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Orioles BAL

199688–74 (0.543)Made Playoffs
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GM: Pat Gillick

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1996, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$51M
Surplus $M
-19
Win %
0.543
TAB
-1.2
WAB
+0.4
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
38.5
Dead money %
15%
Depth Players
9.0
Dead WAR
-6.9

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1996 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RChris Hoiles126
BGregg Zaun⇄50
RMark Parent⇄18
RCesar Devarez10

1B

LRafael Palmeiro159
BBobby Bonilla9
LB.J. Surhoff2
RBilly Ripken1
RChris Hoiles1
BEddie Murray⇄1

2B

BRoberto Alomar141
RBilly Ripken30
LJeff Huson12
RManny Alexander7

3B

LB.J. Surhoff106
RTodd Zeile⇄29
RBilly Ripken25
RManny Alexander7
RCal Ripken Jr.6
BBobby Bonilla4
LJeff Huson3

SS

RCal Ripken Jr.158
RManny Alexander21

LF

RJeffrey Hammonds64
RMike Devereaux35
LB.J. Surhoff27
LBrent Bowers21
RMark Smith12
RPete Incaviglia⇄12
RManny Alexander3

CF

LBrady Anderson143
RMike Devereaux29
BGene Kingsale2
RJeffrey Hammonds1
LTony Tarasco1

RF

BBobby Bonilla108
RMike Devereaux62
LTony Tarasco22
RJeffrey Hammonds11
RMark Smith8
LLuis Polonia⇄2
LJeff Huson1

DH

BEddie Murray⇄64
BBobby Bonilla44
LLuis Polonia⇄15
LB.J. Surhoff10
BRoberto Alomar10
RMike Devereaux7
LTony Tarasco4
LRafael Palmeiro3
RMark Smith3
LBrady Anderson2
RJeffrey Hammonds1
RPete Incaviglia⇄1

Starters

RMike Mussina5.3 WAR
RScott Erickson3.6 WAR
LDavid Wells3.4 WAR
LArthur Rhodes1.0 WAR
RRocky Coppinger0.7 WAR
LRick Krivda0.3 WAR
RNerio Rodriguez0.2 WAR
RJimmy Haynes-0.0 WAR
LKent Mercker⇄-0.5 WAR

Bullpen

★ LRandy Myers31 sv
LJesse Orosco0 h
RAlan Mills0 h
RRoger McDowell0 h
LArthur Rhodes0 h
RArmando Benitez0 h
RArchie Corbin0 h
RTerry Mathews⇄0 h

Each position shows its top 3 by games (top = starter) — click "+more" for the rest. The letter is bats/throws; ⇄ marks a player traded mid-season. Starters are ranked by WAR, bullpen by holds; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.

Key additions (new vs 1995)

PlayerfWAR
Roberto Alomar5.2
David Wells3.4
B.J. Surhoff3.0
Randy Myers1.3
Rocky Coppinger0.7
Todd Zeile0.4

Key subtractions (gone from 1995)

Player1995 fWAR
Kevin Brown4.5
Harold Baines2.4
Jamie Moyer1.2
Bret Barberie1.1
Leo Gomez1.0
Ben McDonald1.0

