Baltimore vs. San Francisco (baseball-style)

Comparing the Super Bowl contenders from a baseball perspective

Okay, I don’t pretend to be a football expert, I simply pretend to be baseball expert. I start watching football after the World Series ends, and throughout the regular season I watch the NFL Red Zone Channel which has continuous plays from around the league. I do this because I have a tendency to fall asleep during the frequent and long commercial breaks when watching one game and the Red Zone Channel is commercial free.

The downside of the channel is that I have no idea of the records of the teams that I am watching and so when I see a series of plays I really have no idea whether there are playoff implications involved. This all changes in the postseason, when I start watching actual games (yes, I did fall asleep at the end of a second quarter through half-time and much of a third quarter of one game) and I decide who to root for as I start watching the games.

This year I was particularly pleased with the teams that reached the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis is apparently a hideous human but his impending retirement makes for a great story and Colin Kaepernick was drafted by the Cubs and I like that. In addition, I had fantasies of the Orioles facing the Giants in the World Series and Game 6 would have been the night of Halloween and I thought it was apropos that two teams dressed in orange and black would be playing.

Alas, that was not to be. However, San Francisco does have the chance to have two parades and multiple car burnings as they possibly “party” again, Baltimore can be thankful for their revival as a two-sport city and most importantly, we can all celebrate that New Orleans can once again host the gala.

While some people are excited about the Super Bowl in order to crown a new champion, others may love the spectacle, some look forward to the commercials, some teachers are just happy there is a reason to still teach Roman numerals, but for me, I believe that when the Super Bowl is done, baseball unofficially begins.

With that in mind I figured to compare Baltimore and San Francisco baseball-style

Orioles Hall of Famers

Players            Years played with Orioles

1. Roberto Alomar          1996-98
2. Robin Roberts 1962-65
3. Frank Robinson          1966-71
4. Brooks Robinson*      1955-77
5. George Kell     1956-57
6. Luis Aparicio  1963-67
7. Hoyt Wilhelm 1958-62
8. Jim Palmer*    1965-67, 69-84
9. Reggie Jackson            1976
10. Eddie Murray*           1977-88, 96
11. Cal Ripken, Jr.*          1981-01

* Played more games with Orioles than any other club.

Managers        Years with Orioles

1. John McGraw 1901-02
2. Frank Robinson**      11988-91
3. Wilbert Robinson        1902
4. Earl Weaver     1968-82, 85-86

** Elected as player.

Executives       Years with Orioles

1. Lee MacPhail, General Manager         1959-65

Giants Hall of Famers

Players (19)                Years with Giants

1. Roger Bresnahan         1902-08
2. Orlando Cepeda          1958-66
3. Roger Connor              1883-94
4. George S. Davis          1893-1901, 1903
5. William “Buck” Ewing            1883-92
6. Frankie Frisch             1919-26
7. Monte Irvin                1949-55
8. Travis Jackson                        1922-36
9. George Kelly               1915-17,1919-26
10. Fred Lindstrom           1924-32
11. Ernie Lombardi           1943-47
12. Willie Mays                1951-72
13. Willie McCovey         1959-73,1977-80
14. Johnny Mize              1942-49
15. James O’Rourke          1885-92, 1904
16. Mel Ott                       1926-47
17. Bill Terry                    1923-36
18. Monte Ward               1883-89,1893-94
19. Ross Youngs               1917-26

Pitchers (10)   Years with Giants

1. Carl Hubbell                1928-43
2. Tim Keefe                   1885-91
3. Juan Marichal             1960-73
4. Rube Marquard           1908-15
5. Christy Mathewson   1900-16
6. Joe McGinnity             1902-08
7. Amos Rusie                1890-98
8. Mickey Welch                        1883-92
9. Hoyt Wilhelm             1952-56
10. Gaylord Perry             1962-71

Managers (1)   Years with Giants

1. John McGraw             1902-32

Others who spent part of their career with Giants (23)         Years

1. Dave Bancroft 1920-23,1930
2. Jake Beckly     1896-97
3. Dan Brouthers            1904
4. Jesse Burkett  1890
5. Steve Carlton  1986
6. Gary Carter     1990
7. Leo Durocher  1948-55
8. Burleigh Grimes          1927
9. Charles “Gabby” Hartnett      1941
10. Rogers Hornsby          1927
11. Waite Hoyt     1918, 1932
12. Willie Keeler   1892-93, 1910
13. Mike “King” Kelly     1893
14. Bill McKechnie           1916
15. Joseph “Ducky” Medwick     1943-45
16. Joe Morgan     1981-82
17. Edd Roush      1916, 1927-29
18. Ray Schalk      1929
19. Albert “Red” Schoendienst     1956-57
20. Duke Snider    1964
21. Warren Spahn 1965
22. Casey Stengel  1921-23
23. Hack Wilson   1923-25

Broadcasters Who Spent Part of Their Career Covering The Giants (3)       Years

1. Russ Hodges   1958-70
2. Lindsay Nelson           1979-81
3. Lon Simmons  1958-73; 1976-78; 1996-2002

13 players played for each of these franchises exclusively

1. Kurt Ainsworth
2. George Bamberger
3. Foster Castleman
4. Tom Hafey
5. Hooks Iott
6. Fred Johnson
7. Mark Leonard
8. Luis Mercedes
9. Lou Polli
10. Guillermo Rodriguez
11. Hank Thompson
12. Fuzz White
13. Eli Whiteside

Trades between Baltimore Orioles & San Francisco Giants

All-time Records for each club

Franchise	From	W	L	W-L%	Pnnts	WS	Players	HOF#	BA	R	RA	ERA
Baltimore Orioles	1901	8,241	9,121	.475	7	3	1698	28	.259	75,220	80,061	4.01
San Francisco Giants	1883	10,616	9,102	.538	22	7	1667	56	.264	92,643	85,195	3.55

All-time Orioles HR Leaders

All-time Giants HR Leaders

All-time Orioles Wins Leaders

All-time Giant Wins Leaders

Baltimore vs San Francisco head-to-head in baseball

As if this posting isn’t meaningless enough…I pick the 49ers.

Enjoy the game.

Tagged as: 49ers, Baltimore Orioles, Ravens, San Francisco Giants, Super Bowl