The 1992

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

season was a season in American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. It involved the Orioles finishing third in the American League East with a record of 89 wins and 73 losses. Having played almost 40 years at Memorial Stadium, the 1992 campaign was the inaugural season for the Orioles' new ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where they play to this day.

Offseason

* November 13, 1991: Jeff Robinson was released by the Orioles. * January 7, 1992:

Amalio Carreño Amalio Rafael Carreño Adrián h-mah'-leo / car-ray'-nyoh(born April 11, 1964) is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles.

Regular season

The Orioles spent most of the first three months of the season battling with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

for first place in the division. The lead switched back and forth between the two teams before the Jays took it for good on June 20. Baltimore remained in second place for the next two months, with the margin between themselves and Toronto fluctuating from between one and five games. However, the Birds faded during the September stretch and relinquished second place to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

on September 19. Still, they were not mathematically eliminated from contention until September 27, finishing at a respectable 89–73. In 1992, Mike Mussina played his first full season with the Orioles. He finished with an 18–5 record and a 2.54

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

in 241 innings; his .783 win–loss percentage was the best in the American League, and his 1.79

BB/9 In baseball statistics, bases on balls per nine innings pitched (BB/9IP or BB/9) or walks per nine innings (denoted by W/9) is the average number of bases on balls, (or walks) given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by m ...

was second-best in the AL behind the Brewers'

Chris Bosio Christopher Louis Bosio (born April 3, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners from 1986 to 1996. He was listed at and ...

. Mussina also pitched four shutouts, tying for second in the league behind

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

. He finished fourth in the American League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

voting, and participated in the

1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 63rd playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 14 ...

in San Diego, pitching one perfect inning.

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

In 1992, with grand ceremony, the Orioles began their season in a brand new ballpark, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and thus retiring Memorial Stadium in the major league baseball world. The ballpark was an instant success; however, the name of the new park had controversy. Many felt that since the Orioles' new home was so close to

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

's birthplace that the new park should have been named after Ruth instead of being indirectly named after the Earl of Camden, Charles Pratt, who was a Briton who never set foot on American soil. There was also the superficial connection to the fact that Ruth played for the Orioles early in his career, but the Orioles team that Ruth played for was in no way related to the Orioles team that moved to Baltimore from St. Louis. Camden Yards was built at the location of the old Camden Railway. It was the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* August 11, 1992: Juan Bell was traded by the Orioles to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for

Steve Scarsone Steven Wayne Scarsone (born April 11, 1966) is an American former professional baseball infielder and former minor league manager. He serves on the Oakland Athletics' Player Development staff as travelling minor league instructor. He played all or ...

Roster

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''

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Awards and honors

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "Iron man (sports streak), The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981� ...

, Shortstop,

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans a ...

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: BluefieldJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition''. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

1992 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference1992 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles seasons Baltimore Orioles season

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...