The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, the franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns in 1902. After 52 years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests, led by attorney and civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current owner is David Rubenstein. The Orioles' home ballpark is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore. The oriole is the official state bird of Maryland; the name has been used by several baseball clubs in the city, including another AL charter member franchise which moved to New York in 1903 and became the Yankees. Nicknames for the team include the "O's" and the "Birds".
The franchise's first World Series appearance came in 1944 when the Browns lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Orioles went on to make six World Series appearances from 1966 to 1983, winning three in 1966, 1970, and 1983. This era of the club featured several future Hall of Famers who would later be inducted representing the Orioles, such as third baseman Brooks Robinson, outfielder Frank Robinson, starting pitcher Jim Palmer, first baseman Eddie Murray, shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., and manager Earl Weaver. The Orioles have won a total of ten division championships (1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1997, 2014, 2023), seven pennants (1944 while in St. Louis, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1983), and three wild card berths (1996, 2012, 2016). The franchise was the last charter member of the American League to win a pennant, and the last charter member to win a World Series. (Full article...)