Long before "Moneyball" there was "The Oriole Way." Seems quaint now to think of an organization establishing a mold and prodding players to conform. The player empowerment of years later would force MLB organizations to cater to the narrowest demands and interests of individual stars.So I'm thinking back to 1970. I was 15 years old, a time in the life of a boy when baseball could mesmerize. "The Oriole Way" was a system of player development in an age before money became (nearly) everything. It was a scheme drawn up by Jim McLaughlin and Paul Richards. Richards had a background with the Chicago White Sox, where he and Frank Lane worked to upgrade competitiveness.
And this makes me smile as Lane can come across as rather a "heavy" if you read certain baseball literature. Lane could break hearts with his trading moves. It seemed he almost wanted to rock the boat for its own sake sometimes. If you read the new bio of Rocky Colavito, you'll see Lane and Joe Adcock in such a negative light, which if nothing else has to be an over-simplification. These guys had credentials and must have had something to offer. Or else, how did they hang around so long at the top of their profession?
And in saying this I'm taking nothing away from Rocky Colavito. Colavito probably deserved more "faith" as the popular slugger with Cleveland, rather than being shipped off in one of those whimsical-seeming trades. Baseball operated in a world so different from today. Players were beholden to the wishes of ownership. General managers were just operatives of ownership - no need to be harsh assessing them.
Anyway, "The Oriole Way" seemed progressive for its time, as it was a constructive organized philosophy. I say this with special appreciation because I grew up as a fan of the Calvin Griffith-owned Minnesota Twins. You know, the man who had his statue recently removed from our stadium grounds because of some words that are not palatable to repeat here. How could we live with Griffith's background for so long? To understand history, you have to realize sometimes "that's just the way it was."
Backstory with the Twins
Only in the last few years did I discover an essay on SABR that helps us understand what held the Twins back. Our team was antithetical to having any sort of organized philosophy. It lacked basic courtesy toward its players. Griffith was once quoted saying the only motivation needed for a player was to "wear a big league uniform." And when done playing, these grateful souls should just find another line of work.
It seems almost like observing cavemen paintings to read accounts like in Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" about the salary amounts that players and owners argued over. Minuscule of course. Yes, things were cheaper then but I'm sure they weren't that much cheaper.
Richards prepared a manual for instruction in the Orioles' system. It set out how fundamentals of the game were to be instilled.
We in Minnesota hailed Griffith as an outright hero when he came here with his Senators in 1961. We thumped our chest as the early signs were good: second place to the Yankees in 1962. Then, after a two-year drop-off in fortunes, the pennant in 1965. The top of Mount Everest? Seemed like it. Surely our nucleus of players with just a little luck or infusion of new talent could parlay into more/better success. No, the shine came off even though the Twins remained capable of exciting baseball.
The SABR essay had a dark and depressing analysis of how Griffith's organization, far from being cohesive and uplifting, was devoid of a positive philosophy. In fact, the Twins of the late 1960s were the type of organization marked by cliques and conflict - so sad to hear about any organization going down that road. Perhaps you have worked in a business like this? I have. But my favorite team?
Meanwhile the Orioles blossomed over an extended time. They were super in 1966 with new acquisition Frank Robinson performing in an other-worldly way. The pennant eluded the club for the next two years. Then in 1969 in the first year with East/West divisions in the A.L., the Orioles got on track to impress again. Unfortunately they were cast as "heavies" for the World Series. Normally, a New York City team would not be cast as a Cinderella. Heavens! But the Mets who had been born in 1962, and went through excruciating growing pains, became a true national darling for the '69 post-season.
How could anyone not smile seeing the Mets be like Pinocchio and "turning into a real boy." It was just as endearing as seeing our first men walk on the moon that year. So the Orioles fell to the Mets in five games in the World Series. No one remembers the American League playoff series in which the Orioles brutally crushed the hopes of Twins fans: a three-game sweep. Ugh.
