The Orioles' most significant trade-deadline acquisition was corner outfielder Gerardo Parra, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league pitcher Zach Davies. In a bit of serendipity, the two-time Gold Glover became the 1,000th player in Orioles history when he took his place in left field on Saturday, August 1. I'm not much for math, but that's an average of 16.1 new O's per season. It all began with second baseman Bobby Young, who led off for the Birds in their
April 13, 1954 opener in Detroit and bounced out to Tigers first baseman Walt "Moose" Dropo, who was himself destined to be among the first 1,000 players in Oriole lore. As long as we're looking back on the team's Baltimore origins, here are the other firsts from that 3-0 loss to Steve Gromek in Motown:
- First base hit: Gil Coan, single to right field with two outs in the first inning
- First pitch: Don Larsen
- First putout: Clint Courtney, catching strike three from Larsen to Detroit leadoff hitter Frank Bolling
- First walk: Future Indians World Series hero Vic Wertz, leading off the top of the fourth
- First extra-base hit: Larsen, double to left field with one out in the top of the fifth inning
- First pinch hitter: Dick Kokos, who struck out while batting for shortstop Billy Hunter with one out in the top of the ninth
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