Question: Who is the best Orioles relief pitcher of all time? I can’t think of any that are in the Hall of Fame. From: Timothy Fowler
Answer: Tim, this is a fascinating question. There are only seven pure relievers in the Hall of Fame, and two, Hoyt Wilhelm and Lee Smith, played for the Orioles.
Wilhelm, the first reliever to be elected, began his Orioles career as a starter in 1958, and by the time he left the team in 1962, was only a reliever. He threw a no-hitter in 1958, the first for the Orioles.
Smith led the American League with 33 saves in the strike-shortened 1994 season, his only one with the Orioles.
While there have been a number of excellent relievers with the Orioles, I think the choice comes down to Gregg Olsen, whose 160 saves are the most in team history, and Zack Britton, who had the second-most, 139.
While Olsen had an outstanding 2.26 ERA in his six seasons with the Orioles, Britton, who began his career as a starter, had a 1.69 ERA as a reliever with the Orioles.
In 2016, Britton converted all 47 of his save opportunities, allowed one home run in 67 innings and had an 0.54 ERA. He was the best reliever in Orioles history.
Question: Why haven’t we heard more talk about the O’s pursuing Shane Bieber or Walker Buehler? Yes, they’re coming off injuries, but that’s what makes them affordable to the cost-conscious O’s. There have been success stories of pitchers coming back from the same injuries, and I don’t think a two-year contract for either or preferably both would be too risky for two ace-upside playoff-tested pitchers still in their prime. From: Ed Wu
Answer: Ed, I think the reason you haven’t heard more about Bieber and Buehler is that the Orioles are concentrating on signing a top-of-the rotation starter and while one or both could be appealing to them, I think that’s lower on the priority list.
Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.