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Orioles BAL

199879–83 (0.488)
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GM: Pat Gillick

Overview

Ranks vs the 30 teams in 1998, or a custom range (defaults to every team-season since 1985, when our data starts).

to

Front Office

PoorAverageGreat
Value
Payroll $M
$74M
Surplus $M
-29
Win %
0.488
TAB
-0.1
WAB
-10.2
Roster composition
Roster fWAR
41.1
Dead money %
19%
Depth Players
6.0
Dead WAR
-3.1

Offense

PoorAverageGreat

Pitching & Defense

PoorAverageGreat

Roster

1998 depth chart — stacked by playing time

C

RLenny Webster102
RChris Hoiles83
RCharlie Greene13

1B

LRafael Palmeiro159
RChris Hoiles6
LCalvin Pickering5
RRyan Minor3
LB.J. Surhoff1

2B

BRoberto Alomar144
RJeff Reboulet28
RP.J. Forbes7
RJerry Hairston Jr.4

3B

RCal Ripken Jr.161
RJeff Reboulet23
RRyan Minor6
RP.J. Forbes1

SS

RMike Bordick150
RJeff Reboulet28
LOzzie Guillen⇄12
RP.J. Forbes1

LF

LB.J. Surhoff157
LRich Becker⇄16
RJeffrey Hammonds⇄7
RLyle Mouton6
RDanny Clyburn5
LWillie Greene⇄5

CF

LBrady Anderson130
LRich Becker⇄20
REric Davis11
BJesus Tavarez5
BGene Kingsale4

RF

REric Davis64
LRich Becker⇄42
RJeffrey Hammonds⇄29
LWillie Greene⇄19
RLyle Mouton12
RDanny Clyburn5
BJesus Tavarez4
RWillis Otáñez2

DH

LHarold Baines76
REric Davis43
RJoe Carter⇄22
LCalvin Pickering3
RChris Hoiles3
LRafael Palmeiro3
BRoberto Alomar2
RDanny Clyburn1
RLenny Webster1

Starters

RScott Erickson5.3 WAR
RMike Mussina5.1 WAR
LJimmy Key1.7 WAR
RJuan Guzman⇄1.3 WAR
RSidney Ponson1.3 WAR
LDoug Johns0.5 WAR
RNerio Rodriguez⇄0.4 WAR
RDoug Drabek0.3 WAR
RPete Smith⇄0.1 WAR
RScott Kamieniecki0.1 WAR
RChris Fussell-0.0 WAR
RRocky Coppinger-0.1 WAR
RRichie Lewis-0.2 WAR
RBobby Munoz-0.3 WAR

Bullpen

★ RArmando Benitez22 sv
RAlan Mills0 h
LJesse Orosco0 h
LArthur Rhodes0 h
LNorm Charlton⇄0 h
RPete Smith⇄0 h
RTerry Mathews0 h
RBobby Munoz0 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 1997)

PlayerfWAR
Juan Guzman1.3
Sidney Ponson1.3
Doug Johns0.5
Doug Drabek0.3
Pete Smith0.1
Calvin Pickering0.1

Key subtractions (gone from 1997)

Player1997 fWAR
Randy Myers2.0
Aaron Ledesma0.8
Rick Krivda0.5
David Dellucci0.4
Tony Tarasco0.4
Jerome Walton0.2

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 1998; everyone else is shown as a 1998 season snapshot.

