Baltimore Orioles: Top 5 strikeout pitchers in franchise history

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The Baltimore Orioles have employed some great pitchers in their history, but which ones recorded the most strikeouts?

The Baltimore Orioles haven’t done a very good job of preventing runs over the past few years. They’ve reached a new low in 2018, ranking dead last in the American League with a 5.24 ERA.

Things weren’t always this bad, of course. With six postseason appearances and a pair of World Series wins, the Birds were among baseball’s great dynasties during the late 1960s and early ’70s, and their outstanding pitching staff was a cornerstone of those contenders. All told, Oriole pitchers have won a whopping six AL Cy Young Awards, well ahead of most other teams.

When it comes to measuring a pitcher’s performance and potential, few stats are as important as strikeouts. Wins are heavily predicated on run support, but with strikeouts, nothing gets in the way of the basic conflict between pitcher and batter. With the modern game’s ever-increasing whiff rate, it’s no surprise that the best arms in baseball — Max Scherzer, Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Clayton Kershaw — are also some of the foremost strikeout artists.

Given that strikeouts have been on the rise for 11 straight years, you might expect this list to be populated by recent hurlers, but that’s not the case. The Orioles simply haven’t been developing quality pitching in the last decade, and those that do succeed are usually gone after a couple of seasons.

As such, the following slides feature some throwback names, so sit back and take a trip down memory lane as we profile the top five strikeout pitchers in Baltimore Orioles history.

5. Mike Cuellar — 1,011 SO

A crafty lefty with an outstanding screwball, Cuellar spent the better part of the 1970s as one of the most effective pitchers in the American League. The man known as Crazy Horse was already 31 years old when he arrived in Baltimore, but his maddening off-speed pitches helped him stay effective deep into his career.

Born in Cuba in 1937, Cuellar pitched for various teams in Latin America before signing with the Cincinnati Reds in 1957. He bounced around the minors for a few years before being traded to Houston, where he posted a 2.67 ERA over three strong seasons as a starter.

But while he was solid with the Astros, Cuellar didn’t become a household name until he landed with the Orioles ahead of the 1969 season. Baltimore sent Curt Blefary and John Mason to Houston in exchange for Cuellar and two prospects, making for one of the most lopsided trades in either team’s history. The Birds got a quick payoff when their newly acquired southpaw posted 23 wins and a 2.38 ERA en route to the Cy Young Award, sharing the honor with Denny McLain.

Two years later, Cuellar was an integral part of the Orioles’ legendary 1971 rotation, which featured four 20-game winners. He kept it up for several more years, reaching 18 wins on three more occasions and making the All-Star team as a reserve in 1974, when he was 37.

Cuellar was never a premium physical talent, but he still became known as one of the premier strikeout pitchers of his era. With his impressive longevity and confounding breaking ball, he managed to fan over a thousand batters during his time in Baltimore.

4. Mike Flanagan — 1,297 SO

A New England native and proud graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Flanagan spent his entire career in the AL East. He never reached the highs achieved by his forebears like Cuellar and Jim Palmer, but with four good pitches, he was a vital member of the Orioles pitching staff for more than a decade.

The Birds took Flanagan in the seventh round of the 1973 draft; two years later, he was in Baltimore to make the first start of his career. The witty lefty’s peripheral stats were never particularly strong, yet he soon became recognized as one of the better pitchers on the junior circuit, posting a 3.64 ERA in 1977 and being named to his lone All-Star team the following year.

But even with that success, no one expected Flanagan to win the Cy Young Award in 1979. The X-factor was his changeup, which he learned from teammate Scott McGregor; with a new pitch in his arsenal, Flanagan won 23 games and pitched five shutouts, leading the league in both categories. He also recorded 190 strikeouts, good for third behind Nolan Ryan and Ron Guidry.

Flanagan remained effective for a few more seasons, but as the early ’80s became the mid ’80s, his stats started to sag. He was traded to the Blue Jays midway through the 1987 season, but he returned to Baltimore as a free agent in 1991, giving him a chance to pad his totals. Flanagan had an eventful post-playing career, serving as a pitching coach, front office executive and color commentator before his untimely death in 2011.

