1977 Baltimore Orioles season

1977  Baltimore Orioles
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore, Maryland
Record	97–64 (.602)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Jerold Hoffberger
General managers	Hank Peters
Managers	Earl Weaver
Television	WJZ-TV
Radio	WBAL (AM) (Chuck Thompson, Bill O'Donnell)
←  1976 Seasons 1978  →

The 1977 Baltimore Orioles season was the 77th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 24th in Baltimore, and the 24th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles finished tied for second place in the American League East with a record of 97 wins and 64 losses. The Orioles stayed in contention for the division title until an 11–10 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 30. ^[1] They in turn eliminated the Red Sox 8–7 the following day on October 1. ^[2]

The Orioles entered the campaign with diminished expectations because of the departures of Reggie Jackson, Bobby Grich and Wayne Garland via free agency. ^[3] The team's biggest boost came from Eddie Murray who hit .283 with 27 home runs and 88 runs batted in (RBI) and was named the American League Rookie of the Year on November 21. He also batted .364 with nine homers and 26 RBI during the last 31 games of the season. ^[4]

The Orioles lost a five-inning 4–0 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium on September 15 via forfeit because of third-base umpire Marty Springstead's refusal to have a tarpaulin covering the pitcher's mounds in the home team's bullpen in the left-field corner removed. Out of concern for the safety of his left fielder Andrés Mora, manager Earl Weaver protested Springstead's decision by pulling his team off the field. The forfeit was declared after 15 minutes had elapsed and the Orioles had not returned. Weaver explained, "Mora almost broke his leg on that damn thing yesterday. If that had not happened, I might not have thought of it. If a guy slips out there and hurts his leg, how am I gonna feel?" ^[5] American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the forfeit two days later on September 17. Even though he said that Weaver's concern for his players' safety was "not only understandable, but commendable", MacPhail stated, "There is a basic principle involved here, and that is that someone involved as a competitor cannot be allowed to dictate decisions that must be made by a neutral official." ^[6]

The Orioles drew 1,195,769 which at the time was the second-highest home attendance total since the franchise's first season in Baltimore in 1954, surpassed by only 1,203,366 in 1966. ^[7] A 10–4 defeat to the Red Sox at Memorial Stadium on September 18 drew 51,798, then the largest crowd to attend an Orioles home regular-season game, who paid tribute to Brooks Robinson who had announced his retirement as an active player one month prior on August 21. ^[8] The ballclub sustained a net operating loss of $43,846, primarily because of a $499,000 increase in player payroll in the first year of Major League Baseball (MLB) free agency. ^[7]

Offseason

• November 1, 1976: Darryl Cias was released by the Orioles. ^[9]
• November 5, 1976: 1976 MLB expansion draft
  • Bob Galasso was selected from the Orioles by the Seattle Mariners. ^[10]
  • Dave Pagan was selected from the Orioles by the Seattle Mariners. ^[11]
• December 15, 1976: Bob Babcock was traded by the Orioles to the Texas Rangers for Dave Criscione. ^[12]
• January 11, 1977: John Shelby was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft. ^[13]
• January 20, 1977: Paul Blair was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Elliott Maddox and Rick Bladt. ^[14]
• February 8, 1977: Billy Smith was signed as a free agent by the Orioles. ^[15]
• February 11, 1977: Vic Rodriguez was signed as an amateur free agent by the Orioles. ^[16]

Regular season

Brooks Robinson 3B Retired 1977

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Yankees	100	62	.617	—	55‍–‍26	45‍–‍36
Baltimore Orioles	97	64	.602	2½	54‍–‍27	43‍–‍37
Boston Red Sox	97	64	.602	2½	51‍–‍29	46‍–‍35
Detroit Tigers	74	88	.457	26	39‍–‍42	35‍–‍46
Cleveland Indians	71	90	.441	28½	37‍–‍44	34‍–‍46
Milwaukee Brewers	67	95	.414	33	37‍–‍44	30‍–‍51
Toronto Blue Jays	54	107	.335	45½	25‍–‍55	29‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

