1983 Baltimore Orioles season

1983  Baltimore Orioles
World Series champions American League champions American League East champions
League	American League
Division	East Division
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore
Record	98–64 (.605)
Divisional place	1st
Owners	Edward Bennett Williams
General managers	Hank Peters
Managers	Joe Altobelli
Television	WMAR-TV (Chuck Thompson, Brooks Robinson) Super TV (Rex Barney,Ted Patterson)
Radio	WFBR (Jon Miller, Tom Marr)
←  1982 Seasons 1984  →

The 1983 Baltimore Orioles won the Major League Baseball World Series after finishing first in the American League East with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, The Orioles won the championship by beating the Philadelphia Philles, 4–1, in the 1983 World Series. ^[1] The season was the Orioles' first in nearly 15 years without manager Earl Weaver, who retired after the Orioles missed the playoffs in the final game of the 1982 season. ^[2] The Orioles replaced the future Hall of Famer ^[3] Weaver ^[4] with Joe Altobelli.

As of the 2025 season, this is the most recent time the Orioles won a World Series, as well as their most recent World Series appearance. ^[5]

After many years the Orioles made the jump to cable television, with a separate broadcast team on their then first cable broadcaster, Super TV. They would move to Home Team Sports the following year.

Offseason

• October 19, 1982: RHP, Don Stanhouse was released by the Orioles. ^[6]
• November 13, 1982 Named Manager, Joe Altobelli ^[7]
• November 29, 1982 signed, LHP, Dan Morogiello as a free agent. ^[8]
• January 15, 1983: Catcher, Joe Nolan was re-signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. ^[9]
• February 3, 1983: Third Baseman, Aurelio Rodriguez was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. ^[10]
• February 23, 1983: Outfielder, John Lowenstein was re-signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. ^[11]
• April 4, 1983 Pinch Hitter/Outfielder Terry Crowley was released by the Orioles ^[12]

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

AL East

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Baltimore Orioles	98	64	.605	—	50‍–‍31	48‍–‍33
Detroit Tigers	92	70	.568	6	48‍–‍33	44‍–‍37
New York Yankees	91	71	.562	7	51‍–‍30	40‍–‍41
Toronto Blue Jays	89	73	.549	9	48‍–‍33	41‍–‍40
Milwaukee Brewers	87	75	.537	11	52‍–‍29	35‍–‍46
Boston Red Sox	78	84	.481	20	38‍–‍43	40‍–‍41
Cleveland Indians	70	92	.432	28	36‍–‍45	34‍–‍47

Record vs. opponents

1983 American League record v t e Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	8–5	7–5	7–5	6–7	5–8	8–4	11–2	8–4	6–7	8–4	8–4	9–3	7–6
Boston	5–8	—	6–6	6–6	7–6	4–9	5–7	4–9	5–7	7–6	8–4	7–5	7–5	7–6
California	5–7	6–6	—	3–10	8–4	4–8	6–7	6–6	6–7	5–7	5–8	6–7	6–7	4–8
Chicago	5–7	6–6	10–3	—	8–4	8–4	9–4	4–8	8–5	8–4	8–5	12–1	8–5	5–7
Cleveland	7–6	6–7	4–8	4–8	—	5–8	7–5	3–10	6–6	6–7	7–5	8–4	3–9	4–9
Detroit	8–5	9–4	8–4	4–8	8–5	—	7–5	6–7	9–3	5–8	6–6	8–4	8–4	6–7
Kansas City	4–8	7–5	7–6	4–9	5–7	5–7	—	6–6	6–7	6–6	7–6	8–5	8–5–1	6–6
Milwaukee	2–11	9–4	6–6	8–4	10–3	7–6	6–6	—	8–4	4–9	6–6	5–7	8–4	8–5
Minnesota	4–8	7–5	7–6	5–8	6–6	3–9	7–6	4–8	—	4–8	4–9	9–4	5–8	5–7
New York	7–6	6–7	7–5	4–8	7–6	8–5	6–6	9–4	8–4	—	8–4	7–5	7–5	7–6
Oakland	4–8	4–8	8–5	5–8	5–7	6–6	6–7	6–6	9–4	4–8	—	9–4	2–11	6–6
Seattle	4–8	5–7	7–6	1–12	4–8	4–8	5–8	7–5	4–9	5–7	4–9	—	6–7	4–8
Texas	3–9	5–7	7–6	5–8	9–3	4–8	5–8–1	4–8	8–5	5–7	11–2	7–6	—	4–8
Toronto	6–7	6–7	8–4	7–5	9–4	7–6	6–6	5–8	7–5	6–7	6–6	8–4	8–4	—

Opening Day starters

• Rich Dauer
• Rick Dempsey
• Dan Ford
• Leo Hernández
• Dennis Martínez
• Eddie Murray
• Cal Ripken Jr.
• Gary Roenicke
• John Shelby
• Ken Singleton ^[13]

