2006 Baltimore Orioles season
Encyclopedia
The 2006
Baltimore Orioles
season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League
East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.
was not re-signed, allowing Mike Flanagan to become the sole GM of the Orioles. Shortly after, Jim Duquette
was hired as Vice President of Baseball Operations, which was Flanagan's previous position. Duquette made it clear at his signing that he reported to Flanagan, so the "two-headed GM" did not exist anymore. The Orioles also fired Assistant General Manager Ed Kenney and asked for the resignation of Dave Ritterpusch, Director of Baseball Information Systems.
led off strong by convincing Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone
, who had revolutionized the careers of many pitchers in Atlanta, to become the pitching coach for the Orioles. He retained hitting coach Terry Crowley
and first base coach Dave Cash
. Former base coach and 1983 World Series
MVP
Rick Dempsey
replaced the late Elrod Hendricks
as the bullpen coach, with Tom Trebelhorn resuming third base coach. Perlozzo rounded out his staff with former Cubs and Phillies manager Lee Elia
as the bench coach.
comments: "We are coming back strong next year. I know you have heard that tune before, but this time it will literally come true." The Orioles allowed Rafael Palmeiro
, Sammy Sosa
, and B.J. Surhoff
to become free agents. They also set their wishlist: An everyday first baseman, an experienced starter, a closer, a defensive catcher, outfield help, more defense, and more speed. However, their offseason moves showed no differences from past years. The Orioles were not able to re-sign closer B.J. Ryan
, who signed a landmark deal with the Toronto Blue Jays
. They were also locked out in bids to sign first baseman Paul Konerko
, outfielder Johnny Damon
, and starter Paul Byrd
. The Orioles chose not to enter the bidding for players like A.J. Burnett and Kevin Millwood
, whose asking prices were far beyond what the Orioles were willing to pay, but they did sign catcher Ramon Hernandez
.
Locked out of pursuits to sign top-tier players, the Orioles decided to make several moves to allow minor league prospects more time to develop. This led to bringing in players like Jeff Conine
and Kevin Millar
, both of whom are known for their positive presence in the clubhouse. On February 4, 2006, Ricky Bottalico was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles also made several trades to bring in needed players. They first traded disgruntled reliever Steve Kline for LaTroy Hawkins
, then traded for outfielder Corey Patterson
, who brought speed and defense to the outfield, and traded former closer Jorge Julio
and John Maine
for experienced starter Kris Benson
. The Orioles also addressed future free agents by extending the contract of outfielder Jay Gibbons
and third baseman Melvin Mora
, and recently signed a contract extension with second baseman Brian Roberts
. The team's Opening Day roster featured top prospect Nick Markakis
, a potential A.L. "Rookie of the Year", the best young position player the Orioles' farm system has produced since Brian Roberts. Markakis represents the revival of the Orioles' farm system, which features four players listed in Baseball America's 2006 list of the top 100 prospects in minor league baseball.
in 2006, the Nationals and Orioles played each other in Washington
on March 31 and in Baltimore on April 1. The first match up of the Beltway Series
rivalry took place on May 19, 2006 during the 2006 regular season, the Orioles won at RFK Stadium. This marked first time in 35 years that the Orioles played a regular-season game in Washington, as they played the Washington Senators
, another team in the American League annually from 1954 to 1960. The Orioles continued that rivalry with the new Washington Senators
from 1961 to 1971.
The two teams split the season series 3-3 with each time winning two games at home and one on the road.
2006 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:*The 2006 World Baseball Classic final 4 teams are Japan, Cuba, Korea and the Dominican Republic, with the United States at 3–3 failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Under the leadership of manager Sadaharu Oh and veterans Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan ...
Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.
Front office changes
Following the disappointing 2005 season, it was clear major changes needed to be made within the Orioles. In the front office, Executive VP Jim BeattieJim Beattie
James Louis Beattie is a former Major League Baseball player and executive who pitched in the major leagues from –....
was not re-signed, allowing Mike Flanagan to become the sole GM of the Orioles. Shortly after, Jim Duquette
Jim Duquette
James "Jim" Duquette was the general manager of the New York Mets for the 2004 season, before the team replaced him with Omar Minaya. Duquette subsequently stayed with the Mets in a front office job for a full season before moving on to the Baltimore Orioles...
was hired as Vice President of Baseball Operations, which was Flanagan's previous position. Duquette made it clear at his signing that he reported to Flanagan, so the "two-headed GM" did not exist anymore. The Orioles also fired Assistant General Manager Ed Kenney and asked for the resignation of Dave Ritterpusch, Director of Baseball Information Systems.