3. Dave McNally — 1,476 SO

Some baseball fans know McNally only for his role in the landmark Seitz decision of 1975, which ushered in the free agency era. Birds fans, however, will remember this proud Montanan as a major force on the mound who helped the franchise achieve tremendous success in the ’60s and ’70s.

McNally’s high school didn’t even have a baseball diamond, but he quickly made a name for himself playing American Legion ball, signing with the O’s for $80,000 in 1960. Three years later, he was with the big league club for good, but with just 4.3 Wins Above Replacement through 1967, it took him a while to get his career going. His four-hitter in the deciding game of the 1966 World Series was sublime, but on the whole, he wasn’t nearly as effective as teammates Jim Palmer and Steve Barber.

Then came 1968, the year of McNally’s big breakout. Thanks to a slider he refined during spring training, the lefty had his way with the entire American League, posting a 1.95 ERA and a league-leading 0.842 WHIP over 273 innings. He was snubbed from the All-Star team, but he did finish fifth in the MVP balloting. He followed that up with three more 20-win seasons, including his terrific 24-win campaign in 1970, the year of the Orioles’ second championship.

McNally whiffed over 165 hitters in three seasons, ranking near the top of the AL in each of those years. Given his 13-year career with the Orioles, it’s not hard to see why he features prominently in their record books.

In late 1974, after back-to-back years of diminishing returns, McNally stunned the O’s front office by asking for a trade. Birds fans were sad to see a Baltimore icon go, but in hindsight, it’s hard to complain about the package they got from the Expos in return: Ken Singleton and Mike Torrez.

16 Apr 1998: Pitcher Mike Mussina of the Baltimore Orioles in action during a game against the Chicago White Sox at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The White Sox defeated the Orioles 8-2. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Squire /Allsport /

2. Mike Mussina — 1,535 SO

Mussina didn’t throw as many innings as Cuellar, McNally or Jim Palmer — in fact, he ranks seventh on the Birds’ all-time list — but that didn’t stop him from carving out a prominent place in Orioles history. With the spike in strikeouts in the 1990s, this Pennsylvania native could have broken the team record if not for his infamous defection to the Yankees.

A first-round pick in the 1990 draft, Mussina enjoyed a rapid rise to the majors, making his first big league start the following August. He didn’t fan a lot of hitters early in his career, but his stuff started to come along as he hit his late 20s, posting 7.9 strikeouts per nine between 1996 and 2000.

Along the way, he won three Gold Gloves and finished in the top five of the Cy Young balloting on five occasions. He also pitched well during the playoffs, posting a 2.53 ERA across six starts.

But while Mussina is second on the Orioles’ all-time strikeout list, he also ranks 20th in the entire history of baseball, right between Mickey Lolich and Cy Young. Had he decided to stay in Baltimore, he would be head-and-shoulders above the next man on this list. Speaking of…

1. Jim Palmer — 2,212 SO

Did you really think it would be anyone else? Palmer is the Orioles’ all-time leader in a number of major categories, including wins, innings pitched and, yes, strikeouts.

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Palmer signed with the Orioles right out of high school in 1963 and made his big league debut two years later, pitching 92 innings in swingman duty. The next season, he won 15 games, then won Game 2 of the 1966 World Series, helping the Birds to a dominant sweep.

An imposing figure with natural velocity and a smooth delivery, Palmer seemed primed for a rapid rise, but arm troubles kept him sidelined for most of the next two seasons. He finally came into his own in 1969, going 16-4 with a 2.34 ERA; the following year, he kicked off a stretch that included eight 20-win seasons in nine years, taking Cy Young honors in 1973, 1975 and 1976.

Palmer never posted the rate stats we’re used to seeing today, but he did lead the Orioles in strikeouts on six occasions, often beating out teammates like McNally and Cueller. He also pitched in Baltimore until 1984, allowing him to pile up prodigious counting stat totals.

But while Palmer is the Birds’ strikeout king by a country mile, he’s only 60th on the all-time list. With today’s skyrocketing strikeout rates, the idea of someone taking his throne isn’t inconceivable — but for now, the Baltimore legend stands alone.

Next: The top 5 home run hitters in Orioles history

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