Jump to content

Rochester's Glory Years

Just Regular

By Just Regular
in Orioles History

Recommended Posts

Just Regular Hangout Grand Counsel

Just Regular

Posted
Posted

This offseason Clay Davenport compiled historical EqA?s for the International League going back to Jackie Robinson?s debut year. EqA?s similar to wOBA ? a batting average like measure of overall offense. I poked through Rochester of the late 60?s and early 70?s on the position player side ? the talent there was amazing.

EQA?s and league ranks with 300 AB minimums

Rettenmund 1968 - .328 to lead league, runner up was .292

Crowley 1969 - .273 for only 5th in league

http://claydavenport.com/stats/webpages/1970/1970pageINTyearALL.shtml

Baylor 1970 - .305 to lead league, nipping teammate I?ve never heard of Roger Freed by .003. Red Wing newcomer Bobby Grich got 251 AB to miss qualifying, hitting merely .331. That fall, big club won 2nd World Series and these guys were stuck. I reckon both would be Top 50 prospects or higher, coming off age-21 seasons with that AAA performance. I imagine this like Gausman and Bundy being the AAA Cy Young and runner-up but not being able to get into next year?s rotation.

Grich 1971 - .321 to lead league by a whopping 23 points over runner-up slacker Don Baylor who was only .298. Tightening their hold on the top of prospect lists I guess.

Bumbry 1972 - .293 for 3rd, an old 25 that year, Bee was a Vietnam Vet.

DeCinces 1973 - .289 for 3rd, can?t say I?ve heard of Doug?s teammate Royle Stillman who went .306 also in his age-22 year

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

Posted
Posted
This offseason Clay Davenport compiled historical EqA?s for the International League going back to Jackie Robinson?s debut year. EqA?s similar to wOBA ? a batting average like measure of overall offense. I poked through Rochester of the late 60?s and early 70?s on the position player side ? the talent there was amazing.

EQA?s and league ranks with 300 AB minimums

Rettenmund 1968 - .328 to lead league, runner up was .292

Crowley 1969 - .273 for only 5th in league

http://claydavenport.com/stats/webpages/1970/1970pageINTyearALL.shtml

Baylor 1970 - .305 to lead league, nipping teammate I?ve never heard of Roger Freed by .003. Red Wing newcomer Bobby Grich got 251 AB to miss qualifying, hitting merely .331. That fall, big club won 2nd World Series and these guys were stuck. I reckon both would be Top 50 prospects or higher, coming off age-21 seasons with that AAA performance. I imagine this like Gausman and Bundy being the AAA Cy Young and runner-up but not being able to get into next year?s rotation.

Grich 1971 - .321 to lead league by a whopping 23 points over runner-up slacker Don Baylor who was only .298. Tightening their hold on the top of prospect lists I guess.

Bumbry 1972 - .293 for 3rd, an old 25 that year, Bee was a Vietnam Vet.

DeCinces 1973 - .289 for 3rd, can?t say I?ve heard of Doug?s teammate Royle Stillman who went .306 also in his age-22 year

Post more often.

Have a greenie.

Patrick (Oriole Fan From New York)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JayThomas All-Star

JayThomas

Posted
Posted
The whole reason I'm an Orioles fan is because my Dad was born in Rochester and followed the guys that made it to the big club. All the guys listed in the OP were all players I followed as a kid.

Must spread rep. Thanks for doing the legwork OrioleDog.

I grew up in Rochester following the O's and the Wings through that whole period. I probably started following in 1969. The Baylor/Grich combo was really something else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Frobby Hangout Grand Counsel

Frobby

Posted
Posted

Roger Freed was a big disappointment as a major leaguer, but it wasn't our problem, because we traded him after the 1970 season for Grant Jackson. He ended up as a 1.0 rWAR player who played 344 games in 8 seasons, while Jackson gave us 5.1 rWAR over 6 years in our bullpen. I remember Royle Stillman's name but I don't think he was as highly regarded as Freed. He was a throw-in by the Dodgers when we traded Frank Robinson to them. He only ended up playing 89 games in the majors.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
OFFNY Hangout Grand Counsel

OFFNY

Posted
Posted
The whole reason I'm an Orioles fan is because my Dad was born in Rochester and followed the guys that made it to the big club. All the guys listed in the OP were all players I followed as a kid.

