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millertime

By millertime
in Orioles Talk

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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Doug DeCinces was my first favorite player.

Steve Finley was my favorite from the '89 team, but so many from that year stick with me. Milligan, Orsulak, Brady, Worthington, Tettleton, Hickey.

Loved Koji. My 9-year-old is Nate, so we had a soft spot for McLouth.

Always wished I had a time machine to watch the old Orioles. Pretty sure I can name everyone who played for the '94 Champs. Robinson, Brouthers, Reitz, Jennings, McGraw, Kelley, Brodie, Keeler, Bonner, McMahon, Mullane, Inks, Hoffer, ohhh.... the back end of that pitching staff turned over a lot and I haven't thought of them for a bit... Kirtley Baker didn't retire a batter but allowed a run... Stub Brown pitched a little for them. Boileryard Clarke was the 2nd catcher. I'm sure I'm missing one or two. (I looked - how could I forget Kid Gleason, pitcher-turned 2B? Also George Hemming, Duke Esper, Bill Hawke, and Jack Horner. Pitchers, several for just a few games. That team turned over the staff and almost out of necessity used something like a rotation.)

1894 was the craziest of offensive years, or close to it. Bert Inks allowed 108 runs in 133 innings and had a 98 ERA+. The Orioles scored 1171 runs in 129 games and had a team OPS of .901 despite only hitting 33 homers. I believe their 150 triples is the all-time record.

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JourneyFan Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

JourneyFan

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I remember Todd Frohwirth once flipping out on an ump after being ejected, stealing my heart in the process.

I remember that. Frohwirth pitched what he thought should have been strike 3, but the ump called it a ball, and the next pitch the batter hit a homer. That's when Todd flipped out...and how!

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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Frohwirth - Just with that awesome delivery

I love all the weird pitchers. Frohwirth, Eichhorn, Bradford, O'Day. Dan Boone. Is Boone the only knuckleballer the O's have had in my lifetime? Certainly the only knuckleballer descended from a frontier hero who was found pitching in the oldtimers-day-all-the-time Senior Professional Baseball Association.

John Stephens and his 82 mph fastball and 50 mph eephus curve.

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Redskins Rick Hangout Grand Counsel

Redskins Rick

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I love all the weird pitchers. Frohwirth, Eichhorn, Bradford, O'Day. Dan Boone. Is Boone the only knuckleballer the O's have had in my lifetime? Certainly the only knuckleballer descended from a frontier hero who was found pitching in the oldtimers-day-all-the-time Senior Professional Baseball Association.

John Stephens and his 82 mph fastball and 50 mph eephus curve.

Eddie Gamboa doesn't count, since he never pitched in the bigs, just the minors.

But, the Oriole did pitched Zach Clark back in 2013, and he got hammered in 1.2 innings and got shipped back out.

I guess Hoyt Wilhelm was before your time, since he left the Orioles in 1962. :)

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DoubleStufOriole Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

DoubleStufOriole

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I remember that. Frohwirth pitched what he thought should have been strike 3, but the ump called it a ball, and the next pitch the batter hit a homer. That's when Todd flipped out...and how!

Yes, I remember watching that game. If I recall correctly, it was a grand slam from Edgar Martinez after what should have been strike 3. Frohwirth then chucked his glove and hat back toward the field as he was leaving (I believe he may have even used his submarine delivery to do so).

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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Eddie Gamboa doesn't count, since he never pitched in the bigs, just the minors.

Yep, and he hasn't merited callup. At least yet. He's only 31, which is 23 in knuckleballer years.

But, the Oriole did pitched Zach Clark back in 2013, and he got hammered in 1.2 innings and got shipped back out.

Clark was a standard-issue fastball, curve, change kind of guy up until his cup of coffee and subsequent demotion. Only after that did he become a knuckleballer. Got sent to Frederick where he was abysmal. Promoted to Bowie where he wasn't much better. Ended up with independent Camden Riversharks for a brief spell in '14 and now appears to be out of baseball.

I guess Hoyt Wilhelm was before your time, since he left the Orioles in 1962. :)

I believe the last 30 or so innings of Wilhelm's career were after I was born. He retired just shy of his 50th birthday, and would have been about four years older than my grandfather.

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DrungoHazewood Hangout Grand Counsel

DrungoHazewood

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But, the Oriole did pitched Zach Clark back in 2013, and he got hammered in 1.2 innings and got shipped back out.

Looking at Zach Clark's line you can very clearly see where he started throwing the knuckler. He was an unremarkable pitcher up to the conversion. Normal BB rates, HBP rates, few WP, 6 K/9. Nondescript AAA guy. The minute he started with the knuckler his walk rate went through the roof, his K rate fell, he started throwing a wild pitch every four innings, and even balked more often.

I bet someone could design a pretty accrurate knuckleballer identifer that just scanned a few stats. If you have a K rate of 75% of league, a K:BB ratio approaching 1:1 and a WP rate 2x or 3x league there's probably a 80% chance you throw the knuckler.

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CP0861 Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

CP0861

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Yes, I remember watching that game. If I recall correctly, it was a grand slam from Edgar Martinez after what should have been strike 3. Frohwirth then chucked his glove and hat back toward the field as he was leaving (I believe he may have even used his submarine delivery to do so).

I think you're right. Actually, none of that story really rang a bell until you mentioned that he threw his hat/glove submarine style....then it clicked and I think the memory came back to me!!

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