The Baltimore Orioles Tickets : Orioles Was Sacrificed In Favor Of A New York City Franchise

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore

, Maryland. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St.

Louis Browns. After 52 mostly hapless years in St. Louis, the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and adopted the Orioles name in honor of the official state bird of Maryland. The Orioles name had been used by previous major league baseball clubs in Baltimore, including the American League Baltimore Orioles franchise from 1901-1902 that became The New York Yankees and the National League Baltimore Orioles which won National League championships under Hall-of-Fame manager John McGraw, before McGraw took the black and orange team colors to the New York Giants baseball team, which became the San Francisco Giants after the 1957 season. Nicknames for the team include the O's and the Birds.

The Orioles experienced their greatest success from 1964-1983, winning 7 Divisional Championships (1969-1971, 1973-1974, 1979 and 1983), 6 pennants (1966, 1969-1971, 1979 and 1983), 3 World Championships (1966, 1970 and 1983), and 4 Most Valuable Player awards (3B Brooks Robinson 1964, OF Frank Robinson 1966, 1B Boog Powell 1970 and SS Cal Ripken Jr. 1983). The first World Series Championship team in 1966 was led by Hall-of-Famers Frank Robinson (OF), Brooks Robinson (3B), and Jim Palmer (P).

Frank Robinson won the 1966 World Series MVP award. The second World Series Championship team in 1970 was led by the previous trio of Hall-of-Famers, Hall-of-Fame manager Earl Weaver, and 1970 AL MVP Boog Powell (1B). Brooks Robinson won the 1970 World Series MVP award. The third World Championship team was led by Hall-of-Famers Cal Ripken, Jr. (SS), Eddie Murray (1B), Jim Palmer (P) and 1983 World Series MVP Rick Dempsey (C).

The Orioles' success after 1983 included the following. Frank Robinson won the American League manager of the year in 1989 managing the Orioles to a second-place finish in the AL East Division only two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Cal Ripken Jr. won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1991. The Orioles won the first American League Wild Card playoff appearance in 1996 and went wire-to-wire in winning the American League East Division championship in 1997.

Since the retirement of Cal Ripken Jr. in 2001, the Orioles have been best known for their successful stadium, the trend-setting Oriole Park at Camden Yards, opened in 1992 near the birthplace of Babe Ruth.

The modern Orioles franchise can trace its roots back to the original Milwaukee Brewers of the minor Western League, beginning in 1894 when the league reorganized. The Brewers were there when the WL renamed itself the American League in 1900.

At the end of the 1900 season, the American League removed itself from baseball's National Agreement (the formal understanding between the NL and the minor leagues). Two months later, the AL declared itself a competing major league. As a result of several franchise shifts, the Brewers were one of only two Western League teams that didn't fold, move or get kicked out of the league (the other being the Detroit Tigers).

In its first game in the American League, the team lost to the Detroit Tigers 14-13 after blowing a 10 run lead in the 9th inning. To this day, it is a major league record for the biggest deficit overcome that late in the game. During the first American League season in 1901, they finished last (8th place) with a record of 48/89.

During its lone Major League season, the team played at Lloyd Street Grounds, between 16th and 18th Streets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.As mentioned above, the Miles-Hofberger group renamed their new team the Baltimore Orioles soon after taking control of the franchise. The name has a rich history in Baltimore, having been used by Baltimore baseball teams since the late 19th century.

In the 1890s, a powerful and innovative National League Orioles squad included several future Hall of Famers, such as "Wee" Willie Keeler, Wilbert Robinson, Hughie Jennings, and John McGraw. They won three straight pennants, and participated in all four of the Temple Cup Championship Series, winning the last two of them. That team had started as a charter member of the American Association in 1882. Despite its on-field success, it was one of the four teams contracted out of existence by the National League after the 1899 season. Its best players (and its manager, Ned Hanlon) regrouped with the Brooklyn Dodgers, turning that team into a contender.

In 1901, Baltimore and McGraw were awarded an expansion franchise in the growing American League, but again the team was sacrificed in favor of a New York City franchise, as the team was transferred to New York in 1903. After some early struggles, that team eventually became baseball's most successful franchise the New York Yankees.

As a member of the high minor league level International League, the Orioles competed at what is now known as the AAA level from 1903/1953. Baltimore's own Babe Ruth pitched for the Orioles before being sold to the AL Boston Red Sox in 1914.

The Orioles of the IL won nine league championships, first in 1908, followed by a lengthy run from 1919 to 1925, and then dramatically in 1944, after they had lost their home field Oriole Park in a disastrous mid-season fire. The huge post-season crowds at their temporary home, Municipal Stadium, caught the attention of the big league brass and helped open the door to the return of major league baseball to Baltimore.

Thanks to the big stadium, that "Junior World Series" easily outdrew the major league World Series which, coincidentally, included the team that would move to Baltimore ten years later and take up occupancy in the rebuilt version of the big stadium.

by: Cynthia Hoffman

POST COMMENT

Brilliant New Specs Added to the Canon Powershot SX20 IS Grab Your Beach Wear, There's A New Wave To Ride Wherever You Are! Biomass Energy Facts and Benefits Asu May Bolster Arizona Solar Industry With Bolstered Solar Education Program Play Youth Rugby To Get In Shape And Learn A New Skill!! Get Ahead In Bookkeeping Tasks With New Jersey Bookkeeping Help What It Takes To Make It At A Public Relations Firm New York These Days Ageing naturally - the new Taboo Should You Use Hydrogen Peroxide Enamel Whitening To Whiten Your Teeth? New Services By Google And Microsoft Aim To Bring Big Energy Savings To Texas Homeowners Residential Pest Control From An Exterminator In New York Can an Expert Help You Find New Marketing Trends and Boost Your Profits? Party Celebrates New York Giants Partnership With Ticket Giveaways