The Baltimore Orioles announced the team’s Hall of Fame class of 2026 on Tuesday. The inductees into the Orioles Hall of Fame include former first baseman Chris Davis, pitcher Storm Davis, and former scout and team executive Jim Russo, who is being honored with the Herbert E. Armstrong Award.
Chris Davis
The headliner of this year’s Orioles Hall of Fame class is first baseman Chris Davis. Davis spent ten of his 14 years in Major League Baseball with the Orioles. In the 2016 offseason, the Orioles gave Davis the richest contract in the organization’s history, totaling $161 million. Over the course of his Orioles career, Davis accumulated 11.9 WAR and finished sixth all-time in home runs for the club with 253.
Davis led all of baseball in home runs twice as a member of the Orioles. He also holds the record for most home runs in a season for the club, with 53 in 2013. In that same year, Davis finished third in AL MVP voting and won the lone Silver Slugger of his career. His power earned him the nickname “Crush” Davis, which led to a superhero-themed giveaway alongside his dog Samson in 2016. One of Davis’s most memorable moments with the Orioles came in a 2012 17-inning game against the Boston Red Sox. Davis started the game as the designated hitter but entered the game on the mound in the 16th inning. He went two innings, giving up no runs and striking out a pair of Red Sox en route to earning a win for his efforts.
Storm Davis
Embed from Getty Images
George Earl “Storm” Davis was drafted by the Orioles in the seventh round of the 1979 MLB draft and made his debut at just 20 years old for the club. Davis spent the majority of his career as a member of the Orioles. He was with the team from 1982-1986 and again for a season in 1992. Davis was a member of the 1983 World Series champion Orioles, where he started two games for the team. Additionally, Davis earned a win in Game Four of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies en route to the organization’s third World Series victory.
Overall, Davis finished his Orioles career with a record of 61-43 over 944 1/3 innings and an ERA of 3.63. Davis had 27 complete games as a member of the Orioles and even notched five saves for the club. Four of those saves came in his return to Baltimore in 1992, where he took up a role in the Orioles’ bullpen. Additionally, Davis led all of Major League Baseball in HR/9 in 1984, only giving up 0.280 home runs per nine innings that season.
Jim Russo
The late Jim Russo is joining the Orioles Hall of Fame as a recipient of the Herbert E. Armstrong Award. Created in 1995 to honor non-uniformed personnel worthy of inclusion in the Orioles Hall of Fame, Russo is the 11th recipient. Russo was a long-time member of the organization, serving the then St. Louis Browns in 1951, and stayed with the team when they relocated to Baltimore. He continued with the organization all the way until 1986. Russo started as a scout for the Orioles. In 1966, along with his scouting duties, he became a special assistant to then General Manager Harry Dalton. He continued to work with the next two General Managers of the club, Frank Cashen and Hank Peters.
Russo, a World War II veteran, is the namesake for the Orioles annual Scout of the Year Award. Over his 36 years with the Orioles, he was responsible for signing players like Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, and Orioles Hall of Famers Boog Powell and the late Davey Johnson, among many others.
Ceremony
The team will honor Chris Davis, Storm Davis, and Jim Russo in a pre-game ceremony on August 1, 2026. That game is scheduled for a 7:05 PM start against the Philadelphia Phillies.
More Baltimore Orioles Articles
More Hall of Fame Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Categories
-
Baltimore Orioles
Hall of Fame
