Overview: Given the way this team was savagely rent asunder by the conniving mountebanks at the Polo Grounds and in Cincinnati, it is amazing that this team still managed to finish 2nd in their league. They never really had a chance of staying in first place but the youngsters not only made a "game" of it, they showed that they might just be the foundation of a club that will have to be reckoned with for some time to come. That dynasty, should it exist, will happen in Hilltop Park, just outside of Manhattan Island, a state of the art facility that should have Giants cranks flocking to see their crosstown brethren.
Pitching
Sean Nickerson
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Chicago - NL 29 22 2 2 40.2 31 14 8 0 10 15 0 0 1.77
1901 Chicago - NL 30 29 18 11 251.2 251 101 68 4 37 126 27 1 2.43
1902 Baltimore - AL 31 40 26 9 331.1 284 110 89 15 53 123 33 5 2.42
Nickerson is, shall we say, a grump. That might explain why he didn't taste real big league experience until he was 30 years of age. It most certainly is the reason he is now with his 3rd team in 3 years. The Highlanders were more than willing to keep him but he expressed an extreme desire to get out of New York to the press so there you go.
Jim Badgett
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Louisville - AA 34 33 9 20 238.0 258 151 113 2 124 23 12 0 4.27
1901 Louisville - AL 35 35 20 13 286.1 284 165 97 2 127 49 28 0 3.05
1902 Louisville - AL 36 4 1 3 35.0 45 23 14 1 9 4 4 0 3.60
1902 Baltimore - AL 36 26 7 16 185.2 219 138 93 5 76 16 14 0 4.51
1902 Total - AL 36 30 8 19 220.2 264 161 107 6 85 20 18 0 4.36
Acquired in early May for catcher Tony Stone, Jim Badgett's career has been an enigma. Despite having walked nearly 3 times as many men as he's struck out (1588 to 573), Badgett has a career record very near .500 (207-230). Whatever the riddle, opposing hitters seemed to have solved it as of late. Badgett's time in the league may be running short.
Ed Gargen
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Cleveland - AA 21 38 5 14 157.0 170 95 51 2 31 53 1 0 2.92
1901 Baltimore - AL 22 17 9 7 138.0 129 45 27 2 7 51 11 0 1.76
1902 Baltimore - AL 23 15 6 8 117.2 125 66 40 1 15 27 9 2 3.06
Gargen was a casualty of a manager (John McGraw) who wanted so badly to win right now that he could not see the talent in front of him. Gargen pitched for Baltimore entirely after McGraw skipped town and was a lot better than his numbers suggest. He was rough around the edges in his first month but then really put it together in September, going 5-1 with an ERA of 1.04. He is by default the team ace for 1903.
Fionn Kempson
Code:
Year Team Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
1900 Baltimore - AA 26 6 0 0 7.2 7 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 1.17
1901 Baltimore - AL 27 6 0 3 19.1 17 7 5 1 3 10 0 0 2.33
1902 Baltimore - AL 28 15 7 5 115.1 117 57 46 2 23 53 9 1 3.59
Kempson's another guy who came more or less out of nowhere to keep the Orioles respectable in the second half of '02. His spot in the rotation is nearly assured.
Everyone Else
Code:
Name Age G W L IP H R ER HR BB SO CG Sh ERA
Bill Copeland 34 21 14 6 193.2 191 52 3 24 60 2.42
Don Cushingham 29 1 0 1 2.1 6 3 0 1 1 11.57
Bill Haddon 31 23 18 5 202.2 148 40 5 17 87 1.78
Kirby Iversen 28 17 4 3 71.0 79 22 1 23 10 2.79
John O'Cloonan 31 9 1 4 56.1 73 24 2 19 14 3.83
Catcher and First Base
Von Craufurd C(95)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Baltimore - AA 31 130 487 137 31 7 2 75 66 40 35 2 .281
1901 Baltimore - AL 32 107 433 120 33 10 1 72 61 24 53 0 .277
1902 Baltimore - AL 33 97 351 81 17 3 2 43 35 15 36 0 .231
Craufurd didn't play as much as he usually does and wasn't that effective when he did play, but you have to give the man a break: after John McGraw left, he handled the managerial reins. He's back in that dual role in 1903. His arm is still there as well as his sure hands (only one catcher in all of baseball had a higher fielding average last season) but you have to wonder how long it might take for him to notice his own slide downward in hitting proficiency.
