1982 Baltimore Orioles season

1982 Baltimore Orioles
League	American League
Division	East
Ballpark	Memorial Stadium
City	Baltimore
Record	94–68 (.580)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Edward Bennett Williams
General managers	Hank Peters
Managers	Earl Weaver
Television	WMAR-TV
Radio	WFBR (Chuck Thompson, Tom Marr)
← 1981 Seasons 1983 →

The 1982 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. The Orioles finished second in the American League East to the eventual AL Champions Milwaukee Brewers. They finished with a record of 94 wins and 68 losses. For the second consecutive season, the Orioles recorded the most grand slams in MLB, hitting eight in 1982.^[1][2] This was long time Oriole manager and future Hall of Famer Earl Weaver's last season managing the Orioles until he returned to manage them from 1985 to 1986.

Offseason

• January 28, 1982: Doug DeCinces and Jeff Schneider were traded by the Orioles to the California Angels for Dan Ford.^[3]
• February 9, 1982: The Orioles traded a player to be named later to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul Moskau. The Orioles completed the deal by sending Wayne Krenchicki to the Reds on February 16.^[4]
• February 19, 1982: The Orioles traded a player to be named later to the Texas Rangers for Rick Lisi. The Orioles completed the deal by sending Steve Luebber to the Rangers on February 23.^[5]
• March 4, 1982: John Flinn was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[6]
• March 26, 1982: Dallas Williams and Brooks Carey (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Cincinnati Reds for Joe Nolan.^[7]

Regular season

Earl Weaver Manager Retired 1982

Opening Day starters

• Al Bumbry
• Rich Dauer
• Rick Dempsey
• Dan Ford
• Dennis Martínez
• Eddie Murray
• Cal Ripken Jr.
• Gary Roenicke
• Lenn Sakata
• Ken Singleton^[8]

Season standings

v t e AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Milwaukee Brewers	95	67	0.586	—	48–34	47–33
Baltimore Orioles	94	68	0.580	1	53–28	41–40
Boston Red Sox	89	73	0.549	6	49–32	40–41
Detroit Tigers	83	79	0.512	12	47–34	36–45
New York Yankees	79	83	0.488	16	42–39	37–44
Cleveland Indians	78	84	0.481	17	41–40	37–44
Toronto Blue Jays	78	84	0.481	17	44–37	34–47

Record vs. opponents

1982 American League record v t e Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	4–9	7–5	5–7	6–7	7–6	4–8	9–4–1	8–4	11–2	7–5	7–5	9–3	10–3
Boston	9–4	—	7–5	4–8	6–7	8–5	6–6	4–9	6–6	7–6	8–4	7–5	10–2	7–6
California	5–7	5–7	—	8–5	8–4	5–7	7–6	6–6	7–6	7–5	9–4	10–3	8–5	8–4
Chicago	7–5	8–4	5–8	—	6–6	9–3	3–10	3–9	7–6	8–4	9–4	6–7	8–5	8–4
Cleveland	7–6	7–6	4–8	6–6	—	6–7	2–10	7–6	8–4	4–9	4–8	9–3	7–5	7–6
Detroit	6–7	5–8	7–5	3–9	7–6	—	6–6	3–10	9–3	8–5	9–3	6–6	8–4	6–7
Kansas City	8–4	6–6	6–7	10–3	10–2	6–6	—	7–5	7–6	5–7	7–6	7–6	7–6	4–8
Milwaukee	4–9–1	9–4	6–6	9–3	6–7	10–3	5–7	—	7–5	8–5	7–5	8–4	7–5	9–4
Minnesota	4–8	6–6	6–7	6–7	4–8	3–9	6–7	5–7	—	2–10	3–10	5–8	5–8	5–7
New York	2–11	6–7	5–7	4–8	9–4	5–8	7–5	5–8	10–2	—	7–5	6–6	7–5	6–7
Oakland	5–7	4–8	4–9	4–9	8–4	3–9	6–7	5–7	10–3	5–7	—	6–7	5–8	3–9
Seattle	5–7	5–7	3–10	7–6	3–9	6–6	6–7	4–8	8–5	6–6	7–6	—	9–4	7–5
Texas	3–9	2–10	5–8	5–8	5–7	4–8	6–7	5–7	8–5	5–7	8–5	4–9	—	4–8
Toronto	3–10	6–7	4–8	4–8	6–7	7–6	8–4	4–9	7–5	7–6	9–3	5–7	8–4	—

Notable transactions

• April 5, 1982: Don Stanhouse was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[9]
• April 5, 1982: Ross Grimsley was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
• April 28, 1982: Traded José Morales to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Leo Hernández.
• June 7, 1982: 1982 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Dave Otto was drafted by the Orioles in the 2nd round, but did not sign.^[10]
  • Walt Weiss was drafted by the Orioles in the 10th round, but did not sign.^[11]
  • Billy Ripken was drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round. Player signed June 15, 1982.^[12]
• July 15, 1982: Don Stanhouse was released by the Orioles.^[9]
• July 23, 1982: Don Stanhouse was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[9]

A classic near-miss season

The '82 season was a classic, even though it eventually was as frustrating as those that had preceded it. Eddie Murray had 32 homers and 110 RBIs. Jim Palmer, in his last hurrah, went 15–5.

