1989 Baltimore Orioles season

1989 Baltimore Orioles
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Memorial Stadium (since 1954)
Baltimore, Maryland (since 1954)
Results
Record	87–75 (.537)
Divisional place	2nd
Other information
Owner(s)	Eli Jacobs
General manager(s)	Roland Hemond
Manager(s)	Frank Robinson
Local television	WMAR-TV (Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson) Home Team Sports (Rex Barney, Mel Proctor, John Lowenstein)
Local radio	WBAL (AM) (Jon Miller, Joe Angel, Charlie Slowes)
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The 1989 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 2nd in the American League East with a record of 87 wins and 75 losses. The team was known as the Comeback Kids as they rebounded from the 54 wins and 107 losses of the 1988 season. The season also took on the "Why Not?!" promotional slogan as the team's pursuit of the pennant went down to the final series of the season. The Orioles went into the 3 game season finale with the first place Toronto Blue Jays down by 1 game in the AL East standings and needing either a sweep for the pennant or 2 wins to force a one-game playoff for the pennant. The Blue Jays won the first two games of the series, clinching the pennant on the penultimate game of the season.

Offseason

• October 3, 1988: Don Aase was released by the Orioles.^[1]
• November 9, 1988: Pete Blohm (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Randy Milligan.^[2]
• November 17, 1988: Dickie Noles was released by the Orioles.^[3]
• December 4, 1988: Eddie Murray was traded by the Orioles to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Ken Howell, Brian Holton, and Juan Bell.^[4]
• December 8, 1988: Ken Howell and Gordon Dillard were traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Phil Bradley.^[5]
• March 1, 1989: Mark Huismann was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[6]
• March 31, 1989: Carl Nichols was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros for Dave Johnson and Victor Hithe (minors).^[7]

Regular season

Bill Ripken's 1989 Fleer Baseball Card (#616) made national news when it included a hidden obscenity. The obscenity was printed in black marker on the knob of his bat.^[8] Once the discovery was made public, subsequent printings of the card were issued with the words obscured. The first obscuring involved a blob of white out, another was scribbled with a black pen while the last was covered with a black square.

Opening Day starters

• Brady Anderson
• Phil Bradley
• Steve Finley
• Rene Gonzales
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Dave Schmidt
• Larry Sheets
• Mickey Tettleton
• Jim Traber
• Craig Worthington

Season standings

AL East	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Toronto Blue Jays	89	73	0.549	—	46–35	43–38
Baltimore Orioles	87	75	0.537	2	47–34	40–41
Boston Red Sox	83	79	0.512	6	46–35	37–44
Milwaukee Brewers	81	81	0.500	8	45–36	36–45
New York Yankees	74	87	0.460	14½	41–40	33–47
Cleveland Indians	73	89	0.451	16	41–40	32–49
Detroit Tigers	59	103	0.364	30	38–43	21–60

Record vs. opponents

1989 American League Records Sources:
Team	BAL	BOS	CAL	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	MIL	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TEX	TOR
Baltimore	—	6–7	6–6	6–6	7–6	10–3	6–6	7–6	4–8	8–5	5–7	6–6	9–3	7–6
Boston	7–6	—	4–8	7–5	8–5	11–2	4–8	6–7	6–6	7–6	7–5	5–7	6–6	5–8
California	6–6	8–4	—	8–5	5–7	11–1	4–9	7–5	11–2	6–6	5–8	7–6	6–7	7–5
Chicago	6–6	5–7	5–8	—	7–5	4–8	6–7	10–2	5–8	5–6	5–8	7–6	3–10	1–11
Cleveland	6–7	5–8	7–5	5–7	—	5–8	8–4	3–10	5–7	9–4	2–10	6–6	7–5	5–8
Detroit	3–10	2–11	1–11	8–4	8–5	—	6–6	6–7	5–7	6–7	4–8	4–8	4–8	2–11
Kansas City	6–6	8–4	9–4	7–6	4–8	6–6	—	8–4	7–6	6–6	7–6	9–4	8–5	7–5
Milwaukee	6–7	7–6	5–7	2–10	10–3	7–6	4–8	—	9–3	8–5	5–7	7–5	5–7	6–7
Minnesota	8–4	6–6	2–11	8–5	7–5	7–5	6–7	3–9	—	6–6	6–7	7–6	5–8	9–3
New York	5–8	6–7	6–6	6–5	4–9	7–6	6–6	5–8	6–6	—	3–9	8–4	5–7	7–6
Oakland	7–5	5–7	8–5	8–5	10–2	8–4	6–7	7–5	7–6	9–3	—	9–4	8–5	7–5
Seattle	6–6	7–5	6–7	6–7	6–6	8–4	4–9	5–7	6–7	4–8	4–9	—	6–7	5–7
Texas	3–9	6–6	7–6	10–3	5–7	8–4	5–8	7–5	8–5	7–5	5–8	7–6	—	5–7
Toronto	6–7	8–5	5–7	11–1	8–5	11–2	5–7	7–6	3–9	6–7	5–7	7–5	7–5	—

Notable transactions

• May 19, 1989: Rick Schu was purchased from the Orioles by the Detroit Tigers.^[9]
• June 1, 1989: John Posey (minors) was traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Shane Turner.^[10]
• June 5, 1989: 1989 Major League Baseball Draft
  • Ben McDonald was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (1st pick). Player signed August 19, 1989.^[11]
  • Mike Oquist was drafted by the Orioles in the 13th round. Player signed June 14, 1989.^[12]
  • Gregg Zaun was drafted by the Orioles in the 17th round. Player signed August 25, 1989.^[13]
• July 20, 1989: John Habyan was traded by the Orioles to the New York Yankees for Stan Jefferson.^[14]
• August 5, 1989: Jamie Quirk was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.^[15]