And would you believe, the 1970 story was the same? A humiliating loss in three games by our vaunted Twins to the Orioles. We had the talent but I guess lacked the chemistry or organizational drive. Oh, to have someone like Billy Beane in charge.
We came to cuss the image of Earl Weaver. Now with 1970 having faded so much into the mists of time, my emotions are disengaged totally and I think of the Orioles skipper with his feisty demeanor in a warm context. Here's the deal: Rhubarbs between managers and umpires tend to blur together in our memories - they all seem the same. "Here we go again," we might react to such histrionics.
With Weaver I find it's different, because I saw his combativeness as rather an art form, the equivalent of ballet in a way, as he went through demonstrative gestures. Had I been an Oriole fan, I would have found it entrancing, defining for the organization. Yes, a reflection of "The Oriole Way."
Let's move from '69 to '70 in our thoughts and give credit to what the Orioles did in another apex year of their run of the time. They were no "heavy" for 1970. They ran away with the A.L. East title and met the N.L. representative Cincinnati who similarly had cleaned up in the N.L. Two true juggernauts, the Orioles having won 108 in the regular season, the Reds (with Pete Rose) 102. The Orioles cleaned up with a 4-1 Series triumph.
What happened to the grass?
In '69 the novelty was the first-ever divisional playoff series, and '70 had its own: the first World Series to have games played on artificial turf. The first two games were in Cincinnati's new Riverfront Stadium with the carpet instead of grass. It was considered the cat's pajamas at the time. Amazing how attitudes sway in baseball, like in Minnesota where first we were lectured on how a roof was essential, so we got the Metrodome, next we were scolded on not allowing baseball to be played outside "where it belonged."
So we have Target Field. But no more Calvin Griffith statue. I'm writing this in 2020 when there is no normal baseball season.
Frank Robinson continued as a stalwart with the Orioles through '69 and '70. My goodness, Weaver led his Orioles to eleven straight wins to end the 1970 regular season, then topped that off with the 3-0 sweep of our beleaguered Twins. Rad Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva could not stop the Orioles. Notably the '70 Cincinnati team was the first of the "Big Red Machine" era. Sparky Anderson was Weaver's managerial rival.
Weaver had three 20-game winners to throw at the Reds: Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer. Frank Robinson was fantastic at bat but the league MVP was fondly-remembered Boog Powell. Remember the later Lite Beer commercials that Powell did with the retired umpire whose eyesight was hopeless? Heh heh.
We cannot fail to mention the wizard with the glove at third: Brooks Robinson.
The 1970 Orioles were in the middle of a three-year stretch of World Series appearances, by "The Oriole Way" franchise. You may have forgotten this, but the '70 world championship by the Orioles was Weaver's only title among his four World Series clubs. His Orioles failed for the '69, '71 and '79 fall classics. Still my image of him is as a total winner with his "ballet"-like flourish in questioning the umps! I remember some of my fellow Minnesota fans really acting annoyed with him when he made one of his trademark charges onto the field. I wasn't so perturbed. The man had passion and commitment.
If only our Calvin Griffith had a fraction of real organizational thinking, optimism and the like. Many men who were young in the Great Depression were like Griffith with a seeming fatalistic element in their consciousness. I worked for one such boss, tight with money etc. Waves of optimism eventually spill over such people and leave them behind. Ironic how a philosophy that can seem detached from money can actually accent it.
"The Oriole Way" had quite the track record from 1964 through 1983. The team produced at least 90 wins 16 times with only a single losing season. It was the best record in the major leagues. You might say it was the "Moneyball" of their time.
Podcast bonus: Please click on permalink below for episode from my "Morris Mojo" podcast, in which I share further about the 1970 Orioles. I recite some paragraphs from the Roger Angell book "The Summer Game."
https://anchor.fm/brian-williams596/episodes/1970-Baltimore-Orioles-eh6mq9
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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| The 1970 American League MVP |
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