70 greatest Orioles vote: Who were the best Orioles from 2004 to 2013?
To mark the 70th anniversary of the Baltimore Orioles franchise, the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum is creating an exhibit on the 70 greatest players, managers or coaches in Orioles history. Baltimore Sun readers can help the museum choose who to feature through a series of online votes. Scroll down to vote for your favorite Orioles from 2004 to 2013. This poll closes 11:59 p.m. Feb. 20. The final poll, for 2014 to 2023, opens Feb. 21.
Meet the 2004-2013 nominees
Nominees were chosen by the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum in consultation with Sun staff. Each nominee was limited to appearing in one poll. The museum sought to place a nominee in the poll for the decade of his greatest impact on the Orioles.
Erik Bedard
Left-hander Erik Bedard was an Orioles starting pitcher from 2004 to 2007. Drafted by Baltimore in 1999, Bedard appeared in two games in relief in 2002, then missed the entire 2003 season recovering from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Overall, Bedard went 40-34 with a 3.83 ERA and 639 strikeouts with the Orioles. In 2004, he led major league rookies with 121 strikeouts and on July 7, 2007, against the Texas Rangers, he recorded 15 strikeouts, tying an Orioles record. That offseason, Bedard was dealt to the Seattle Mariners in the trade that brought Adam Jones and Chris TIllman to Baltimore.
Zach Britton
Left-handed pitcher Zach Britton joined the Orioles as a starter in 2011 before becoming closer in 2014, a role he held through mid-2018, when he was traded to the New York Yankees in the flurry of moves that began the Orioles’ rebuild. Britton saved 139 games for Baltimore, including an American League-best 47 in 2016 when he made his second straight All-Star appearance.
Wei-Yin Chen
With the Orioles from 2012 to 2015, left-handed starter Wei-Yin Chen went 46-32 with a 3.72 ERA. Signed out of the Japan Central League, Chen was a dependable presence in the middle of the Orioles’ rotation, averaging 29 starts and 177 innings per season.
Miguel González
Starting pitcher Miguel González’s best year with the Orioles was his rookie season of 2012, when the right-hander went 9-4 in 15 starts with a 3.25 ERA. With Baltimore through 2015, he posted a record of 39-33. González pitched well in two postseason appearance for the Orioles in 2012 and 2014, though he did not win either start.
Jeremy Guthrie
A starter from 2007 to 2011 — including the opening day starter three of those years — right-hander Jeremy Guthrie was an anchor of the Orioles’ rotation during the final third of the franchise’s 14 straight losing seasons. Overall with Baltimore, Gurthrie was 47-65 with a 4.12 ERA. He pitched at least 200 innings each of his last three seasons with the Orioles.
J.J. Hardy
Another link in the chain of dependable Orioles shortstops, J.J. Hardy played for Baltimore from 2011 to 2017. Hardy had 30 home runs and 80 RBIs his first season with the Orioles and topped 20 homers each of the next two years. A three-time Gold Glove Award winner while with Baltimore and a 2013 All-Star, Hardy joined the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2021.
Elrod Hendricks
Beloved by generations of fans, Elrod Hendricks was in an Orioles uniform for a record 37 seasons. With Baltimore for five of the club’s six World Series, Hendricks caught for the Orioles for 11 seasons in the late 1960s and the 1970s and was bullpen coach from 1978 to 2005 (Hendricks was a player-coach in 1978 and 1979). Affable and quick-witted, Hendricks was among the Orioles’ most prolific ambassadors, signing autographs, hosting baseball camps and portraying Santa Claus at the team’s Christmas parties. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2001. The sharply angled outfield wall next to the Orioles’ bullpen is named “Elrod’s Corner” in his honor.
Tommy Hunter
Right-hander Tommy Hunter pitched for the Orioles from 2011 to 2016 (he spent parts of his final two seasons with Baltimore with other teams), going 21-20 with a 4.16 ERA and 263 strikeouts. Joining the Orioles as a starter, Hunter moved to the bullpen during 2012 and began 2014 as the team’s closer before Britton replaced him. That campaign was nonetheless Hunter’s best with the Birds, as he finished with a 2.97 ERA, 45 strikeouts and 11 saves over 60 2/3 innings to help the Orioles win the AL East.
Jason Johnson
Starter Jason Johnson pitched for the Orioles from 1999 to 2003, going 34-53 for five fourth-place teams with three complete games and a 4.84 ERA. The right-hander’s best season with Baltimore was 2001, when he went 10-12 with a 4.09 ERA over 196 innings. That same season, Johnson received the Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming obstacles; he played with Type 1 diabetes.
Jim Johnson
An Oriole from 2006 to 2013, relief pitcher Jim Johnson reached 50 saves in 2012 and 2013 to lead the American League both years. The 2012 All-Star posted a 3.11 ERA in 400 innings over his Orioles tenure.
Adam Jones
A cornerstone of the Orioles’ 2010s renaissance, when they played in three postseasons and had the American League’s best record from 2012 to 2016, center fielder Adam Jones is fifth on Baltimore’s all-time list for hits (1,781), home runs (263) and extra-base hits (595). An Oriole from 2008 to 2018, Jones was an All-Star five times and won four Gold Glove Awards. A spiritual leader in the clubhouse and involved with several community causes, he introduced the tradition of pieing teammates in the face during live interviews and was the Orioles’ Roberto Clemente Award nominee three times. Jones officially retired as an Oriole in 2023.
