Baltimore Oriole All-Geezer Team: The Lineup

You've seen the pitchers, now meet the hitters of the Baltimore Oriole All-Geezer Team!


The Starting 9

RF - Frank Robinson - '71 - Age 35

Frank's final season in Baltimore and he was still up to the task. He hit .281 with 28 homers and only struck out 63 times that year. He led the first place Orioles in slugging and helped power them to the World Series.


CF - Brady Anderson - '99 - Age 35

By this time, Anderson had developed into a really good leadoff hitter. He got on base at a .404 clip and stole 36 bases at an 83% success rate. Very impressive for an old guy. He hit 24 homers just to top it all off.


LF - Eric Davis - '98 - Age 36

Out of nowhere, Davis put up one of the finest offensive seasons in Oriole history and of his career. He batted .327 with 28 homers, slugged nearly .600 and OPS'ed .970. Although he played RF and a little CF, on this team he's in left.


DH - Harold Baines - '95 - Age 35

Harold hit .299 with 24 homers. Yawn. He only did it every year. One of the best clutch hitters ever, Baines can be valuable off the bench on his days off.


1B - Jeff Conine - '01 - Age 35

Conine was the lone offensive bright spot in 2001 hitting .311 with 14 homers. Conine is the starting firstbaseman but can play the corner outfield positions as well.


2B - Rick Burleson - '87 - Age 36

Oriole secondbasemen who qualify for Geezer status are a rare breed indeed. You can tell that by our starter. Rick Burleson came over from the Angels to play his final season for a bad Orioles club. Burleson hit .209 but still had a little pop with 2 homers and 14 doubles. He gets the nod here, however, because he was still a great fielder, even at 36. Burleson will split time with bench players on this team.


SS - Cal Ripken - '96 - Age 35

It was Cal's last year at shortstop but he was still playing better defensively than Derek Jeter ever has! (How is it possible that Jeter has three Gold Gloves while Cal only has two? It's an atrocity. It's a great example of why you have to critically examine some of these awards when they are handed out...) Anyway, stellar defense, a .278 average 40 doubles and 26 homers from Cal.


3B - Brooks Robinson - '74 - Age 37

Duh. Brooks hit .288 with 7 homers and would have his last truly great year with the glove.


C - Rick Dempsey - '85 - Age 35

Oh yeah. Admittedly, Geezer catchers were hard to come by but Dempsey's .254 average with 12 homers is not bad from the catcher spot.


The Batting Order


1. Brady Anderson
2. Brooks Robinson
3. Cal Ripken, Jr.
4. Frank Robinson
5. Eric Davis
6. Harold Baines
7. Jeff Conine
8. Rick Dempsey
9. Rick Burleson


The Bench


With this many old codgers, you're going to need a good bench to help spell them.


OF - John Lowenstein - '82 - Age 35

A bench player in name only, Lowenstein is going to be first on the field when there's no lefty on the mound. .320 with 24 homers is only 322 AB? Are you kidding me? That's sick.


2B - Chris Gomez - '07 - Age 36

Gomez is obviously capable of playing nearly any position in the infield but will primarily split time with Burleson at second. Burleson offsets Gomez' questionable glove and Gomez offsets Burleson's questionable bat.


C - Javy Lopez - '06 - Age 35

He would be a big stretch as a starter but as a backup, he'll do fine. That and the fact that there are very few other options get Javy on the team.


1B/DH - Rafael Palmiero - '04 - Age 39

The Geeziest hitter, Palmiero will serve as a backup 1B/DH, as well as giving us another power bat to pinch-hit. .268 with 28 homers in '04.


OF - Al Bumbry - '83 - Age 36

At 36, Bumbry could still run quite well. He's the pinch runner and defensive replacement outfielder on this team. Hit .275, stole 12 bases in limited action and can play all the OF spots.

Utility IF - Mark Belanger - '80 - Age 36

He wasn't really good enough for regular duty in 1980 but he will serve this team well spelling Cal from time to time, spot starting at 2B and as a defensive specialist. Hit .228 and stole 6 bases.

Name          AVG   OBP   SLG   HR   RBI   SB
F. Robinson  .281  .384  .510   28    99    3
Anderson     .282  .404  .487   24    81   36
Davis        .327  .388  .582   28    89    7
Baines       .299  .403  .540   24    63    0
Conine       .311  .386  .411   14    97   12
Burleson     .209  .279  .316    2    14    0
Ripken       .278  .341  .466   26   102    1
B. Robinson  .288  .353  .374    7    59    2
Dempsey      .254  .345  .406   14    52    0
  
  

Lowenstein   .320  .415  .602   24    66    7
Gomez        .302  .339  .391    1    16    1
Lopez        .251  .297  .386    8    35    0
Palmiero     .258  .359  .436   23    88    2
Bumbry       .275  .328  .357    3    31   12
Belanger     .228  .261  .276    0    22    6
  
  

Did I miss anybody?