Elliott Strong C(48)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Saint Louis - NL 26 64 84 18 1 0 2 16 13 13 6 0 .214
1901 Boston - AL 27 69 197 39 9 0 1 24 23 28 13 0 .198
1902 Boston - AL 28 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667
1902 Baltimore - AL 28 54 138 34 5 0 2 20 19 18 8 0 .246
1902 Total - AL 28 57 141 36 5 0 2 20 19 18 8 0 .255
Strong came over in a relatively unheralded trade from the Red Stockings and was decidedly average in his backup role. That's not such a bad thing in and of itself but it does mean that he probably would not be the heir apparent should Craufurd fall.
Bill McAchounich 1B(63)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1902 Baltimore - AL 23 63 256 68 15 2 2 47 29 11 26 1 .266
Although he showed that he was ready for the bigs by hitting .320 in half a season in the minors, it was clear that
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Tony Stone 33 6 21 5 0 1 0 2 2 5 2 0 .238 C(6)
Emiliano Zapata 23 4 12 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 .250 C(4)
Cody Plummer 24 66 262 76 10 3 4 44 38 38 7 1 .290 1B(66)
Bob Perry 31 14 43 6 0 0 0 5 3 4 6 0 .140 1B(11)
Infield
Pearce "Captain New Jersey" Fulbrook 2B(91)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 New York - NL 32 127 527 155 14 13 4 71 71 34 33 5 .294
1901 Detroit - AL 33 69 265 81 11 7 2 28 29 35 18 2 .306
1901 Baltimore - AL 33 61 253 70 7 1 0 37 35 22 16 1 .277
1901 Total - AL 33 130 518 151 18 8 2 65 64 57 34 3 .292
1902 Baltimore - AL 34 91 389 106 19 7 1 32 64 36 17 6 .272
We were surprised as anybody else to see that Pearce Fulbrook, a man who seems to enjoy changing teams once every couple years just to see the continent, did not join his teammates in moving back to the Giants. Perhaps he felt he had worn out his welcome in the big city. Or maybe he was just a big fan of crab cakes. Anyway, shortly after the Big Evil Thing he was lost for the season with a bad back and then the Orioles moved to New York.
Ed Higson SS(84), 2B(27)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Baltimore - AA 26 142 540 169 22 9 7 56 94 32 35 15 .313
1901 Baltimore - AL 27 125 475 114 12 8 3 50 63 30 37 2 .240
1902 Baltimore - AL 28 115 445 113 11 3 1 41 47 21 30 5 .254
'02 was going to be the year where Higson would show whether he was the heavy hitter of the 1900 season or the weakling of 1901. Sadly, he appeared to be mostly a weakling. He's still a more than adequate middle infielder who can aid the Orioles with his utility.
Pablo Picasso 3B(41), 2B(18)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1902 Baltimore - AL 20 59 259 72 6 3 2 26 44 7 26 6 .278
Picasso is also, we ought to point out, a painter. What we've seen of his painting style is just... weird. Not bad, mind you. We just don't get it. It looks terribly modern and he might have an issue with depth perception. We are happy to say that this possible depth perception thing did not manifest itself on the ballfield, where he showed himself to be of major league quality at the young age of 20.
