Baltimore Orioles: Most Explosive Rookie Debuts In Franchise History

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COOPERSTOWN, NY – JULY 27: Baseball legend Al Bumbry blows a bubble nwith a young fan during a rained-out coaching clinic held at Doubleday Field on July 27, 2007 in Cooperstown, New York. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) /

A youth movement will be sweeping through Camden Yards over the next few seasons. Here are the most impressive rookie performances by a Baltimore Orioles player.

As the Baltimore Orioles begin an extensive rebuild which involves putting together a staff and re-vamping their scouting and analytics department, the franchise will also look to invest in building up a farm system which has left a lot to be desired over the past few years. Fans will have the opportunity to see a number of rookies walk onto the big stage in the coming years, including a few notable prospects who show promise in their ability to become regulars at the major league level.

Will any of these rookies put up the types of numbers that some of the most prolific rookies in Orioles’ history have? There’s pretty stiff competition if guys like Ryan Mountcastle, Yusniel Diaz, and any other soon-to-be Orioles’ rookies want to join this elite company.

Let’s go down memory lane to take a brief look at the top five most impressive rookie performances in franchise history. To create this list, we ranked the top performers by bWAR and included players from the days of the St. Louis Browns

5) Outfielder Al Bumbry- 4.0 bWAR (1973)

Winner of the 1973 Rookie of the Year Award, World Series champion in 1983, a member of the Orioles’ Hall of Fame, and a Vietnam War veteran, Al Bumbry made his presence known very quickly in Baltimore. The Fredericksburg, VA native hit .337 in his debut season, adding 15 doubles, seven home runs, and a career-high 11 triples across 110 games. His .398 OBP, .500 slugging percentage, and .898 OPS were all career-highs, as well.

Bumbry shared the outfield with Paul Blair, Don Baylor, Merv Rettenmund, and Rich Coggins as part of a 97-win team under the leadership of Earl Weaver. He wasn’t the only award winner that season, after Jim Palmer took home the ’73 Cy Young Award with a 22-9 and 2.40 ERA season. The Orioles would go on to drop the ALCS in five games to the Oakland Athletics.

A fan favorite in Baltimore and someone who has always been gracious with his time at Camden Yards, Bumbry swiped 254 bags and posted a .343 on-base percentage in 1,496 career-games, spread across 14 seasons in the majors. He played 13 of those seasons in Baltimore, finishing his career with a one-year stint as a member of the San Diego Padres.

4) Outfielder Harry Rice- 4.5 bWAR (1925)

Harry Rice, a former 5’9″ outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Senators, made his MLB debut in 1923, but did not exceed his rookie status until 1925. The 10-year veteran put up one of his best seasons during his 1925 rookie season, slashing .359/.450/.568/1.018 in 103 games, chipping in 25 doubles, eight triples, and 11 home runs. He posted a remarkable 15/54 K/BB ratio and finished the year fifth in MVP voting.

His 4.5 bWAR rookie year is good enough for fourth place on this list, but very little information is out there on Rice. Outside of his Wikipedia page which claims that Rice’s hometown and high school aren’t real places, it was difficult to find more information. The majority of his career was spent in the outfield, however, he played in at least one game at every single position except for pitcher. His lone appearance behind the plate came in his 1925 rookie season. No rookie in franchise history has posted a higher slash line, among all rookies who had a minimum of 100 plate appearances.

BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 06: Hall of fame player and former Baltimore Orioles Cal Ripken Jr., waves to the crowd before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of the Orioles and New York Yankees game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 6, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

3) Third Baseman Cal Ripken Jr. 4.7 bWAR (1982)

What more can be said about Cal Ripken Jr. that hasn’t already been said over and over again? The Iron Man of baseball, two-time MVP winner, 19-time All-Star, 1982 Rookie of the Year, 1983 World Series champion, and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer comes in at number three on the list of top rookie performances by a Baltimore Oriole.

His 160 games played in 1982 would be the fewest number of games played in a season until the strike-shortened 1994 season and remains an Orioles’ record for games played by a rookie, sharing the honor with Eddie Murray. Ripken hit .264 with a .317 OBP in his rookie campaign, adding 28 home runs (Baltimore rookie record) and 32 doubles en route to capturing Rookie of the Year honors. The 21-year-old Ripken finished second on the team in home runs and RBIs (93) behind Eddie Murray (32 HR, 110 RBIs) and helped to lead Baltimore to a 94-68 record, falling just one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for a playoff birth.

All would be well in 1983 when a 22-year-old Ripken would win his first MVP award and lead the Baltimore Orioles to a 4-1 World Series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

2) Outfielder George Stone- 4.8 bWAR (1905)

Ever-so-slightly beating out Ripken for the number two spot here is George Stone. Stone had a short seven-year career in the majors but made the most of his time playing, accumulating 984 career-hits in just five and a half seasons worth of games. All but two of his games were in a Browns uniform, making his pro debut with the Boston Americans before being traded after the 1903 season.

The left-handed outfielder hit .296 (187 total hits in 632 at-bats) in his rookie season with the St. Louis Browns, hitting a career-high seven home runs and 25 doubles. “Silent George”, as his SABR bio calls him, brought a unique batting style with him, so unique in fact that it was the reason for the Boston Americans trading him to St. Louis.

“Stone crouched down over the plate, with his bat tight against his shoulder, took two steps and soaked the ball for all he was worth…His explanation of the advantages of the crouch is that it gets the eyes in a better position to follow the ball, as they are almost on a direct line with any delivery that comes over the plate. Secondly, the crouch sets the muscles so that a quick chop can be taken at the ball instead of the longer swing employed by most players.”

Stone holds the Orioles’ rookie record for plate appearances (691), at-bats (632), and hits (187).

BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 06: Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta #34 of the Baltimore Orioles delivers the first pitch of opening day to batter Denard Span #2 of the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 6, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

1) Infielder Bobby Grich- 6.0 bWAR (1972)

A six-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove Award winner, Bobby Grich was a first-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1967 draft, completing the most successful rookie season in Orioles’ history a few seasons later in 1972.

Grich appeared in 133 games, slashing .278/.358/.415/.773 with 12 home runs, 21 doubles, 50 runs driven in, and three triples. He played mainly at shortstop during the 1972 season before transitioning to second base for much of his 17-year MLB career. Grich was not only an All-Star as a rookie but also earned himself a handful of MVP votes, finishing 14th in voting, just behind teammate Jim Palmer.

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He finished second on the team in hits (11 behind Brooks Robinson‘s 139), home runs (nine behind Boog Powell‘s 21) and led the team in batting average and on-base percentage.

He’s one of the top second basemen to ever play the game, but you won’t find him in the Hall of Fame. After receiving 2.6% of the vote in 1992, his first season of eligibility, Grich was dropped from the ballot. Graham Womack of The Sporting News discussed Grich’s impressive career in a read worth your time a few years ago.

Across 17 years with the Baltimore Orioles and Angels, Grich was a career .266 hitter, finishing with 1,833 hits, a .371 on-base percentage, and 71.1 bWAR. Unfortunately, Hall of Fame voters don’t appreciate advanced defensive metrics, something that highlights just how special of a player Grich was.

Next. Top Second Basemen In Orioles History. dark

Do you have a fond memory of another Orioles’ rookie season? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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