The 100 Most Significant Dates in Modern Orioles History

[Frobby]

26 minutes ago, SteveA said:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a9cvL2ZVAU

Some things never get old.    

[Redskins Rick]

6 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Some things never get old.    

Ty, I love that clip.

Keyboard GMs didn't even want him on the team.

[osfan83]

I was there...best O's moment I've ever seen live.

[OFFNY]

8 hours ago, SteveA said:

o

 

It's 56 days until Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.  Here is the 56th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#56 October 3, 2014

The 2014 Orioles won the AL East for the first time since the 1997 team that went wire to wire in first place.  The Orioles squared off against the Detroit Tigers in the best of 5 ALDS.   The Orioles had lost the ALDS to the Yankees two years earlier.

The first game was a tight battle, Chris Tillman squaring off against Max Scherzer.  It was a tight game into the bottom of the 8th, with the Orioles hanging on to a 4-3 lead.  But then the biggest difference between the two teams came into play, as Baltimore had one of the best bullpens in baseball while Detroit's was poor.  A one out double by Alejandro De Aza chased Scherzer.  The Orioles then blasted the Tigers' relief trio of Joba Chamberlain, Joakim Soria, and Phil Coke for 8 runs and a resounding 12-3 Oriole victory.

Game 2, on October 3, saw the Orioles facing another ace caliber pitcher as Justin Verlander opposed Wei Yin Chen.  The Tigers' strong bats chased Chen with a 5 run 4th inning and Detroit took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the 8th.  Verlander had gone 6 innings and Anibal Sanchez 2.  Once again, Joba Chamberlain came out of the Tiger pen, the sellout crowd had hopes for a miracle but it was a steep hill to climb.  Chamberlain retired De Aza to start the inning, and at this point the Orioles' win probability was just 5%.

Chamberlain hit Adam Jones with a pitch, and Nelson Cruz singled.  Steve Pearce singled to make it 6-4.  Soria replaced Chamberlain, and walked JJ Hardy to load the bases.

Delmon Young stepped to the plate.  Young had been a solid free agent pickup, hitting .302 in 255 at bats as a DH and occasional iron-gloved outfielder.  Young lined a ball into the left field corner for a hit.  Cruz and Pearce singled to tie the game, and slow footed JJ Hardy raced around from first base.  JD Martinez came up with the ball and relayed it to Ian Kinsler, who gunned a throw to the plate that was just a bit to the catcher's right.  Hardy slid outside and his hand brushed the plate just a fraction of a second before the tag, and the Orioles had the lead!  The crowd went insane, most people believe it is the loudest that Camden Yards has ever gotten.

The O's pen, of course, made it stand up in the 9th, and the 7-6 win put the Orioles up 2 games to 0.  Two days later, the Orioles faced David Price, their 3rd consecutive ace level pitcher, but on that day Bud Norris was better and the Orioles won 2-1 to sweep the series.

It wasn't a happy ending in 2014, as the Royals shut down the Orioles bats in a 4 game sweep in the ALCS.  But 2014 still marks the high water mark for the Orioles in the past two decades, a sweep of the ALDS keyed by one of the most electrifying moments in Oriole history, and a trip to the ALCS.  

 

 

o

o

 

My 49th birthday.

 

o

[Moose Milligan]

Some good memories.  I'm treating this thread like binging on Netflix, don't read it for 3-4 days and then catch up all at once.

Can't believe the WNST protest was over 10 years ago.  It's been a long time on the OH with you bedwetters.

[Bahama O's Fan]

I was at game 1. My only game at Camden Yards. I actually LOVED it! It was a laugher. We were flying into Florida the next day following the updates of this game in between.

[SteveA]

For Game 2, I was on my way down to North Carolina for a Virginia Tech football game, somewhere between Petersburg VA and the NC line on I-85..   I was in the passenger seat, streaming the game live via a TBS app on my cell phone (and using pretty much my entire data allotment for the month to do so).   I lost it when Hardy beat the throw, the driver and back seat passenger thought I had gone insane.

Only thing annoying was that the TBS app showed the same American Dad commercial between every single inning.