Coaching staff changes
There were also drastic changes in the Orioles coaching staff. Perlozzo was named the new manager, and unlike Mazzilli, was given full freedom to name his coaching staff. Sam PerlozzoSam Perlozzo
Samuel Benedict Perlozzo is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball, most recently with the Baltimore Orioles...
led off strong by convincing Atlanta pitching coach Leo Mazzone
Leo Mazzone
Leo David Mazzone is a former pitcher in minor league baseball and coach in Major League Baseball. He began working with the Atlanta Braves' organization in 1979.-Early life:...
, who had revolutionized the careers of many pitchers in Atlanta, to become the pitching coach for the Orioles. He retained hitting coach Terry Crowley
Terry Crowley
Terrence Michael Crowley is a former Major League Baseball player who now serves as the interim bullpen coach for the Baltimore Orioles.-Player career:...
and first base coach Dave Cash
Dave Cash (baseball)
David Cash, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played in the National League for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos and San Diego Padres .Cash established himself as a solid singles hitter and a good defensive second baseman in his seasons with...
. Former base coach and 1983 World Series
1983 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandJohn Denver, whose Thank God I'm a Country Boy was played at the seventh-inning stretch of each Orioles home game, sang the National Anthem prior to this game....
MVP
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
Rick Dempsey
Rick Dempsey
John Rikard Dempsey is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to , most notably for the Baltimore Orioles...
replaced the late Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Hendricks
Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks was a catcher and coach in Major League Baseball. Hendricks played during a 12-year career that lasted from through for the Baltimore Orioles , Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees...
as the bullpen coach, with Tom Trebelhorn resuming third base coach. Perlozzo rounded out his staff with former Cubs and Phillies manager Lee Elia
Lee Elia
Lee Constantine Elia is a former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a manager of the Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies . Additionally, he has served as a coach for the Phillies, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Baltimore...
as the bench coach.
Roster changes
The roster changes of 2005 were prefaced with Peter Angelos'Peter Angelos
Peter G. Angelos , is an American trial lawyer.Angelos is also the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a baseball team in the American League East Division.-Career:...
comments: "We are coming back strong next year. I know you have heard that tune before, but this time it will literally come true." The Orioles allowed Rafael Palmeiro
Rafael Palmeiro
Rafael Palmeiro Corrales is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985...
, Sammy Sosa
Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007....
, and B.J. Surhoff
B.J. Surhoff
William James "B. J." Surhoff is a former catcher, outfielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. Over his 18-year major league career, he played every position except pitcher...
to become free agents. They also set their wishlist: An everyday first baseman, an experienced starter, a closer, a defensive catcher, outfield help, more defense, and more speed. However, their offseason moves showed no differences from past years. The Orioles were not able to re-sign closer B.J. Ryan
B.J. Ryan
Robert Victor "B.J." Ryan, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Though he never officially retired, Ryan has not played since .-Career:Ryan started his career as a left-handed specialist...
, who signed a landmark deal with the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
. They were also locked out in bids to sign first baseman Paul Konerko
Paul Konerko
Paul Henry Konerko is an American professional baseball first baseman who has played for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball since 1999. He previously played with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds . Konerko helped the Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series, the...
, outfielder Johnny Damon
Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. From 2000–2008, he was third among active players in runs and seventh in hits and stolen bases . He is currently second among active leaders in triples , five behind Carl Crawford...
, and starter Paul Byrd
Paul Byrd
Paul Gregory Byrd is an American professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2009. He is known as being the "nicest guy in baseball"...
. The Orioles chose not to enter the bidding for players like A.J. Burnett and Kevin Millwood
Kevin Millwood
Kevin Austin Millwood is an American professional baseball pitcher. He has previously played for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies.-Personal life:Millwood graduated from Bessemer City High School in North Carolina...
