agreement with Miami Marlins president George B. Storer to move the Orioles' spring training home from Scottsdale, Arizona to Miami Stadium for the 1959 spring training season. ^[3]

On September 20, pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm struck out eight batters while throwing a no-hitter against the New York Yankees. It was the first no-hitter in Baltimore Orioles history, as Gus Triandos contributed a home run in the 1–0 win. ^[4]

Season standings

v t e American League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	92	62	0.597	—	44–33	48–29
Chicago White Sox	82	72	0.532	10	47–30	35–42
Boston Red Sox	79	75	0.513	13	49–28	30–47
Cleveland Indians	77	76	0.503	14½	42–34	35–42
Detroit Tigers	77	77	0.500	15	43–34	34–43
Baltimore Orioles	74	79	0.484	17½	46–31	28–48
Kansas City Athletics	73	81	0.474	19	43–34	30–47
Washington Senators	61	93	0.396	31	33–44	28–49

Record vs. opponents

1958 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CHW	CLE	DET	KCA	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	10–12	9–13–1	10–11	10–12	12–10	8–14	15–7
Boston	12–10	—	10–12	12–10	10–12	12–10	9–13–1	14–8
Chicago	13–9–1	12–10	—	12–10	10–12	12–10	7–15	16–6
Cleveland	11–10	10–12	10–12	—	14–8	10–12	7–15	15–7
Detroit	12–10	12–10	12–10	8–14	—	12–10	12–10	9–13
Kansas City	10–12	10–12	10–12	12–10	10–12	—	9–13	12–10–2
New York	14–8	13–9–1	15–7	15–7	10–12	13–9	—	12–10
Washington	7–15	8–14	6–16	7–15	13–9	10–12–2	10–12	—

Notable transactions

• May 16, 1958: Eddie Miksis was released by the Orioles. ^[5]
• August 23, 1958: Hoyt Wilhelm was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Cleveland Indians. ^[6]

Roster

1958 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 43 Charlie Beamon 28 Hal Brown 29 Jack Harshman 36 Connie Johnson 39 Ken Lehman 18 Billy Loes 40 Ron Moeller 41 Billy O'Dell 32 Milt Pappas 24 Arnie Portocarrero 19 Lou Sleater 38 Jerry Walker 15 Hoyt Wilhelm 35 George Zuverink		Catchers 22 Joe Ginsberg 11 Gus Triandos 42 Frank Zupo Infielders 25 Jerry Adair  1 Bob Boyd  8 Foster Castleman  9 Billy Gardner 20 Bob Hale  3 Ron Hansen 44 Jim Marshall  6 Eddie Miksis  7 Willy Miranda  5 Brooks Robinson		Outfielders 17 Leo Burke 33 Jim Busby 21 Lenny Green  4 Bob Nieman 40 Chuck Oertel  2 Al Pilarcik 44 Willie Tasby 27 Joe Taylor 23 Dick Williams 14 Gene Woodling Other batters 20 Bert Hamric		Manager 12 Paul Richards Coaches 45 Jimmy Adair 31 Harry Brecheen 26 Lum Harris 37 Eddie Robinson 30 Al Vincent

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	Gus Triandos	137	474	116	.245	30	79
1B	Bob Boyd	125	401	124	.309	7	36
2B	Billy Gardner	151	560	126	.225	3	33
SS	Willy Miranda	102	214	43	.201	1	8
3B	Brooks Robinson	145	463	110	.238	3	32
LF	Bob Nieman	105	366	119	.325	16	60
CF	Jim Busby	113	215	51	.237	3	19
RF	Al Pilarcik	141	379	92	.243	1	24

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
Gene Woodling	133	413	114	.276	15	65
Dick Williams	128	409	113	.276	4	32
Foster Castleman	48	200	34	.170	3	14
Jim Marshall	85	191	41	.215	5	19
Joe Ginsberg	61	109	23	.211	3	16
Lenny Green	69	91	21	.231	0	4
Joe Taylor	36	77	21	.273	2	9
Willie Tasby	18	50	10	.200	1	1
Bob Hale	19	20	7	.350	0	3
Ron Hansen	12	19	0	.000	0	1
Jerry Adair	11	19	2	.105	0	0
Chuck Oertel	14	12	2	.167	1	1
Leo Burke	7	11	5	.455	1	4
Bert Hamric	8	8	1	.125	0	0
Eddie Miksis	3	2	0	.000	0	0
Frank Zupo	1	2	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
Jack Harshman	34	236.1	12	15	2.89	161
Arnie Portocarrero	32	204.2	15	11	3.25	90
Hal Brown	19	96.2	7	5	3.07	44

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
Billy O'Dell	41	221.1	14	11	2.97	137
Milt Pappas	31	135.1	10	10	4.06	72
Connie Johnson	26	118.1	6	9	3.88	68
Billy Loes	32	114.0	3	9	3.63	44
Charlie Beamon	21	49.2	1	3	4.35	26
Hoyt Wilhelm	9	40.2	1	3	1.99	35

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
George Zuverink	45	2	2	7	3.39	22
Ken Lehman	31	2	1	0	3.48	36
Jerry Walker	6	0	0	0	6.97	6
Lou Sleater	6	1	0	0	12.86	5
Ron Moeller	4	0	0	0	4.15	3

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Louisville Colonels	American Association	Del Wilber
AAA	Vancouver Mounties	Pacific Coast League	Charlie Metro
AA	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	Grady Hatton
A	Knoxville Smokies	Sally League	George Staller
B	Wilson Tobs	Carolina League	Bob Hooper and Barney Lutz
C	Aberdeen Pheasants	Northern League	Barney Lutz and Billy DeMars
D	Pensacola Dons	Alabama–Florida League	Lou Fitzgerald
D	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Barney Lutz, Fred Hofmann and Bob Hooper
D	Dublin Orioles	Georgia–Florida League	Earl Weaver

Notes

1. 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.179
2. Foster Castleman page at Baseball-Reference
3. "Orioles Select Miami in Spring". St. Petersburg Times . Associated Press. June 7, 1957. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
4. 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.212
5. Eddie Miksis page at Baseball Reference
6. Hoyt Wilhelm page at Baseball Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1958 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1958 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com