Baltimore Orioles: Looking back at four Hall of Fame players

There are only a few Baltimore Orioles who have been inducted into Hall of Fame, even though there are several who have worn the jersey for a few seasons.

These Orioles were joined today by Jeff Bagwell, Ivan Rodriguez, and Tim Raines, who gave their speeches and officially entered the Hall. Bud Selig and John Schuerholz were also inducted.

Even though there are many men who worse Orioles jerseys in the Hall, let’s look at the few men who wore it for the majority of their careers. Three of the Orioles who are in the Hall of Fame were lifers and all of four of these men have World Series rings.

Cal Ripken

There was no doubt that the Iron Man would become a member of the Hall of Fame when his name was called in 2007. As a lifer in Baltimore, he had 3,184 hits and 431 home runs. Only six other players have over 3,000 hits and 400 home runs with one of them is another Oriole in the Hall of Fame. Ripken finished playing baseball in 2001 and was an All-Star in all but 2 of his 21 seasons. He played 3,001 games with one team – only three other baseball players in history have more games with a single team.

Ripken was named Rookie of the Year in 1982 and he won two MVP awards in 1983 and 1991. One of his unexpected stats is that no one has grounded into more doubles plays in the MLB – he did it 350 times. He is 16th in the MLB in doubles and hits. Interestingly, he is second in sac flies, while another Oriole sits in first place. Ripken proudly holds the honor of playing the most consecutive games: 2,632.

Jim Palmer

No one tops Palmer when it comes to pitching in an Orioles uniform for life. He finished with a career 2.86 ERA – where he sits in 4th place with pitchers who have over 3,000 innings. In fact, Palmer pitched almost 4,000 innings – 3,948 to be exact. He is one of 6 pitchers who won 20 games in 8 seasons.

He played in the three World Series games and is the proud owner of three rings. He threw a shut out in 1966 when he was only 20 years old. And, after winning in 1983, he was the only pitcher to win a ring in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He never won an MVP, but he did win three Cy Young Awards. He threw 53 shut outs and 211 complete games. As a pitcher, he won four Gold Glove Awards. They just don’t make pitchers today like Palmer.

Eddie Murray

Murray is the only man on this list who was not a lifer in Baltimore, but he spent 13 out of 21 seasons wearing the black and orange. His other years in the game were with the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Anaheim Angels. Murray’s best years were in Baltimore.

His most notable statistic is his number of home runs. He hit 504 dingers and had five seasons with over 30 home runs. Only 14 other baseball players hit 500 home runs before he did. It is no surprise that Murray is a member of the 3,000 club and has 3,255 hits total. He shares the 3,000 and 500 club membership with only Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. He also leads the MLB in sac flies with 128 in his career. When Murray came to the plate, something amazing was sure to happen.

Murray was a member of the 1983 World Series team and hit two home runs in the series against Philadelphia Phillies. As a switch hitter, he has the most RBIs and he sits in 10th place in his overall RBIs in the AL. Murray attended eight All-Star Games and won three Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. In 1977, he was awarded the Rookie of the Year.

Next: Orioles like what they see in Anthony Santander

Hopefully, a few more Orioles will make their way into the Hall of Fame, especially as the newest crop of O’s continue to put up notable numbers.