The Earl of Baltimore

Today marks the 56th anniversary of Earl Weaver’s 1968 debut as the Baltimore Orioles’ manager, a position that eventually leads Weaver – who never plays a game in the majors – to the Hall of Fame.

The Orioles win the American League pennant in each of their first three full seasons with Weaver as manager.

Among Weaver’s first acts as manager is hanging a sign in the clubhouse that reads, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

Weaver wins 1,480 of his 2,541 games as Baltimore's manager, but does not see all of them to their conclusion as he is ejected from 94 games during his career.

“You’ve got to tell a guy when he’s wrong,” Weaver later says.

Weaver, who during his professional life never shies away from giving his opinion, once offers his “Ten Laws of Baseball” – a list that features the following:

--- No one’s going to give a damn in July if you lost a game in March.

--- If you don’t make any promises to your players, you won’t have to break them.

--- The easiest way around the bases is with one swing of the bat.

--- Your most precious possessions on offense are your 27 outs.

--- If you play for one run, that’s all you’ll get.

--- Don’t play for one run unless you know that run will win a ballgame.

--- It’s easier to find four good starters than five.

--- The best place for a rookie pitcher is long relief.

--- The key step for an infielder is the first one—left or right—but before the ball is hit.

--- The job of arguing with the umpires belongs to the manager, because it won’t hurt the team if he gets kicked out of the game.