Team Breakdowns Baltimore Orioles
35 Wins 21 Losses .625 Pct First Place
The Orioles emerged as champions, thanks to a late season surge, which allowed them to overtake the Boston Red Sox, who had been in first place for most of the season. From Game #36 through Game#50 inclusive, Baltimore was 12 and 3. Baltimore was very successful at home, with a 19-9 record at Memorial Stadium. They had the second-best road record at 16-12, only behind Oakland, who were 17-11 on the road.
Baltimore did boast the MVP, in Don Buford, who won the batting crown. He slashed .346/.438/.508. He was the only Oriole regular who had an on base percentage over .300 and a slugging ave. over .500.
Paul Blair and Frank Robinson tied for the team lead in home runs with nine each. The downside for Blair was his team leading 40 strikeouts.
The most disappointing player for Baltimore was Brooks Robinson. He had 7 errors and offensively, slashed only .250/.305/.328, with only 2 home runs.
The pitching was successful but disjointed. For example, Jim Palmer and Dave McNally each won six games, but Palmer lost five and McNally had an ERA over 3 (3.17). Reliever, Eddie Watt had 8 saves, 2 behind leader Dave Giusti, yet he had an ERA of 4.19 and a WHIP of 1.81. Mike Cuellar was 5 and 4, with a 3.21 ERA, yet he led the starters in WHIP with a 1.03 mark.
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