Baltimore Orioles: Top ten pitchers who gave up the most home runs

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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 22: Starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez /

The 2017 season was the year of the home runs, and the Baltimore Orioles were in the thick of it, both in hitting and giving them up to hitters.

By the end of the 2017 season, the Baltimore Orioles batters ranked fifth in the number of home runs hit by the team: 232.

Sadly, the Orioles were also near the top of the leader board when it came to home runs given up by pitchers. The pitchers in Birdland gave up 242 home runs to opposing teams. This put them in second place to the Cincinnati Reds, who gave 248. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Cleveland Indians pitchers gave up 163 home runs this season.

The Orioles pitching rotation was definitely a downer and managed to bring down the whole team. It is difficult for any offense to provide enough run support when the pitchers give up a plethora of runs. Consider the stretch in June when the team gave up five or more runs for 22 consecutive games.

Despite the pitching staff giving up the most home runs in the American League in 2017, not one of the individual pitchers on the team gave up the most home runs in Orioles history. One was near the top, but not at the top

Let’s take a look at the pitchers who have the notoriety of giving up the most home runs in an individual season. There are ten of them who rank high up on the list.

Kris Benson of the Baltimore Orioles pitching during MLB regular season game against the New York Mets, played at Shea Stadium in Queens, N.Y. on June 17, 2006. Orioles defeated Mets 4 – 2 during interleague play. (Photo by Bryan Yablonsky/Getty Images) /

Giving up 33 home runs in a season is a feat no professional pitcher should accomplish. In Orioles history, there are five pitchers from Birdland who have given up 33 home runs in a season. This ties them for third place for home runs allowed in a single season.

The five pitchers on this list include:

Ken Dixon in 1986
Bruce Chen in 2005
Kris Benson in 2006
Chris Tillman in 2013
Ubaldo Jimenez in 2017

This is a blemish on the record of any pitcher. Prior to 2017, Jimenez hadn’t given up more than 25 home runs in a season. But, along with this new personal record, he led the league in giving up 108 runs on the season.

Dixon’s short time in the MLB

Ken Dixon played baseball for four seasons between 1984 and 1987 with the Orioles. Despite giving up this many home runs in one of his season, he still managed to finish his short career with a positive WAR of 2.2 In his final year of professional baseball, he gave up 30 home runs. In his five starts in May of 1986, he gave up 11 home runs, but 7 of them came in two games. Ouch.

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bruce Chen starts against the Chicago White Sox July 30, 2006 in Baltimore. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /

Chen moved around the MLB

Bruce Chen played for the Orioles for three of his 17 season in the MLB. More of a fifth starter type of guy, the lefty played for 11 teams up and down the east coast and a few elsewhere around the country. In 2005, despite finishing the season with a record of 13-10, Chen gave up 33 home runs. Surprisingly, he did it again in 2012 when he pitched for the Royals.

Benson and his notorious wife

Kris Benson pitched one season for the Orioles and managed to get himself on this wall of shame. He was the first pick of the 1996 draft, but he didn’t quite pan out as expected. He was traded to the O’s by the Mets at the end of the 2005 season. After the dreadful 2006 season where he gave up 33 home runs, he missed the next season with a rotator cuff injury. The Orioles bought out his contract and let him go. Benson is probably best remembered for his wife Anna who wasn’t known for being shy and innocent.

And, then there’s Chris

Chris Tillman is well known by current Orioles fans. Interestingly, his 33-home-run season also happened to be his All-Star season. He finished that season with a 3.71 ERA. In 2017, he gave up 24 home runs and had an ERA of 7.84.

BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 21: Starting pitcher Gabriel Ynoa /

In second place are two pitchers, Mike Cuellar in 1970 and Scott McGregor in 1985. These two Orioles pitchers gave up 34 home runs in their respective seasons.

The only Cy Young winner on the list

Cuellar was an outstanding pitcher who spent time with several organizations, but spent the majority of his career with the Houston Astros and the Orioles. He pitched in Birdland for eight of his 15 years in the MLB and he earned a CY Young Award in 1969, his first year with the team. He His career ERA was 3.14 and he was invited to four All-Star Games.

Despite his dominant pitching in Baltimore and winning a World Series title with the team in 1970, he did give up home runs. He also knew how to retire batters and in 1969, he pitched five shutouts before he finished the season with a 22-10 record. The guy was money.

The only guy on the list twice

Scott McGregor shares this record with Cuellar and he also happens to be a member of the first place team, too. McGregor played 13 seasons in the Orioles and only the Orioles. His career ERA was 3.99. During his tenure, McGregor helped the Orioles get their third and latest World Series title in 1983. Despite McGregor’s penchant for giving up home runs, he struck out 904 batters in his career. He is a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame and was on the 1981 All-Star Team.

In the top spot are four retired Orioles, Robin Roberts in 1963, Scott McGregor in 1986, Sidney Ponson in 1999, and Jeremy Guthrie in 2009. These four men are notable for the unfortunate fact that they gave up 35 home runs in a single season.

A true horse

Robin Roberts played for 19 years and four of those were with the Orioles while the team was still quite young. He spent most of his tenure in the league with the Phillies where he went to the All-Star Game for seven consecutive seasons between 1950 and 1956. During many of those years, he led the league in innings pitched, games played, complete games, batters faced, hits allowed, and strikeouts. He was truly the definition of a horse and the Phillies rode him for all he was worth.

By the time he got to the Orioles, he was still a solid pitcher whose ERA was 3.09 in his four years with the team. He may have given up 35 home runs in 1963, but he gave up 41 in 1955, 46 in 1956, and 40 in 1957. So, 35 home runs put him at the top for the Orioles, but not for other teams.

The sophomore slump

Sidney Ponson gave up more home runs in his second season in the MLB than he did in any other season. He was only 22 years old when he toed the slab in 1999 for the Orioles. In his second season, Ponson gave up 30 home runs. He threw for the Orioles for eight years, and in his seventh season, he was truly horrible as he led the league earned runs (127) and hits (265). He had no other season with numbers of that magnitude. The following season, 2005, was his last with the Orioles.

So many troubles for Mr. Guthrie

McGregor’s penchant for giving up home runs was already discussed, so let’s move on to Jeremy Guthrie. He and Ponson had similar numbers during their time in the MLB. Guthrie actually pitched for the Washington Nationals in 2017 in one game. During that game he got two outs, but gave up 10 earned runs and quickly adding a 135.00 ERA to his career stat lines. Despite that blip, he was had career 4.43 ERA and a 4.12 ERA in his time with the Orioles.

Next: O's share a World Series record with Astros and Dodgers

His most notable stats, besides the 35 home-run season involve losing the most games as a pitcher in 2009 and 2011. His 35 home runs allowed in 2009 led the league that year.

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