Remembering the 1966 World Series winning Baltimore Orioles 60 years later

The Baltimore Orioles were the best team in baseball in 1966. They finished the regular season 97-63 and went on to win the World Series, at a time when the World Series was the only playoff round, and swept the Dodgers in four games.

The Orioles had been building towards a season like this for several years. They had gone on a run of finishing fourth, third, then third in the American League until finally getting to the top in 1966. Baltimore had the largest run differential in baseball that season. The team was managed by Hank Bauer, who was in his third season as manager of the O's. As a player, Bauer won seven World Series with the Yankees.

The Orioles were led by the top three vote-getters in the AL MVP that season. Frank Robinson will be the player that everyone remembers from the 1966 season. After being acquired in a trade during the offseason from the Reds, Robinson won the MVP in 1966. "The Judge" hit .316 that season and led MLB with a 1.047 OPS. He led baseball with 49 home runs and the AL with 122 RBIs.

Behind Frank Robinson was Brooks Robinson. The O's third baseman hit .269 that season and drove in 100 runs. He'd also take home the Gold Glove at the hot corner. The third-place finisher was Baltimore first baseman Boog Powell. Powell hit .287 with 34 home runs and 109 runs driven in. Future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio was the team's everyday second baseman.

The Orioles pitching staff was led by lefty Dave McNally. He made 34 starts that season with a 3.17 ERA, pitching 213 innings (which wasn't even in the top 30!). 1966 was also the legendary Jim Palmer's first year as a full-time starter. "Cakes" more than doubled his innings total from 92 to 208 1/3. He made 30 starts that year with a 3.46 ERA.

The 1966 Orioles should be remembered for overpowering the Dodgers in the World Series

The 1966 Orioles had one of the most dominant World Series wins ever. They didn't just sweep the Dodgers; they demolished them. L.A. had won two of the last three World Series leading into 1966, but were held to just two runs in the series, both scored in game one. In that first game, they knocked out future Hall of Famer Don Drysdale after just two innings and won 5-2.

In game two, Jim Palmer outdueled Cy Young winner Sandy Koufax, pitching a complete-game shutout. Baltimore won 6-0. It was another complete-game shutout in Game 3, pitched by Wally Bunker, as the O's won 1-0. Dave McNally made it three straight complete-game shutouts in game four, outdueling Drysdale, who went eight innings, in another 1-0 win.

Frank Robinson took home World Series MVP honors, becoming the second player ever to win a regular-season MVP and World Series MVP in the same season. Since they started naming a World Series MVP in 1955, only five have ever won both in the same season.

The 1966 O's were the culmination of years of building and development. Most of the players on the roster were homegrown talent, with the team supplemented by a few outside additions, Frank Robinson being the one to put them over the top. Baltimore would go on to win another World Series in 1970, but Frank Robinson and the '66 team were the ones that finally got over the hump.

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