Rookie of the Year: Al Bumbry, 1973

Outfielder, Baltimore Orioles

Age:  26 (Apr.21)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’8”    Weight: 170

Prior to 1973:

A Virginia native, Bumbry first excelled athletically in basketball at Ralph Bunche High School in King George County. He went to Virginia State College (now University) on a basketball scholarship and also played baseball, batting .578 as a senior. Bumbry was chosen by the Orioles in the eleventh round of the 1968 amateur draft. He appeared in 35 games with Stockton of the Class A California League in 1969 and batted an unimpressive .178, following which he entered the Army and was awarded a Silver Star for his service in Vietnam. Returning from the military in 1971, Bumbry played for Aberdeen of the Short Season Class A Northern League and hit .336 with 14 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, and 34 stolen bases in 66 games. He spent 1972 with Asheville of the Class AA Southern League and Rochester of the Class AAA International League and hit a combined .345 with 33 doubles, 19 triples, 10 home runs, 57 RBIs, and stole 32 bases. Bumbry batted .364 in a nine-game late-season call-up to Baltimore and stuck with the Orioles for 1973.

1973 Season Summary

Appeared in 110 games

LF – 63, RF – 29, PH – 9, DH – 8, CF – 1, PR – 12

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 395

At Bats – 356

Runs – 73

Hits – 120

Doubles – 15

Triples – 11 [1, tied with Rod Carew]

Home Runs – 7

RBI – 34

Bases on Balls – 34

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 49

Stolen Bases – 23 [9]

Caught Stealing – 10 [9, tied with four others]

Average - .337 [Non-qualifying]

OBP - .398 [Non-qualifying]

Slugging Pct. - .500 [Non-qualifying]

Total Bases – 178

GDP – 5

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 1

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 7, HR – 7, RBI - 23, AVG - .304, OBP - .373

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 6 AB) at Milwaukee 6/25 – 12 innings

Longest hitting streak – 9 games

Most HR, game – 1 on seven occasions

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 5

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 at Cleveland 9/8

Pinch-hitting/running – 5 of 8 (.625) with 2 R, 2 SB & 1 RBI

Postseason Batting: 2 G (ALCS vs. Oakland)

PA – 9, AB – 7, R – 1, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .000, OBP - .222, SLG - .000, TB – 0, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances - 139

Put Outs – 134

Assists – 2

Errors – 3

DP – 0

Pct. – .978

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

AL ROY Voting:

Al Bumbry, Balt.: 13 of 23 votes, 54% share

Pedro Garcia, Mil.: 3 votes, 13% share

Steve Busby, KC: 2 votes, 8% share

George Medich, NYY: 2 votes, 8% share

Darrell Porter, Mil.: 2 votes, 8% share

Rich Coggins, Balt.: 1 vote, 4% share

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Orioles went 97-65 to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 8 games over the Boston Red Sox for their fourth division title in five years. The team led the league in triples (48), stolen bases (146), walks drawn (648), and on-base percentage (.345). The Orioles pulled away from the pack in the AL East thanks to a 14-game winning streak in August. Lost ALCS to the Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘73:

Bumbry slumped in 1974, batting just .233 with 12 stolen bases in 94 games. In a part-time role in ’75 he appeared in 114 games, mostly in left field and at DH, and hit .269 with 94 hits and 16 stolen bases. Bumbry saw more action in left and center fields in 1976 and, as a testament to his being considered the fastest player on the club, stole a team-leading 42 bases. As the primary center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Orioles in 1977, Bumbry had a fine season, batting .317 with 31 doubles, 19 stolen bases, and 74 runs scored. He was limited to 33 games in 1978 due to a major ankle injury but bounced back in Baltimore’s pennant-winning 1979 season to hit .285 with 80 runs scored and 37 stolen bases. Bumbry was an All-Star for the only time in his career in 1980, a season in which he compiled 205 hits on the way to batting .318 with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 9 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 44 stolen bases. A popular player known as “The Bumblebee” or simply “The Bee”, Bumbry continued with the Orioles through 1984, including 1983 when the team won the World Series. Overall with Baltimore, he hit .281 with 1422 hits that included 217 doubles, 52 triples, and 53 home runs. He stole 252 bases and knocked in 392 runs as well. Bumbry signed with the San Diego Padres as a free agent in 1985 and in his last major league season added 19 hits, 3 doubles, a home run, 10 RBIs, and 2 stolen bases to his career totals. He was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2002. 

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.