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Baltimore Orioles: Ranking Rookie Of The Year Winners

ByNick Stevens|
17 May 1998: Coach Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles in action during a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Devil Rays won the game, 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport
17 May 1998: Coach Eddie Murray of the Baltimore Orioles in action during a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Devil Rays won the game, 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Doug Pensinger /Allsport
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Baltimore Orioles
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 5: Cal Ripken Jr. #8 of the Baltimore Orioles sits in the dugout during the game against the Oakland Athletics on September 5, 2001 at the Network Associaties Colesium in Oakland, California. The Athletics won 12-6. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

The Baltimore Orioles have had six players win American League Rookie of the Year honors in franchise history. We rank all six based on how impressive their first seasons were.

For the first time since 2017, the Baltimore Orioles have a finalist in the race for American League Rookie of the Year honors. Trey Mancini finished third that season, with Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi finishing in second and New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge running away with the award.

Named a finalist along with Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and Tampa Bay Rays infielder Brandon Lowe, Orioles starting pitcher John Means isn’t likely to win the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award, but second place isn’t out of the question.

Pitching for an Orioles team that won just 54 games in 2019 and featured the worst pitching staff in the major leagues, John Means compiled a 12-11 record with a 3.60 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 131 strikeouts in 155 innings pitched. He was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise long season in Birdland.

It’s been a long time since the Baltimore Orioles have had a Rookie of the Year winner. In fact, the only current members of the Orioles who were alive in 1989, when reliever Gregg Olson took home the award, were Chris Davis, Alex Cobb, Asher Wojciechowski, and Richard Bleier.

The 2019 winners and final votes will be announced on November 11. In the meantime, let’s take a look back and rank all six AL ROY winners who played for the Baltimore Orioles by how successful their debut seasons were.

One of the greatest things about this list is the fact that most players discussed here are still highly involved with the Baltimore Orioles today, just in case you needed any more proof about how special Birdland is.

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