If you search Google for Earl Weaver and platoons, a lot of good stuff comes up. There’s a SABR article, a great Hardball Times piece, and an “online encyclopedia” that anyone can edit. The Internet is a treasure trove of information!
The 1984 Orioles and platooning
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But if you were wondering just how committed Weaver (edit: or Joe Altobelli, who was actually the manager in 1984! In my defense, I was remembering the 1982 Topps Earl Weaver as a 1984 Topps card, so I didn’t even check. My bad.) was to the idea of platooning, this should give you a pretty good idea:
| Split | PA | AB | H | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP as RHB | 1758 | 1585 | 390 | 137 |
| vs RHP as LHB | 2816 | 2442 | 630 | 326 |
| vs LHP as RHB | 1597 | 1414 | 354 | 156 |
| vs LHP as LHB | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
The ‘84 Orioles won 85 games. They did not have a hit from a left-handed batter against a left-handed pitcher. Four switch-hitting starters and the rules of the American League helped out, for sure. Still, I’m not sure if we’ll ever see a commitment to the platooning arts like that again.
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