2006 Baltimore Orioles season

The 2006 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.

2006 Baltimore Orioles
Major League affiliations
Location
Results
Record70–92 (.432)
Divisional place4th
Other information
OwnersPeter Angelos
General managersMike Flanagan
ManagersSam Perlozzo
Local televisionWJZ-TV
WNUV
Comcast SportsNet
(Jim Palmer, Jim Hunter, Buck Martinez, Fred Manfra)
Local radioWBAL (AM)
(Fred Manfra, Jim Hunter, Joe Angel)
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Offseason

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 Beattie 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.

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 Perlozzo 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 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.

Roster changes

The roster changes of 2005 were prefaced with Peter Angelos' 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 Ramón Hernández.

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.

Regular season

Season standings
AL East W L Pct. GB Home Road
New York Yankees 9765 0.599 — 50–31 47–34
Toronto Blue Jays 8775 0.537 10 50–31 37–44
Boston Red Sox 8676 0.531 11 48–33 38–43
Baltimore Orioles 7092 0.432 27 40–41 30–51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays 61101 0.377 36 41–40 20–61

Record vs. opponents
2006 American League record

Sources:
Team BAL BOS CWS CLE DET KC LAA MIN NYY OAK SEA TB TEX TOR NL 
Baltimore —3–152–54–23–35–14–63–67–122–44–613–63–68–119–9
Boston 15–3—4–23–43–34–53–31–58–113–74–610–95–47–1216–2
Chicago 5–22–4—8–1112–711–86–39–102–43–35–43–35–55–414–4
Cleveland 2–44–311–8—6–1310–84–58–113–43–64–56–15–44–28–10
Detroit 3–33–37–1213–6—14–43–511–82–55–46–35–35–53–315–3
Kansas City 1–55–48–118–104–14—3–77–122–74–53–51–53–33–410–8
Los Angeles 6–43–33–65–45–37–3—4–26–411–810–97–211–84–67–11
Minnesota 6–35–110–911–88–1112–72–4—3–36–45–36–14–52–516–2
New York 12–711–84–24–35–27–24–63–3—3–63–313–58–210–810–8
Oakland 4–27–33–36–34–55–48–114–66–3—17–26–39–106–48–10
Seattle 6–46–44–55–43–65–39–103–53–32–17—6–38–114–514–4
Tampa Bay 6–139–103–31–63–55–12–71–65–133–63–6—3–66–1211–7
Texas 6–34–55–54–55–53–38–115–42–810–911–86–3—4–27–11
Toronto 11–812–74–52–43–34–36–45–28–104–65–412–62–4—9–9

Roster
2006 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Beltway Series

During spring training 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.

Player stats

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
CRamón Hernández144501138.2752391
1BKevin Millar132430117.2721564
2BBrian Roberts138563161.2861055
SSMiguel Tejada162648214.33024100
3BMelvin Mora155624171.2741683
LFJeff Conine114389103.265949
CFCorey Patterson135463128.2761653
RFNick Markakis147491143.2911662
DHJavy López7627974.265831

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
Jay Gibbons9034395.2771346
Brandon Fahey9125159.235223
Chris Gomez5513245.341217
David Newhan3913133.252418
Luis Matos5512125.20725
Fernando Tatis285614.25028
Luis Terrero27408.20016
Jeff Fiorentino193910.25607
Raúl Chávez16285.17900
Ed Rogers17255.20002
Chris Widger9172.11802
Danny Ardoin5131.07701
Howie Clark771.14300

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Érik Bédard33196.115113.76171
Rodrigo López36189.09185.90136
Kris Benson30183.011124.8288
Daniel Cabrera26148.09104.74157
Adam Loewen22112.1665.3798
Hayden Penn619.20415.108
Jim Johnson13.00124.000

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bruce Chen4098.2076.9370
Russ Ortiz2040.1038.4823

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Chris Ray6144332.7351
Todd Williams622414.7424
LaTroy Hawkins603204.4827
Chris Britton520213.3541
Sendy Rleal421104.4419
Kurt Birkins355204.9427
Julio Mañón220105.4022
John Halama173106.1412
Tim Byrdak1610012.862
Jim Brower1201013.869
Jim Hoey1201010.246
Brian Burres110002.256
Eddy Rodríguez91107.2011
Winston Abreu700010.136
Eric DuBose20009.642

Farm system
See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Ottawa Lynx International League Dave Trembley
AA Bowie Baysox Eastern League Don Werner
A Frederick Keys Carolina League Bien Figueroa
A Delmarva Shorebirds South Atlantic League Gary Kendall
A-Short Season Aberdeen IronBirds New York–Penn League Andy Etchebarren
Rookie Bluefield Orioles Appalachian League Gary Allenson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Frederick[3][4]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2006 Baltimore Orioles season.
  1. Ricky Bottalico Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  2. Kris Benson Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  3. Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007
  4. Baseball America 2007 Directory.
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