Record: 64-98, 6th, AL East
Postseason: --
Ballpark: Memorial Stadium (100 hits, 93 HR)
Runs scored: 572 (10th)
Runs allowed: 732 (11th)
Pythag record: 65-97 (-1)
Recap: The O's came into the season expecting to contend for the AL East title but instead suffered an absolutely disastrous season. Injuries were a part of it but so too were a lot of guys just not playing that well. They were actually not terrible out of the gate - 28-22 as of June 1. But then they completely nosedived as we reached the height of the summer, bottoming out with a 6-22 record from September 1 to the end of the season. Good thing there is no tanking in baseball!
History: Baltimore has won one pennant, back in 1964 (and none when they were the St. Louis Browns) but have been decent this decade. The 98 losses were one short of a franchise record and the first time the team finished below .500 since 1961.
Outlook: They can't possibly be this bad again but it's hard to see them actually contending for the East this year. But who knows? Weirder things have happened.
Rotation
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Yen-ti | Wei | 13 | 13 | 0.500 | 0 | 3.99 | 37 | 31 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 237.0 | 1004 | 267 | 118 | 105 | 24 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 73 | 2 | 88 | 9 | 2 | 10.1 | 0.9 | 2.8 | 3.3 |
| Alfredo | Lopez | 10 | 14 | 0.417 | 0 | 3.17 | 31 | 31 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 224.1 | 944 | 216 | 92 | 79 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 82 | 5 | 125 | 15 | 0 | 8.7 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 5.0 |
| Hector | Giron | 10 | 8 | 0.556 | 0 | 3.19 | 23 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 172.1 | 689 | 169 | 72 | 61 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 70 | 7 | 0 | 8.8 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 3.7 |
| Carlos | Villalpando | 7 | 12 | 0.368 | 0 | 3.89 | 25 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 164.1 | 690 | 168 | 85 | 71 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 68 | 0 | 52 | 6 | 0 | 9.2 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 2.8 |
| John | Bakula | 3 | 6 | 0.333 | 0 | 4.15 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 91.0 | 387 | 115 | 54 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 11.4 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Salvador | Sanchez | 3 | 8 | 0.273 | 0 | 3.27 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82.2 | 351 | 97 | 40 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 10.6 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| David | Torres | 2 | 6 | 0.250 | 1 | 4.46 | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 76.2 | 328 | 80 | 46 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 9.4 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 5.0 |
| Julio | Garcia | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 0 | 5.55 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24.1 | 113 | 33 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 12.2 | 0.7 | 4.4 | 5.9 |
| Blaine | Christie | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 0 | 4.87 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 92 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 9.3 | 2.2 | 5.3 | 6.6 |
| Jessie | Powell | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0 | 7.11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.2 | 58 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 14.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 4.3 |
| Ben | Feldhusen | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 3.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
The rotation is a mess. How did this team ever contend with this? Yen-Ti-Wei is by default the staff ace, I guess, but his stuff never really did miss bats and now at the age of 35 he's a pure pitch-to-contact guy. Alfredo Lopez won 32 games combined in 1966 and 1967, so there's that at least. However, he's had a losing record the past two seasons and that 2.88 ERA he posted in '68 is not as awesome as it might seem at first glance. Hector Giron and Carlos Villalpando fill out the parts of the rotation that are pretty secure going into 1970. Villalpando is in there mainly to remind fans of what he did back in 1965, when he went 24-6, led the league in wins, GS, CG, shutouts, and IP, and won the Cy Young. That was also the only season he even made an All-Star Game and the 34 year old's career record outside of that season is barely over .500.
Bullpen
Code:
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| first_name | last_name | w | l | Pct | Sv | era | g | gs | cg | sho | gf | ip | bfp | h | r | er | hr | sh | sf | hp | bb | ibb | so | wp | bk | Hper9 | HRper9 | BBer9 | Kper9 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
| Montay | Luiso | 5 | 12 | 0.294 | 18 | 3.14 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 91.2 | 376 | 84 | 36 | 32 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 79 | 0 | 1 | 8.2 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 7.8 |
| Dan | Schoner | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 2 | 3.31 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 81.2 | 338 | 82 | 34 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 9.0 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.8 |
| Mike | Overmann | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 3 | 3.56 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 65.2 | 263 | 44 | 27 | 26 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 |
| Sung-jin | Lee | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 6 | 1.98 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 50.0 | 212 | 48 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 8.6 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 3.4 |
| Jim | Kenner | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 0 | 6.97 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 31.0 | 149 | 38 | 31 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 11.0 | 0.6 | 7.0 | 4.1 |
| Phil | Bowman | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0 | 9.31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9.2 | 49 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| Alfredo | Contreras | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 2.25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 6.8 |
| Greg | Comer | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 12.00 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
| Nate | Herod | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 10.80 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.2 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 | 10.8 | 5.4 | 10.8 |
+ --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------ + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ---------- + ----------- + ---------- + ---------- +
Montay Luiso is a 6 time All Star and 2 time Rolaids Relief Award winner but, now that the team is suddenly bad, seems like a bit of a luxury. His 18 saves were the lowest of his career since his last season in San Francisco in 1963 (he had 13). His ERA ballooned in the final month as he gave up 9 runs in 13.2 innings as the team fell apart around him. The remainder of the bullpen, Sung-jin Lee, Mike Overmann, and Dan Schoner return intact for 1970. Lee was pretty lights-out, although his peripherals indicate that might have been luck. Dan Schoner had an even more extreme year with the walks and the strikeouts, although it should be said that he was one of the few members of the Orioles to not melt down in September (a 2.08 ERA, albeit over only 8.2 innings). Mike Overmann looks like the fireballer of that group with his 92 MPH fastball and 5.2 K/9. He's also the wildest of the bunch.
Catcher
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+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| C | Jon | Hernandez | 113 | 361 | 54 | 94 | 24 | 0 | 11 | 43 | 69 | 8 | 79 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.260 | 0.378 | 0.418 |
| C | Brent | Masella | 65 | 184 | 22 | 39 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 23 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.212 | 0.301 | 0.375 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Jon Hernandez made his second All-Star Game last season and is offensively at least one of the top receivers in the league. He's not the greatest at handling pitchers, although there are definitely worse guys in the league at that. He was spelled vs. lefties by Brent Masella last year. Masella is for sure a better balls-and-strikes guy but, well, few catchers hit the way Hernandez does so the hierarchy is secure.
Infield
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| 1B | John | Fleischaker | 106 | 383 | 32 | 84 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 42 | 46 | 3 | 91 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0.219 | 0.298 | 0.332 |
| 1B | David | Contreras | 66 | 184 | 21 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 31 | 30 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.196 | 0.303 | 0.353 |
| 1B | Devin | Cutter | 56 | 139 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.209 | 0.304 | 0.345 |
| 1B | Enrique | Amaya | 31 | 59 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.254 | 0.333 | 0.390 |
| 1B | Brock | Colon | 27 | 30 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.133 | 0.161 | 0.233 |
| 2B | Jorge | Padilla | 106 | 346 | 36 | 90 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 18 | 0 | 38 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0.260 | 0.294 | 0.329 |
| 2B | Danny | Fager | 81 | 340 | 49 | 108 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 36 | 24 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 0.318 | 0.361 | 0.450 |
| 2B | Ian | Reeder | 24 | 98 | 8 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0.245 | 0.257 | 0.306 |
| 2B | Brian | Easley | 26 | 51 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.137 | 0.182 | 0.216 |
| 3B | Marco | Perez | 116 | 450 | 44 | 123 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 43 | 3 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 0.273 | 0.333 | 0.391 |
| 3B | Leo | Lujan | 11 | 40 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.250 | 0.333 | 0.450 |
| 3B | Troy | Everett | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.375 | 0.000 |
| 3B | Gerardo | Vallone | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| SS | Jon | Blevins | 135 | 443 | 26 | 93 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 30 | 22 | 7 | 75 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0.210 | 0.245 | 0.282 |
| SS | Steve | Saunders | 28 | 28 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.214 | 0.267 | 0.357 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
First base was a complete mess last year and as of this writing has not been completely sorted out. John Fleishacher hit .336 with 9 HRs in 146 at-bats in AAA last year before getting the call-up and as of right now has been penciled in as the starter. Early returns indicate that he's a AAAA player though (he did hit .375 and .314 in stints as a backup the previous two seasons). 1968 starter Dave Contreras actually finished the year below the <INSERT PLAYER HERE> Line, which really wasn't even the worst part: he also hit just 9 HRs that year, which is a precipitous fall for a guy who still ranks 2nd all-time for the Orioles in that category (with 381). He was cut in midseason and as of this writing is still a free agent. Devin Cutter will challenge Fleishacher in spring training because somebody has to. He didn't even really rake that hard in AAA before joining the team (.244, although with 12 HR in 156 ABs).
Losing Danny Fager for half the year was probably the biggest injury blow for the O's. Fager was as good as ever when he did play although he's missed 107 games over the past two years. If he can stay healthy, Baltimore can definitely break into the 70s in wins. Jorge Padilla filled in for him and across the infield and was... fine. It's hard to criticize a guy who's obviously overmatched in terms of being an every day player. It's not his fault he's not good enough.