I've heard that there is a pretty large contingent of those type of Oriole fans (fans from northwestern New York State that were geographically close to their long-time AAA-affiliate.)

From your experience, would you say that this is correct ???

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Il BuonO Hangout Grand Counsel

Il BuonO

Posted
Posted
I've heard that there is a pretty large contingent of those type of Oriole fans (fans from northwestern New York State that were geographically close to their long-time AAA-affiliate.)

From your experience, would you say that this is correct ???

Not really sure since I didn't grow up there my Dad did but he says he imagines things didn't change much. If you grew up in Rochester it was natural to pull for the guys that played in your hometown when they went to the big leagues.

It was the Cardinals for him when he was a kid and by the time they moved out west it was the O's. He taught me the game, I wasn't going against pops. Besides, the first WS I can remember watching was in 1970 and I was hooked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest rochester

Guest rochester

Posted
Posted
I've heard that there is a pretty large contingent of those type of Oriole fans (fans from northwestern New York State that were geographically close to their long-time AAA-affiliate.)

From your experience, would you say that this is correct ???

Yes... and I am one as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jofalfa Major Leaguer Rising Star

jofalfa

Posted
Posted
I've heard that there is a pretty large contingent of those type of Oriole fans (fans from northwestern New York State that were geographically close to their long-time AAA-affiliate.)

From your experience, would you say that this is correct ???

Yes. I grew up near Rochester and their connection to the Orioles is why my family and I are fans. I know a lot of Orioles players were never thrilled with traveling there to play exhibition games against the Red Wings, and now that I'm older and realize the importance of off days I understand why. However being young and seeing the Orioles teams of the 90's all I know is it was very much appreciated they made the trip and it was magical.

I've always loved baseball and the Orioles but became slightly obsessed after high school. Unfortunately this was right around the time the AAA affiliation switched to Ottawa and it completely broke my heart and still does. I still go to Buffalo and Rochester when the Tides are in town and there is most definitely an Orioles fan contingent in Rochester. It was packed the night Cal went into the Red Wings Hall of Fame and I got this autograph. Needless to say it was one of the most exciting moments of my life. :)

m960g.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tbone83 Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

Tbone83

Posted
Posted

Another Western New York Orioles fan here. I went to the Rochester exhibition game in 84 after the team had won the World Series. I was 8. For better or worse, I became a lifelong O's fan.

It is really a shame the Rochester affiliation ended. I know Norfolk is geographically more appropriate, but Rochester really did create an entire O's fanbase in a different area of the country that is now slowly being infested by MFY and Sux fans. There are still a fair amount of Orioles fans here but they are aging.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
csh_83 AAA

csh_83

Posted
Posted

Earl Weaver mentions in his book Weaver on Strategy that when the rosters expanded in September he would put Stillman at the top of the batting order and list him as shortstop and after he had his at bat he would pull him from the game and put Mark Belanger in at shortstop. Looking at Stillman's offensive numbers in 1975 he was .429/.467/.429 with an OPS of .829 in 13 games played. The following year his numbers dropped like a rock. In 20 games he was .091/.200/.091 with an OPS of .291.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Posts

    • Too Tall
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By Too Tall · Posted

      This is spot on. If Rubenstein means what he says, (Eilas/Sigbot will run the show) the question is what will Elias do with more resourses? How is Elias going to meld free agencey with a bigger budget and team needs going forward. I do not see Sigbot buying into long term high dollar deals for pitching. Particularly for 30 plus year old pitching. I feel any long term deals will be calculated around mutual advantage for team and player with as little risk as possible. I sure don't see Sigbot paying out eight years for three to four years potential benefit.   
    • Sports Guy
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By Sports Guy · Posted

