Baltimore Sports Then and Now

After a solid rookie season, Brad Bergesen has struggled in 2010.

Considering that he has just been demoted to the minors, it might seem strange to now be comparing struggling Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brad Bergesen with Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. However, it is often forgotten that like Bergesen, after early success Palmer also struggled before eventually becoming the best pitcher in Orioles history.

In 1966, the 20-year-old Palmer won 16 games and pitched a shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. Yet by 1968, Palmer ‘s future was in question due to arm troubles. He pitched only 49 innings in the majors in 1967 and didn’t appear for the Orioles the following season.

Fortunately for Palmer and the Orioles, the tall right-hander was able to regain his form in 1969 and won 16 games as Baltimore reached the World Series. In 1970, Palmer began a string where he won 20 or more games in eight of nine seasons and captured three Cy Young Awards.

Though Bergesen’s first period of success in Baltimore didn’t include a World Series title, he was without question one of the best rookie pitchers in the game during 2009 and the most promising among a cast of rookie pitchers for the Orioles. Read the rest of this entry →

Chris Tillman certainly hopes that his major league debut is similar to those of some former Baltimore greats.

With Chris Tillman scheduled to make his first start in the majors, I thought it would be interesting to go back in time and see how some of the great pitchers in Baltimore Orioles history fared in their first appearance and first career start for the Birds.

In almost all cases, the results were pretty impressive and signs of future greatness to come.

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