2014 Baltimore Orioles season
| 2014 Baltimore Orioles | |
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| American League East Champions | |
| Major League affiliations | |
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| Location | |
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| Results | |
| Record | 96–66 (.593) |
| Divisional place | 1st |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Peter Angelos |
| General manager(s) | Dan Duquette |
| Manager(s) | Buck Showalter |
| Local television |
MASN WJZ-TV (CBS 13) (Gary Thorne, Jim Palmer, Mike Bordick, Jim Hunter) |
| Local radio |
WBAL (AM) Baltimore Orioles Radio Network (Joe Angel, Fred Manfra, Jim Hunter, Dave Johnson) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 2014 Baltimore Orioles season was the 114th season in franchise history, the 61st in Baltimore, and the 23rd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Birds would finish in first place in the American League East Division and return to the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, claiming their first division championship since 1997. The Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers in the Division Series and advanced to the AL Championship Series, where they were in turn swept by the Kansas City Royals.
New Oriole Nelson Cruz led the majors in home runs with 40; following Chris Davis' 2013 championship this was the first time in franchise history two Orioles (or Browns) had won back-to-back home run titles. As a team the Birds hit 211 home runs to lead baseball, their third consecutive 200-homer season (another franchise first).
Entering the offseason, the Orioles had 11 arbitration eligible players, three contract options, and several outgoing free agents. They looked to make additions to their starting rotation, to add a "big bat", as well as to improve their bullpen, which was strong in 2012, but "average" in 2013.
On March 31, the Orioles won their 2014 regular season opener against the Boston Red Sox, but then proceeded to lose their next four games. After a full week and a 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees, the Orioles were in last place in the American League East and 3 games below .500. Orioles All-Star 3rd baseman Manny Machado, still recovering from off-season surgery, did not play in any games for the Orioles during the month of April; but Orioles catcher Matt Wieters got off to an uncharacteristically fast start hitting .338 with 4 homeruns and 15 RBIs. The Orioles finished the month with 11 wins and 12 losses.
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