Righty swinging 2B Rich Dauer was a gamer for the Orioles as he didn’t mind getting dirty.  His best season came way back in 1982.  He played in 158 games in 1982 for the Orioles and he was 156 of 558 (.280 avg, .709 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 8 homers and 57 RBIs.  Dauer played in 1,140 games in his 10 years with the Orioles and he was 984 of 3,829 (.257 avg, .653 OPS) with 448 runs scored, 43 homers, 372 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.  Dauer was a glue player on a lot of good Orioles’ teams and he deserves to be commended for that.

Righty starting pitcher Mike Mussina gave the Baltimore Orioles 10 rock solid seasons.  He pitched in 288 games (all starts) in his 10 years with the O’s and he was 147-81 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.  Mussina’s best year was his first full season with the O’s back in 1992.  He pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Orioles in 1992 and he was 18-5 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.  Mussina won at least 10 games in 9 of his 10 years with the Orioles and he won at least fifteen games in 6 of them.  He finished in the top six in the A.L. Cy Young Award vote 7 times for the Orioles.  Mussina also went to 5 All-Star Games and he won 3 Gold Gloves for the Orioles.  Mussina is still #5 in Orioles’ history in games started with 288 of them.  He is also #3 in wins (147), #7 in innings pitched (2,009 2/3) and he’s #2 in strikeouts (1,535) in Orioles’ history.  If Mike Mussina makes it to the Hall of Fame, he should go in as a Baltimore Oriole and not a New York Yankee.

Righty swinging shortstop Mark Belanger was a wizard in the field. He won 8 Gold Gloves in his 17 years with the Orioles. He played 17 years for the Orioles and he was 1,304 of 5,734 (.227 avg, .580 OPS) with 670 runs scored, 20 homers, 385 RBIs and 166 stolen bases. Belanger only made it to the All-Star Team one time in 1976. Belanger played in 153 games for the O’s in 1976 and he was 141 of 522 (.270 avg, .661 OPS) with 66 runs scored, 1 homer, 40 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Belanger is still #3 in games played (1,962) in Orioles’ history. He is also #9 in walks (571) and he’s tied for 9th in stolen bases (166) with Luis Aparicio. Belanger was one of the best defensive SS of all-time.

Lefty swinging outfielder Al Bumbry burst onto the scene for the O’s back in 1973 when he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. Bumbry played in 110 games in 1973 for the Orioles in which he was 120 for 356 (.337 avg, .898 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 11 triples, 7 homers, 34 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Bumbry’s best season with the Orioles was back in 1980 when he made his only All-Star team and was 13th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Bumbry played in 160 games for the Orioles in 1980 and he was 205 for 645 (.318 avg, .825 OPS) with 118 runs scored, 9 homers, 53 RBIs and 44 stolen bases. Bumbry played in 1,428 games in his 13 years with the Orioles and he was 1,403 of 4,958 (.283 avg, .725 OPS) with 772 runs scored, 53 homers, 392 RBIs and 252 stolen bases. Bumbry is still #9 in Orioles’ history in runs scored with 772 and he is also #4 in franchise history with 252 stolen bases. Bumbry was one of the better CFs in Orioles’ history.

Everyone likes to brag about how good Cal Ripken Jr. was with the Orioles, but switch-hitting 1B Eddie Murray was the better baseball player on those Orioles’ teams. Murray broke onto the scene in Baltimore by winning the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award in 1977. Murray played in 160 games in 1977 for the Orioles and he was 173 of 611 (.283 avg, .803 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 27 homers and 88 RBIs. Murray played in 1,884 games in his 13 years with the O’s and he was 2,080 of 7,075 (.294 avg, .868 OPS) with 1,084 runs scored, 343 homers, 1,224 RBIs and 62 stolen bases. Murray made it to 7 All-Star teams and he won 2 Silver Slugger Awards in his 13 years with the Orioles. He hit 20+ homers in 12 of his 13 years with the Orioles. He also knocked in 100+ runs five times with the O’s and he also scored 100 or more runs three times with the Orioles. Murray is #4 in games played (1,884), #4 in hits (2,080), #4 in runs scored (1,084), #3 in doubles (363), #2 in homers (343), #3 in RBIs (1,224) and #6 in walks (884) in Orioles’ history. Murray played in 3,026 games in his 21 years in the major leagues and he was 3,255 of 11,336 (.287 avg, .836 OPS) with 1,627 runs scored, 504 homers, 1,917 RBIs and 110 stolen bases. He was elected into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2003. Remember, you read it here, Eddie Murray was a better player than Cal Ripken Jr. was with the Orioles.

