2006 Baltimore Orioles season

2006 Baltimore Orioles
Major League affiliations
American League (since 1901)
East Division (since 1969)
Location
Oriole Park at Camden Yards (since 1992)
Baltimore (since 1954)
Results
Record	70–92 (.432)
Divisional place	4th
Other information
Owner(s)	Peter Angelos
General manager(s)	Mike Flanagan
Manager(s)	Sam Perlozzo
Local television	WJZ-TV WNUV Comcast SportsNet (Jim Palmer, Jim Hunter, Buck Martinez, Fred Manfra)
Local radio	WBAL (AM) (Fred Manfra, Jim Hunter, Joe Angel)
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The 2006 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League East with a record of 70 wins and 92 losses.

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. 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. 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	97	65	0.599	—	50–31	47–34
Toronto Blue Jays	87	75	0.537	10	50–31	37–44
Boston Red Sox	86	76	0.531	11	48–33	38–43
Baltimore Orioles	70	92	0.432	27	40–41	30–51
Tampa Bay Devil Rays	61	101	0.377	36	41–40	20–61

Record vs. opponents

2006 American League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	—	3–15	2–5	4–2	3–3	5–1	4–6	3–6	7–12	2–4	4–6	13–6	3–6	8–11	9–9
Boston	15–3	—	4–2	3–4	3–3	4–5	3–3	1–5	8–11	3–7	4–6	10–9	5–4	7–12	16–2
Chicago	5–2	2–4	—	8–11	12–7	11–8	6–3	9–10	2–4	3–3	5–4	3–3	5–5	5–4	14–4
Cleveland	2–4	4–3	11–8	—	6–13	10–8	4–5	8–11	3–4	3–6	4–5	6–1	5–4	4–2	8–10
Detroit	3–3	3–3	7–12	13–6	—	14–4	3–5	11–8	2–5	5–4	6–3	5–3	5–5	3–3	15–3
Kansas City	1–5	5–4	8–11	8–10	4–14	—	3–7	7–12	2–7	4–5	3–5	1–5	3–3	3–4	10–8
Los Angeles of Anaheim	6–4	3–3	3–6	5–4	5–3	7–3	—	4–2	6–4	11–8	10–9	7–2	11–8	4–6	7–11
Minnesota	6–3	5–1	10–9	11–8	8–11	12–7	2–4	—	3–3	6–4	5–3	6–1	4–5	2–5	16–2
New York	12–7	11–8	4–2	4–3	5–2	7–2	4–6	3–3	—	3–6	3–3	13–5	8–2	10–8	10–8
Oakland	4–2	7–3	3–3	6–3	4–5	5–4	8–11	4–6	6–3	—	17–2	6–3	9–10	6–4	8–10
Seattle	6–4	6–4	4–5	5–4	3–6	5–3	9–10	3–5	3–3	2–17	—	6–3	8–11	4–5	14–4
Tampa Bay	6–13	9–10	3–3	1–6	3–5	5–1	2–7	1–6	5–13	3–6	3–6	—	3–6	6–12	11–7
Texas	6–3	4–5	5–5	4–5	5–5	3–3	8–11	5–4	2–8	10–9	11–8	6–3	—	4–2	7–11
Toronto	11–8	12–7	4–5	2–4	3–3	4–3	6–4	5–2	8–10	4–6	5–4	12–6	2–4	—	9–9

Roster

2006 Baltimore Orioles
Roster
Pitchers 40 Winston Abreu 45 Érik Bédard 34 Kris Benson 25 Kurt Birkins 52 Chris Britton 38 Jim Brower 56 Brian Burres 40 Tim Byrdak 35 Daniel Cabrera 27 Bruce Chen 28 Eric DuBose 50 John Halama 23,32 LaTroy Hawkins 47 Jim Hoey 47 Jim Johnson 13 Rodrigo López 57 Julio Manon 30 Russ Ortiz 49 Hayden Penn 37 Chris Ray 43 Sendy Rleal 50 Eddy Rodríguez 53 Todd Williams		Catchers 55 Danny Ardoin 9,36 Raúl Chávez 55 Ramón Hernández 18 Javy López 18 Chris Widger Infielders 52 Howie Clark 19 Jeff Conine 14 Chris Gomez 15 Kevin Millar  6 Melvin Mora  1 Brian Roberts 23 Fernando Tatís 10 Miguel Tejada		Outfielders 12 Brandon Fahey 16 Jeff Fiorentino 31 Jay Gibbons 21 Nick Markakis 32 Luis Matos 11 David Newhan 17 Corey Patterson 16 Ed Rogers 28 Luis Terrero		Manager  2 Sam Perlozzo Coaches 30 Dave Cash (first base) 48 Terry Crowley (hitting) 24 Rick Dempsey (bullpen)  3 Lee Elia (bench) 54 Leo Mazzone (pitching) 26 Tom Trebelhorn (third base)

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

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

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Other pitchers

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO

Relief pitchers

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO

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

References

• 2006 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 2006 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com