1956 Baltimore Orioles season

Major League Baseball season

1956 Baltimore Orioles

League| American League
Ballpark| Memorial Stadium
City| Baltimore, Maryland
Record| 69–85 (.448)
League place| 6th
Owners| Jerold Hoffberger, Joseph Iglehart
General managers| Paul Richards
Managers| Paul Richards
Television| WMAR-TV/WAAM/WBAL-TV
Radio| WCBM
(Ernie Harwell, Chuck Thompson, Bailey Goss)
| <- 1955 | Seasons | 1957 ->

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The 1956 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 6th in the American League with a record of 69 wins and 85 losses.

## Offseason[edit]

* October 10, 1955: Ed Lopat was released by the Orioles.[1]

## Regular season[edit]

* September 20, 1956: Catcher Tom Gastall was killed in a plane crash.[2]
* September 30, 1956: Joe Frazier hit a home run in the last at bat of his career.[3]

### Season standings[edit]

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* e

American League | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road

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New York Yankees | 97 | 57  | 0.630  | —  | 49–28  | 48–29
Cleveland Indians | 88 | 66  | 0.571  | 9  | 46–31  | 42–35
Chicago White Sox | 85 | 69  | 0.552  | 12  | 46–31  | 39–38
Boston Red Sox | 84 | 70  | 0.545  | 13  | 43–34  | 41–36
Detroit Tigers | 82 | 72  | 0.532  | 15  | 37–40  | 45–32
Baltimore Orioles | 69 | 85  | 0.448  | 28  | 41–36  | 28–49
Washington Senators | 59 | 95  | 0.383  | 38  | 32–45  | 27–50
Kansas City Athletics | 52 | 102  | 0.338  | 45  | 22–55  | 30–47

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1956 American League record

* v
* t
* e

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Team  | BAL  | BOS  | CWS  | CLE  | DET  | KCA  | NYY  | WSH
Baltimore | — | 6–16 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 13–9 | 15–7 | 9–13 | 12–10
Boston | 16–6 | — | 14–8 | 13–9–1 | 12–10 | 12–10 | 8–14 | 9–13
Chicago | 13–9 | 8–14 | — | 15–7 | 13–9 | 14–8 | 9–13 | 13–9
Cleveland | 17–5 | 9–13–1 | 7–15 | — | 11–11 | 17–5 | 10–12 | 17–5
Detroit | 9–13 | 10–12 | 9–13 | 11–11 | — | 16–6 | 12–10 | 15–7–1
Kansas City | 7–15 | 10–12 | 8–14 | 5–17 | 6–16 | — | 4–18 | 12–10
New York | 13–9 | 14–8 | 13–9 | 12–10 | 10–12 | 18–4 | — | 17–5
Washington | 10–12 | 13–9 | 9–13 | 5–17 | 7–15–1 | 10–12 | 5–17 | —

### Notable transactions[edit]

* May 14, 1956: Billy Loes was purchased by the Orioles from the Brooklyn Dodgers for $20,000.[4]
* May 21, 1956: Dave Philley and Jim Wilson were traded by the Orioles to the Chicago White Sox for Mike Fornieles, Connie Johnson, George Kell and Bob Nieman.[5]
* July 13, 1956: Morrie Martin was selected off waivers by the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox.[6]
* August 17, 1956: Hal Smith was traded by the Orioles to the Kansas City Athletics for Joe Ginsberg.[7]

### Roster[edit]

1956 Baltimore Orioles

Roster
Pitchers

* 28 Charlie Beamon
* 38 Fred Besana
* 25,41 Babe Birrer
* 28 Hal Brown
* 20 Sandy Consuegra
* 23 Harry Dorish
* 39 Don Ferrarese
* 25,36,41 Mike Fornieles
* 21 Bob Harrison
* 40 Mel Held
* 36 Connie Johnson
* 38 Billy Loes
* 19 Morrie Martin
* 32 Ron Moeller
* 29 Ray Moore
* 18 Billy O'Dell
* 16 Erv Palica
* 40 Johnny Schmitz
* 24 Gordie Sundin
* 15 George Werley
* 17 Bill Wight
* 36 Jim Wilson
* 35 George Zuverink