Roster

1989 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 29 Jeff Ballard 48 José Bautista 42 Pete Harnisch 23,45 Kevin Hickey 37,51 Brian Holton 52 Mark Huismann 27,35 Dave Johnson 23 Ben McDonald 18 Bob Milacki 30 Gregg Olson 43 Curt Schilling 24 Dave Schmidt 41 Mike Smith 21 Mark Thurmond 50 Jay Tibbs 34 Mickey Weston 32 Mark Williamson		Catchers 11,17 Chris Hoiles 2,36 Bob Melvin 15 Jamie Quirk 14 Mickey Tettleton Infielders 11 Juan Bell 88 Rene Gonzales 36 Tim Hulett 35,43 Francisco Meléndez 15,39 Randy Milligan  3 Billy Ripken  8 Cal Ripken, Jr. 13 Rick Schu 28 Jim Traber 11,25 Craig Worthington		Outfielders  9 Brady Anderson 16 Phil Bradley 46 Butch Davis 12 Mike Devereaux 10 Steve Finley 49 Stan Jefferson 1,6 Joe Orsulak Other batters  6 Keith Moreland 19 Larry Sheets		Manager 20 Frank Robinson Coaches 44 Elrod Hendricks (Bullpen) 31 Al Jackson (Pitching) 40 Tommy McCraw (Hitting) 47 Curt Motton (First Base) 46 Johnny Oates (Bench)  7 Cal Ripken, Sr. (Third Base)

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Batting

Starters by position

Note: 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
C	Mickey Tettleton	117	411	106	.258	26	65
1B	Randy Milligan	124	365	98	.268	12	45
2B	Billy Ripken	115	318	76	.239	2	26
3B	Craig Worthington	145	497	123	.247	15	70
SS	Cal Ripken, Jr.	162	646	166	.257	21	93
LF	Phil Bradley	144	545	151	.277	11	55
CF	Mike Devereaux	122	391	104	.266	8	46
RF	Joe Orsulak	123	390	111	.285	7	55
DH	Larry Sheets	102	304	74	.243	7	33

Other batters

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Bob Melvin	85	278	67	.241	1	32
Brady Anderson	94	266	55	.207	4	16
Jim Traber	86	234	49	.209	4	26
Steve Finley	82	217	54	.249	2	25
Rene Gonzales	71	166	36	.217	1	11
Stan Jefferson	35	127	33	.260	4	20
Keith Moreland	33	107	23	.215	1	10
Tim Hulett	33	97	27	.278	3	18
Jamie Quirk	25	51	11	.216	0	9
Francisco Meléndez	9	11	3	.273	0	3
Chris Hoiles	6	9	1	.111	0	1
Butch Davis	5	6	1	.167	0	0
Juan Bell	8	4	0	.000	0	0
Rick Schu	1	0	0	.---	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Bob Milacki	37	243	14	12	3.74	113
Jeff Ballard	35	215.1	18	8	3.43	62
Pete Harnisch	18	103.1	5	9	4.62	70
José Bautista	15	78	3	4	5.31	30
Dave Johnson	14	89.1	4	7	4.23	26
Jay Tibbs	10	54.1	5	0	2.82	30

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Dave Schmidt	38	156.2	10	13	5.69	46
Brian Holton	39	116.1	5	7	4.02	51
Curt Schilling	5	8.2	0	1	6.23	6

Relief pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
Gregg Olson	64	85	5	2	27	1.69	90
Mark Williamson	65	107.1	10	5	9	2.93	55
Kevin Hickey	51	49.1	2	3	2	2.92	28
Mark Thurmond	49	90	2	4	4	3.90	34
Mike Smith	13	20	2	0	0	7.65	12
Mark Huismann	8	11.1	0	0	1	6.35	13
Mickey Weston	7	13	1	0	1	5.54	7
Ben McDonald	6	7	1	0	0	8.59	3

Awards and honors

• Frank Robinson, Associated Press Manager of the Year
• Frank Robinson, American League Manager of the Year
• Gregg Olson, American League Rookie of the Year

MLB All-Star Game

• Cal Ripken, Jr.

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Rochester Red Wings	International League	Greg Biagini
AA	Hagerstown Suns	Eastern League	Jimmie Schaffer
A	Frederick Keys	Carolina League	Jerry Narron
A-Short Season	Erie Orioles	New York–Penn League	Bobby Tolan
Rookie	Bluefield Orioles	Appalachian League	Mike Young

^[16]

References

1. Don Aase page at Baseball Reference
2. Randy Milligan page at Baseball Reference
3. Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
4. Juan Bell page at Baseball Reference
5. Gordon Dillard page at Baseball Reference
6. Mark Huismann page at Baseball Reference
7. Carl Nichols page at Baseball Reference
8. snopes.com: Bill Ripken 1989 Baseball Card
9. Rick Schu page at Baseball Reference
10. Shane Turner page at Baseball Reference
11. Ben McDonald page at Baseball Reference
12. Mike Oquist page at Baseball Reference
13. Gregg Zaun page at Baseball Reference
14. Stan Jefferson page at Baseball Reference
15. Jamie Quirk page at Baseball Reference
16. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

• 1989 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1989 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com