Roberto Alomar Elected to Orioles Hall of Fame
Longtime baseball operations executive Don Pries named Herb Armstrong Award winner
Former Orioles second baseman ROBERTO ALOMAR has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame, the team announced today. Former Orioles scout and baseball operations executive DON PRIES will be inducted as this year's Herb Armstrong Award winner. Alomar and Pries will be honored at a luncheon at Oriole Park sponsored by the Oriole Advocates, founders of the Orioles Hall of Fame, on Friday, August 2. The induction ceremony will take place prior to the Orioles' game against the Seattle Mariners that night.
Alomar spent three seasons with the Orioles from 1996-98, compiling a .312 batting average, 50 home runs and 210 RBI in 412 regular season games. His .312 career average with the Orioles is the highest among all players in franchise history with at least 1,200 at-bats for the team and he ranks 9th all-time in slugging percentage (.480).
In 1996, Alomar set a franchise record with 132 runs scored, 4th-most in the American League, and also led the team in batting average (.328), hits (193), doubles (43) and on-base percentage (.411) to help the Orioles to their first playoff appearance in 13 seasons as the American League Wild Card. He set team records for home runs (20, 22 total) and RBI (84, 94 total) as a second baseman in a single season. In the playoffs, his 9th inning, two-out single tied the American League Division Series Game 4 against Cleveland and his 12th inning home run won that game and the series for Baltimore.
Alomar won Gold Glove Awards in 1996 and 1998, a Silver Slugger Award in 1996 and was elected to the All-Star Game in each of his three seasons in Baltimore, including Most Valuable Player honors in the 1998 All-Star Game in Colorado.
A 12-time All-Star and 10 time Gold Glove winner who also played for the San Diego Padres (1988-90), Toronto Blue Jays (1991-95), Cleveland Indians (1999-2001), New York Mets (2002-03), Chicago White Sox (2003, 04) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2004), Alomar was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. He was the first player to be enshrined as a Toronto Blue Jay and is one of 12 Hall of Fame members who played for the Orioles and were inducted for their on-field accomplishments.
Pries worked for the Orioles for seven years from 1968 through 1974 as an area scout (1968-69), Director of Player Personnel (1970-72) and Assistant to the General Manager (1973-74). He oversaw the Orioles' farm system and worked with General Manager HARRY DALTON during the most successful time in club history, when the team went to the playoffs five times, winning three American League pennants and a World Series in 1970.
Pries left the Orioles after the 1974 season to help Major League Baseball design a computer system for the MLB Scouting Bureau, benefiting all teams. In 1987, he became Director of the Major League Scouting Bureau and a year later created the Scout Development Program, a curriculum designed to teach all facets of scouting. Since its inception, more than 1,000 people have completed the program and more than 75% of those are currently employed or have worked in Major League Baseball. Pries played 13 seasons in the minor leagues and managed for five years before beginning his off-field career as a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1960. He also scouted for the Cleveland Indians and Oakland A's prior to joining the Orioles.
Tickets for the luncheon on August 2 are available by calling Ann Serio at 410-247-2703. Tickets for the induction ceremony and the Orioles-Mariners game that evening are available at www.orioles.com or by calling 1-888-848-BIRD.