1989 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1989 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. The team was known as the Comeback Kids as they rebounded from the 54 wins and 107 losses of the 1988 season. The Orioles went into the 3 game season finale with the first place Toronto Blue Jays down by 1 game in the AL East standings and needing either a sweep for the pennant or 2 wins to force a one game playoff for the pennant. The Blue Jays won the first two games of the series, clinching the pennant on the penultimate game of the season.

Offseason

• October 3, 1988: Don Aase was released by the Orioles.^[1]
• November 9, 1988: Pete Blohm (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Randy Milligan.^[2]
• November 17, 1988: Dickie Noles was released by the Orioles.^[3]
• December 4, 1988: Eddie Murray was traded by the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ken Howell, Brian Holton, and Juan Bell.^[4]
• December 8, 1988: Ken Howell and Gordon Dillard were traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Phil Bradley.^[5]
• March 1, 1989: Mark Huismann was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[6]
• March 31, 1989: Carl Nichols was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors).^[7]

Regular season

Bill Ripken’s 1989 Fleer Baseball Card (#616) made national news when it included a hidden obscenity. The obscenity was printed in black marker on the knob of his bat.^[8] Once the discovery was made public, subsequent printings of the card were issued with the words obscured. The first obscuring involved a blob of white out, another was scribbled with a black pen while the last was covered with a black square.

Opening Day starters

• Brady Anderson
• Phil Bradley
• Steve Finley
• Rene Gonzales
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Dave Schmidt
• Larry Sheets
• Mickey Tettleton
• Jim Traber
• Craig Worthington

Season standings

Notable transactions

• May 19, 1989: Rick Schu was purchased from the Orioles by the Detroit Tigers.^[9]
• June 1, 1989: John Posey (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Shane Turner.^[10]
• June 5, 1989: 1989 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Ben McDonald was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed August 19, 1989.^[11]
  • Mike Oquist was drafted by the Orioles in the 13th round. Player signed June 14, 1989.^[12]
  • Gregg Zaun was drafted by the Orioles in the 17th round. Player signed August 25, 1989.^[13]
• July 20, 1989: John Habyan was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Stan Jefferson.^[14]
• August 5, 1989: Jamie Quirk was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[15]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

Other batters

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Awards and honors

• Frank Robinson, Associated Press Manager of the Year
• Frank Robinson, American League Manager of the Year
• Gregg Olson, American League Rookie of the Year

MLB All-Star Game

• Cal Ripken, Jr.

Farm system

^[16]

References

1. ^ Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
2. ^ Randy Milligan page at Baseball Reference
3. ^ Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Juan Bell page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Gordon Dillard page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Mark Huismann page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Carl Nichols page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ snopes.com: Bill Ripken 1989 Baseball Card
9. ^ Rick Schu page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ Shane Turner page at Baseball Reference
11. ^ Ben McDonald page at Baseball Reference
12. ^ Mike Oquist page at Baseball Reference
13. ^ Gregg Zaun page at Baseball Reference
14. ^ Stan Jefferson page at Baseball Reference
15. ^ Jamie Quirk page at Baseball Reference
16. ^ Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007

• 1989 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1989 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com