70 greatest Orioles vote: Who were the best Orioles from 1984 to 1993?
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 1984 to 1993. This poll closes 11:59 p.m. Feb. 6. The next poll, for 1994 to 2003, opens Feb. 7.
Meet the 1984-1993 nominees
Jeff Ballard
Left-hander Jeff Ballard jump-started the Orioles’ “Why Not?” season of 1989 with a club-record five wins in April. He went 13-8 the rest of the way, finishing with the most wins in the American League. With the Orioles from 1987 to 1991, Ballard was out of baseball by 1994, his career hampered by elbow surgeries.
Storm Davis
Pitching for the Orioles from 1982 to 1986 and in 1992, right-hander Storm Davis mixed a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. At 21 years old he won Game 4 of the 1983 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. His best season came the following year when posted a 3.12 ERA, had 10 complete games and was the least likely to surrender a home run among regular major league pitchers.
Mike Devereaux
Mike Devereaux played all three outfield positions well during his time in Baltimore, where he played from 1989 to 1994 and in 1996. His best year with the Orioles was 1992, when he hit 24 home runs and had 107 RBIs. All told Devereaux homered 94 times and drove in 403 runs in orange and black. He joined the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2021.
Jim Dwyer
An outfielder, designated hitter and pinch hitter, the left-handed batting Jim Dwyer got the Orioles on the board in the 1983 World Series, homering in the first inning of Game 1. That year’s regular season Dwyer hit eight home runs and had 38 RBIs in his best year in Baltimore, where he played from 1981 to 1988.
Dan Ford
Right fielder Dan Ford also saw his Orioles career peak in 1983, homering nine times and driving in 55 runs that regular season and homering in Game 3 of the World Series. In Baltimore for the final four years of an 11-year career, “Disco Dan” spent half his time with the Orioles on the disabled list because of knee problems and surgery. In his abbreviated final season of 1985, he was exclusively a designated hitter and pinch hitter.
Chris Hoiles
An Orioles catcher from 1989 to 1998, Chris Hoiles hit 151 home runs and had 449 RBIs over 894 games with Baltimore. On Oriole Park at Camden Yards’ first opening day he recorded the first double and first RBI in ballpark history. In 1997, Hoiles was the only everyday catcher in the American League not to commit an error. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2006.
Dave Johnson
Middle River native Dave Johnson’s spot start on the penultimate day of the 1989 regular season is part of the lore of that year’s turnaround Orioles team. With the Orioles needing a win over the Toronto Blue Jays to stay in the AL East race, Johnson took the mound in place of Pete Harnisch, who had stepped on a nail. The right-hander pitched into the eighth inning with the Orioles ahead, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, and the Orioles lost, 4-3. The following year Johnson led the Orioles with 13 wins during his best season in Baltimore.
Fred Lynn
Over more than 430 games with the Orioles from 1985 to 1988 outfielder Fred Lynn hit 87 home runs and had 232 RBIs. Signed to bolster the lineup after the team’s disappointing defense of its 1983 title, the left-handed batter was injury-prone during his time in Baltimore, as he was elsewhere. Each of his first three seasons with the Orioles he hit 23 home runs, just as he had the season before joining the team.
Ben McDonald
The first overall pick in the 1989 amateur draft, 6-foot-7 right-hander Ben McDonald pitched in 155 games for the Orioles from 1989 to 1995, going 58-53 with a 3.89 ERA. In 1993 he pitched seven complete games and struck out 171 batters, career highs for each. Now an Orioles broadcaster, McDonald spent most of his final year playing in Baltimore on the injured list with tendinitis, and subsequent injuries limited him to just two more major league seasons.
Mark McLemore
A utility player for the Orioles from 1992 to 1994, Mark McLemore spent time at second base and third base, in the outfield and as a designated hitter. His most productive season was 1993 when he hit 27 doubles and drove in 72 runs over 148 games.
Bob Milacki
As a rookie, right-hander Bob Milacki started and won the Orioles’ 1989 season opener, which he followed with 13 more victories. Appearing in games for the Orioles from 1988 to 1992, Milacki was hampered by inflammation in his rotator cuff.
Randy Milligan
Randy Milligan was a first baseman and designated hitter for the Orioles from 1989 to 1992. Nicknamed “Moose,” he hit the first grand slam at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. His best season in Baltimore was 1990 when he had 20 home runs and 60 RBIs.
Johnny Oates
A catcher for the Orioles in the early 1970s, Johnny Oates was the manager who led the team into the Camden Yards era, with his first full year at the helm coinciding with the ballpark’s opening. From 1991 to 1994 he won 291 games and lost 270. Since the move to Oriole Park, Davey Johnson is the only other Orioles manager with a winning record. Oates entered the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2010.
Gregg Olson
Saving 160 games for the Orioles from 1988 to 1993, first-round pick Gregg Olson was the first reliever to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, in 1989. He was an All-Star the following season, but a torn elbow ligament in 1993 altered the trajectory of his career. He joined the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2008.
Joe Orsulak
A workmanlike outfielder, the left-handed batting and throwing Joe Orsulak hit a team-best .289 in his fifth and final year with Baltimore in 1992. On opening day that year, he caught the first out in Camden Yards history.
Floyd Rayford
Frequently shuttling between the Orioles and their then-Triple-A affiliate in Rochester, New York, third baseman and catcher Floyd Rayford had his best year with the big club in 1985, homering 18 times and driving in 48 runs over 105 games. A fan favorite nicknamed “Sugar Bear,” Rayford had stints with the Orioles in 1980 and 1982 and from 1984 to 1987.
Harold Reynolds
Second baseman Harold Reynolds spent the penultimate season of a 12-year major league career with the Orioles. In 1993 he hit four home runs and had 47 RBIs over 145 games.
Bill Ripken
Second baseman Bill Ripken was known for his fielding and formed a formidable double play duo with his older brother Cal Ripken Jr. from 1987 to 1992 and briefly in 1996, when each brother also played third base. In 1990, Bill Ripken led the Orioles with 28 doubles and .291 batting average.
Cal Ripken Sr.
Teacher of the “Oriole Way” of hard work, fundamentals and accountability, Cal Ripken Sr. was part of the Orioles organization for more than 3 1/2 decades, from his time as a minor league player in the late 1950s and early 1960s to Orioles manager for 169 games in the late 1980s and third base coach into the early 1990s. Along the way, the hard-nosed and principled leader was also a minor league manager, scout and bullpen coach. In 1987 he became the first in the majors to manage two sons on the same team. Ripken was inducted into the Oriole Hall of Fame in 1996.
Curt Schilling
Starting pitcher Curt Schilling’s road to the 3,000 strikeout club, six All-Star selections and three World Series titles began with 2 1/2 seasons in the Orioles organization, much of which were spent with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. In 1990, the right-hander got into 35 games for the Orioles, posting a 2.54 ERA over 46 innings and saving three games. That offseason, Schilling was one of three players the Orioles dealt to the Houston Astros for slugger Glenn Davis in what proved to be one of the franchise’s most disappointing trades.
John Shelby
A future Orioles coach, John Shelby played outfield for Baltimore from 1981 to 1987. The switch-hitter scored a run in Game 4 of the 1983 World Series and had five home runs and 27 RBIs that regular season. His best season came three years later when he homered 11 times and drove in 49 runs.
Rick Sutcliffe
With the Orioles for two years near the end of an 18-year major league career, right-handed pitcher Rick Sutcliffe has an outsize presence in the team’s history books for his nine-inning gem April 6, 1992, that won the Orioles their first game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He went on to win 15 more games that year against 11 losses and went 10-10 in 1993.
Mickey Tettleton
A face of 1989’s “Why Not?” team, catcher Mickey Tettleton posted his best numbers as an Oriole that year, the middle of three seasons with the club. A 1989 All-Star beloved for his affinity for Froot Loops, Tettleton had a team-best 26 home runs drove in 65 runs.
Mark Williamson
Right-hander Mark Williamson spent his entire major league career with the Orioles, pitching from 1987 to 1994, mostly as a reliever. His best season was 1989, when he won 10 games out of the bullpen. He pitched six shutout innings the night the Orioles ended their 21-game losing streak in 1988. In 1991, he combined with three other Orioles pitchers to no-hit the Oakland Athletics.
Craig Worthington
Like many on that year’s Orioles team, third baseman Craig Worthington’s best season in Baltimore was 1989, when his 15 home runs and 70 RBIs helped him become the Sporting News Rookie of the Year. A poor 1990 season was followed by a hamstring injury that put him on the injured list for much of 1991, his final year before being traded the following spring.