Marco Perez also missed a lot of time, which is uncharacteristic for him, but worse, he was not the same hitter he was when he did play. He missed all of April, then had a great May (.364 in 77 ABs), and then was very bad in June and July (.240 and .219 respectively). He did show some signs of picking back up before a second injury ended his season in mid-September. One hopes he was just playing hurt. Perez is a smart guy who knows when to go and when not to but maybe he was pressing for a team that fell well short of expectations. Leo Lujan filled in for him at the end of the season; he's a prospect who freankly does not look like he'll ever be of Perez's caliber.
John "Lucky Number" Blevins has my favorite name in this league so needless to say it was highly disappointing that he failed to hit. Blevins is a Gold Glove quality SS, although in the AL Oniji Handa is basically the Ozzie Smith of this save and miles ahead of everyone else so he won't win hardware for that. Last year the .210 average only begins to speak to the issues he had with the stick: he walked just 22 times (7 of those intentionally as he hit 8th for most of the season) and actually produced fewer extra base hits last year compared to the Year of the Pitcher (20-3-7 in '68, 15-1-5 last year). 1970 is definitely a make-or-break year for Blevins. Ian Reeder filled in for Blevins when he missed the last week and a half of the year and played just well enough to deserve a longer look in spring training.
Outfield
Code:
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| pos | first_name | last_name | g | ab | r | h | 2B | 3B | hr | rbi | bb | ibb | k | hpb | sh | sf | sb | cs | gdp | ba | obp | slg |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
| LF | Edgar | Colon | 99 | 299 | 22 | 77 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 25 | 1 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 0.258 | 0.315 | 0.341 |
| LF | Dave | Hiatt | 61 | 177 | 21 | 44 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 2 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.249 | 0.338 | 0.362 |
| LF | Jerry | Martinez | 23 | 86 | 6 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.174 | 0.237 | 0.279 |
| LF | Hector | Ibarra | 40 | 66 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.227 | 0.235 | 0.303 |
| CF | Bryant | Tarala | 99 | 377 | 51 | 99 | 13 | 5 | 13 | 39 | 71 | 2 | 90 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 0.263 | 0.387 | 0.427 |
| CF | Matt | Nugent | 33 | 104 | 12 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.260 | 0.353 | 0.327 |
| CF | Mike | Frecker | 34 | 82 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.159 | 0.211 | 0.293 |
| RF | Andrew | Cutler | 89 | 293 | 37 | 65 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 27 | 47 | 2 | 64 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0.222 | 0.328 | 0.352 |
| RF | Mario | Baca | 68 | 264 | 28 | 69 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 32 | 16 | 0 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0.261 | 0.305 | 0.360 |
| RF | Danny | Martinez | 42 | 107 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 1 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.168 | 0.282 | 0.327 |
| RF | T.J. | Corron | 16 | 51 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.275 | 0.310 | 0.353 |
| RF | Adam | Shaw | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 |
+ -------- + --------------- + -------------- + ------ + ------- + ------ + ------ + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + ------ + -------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + ------- + -------- + ------- + -------- + -------- +
Left field is another position that was a bit of a mess for the O's last year. Dave Hiatt and Edgar Colon split the lion's share of innings and plate appearances but neither guy is exactly what you want from a corner outfielder: combined they added up to a .250ish player with 3 HRs and 48 RBIs (11 triples though!). Hector Ibarra was signed to pinch-hit at the end of June and, in spite of not really performing well in that role, has been grousing about playing time anyway. I'd be slightly surprised if he breaks camp with the team, 4 All-Star appearances or not. The Orioles have basically nothing ready to go on the farm so they're probably going to have to live with this dross for another season at least.
Bryant Tarala is still another guy who missed a lot of time with injury and helped to derail the season. Tarala did earn his first Gold Glove last year (note: the game awards GGs separately to LF, CF, and RF whereas I tend to give the "LF" award to the 2nd best defensive OF unless there are extenuating circumstances); even in 99 games he was too great with the glove to be overlooked any longer. As a hitter, Tarala seems miscast as a leadoff hitter, although he did lead the league in steals (with 36) in 1968. His poor bat control has led him to strike out 100+ times in the previous 4 seasons to last year, so he's not really great at setting the plate. He does have a very good eye and a lot of pop for a center fielder.
Andrew Cutler is a long-time Oriole and now a fan favorite but he showed a lack of adaptability last year as the mounds were lowered across the league and everyone else started to hit better. Cutler hit .222 with middling power. It's not enough. Matt Nugent doesn't profile as a power hitter at all but he's a decade younger than Cutler and flashed 80-level speed in college and the low minor leagues, so the RF gig is his to lose.