The Orioles are Tortoises

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-baltimore-orioles-are-baseballs-slowest-team-in-decades-1470261727

How the Browns Helped the Orioles Acquire Frank Robinson

Bob Turley and Don Larsen were Brownies  ....

... and two hot right-handed pitching prospects as ever there was.  But the Orioles traded them to the Yankees for Willie Miranda, in 1955

(who, by the way, was an ex-Brown traded away to the Yankees by Bill Veeck)

Willy Miranda (his preferred spelling) was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1960 for Jim Gentile

... who was traded in 1963 to the Kansas City Athletics for Norm Siebern (another left-handed-hitting first baseman)

… who was traded to the California Angels December 2, 1965 for Dick Simpson….

yes, THIS Dick Simpson:

and a week later, the Orioles dangled him before the eyes of Cincinnati Reds general manager Bill DeWitt Sr.,  who found the 1965 Angels Rookie Star too good to resist, so he promptly traded

for him (plus Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun).  "Surely a young Dick Simpson will eventually make up for that hole in the outfield," Dewitt must have thought.   

And just like that, F. Robby was a Brownie, er.... Oriole. (Frank doesn't look very happy about the trade. The Reds recently won a pennant, but the Orioles haven't won one since since 1944.  And then they weren't even the Orioles, but rather the Browns.  But Frank will be happy with the trade soon enough.  It sucks to have a receding hairline. General managers think you are old.  And shaved heads to hide it won't be in style for another 40 years yet.)

So to Review, 

 += .

And that is how the Browns helped the Orioles acquire Frank Robinson, Hall of Famer.



[Another Brownie connection, this one quite real: Jim Russo -- the scout who'd been trying to get the Orioles to make the deal for Robinson since 1961 -- was the last employee of the Browns still with the club.  ~Ed.]

NY Times Writes "In St. Louis, Celebrating a Team Long Gone"

Click on photo to Enlarge

By Hillel Kuttler
Published: October 19, 2013
 In the corridor of a St. Louis-area hotel last month, Sam Cash waited in line for autographs from members of the long-departed major league team known as the Browns. The signatures secured, he then sat at an adjacent table with his own Browns display that featured team trivia, a team time line and photographs of his favorite Browns player, Bud Thomas. Fans and several former Browns took a look.

Most of those attending the St. Louis Browns Historical Society and Fan Club’s annual luncheon that day were, understandably, in their 70s and 80s. Cash, a talented baseball player and Kansas City Royals fan, is 10.

Leaders of the Browns group — founded in 1984 on the 40th anniversary of the team’s first and only appearance in the World Series — know that Cash is an exception, that the clock is undoubtedly ticking on a 330-member organization dedicated to a sad-sack franchise that left town six decades ago to become the Baltimore Orioles.

Read the entire article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/sports/baseball/in-st-louis-celebrating-a-team-long-gone.html?_r=0

60 Years Ago the Browns Became the Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles, much like many teams around the league, have worn a patch on both sleeves of their jersey for the past few years commemorating something, and 2014 will be no different.

For the fourth consecutive season, Baltimore will wear a patch on their right sleeve in 2014 and this one is quite important and historic. The patch the Orioles will wear next season will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore.

The Orioles, who were known as the St. Louis Browns, moved to Baltimore from St. Louis and played their first season in 1954. Since then, the franchise has won six American League pennants and three World Series Championships, the latest coming in 1983.

 

The 60th anniversary patch has yet to be leaked, but it's expected to be a unique one.

Major League Baseball Relocation of the 1950s - 1960s

Major League Baseball

See also: Major League Baseball relocation of 1950s–1960s

• 1902: Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the St. Louis Browns.
• 1903: Baltimore Orioles moved to New York and became the Highlanders. The team was renamed the Yankees in 1913.
• 1953: Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee. This was the first relocation in 50 years. During those 50 years, there had also been no expansions or contractions—Major League Baseball had consisted of the same 16 teams, 8 in each league, playing in the same 10 cities without interruption for half a century.
• 1954: St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles.
• 1955: Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri.
• 1958: Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles; New York Giants moved to San Francisco. These were the first major league teams on the West Coast; the teams moved simultaneously to facilitate travel for other National League (NL) teams.
• 1961: Washington Senators (original) moved to the Twin Cities area and became the Minnesota Twins. Not wishing to alienate Washington, D.C. and its powerful baseball fans, the American League (AL) granted the city a new expansion franchise, also called the Senators.
• 1966: Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, Georgia.
• 1968: Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, California. Because Charles O. Finley broke a recently signed lease and public bonds were already issued for the building of what is now known as Kauffman Stadium, Major League Baseball was in danger of anti-trust legislation from Missouri Senator Stuart Symington. As a result, the AL granted Kansas City a new expansion franchise in 1969.
• 1970: Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers. The AL would grant Seattle a new expansion franchise in 1977.
• 1972: Second Washington Senators moved to Arlington, Texas and became the Texas Rangers.
• 2005: Montreal Expos moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals. The Expos had split time between Montreal and San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2003 and 2004. This was the first relocation in 33 years.

Orioles Break Franchise Record for Consecutive Last-Place Finishes

The 2010 Orioles have broken the franchise record for consecutive last-place finishes, with three. The previous record was two consecutive seasons, posted by the 1910 and 1911 St. Louis Browns.

Despite their reputation as “St. Louis, First in Shoes, First in Booze, and last in the American League”, the Browns in their 52-year history avoided finishing in the cellar two years in a row, except for that one instance in their first decade.

It is to be noted:

  1. the Orioles play in a five-team division whereas the Browns played in an eight-team league.

  2. There is an expansion team in the division, however, the Tampa Bay Rays.

  3. If it were not for the Devil Rays, the Orioles would have finished in last place 12 out of the last 13 seasons.

In order to avoid a fourth-straight last place finish in 2011, the Orioles will have to make up at least 19 games between them and their 4th-place rival.

But there is great hope for the Orioles to do exactly that, under new manager Buck Showalter. Go O’s!

Orioles Tie Browns Consecutive Loss Seasons

The Orioles have now spent as many consecutive seasons below .500 as the St. Louis Browns did (12) . Going for lucky 13 fellas?

Since last year’s winning percentage is the second-lowest the team has posted during the 12-year run, 13 seems likely. Having a winning franchise is not as easy as it looks, is it?

Browns Set Record For Consecutive Sunday Losses

The St. Louis Browns - the ancestors of today's National League Cardinals - set the record for consecutive Sunday losses in 1898 at 17. A later Browns team in the American League moved to Baltimore after the 1953 season and became the Orioles.

Could someone attached to the 1898 Browns have created some mini-curse to ensnare the Orioles more than a century later?

Andy Jones, 46, wore an American League St. Louis Browns hat to yesterday's game. Being from St. Louis, honoring the team that moved to Baltimore is his way of warming up to the Orioles a year after moving to North Potomac, he said.