After starting slowly and falling eight games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in mid-August of '82, the Orioles rallied furiously. They won seven games in a row, lost one, won ten in a row, swept five straight from the New York Yankees, won two of three in Milwaukee to pull within two games of the Brewers with a week left. In the end, they needed to sweep a season-ending four-game series with the Brewers at Memorial Stadium to complete a comeback. They won the first three before roaring crowds, pulling even, and sent Palmer out to pitch the finale against the Brewers' Don Sutton. Fans brought brooms to the stadium, anticipating the final scene of one of the Orioles' greatest comebacks. Instead, the Brewers pounded Palmer and won the American League East title 10–2.

The start of 2,632 consecutive games

For his first full season in Major League Baseball, Cal Ripken Jr. started off slowly, gathered himself, and ended up as the AL Rookie of the Year, hitting .264 with 28 homers and 93 RBIs. After all the debate about where he should play, he started the year at third base, switched to shortstop in July, and never looked back.

On May 29, Ripken sat out of the second game of a double header against the Toronto Blue Jays; little did anyone know that it would be his last missed game for the remainder of this season and the 16 seasons to come. The following day (also against the Blue Jays), his monumental consecutive-games streak got underway.

Weaver's farewell

After the final out of the loss to the Brewers, an emotional spectacle unfolded at Memorial Stadium. The disappointed sellout crowd rose and started to cheer, and kept cheering for 45 minutes. The Orioles' players left the clubhouse and came back out onto the field to wave, and then Weaver did, too, setting off the biggest roar. The cheers were mostly for him.^{[citation needed]}

Weaver announced in March that the 1982 season would be his last managing the Orioles. he was retiring after that and moving to Florida to play golf. An era was ending. The news had been in the headlines and the back of everyone's mind all season, yet it was almost forgotten as the Orioles chased the Brewers down the stretch. Now, suddenly, the moment was at hand. Weaver was pulling off his uniform for the last time. And the fans weren't going to let him go without a salute.^{[citation needed]}

Roster

1982 Baltimore Orioles roster
Roster
Pitchers 52 Mike Boddicker 34,39 Storm Davis 46 Mike Flanagan 57 John Flinn 48 Ross Grimsley 30 Dennis Martínez 23 Tippy Martinez 16 Scott McGregor 22 Jim Palmer 26 Don Stanhouse 53 Sammy Stewart 49 Tim Stoddard 51 Don Welchel		Catchers 24 Rick Dempsey 17 Joe Nolan Infielders  2 Bobby Bonner 25 Rich Dauer 11 Glenn Gulliver 33 Eddie Murray  9 Floyd Rayford  8 Cal Ripken Jr. 12 Lenn Sakata		Outfielders 27 Benny Ayala  1 Al Bumbry 28 Jim Dwyer 15 Dan Ford 38 John Lowenstein 35 Gary Roenicke 37 John Shelby 43 Mike Young Other batters 10 Terry Crowley  3 Leo Hernández 34 José Morales 29 Ken Singleton		Manager  4 Earl Weaver Coaches 44 Elrod Hendricks 31 Ray Miller 47 Cal Ripken 54 Ralph Rowe 40 Jimmy Williams

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C	Rick Dempsey	125	344	88	.256	5	36
1B	Eddie Murray	151	550	174	.316	32	110
2B	Rich Dauer	158	558	156	.280	8	57
3B	Glenn Gulliver	50	145	29	.200	1	5
SS	Cal Ripken Jr.	160	598	158	.264	28	93
LF	John Lowenstein	122	322	103	.320	24	66
CF	Al Bumbry	150	562	147	.262	5	40
RF	Dan Ford	123	421	99	.235	10	43
DH	Ken Singleton	156	561	141	.251	14	77

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Gary Roenicke	137	393	106	.270	21	74
Lenn Sakata	136	343	89	.259	6	31
Joe Nolan	77	219	51	.233	6	35
Jim Dwyer	71	148	45	.304	6	15
Benny Ayala	64	128	39	.305	6	24
Terry Crowley	65	93	22	.237	3	17
Bobby Bonner	41	77	13	.169	0	5
Floyd Rayford	34	53	7	.132	3	5
John Shelby	26	35	11	.314	1	2
José Morales	3	3	0	.000	0	0
Mike Young	6	2	0	.000	0	0
Leo Hernández	2	2	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dennis Martínez	40	252.0	16	12	4.21	111
Mike Flanagan	36	236.0	15	11	3.97	103
Jim Palmer	36	227.0	15	5	3.13	103
Scott McGregor	37	226.1	14	12	4.61	84

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Sammy Stewart	38	139.0	10	9	4.14	69
Storm Davis	29	100.2	8	4	3.49	67

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Tippy Martinez	76	8	8	16	3.41	78
Tim Stoddard	50	3	4	12	4.02	42
Ross Grimsley	21	1	2	0	5.25	18
Don Stanhouse	17	0	1	0	5.40	8
Mike Boddicker	7	1	0	0	3.51	20
John Flinn	5	2	0	0	1.32	13
Don Welchel	2	1	0	0	8.31	3

Awards and honors

• Cal Ripken Jr., American League Rookie of the Year
• Ken Singleton, Roberto Clemente Award

All-Star Game

• Eddie Murray

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Lance Nichols
AA	Charlotte O's	Southern League	Mark Wiley
A	Hagerstown Suns	Carolina League	Grady Little
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	John Hart

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Bluefield

Notes

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1982 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1982 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

The 1982 Baltimore Orioles: Earl Weaver's Last Hurrah