It takes a special kind of player to hit 3,000 Hits and 500 Home Runs over a career.  Eddie Murray was just that. 

Murray debuted in the Majors in 1977 with the Orioles, where he had 27 Home Runs in a Rookie of the Year-winning season.  Power and hits would become the First Baseman’s calling card, and from 1977 to 1985, he would have at least 20 or more Home Runs, with three of those years seeing him exceed 30.  He would win the Home Run title with 22 in the strike-shortened year in 1981, and he also won the RBI title. 

The first half of the 1980s was the best half-decade of his career.  In that period, he finished in the top five in MVP voting each year (second in both 1983 and 1984) and was an All-Star annually from '81 to '86. Murray was also recognized for his defensive prowess, capturing Gold Gloves in 1982, 1983 & 1984.  Also earning two Silver Sluggers, Murray was the power man in Baltimore's third World Series win in 1983.

He would play with Baltimore until he was traded after the 1987 season to the Dodgers.

Overall with the Orioles, Murray accrued 2,080 Hits, 343 Home Runs, and 1,224 RBIs, with a .498 Slugging Percentage.  He played 11 more years with stops in L.A., the Mets, Cleveland, and Anaheim, with one return year in 1996.  The first half of his career as an Oriole is what got him into Cooperstown.

Murray’s number 33 was retired in 1998, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003 in his first year of eligibility.  As for the Orioles, they retired Murray's number 33 in 1998, and he was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame the year after.

When we eventually pivot to the greatest players from defunct or relocated franchises, the conversation for the St. Louis Browns begins and ends with George Sisler. As the Browns relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles, Sisler remains the spiritual anchor of the franchise—a legend who defined a city’s baseball identity without ever donning the orange and black of Baltimore.

Signing as a free agent in 1915, Sisler arrived in the majors as a southpaw pitching phenom. While he was immediately effective on the mound—famously outdueling Walter Johnson twice—Browns manager Branch Rickey recognized that Sisler’s bat was far too lethal to languish on the bench every four days. His conversion to first base birthed one of the purest hitting machines in baseball history.

In 1916, Sisler batted .305; incredibly, that would be the second-lowest average of his entire Browns career. Over the next six seasons, he never dipped below .341, capturing two Batting Titles in the process. His 1920 campaign was a statistical marvel, featuring a modern-record 257 hits and a .407 average, but his 1922 encore was his masterpiece. That season, Sisler batted a staggering .420, authored a then-American League record 41-game hitting streak, and led the league in runs, hits, triples, and stolen bases. For his efforts, he was named the inaugural American League MVP.

The trajectory of his career was permanently altered in 1923. A severe bout of sinusitis resulted in chronic double vision, forcing Sisler to miss the entire season at the peak of his powers. Though he returned in 1924 and remained an elite talent—batting over .300 in three of his final four years in St. Louis and leading the league in steals for a fourth time in 1927—he often admitted he was never quite the same.

By the time his contract was sold to the Washington Senators in 1928, Sisler had accumulated 2,295 hits, 351 stolen bases, and a career Browns slash line of .344/.384/.481. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939, George Sisler remains, without question, the greatest player to ever wear the St. Louis Browns uniform.

Signed as an amateur free agent in 1955, Brooks Robinson debuted that year in Baltimore as an 18-year old.  It was clear from the beginning that he was a wizard with the glove, but it took him some time to develop his hitting game.  In 1960, he did that, and throughout the decade and beyond, he was considered the best Third Baseman in the game.

1960 began a 15-year run of All-Star Games and a 16-year streak of Gold Glove wins.  All discussions about Robinson begin with his glove.  He would lead the American League in Defensive bWAR twice and was in the top five seven other times.  He led all AL Third Baseman in Fielding Percentage eleven times, Total Zone Runs eight times, and Range Factor per Game four times. 

Robinson batted .300 twice, with five other years reaching .280.  He improved his power game, contributing 6 20 Home Run Seasons, and in 1964, he led the American League in RBIs (118) and had his best year with Home Runs (28) and Batting Average (.317).  That year, Robinson won the MVP and was the second runner-up for the two years that followed.  He also had two other top five finished in his career.

The master of the hot corner aided the Orioles in winning the 1966 and 1970 World Series, earning World Series MVP honors in the latter. Overall, he batted .303 in the postseason with 22 RBIs.

Robinson's play diminished, and he retired in 1977.  He retired with 2,848 Hits, 268 Home Runs, and 1,357 RBIs.  After his retirement, Robinson’s number 5 was retired by the team.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983, in his first year of eligibility.

The Orioles inducted Robinson as one of the first two former players when the organization established its Hall of Fame in 1977.

Playing his entire Major League career with the Baltimore Orioles, Jim Palmer overcame a lot of early arm trouble to become one of the best hurlers in the 1970s.

Palmer made his debut in 1965, and he threw for 92 Innings in 27 Games.  The year after, he was put in the starting rotation, and he went 15-10 and helped Baltimore win its first-ever World Series.  Arm trouble kept him out of most of 1967, and in 1968, he was in rehab for the entire year.  It was expected that he would never regain his form, but he returned in 1969, and it was clear that the righthander was healthy.  Palmer went 16-4 and threw a no-hitter, and he would become the ace for the decade to come.

From 1970 to 1973, Palmer would win at least 20 Games and be in the top four in ERA in each of them.  He would go to the All-Star Game in the first three seasons of those four years, and in the one he didn't, he won the ERA title and his first Cy Young Award.  The Orioles also won the 1970 World Series.

Palmer suffered from elbow and nerve issues for much of 1974, but in 1975, he embarked on another four-year run that placed him among the elite of the American League Pitchers.  From 1975 to 1978, he again was a perpetual 20 Game winner, with '75 to '77 offering league-leading totals.  In 1975, he won his second ERA title and his second Cy Young, with his third Cy Young coming the year after.  He was second and third in Cy Young voting the two seasons after, and in those four years, he was not in the top ten in ERA, WHIP, and bWAR.  Palmer also began to be recognized for his defense, winning four straight Gold Gloves (1976-79).

He would decline after, though, had a one-year return to glory in 1982, where he was 15-5, third in ERA, and was second in Cy Young voting.  In a much-reduced role, he helped the Orioles win their third World Series in 1983.

Palmer was released in 1984 after a 0-3 start, and while it was an unceremonious exit from the team, his legend was secured.  He retired with a 268-152 record with a 2.86 ERA, 2,212 Strikeouts, six All-Stars, three Cy Youngs, and three World Series Rings.  He also had a history of 8-3 in the playoffs with a 2.61 ERA over 124.1 Innings.

Palmer’s number 22 would be retired in 1985, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.  The Orioles also inducted the Pitcher into their Hall of Fame in 1986.