The Earl Of Baltimore

Growing up in Baltimore, I was lucky enough to catch those great Oriole's teams of the 70's and 80's. "Oriole's Magic", often viewed as the hottest show in town, featured Brooks Robinson's golden glove at 3rd base, Jim Palmer's brilliance on the mound and Eddie Murray's switch hitting  power at the plate. But the director who made the show so successful was a feisty little guy named Earl Weaver.

Earl's numbers rank him up there with the best managers of all-time. He finished his major league career with six AL Eastern Division titles, four American League pennants and a World Series Championship in 1970. He had a .583 lifetime winning percentage (1480-1060) and finished five seasons with over 100 victories. Weaver's only losing season, which also happened to be his last, was in 1986.

I can remember Earl retiring (for the first time) after the 1982 season. The Oriole's were neck and neck with the Milwaukee Brewers going into the final weekend of the season. It just so happened that the two teams faced each other in the final series. Weaver had the Oriole's fighting hard, but in the end Milwaukee won the series and the American East. True to character, Earl refused to go down easy.

The following year, Baltimore went on to win the World Series. Although I was thrilled as an O's fan, there was always a little resentment that Earl Weaver wasn't a part of it. After all, this was pretty much the same Oriole's team that Weaver helped build up over the better part of a decade. If Earl could have went out with another World Series ring, it would have been icing on the cake.

Weaver's managing style often found him shuffling players and line-ups. He would study the statistics extensively. If he discovered that out a below-average hitter (i.e. Mark Belanger) hit well against a particular pitcher, he would move that player in the meaty part of the line-up. He was also fond of using a "platoon" system where he would alternate two "full-time" position players. One of his most memorable platoons was Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein in left field.

Aside from his impressive record, Earl was known for his on-filed tirades with the umpires. Ousted from 91 games in his career, Weaver was always more than happy to go toe-to-toe over any close call. Some of his exchanges were classic. After one particular shouting match, Earl stormed toward the O's dugout and told the ump that he was going to check the rule book. When the ump offered his own rule book to the Oriole's hot-tempered skipper, Weaver replied, "No thanks. I can't read Braille!"

I can still see Earl turning his hat backwards and kicking dirt over home plate. I can remember a few times where I actually felt sorry for the umps!

When not verbally berating the umpires, Weaver was known to go at it with pitching ace, Jim Palmer. As Palmer's career was winding down, Weaver once explained that he had given Palmer more chances than his ex-wife! And Palmer didn't just sit there and take these brow-beatings.Oh, no! He once said that the only thing that Weaver knew about a curve ball is that he couldn't hit one. Now, that's some classic stuff!
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This past summer, the legendary Oriole's skipper was honored with a statue which stands in the flag court at Baltimore's Camden Yards. He shares the court with some of his most beloved friends: Brooks, Frank, Cal, Eddie and of course, Jim.

Sadly, we learned today that Earl Weaver passed away at the age of 82. He was one-of-a-kind and will truly be missed. Although he may have only stood at 5"6", he'll always be remembered as a giant in the hearts and minds of Baltimore sports fans......

kw