PlayerPeriodfWARTier Market $MPaid $MSurplus $M$ / WARTierContract
Scott Erickson 1998 +5.3 +105.8 3.7 +102.1 $0.7M 2.50× –
Mike Mussina 1998 +5.1 +101.1 6.8 +94.4 $1.3M 2.50× –
Rafael Palmeiro 1998 +6.9 +75.3 6.5 +68.8 $0.9M 1.37× –
Eric Davis 1998 +3.2 +41.2 2.5 +38.7 $0.8M 1.60× –
Roberto Alomar 1998 +3.8 +36.4 6.3 +30.1 $1.7M 1.20× –
Mike Bordick 1998 +3.5 +32.7 3.6 +29.1 $1.0M 1.18× –
Sidney Ponson 1998 +1.3 +10.7 0.2 +10.6 $0.1M 1.02× –
Juan Guzman↔ 1998 +1.3 +10.8 1.7 +9.2 $1.2M 1.02× –
Jimmy Key 1998 +1.7 +13.3 5.4 +7.9 $3.2M 0.98× –
B.J. Surhoff 1998 +1.2 +8.1 1.7 +6.4 $1.4M 0.83× –
Chris Hoiles 1998 +1.6 +9.6 3.6 +6.0 $2.3M 0.76× –
Jeffrey Hammonds↔ 1998 +0.9 +6.2 0.9 +5.3 $1.0M 0.83× –
Cal Ripken Jr. 1998 +1.6 +11.0 6.4 +4.6 $3.9M 0.85× –
Lenny Webster 1998 +1.1 +4.6 0.7 +3.8 $0.7M 0.52× –
Harold Baines 1998 +0.9 +5.0 1.3 +3.7 $1.4M 0.69× –
Armando Benitez 1998 +0.4 +4.0 1.1 +2.9 $2.9M 1.34× –
Arthur Rhodes 1998 +1.1 +5.7 2.9 +2.9 $2.7M 0.67× –
Nerio Rodriguez↔ 1998 +0.4 +3.0 0.1 +2.9 $0.2M 1.02× –
Jeff Reboulet 1998 +0.7 +3.2 0.5 +2.8 $0.6M 0.56× –
Jesse Orosco 1998 +0.4 +3.8 1.1 +2.7 $3.1M 1.34× –
Doug Johns 1998 +0.5 +2.5 0.2 +2.3 $0.5M 0.67× –
Doug Drabek 1998 +0.3 +2.1 1.7 +0.4 $6.4M 1.02× –
Willie Greene↔ 1998 +0.0 +0.1 0.3 -0.2 $25.1M 0.83× –
Norm Charlton↔ 1998 -0.0 -0.0 0.5 -0.5 – 0.67× –
Willis Otáñez 1998 -0.1 -0.3 0.2 -0.5 – 0.83× –
Danny Clyburn 1998 -0.1 -0.6 0.2 -0.8 – 0.83× –
Jerry Hairston Jr. 1998 -0.2 -0.7 0.2 -0.9 – 0.56× –
Brady Anderson 1998 +0.7 +4.3 5.4 -1.1 $8.4M 0.83× –
Ozzie Guillen↔ 1998 -0.3 -1.5 0.1 -1.6 – 0.61× –
Alan Mills 1998 -0.2 -1.0 1.0 -2.0 – 0.67× –
Scott Kamieniecki 1998 +0.1 +0.6 2.9 -2.2 $38.0M 1.02× –
Rich Becker↔ 1998 -0.3 -2.3 1.0 -3.2 – 0.83× –
Terry Mathews 1998 -0.5 -2.7 0.9 -3.5 – 0.67× –
Joe Carter↔ 1998 -0.5 -2.7 2.1 -4.8 – 0.69× –
Pete Smith↔ 1998 +0.1 +0.7 0.7 +0.0 $5.0M 0.67× –
Bobby Munoz 1998 -0.3 -1.6 – – – 0.67× –
Calvin Pickering 1998 +0.1 +0.5 – – – 0.56× –
Charlie Greene 1998 -0.1 -0.6 – – – 0.52× –
Chris Fussell 1998 -0.0 -0.0 – – – 1.02× –
Gene Kingsale 1998 -0.0 -0.3 – – – 0.83× –
Jesus Tavarez 1998 +0.1 +0.7 – – – 0.83× –
Joel Bennett 1998 -0.0 -0.2 – – – 0.67× –
Lyle Mouton 1998 +0.1 +0.4 – – – 0.83× –
P.J. Forbes 1998 -0.2 -0.7 – – – 0.56× –
Radhames Dykhoff 1998 +0.0 +0.0 – – – 0.67× –
Richie Lewis 1998 -0.2 -1.5 – – – 1.02× –
Rocky Coppinger 1998 -0.1 -0.3 – – – 0.67× –
Ryan Minor 1998 +0.0 +0.1 – – – 0.58× –
Total—+41.3+486.574.4+416.3—

Trades

Every graded 1998 deal involving the Orioles — best expected value first. Surplus is realized value in $M; 6 total.