Switch-hitting outfielder Ken Singleton was a fixture in the middle of the Orioles’ lineup in the late 1970’s and the early 1980’s. His best season for the Orioles came in 1979, when he made the A.L. All-Star team and finished second in the MVP voting. Singleton played in 159 games in 1979 and he was 168 for 570 (.295 avg, .938 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 35 homers, 111 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Singleton played in 1,446 games in 10 years with the Orioles and he was 1,455 of 5,115 (.284 avg, .833 OPS) with 684 runs scored, 182 homers, 766 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Singleton made 3 All-Star teams in his 10 years with the Orioles. Singleton is 10th in Orioles’ history in games played with 1,446. He is also #9 in hits (1,455), #8 in homers (182), #8 in RBIs (766) and #5 in walks (886) in Orioles’ history.

Righty closer Gregg Olson burst onto the scene for the Orioles in 1989 when he won the A.L. Rookie of the Year Award. Olson pitched in 64 games (0 starts) in 1989 for the O’s and he was 5-2 with 27 saves, a 1.69 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He only gave up 57 hits while whiffing 90 batters in his 85 innings pitched in 1989. Olson pitched in 320 games (0 starts) in his six years with the Orioles and he was 17-21 with 160 saves, 2.26 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Olson might be the Orioles’ leading save man for quite some time as no one on the team now is anywear close to him.

Lefty starting pitcher Mike Flanagan was one of the better pitchers in Orioles’ history. His best year with them was 1979, when he won the American League Cy Young Award. He pitched in 39 games (38 starts) for the Orioles in 1979 and he was 23-9 with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He liked finishing what he started as he threw 16 complete games, five of which were shutouts. Flanagan pitched 15 years for the Orioles (1975-1987 and 1991-92) in which he pitched in 450 games (328 starts) and he was 141-116 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He only made 1 All-Star team and it was in 1978. Flanagan is #3 all-time in Orioles’ history in games pitched (450). He is also #3 in games started (328), #5 in wins (141), #3 in innings pitched (2,317 2/3), #4 in strikeouts (1,297), #10 in complete games (98) and he’s #10 in shutouts (17) in Orioles’ history. Mike Flanagan still works for the Orioles as a T.V. announcer, but he used to be one of the best starting pitchers in team history.

UPDATE: (8/25/2011) - Mike Flanagan was found dead on his property yesterday at the age of 59. This is a big loss for the Orioles’ organization. Prayers go out to Mike Flanagan’s family.

42-year old 2B Roberto Alomar has been inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Alomar played 3 years with the Baltimore Orioles from 1996-1998. He played in 412 games in his three years with the Orioles and he was 496 of 1,588 (.312 avg, .862 OPS) with 282 runs scored, 50 homers, 210 RBIs and 44 stolen bases. Alomar made it to the A.L. All-Star team all three years for the Orioles. He also won 2 Gold Gloves and 1 Silver Slugger Award for the O’s. Overall, Alomar played in 2,379 games in his 17 years in the majors and he was 2,724 of 9,073 (.300 avg, .814 OPS) with 1,508 runs scored, 210 homers, 1,134 RBIs and 474 stolen bases.

Cal Ripken Jr. is most associated with going to work everyday. He has the all-time record for most consecutive games played in major league history with 2,632. Ripken was voted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2007. He bursted onto the scene for the Orioles in 1982 when he played in 160 games in which he was 158 of 598 (.264 avg, .792 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 28 homers and 93 RBIs winning the Rookie of the Year Award in the A.L. He followed up his outstanding 1982 season by winning the A.L. MVP Award in 1983. In 1983, Ripken played in 162 games and he was 211 of 663 (.318 avg, .888 OPS) with 121 runs scored, 27 homers and 102 RBIs. Ripken would have to wait another 8 years before winning his second and last MVP Award. Ripken played in 162 games in 1991 and he was 210 of 650 (.323 avg, .940 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 34 homers and 114 RBIs. In Ripken’s 23 years with the O’s, he played in 3,001 games in which he was 3,184 of 11,551 (.276 avg, .788 OPS) with 1,647 runs scored, 431 homers and 1,695 RBIs. Ripken is the Orioles all-time leader in games played (3,001), runs scored (1,647), hits (3,184), doubles (603), homers (431), RBIs (1,695) and walks (1,129). When his career was over Ripken played in 19 All-Star Games, he won 8 Silver Slugger Awards and he won 2 Gold Gloves. Now you see that Ripken was a great player and he did so much more than playing everyday.