Mora among trio elected to O's Hall of Fame

BOSTON -- The Orioles announced Monday that former O's third baseman Melvin Mora has been elected to the club's Hall of Fame. The former left-field platoon duo of John Lowenstein and Gary Roenicke will be enshrined as selections of the Veteran's Committee, and longtime Orioles scout Fred Uhlman Sr. will be inducted as this year's Herb Armstrong Award winner.

Mora, Roenicke and Uhlman will be honored at a luncheon at Oriole Park sponsored by the Oriole Advocates -- the group that votes -- on Friday, Aug. 14, and in an on-field pregame ceremony that night. Lowenstein will be unable to attend either event due to a previous engagement.

Mora played with Baltimore from 2000-09, hitting .280 with 158 home runs over that span. His 808 games played at third base are second only to Brooks Robinson. Mora is also ranks among the O's all-time top 10 in doubles (eighth, 252), RBIs (eighth, 662), home runs (10th, 158), runs (10th, 709) and total bases (10th, 2,073).

Mora's best season with the O's was 2004, a season in which he set the club's single-season record with a .340 batting average along with career highs in home runs (27) and RBIs (104). A two-time All-Star, Mora also won a Silver Slugger Award and was twice named American League Player of the Month.

The left-handed-hitting Lowenstein and right-handed-hitting Roenicke split playing time in left field for the Orioles from 1979-85. They hit a combined 171 home runs with 574 RBIs in the seven seasons they played together for the Orioles. The pair was a part of helping the Orioles win the 1979 AL pennant, combined for 36 home runs and 98 RBIs. Their most productive season came in 1982, when they combined for 45 home runs and drove in 140 runs as the club fell one game short of winning the AL East title.

Lowenstein hit .274 with 68 homers and 237 RBIs over seven seasons with the Orioles. Roenicke, who spent eight of his 12 big league seasons with Baltimore, batted .250 with 103 homers and 337 RBIs with the Orioles.

Uhlman, who retired earlier this year, spent 46 years in professional scouting. The last three decades were with the Orioles, who he joined as scouting director in 1985, later serving as a special assistant and professional scout. Uhlman established the Orioles' first baseball academies in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, and also was responsible for signing Jeff Ballard, Steve Finley, Gregg Olson, Arthur Rhodes and David Segui, among others.