Contract Value

WAR translated into tier-adjusted market value, then compared with what the player was paid by Orioles. Guaranteed contracts from the 2015-present contract-data period use the known contract period through 1996; everyone else is shown as a 1996 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Brady Anderson 1996 +6.9 +113.5 3.6 +109.9 $0.5M 2.05× –
Mike Mussina 1996 +5.3 +106.0 4.0 +102.0 $0.8M 2.50× –
Scott Erickson 1996 +3.6 +63.9 2.9 +61.0 $0.8M 2.19× –
Roberto Alomar 1996 +5.2 +57.2 4.3 +52.9 $0.8M 1.38× –
David Wells 1996 +3.4 +53.8 3.2 +50.6 $0.9M 1.96× –
Rafael Palmeiro 1996 +4.5 +42.9 5.4 +37.5 $1.2M 1.20× –
Cal Ripken Jr. 1996 +3.8 +40.4 6.7 +33.7 $1.7M 1.32× –
B.J. Surhoff 1996 +3.0 +26.4 1.4 +25.0 $0.5M 1.12× –
Randy Myers 1996 +1.3 +14.3 2.6 +11.7 $1.9M 1.34× –
Chris Hoiles 1996 +2.5 +15.0 3.4 +11.6 $1.4M 0.76× –
Rocky Coppinger 1996 +0.7 +5.9 0.1 +5.8 $0.1M 1.02× –
Arthur Rhodes 1996 +1.0 +5.2 0.3 +4.9 $0.3M 0.67× –
Jesse Orosco 1996 +0.8 +4.0 0.8 +3.3 $1.0M 0.67× –
Mark Smith 1996 +0.5 +3.2 0.1 +3.1 $0.3M 0.83× –
Bobby Bonilla 1996 +1.0 +6.8 5.1 +1.7 $5.0M 0.83× –
Armando Benitez 1996 +0.3 +1.7 0.2 +1.5 $0.5M 0.67× –
Pete Incaviglia↔ 1996 +0.2 +1.4 0.1 +1.3 $0.3M 0.83× –
Todd Zeile↔ 1996 +0.4 +1.8 0.5 +1.3 $1.2M 0.58× –
Mike Milchin↔ 1996 +0.2 +1.3 0.0 +1.2 $0.2M 0.67× –
Terry Mathews↔ 1996 +0.0 +0.2 0.1 +0.2 $1.3M 0.67× –
Archie Corbin 1996 -0.0 -0.0 0.1 -0.1 – 0.67× –
Billy Ripken 1996 +0.0 +0.1 0.2 -0.1 $10.0M 0.56× –
Jimmy Haynes 1996 -0.0 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 – 0.67× –
Mark Parent↔ 1996 -0.0 -0.2 0.2 -0.3 – 0.52× –
Jeff Huson 1996 -0.1 -0.4 0.3 -0.7 – 0.56× –
Gregg Zaun↔ 1996 -0.2 -0.9 0.1 -1.0 – 0.52× –
Eddie Murray↔ 1996 -0.1 -0.3 0.8 -1.2 – 0.69× –
Roger McDowell 1996 -0.1 -0.4 0.8 -1.2 – 0.67× –
Alan Mills 1996 -0.3 -1.9 0.6 -2.5 – 0.67× –
Jeffrey Hammonds 1996 -0.3 -2.2 0.3 -2.5 – 0.83× –
Tony Tarasco 1996 -0.7 -5.0 0.2 -5.2 – 0.83× –
Kent Mercker↔ 1996 -0.5 -3.8 1.6 -5.5 – 1.02× –
Mike Devereaux 1996 -0.7 -4.7 0.9 -5.6 – 0.83× –
Manny Alexander 1996 -1.3 -6.4 0.2 -6.5 – 0.61× –
Luis Polonia↔ 1996 -1.5 -8.3 0.2 -8.5 – 0.69× –
Brent Bowers 1996 +0.2 +1.6 – – – 0.83× –
Brian Sackinsky 1996 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Cesar Devarez 1996 -0.2 -0.7 – – – 0.52× –
Esteban Yan 1996 -0.1 -0.5 – – – 0.67× –
Garrett Stephenson 1996 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Jimmy Myers 1996 -0.2 -1.0 – – – 0.67× –
Keith Shepherd 1996 -0.5 -2.4 – – – 0.67× –
Nerio Rodriguez 1996 +0.2 +0.9 – – – 0.67× –
Rick Krivda 1996 +0.3 +2.1 – – – 1.02× –
Total—+38.3+529.851.4+479.1—

Trades

Every graded 1996 deal involving the Orioles — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 5 total.