1977 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–8	5–6	5–5	11–4	12–3	4–7	11–4	6–4	8–7	8–2	7–3	4–6	10–5
Boston	8–6	—	7–3	3–7	8–7	9–6	5–5	9–6	4–6	8–7	8–3	10–1	6–4	12–3
California	6–5	3–7	—	8–7	6–4	4–6	6–9	5–5	7–8	4–7	5–10	9–6	5–10	6–4
Chicago	5–5	7–3	7–8	—	6–4	4–6	8–7	6–5	10–5	3–7	10–5	10–5	6–9	8–3
Cleveland	4–11	7–8	4–6	4–6	—	8–7	3–7	11–4	2–9	3–12	7–3	7–3	2–9	9–5
Detroit	3–12	6–9	6–4	6–4	7–8	—	3–8	10–5	5–5	6–9	5–5	5–6	2–8	10–5
Kansas City	7–4	5–5	9–6	7–8	7–3	8–3	—	8–2	10–5	5–5	9–6	11–4	8–7	8–2
Milwaukee	4–11	6–9	5–5	5–6	4–11	5–10	2–8	—	3–8	8–7	5–5	7–3	5–5	8–7
Minnesota	4–6	6–4	8–7	5–10	9–2	5–5	5–10	8–3	—	2–8	8–6	7–8	8–7	9–1
New York	7–8	7–8	7–4	7–3	12–3	9–6	5–5	7–8	8–2	—	9–2	6–4	7–3	9–6
Oakland	2–8	3–8	10–5	5–10	3–7	5–5	6–9	5–5	6–8	2–9	—	7–8	2–13	7–3
Seattle	3–7	1–10	6–9	5–10	3–7	6–5	4–11	3–7	8–7	4–6	8–7	—	9–6	4–6
Texas	6–4	4–6	10–5	9–6	9–2	8–2	7–8	5–5	7–8	3–7	13–2	6–9	—	7–4
Toronto	5–10	3–12	4–6	3–8	5–9	5–10	2–8	7–8	1–9	6–9	3–7	6–4	4–7	—

Notable transactions

• May 26, 1977: Randy Stein was acquired from the Orioles by the New York Yankees. ^[17]
• June 13, 1977: Dyar Miller was traded by the Orioles to the California Angels for Dick Drago. ^[18]
• July 27, 1977: Ken Rudolph was purchased by the Orioles from the San Francisco Giants. ^[19]
• September 19, 1977: Nelson Briles was purchased by the Orioles from the Texas Rangers. ^[20]

Roster

1977 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 55 Nelson Briles 45 Tony Chévez 37 Dick Drago 17 Ed Farmer 46 Mike Flanagan 48 Ross Grimsley 38 Fred Holdsworth 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 43 Rudy May 39 Scott McGregor 37 Dyar Miller 35 Randy Miller 22 Jim Palmer 32 Mike Parrott 52 Earl Stephenson		Catchers 40 Dave Criscione 24 Rick Dempsey 12 Ken Rudolph  8 Dave Skaggs Infielders  7 Mark Belanger 10 Terry Crowley 44 Rich Dauer 11 Doug DeCinces  3 Kiko Garcia 14 Lee May 33 Eddie Murray 16 Tony Muser  5 Brooks Robinson  2 Billy Smith		Outfielders  1 Al Bumbry 36 Mike Dimmel 34 Larry Harlow 18 Pat Kelly 21 Elliott Maddox 27 Andrés Mora 28 Tom Shopay 29 Ken Singleton		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 31 George Bamberger (Pitching) 41 Jim Frey (First base) 55 Billy Hunter (Third base) 47 Cal Ripken (Bullpen/Third base)

