The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, the franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns in 1902. After 52 years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests, led by attorney and civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current owner is David Rubenstein. The Orioles' home ballpark is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore. The oriole is the official state bird of Maryland; the name has been used by several baseball clubs in the city, including another AL charter member franchise which moved to New York in 1903 and became the Yankees. Nicknames for the team include the "O's" and the "Birds".
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League.
William Nathaniel "Buck" Showalter III is an American professional baseball manager. He served as manager of the New York Yankees (1992–1995), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–2000), Texas Rangers (2003–2006), Baltimore Orioles (2010–2018) and New York Mets (2022–2023). He also is a former professional Minor League Baseball player and television analyst for ESPN and the YES Network.
Darrell Dean Johnson was an American Major League Baseball catcher, coach, manager and scout. As a manager, he led the 1975 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, and was named "Manager of the Year" by both The Sporting News and the Associated Press.
David Allen Johnson is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from 1965 through 1978, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. Johnson played in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1975, then played for two seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball league before returning to play in Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from 1977 to 1978. A three-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, he was selected to four All-Star Game teams during his playing career.
John Rikard Dempsey is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1992, most prominently for the Baltimore Orioles where he played for 10 years and was a member of the 1983 World Series winning team. Dempsey was known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. In 1997, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.
Johnny Lane Oates was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees from 1970 to 1981. During his playing career, Oates was a light-hitting player who was valued for his defensive skills and played most of his career as a reserve player. It was as a big league manager that Oates experienced his greatest success, when, under his leadership, the Texas Rangers won three American League Western Division titles.
The Beltway Series, promoted by the teams as "The Battle of the Beltways," is the Major League Baseball (MLB) interleague rivalry series played between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. The Orioles are a member of the American League (AL) East division, and the Nationals are a member of the National League (NL) East division. The series name is taken from the beltway highways, the Baltimore Beltway (I-695) and the Capital Beltway (I-495), that serve Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., respectively.
Chris Allen Hoiles is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles from 1989 to 1998. Although his playing career was shortened by injuries, Hoiles was considered one of the best all-around catchers in Major League Baseball, performing well both offensively and defensively. He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2006.
The 2016 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 postseason played between the American League's (AL) two wild card teams, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. As both teams finished with identical 89–73 records, a tiebreaker was used to determine the host team. In accordance with MLB tiebreaking rules, the Blue Jays earned the right to host the game by winning their season series against the Orioles 10–9.
The Wichita Indians were a minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The "Indians" played as members of the Class A level Western League from 1950 to 1955, winning the 1955 league Championship. The Wichita Indians were an affiliate of the 1950 St. Louis Browns in 1950, Cleveland Indians from 1951 to 1952, St. Louis Browns in 1953 and Baltimore Orioles in 1954 and 1955.
The 1969 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1969 season. It was the first edition of the new playoff system introduced by MLB, coinciding with the beginning of the "Divisional Era." Each league expanded from 10 teams to 12 teams and was divided into two 6-team divisions. The 162-game schedule stayed in place, but now each team played the other 5 teams in its own division 18 times each and the 6 teams in its league's other division 12 times each. The winners of each division advanced to the postseason and faced each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that would face each other in the World Series.
The 1983 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1983 season. The winners of each division advance to the postseason and face each other in a League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
The 1996 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 1996 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
The 2012 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2012 season. The winners of the League Division Series moved on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. A new Wild Card Game was introduced as the opening round of the postseason, which features the #4 and #5 seeds of each league, and the winner faced the top seed in the Division Series, marking the first expansion of the postseason since 1995. As a result of this new format, two teams from the same division can now meet in the Division Series. In the past, if the team with the best record in their league and the wild card resided in the same division, the wild card would instead be assigned to face the second-seeded division champion while the team with the best record in their league to face the third-seeded division champion. Meaning that the only way two teams in the same division could meet in the postseason would be the League Championship Series, provided both teams won their respective Division Series.
The 2014 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2014 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
