On the blog today,
thought it’d be fun to create a 1979 “Dedicated” manager card for
Baltimore Orioles skipper Earl Weaver, who put together a Hall of Fame
managerial career that lasted 17 seasons between
1968 and 1986:
Weaver was on his
way to a wonderful 1979 campaign, leading the Orioles to an American
League championship before falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the
World Series.
It was his fourth trip to the Fall Classic, winning it all back in 1970 along with A.L. Pennants in 1969 and 1971.
His 1979 team
finished the year with 102 wins against 57 losses, led offensively by
Ken Singleton and Eddie Murray, while having a pitching core that
included the Cy Young Award winner in Mike Flanagan, who
won 23 games, as well as future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, “El
Presidente” Dennis Martinez, Steve Stone and Scott McGregor.
Of course, their
bullpen was also stacked deep with the likes of Sammy Stewart, Tippy
Martinez, Don Stanhouse and Tim Stoddard, who combined for 28 saves and
28 wins between them.
I loved Earl Weaver
as a kid, who paired up nicely with my favorite manager, Billy Martin:
fiery, combative, and always ready to stick his neck out for his team.
By the time he
retired after the 1986 season, Weaver finished with a record of 1480
wins against 1060 losses, for a very nice .583 winning percentage, with
four Pennants and a World Championship, posting a
winning season every year of his tenure except his very last, when he
finished 73-89.
In 1996 he was voted
into the Hall of Fame as a manager, celebrating one of the most
colorful managers of the era, and rightly so!