1955 Baltimore Orioles season

1955 Baltimore Orioles
Brooks Robinson's MLB debut
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore, Maryland (since 1954)
Results
Record	57–97 (.370)
League place	7th
Other information
Owner(s)	Jerold Hoffberger, Clarence Miles
General manager(s)	Paul Richards
Manager(s)	Paul Richards
Local television	WMAR-TV/WAAM/WBAL-TV (Ernie Harwell, Bailey Goss)
Local radio	WCBM (Ernie Harwell, Chuck Thompson, Bailey Goss)
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The 1955 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 7th in the American League with a record of 57 wins and 97 losses, 39 games behind the AL champion New York Yankees. The team was managed by first-year manager Paul Richards and played their home games at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium.

Offseason

In the fall of 1954, the Orioles further distanced themselves from their Browns past by making a 17-player trade with the New York Yankees that included most former Browns of note still on the Baltimore roster. Indeed, to this day the Orioles make almost no mention of their past as the Browns. Though the deal did little to improve the short-term competitiveness of the club, it helped establish a fresh identity for the Oriole franchise.

The details of the trade were as follows: Don Larsen, Billy Hunter, Bob Turley, and players to be named later were traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Gene Woodling, Harry Byrd, Jim McDonald, Hal Smith, Gus Triandos, Willy Miranda and players to be named later. The deal was completed on December 1, when the Yankees sent Bill Miller, Kal Segrist, Don Leppert, and Ted Del Guercio (minors) to the Orioles, and the Orioles sent Mike Blyzka, Darrell Johnson, Jim Fridley, and Dick Kryhoski to the Yankees.^[1]

Unlike other clubs that transferred in the 1950s, retaining their nickname and a sense of continuity with their past (such as the Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers and New York-San Francisco Giants), the St. Louis Browns were renamed upon their transfer, implicitly distancing themselves at least somewhat from their history.

Other notable transactions

• December 6, 1954: Bob Chakales, Jim Brideweser and Clint Courtney were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Don Ferrarese, Don Johnson, Matt Batts, and Fred Marsh.^[2]
• December 13, 1954: Harry Schwegeman (minors), Johnny Jancse (minors) and $50,000 were traded by the Orioles to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Billy Cox and Preacher Roe.^[3]

Regular season

Season standings

American League	W	L	Pct.	GB
New York Yankees	96	58	.623	--
Cleveland Indians	93	61	.604	3
Chicago White Sox	91	63	.591	5
Boston Red Sox	84	70	.545	12
Detroit Tigers	79	75	.513	17
Kansas City Athletics	63	91	.409	33
Baltimore Orioles	57	97	.370	39
Washington Senators	53	101	.344	43

Record vs. opponents

1955 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	NYY	WSH
Baltimore	—	8–14	10–12–1	3–19	9–13	10–12–1	3–19	14–8
Boston	14–8	—	9–13	11–11	13–9	14–8	8–14	15–7
Chicago	12–10–1	13–9	—	10–12	14–8	14–8	11–11	17–5
Cleveland	19–3	11–11	12–10	—	12–10	17–5	13–9	9–13
Detroit	13–9	9–13	8–14	10–12	—	12–10	10–12	17–5
Kansas City	12–10–1	8–14	8–14	5–17	10–12	—	7–15	13–9
New York	19–3	14–8	11–11	9–13	12–10	15–7	—	16–6
Washington	8–14	7–15	5–17	13–9	5–17	9–13	6–16	—

Notable transactions

• June 15, 1955: Billy Cox and Gene Woodling were traded by the Orioles to the Cleveland Indians for Dave Pope and Wally Westlake. Billy Cox refused to report to his new team. The Baltimore Orioles sent $15,000 to the Cleveland Indians as compensation.^[3]
• July 2, 1955: Dave Philley was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Cleveland Indians.^[4]
• July 9, 1955: Wally Westlake was released by the Orioles.^[5]
• July 30, 1955: Jim McDonald was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Ed Lopat.^[6]

Roster

1955 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 37 Bob Alexander 28 Hal Brown 24 Harry Byrd 35 Joe Coleman 23 Harry Dorish 46 Don Ferrarese 25 Ted Gray 25 Bob Harrison 19 Don Johnson 23 Lou Kretlow 15 Bob Kuzava 13 Chuck Locke 15 Eddie Lopat 25 Jim McDonald 13 Bill Miller 29 Ray Moore 16 Erv Palica 28 Duane Pillette 27 Saul Rogovin 20 Art Schallock 17 Bill Wight 36 Jim Wilson 35 George Zuverink		Catchers 10 Tom Gastall 10 Les Moss 22 Hal Smith Infielders 33 Wayne Causey  3 Billy Cox  6 Bob Hale 9,40 Don Leppert  5 Hank Majeski  2 Fred Marsh  7 Willy Miranda  8 Jim Pyburn 40 Brooks Robinson 24 Kal Segrist  4 Vern Stephens 11 Gus Triandos  9 Eddie Waitkus  5 Bobby Young		Outfielders 18 Cal Abrams 21 Gil Coan  5 Angelo Dagres 32 Chuck Diering 14 Jim Dyck 17 Hoot Evers 33 Bob Kennedy 24 Roger Marquis 37 Tex Nelson  4 Dave Philley  3 Dave Pope 14 Wally Westlake 14 Gene Woodling Other batters 34 Charlie Maxwell		Manager 12 Paul Richards Coaches 31 Harry Brecheen 34 Lloyd Brown 26 Lum Harris 30 Al Vincent

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
CF	Diering, ChuckChuck Diering	137	371	95	.256	3	31

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Woodling, GeneGene Woodling	47	145	32	.221	3	18

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Byrd, HarryHarry Byrd	14	65.1	3	2	4.55	25
Brown, HalHal Brown	15	57	0	4	4.11	26
McDonald, JimJim McDonald	21	51.2	3	5	7.14	20

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Alexander, BobBob Alexander	4	1	0	0	13.50	1

Awards and honors

All-Star Game

• Jim Wilson, reserve^[7]

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AA	San Antonio Missions	Texas League	Don Heffner
A	Wichita Indians	Western League	Bud Bates
B	Fayetteville Highlanders	Carolina League	Aaron Robinson, Jack McKeon and Jack Sanford
B	York White Roses	Piedmont League	George Staller
C	Pine Bluff Judges/Meridian Millers	Cotton States League	Bob Knoke and Merrill Smith
C	Aberdeen Pheasants	Northern League	Bill Krueger
C	Thetford Mines Mineurs	Provincial League	Barney Lutz
D	Cordele Orioles	Georgia–Florida League	Lloyd Brown and Max Carey
D	Paris Orioles	Sooner State League	Jimmy Adair

Pine Bluff franchise transferred to Meridian and renamed, June 16, 1955

Notes

1. Don Larsen page at Baseball Reference
2. Bob Chakales page at Baseball Reference
3. Billy Cox page at Baseball Reference
4. Dave Philley page at Baseball Reference
5. Wally Westlake page at Baseball Reference
6. Ed Lopat page at Baseball Reference
7. http://baseball-almanac.com/asgbox/yr1955as.shtml

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1955 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1955 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com