The Baltimore Orioles hope spending $155 million dollars on free agent first baseman Pete Alonso will produce similar results to a massive move made 60 years ago.
NEW YORK: The Baltimore Orioles’ Frank Robinson hits a home run in Game 5 of the World Series at Shea Stadium off the New York Mets’ Jerry Koosman on Oct. 16, 1969. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
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At the 1965 Winter Meetings, the Orioles acquired right fielder Frank Robinson on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson won the Triple Crown in 1966 to lead the franchise to its’ first World Series. The Orioles were a perennial power for years with him in the lineup.
The similarities in both Baltimore blockbusters are interesting.
- Alonso agreed to his deal on Dec. 10, 2025, sixty years and one day after Baltimore acquired Robinson in a trade from the Cincinnati Reds.
- Alonso is a five-time all-star; Robinson was a six-time selection at the time.
Alonso turned 31 on December 7; Robinson was 30. When the deal was made, Reds’ General Manager Bill DeWitt famously (and what turned out to be regrettably) said the reason he made the trade was, “Robinson is an old 30.”
The remark meant that DeWitt and the Reds believed Robinson was on the downside of a nice career. That lit a fire under one of the most intense players in history, a man who never needed a spark,
Robinson was a man possessed in 1966 from his very first at-bat on Opening Day in Boston. He homered – and just kept on hitting. He led the American League in home runs (49), RBI (122) and batting average (.316) for the prestigious Triple Crown.
Robinson also led in runs (122), on-base percentage (.410), slugging percentage (.637), OPS (1.047) and total bases (367) and tied for first with 7 sacrifice flies. Robinson was second in hits (182), third in doubles (34) and walks (87).
In his first time up in The World Series, Robinson homered. Brooks Robinson followed with another, just as they had on Opening Day. Fittingly, Frank’s homer in Game 4 gave Baltimore a 1-0 win and four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The acquisition has been regarded as one of the most impactful in baseball history. With Robinson, the Orioles had a record of 580-383 and went to four World Series in six years. Alonso’s career at this point is nearly as impressive on a per-game average as what Robinson had accomplished. Here’s a look at other key numbers at the time of the respective transactions:
Comparing Alonso to Robinson
GAMES: 1,008 to 1,502
AT-BATS: 3,763 to 5,527
HOMERS: 264 to 324
AB PER HR: 14.2 to 17.1
TOTAL RBI: 712 to 1,009
AB PER RBI: 5.3 to 5.5
Rookie Royalty
Alonso and Robinson were National League Rookies of the Year, 53 years apart.
Robinson was 20 years old in 1956 when he:
- Hit .290 with 38 homers, 83 RBI and NL-leading 122 runs scored in 572 at-bats.
Alonso was age 24 in 2019 when he:
- Hit .260, with 103 runs, 120 RBI and NL-leading 53 homers in 597 at-bats.
Robinson was a unanimous choice after helping the Reds improve from a 75-79 finish in 1955 to 91-63.
NEW YORK: Pete Alonso of the New York Mets poses for a photo with the 2019 Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year Award during the 2020 Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards dinner on Jan. 25, 2020 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Alonso got 29 first-place votes and 148 points in the voting after helping the Mets go 86-76 following a 77-85 record in 2018.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Michael Soroka got the other first-place vote and 82 points after going 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr., was a distant third in the voting.
Will It Be Worth It?
General Manager Mike Elias had to convince ownership to spend $155 million over five years. And while the ownership group is different, the franchise has been haunted by its’ last mega-million deal doled out – the disastrous seven-year, $161 million contract to keep slugger Chris Davis in January 2016.
BALTIMORE: Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 23, 2019. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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Davis was a left-handed version of Alonso at age 30 and coming off seasons of 33, 53, 26 and 47 homers. For one season, it looked okay as Davis crashed 38 homers despite striking out 219 times and hitting .221. Then he hit 26 homers, .216, with 195 Ks.
Over the next three years, he totaled an embarrassing 348 strikeouts to 28 homers and overall .169 batting average. It was so bad the ballclub paid him $46 million over the next two years just to stay away.
The 1965 Moves
Elias has placed a superstar slugger in the middle of a young, talented batting order. GM Harry Dalton did the same by trading pitchers Milt Pappas and Jack Baldschun and outfielder Dick Simpson to the Reds.
Pappas was age 26, a two-time all-star with a 110-74 career record. Baldschun was a 30-year-old reliever acquired from Philadelphia a few days earlier in a trade. Simpson was obtained a couple days before that. He was a 21-year-old who had hit .301 with 24 homers, 29 steals at Triple-A for the California Angels.
Dalton got them in trades because he knew the Reds wanted both. Neither did much for Cincinnati. Pappas had a 30-29 record for the Reds over three years and was dealt away.
MIAMI: Rookie Milt Pappas of the Baltimore Orioles during spring training, 1959.
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The Orioles, with star third baseman Brooks Robinson and a good young pitching staff, had been contenders for years. They placed second in 1960; third in 1961, 1964 and 1965. They were talented but considered soft. They needed a leader.
Enter Mr. Robinson.
Former all-stars Jackie Brandt and Norm Siebern had become under-achievers and were used in the deals for Baldschun and Simpson. Many thought Pappas should have been a 20-game winner instead of averaging a 14-9 record for eight years.
The Orioles made room for rookie stars Paul Blair and Davey Johnson and got one of the greatest hitters in history all in the span of a few days.
Next?
Adding Alonso and trading for Taylor Ward (36 homers, 103 RBI in 2025) should make an already good lineup potentially great. With young, developing offensive stars Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg, there hardly seems room for others.
BALTIMORE: Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles hits a home run against the Minnesota Twins at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
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Highly regarded youngsters Samuel Basallo, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, Jeremiah Jackson and veterans Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle can’t all play, too.
But Baltimore needs pitching. The Orioles signed free agent Ryan Helsley for two years, $28 million on Dec. 1 to be their closer and now can examine trades for other pitchers, using position players as bait. Chances are Elias talked about those trades a lot this week at the meetings and found out which teams were interested in which players.
Baltimore won the rugged AL East in 2023 and 2024. Injuries contributed to a 75-87 finish in a 2025 season that showed something more was missing. A veteran leader?
Enter Pete Alonso. Now, acquiring solid pitchers in deals could make this the most exciting off-season for the Baltimore Orioles in 60 years.
