Baltimore Orioles: The 5 best second basemen in Orioles history

Since the franchise moved in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles have had many great players come through the organization. Some of them have helped lead the Orioles to World Series titles, while others haven’t been as lucky; but all of them have left their mark on the team and the city. Who are the best of the best?

At this point, we’re deep into the offseason and the Baltimore Orioles are focused on building their front office and management staff, which doesn’t always make for exciting news. GM Mike Elias will certainly make further adjustments to the 40-man roster, and they’ll make a few minor league additions as well.

But the Orioles aren’t buying any big-name free agents and they’re not likely going to make front-page news any time soon. So today we’re looking into the record books, searching for the best players in Orioles’ history.

After the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the Orioles, the franchise has had several runs of success. The strongest of those runs came from 1964-1983, a 20-year stretch during which the Orioles posted a league-best .575 winning percentage, made the postseason eight times, and won three World Series titles.

The Orioles were good for a six-year stretch in the mid-1990’s but made the postseason just twice, and never reached the World Series. They followed their run in the 90’s with an abhorrent 14-year stretch from 1998-2011 that we won’t dive into.

The 2010’s Orioles brought life back to Baltimore. Under Buck Showalter, and led by Adam Jones and Manny Machado, they made the postseason three times in five years. The Orioles of 2019 are likely headed back to the cellar, but with any luck, Mike Elias and company will help lead the O’s back to the promise land.

2019 will mark the 65th season the Orioles have spent in Baltimore, but in all that time, the franchise hasn’t had a single Hall of Fame second baseman. There have certainly been some good ones, but none have been good enough to earn their place in Cooperstown.

No. 4 – Rich Dauer

Rich Dauer spent his entire 10-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, from 1976-1985. While Dauer made almost 250 appearances at third for the Oriole, he played the majority of his games at second base.

Dauer was never a great hitter, generating much of his value on the defensive side. During his 10-year career, Dauer hit .257/.310/.343 with just 43 home-runs and 6 stolen bases. Despite his low totals, Dauer never struck out more than 36 times in a season and he finished his career with a 1.36 walk/strikeout rate.

Dauer generated 14.4 bWAR in his career, almost all of which was defensive value. He had a career .987 fielding percentage as a second baseman in over 7,700 innings. He was on the 1983 World Series championship team, working as a double-play partner with young shortstop Cal Ripken Jr and playing alongside Eddie Murray.

Dauer was elected into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 2012. Since the end of his playing career, Dauer has spent 18 years coaching in the major leagues, most recently with the Houston Astros.

He was with the Astros in 2017 when they won the World Series, earning Dauer his second career World Series ring. At the Astros’ World Series parade, Dauer almost died after suffering a traumatic brain injury after falling the night before. Thankfully Dauer underwent a successful surgical procedure to resolve the issue and has since made a full recovery.

I unfortunately never got to see Dauer play, but by all accounts, he was an excellent defender who’s more than deserving of recognition.

No. 3 – Davey Johnson

The Davey Johnson that Orioles fans my age know is the guy seen in the photo above. Johnson managed the Orioles in 1996 and 1997. In both years, the Orioles made the ALCS, though they were crushed in both series by the Yankees and the Indians.

After the 1997 season, Johnson resigned from his post as manager of the Orioles amid a big controversy between him and owner Peter Angelos concerning an issue with second baseman Roberto Alomar. There were many reasons for the Oriole steep drop-off after that 1997 season, but losing Johnson certainly didn’t help.

Aside from his days as a manager for the Orioles, Johnson played second base with the O’s for eight years during his career. From 1965-1972, Johnson hit .259/.330/.378 with 66 homers and a 104 OPS+ in Baltimore.

Johnson supplied the Orioles with above average defense and a steady bat. He was a high-OBP hitter with good contact skills and good plate discipline, and he posted a double-digit walk rate in five of his ten seasons.