[SteveA]

It's 55 days until Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.  Here is the 55th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#55 May 17, 1984

A era that lasted nearly two decades ended in a tearful press conference on May 17, 1984.  Two years earlier, at age 36, Jim Palmer has been one of the Orioles' best starters, going 15-5 with a 3.13 ERA and finishing 3rd in the Cy Young balloting.

His 1983 season was marred by injuries, but in a relief appearnace in Game 3 of the World Series he became the first pitcher ever to record a World Series win in 3 different decades.

He started 1984 in the Orioles rotation, but it didn't go well.  After 3 starts and 2 relief appearances his ERA stood at 9.17 and the Orioles made the difficult decision to grant him his relief.

Palmer had opportunities to hook on with another team, but chose not to, and thus remained a lifetime Oriole, like Brooks Robinson, and like Cal Ripken would become.

Palmer was the only player to participate in all 5 Oriole World Series, and is the greatest pitcher in franchise history beyond a doubt.  He was the winningest pitcher in the 1970s, won 20 games 8 times, and won 3 Cy Young Awards and 4 Gold Gloves.

[Frobby]

Sad day.   Palmer tried to have a press conference, but broke down and left the room.    I’m so glad he’s in the broadcast booth providing a link to those great Orioles teams.   

[SteveA]

It's 54 days until Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.  Here is the 54th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#54 January 17, 1995

Peter Angelos had recently bought the Orioles when, in 1994, the owners and players reached a labor impasse and the 1994 season was ended prematurely.  For the first time ever, MLB did not complete its season and postseason.

The labor strife continued through the winter with little resolution.  The owners wanted to impose significant restrictions on player movement via increased compensation for free agency, while the players for the most part just wanted the status quo.

The owners' strategy to force the players to cave was to attempt to begin the 1995 season with "replacement players", who were willing to cross the picket line to don major league uniforms.

Angelos had always been pro-labor, which set him apart from most of the other rich owners.  His law firm had made billions representing workers suffering from asbestos related diseases due to the conditions they worked in.  On January 17, Angelos made it clear that he would not participate.  The Orioles would not field a team of replacement players, in opposition to the other 27 teams.

Angelos' political views certainly were part of this stance, but cynics might also note that the Orioles had the most to lose if replacement players were used.  As soon as an Oriole team played a major league game without Cal Ripken in it, his amazing streak of 2010 consecutive games played would come to an end.  The chase for the streak in 1995 would certainly be a huge promotional tool for the Orioles.

Whatever his reasons, there were several consequences of Angelos' stance.   First, it probably played some part in the owners finally giving in and signing an agreement with the players that was a lot closer to what the players wanted than to what the owners hoped to get.  And of course it did in fact preserve Cal's streak, and the excitement surrounding his breaking of Lou Gehrig's record, that many thought would never be broken, is given credit by many for helping to "save" baseball after the sport and its fanbase were severely wounded by the work stoppage.

And finally, it also set Angelos at odds with the MLB establishment -- the owners and the MLB front office.   That schism exists to this day, as MLB has strongly backed the Nationals in the dispute with Angelos-owned MASN, and Camden Yards has been passed over for an All Star Game for several years running where it would have been a logical choice.

 

[SteveA]

It's 53 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 53rd most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#53:  March 28, 1984

This is the first date on the list that isn't baseball related, but I believe it had a big impact on the Orioles.   The Orioles and Colts had shared Memorial Stadium for 30 years, and the facility was getting old and outdated.   Two years earlier, after two decades without an NFL franchise move, Al Davis moved the Oakland Raiders to Los Angeles without even going through the motions of getting approval from other owners as dictated by NFL by-laws.   Emboldenend by this, Colts owner Robert Irsay began blatantly shopping the team around, visiting places like Arizona, Indianapolis, and Jacksonsville.  The Colts had been one of the best supported teams in all of the NFL but attendance had dropped drastically as the team's record went down the tubes under Irsay's mismanagement.

