How many World Series have the Baltimore Orioles won?

After a long period of rebuilding, the Baltimore Orioles have emerged as one of the best teams in baseball. With a young core headlined by Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson, the Orioles won 101 games and the AL East in 2023, and appear poised to be among the World Series favorites heading into 2024.

While the Orioles have a storied history even going back to their days as the St. Louis Browns, it has certainly been a while since the franchise has been a true World Series contender. Here is a look at the Orioles' history in the World Series and the playoffs.

How many World Series championships have the Orioles won?

The short answer is that the Orioles have won three World Series in total. Two of those wins came in the Orioles' heyday when they took home the title in 1966 and 1970, while the third came in 1983. All three of the Orioles' series victories were captured in dominating fashion, as Baltimore lost a total of two games in all three series combined. Baltimore's three championships ties them with the White Sox, Twins, and Cubs on the all-time World Series leaderboard, led by the Yankees' 27 World Series wins.

Fun fact: all three of the Orioles World Series wins featured Jim Palmer on the pitching staff. Palmer pitched a shutout in the 1966 World Series at the tender age of 20, got bailed out by Brooks Robinson on both sides of the ball in Game 1 of the 1970 series, and came out of the bullpen in the 1983 Fall Classic before retiring in 1984.

Baltimore Orioles World Series appearances

Again, when the Orioles won their three World Series, they did so in dominant fashion. The late 1960s and early 1970s were the franchise's peak, as the Orioles played in four World Series in a six-year span. Fans that were following the team in the 1970s probably still have some hard feelings towards the Pirates, as the Orioles lost a pair of heartbreaking seven-game series to them in the same decade.

Baltimore Orioles Playoff History and Results

Of note here that of the five biggest win totals in Orioles franchise history, Baltimore only won the World Series in one of those seasons. The 108-win Orioles in 1970 were led by a dominant pitching staff and Brooks Robinson's heroics to cruise to a World Series title over the Big Red Machine.

Baltimore's First World Series Championship: The beginning of a dynasty

The first World Series win in Orioles' history in 1966 was the beginning of something beautiful. It was the first playoff appearance for the franchise in Baltimore. The Orioles got a huge boost before the season, as they traded for future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who promptly won the Triple Crown and the AL MVP in his first season with the team.

Their opponents in that World Series, the Dodgers, were favored by many due to the strength of their rotation. To be fair, it is hard to blame the favorers, given that LA had two future Hall of Famers in Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale on their starting staff.

Fortunately, Baltimore had some things break their way. They heavily scouted the Dodgers, which paid dividends throughout the series when it came to how they approached pitching to LA's hitters. Game 1 saw the Orioles' offense jump on Drysdale early with Koufax unavailable to pitch. Koufax got the start in Game 2, but was matched pitch for pitch by a young Jim Palmer. Koufax faded later in the game (likely due to the arm trouble that forced his retirement after the season) and got no help from the Dodgers' offense or defense. The Orioles wouldn't allow a run the rest of the series, and Frank Robinson's offense alone was enough to cruise to a series sweep.

Orioles' Second Championship: Redemption and continued dominance

Baltimore's vaunted pitching staff led by Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar, and Dave McNally was a big reason why the Orioles made it to the World Series in 1970, but it was their offense that won the series for them. Boog Powell won the AL MVP that year after posting a .962 OPS, while Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson were at the height of their powers.

Baltimore's opponents in the 1970 World Series were the Cincinnati Reds, who were just starting their run as the Big Red Machine, perennial World Series contenders throughout the 1970s. Their lineup was downright scary, as it featured Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, and Pete Rose. However, the Reds' pitching staff was banged up with injuries, and that proved to be a big problem for them in the series.

By the end of the five-game series, the Orioles scored 33 runs thanks in large part to Brooks Robinson hitting .429 with a couple home runs along. Naturally, he also made multiple highlight-reel defensive plays on his way to winning the World Series MVP award. Frank Robinson and Boog Powell added a couple home runs of their own and, other than Game 4, which saw the Resd rally to steal a win in the eighth inning, the Orioles' offense was just too much for Cincy to handle.

Orioles' Third Championship: Passing the torch to new stars in Baltimore

The Orioles would have to wait a while for their next championship, but 1983 saw a new opportunity and, in many ways, a changing of the guard. Earl Weaver had just retired as manager and Jim Palmer was desperately trying to hang around, but Baltimore also had both Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray in tow, who finished 1-2 in the AL MVP voting in 1983. The youngsters carried the team to one of the best offenses in the league.

The Philadelphia Phillies were in the opposing dugout for the 1983 series, and they featured many of the Big Red Machine players that terrorized the league in the 1970s, including Rose, Perez, and Joe Morgan. Adding to the AARP appeal of that Phillies squad was 300-game winner Steve Carlton, although their staff ace was Cy Young winner John Denny. Without question, the Phillies' best player was Mike Schmidt, who was peaking at the time and won three MVP awards between 1980 and 1986.

Morgan had a good series for the Phillies, but Baltimore's pitching staff held the rest of the Phillies' geriatric lineup largely in check throughout the series. The Phillies won a tight Game 1 by the score of 2-1, but Philadelphia would score seven total runs the rest of the series. Catcher Rick Dempsey had a really solid series overall at the plate, hitting .385 on his way to the series MVP.

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