The Orioles were a prototypical Earl Weaver team, but they were managed by Joe Altobelli, as Weaver had retired after the '82 season. The Phillies were known as the "Wheeze Kids," featuring ex-Big Red Machinery Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez. Philadelphia's surprising John Denny, who would win the National League Cy Young award, started the opener in Baltimore and went 7 2/3 strong innings. The contest was tied 1-1 until the eighth, when Philadelphia's Gary Maddox led off with a homer into the left-field stands. Al Holland retired the Orioles in order in the ninth, and it ended Phillies 2, Orioles 1.

Baltimore starter Mike Boddicker was brilliant in Game 2, allowing just three hits and a single, unearned run on the way to an easy 4-1 victory. Philly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but Baltimore went ahead in the seventh when shortstop Ivan DeJesus booted Dan Ford's grounder, allowing Benny Ayala to cross the plate. With two frames of scoreless relief, future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer picked up the win, 3-2, in his last postseason appearance.

In Game 4, the O's jumped ahead with four singles and two runs in the fourth, but the Phillies answered with one in the bottom of the inning and two more in the fifth. The see-sawing continued in the sixth, with Baltimore scoring twice on a bases-loaded walk and John Shelby's sacrifice fly, giving the O's a 4-3 lead. They added another run in the seventh, which proved important when the Phillies scored once in the bottom of the ninth, making the final score 5-4, Baltimore.

Scott McGregor had started and lost Game 1 for the Orioles, but Game 5 was a different story as he went the distance and limited the Phillies to five hits and no runs. Meanwhile, Eddie Murray and Rick Dempsey hit solo homers in the second and third innings, respectively, and Murray launched a two-run tater in the fourth. The final score was 5-0, and the O's were champs.

Path to the World Series
ALCS: Baltimore over Chicago (3 games to 1)
NLCS: Philadelphia over Los Angeles (3 games to 1)

Managers:?Joe Altobelli, BAL;?Paul Owens, PHI

MVP:?Rick Dempsey, BAL: .385, 4 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI