1996 Baltimore Orioles season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Baltimore Orioles
season = 1996
misc = 1996 American League Runner Up

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
division = East Division
y2 = 1969| Uniform logo =
ballpark = Oriole Park at Camden Yards
y4 = 1992
city = Baltimore, Maryland
y5 = 1954
owners = Peter Angelos
managers = Davey Johnson
television =WJZ-TV
Home Team Sports
(Mel Proctor, Jim Palmer)
radio = WBAL (AM)
(Jon Miller, Fred Manfra)|The by|1996 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. They defeated the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS and then losing in the ALCS to the New York Yankees.

Offseason

*November 22, 1995: Clay Bellinger was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellicl01.shtml]
* December 14 1995: Randy Myers signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/myersra01.shtml Randy Myers Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* December 20, 1995: B.J. Surhoff was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/surhob.01.shtml B.J. Surhoff Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
* December 23, 1995: Billy Ripken was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/ripkebi01.shtml Billy Ripken Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*March 13, 1996: Sherman Obando was traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Montreal Expos for Tony Tarasco. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/obandsh01.shtml]

Regular Season

* On September 27 in Toronto, Roberto Alomar spat at home-plate umpire John Hirschbeck after getting thrown out of a game for arguing a called third strike. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,134797,00.html?iid=chix-sphere The Spit Hits The Fan - Time ] ]

Opening Day starters

*Roberto Alomar
*Brady Anderson
*Bobby Bonilla
*Jeffrey Hammonds
*Chris Hoiles
*Mike Mussina
*Rafael Palmeiro
*Cal Ripken, Jr.
*B.J. Surhoff
*Tony Tarasco [ [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1996&t=BAL 1996 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac ] ]

Notable transactions

*April 19 1996: Luis Polonia was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/polonlu01.shtml Luis Polonia Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
*June 6, 1996: Todd Frohwirth was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/f/frohwto01.shtml]
*August 12 1996: Luis Polonia was released by the Baltimore Orioles.
*August 23, 1996: Gregg Zaun was Sent by the Baltimore Orioles to the Florida Marlins to complete an earlier deal made on August 21, 1996. The Baltimore Orioles sent a player to be named later to the Florida Marlins for Terry Mathews. The Baltimore Orioles sent Gregg Zaun (August 23, 1996) to the Florida Marlins to complete the trade. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/z/zaungr01.shtml Gregg Zaun Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

eason Standings

Roster

[http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/1996.shtml 1996 Baltimore Orioles Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

Other batters

Jeffrey Maier Incident

During Game 1 of the ALCS, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right field. Orioles outfielder Tony Tarrasco appeared to camp under the ball and prepared to make a catch. However, a 12-year-old boy seated in the first row of the bleachers named Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and caught the ball just above Tarrasco, costing the Orioles an out. Although it appeared to be fan interference, the umpire ruled the ball to be a home run. While Maier became a hero to Yankees fans, he immediately became a "symbol of the Orioles futility." [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060101968.html From Way Out in Right Field - washingtonpost.com ] ] To this day, Orioles fans wonder what the 1996 team could have accomplished had Maier not interfered with the ball. Many believe the team could have reached the World Series. This incident is just another example of how one event, or even a fan, in sports can bring down the morale of an entire fan base and instill prolonged hatred for decades. Although the team made it to the ALCS the following year (only to lose to the Cleveland Indians), it can be argued that Jeffrey Maier spurred the downward spiral that the team endured from 1998 until the present day. Perhaps the 1996 Orioles can be viewed as proof of the notion of momentum and how it can be halted in sports by one play.

Farm system [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997]

* Class AAA: Rochester Red Wings (International League; Marv Foley, manager)
* Class AA: Bowie Baysox (Eastern League; Bob Miscik and Tim Blackwell, managers)
* Class A: High Desert Mavericks (California League; Joe Ferguson, manager)
* Class A: Frederick Keys (Carolina League; Tim Blackwell and Julio Garcia, managers)
* Rookie: Bluefield Orioles (Appalachian League; Bobby Dickerson, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
* Rookie: GCL Orioles (Gulf Coast League; Tommy Shields, manager)

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/1996.shtml 1996 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1996&t=BAL 1996 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com] succession box
title = AL Wild Card
years = 1996
before = New York Yankees
1995
after = New York Yankees
1997