Most people didn't believe Irsay would actually move the team, and there was no serious effort to do what some other municipalities did and pony up for state of the art venues for pro sports teams.   Instead, the Maryland legislature actually started considering the concept of seizing the Colts under eminent domain laws, which was of dubious legality and only fueled the drunken idiot's desire to move the team.  On the snowy morning of March 28, 1984, without any prior announcement, Mayflower moving vans arrived at Colts HQ in Owings Mills, packed up everything there, and departed for Indianapolis.

The connection between the Colts and the fans of Baltimore was visceral and deep.  Memorial Stadium in the 1960s when the Colts played there was known as the World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum.   Baltimore was shocked at the inconceivable loss of the franchise.  Mayor Schaefer, whose devotion to the city was indisputable, was heartbroken.

The loss of the Colts, coupled with the fact that the Orioles were owned by a lawyer from DC, which did not have a team, forced Maryland to take action.   The idea of losing the Orioles suddenly became a legitimate fear.   This fear eventually led to the creation of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which not only assured that the Orioles would stay in Baltimore for generations to come, but also became the crown jewel of MLB stadiums and a model for dozens that followed.

In addition, the Orioles became the only game in town (Baltimore's CFL team had a couple years of success but never captured the town's heart the way the Colts did in the 1950s/60s or the Orioles did in the 60s/70s).

[Redskins Rick]

On a side note on this date in Orioles History:

Quote

1953	Jack Dunn III officially turns over the name Orioles to the Browns, who are relocating their major league franchise to Baltimore. His family had successfully operated the International League team for 50 years in the Charm City.

 

[SteveA]

It's 52 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 52nd most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#52:  March 28, 1999

In 1999, Peter Angelos engineered a controversial home and home series between the Orioles and a team of Cuban All Stars.   Despite the trade embargo with Cuba and travel ban, against resistance from the State Department, the Orioles travelled to Cuba late in spring training and played a Cuban All Star team.   Years before there was any thaw in the relations between the communist dictatorship and the United States, the Star Spangled Banner was played in Havana and later in the spring, the Cuban national anthem was played in Baltimore.   There were protests by Cuban Americans who had fled Cuba after the revolution and still bitterly opposed the Cuban government.  The sight of Angelos and commissioner Selig sitting next to the dictator who was considered one of America's greatest enemies was shocking to many.  It was yet another instance of Angelos being willing to go against the establishment, and it occurred a full decade and a half before there was any significant thaw in the relationship between the two nations.

In the game itself, the Orioles won 3-2 in 11 innings, despite 8 shutout innings in relief by Jose Contreras, who would later defect from Cuba and pitch in the major leagues.   Harold Baines knocked in the winning run.   A little over a month later, the Cuban team visited Camden Yards, under strict internal security to prevent defections, and defeated the Orioles 12-6.

[Frobby]

Hah, that photo looks photoshopped, but it isn’t.  

[SteveA]

It's 51 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 51st most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#51  April 29, 2015

Major league history was made on April 29, 2015, when the Orioles and White Sox played a game in a stadium empty of fans.   There had been several days of rioting and strife in Baltimore following the death in police custody of Freddie Gray, a small time drug dealer.   Tension was high, and Baltimore police resources were stretched thin, too thin to spare officers to provide normal security around a sporting event.   

The first two games with the White Sox had been postponed, to be made up as a doubleheader later in the season.   The upcoming weekend series with Tampa had been moved to the Rays home park, although the Orioles would be the home team and bat last.   That just left the Wednesday game with the White Sox, and the decision was made to play the game without fans.

It was an eerie scene.   Two scouts behind home plate were the only people sitting in the stands.   Some Orioles employees would gather balls that went into the stands.   The media was there, as were the players and the umps.   They still had a public address announcer, and they still played the national anthem (a recorded version) and Thank God I'm a Country Boy during 7th inning stretch.   A couple dozen fans watched through the wrought iron fence behind the area behind the bullpens, and yelled Oh at the appropriate time during the anthem, while others watched from the hotel across the street.  Buck Showalter said he could hear the bullpen phone ring from the dugout when he made a call out there.

The Orioles won the game 8-2, keyed by a Chris Davis 3-run home run.

Attendance for the game was listed as 0, the lowest in MLB history, and that will likely be unique in the history of baseball and never happen again.