SUMMARY of 2001

Buddy Groom began 2001 as one of three holdovers from the Free Agent bullpen class of 2000, along with Mike Trombley and Chuck McElroy. When the season was over and the smoke had cleared, only one remained - Groom. While the other two experienced difficulty in maintaining their mediocre careers, Groom posted his best overall season in the major leagues. That's the good news. The bad news is, Buddy Groom had not managed much success in the majors in the past, so his best season, while a nice thing to see, didn't have a major impact on the 2001 Orioles.

Still, Buddy Groom posted the best numbers in the Oriole bullpen, and managed an ERA that was downright respectable. He managed that mostly through not walking anybody, and by holding the lefties he faced, about 40% of his total, to a .194 batting average.

The Orioles, running out of people to try in the closer role, turned to Buddy in the middle part of the season. this ordinarily would not be a sound idea, since Groom has his greatest success battling the aforementioned lefties (righthanders hit .291 off of him last season.) But, actually, Groom posted his best two months while in the closer mode, pitching to a 2.19 ERA in June, and a 2.03 in July. He converted 9 of 10 save chances over those two months. He still surrendered basically one baserunner per inning, which was about his season average, but his numbers were far from fluke Ryan Kohlmeier type closer numbers.

Groom entered October five games short of 70, a milestone (or millstone, depending on one's point of view) he had achieved the previous five seasons. Unfortunately for both Groom and the Orioles, it seems to have been determined that going for this a sixth time was a good thing. The damage? A 6.75 ERA in 4 IP with an 0-1 record.

Buddy Groom is a journeyman pitcher who can give a club an effective left-handed boost in the bullpen. In a solid bullpen on a contending club, Groom could really help. As it is, he'll probable stack up a lot of appearances, and keep the Orioles bullpen somewhat steady, and end up as a closer candidate if injuries or ineffectiveness take their toll once again.

TO CONTRIBUTE EFFECTIVELY NEXT SEASON, GROOM MUST:

(1) pitch as well as he did in 2001.

(2) cut down on his appearances a notch. He's 36 years old, and should not be trying for another 70 appearance season.

(3) As always with Groom, reduce the number of hits allowed. Not likely to happen, since Groom usually allows more than a hit per inning.

(4) Pitch well in the first half so that a contender will pick him up for the stretch run.

NOTES: In 19 day games, Groom managed a 0.98 ERA. Groom was a Red Sox killer in 2001, posting a 0.00 ERA in 8.2 innings over 11 appearances, striking out 9 while allowing only 2 hits. He also contributed to the Orioles' pathetic season-long performance against the Devil Rays, managing a 16.20 ERA in three appearances.