Orioles aim for division title repeat following path set by '74 squad

The Orioles entered the All-Star break in the thick of the playoff race despite going 3-7 over their past 10 games. Coming off a season in which they held the best record in the American League but made a surprising early postseason exit, Baltimore looks to surge in the second half and clinch back-to-back AL East division titles. Sound familiar?

It’s as if the 2024 Orioles are following a script first written 50 years ago, the last time Baltimore won back-to-back division crowns. The 1974 squad, a team at the end of a dominant run, ended the first half within a game of their closest division rival (trailing the Red Sox by half a game), whereas the 2024 team leads the Yankees by a game. If this year’s version wants to earn its first division repeat in half a century, they would benefit from taking a few more pages out of the ‘74 playbook while also forging their own path.

The 2024 Orioles are attempting a feat not seen in Baltimore in 50 years: back-to-back division titles

The 1974 Orioles, despite retaining several key members of the early 70s World Series squads, needed a miraculous run at the end of the season to lock down the AL East title. At the All-Star break, the team ranked second-worst in the American League in runs scored. 

However, they kept pace with the division thanks to immaculate defense and solid pitching. The Gold Glove infield of Bobby Grich, Mark Belanger, and Brooks Robinson led the way as the team ranked first in the AL in defensive efficiency and second in fielding runs above average. The rotation in ‘74 smothered opponents and broke the AL record for consecutive scoreless innings.

Those narratives carried into the postseason where the Orioles lost the ALCS, 3-1, to the A’s. Their pitchers limited Oakland to a .183 average and tossed a one-hitter in a losing effort in Game 4.

The 1974 Orioles were a team of grizzled vets with the second-oldest lineup in the Majors. This is not the 2024 Orioles, the fourth-youngest lineup in the Majors. Instead of defense and stifling pitching, this year’s team relies on power and leads the Majors in slugging. It’s a different era in baseball, but Baltimore has already hit 30 more homers than they did in the entire 1974 season.

Pitching may come to define the 2024 Orioles’ push to the postseason as much as it did the ‘74 team. While some believe Baltimore can hold off the Yankees by standing pat, the addition of an arm at the deadline may help the Orioles to not only a second straight division title but a run into October.

The parallels between the Orioles’ 2024 team and the 1974 squad are many, but to accomplish a feat not seen in Baltimore in 50 years, this year’s O’s will need to find their own way.