Fred Sisk SS(45), 2B(6)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1902 Baltimore - AL 24 53 193 62 11 3 1 29 29 29 16 3 .321
Sisk was as responsible as anybody else for the late-season resurgence of the Orioles. Not only did he hit a strong .321, he also fielded what many pundits consider the hardest position in the field. He didn't do it terribly well, mind you, but he was out there day after day in the months of August and September. Far from wilting in the late months as so many rookys do, Sisk batted .341 in September and had 5 hits in 12 October at-bats.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
E.M. Forster 25 32 95 21 2 0 1 10 13 3 6 0 .221 3B(23), 2B(1)
Montrell Liotta 27 7 21 4 0 0 0 1 4 2 3 3 .190 SS(7)
Dolan Packard 30 77 339 116 8 3 1 31 54 25 22 14 .342 3B(77)
Leegan Perot 21 6 23 3 0 0 0 2 3 1 4 0 .130 SS(6)
Outfield
Crowmarn Kempe CF(45), LF(29)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Baltimore - AA 25 19 19 4 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 1 .211
1901 Baltimore - AL 26 13 31 8 1 0 0 1 3 1 4 1 .258
1902 Baltimore - AL 27 83 284 91 9 1 5 32 48 32 11 5 .320
Kempe was finally given an opportunity to play major league baseball and looked like a man who should have had his chance about 3 years previously. What position he'll play is sort of up for grabs but it's for certain that he'll be in the lineup somewhere.
Casey Labrey LF(27), CF(4), RF(2)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Baltimore - AA 29 126 281 87 17 5 2 45 50 29 10 30 .310
1901 Baltimore - AL 30 48 140 44 5 6 0 17 25 17 5 4 .314
1902 Baltimore - AL 31 39 131 35 11 1 0 11 23 11 4 11 .267
What happened to Casey? Following a solid year as a 4th outfielder in 1900, he struggled to get at-bats as the Orioles brought in one superstar outfielder after another. Then when all those guys left he finally got a shot at starting only to hurt his shoulder on August 1 and miss the remainder of the season. At this point, the Orioles probably can't count on him to be an everyday starter, but he's yet to disappoint us when he is able to play.
Valentin Lochilosurdo RF(44), LF(23)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Cincinnati - AA 32 37 41 13 4 0 1 8 7 3 5 0 .317
1900 Brooklyn - NL 32 87 351 101 10 5 4 52 41 15 29 0 .288
1900 Total - ABA 32 124 392 114 14 5 5 60 48 18 34 0 .291
1901 Cleveland - AL 33 109 425 133 22 7 0 59 59 34 41 1 .313
1902 Cleveland - AL 34 49 184 37 6 0 0 5 18 12 14 1 .201
1902 Baltimore - AL 34 25 99 22 3 0 0 8 14 4 8 0 .222
1902 Total - AL 34 74 283 59 9 0 0 13 32 16 22 1 .208
Lochilosurdo's career seems to be just about over after a horrendous 1902. Being released by the lowly Cleveland Blues should have ended things right there but the Orioles were in need of outfielders so he got one final chance. He didn't hit then either. It wasn't a bad career - a lifetime .291 average, 1481 hits, 203 doubles, 764 career runs scored.
Lynch Passager CF(88) AL Gold Glove CF
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1900 Baltimore - AA 26 105 408 127 15 6 3 61 71 59 16 13 .311
1901 Baltimore - AL 27 84 322 120 9 7 4 70 56 52 20 4 .373
1902 Baltimore - AL 28 88 356 122 9 7 4 42 62 36 30 11 .343
If Passager could just play an entire season, he'd be regarded as one of the best players in the league. Even in roughly half a season, his prowess afield was good enough to earn him a Gold Glove. He stayed with Baltimore out of loyalty to the town and when the team announced it was moving they had no choice but to trade this man. He'll be wearing Cleveland blue in 1903.
Bob Donley RF(56)
Code:
Year Team/League Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
1901 Baltimore - AL 21 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
1902 Baltimore - AL 22 56 199 56 14 0 1 21 28 22 15 1 .281
It just seems unfair sometimes that a team like the Orioles/Highlanders could lose so many front-line players but have rookies like this waiting in the wings where a team like Cleveland or Detroit is forced to deal with fringe players due to a complete lack of a farm system. Oh well. They'll be better in time. For now, Donley took over right field incredibly well and is just 23 years of age this year.
Everybody Else
Code:
Player Age G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB AVG
Lonan Eve 24 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Mike Hartigan 35 67 258 86 16 10 3 50 57 46 8 27 .333
Dave Heading 26 75 320 101 16 2 0 56 40 10 25 3 .316
Bobby Winchell 22 41 67 18 2 0 1 16 6 7 6 0 .269