Baltimore Orioles Roster

Baltimore Orioles Roster

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 club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns. After 52 often beleaguered years in St. Louis, the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1954 and adopted the Orioles name in honor of the official state bird of Maryland. The Orioles name had been used by previous major league baseball clubs in Baltimore, including the American League Baltimore Orioles franchise from 1901–1902 that became the New York Yankees and the National League Baltimore Orioles. Nicknames for the team include the O's and the Birds.

The Orioles experienced their greatest success from 1964–1983, as well as 1996–1997, winning eight Division Championships (1969–1971, 1973–1974, 1979, 1983, 1997), six pennants (1966, 1969–1971, 1979, 1983), three World Series Championships (1966, 1970, 1983), two wild card berths (1996, 2012), and five Most Valuable Player awards (3B Brooks Robinson 1964, OF Frank Robinson 1966, 1B Boog Powell 1970 and SS Cal Ripken, Jr. 1983 & 1991).

Since the retirement of Cal Ripken, Jr. in 2001, the Orioles began a downward spiral, compiling a losing record in every season from 1998 to 2011. However, after this 14-year stretch of consecutive losing seasons, the Orioles posted a winning record in 2012 and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1997. The Orioles are also well known for their successful stadium, the trend-setting Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore.