Former Orioles right-hander Storm Davis was recently elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame along with former first baseman Chris Davis and late executive and scout Jim Russo.
The three will be celebrated in a luncheon at Camden Yards on July 31 and a pregame ceremony on Aug. 1. Storm Davis, who pitched for the Orioles from 1982-1986 and in 1992, heard he was part of this year’s class in a phone call with Orioles alumni director and team historian Bill Stetka.
“I remember just looking at my wife when I put the phone down after talking with Bill [about how] we had been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I’m just speechless,” Davis said on Glenn Clark Radio March 18. “I have so much in my memory bank about all the men that I played with that poured into me, just so grateful that I was on that path in my career at that particular time — all the great ones that poured into me. I’m just really humbled and honored to be a part of it.”
Davis pitched in 202 games for the Orioles, starting 123. The 6-foot-4, 207-pound right-hander posted a 3.63 ERA in 944.1 innings in parts of six seasons under managers Earl Weaver, Joe Altobelli and Johnny Oates. He also pitched for San Diego, Oakland, Kansas City and Detroit.
Davis, now 64, made his major league debut in relief against the Athletics on April 29, 1982, at Memorial Stadium. He entered with the bases loaded and none out in the top of the ninth with the score tied at six. Davis recalled riding in from the bullpen on a cart and meeting Weaver at the mound.
“I get to the mound and Earl didn’t want to give me the baseball,” Davis said. “I mean, eventually he’s got to give it to me, right? I mean, I’m the guy he called in. This is two hours after he told me I was not going to pitch in a game because he wanted me to get my feet grounded and get used to the big league atmosphere. He doesn’t want to give me the ball and then he hands me the ball and he says, ‘Don’t let them score.’ Bases loaded, nobody out. I’m like, ‘Whoa.'”
Davis ended up allowing all three inherited runners to score, but no matter, he was off and running. He established himself as a reliable arm for the Orioles later in the season.
“I loved playing for Earl,” Davis said. “He didn’t say a whole lot to me because I was 20 years old. Then when I came back, I was a little more accustomed to him, but I listened a lot to all the gentlemen that were around me.”
One of Davis’ best seasons with the Orioles came in 1983, when Baltimore won the World Series. He posted a 3.59 ERA in 200.1 innings (29 starts, five relief appearances). He was one of seven pitchers who made double-digit starts that year; Mike Boddicker, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Dennis Martinez, Jim Palmer and Allan Ramirez were the others.
Davis sees some similarities between the ’83 rotation and the ’26 iteration, which features Chris Bassitt, Shane Baz, Kyle Bradish, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Trevor Rogers.
“What gets lost sometimes is that we were the biggest fans of each other,” Davis said of the ’83 group. “I think I can see that when I read articles about the current staff — how they share information, how they are truly teammates and we’re here to bring a championship to the city of Baltimore.
“I just think that resonates with those of who have been there and have walked that path — certainly for the fans of the city and of the Orioles. ‘Hey, this is how we play the game.’ We might not be as flashy as other people, but this can win. At the end of the day, we’re trying to chase a ring and we’re going to put a world championship up and it can be done multiple ways.”
For more from Davis, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox