In its 123-year history, the Baltimore Orioles baseball franchise of Major League Baseball's American League has employed 42 managers.[1] The duties of the team manager include team strategy and leadership on and off the field.[2] Of those 42 managers, 12 have been "player-managers";[1] specifically, they managed the team while still being signed as a player.[3] Since 1992, the team has played its home games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.[4]
The Baltimore franchise began operations in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Brewers (not to be confused with the current National League team of the same name) in 1901.[5] After one season in Wisconsin under manager and Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy, the franchise moved south to St. Louis, Missouri, adopting the St. Louis Browns name and hiring a new manager, Jimmy McAleer. The Browns remained in Missouri until the end of the 1953 season, when Major League Baseball's owners elected to move the franchise to Baltimore, Maryland, where they were renamed the Orioles, after Maryland's state bird.[6]
Seven managers have taken the Orioles franchise to the post-season; Earl Weaver led the Orioles to a team-record six playoff appearances. Weaver, Hank Bauer, and Joe Altobelli are the only managers who have won a World Series championship with the club:[7] Bauer in the 1966 World Series, over the Los Angeles Dodgers;[8] Weaver in the 1970 World Series, over the Cincinnati Reds;[9] and Altobelli in the 1983 World Series, over the Philadelphia Phillies.[10] Weaver is the longest-tenured manager in franchise history, with 2,541 games of service in parts of 17 seasons (1968–1982, 1985–1986).[11] The manager with the highest winning percentage in his career with the franchise is Luman Harris, owner of a .630 winning percentage during his 27 games managed in 1961; conversely, the worst winning percentage in franchise history is .222 by Oscar Melillo, who posted a 2–7 record during the 1938 season.[1] Eight Orioles managers have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including Frank Robinson,[12] who was the first African-American manager in Major League Baseball;[13] and Rogers Hornsby, who was a member of the cross-city rival Cardinals during the franchise's tenure in St. Louis.[14]
Table key
Years | Linked to the corresponding Major League Baseball season |
WPct | Winning percentage: number of wins divided by number of games managed |
PA | Playoff appearances: number of years this manager has led the franchise to the post-season |
PW | Playoff wins: number of wins this manager has accrued in the post-season |
PL | Playoff losses: number of losses this manager has accrued in the post-season |
Pen | Pennants: number of pennants (league championships) won by the manager |
WS | World Series: number of World Series victories achieved by the manager |
† or ‡ | Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (‡ denotes induction as manager)[15] |
§ | Number retired by the Baltimore Orioles franchise[16] |
Managers
Hugh Duffy, inaugural manager of the Orioles franchise during the 1901 season; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Bobby Wallace, manager from 1911 to 1912; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Rogers Hornsby, manager from 1933 to 1937 and during 1952; member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Earl Weaver managed the Orioles from 1968 to 1982 and 1985 to 1986. Weaver also won the 1970 World Series.
Dave Trembley managed the Orioles from 2007 until his firing in 2010.
Buck Showalter was manager from July 2010 until his release at the end of the 2018 season.
Brandon Hyde is the current manager of the Orioles.
Footnotes
- a A running total of the number of Brewers'/Browns'/Orioles' managers. Thus, any manager who has two or more separate terms is only counted once.