A World Series winner, a longtime Orioles slugger and a behind-the-scenes talent all took their place in the Orioles Hall of Fame on Friday afternoon in Baltimore.
The team inducted former pitcher Storm Davis, former first baseman Chris Davis and scout Jim Russo, a man whose baseball path began with the St. Louis Browns and continued with a long run helping shape the Orioles organization.
Storm Davis spent six of his 13 major league seasons in Baltimore and worked as a starter from 1982 through 1986. He was part of the club’s 1983 World Series championship team, and he said the honor meant a great deal to him.
"The winning of the 1983 World Championship, that was fantastic," the former pitcher said. "More so for me personally, it was for the City of Baltimore than anything else.
I loved seeing the city of Baltimore celebrate. I mean, no one was more proud to wear the Orioles uniform than I was.
I loved being a Baltimore Orioles.
He also said the Hall of Fame news caught him off guard.
Chris Davis, known as "Crush Davis", spent 10 seasons with the Orioles and hit 11 Eutaw Street home runs, the most in Camden Yards history. Looking back on the end of his time in Baltimore, he said the departure hit him hard.
"When I left it was really hard because I felt like I had let a lot of people down," Crush Davis told WBAL-TV 11 News. "So the first couple of years after the after I retired, I just kind of got away with it. I always kept up with the Orioles because I loved the Orioles, but I felt like I needed that time to just reset and kind of regroup."
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One possibility being discussed would address a clear need by adding a controllable left-handed starter, the kind of arm that could stabilize the staff beyond this season. It is the sort of deal that would require real prospect capital, and the Orioles have to decide how far they want to go to strengthen the rotation without thinning out the next wave of talent. For a club trying to thread that needle, this is the kind of decision that can shape not just the deadline, but the shape of the pitching staff for some time to come. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Just Helped A Wild Card Rival And Fans Know It
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For the Orioles, the deal is a tougher sell to the fan base because they are still sitting near the wild-card picture themselves and moved a useful bat in the process. Baltimore did bring back three minor-league right-handers in Alex Hoppe, Harrison Kreiling and Brock Moore, though none of them were among Seattles top 30 prospects, which only adds to the feeling that this was a small return for a player who could have helped in the standings race. [Read more 🡒]