Nick Markakis
Boasting a patient batting eye and strong throwing arm, right-fielder Nick Markakis played for Baltimore from 2006 to 2014. A steady presence, the left-handed batter and thrower appeared in at least 160 games in five seasons. Markakis posted a .358 on-base percentage while with Baltimore and has the seventh-most doubles (316) and eighth-most hits (1,547) in Orioles history. Defensively, Markakis was adept at playing balls off Camden Yards’ 21-foot-tall right-field wall, helping him earn two Gold Glove Awards and accumulate 93 outfield assists during his Orioles tenure.
Nate McClouth
Outfielder Nate McClouth was a key part of the Orioles’ 2012 playoff run. In the one-game wild-card playoff against the Texas Rangers, he drove in two runs and scored one. In the Division Series against the Yankees, McClouth homered, drove in three runs and stole two bases. He played in 55 games that regular season, homering seven times and driving in 18 runs. The next season, his only other with Baltimore, McClouth had 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in 146 games.
Melvin Mora
Baltimore’s everyday third baseman from 2004 to 2009, Melvin Mora played the hot corner for the Orioles longer than any player except Brooks Robinson. Joining the team in 2000, Mora played shortstop and outfield early in his Orioles tenure. While with Baltimore, Mora had 158 home runs, 662 RBIs and 709 runs and was an All-Star twice. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2015.
Steve Pearce
Outfielder and first baseman Steve Pearce had three stints with the Orioles from 2012 to 2016, playing parts of his bookend seasons with other clubs. In just under 1,000 plate appearances with Baltimore, Pearce had a .337 on-base percentage and .473 slugging percentage. His best year was 2014, when he had 21 home runs, 49 RBIs and 51 runs in 102 games.
Nolan Reimold
Beginning and ending his career with Baltimore, left fielder Nolan Reimold was an Oriole from 2009 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2016. Reimold never matched his promising rookie campaign in a career riddled with injuries. Over 104 games that first year, a threshold he wouldn’t reach again until his final season, Reimold had a .831 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and was named the June AL Rookie of the Month.
Mark Reynolds
Power-hitter Mark Reynolds played third base and first base for the Orioles in 2011 and 2012. One of his 37 homers in 2011 reached Camden Yards’ second deck, the first longball to do so. Only three players in the American League hit more homers that year, but no one in the majors had more strikeouts (196) or errors (26). Reynolds hit 23 home runs the next year, but, playing mostly first base, was less of a liability in the field.
Brian Roberts
Switch-hitter Brian Roberts was an Orioles second baseman from 2001 to 2003. The longtime leadoff hitter had a .349 on-base percentage with the Orioles, scored 810 runs and stole 285 bases, including 50 in 2007, when he led the American League. Roberts set the Orioles’ single-season doubles record with 50 in 2004 and broke his own record with 56 in 2009, leading the league each time. An All-Star in 2005 and 2007, Roberts joined the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2018.
Joe Saunders
Over stints with the Orioles in 2012 and 2014, left-hander Joe Saunders pitched in only 13 regular-season games. He’s nonetheless celebrated alongside much longer tenured players for being the winning pitcher of 2012’s one-game wild-card playoff against the Rangers, when he allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings. With the Orioles facing elimination, he repeated that performance in Game 4 of the Division Series against the Yankees, helping force Game 5.
Luke Scott
An outfielder, designated hitter and first baseman, Luke Scott played for the Orioles from 2008 to 2011, batting .260 with 84 home runs and 95 doubles. He was Most Valuable Oriole in 2010, homering 27 times and driving in 72 runs in 131 games. In his final season with Baltimore, a shoulder injury limited him to 64 games.
B.J. Surhoff
Left fielder B.J. Surhoff batted .291 over 7 1/2 seasons with the Orioles from 1996 to 2000 and from 2003 to 2005. In 1999, he was an All-Star and named Most Valuable Oriole, recording 28 home runs and 107 RBIs while leading the American League with 673 at-bats and playing in all 162 games for the second straight season. A versatile, blue-collar player, Surhoff played more than 100 games at third base for the Orioles and more than 50 at first base. He joined the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2007.
Miguel Tejada
Shortstop Miguel Tejada played for the Orioles from 2004 to 2007 and returned in 2010. He was an All-Star three times with Baltimore and played in all 162 games each of his first three seasons with the Orioles, extending a consecutive games streak that continued into 2007 and, at 1,152 games, remains the longest since Cal Ripken Jr. ended his record streak in 1998. Tejada’s best year with Baltimore was 2004, when he hit 34 home runs and had 150 RBIs. Overall, Tejada batted .305 with a .836 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over 716 games with the Orioles.
Chris Tillman
Right-handed starter Chris Tillman pitched for the Orioles from 2009 to 2018, going 74-60 with a 4.57 ERA over 1,145 innings. A 2013 All-Star, Tillman was the Orioles’ opening day starter from 2014 to 2016.
Koji Uehara
Pitcher Koji Uehara joined the Orioles as starter in 2009, moved to the bullpen the following season and recorded 13 saves, then left in the trade deadline deal that brought Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter to Baltimore in 2011. Overall, Uehara was 4-7 with a 3.03 ERA and 165 strikeouts over 157 2/3 innings with the Orioles.
Matt Wieters
A switch-hitting catcher, Matt Wieters played for the Orioles from 2009 to 2016. He was an All-Star four times with Baltimore and won two Gold Glove Awards. In more than 3,100 at-bats, he hit .256 with 117 home runs and 437 RBIs. Defensively, he was the American League’s third-best at throwing out would-be base stealers for three straight years from 2011 to 2013.