, whose asking prices were far beyond what the Orioles were willing to pay, but they did sign catcher Ramon Hernandez
Ramón Hernández
Ramón José Hernández Marin is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who plays for the Colorado Rockies. Previously, he played with the Oakland Athletics , San Diego Padres , Baltimore Orioles , and Cincinnati Reds .-Career:Hernández is a career .263 hitter with 144 home runs, 651 RBI, and 455...
.
Locked out of pursuits to sign top-tier players, the Orioles decided to make several moves to allow minor league prospects more time to develop. This led to bringing in players like Jeff Conine
Jeff Conine
Jeffrey Guy Conine is a former Major League Baseball first baseman/outfielder who played several years with the Florida Marlins. Previously, Conine played with the Kansas City Royals , Florida Marlins , Baltimore Orioles , Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Reds , and New York Mets . He batted and...
and Kevin Millar
Kevin Millar
Kevin Charles Millar is an American former professional baseball first baseman and current analyst for MLB Network and New England Sports Network. Millar played college baseball at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, where he continues to reside in the off-season. Millar is the nephew of former...
, both of whom are known for their positive presence in the clubhouse. On February 4, 2006, Ricky Bottalico was signed as a Free Agent with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles also made several trades to bring in needed players. They first traded disgruntled reliever Steve Kline for LaTroy Hawkins
LaTroy Hawkins
LaTroy Hawkins is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Through 2011, he was third of all active pitchers in career games pitched.-Minnesota Twins:...
, then traded for outfielder Corey Patterson
Corey Patterson
Donald Corey Patterson is an American professional baseball free agent outfielder in Major League Baseball. He is the older brother of outfielder Eric Patterson.-Amateur career:...
, who brought speed and defense to the outfield, and traded former closer Jorge Julio
Jorge Julio
Jorge Dandys Julio Tapia is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2001–2005, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006, and the Florida Marlins in 2007 before being traded...
and John Maine
John Maine
John Kevin Maine is an American professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets. He bats and throws right-handed.-Early life and college:Maine was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia...
for experienced starter Kris Benson
Kris Benson
Kristin James Benson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Benson pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from to , New York Mets from to , Baltimore Orioles in to , Texas Rangers in , and Arizona Diamondbacks in ....
. The Orioles also addressed future free agents by extending the contract of outfielder Jay Gibbons
Jay Gibbons
Jay Jonathan Gibbons is an American professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. Gibbons was a graduate of Mayfair High School in Lakewood, California...
and third baseman Melvin Mora
Melvin Mora
Melvin Mora , affectionately nicknamed Melmo or Melvy, is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who is a free agent...
, and recently signed a contract extension with second baseman Brian Roberts
Brian Roberts
Brian Michael Roberts is an American Major League Baseball All Star second baseman, nicknamed B-Rob.He made his Major League debut in and has spent his entire professional career with the Baltimore Orioles organization, located in Baltimore, Maryland.-Early life, education and college-baseball...
. The team's Opening Day roster featured top prospect Nick Markakis
Nick Markakis
Nicholas William Markakis is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Baltimore Orioles. Of Greek and German descent , Markakis is known for his arm strength, stellar right field defense and smooth hitting....
, a potential A.L. "Rookie of the Year", the best young position player the Orioles' farm system has produced since Brian Roberts. Markakis represents the revival of the Orioles' farm system, which features four players listed in Baseball America's 2006 list of the top 100 prospects in minor league baseball.
Roster
| 2006 Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers |
Catchers Infielders |
Outfielders |
Manager Coaches (first base) (hitting) (bullpen) (bench) (pitching) (third base) |
||||||
Beltway Series
During spring trainingSpring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
in 2006, the Nationals and Orioles played each other in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on March 31 and in Baltimore on April 1. The first match up of the Beltway Series
Beltway Series
The Beltway Series is the name of the interleague series played between the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles. The series name is taken from the two beltway highways, the Baltimore Beltway and the Capital Beltway, that service Baltimore and Washington, D.C...
rivalry took place on May 19, 2006 during the 2006 regular season, the Orioles won at RFK Stadium. This marked first time in 35 years that the Orioles played a regular-season game in Washington, as they played the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, another team in the American League annually from 1954 to 1960. The Orioles continued that rivalry with the new Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
from 1961 to 1971.
The two teams split the season series 3-3 with each time winning two games at home and one on the road.
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 |
|---|
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 |
|---|
Starting pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Other pitchers
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|
Relief pitchers
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|