Notable transactions

• June 13, 1983: Traded catcher/third baseman Floyd Rayford (playing for the Rochester Red Wings at the time of the trade) to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later ^[14]
• June 30, 1983: Todd Cruz was purchased by the Orioles from the Seattle Mariners. ^[15]
• August 13, 1983: Aurelio Rodriguez was released by the Baltimore Orioles. ^[10]
• August 31, 1983: Acquired outfielder Tito Landrum from the St. Louis Cardinals completing the Floyd Rayford trade. ^[16]

An Overview of the Team

On April 3, 1983, the Baltimore Orioles left spring training with much the same team that fell just a game short of the playoffs the year before. Of the Orioles starting in the 1982 Opening Day lineup only Lenn Sakata and Al Bumbry would lose their opening day spots in 1983. ^[17] Terry Crowley was the last player cut during spring training, and on his way out of the clubhouse he predicted an Orioles championship, "The shame of it is," he told a '' Sun reporter, "the Orioles are going to win in it all this year, and Joe is going to do a tremendous job" ^[18] Still, the team was an up-and-coming squad, in fact, no Oriole would be voted on to the All Star team's starting lineup. ^[19] However, the team featured three future Hall of Famers:

• Cal Ripken who had won Rookie of the Year honors the year before completed his transition from third base to shortstop playing his first full season at his new position ^[20]
• Perennial All-Star Eddie Murray won a Silver Slugger Award and Gold Glove Award at first base ^[21]
• The aging Jim Palmer started only 11 games but would come out of the bullpen for his final career victory in the World Series ^[22]
• During an August 24, 1983 game, Orioles pitcher Tippy Martinez picked off three Toronto Blue Jays baserunners in one inning. The baserunners were Barry Bonnell, Dave Collins and Willie Upshaw. ^[23]

While the Orioles fielded a team similar to the team fielded in 1982 Altobelli put his own mark on the squad by breaking camp with a four-man rotation which occasionally increased to five pitchers rather than the three man rotation preferred by Weaver. ^[24]

Starting pitching

One significant difference between the 1982 Baltimore Orioles and the 1983 Baltimore Orioles was Altobelli's willingness to use different starting pitchers. Ten different, Orioles pitchers would take the mound to start a game in 1983 whereas in 1982 only six players got the starting nod.

1983 Baltimore Orioles roster
Roster
Pitchers 52 Mike Boddicker 34 Storm Davis 46 Mike Flanagan 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 16 Scott McGregor 39 Paul Mirabella 21 Dan Morogiello 22 Jim Palmer 36 Allan Ramirez 53 Sammy Stewart 49 Tim Stoddard 32 Bill Swaggerty 51 Don Welchel		Catchers 24 Rick Dempsey 18 Dave Huppert 17 Joe Nolan  9 John Stefero Infielders  2 Bobby Bonner 10 Todd Cruz 25 Rich Dauer 11 Glenn Gulliver  3 Leo Hernández 33 Eddie Murray  8 Cal Ripken Jr.  6 Aurelio Rodríguez 12 Lenn Sakata		Outfielders 27 Benny Ayala  1 Al Bumbry 28 Jim Dwyer 15 Dan Ford 39 Tito Landrum 38 John Lowenstein 35 Gary Roenicke 37 John Shelby 43 Mike Young Other batters 29 Ken Singleton		Manager 26 Joe Altobelli Coaches 44 Elrod Hendricks 31 Ray Miller 47 Cal Ripken, Sr. 54 Ralph Rowe 40 Jimmy Williams

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

= Indicates league leader

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB= Stolen bases

⌖	Player	G	AB	R	H	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
C	Rick Dempsey	128	347	33	80	.231	4	32	1
1B	Eddie Murray	156	582	115	178	.306	33	111	5
2B	Rich Dauer	140	459	49	108	.235	5	41	1
3B	Todd Cruz	81	221	16	46	.208	3	27	3
SS	Cal Ripken	162	663	121	211	.318	27	102	0
LF	John Lowenstein	122	310	52	87	.281	15	60	2
CF	Al Bumbry	124	378	63	104	.275	3	31	12
RF	Dan Ford	103	407	63	114	.280	9	55	9
DH	Ken Singleton	151	507	52	140	.276	18	84	0

^[25]

