DeCinces appeared in the first 10 games of his career in 1973, collecting two hits over 18 at-bats with three runs batted and two runs scored.
Of course, he’d have to wait for the all-time legend who happened to play in front of him on the Orioles, Brooks Robinson, to retire before he could take on full-time action.
But in the meantime he did get to see substantial time on the field in 1976 and 1977, also playing the other infield positions.
After nine seasons with the O’s, DeCinces was traded to the California Angels in 1982 for Dan Ford, and he would have his best season in the Big Leagues, finishing third in the league MVP race with 30 homers, 97 runs batted in and a .301 average, helping the team move on to the ALCS, where they’d lose to the Milwaukee Brewers.
After his last season in 1987, playing the last four games of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals after being released by the Angels, he took his talents to Japan where he played for the Yakult Swallows in 1988.
All told, as far as his MLB tenure went, he finished with 237 home runs, with 879 RBIs and 778 runs scored and a .259 average over 1649 games, playing for the Orioles, Angels and Cardinals.