1996 · WSN / BAL
WSN · Jim Beattie +$0.0M
Sherman Obando
BAL · Pat Gillick +$0.0M
Tony Tarasco
Even trade
1996 · SDP / BAL
SDP · Kevin Towers +$1.6M
Keith Eaddy
BAL · Pat Gillick −$1.6M
Melvin Rosario
SDP came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · BAL / CLE
BAL · Pat Gillick +$1.6M
Eddie Murray
CLE · John Hart −$1.6M
Kent Mercker
BAL came out ahead by $1.6M
1996 · PHI / BAL
PHI · Lee Thomas +$17.6M
Calvin Maduro, Garrett Stephenson
BAL · Pat Gillick −$17.6M
Pete Incaviglia, Todd Zeile
PHI came out ahead by $17.6M
1996 · MIA / BAL
MIA · Dave Dombrowski +$2.4M
Gregg Zaun
BAL · Pat Gillick −$2.4M
Terry Mathews
MIA came out ahead by $2.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1996 payroll
$51.3M

What the front office was committed to as of 1996, 1996–2002. Pre-2015 has no contract-terms data — forward italic $ are realized actuals (hindsight, not commitments known then). Control labels (ARB/FA) are point-in-time.

current $ guaranteed $ actual $ (hindsight) arbitration (proj) pre-arb (proj) free agent

Guaranteed / signed (22)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Cal Ripken Jr.3515.000$6.7M$6.8M$6.4M$6.5M$6.3M$6.3MFREE AGENT
Rafael Palmeiro3110.000$5.4M$5.3M$6.5MFREE AGENT
Bobby Bonilla3310.000$5.1MFREE AGENT
Roberto Alomar288.000$4.3M$6.4M$6.3MFREE AGENT
Brady Anderson328.000$3.6M$4.0M$5.4M$5.7M$7.1M$7.2MFREE AGENT
Chris Hoiles317.000$3.4M$3.6M$3.6MFREE AGENT
David Wells339.000$3.2MFREE AGENT
Scott Erickson286.000$2.9M$3.3M$3.7M$6.1M$6.6MFREE AGENT$5.1M
Randy Myers3311.000$2.6M$4.0MFREE AGENT
Kent Mercker287.000$1.6MFREE AGENT
B.J. Surhoff319.000$1.4M$1.6M$1.7M$3.7M$2.9MFREE AGENT
Mike Devereaux339.000$900kFREE AGENT
Eddie Murray4019.000$842kFREE AGENT
Jesse Orosco3917.000$750k$1.1M$1.1M$800kFREE AGENT
Roger McDowell3511.000$750kFREE AGENT
Alan Mills296.000$600k$850k$1.0MFREE AGENT$1.3M$3.0M
Todd Zeile307.000$480kFREE AGENT
Jeff Huson318.000$320kFREE AGENT
Billy Ripken319.000$250kFREE AGENT
Luis Polonia329.000$181kFREE AGENT
Mark Parent3410.000$161kFREE AGENT
Pete Incaviglia3210.000$59k$589kFREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Mike Mussina275.000$4.0MFREE AGENT
Jeffrey Hammonds253.000$300kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Arthur Rhodes265.000$300kFREE AGENT
Tony Tarasco253.000$230kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Manny Alexander254.000$190kARB 3FREE AGENT
Archie Corbin285.000$109kFREE AGENT
Terry Mathews315.000$58kFREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (15)

PlayerAgeSvc1996199719981999200020012002
Armando Benitez232.000$155kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mark Smith262.000$130kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Gregg Zaun251.000$117kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jimmy Haynes231.000$115kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rocky Coppinger220.000$109kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Mike Milchin280.000$36kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brent Bowers25–—
Cesar Devarez26–—
Rick Krivda261.000—Pre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jimmy Myers27–—
Nerio Rodriguez250.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Brian Sackinsky25–—
Keith Shepherd28–—
Garrett Stephenson240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Esteban Yan210.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT

Graphs

How each 1996 acquisition stacked onto Orioles's playoff-odds curve. The side table is ranked by PPA.

Rosternomics — front-office performance, roster value, and transaction history. Follow @rosternomics on X.
Decision-maker records extend to 1933; resource-controlled WAR and payroll metrics cover 1985–2026. Data sources include FanGraphs, Baseball-Reference, the Chadwick Bureau register, the Lahman Database, prospect rankings from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs, and public payroll records. Transaction and trade data was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Executive birth/death data via Wikidata (CC0).
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