|  | Catchers

* 10 Tom Gastall
* 22 Joe Ginsberg
* 22 Hal Smith
* 11 Gus Triandos

Infielders

* 5 Bobby Adams
* 1 Bob Boyd
* 33 Wayne Causey
* 9 Billy Gardner
* 6 Bob Hale
* 5 Grady Hatton
* 3 George Kell
* 2 Fred Marsh
* 7 Willy Miranda
* 6 Brooks Robinson

|  | Outfielders

* 32 Chuck Diering
* 14 Jim Dyck
* 14,17 Hoot Evers
* 44 Tito Francona
* 2 Joe Frazier
* 37 Tex Nelson
* 4 Bob Nieman
* 4 Dave Philley
* 3 Dave Pope
* 8 Jim Pyburn
* 23 Dick Williams

|  | Manager

* 12 Paul Richards

Coaches

* 31 Harry Brecheen
* 26 Lum Harris
* 30 Al Vincent

## Player stats[edit]

### Batting[edit]

#### Starters by position[edit]

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

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C | Gus Triandos | 131 | 452 | 126 | .279 | 21 | 88
1B | Bob Boyd | 70 | 225 | 70 | .311 | 2 | 11
2B | Billy Gardner | 144 | 515 | 119 | .231 | 11 | 50
SS | Willy Miranda | 148 | 461 | 100 | .217 | 2 | 34
3B | George Kell | 102 | 345 | 90 | .261 | 8 | 37
LF | Bob Nieman | 114 | 388 | 125 | .322 | 12 | 64
CF | Dick Williams | 87 | 353 | 101 | .286 | 11 | 37
RF | Tito Francona | 139 | 445 | 115 | .258 | 9 | 57

#### Other batters[edit]

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

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Hal Smith | 77 | 229 | 60 | .262 | 3 | 18
Bob Hale | 85 | 207 | 49 | .237 | 1 | 24
Jim Pyburn | 84 | 156 | 27 | .173 | 2 | 11
Dave Philley | 32 | 117 | 24 | .205 | 1 | 17
Hoot Evers | 48 | 112 | 27 | .241 | 1 | 4
Bobby Adams | 41 | 111 | 25 | .225 | 0 | 7
Chuck Diering | 50 | 97 | 18 | .186 | 1 | 4
Wayne Causey | 53 | 88 | 15 | .170 | 1 | 4
Joe Frazier | 45 | 74 | 19 | .257 | 1 | 12
Tex Nelson | 39 | 68 | 14 | .206 | 0 | 5
Grady Hatton | 27 | 61 | 9 | .148 | 1 | 3
Tom Gastall | 32 | 56 | 11 | .196 | 0 | 4
Brooks Robinson | 15 | 44 | 10 | .227 | 1 | 1
Joe Ginsberg | 15 | 28 | 2 | .071 | 0 | 2
Fred Marsh | 20 | 24 | 3 | .125 | 0 | 0
Jim Dyck | 11 | 23 | 5 | .217 | 0 | 0
Dave Pope | 12 | 19 | 3 | .158 | 0 | 1

### Pitching[edit]

#### Starting pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

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Ray Moore | 32 | 185.0 | 12 | 7 | 4.18 | 105
Connie Johnson | 26 | 183.2 | 9 | 10 | 3.43 | 130
Bill Wight | 35 | 174.2 | 9 | 12 | 4.02 | 84
Jim Wilson | 7 | 48.1 | 4 | 2 | 5.03 | 31
Bob Harrison | 1 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 16.20 | 0

#### Other pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | IP  | W  | L  | ERA  | SO

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Hal Brown | 35 | 151.2 | 9 | 7 | 4.04 | 57
Erv Palica | 29 | 116.1 | 4 | 11 | 4.49 | 62
Mike Fornieles | 30 | 111.0 | 4 | 7 | 3.97 | 53
Don Ferrarese | 36 | 102.0 | 4 | 10 | 5.03 | 81
Billy Loes | 21 | 56.2 | 2 | 7 | 4.76 | 22
Fred Besana | 7 | 17.2 | 1 | 0 | 5.60 | 7
Charlie Beamon | 2 | 13.0 | 2 | 0 | 1.38 | 14
Ron Moeller | 4 | 8.2 | 0 | 1 | 4.15 | 2
Sandy Consuegra | 4 | 8.2 | 1 | 1 | 4.15 | 1
Billy O'Dell | 4 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.13 | 6

