ON THE DEFENSIVE : Orioles’ Gloves Are Almost as Golden as They Were in the Golden, Glory Years

Brian Holton knows about defense, the good and the bad. He pitches for the Baltimore Orioles, and he pitched for the 1987 Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was in the clubhouse two seasons ago when Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda was so fed up with his team’s defense he called a team meeting. He asked third baseman Pedro Guerrero what were his thoughts before every pitch. Guerrero said, seriously, “I think, ‘Please don’t hit it to me. If it isn’t hit to me, please don’t hit it to (Steve) Sax.’ ”

Holton smiled and said, “We don’t have that problem here. This is best the defensive team I’ve ever been with.”

The question is, how good?

The statistics say it is the best in the big leagues.

The Orioles’ 19 errors are nine fewer than any major-league team. Defensively, the Orioles are off to the best start in club history.

The six unearned runs allowed are five fewer than any other team.

The Orioles have played 30 errorless games out of 45, including 11 of the last 13.

They have not made more than two errors in any game.

They are on a pace to make 70 errors, which would break the major-league record for the fewest errors in one season (84) set by the 1988 Minnesota Twins.

How good is the defense?

“Our outfield defense is the best I’ve ever seen as an Oriole,” Manager Frank Robinson said. “You know those great defensive teams we had, the outfield was basically (center fielder Paul) Blair. We had (Don) Buford and (Merv) Rettenmund and myself, but the real outstanding one was Blair.

“Now we have four guys who can be good to outstanding outfielders with Brady (Anderson), (Mike) Devereaux, (Steve) Finley and (Phil) Bradley. And (Joe) Orsulak is good. They can all play out there.”

It would seem ludicrous, given the Orioles’ rich tradition of defense, to ask if the defense this season has a chance to be the best in their history. After all, the Orioles finished first, second or third in the American League in defense 22 out of 25 years before 1985. They haven’t had a Gold Glove winner since 1984 (Eddie Murray), but no American League team has won more (48).

Best overall defense in club history?

Robinson paused.

“You’re going to make this difficult on me, aren’t you?” he said, smiling.

He knows that the Orioles’ infield has made two errors in 21 games this month, and one of those came on a questionable call by an official scorer on third baseman Craig Worthington. “With that left side of the infield--Brooks (Robinson) and (Mark) Belanger--nothing ever got through,” Robinson said. “I would have to give those teams the edge.

“But it’s close.”

Not much has gotten through either side of the infield this year. Shortstop Cal Ripken hadn’t made an error in 29 straight games before a miscue Saturday. Catcher Mickey Tettleton has the longest current errorless streak (81 games) among major-league catchers.

Ripken, Tettleton and first baseman Jim Traber lead the league in fielding at their respective positions. Traber and Randy Milligan haven’t made an error this year. Worthington and second baseman Bill Ripken have been both reliable and terrific.

Cal Ripken said he thought this was the best defensive team he had played for since joining the Orioles in 1981. Pitcher Jeff Ballard says it’s the best defensive team he has ever played with.

Center fielder Anderson was asked the same question.

“When I was 11,” he said, “we had a shortstop named Jimmy Fredericks. Boy, he could really pick it.”

Holton said, “Defense is the biggest reason for our pitching success.”

The Orioles’ earned-run average is down to 3.72. It is impossible to gauge how many balls that were doubles in 1988 have been caught by Oriole outfielders this year, but you can bet it’s quite a few.

“With our defense, all you have to do is throw strikes,” Holton said.