Jun 15, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter (left) talks to executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette (right) during batting practice prior to a game against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Former Baltimore Orioles General Manger Hank Peters passed away yesterday in Florida at the age of 90. A veteran of the United States Army in World War 2, he was the O’s GM from 1976-1987. The climactic moment of his successful administration was the World Series Championship in 1983.

Peters inherited an Orioles team that from ’73-’75 – in the final three of Frank Cashen’s four years – had averaged 93 wins per season. Over his first five seasons (’76-’80), Peters’ teams would win 477 games for a seasonal average of 95.4 – pretty impressive!

After the strike-shortened 1981 season (59-46), the Orioles won 94 games the next year to finish second in the AL East, before capturing it all after the 98-win campaign of 1983.

Peters’ final four years as general manager of the Baltimore Orioles saw a steady decline of 85, 83, 73, and 67 wins – the final 1987 year resulting with him being fired immediately after the season was over.

Beyond his work with the Baltimore Orioles, Peters did much with scouting and minor league development in the early 70s that supplied the great Oakland A’s teams of that era. After the Orioles, he was credited for a renaissance of good baseball in Cleveland.

Peters was from a time in baseball history where general managers were not as prominently featured in the news as they are in this era of daily scrutiny with instantaneous electronic communications. Even with Dan Duquette’s enigmatic ways, we still have a better sense of what is going on with day to day operations than were able to be known 25+ years ago.

Comparing Orioles General Managers

Dan Duquette — (2012-2014) While we are talking about general managers, how do the first three years of Duquette’s reign compare with other Baltimore Orioles GMs of the past? The DD O’s of the past three years have won a total of 274 games, or an average of 91.3 per season.

Hank Peters – (1976-1978) Interestingly, his total wins in those three seasons was one more than Duquette – 275. A big difference however is that Peters took over a team with 278 wins in the preceding three years under Frank Cashen, whereas Duquette followed the Andy MacPhail three years of only 199 wins – wow.

Syd Thrift – (2000-2002) Early on in the reign of pain, his total was 204 wins.

Pat Gillick – (1996-1998) He totaled 265 wins including the 98-win campaign of 1997.

Roland Hemond – (1988-1990) His win total was only 217, particularly impacted by the horrific 1988 season with just 54 victories.

Frank Cashen – (1972-1974) There were 268 total victories in these three seasons, including divisional wins in 1973 and 1974.

Harry Dalton – (1966-1968) Of course the first of these years was the great Championship team made possible by one of the greatest trades in history – made by Dalton soon after taking over – trading with the Cincinnati Reds to get Frank Robinson for Jack Baldschun, Milt Pappas and Dick Simpson. Dalton’s three-year total was 264 wins, though the second half of his administration in the following three seasons totaled the amazing number of 318 victories and three World Series appearances.

SUMMARY

So Hank Peters was the only general manager to do better in his first three years than has Duquette, and that by only one game, while working with a far better inherited legacy and resources.

Any way you slice it, Duquette has done well. I agree with many of you that his methodologies are often maddening and completely counterintuitive. But the success is honestly quite rare and difficult to dispute without a whole lot of “yes but, but, but, butting” that makes you look like a butt. The guy is pretty good at what he does.