The 100 Most Significant Dates in Modern Orioles History

[Bahama O's Fan]

Sadly, we are just about halfway to the offseason being over. We have done NOTHING!

[OFFNY]

7 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

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.

 

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[Bahama O's Fan]

1 hour ago, OFFNY said:

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Somehow I never saw this. Hilarious.

[SteveA]

OnIt's 50 days until pitchers and catchers report.  Here is the 50th most  significant date in modern Orioles history.

#50 November 19, 1991

Cal Ripken's career is most known for his incredible consecutive games streak, and for hitting more home runs than any shortstop that ever lived.   But he also won 2 MVP Awards, the only Oriole to do so, and the second was awarded on November 19, 1991.   Cal's 2nd MVP was one of many honors he won that year, he was also a Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger, MVP of the All Star Game, and winner of the Home Run Derby.   But what makes the MVP really amazing is that it is one of only 5 in history awarded to a player on a losing team, and no one has ever won an MVP on a team with as bad as the 67-95 1991 Orioles.

In 1991, Cal hit .323, the best full season average of his career, with 34 home runs and 114 RBIs.   Baseball reference has him with a whopping 11.5 WAR.   Nonetheless, the award was somewhat controversial because of the Orioles' lowly record.  Cecil Fielder hit 44 home runs and knocked in 133 runs; Frank Thomas had a 1.006 OPS, 66 points higher than Cal.   It's kind of amazing that in that day an age, before Sabrmetrics had made much of a dent in public perception, that Cal was able to win the award.   WAR had yet to be invented, but Cal's WAR that year is actually more than Fielder and Thomas combined!   So while controversial at the time, the award does not look that out of place in the modern era, and demonstrates what a great player Cal really was.   Some Ripken detractors will state that he was "nothing but the Streak" but in 1991, when he won his second MVP, there can be little argument now that he was the best player in the American League.

[OFFNY]

8 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

OnIt's 50 days until pitchers and catchers report.  Here is the 50th most  significant date in modern Orioles history.

#50 November 19, 1991

Cal Ripken's career is most known for his incredible consecutive games streak, and for hitting more home runs than any shortstop that ever lived.   But he also won 2 MVP Awards, the only Oriole to do so, and the second was awarded on November 19, 1991.   Cal's 2nd MVP was one of many honors he won that year, he was also a Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger, MVP of the All Star Game, and winner of the Home Run Derby.   But what makes the MVP really amazing is that it is one of only 5 in history awarded to a player on a losing team, and no one has ever won an MVP on a team with as bad as the 67-95 1991 Orioles.

In 1991, Cal hit .323, the best full season average of his career, with 34 home runs and 114 RBIs.   Baseball reference has him with a whopping 11.5 WAR.   Nonetheless, the award was somewhat controversial because of the Orioles' lowly record.  Cecil Fielder hit 44 home runs and knocked in 133 runs; Frank Thomas had a 1.006 OPS, 66 points higher than Cal.   It's kind of amazing that in that day an age, before Sabrmetrics had made much of a dent in public perception, that Cal was able to win the award.   WAR had yet to be invented, but Cal's WAR that year is actually more than Fielder and Thomas combined!   So while controversial at the time, the award does not look that out of place in the modern era, and demonstrates what a great player Cal really was.   Some Ripken detractors will state that he was "nothing but the Streak" but in 1991, when he won his second MVP, there

can be little argument now that he was the best player in the American League.

 

o

 

In 1990, I was watching a nationally-televised Orioles game.

The broadcaster had stated that Ripken, Jr had a streak of 8 consecutive seasons with at least 20 or more HR's and 80 or more RBI's from 1982-1989 (that streak eventually reached 10 consecutive seasons in 1991 before he finally fell short of those numbers in 1992.)

He went on to say that in his opinion, Ripken, Jr was slightly overrated offensively, and very underrated defensively.

 

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[SteveA]

It's 49 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 49th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

#49  January 16, 2016

Chris Davis had led the major leagues in home runs in both 2013 and 2015, OPSing 1.004 and .923 in those two years, while playing excellent defense at first base.   The year in between, 2014, was marred by a suspension for using a drug to treat ADHD which he had not been granted an exemption for that  year.

He hit the free agent market that winter, and the Orioles faced losing the huge bat from the middle of their order.   He was represented by Scott Boras, know as one of the best agents in baseball at getting big money deals for his clients.   As often happens with Boras cliants, he did not sign early in the offseason.   Davis was still  just 29 years old, but surprisingly he did not get a lot of big offers as the offseason wore on.   Finally, on January 16, the Orioles signed him to a contract that is by far the most they ever paid a single player -- a 7 year contract that would pay him $17 million each year but that included deferred payments through 2037 for a total of $161 million (Adam Jones' $85 million contract was the previous Oriole record).   The stretch of deferred payments is one of the longest in MLB history, rivalling Bobby Bonilla's now legendary deal.

Oriole fans were glad to have Davis back, and expected his power bat to help them continue to contend for years to come.   But the lack of rumored offers from other teams certainly seemed odd, it almost seemed as if the Orioles were bidding against themselves.   Boras had scored another coup with the contract.

Davis' performance in the first two years of the contract has been poor.  His batting average has dropped, his already high strikeout rate has increased, and his 64 home runs in two seasons are far less than what was hoped for when the deal was signed.   It remains to be seen whether he can reverse the downward trend in the remaining five years of the deal, but right now it looks like it could be a very poor deal for the Orioles.   And tying up that much payroll in one declining player could have serious effects on the Orioles' ability to pay other star players for the length of the contract.