Johnson finished his career with 27.6 bWAR, 20.1 of which came during his time with Orioles. He was on the 1966 World Series championship team as a 23-year-old; he finished 3rd in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in ’66, posting an 87 OPS+, a .971 fielding percentage and 1.0 bWAR in 131 games.

Johnson played in the World Series four times, earning two championship rings. He earned four All-Star game appearances, three of which came with the O’s, he won three Gold Glove awards and he finished with down-ballot MVP votes twice in his career.

The Orioles traded Johnson to the Braves after the 1972 season and he spent the remainder of his career in Atlanta. Orioles fans won’t soon forget Johnson, both as a player and as a manager.

No. 2 – Bobby Grich

Bobby Grich played just seven of his seventeen years with the Baltimore Orioles but he made them count. Grich was an excellent all-around player for the Orioles, both serving as a high on-base percentage hitter, and as a Gold Glove caliber defender.

In his seven years with the Orioles, Grich hit .262/.372/.405 with 70 home-runs, 307 RBI, 77 stolen bases and a 127 OPS+. He earned 36.0 bWAR with the Orioles, owned a career .984 fielding percentage as a second baseman, and earned a World Series championship ring with the Orioles in 1970, albeit serving as Davey Johnson’s backup.

Grich had five consecutive seasons with at least 6.0 bWAR. He made three All-Star game appearances with the Orioles, won four consecutive Gold Glove awards and received down-ballot AL MVP votes three times before leaving Baltimore in free-agency.

Over his career, Bobby Grich earned 71.1 total bWAR, good for 8th all-time at second base. Jay Jaffe’s JAWS system ranks Grich as the 8th bet second baseman of all-time, which some might consider a stretch. But Grich was undoubtedly a great player and his being snubbed by the Hall of Fame is a bit egregious.

The topic has been covered extensively, and many in the baseball community agree that Grich is one of the best players without a plaque in Cooperstown. His lack of counting stats (hits, RBI, homers, etc.), along with the woeful cronyism that comes with the Veteran’s committee, will forever keep him out of the Hall, but he’ll always be one of the best Orioles of all-time. 

No. 1 – Brian Roberts

The longest tenured second baseman in franchise history, Brian Roberts remains one of the best players the Orioles have had at the position.

Alright, maybe this is a complete homer pick because Roberts was one of the more frustrating Orioles to watch throughout his time in Baltimore. Roberts dealt with injuries for the entirety of his career, and only had four fully healthy seasons. But when Roberts was on, he was as fun to watch as anyone.

In his career with the Orioles, Roberts hit .278/.349/.412 with 92 homers and 278 stolen bases. He had 521 RBI in Baltimore and finished his career with a 101 OPS+ and 30.4 bWAR. He’s nowhere near qualified for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, but he was elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame this past year.

Roberts was a very good defender, posting a career .987 fielding percentage with 21 DRS and a 23.8 UZR. His 29.2 fWAR is good for 12th all-time with the Orioles, just behind Adam Jones. Roberts’ 50 stolen bases in 2007 led the majors, and he led the league in doubles twice, in 2004 and 2009. He made two All-Star appearances for the Orioles, both in 2005 and in 2007.

Roberts’ last full season was in 2009, though he played in parts of the following five seasons. He couldn’t stay healthy during the latter half of his career, suffering multiple injuries including a herniated disc, groin and knee injuries, and a self-induced concussion.

Despite the injuries that plagued his career, Roberts still earned his place in the Orioles Hall of Fame, and his spot on this list. Roberts played the game the right way, and we’ll remember that more than we’ll remember those terrible Orioles teams.

Roberto Alomar was snubbed because he played just three seasons in Baltimore. He’s arguably the best second baseman to have played with the Orioles, but he’s also arguably not one of the Orioles’ best second basemen. Billy Ripken was snubbed because he wasn’t a great baseball player. Feel free to let us know how wrong this list is in the comments!