Baltimore Orioles All-Time Best Rule 5 Draft Picks
By Ben Palmer
2. Moe Drabowsky – Selected from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1965
Moe Drabowsky was born Miroslav Drabowski in Poland until he and his family fled the country when Adolf Hitler began mobilizing forces in Eastern Europe. They moved to Connecticut and Miroslav became Moe.
Drabowsky was a great reliever for the Orioles, never pitching worse than a 2.81 ERA during his three years with the team. He was also an important part of the Orioles’ 1966 World Series win, setting a still-standing World Series record for relievers when he struck out 11 batters in one game.
While Drabowsky was an excellent reliever, he was also well known for being a prankster. He once set MLB commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s shoes on fire during the Orioles 1970 World Series celebration.
After he retired from baseball, Drabowsky once called the Orioles’ bullpen phone and imitated Earl Weaver to get a reliever to start warming up. Weaver was shocked when he saw someone working in the bullpen and eventually called to find out what was going on.
Drabowsky was an interesting character but an important figure for some time on the Baltimore Orioles.