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB= Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	AVG	HR	RBI	SB
John Shelby	126	325	52	84	.258	5	27	15
Gary Roenicke	115	323	45	84	.260	19	64	2
Leo Hernández	64	203	21	50	.246	6	26	1
Jim Dwyer	100	196	37	56	.286	8	38	1
Joe Nolan	73	184	25	51	.277	5	24	0
Lenn Sakata	66	134	23	34	.254	3	12	8
Benny Ayala	47	104	12	23	.221	4	13	0
Aurelio Rodríguez	45	67	0	8	.119	0	2	0
Glenn Gulliver	23	47	5	10	.213	0	2	0
Tito Landrum	26	42	8	13	.310	1	4	0
Mike Young	25	36	5	6	.167	0	2	1
John Stefero	9	11	2	5	.455	0	4	0
Bobby Bonner	6	0	0	0	----	0	0	0
Dave Huppert	2	0	0	0	----	0	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Scott McGregor	36	260.0	18	7	3.18	45	86
Storm Davis	34	200.1	13	7	3.59	64	125
Mike Boddicker	27	179.0	16	8	2.77	52	120
Dennis Martínez	32	153.0	7	16	5.53	45	71
Mike Flanagan	20	125.1	12	4	3.30	31	50
Jim Palmer	14	76.2	5	4	4.23	19	34
Allan Ramirez	11	57.0	4	4	3.47	30	20

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	BB	SO
Bill Swaggerty	7	21.2	1	1	2.91	6	7
Paul Mirabella	3	9.2	0	0	5.59	4	7

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; BB = Walks allowed; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	BB	SO
Tippy Martinez	65	103.1	9	3	21	2.35	37	81
Sammy Stewart	58	144.1	9	4	7	3.62	67	95
Tim Stoddard	47	57.2	4	3	9	6.09	29	50
Dan Morogiello	22	37.2	0	1	1	2.39	10	15
Don Welchel	11	26.2	0	2	0	5.40	10	16

Postseason

ALCS

Main article: 1983 American League Championship Series

Summary

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Chicago – 2, Baltimore – 1	October 5	Memorial Stadium	51,289
2	Chicago – 0, Baltimore – 4	October 6	Memorial Stadium	52,347
3	Baltimore – 11, Chicago – 1	October 7	Comiskey Park	46,635
4	Baltimore – 3, Chicago – 0	October 8	Comiskey Park	45,477

World Series

Main article: 1983 World Series

AL Baltimore Orioles (4) vs. NL Philadelphia Phillies (1)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Phillies – 2, Orioles – 1	October 11	Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)	52,204	2:22
2	Phillies – 1, Orioles – 4	October 12	Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)	52,132	2:27
3	Orioles – 3, Phillies – 2	October 14	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	65,792	2:35
4	Orioles – 5, Phillies – 4	October 15	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	66,947	2:50
5	Orioles – 5, Phillies – 0	October 16	Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)	67,064	2:21

Awards and honors

• Mike Boddicker, ALCS Most Valuable Player
• Rick Dempsey, Babe Ruth Award
• Rick Dempsey – World Series Most Valuable Player
• Eddie Murray, Silver Slugger Award
• Cal Ripken Jr., American League Most Valuable Player

All-Star Game

League leaders

• Cal Ripken Jr. – American League Leader in At-Bats (663)
• Cal Ripken Jr. – American League Leader in Hits (211)
• Cal Ripken Jr. – American League Leader Runs Scored (121)
• Cal Ripken Jr. – American League Leader Doubles (47)

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Lance Nichols
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	Grady Little
A	Hagerstown Suns	Carolina League	John Hart
A-Short Season	Newark Orioles	New York–Penn League	Art Mazmanian
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Greg Biagini

Notes

1. "1983 World Series - Baltimore Orioles over Philadelphia Phillies (4-1)". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
2. "Orioles' Spell Is Broken: Brewers Win AL East - The Washington Post". The Washington Post .
3. "Earl Weaver 1996 Hall of Fame Induction Speech" . Retrieved March 5, 2023– via www.youtube.com.
4. "Weaver, Earl | Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
5. "The Story of the 1983 Baltimore Orioles". March 11, 2014.
6. Don Stanhouse at Baseball-Reference
7. "Altobelli to Manage O's" November 11, 1982 The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD) p.33
8. "1983 Major League Baseball Transactions".
9. "Joe Nolan Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
10. "Aurelio Rodriguez Stats - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
11. "1983 Baltimore Orioles Trades and Transactions".
12. Baseball Almanac
13. "1983 Baltimore Orioles Roster". Baseball Almanac, Inc. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
14. "Floyd Rayford Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
15. Todd Curz at Baseball-Reference
16. "Tito Landrum Trades and Transactions by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
17. "1983 Major League Baseball Opening Day Lineups".
18. Class Marks the departure of the 'Crow', The Baltimore Sun April 4, 1983 p.21
19. "1983 All-Star Game Box Score, July 6". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
20. "Cal Ripken, Jr. Awards by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
21. "Eddie Murray Awards by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
22. "Jim Palmer Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
23. 100 Things Orioles Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Dan Connolly, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2015, ISBN 978-1-62937-041-5, p.188
24. 'The Evening Sun, "Orioles Ready for a Change of Pace" April 1, 1983, C6
25. "1983 Baltimore Orioles Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.

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.
• 1983 Baltimore Orioles team at Baseball-Reference
• 1983 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

External links

• Baltimore Orioles 1983 Schedule at MLB.com