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Baltimore Orioles
Scouting Report
By the Numbers | Players To Watch | Projected Roster
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Ace Mussina
leads an aging team that is loaded with free-agents-to-be
and is desperate for one more shot at
glory.
(Al
Tielemans)
| Contrary
to rumors floating around the shuffleboard circuit, the
Orioles did not move their Fort Lauderdale spring training
camp down I-95 to Century Village and hire Jack LaLanne as
strength and conditioning coach. Still, they are the oldest
team in baseball, a
162-episode version of
thirtysomething. On most nights second baseman Roberto Alomar, 30, will be
the youngest position player in a lineup with an average
age of 34. This is the team crafted by owner Peter Angelos,
whose money and impatience has brought the
Baltimore-Washington area a
flashback to Redskins coach George Allen and his Over the Hill
Gang. The future is now for the Orioles, whose weak farm
system has developed only one every-day starter in the last
five
years.
What Baltimore, which outdrew every other team except
Colorado last season, has working in its favor is Oriole
Park at Camden Yards—the single biggest influence on
baseball in the '90s. Not only did it strike a retro
architectural note that echoes
throughout a stadium building boom, but it also established the
gold standard of revenue sources: a publicly funded,
luxury-suite-packed hitters' park with a sweetheart lease.
So successful is Camden Yards that it has become an
attraction for players as well
as fans.
"The first thing you notice is how close the fans
are," says former Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter,
who, after listening to offers from Anaheim and Minnesota,
signed within 24 hours of hearing from the Orioles.
"Sellout crowds every night, a lot of
noise—you know you'll always be juiced to play in that
atmosphere. It makes a difference. Plus, it's 364 feet to
left
centerfield."
In addition to Carter, 38, the Orioles added reliever Norm
Charlton, 35, shortstop Ozzie Guillen, 34, and likely fifth
starter Doug Drabek, 35, and brought back DH Harold Baines,
39, and centerfielder Brady Anderson, 34, whose five-year,
$31 million
contract pays him past his 38th birthday. "The fan support
I received was unbelievable," says Anderson, who also
fielded offers from Atlanta and Cleveland. "If you go
somewhere else, you have to start all over building a
relationship with your teammates and
the fans. I've got so much of my career invested in
Baltimore. I didn't want to
leave."
Angelos has taken advantage of the desire of Anderson and
righthanded ace Mike Mussina to remain in Baltimore by
signing them to contracts that are below market value.
However, Angelos will not have that luxury in negotiations
with some of his other
stars, who have previously demonstrated a willingness to change
teams. First baseman Rafael Palmeiro, 33, due for free
agency again after the season, has vowed not to "do a
Brady." Alomar also has free agency
looming.
Oh, well. Angelos can always turn up some more used
parts—anything to avoid depending on a rookie. (No
every-day Baltimore player has earned a first-place vote
for Rookie of the Year since Cal
Ripken Jr. won the award in 1982.) Drabek, for instance, probably
gets a spot in the rotation despite a 5.74 ERA last year.
"We looked at him," says one American League
general manager, "but what scared us is that his home
runs went way up and his strikeouts
went way down—and now he'll be pitching in that small
park."
Drabek, though, did have his best seasons in Pittsburgh
with Ray Miller, now the Baltimore manager, as his pitching
coach. Says Miller, who finds his team's high mileage more
comfort than concern, "I believe man for man we're as
good as anybody. We're a
very good team that could be
great."
No one better represents the ball club's identity than
Ripken, who turns 38 in August. Ripken played most of the
second half of last season with a herniated disk that
pressed on a nerve, often causing his left leg to go numb.
"You could have stuck a pin
in my leg and I would not have felt it," says Ripken.
He sought information over the winter about the possibility
of surgery, even figuring out a "drop-dead date"
on which he could undergo a procedure and still be in the
Opening Day lineup. Ultimately,
Ripken decided to treat the injury with a combination of
rest and
exercise.
"I feel great," says the Iron Man. Now
that's old
news.
—by Tom Verducci
Scouting Report | By the Numbers | Players To Watch | Projected Roster
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