#### Relief pitchers[edit]

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

Player  | G  | W  | L  | SV  | ERA  | SO

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George Zuverink | 62 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 4.16 | 33
Johnny Schmitz | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.99 | 15
Fritz Dorish | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.12 | 4
Morrie Martin | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10.80 | 3
Mel Held | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.14 | 4
Babe Birrer | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 1
George Werley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0
Gordie Sundin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0

## Farm system[edit]

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level  | Team  | League  | Manager

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|
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Open | Vancouver Mounties | Pacific Coast League | Lefty O'Doul
AA | San Antonio Missions | Texas League | Joe Schultz
A | Columbus Foxes | Sally League | Skeeter Newsome
B | Lubbock Hubbers/Texas City Texans | Big State League | Bill Krueger and Jay Haney
C | Phoenix Stars | Arizona–Mexico League | Billy Capps
C | Aberdeen Pheasants | Northern League | George Staller
D | Thomson Orioles | Georgia State League | Barney Lutz and Enid Drake
D | Paris Orioles | Sooner State League | Jimmy Adair and Barney Lutz

Lubbock franchise transferred to Texas City and renamed, July 8, 1956

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Ed Lopat at Baseball-Reference
2. ^ List of athletes who have died in plane crashes
3. ^ "Home Run in Last at Bat | Baseball Almanac".
4. ^ Billy Loes at Baseball-Reference
5. ^ Dave Philley at Baseball-Reference
6. ^ Morrie Martin at Baseball-Reference
7. ^ Joe Ginsberg at Baseball-Reference

## References[edit]

* Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
* 1956 Baltimore Orioles team at Baseball-Reference
* 1956 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com

* v
* t
* e

1956 MLB season by team

American League|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* Chicago
* Cleveland
* Detroit
* Kansas City
* New York
* Washington

National League|

* Brooklyn
* Chicago
* Cincinnati
* Milwaukee
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Pittsburgh
* St. Louis

* 1956 All-Star Game
* 1956 World Series

* v
* t
* e

Baltimore Orioles

* Established in 1901
* Formerly the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Browns
* Based in Baltimore, Maryland

Franchise|

* History
* in St. Louis
* Seasons
* No-hitters
* Records
* Players
* Managers
* Owners and executives
* Broadcasters
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks

Ballparks|

* Borchert Field
* Lloyd Street Grounds
* Sportsman's Park
* Memorial Stadium
* Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Spring training
Majestic Park
West End Park
Coffee Pot Park
Wright Field
Tech Field
Perris Hill Park
Yuma Municipal Stadium
City Island Ball Park
Scottsdale Stadium
Miami Stadium
Ed Smith Stadium
Al Lang Stadium
Fort Lauderdale Stadium

Culture|

* Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards
* Hall of Fame
* "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"
* Baltimore Chop
* Going My Way
* A Winner Never Quits
* "The Letter" (Seinfeld episode)
* Seven Nation Army

Lore|

* Grandstand Managers Night
* Jeffrey Maier
* Miracle Mets
* 1910 Chalmers Award
* Wild Bill Hagy
* "Why Not?!"
* The Streak
* 1999 Cuba national baseball team exhibition
* 2015 crowdless game
* 2020 MLB Little League Classic

Rivalries|

* Washington Nationals

Key personnel|

* Owner: Peter Angelos
* Executive Vice President/General Manager: Mike Elias
* Manager: Brandon Hyde

World Series
championships (3)|

* 1966
* 1970
* 1983

American League
pennants (7)|

* 1944
* 1966
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1979
* 1983

AL East
division titles (10)|

* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1973
* 1974
* 1979
* 1983
* 1997
* 2014
* 2023

AL Wild Card
(3)|

* 1996
* 2012
* 2016

Minor league
affiliates|

* Triple-A: Norfolk Tides
* Double-A: Bowie Baysox
* High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds
* Single-A: Delmarva Shorebirds
* Rookie:
* FCL Orioles
* DSL Orioles Black
* DSL Orioles Orange

Broadcasting|

Mid-Atlantic Sports Network
Radio
Orioles Radio Network
Announcers
Kevin Brown
Geoff Arnold
Scott Garceau
Melanie Newman
Jim Palmer
Ben McDonald

Seasons (121)

1900s|

* 1900 ·  1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909

1910s|

* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919

1920s|

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929

1930s|

* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

1940s|

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

1950s|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

1960s|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* Category
* Commons

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