Cal 2131 and Eddie 500th HR anniversary today

[eddie83]

Cal was 21 years ago today and Eddie 20.

Maybe Gallardo will pitch a no hitter tonight?

[JohnBKistler]

Cal was 21 years ago today and Eddie 20.

Maybe Gallardo will pitch a no hitter tonight?

I was at the game Murray hit his 500th. I remember it was a against Detroit and there was a long rain delay. I believe it was close to, or after, midnight when he hit it and the stadium was half empty.

[Frobby]

I was at the game Murray hit his 500th. I remember it was a against Detroit and there was a long rain delay. I believe it was close to, or after, midnight when he hit it and the stadium was half empty.

I had tickets, and didn't go due to the bad weather and the fact that I couldn't find anyone to go with me. I can't believe I missed it -- one of my biggest regrets as a fan.

[schittenden]

I was at the game Murray hit his 500th. I remember it was a against Detroit and there was a long rain delay. I believe it was close to, or after, midnight when he hit it and the stadium was half empty.

This was my first Orioles game ever. I was a freshman at college and we went as part of resident life event right after classes started. We stayed for the game and missed the buses back. We had to grab a cab back to the dorms.

[NashLumber]

Thanks for this. Speaking of Eddie, a friend of mine wrote a small blog piece (with photos) of the Charlotte Knights recent (9/4) honoring of the Charlotte Orioles. Eddie made an appearance. Eddie was there in '76. I played in the NC high school 4A championship there at the old Crockett Park in '78. Cal was there '79 and '80. http://danielcoston.blogspot.com/2016/09/charlotte-os-night-knights-stadium.html

[Going Underground]

Baltimore Sun wrote an article about what happened to the ball.

The Ball rests inside a clear plastic cube in the hands of a man wearing a black suit and a face like he's auditioning for the Secret Service.

This baseball was just any baseball until Eddie Murray hit it into Camden Yards' right-field bleachers for his 500th homer. Then it rolled down a rabbit hole into a strange universe where reality is whatever you can afford to make it.

The Ball arrives at the Harbor Inn at Pier 5 by Brinks armored truck for the benefit of the evening news. It sits in the center of a circle of television cameras, onlookers, local officials, having attained by mid-afternoon yesterday the aura of the Hope diamond.

Lasky says he never checked with baseball memorabilia experts. A half million seemed right, an offer sure to be accepted by Daniel B. Jones, the 30-year-old Towson man who caught the ball on Sept. 6.

Wait, you're a businessman and you never checked the value before you made the offer?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-eddie-murray-500th-home-run-ball-archive-20160906-story.html

[riprulz8]

I was at the game Murray hit his 500th. I remember it was a against Detroit and there was a long rain delay. I believe it was close to, or after, midnight when he hit it and the stadium was half empty.

As a numbers guy, I always thought Eddie's day was particularly cool: September 6th, 1996 and he hit the ball into section 96 of the bleachers: 09/06, '96, Section 96. Why yes I am a dork.

[esmd]

How amazing is it that Cal and Eddie, two longtime teammates and friends, share the same anniversary for 2131 and 500??? Also, 9/6/2012, the night they unveiled Cal's statue, was the night (at least for me), that Orioles Magic returned to OPACY after a way too long hiatus. What a special night that was, one that I was in attendance for and will never forget, and what a special day in O's history 9/6 is overall. The baseball gods sure do work in wonderful ways sometimes...

[BMann]

I wasn't at Eddie's 500th, but I had the best seats I've ever had at OPACY for Cal's 2131: Right behind home plate, six rows off the field. Earl Weaver was one section over and a row or two behind us. Billy was in the front row not far from us, by the net. It was also the last regular season game I ever attended with my Dad (we went to a playoff game against the Indians in '96, the Bonilla grand slam game). I was sitting at my parents' house around 5:30 that night, when my brother-in-law, out of the blue, called and asked if we wanted to go to the game. He had great tickets thanks to his employer, but couldn't go last-minute. So his brother, my brother, and my dad went and enjoyed the biggest game in OPACY history! 2131 was a night I'll never forget...

[notfast]

I was lucky enough to be at both games with my Dad. We were up in sec 322 for our 29-game ticket plan for 2131...Actually went back and sat in the same seats last year for the 20th Anniversary of 2131 last September.

For Eddie's 500th, we waited through the delay and had moved down behind home plate. Being there for these two things, plus the Opening of the stadium are why I will always do my best to be at every "big" game at OPACY.