Baltimore Orioles All-Geezer Team: The Staff

The Hot Stove is ice cold and we're still three weeks from Spring Training. That means my Oriole thoughts turn to trivia and I decided to compile the Baltimore Oriole All-Geezer team. What defines an Oriole geezer? I decided to start with seasons turned in by an Oriole when then were 35 or older. The older the player the better. The roster should be 25 men and I would provide for the traditional 10 pitchers/15 batters breakdown. Since the pitchers are easier, I decided to start with them.

The Starters

Hoyt Wilhem - 1959 - Age 36

Wilhem was primarily a reliever up until 1959. But when the Orioles claimed the future Hall of Famer off of waivers from the Indians, Oriole manager Paul Richards had the radical idea to convert Wilhem to a starting pitcher at the ripe old age of 36. Wilhem responded by going 15-11 with a 2.19 ERA for a bad 69-85 team. The old man pitched 13 complete games! An unexpected move gave an unexpected result as Wilhem made the All-Star team in his first full season as a starter. He is the ace of the Geezer staff.

Jim Palmer - 1982 - Age 36

After an injury plagued '81 season, Palmer returned for his final full season and pitched masterfully. Palmer posted a 3.13 ERA over 227 IP but only went 15-5 due to lack of run support. Palmer finished second in the Cy Young voting and the O's would also place an agonizingly close second to the Milwaukee Brewers in the Al East. One hell of a last hurrah.

Mike Cuellar - 1972 - Age 35

Ten years before Palmer, Cuellar also turned in a masterful performance for another disappointing Oriole squad. The Birds led the division on September 1st but faded down the stretch and finished in third place. Anyway, Cuellar went 18-12 with a 2.57 ERA and would continue to pitch well for three more years giving him the most eligible Geezer seasons of any Oriole.

Jimmy Key - 1997 - Age 36

Baltimore signed Jimmy Key away from the Yankees to attempt to wrest the division away from New York and make a run at the World Series. One out of two ain't bad. The O's took the division and Key was their second best starter (behind Mike Mussina) as he went 16-10 with a 3.43 ERA. Unfortunately, injuries would end Key's career the next year.

Robin Roberts - 1962 - Age 35

Hall of Famer Roberts is best known for his hurling for the Phillies but he came to the Orioles in 1962 and put up a fine effort for a very mediocre Batimore club. 10-9 with a 2.78 ERA. Not a bad line for our 5th starter, is it?

The Bullpen

Mike Flanagan - 1991 - Age 39

Flannagan came back to Baltimore for a second (short) stint as a reliever and excelled. At least for one year. Flanny pitched 98 innings with a 2.38 ERA. A fine long reliever for this team as he is the Geeziest at a downright decrepit 39.

Buddy Groom - 2002 - Age 36

I had forgotten what a bad man Buddy Groom was in '02. Lefties were shaking in their cleats when he took the mound as they only managed a .181 BA against the crafty LHP. 60 IP with a teeny little 1.60 ERA. Welcome to the club Buddy.

Stu Miller - 1965 - Age 37

Time for some righties to balance out the two lefties. Miller relieved for Baltimore throughout the 1960's and in '65 he won 14 games in relief, saved 24 games and spun a sterling 1.89 ERA. According to Milt Pappas, Miller had three speeds for his pitches: slow, slower and slowest. Every bullpen needs a junkballer.

Dick Hall - 1969 - Age 38

Hall was a member of four Oriole World Series teams and pitched brilliantly in relief for the '69 version. 1.92 ERA over 67 innings while winning 5 games.

Lee Smith - 1994 - Age 36

The most accomplished of the Geezer-eligible closers, Smith's impressive career included one very impressive season in Baltimore. Smith's ERA was 3.29 (in a year when the league ERA was 5.00) and he saved 33 games for a team that only won 63.

Here's the roster so far. Next time, the hitters.

Name             W   L    ERA   SV   IP    K   BB
Hoyt Wilhem     15  11   2.19    0  226  139   37
Jim Palmer      15   5   3.13    0  227  103   63
Mike Cuellar    18  12   2.57    0  248  132   71
Jimmy Key       16  10   3.43    0  212  141   82
Robin Roberts   10   9   2.78    0  191  102   41
   

Mike Flanagan    2   7   2.38    3   98   55   25
Buddy Groom      3   2   1.60    2   62   48   12
Stu Miller      14   7   1.89   24  119  104   32
Dick Hall        5   2   1.92    6   65   31    9
Lee Smith        1   4   3.29   33   38   42   11