1984 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1984 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing fifth in the American League East with a record of 85 wins and 77 losses.

Offseason

 * February 7, 1984: Tom Underwood was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles.

Regular season

 * May 6, 1984: Cal Ripken Jr. hit for the cycle in a game against the Texas Rangers.
 * Cal Ripken Jr. set an American League record for most assists by a shortstop with 583.
 * During the season, Mike Boddicker became the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in one season for the Orioles in the 20th century.

Opening Day starters

 * Rich Dauer
 * Rick Dempsey
 * Dan Ford
 * Wayne Gross
 * John Lowenstein
 * Scott McGregor
 * Eddie Murray
 * Cal Ripken Jr.
 * John Shelby
 * Ken Singleton

Notable transactions

 * August 14, 1984: Ron Jackson was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.

Starters by position
''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters
''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Charlotte

Japan tour
The Orioles made its second Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored tour of Japan since 1971. The newspaper received approval from MLB on December 29, 1982 to invite the winner of the 1983 World Series to play 15 games against Nippon Professional Baseball competition, primarily the 1984 Japan Series champion. Yomiuri owner Tōru Shōriki originally wanted to invite the 1984 World Series winner, but eventually agreed to MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn's suggestion of the previous year's World Series champion. The exhibition matches were intended to be part of the golden jubilee celebration for the Yomiuri Giants which was owned by the tour's sponsor and another attempt by Shōriki for his team to make a legitimate claim at being world champions of the sport.

The Orioles accepted the invitation on January 2, 1984, $2 1/2$ months after winning the 1983 World Series. The Yomiuri was eventually left disappointed when both the Orioles and its Giants failed to qualify for the postseason with fifth- and third-place finishes respectively. Instead of the Giants for which the event's organizers had hoped, the opponent in the first five matches was the 1984 Japan Series champion Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Eight of the games featured both players who surpassed Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak. Cal Ripken Jr. and Sachio Kinugasa batted .219 and .143 respectively.

The fifteenth and final exhibition contest originally scheduled for November 15 in Baltimore's sister city Kawasaki was cancelled due to rain. Upon the Orioles' arrival in Tokyo on October 25, manager Joe Altobelli said he wanted his team to win at least 10 games. The Orioles finished the tour with an 8–5–1 record, including 4–1 each in head-to-head competition against the Giants and Carp.

Source: Baltimore Orioles 1985 Media Guide (scroll down to pages 43 through 46).