      Well first of all, how are you defining an impact starter?  I would guess you didn’t think Bradish would make an impact. I think out of Povich or McDermott that one of them can give us good enough starter innings. How much of an impact? Who knows. Ceiling is definitely higher with them than Kremer though.  Is Kremer an impact guy. Did you think he would be 2-3 years ago? Now, a guy like Luis DeLeon?  High impact potential there.  And we will see with guys like Baumeister, who we have seen so little of so far. You don’t have to spend 9 figures to invest in pitching. You can trade for it. That’s an investment.   You can make more sensible FA signings.    
    • MTMan13
      Who Should Be Extension Priority #1?

      By MTMan13 · Posted

      If I’m writing the checks, I test out Gunnar, Holliday, Cowser, and Adley in that order.  IMO Gunnar is the obvious choice. Not because others aren’t deserving, but because Gunnar has the potential to get MUCH more expensive than he would be to extend today. Hes a realistic MVP candidate, plays great defense at a premium position, and will hit FA at 27.  The Witt contract at 11/288 ($26mm aav) as a starting point is actually a great DEAL relative to the average of the top 5 3B / SS contracts, which all orbit $30-$35mm AAV, and before any natural inflation over the next years of team control. Said differently, we would likely save $5-10mm per year by extending Gunnar now, which seems like a no brainer to me.   I don’t think the value of Burnes / Adley (finished products, too close to FA), or Holliday (generationally wealthy family) will change much between now and the decision point. Gunnar’s will only go up . Cowser wasn’t mentioned, and it’s probably not realistic for chemistry reasons until at least Santander has hit FA, but we may be looking at a 35 HR type of bat with solid defense. I’d like to lock that up.   
    • clapdiddy
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By clapdiddy · Posted

      Agree with this.   The number one priority should be locking up Henderson, Holliday, and to a lesser extent, Adley.   Not that I don't want Adley around...I'm just not sure how many years you want to invest in a catcher.   Making a deal for a guy like Burnes this year could be an annual/semi-annual kind of thing.   Maybe you splurge one year and trade for a guy with two years left before FA where you may have to give up a bigger prospect.    I don't think it's smart to have long-term money in pitching.  
    • Matt Bennett
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By Matt Bennett · Posted

      Based on the current state of the organization, I'm curious to see what this homegrown rotation looks like. What are the odds there's an impact SP in Seth Johnson, Chayce McDermott, and Cade Povich? Pretty low. What are the odds all 3 are busts? Pretty low. A likely median scenario is you have 1 serviceable SP, a reliever, and a bust. Or something along those lines.  I for one am much happier Burnes is in the rotation rather than Bassit, Eovaldi, or someone of that caliber. My preference would have been both once we learned about the Bradish + Means injuries. This time, we paid for the Burnes type front of the rotation pitcher in years of prospect control. I don't think that will always be a luxury we can afford.  Almost an entirely homegrown lineup and a GM who has shown the ability to piece together a productive bullpen. The rotation is where you strike. But it takes investments. No reason the Nationals can sign Scherzer and go win themselves a World Series and that avenue of success building is cut off to our collection of billionaire owners running a bottom 5 payroll currently. 
    • Aristotelian
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By Aristotelian · Posted

      I would go for older but still elite/above average guys in areas of need who will sign short term deals even if they are high AAV, like some of those Verlander and Nelson Cruz contracts. Sonny Gray would have been good this year. Not sure who the equivalent guys will be next year but I don't see us being in the market for 10+/$300+ type deals. At least I hope we aren't.
    • Since1984
      How should we look at FA contracts going forward?

      By Since1984 · Posted

      I do not think the Orioles will spend >$200m on annual payroll anytime soon, but they have room to sign. Burnes Ace type every 3-6 years.    I would offer $150 over 5 years with incentives and options that could exceed $200m, to hedge a sunk cost for injuries.

  • Popular Contributors

  • Popular Now

×
×
  • Create New...