The 2006
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.
Offseason
Front office changes
Following the disappointing 2005 season, it was clear major changes needed to be made within the Orioles. In the front office, Executive VP
Jim Beattie was not re-signed, allowing
Mike Flanagan to become the sole GM of the Orioles. Shortly after,
Jim Duquette
Jim Duquette is an American baseball executive. He was the general manager of the New York Mets from 2003–2004, before the team replaced him with Omar Minaya. Duquette subsequently stayed with the Mets in a front office job for a full seas ...
was hired as Vice President of Baseball Operations, which was Flanagan's previous position. Duquette made it clear at his signing that he reported to Flanagan, so the "two-headed GM" did not exist anymore. The Orioles also fired Assistant General Manager Ed Kenney and asked for the resignation of
Dave Ritterpusch, Director of Baseball Information Systems.
Coaching staff changes
There were also drastic changes in the Orioles coaching staff. Perlozzo was named the new manager, and unlike Mazzilli, was given full freedom to name his coaching staff.
Sam Perlozzo
Samuel Benedict Perlozzo (born March 4, 1951) is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, most recently with the Baltimore Orioles.
Biography
After graduating from Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, Maryland, Perlozzo was ...
led off strong by convincing Atlanta pitching coach
Leo Mazzone
Leo David Mazzone (born October 16, 1948) is a former pitcher in minor league baseball and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He worked with the Atlanta Braves' organization from to and was the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles fr ...
, who had revolutionized the careers of many pitchers in Atlanta, to become the pitching coach for the Orioles. He retained hitting coach
Terry Crowley
Terrence Michael Crowley (born February 16, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and utility player from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Oriol ...
and first base coach
Dave Cash. Former base coach and
1983 World Series
The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National ...
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
Rick Dempsey
John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.[Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks (December 22, 1940 – December 21, 2005) was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore ...](_bl ...<br></span></div> replaced <div class=)
as the bullpen coach, with
Tom Trebelhorn resuming third base coach. Perlozzo rounded out his staff with former Cubs and Phillies manager
Lee Elia
Lee Constantine Elia (born July 16, 1937) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played only sparingly in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox () and Chicago Cubs (). Following his playing career, he managed t ...
as the bench coach.
Roster changes
The roster changes of 2005 were prefaced with
Peter Angelos' comments: ''"We are coming back strong next year. I know you have heard that tune before, but this time it will literally come true."'' The Orioles allowed
Rafael Palmeiro,
Sammy Sosa, and
B.J. Surhoff
William James "B. J." Surhoff (born August 4, 1964) is an American former catcher, outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter in Major League Baseball (MLB). Over his 18-year MLB career, he played every position except pitcher ...
to become free agents. They also set their wishlist: An everyday first baseman, an experienced starter, a closer, a defensive catcher, outfield help, more defense, and more speed. However, their offseason moves showed no differences from past years. The Orioles were not able to re-sign closer
B. J. Ryan, who signed a landmark deal with the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. They were also locked out in bids to sign first baseman
Paul Konerko
Paul Henry Konerko (; born March 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1997 to 2014, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a si ...
, outfielder
Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...
, and starter
Paul Byrd
Paul Gregory Byrd (born December 3, 1970), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who is currently a TV sports broadcaster for Atlanta Braves games on Bally Sports Southeast. While pitching in Major League Baseball (MLB), ...
. The Orioles chose not to enter the bidding for players like
A. J. Burnett
Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia ...
and
Kevin Millwood
Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colo ...
, whose asking prices were far beyond what the Orioles were willing to pay, but they did sign catcher
Ramón Hernández
Ramón José Hernández Marin (; born May 20, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2003), San Diego Padres (2004–2005), Baltimore Orioles (2006 ...
.
Locked out of pursuits to sign top-tier players, the Orioles decided to make several moves to allow minor league prospects more time to develop. This led to bringing in players like
Jeff Conine
Jeffrey Guy Conine (; born June 27, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder / first baseman and current assistant baseball coach at Florida International University, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons, ...
and
Kevin Millar
Kevin Charles Millar (; born September 24, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is a current analyst for MLB Network. He played in MLB for the Florida Marli ...
, both of whom are known for their positive presence in the clubhouse. On February 4, 2006, Ricky Bottalico was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles also made several trades to bring in needed players. They first traded disgruntled reliever
Steve Kline for
LaTroy Hawkins
LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorad ...
, then traded for outfielder
Corey Patterson
Donald Corey Patterson (born August 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. Currently, he is the manager of the Brookhaven Bucks in the Sunbelt Baseball League. He is the older brother of infielder Eric Patterson, a ...
, who brought speed and defense to the outfield, and traded former closer
Jorge Julio
Jorge Dandys Julio Tapia (born March 3, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball relief pitcher. He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2001 to 2005, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006, and the Florida Marlins ...
and
John Maine
John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed.
Early life and co ...
for experienced starter
Kris Benson
Kristin James Benson (born November 7, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010.
A highly touted prospect, Benson was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. ...
. The Orioles also addressed future free agents by extending the contract of outfielder
Jay Gibbons
Jay Jonathan Gibbons (born March 2, 1977) is an American former professional baseball right fielder in Major League Baseball.
He played college baseball at California State University, Los Angeles and in the Major Leagues for the Baltimore Oriole ...
and third baseman
Melvin Mora
Melvin Mora Diaz (born February 2, 1972) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB).
From h ...
, and recently signed a contract extension with second baseman
Brian Roberts. The team's Opening Day roster featured top prospect
Nick Markakis
Nicholas William Markakis ( ) (born November 17, 1983) is a Greek-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Markakis was the Orioles ...
, a potential A.L. "Rookie of the Year", the best young position player the Orioles' farm system has produced since Brian Roberts. Markakis represents the revival of the Orioles' farm system, which features four players listed in Baseball America's 2006 list of the top 100 prospects in minor league baseball.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster
Beltway Series
During
spring training in 2006, the Nationals and Orioles played each other in
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
on March 31 and in Baltimore on April 1. The first match up of the
Beltway Series
The Beltway Series, promoted by the teams as "The Battle of the Beltways," is the Major League Baseball (MLB) interleague rivalry series played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The Orioles are a member of the American Leagu ...
rivalry took place on May 19, 2006 during the 2006 regular season, the Orioles won at
RFK Stadium. This marked first time in 35 years that the Orioles played a regular-season game in Washington, as they played the
Washington Senators, another team in the American League annually from 1954 to 1960. The Orioles continued that rivalry with the new
Washington Senators from 1961 to 1971.
The two teams split the season series 3–3 with each time winning two games at home and one on the road.
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''
Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''
Pitching
Starting pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Other pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Relief pitchers
''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Frederick[''Baseball America 2007 Directory.'']
References
2006 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference2006 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles seasons
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...