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	Rick Dempsey	91	270	61	.226	3	34
1B	Lee May	150	585	148	.253	27	99
2B	Billy Smith	109	367	79	.215	5	29
3B	Doug DeCinces	150	522	135	.259	19	69
SS	Mark Belanger	144	402	83	.206	2	30
LF	Pat Kelly	120	360	92	.256	10	49
CF	Al Bumbry	133	518	164	.317	4	41
RF	Ken Singleton	152	536	176	.328	24	99
DH	Eddie Murray	160	611	173	.283	27	88

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
Rich Dauer	96	304	74	.243	5	25
Andrés Mora	77	233	57	.245	13	44
Dave Skaggs	80	216	62	.287	1	24
Kiko Garcia	65	131	29	.221	2	10
Tony Muser	120	118	27	.229	0	7
Elliott Maddox	49	107	28	.262	2	9
Tom Shopay	67	69	13	.188	1	4
Larry Harlow	46	48	10	.208	0	0
Brooks Robinson	24	47	7	.149	1	4
Terry Crowley	18	22	8	.364	1	9
Ken Rudolph	11	14	4	.286	0	2
Dave Criscione	7	9	3	.333	1	1
Mike Dimmel	25	5	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
Jim Palmer	39	319.0	20	11	2.91	193
Rudy May	37	251.2	18	14	3.61	105
Mike Flanagan	36	235.0	15	10	3.64	149
Ross Grimsley	34	218.1	14	10	3.96	53

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
Dennis Martínez	42	166.2	14	7	4.10	107
Scott McGregor	29	114.0	3	5	4.42	55

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
Tippy Martinez	41	5	1	9	2.70	29
Dick Drago	36	6	3	3	3.63	20
Dyar Miller	12	2	2	1	5.64	9
Fred Holdsworth	12	0	1	0	6.28	4
Tony Chévez	4	0	0	0	12.38	7
Mike Parrott	3	0	0	0	2.08	2
Nelson Briles	2	0	0	1	6.75	2
Earl Stephenson	1	0	0	0	9.00	2
Randy Miller	1	0	0	0	40.50	0
Ed Farmer	1	0	0	0	inf	0

Awards and honors

• Earl Weaver, Associated Press AL Manager of the Year

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Ken Boyer
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	Jimmie Schaffer
A	Miami Orioles	Florida State League	Len Johnston
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	J. R. Miner

References

1. "Red Sox Oust Orioles, 11–10, To Stay Alive," The Associated Press (AP), Friday, September 30, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
2. "Six Oriole Homers Eliminate Boston at Fenway, 8–7," The New York Times, Sunday, October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
3. Povich, Shirley. "Orioles Seem Destined for Third Place," The Washington Post, Wednesday, March 23, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
4. "Eddie Murray Rookie Of Year In AL," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 22, 1977. Retrieved April 18 2023.
5. "Orioles Forfeit Game to the Jays in Dispute over Bullpen Mound," United Press International (UPI), Friday, September 16, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
6. Montgomery, Paul L. "But Baltimore Loses Appeal to League Over Forfeit," The New York Times, Sunday, September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
7. Scannell, Nancy. "Orioles Expect Loss At Gate of 150,000, Substantial Deficit," The Washington Post, Sunday, September 10, 1978. Retrieved April 18 2023.
8. Montgomery, Paul L. "Red Sox Set Back Orioles, 10–4, As Both End Ungainful Weekend," The New York Times, Monday, September 19, 1977. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
9. Darryl Cias page at Baseball Reference
10. Bob Galasso page at Baseball Reference
11. Dave Pagan page at Baseball Reference
12. Dave Criscione page at Baseball Reference
13. John Shelby page at Baseball Reference
14. Paul Blair page at Baseball Reference
15. Billy Smith page at Baseball Reference
16. Vic Rodriguez page at Baseball Reference
17. Randy Stein page at Baseball Reference
18. Dick Drago page at Baseball Reference
19. Ken Rudolph page at Baseball Reference
20. Nelson Briles transactions at Baseball Reference

External links

• 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.
• 1977 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1977 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com