1998 · BAL / SFG
BAL · Pat Gillick +$12.8M
Darin Blood
SFG · Brian Sabean −$12.8M
Joe Carter
BAL came out ahead by $12.8M
1998 · NYM / BAL
NYM · Steve Phillips +$29.6M
Armando Benítez
BAL · Pat Gillick −$29.6M
Charles Johnson
NYM came out ahead by $29.6M
1998 · BAL / BOS
BAL · Pat Gillick +$0.8M
Bo Dodson
BOS · Dan Duquette −$0.8M
Keith Johns
BAL came out ahead by $0.8M
1998 · SDP / BAL
SDP · Kevin Towers +$3.2M
Eric Estes
BAL · Pat Gillick −$3.2M
Pete Smith
SDP came out ahead by $3.2M
1998 · CIN / BAL
CIN · Jim Bowden +$12.8M
Jeffrey Hammonds
BAL · Pat Gillick −$12.8M
Willie Greene
CIN came out ahead by $12.8M
1998 · TOR / BAL
TOR · Gord Ash +$14.4M
Shannon Carter, Nerio Rodríguez
BAL · Pat Gillick −$14.4M
Juan Guzmán
TOR came out ahead by $14.4M

Current & Historical Payroll

1998 payroll
$74.1M

What the front office was committed to as of 1998, 1998–2004. 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 (27)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Mike Mussina297.000$6.8M$6.6M$6.8MFREE AGENT
Rafael Palmeiro3312.000$6.5MFREE AGENT$4.0M
Cal Ripken Jr.3717.000$6.4M$6.5M$6.3M$6.3MFREE AGENT
Roberto Alomar3010.000$6.3MFREE AGENT
Brady Anderson3410.000$5.4M$5.7M$7.1M$7.2MFREE AGENT
Jimmy Key3714.000$5.4MFREE AGENT
Scott Erickson308.000$3.7M$6.1M$6.6MFREE AGENT$5.1M
Chris Hoiles339.000$3.6MFREE AGENT
Mike Bordick328.000$3.6M$3.1M$1.9M$4.5M$4.9MFREE AGENT
Arthur Rhodes287.000$2.9M$2.2MFREE AGENT
Scott Kamieniecki347.000$2.9M$3.4MFREE AGENT
Eric Davis3614.000$2.5MFREE AGENT
Joe Carter3815.000$2.1MFREE AGENT
B.J. Surhoff3311.000$1.7M$3.7M$2.9MFREE AGENT$1.0M$800k
Juan Guzman317.000$1.7M$3.3MFREE AGENT
Doug Drabek3512.000$1.7MFREE AGENT
Harold Baines3918.000$1.3M$1.4M$1.5MFREE AGENT
Jesse Orosco4119.000$1.1M$800kFREE AGENT
Alan Mills318.000$1.0MFREE AGENT$1.3M$3.0M
Terry Mathews337.000$865kFREE AGENT
Lenny Webster339.000$740k$553kFREE AGENT
Pete Smith3211.000$693kFREE AGENT
Norm Charlton3510.000$478kFREE AGENT
Jeff Reboulet346.000$450k$525kFREE AGENT
Willie Greene266.000$311kFREE AGENT
Ozzie Guillen3413.000$57kFREE AGENT
Richie Lewis326.000—FREE AGENT

Arbitration-eligible (7)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Armando Benitez254.000$1.1MARB 3FREE AGENT
Rich Becker265.000$957kFREE AGENT
Jeffrey Hammonds275.000$944kFREE AGENT
Doug Johns303.000$250kARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Lyle Mouton293.000—ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Bobby Munoz305.000—FREE AGENT
Jesus Tavarez274.000—ARB 3FREE AGENT

Pre-arbitration (14)

PlayerAgeSvc1998199920002001200220032004
Willis Otáñez250.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Danny Clyburn241.000$170kPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Jerry Hairston Jr.220.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Sidney Ponson210.000$170kPre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Nerio Rodriguez272.000$80kARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Rocky Coppinger242.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Charlie Greene27–—
Gene Kingsale212.000—ARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Radhames Dykhoff23–—
Chris Fussell220.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Calvin Pickering210.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
Ryan Minor240.000—Pre-ArbPre-ArbARB 1ARB 2ARB 3FREE AGENT
P.J. Forbes30–—
Joel Bennett28–—

Graphs

How each 1998 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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