The full story of the Chris Davis mega-contract is not known yet, but after two years it does not appear to be a good one, and it could hinder the Orioles hopes of returning to winning after posting their first losing season in 6 years in 2017.

[bobmc]

[SteveA]

It's 48 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 48th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

 

#48 April 3, 1989

 

The 1988 Orioles put up the worst record in the history of the franchise, and were expected to be very bad again in 1989.   They were to open the season on April 3, 1989, vs the Boston Red Sox.   Opening Day starter Roger Clemens had put up a 2.93 ERA the prior year, striking out 291 batters in 264 innings.

 

It had been openly joked that it wouldn't be that unlikely for Clemens to shut out the lowly Orioles on Opening Day.  The Orioles were starting Dave Schmidt, a journeyman at best.

 

Despite the low expectations, a sellout crowd of over 52,000 fans packed Memorial Stadium on an unseasonably warm April day.   New president George H. W. Bush threw out the first pitch, and Oriole fan Joan Jett sang the national anthem.  

 

Clemens had allowed 3 hits through 5 innings, and a Mike Greenwell HR had given Boston a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th.  In the bottom of the 6th, Brady Anderson doubled and Phil Bradley walked.   With one out, Cal Ripken blasted a Clemens pitch into the left field bleachers and the underdog Orioles had taken a 4-3 lead!

 

The Red Sox would tie it in the 7th and the two teams would go into extra innings.   In the bottom of the 11th, after a walk to Tettleton and single by Milligan, rookie third baseman Craig Worthington singled in the game winner, and 52,000 fans went home deliriously happy.

 

There would be no 0-21 start in 1989!   The Orioles would continue to play well and pull out late inning victories as the season went on.  On Sunday, April 23, they would take over first place in the AL East.  The team that no one thought would be any good, that people said might be no hit on Opening Day, had, at least for one season, brought dormant Oriole Magic back to life.   WIth the them of "Why Not", the team provided thrills to Oriole fans all summer long and was in the pennant race until the next to last day of the season.

 

[bobmc]

[Redskins Rick]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

[OFFNY]

9 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

It's 48 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 48th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

 

 

#48 April 3, 1989

 

 

The 1988 Orioles put up the worst record in the history of the franchise, and were expected to be very bad again in 1989.   They were to open the season on April 3, 1989, vs the Boston Red Sox.   Opening Day starter Roger Clemens had put up a 2.93 ERA the prior year, striking out 291 batters in 264 innings.

 

It had been openly joked that it wouldn't be that unlikely for Clemens to shut out the lowly Orioles on Opening Day.  The Orioles were starting Dave Schmidt, a journeyman at best.

 

Despite the low expectations, a sellout crowd of over 52,000 fans packed Memorial Stadium on an unseasonably warm April day.   New president George H. W. Bush threw out the first pitch, and Oriole fan Joan Jett sang the national anthem.  

 

Clemens had allowed 3 hits through 5 innings, and a Mike Greenwell HR had given Boston a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th.  In the bottom of the 6th, Brady Anderson doubled and Phil Bradley walked.   With one out, Cal Ripken blasted a Clemens pitch into the left field bleachers and the underdog Orioles had taken a 4-3 lead!

 

The Red Sox would tie it in the 7th and the two teams would go into extra innings.   In the bottom of the 11th, after a walk to Tettleton and single by Milligan, rookie third baseman Craig Worthington singled in the game winner, and 52,000 fans went home deliriously happy.

 

There would be no 0-21 start in 1989!   The Orioles would continue to play well and pull out late inning victories as the season went on.  On Sunday, April 23, they would take over first place in the AL East.  The team that no one thought would be any good, that people said might be no hit on Opening Day, had, at least for one season, brought dormant Oriole Magic back to life.   WIth the them of "Why Not", the team provided thrills to Oriole fans all summer long and was in the pennant race until the next to last day of the season.

 

 

o

o

 

6 months later, Dave Johnson pitched a great game on the next-to-the-last game of the season ........ the Orioles' bullpen just couldn't finish it off.

I still remember watching the highlights of the game on Sportscenter when I was working as a CRC that day in the late afternoon ........ and I remember Tom Mees (it might have been Dan Patrick or Charley Steiner) saying, "It was not his fault" when they showed a close-up of Johnson sitting in the dugout with his head in his hands after the final out of the game.

 

o

[Moose Milligan]

 

[SteveA]

It's 47 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 47th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#47 August 2, 1979

While most of the baseball world was transfixed by the news of Thurman Munson's tragic death, a major event in Oriole history occurred.

Jerry Hoffberger, president of National Brewing Company, had been a part owner of the Orioles since they returned to the majors, and majority owner since 1965.  The team was not profitable, and after several failed attempts by Baltimore businessmen to raise enough money to buy the team, Hoffberger sold the team to Washington lawyer Edward Bennett Williams for $12 million on August 2, 1979.   Williams was a part owner of the Washington Redskins.

The Orioles lease at Memorial Stadium was to expire after the 1980 season.   And it already had a provision that allowed for as many as 13 Oriole games to be played in Washington, and it soon became known that EBW had been looking into configuring RFK Stadium for baseball for several months before buying the team.   This led to immediate concern among Baltimore fans that he might move the team to Washington permanently at some point.   He said that was never his intention, but over the years he would complain about the difficulty for Washington area fans to get up to Memorial Stadium which was in the northern half of Baltimore and not close by any significant thoroughfares.  Most Baltimore fans believed that he wanted to eventually move the team to his native Washington, or perhaps to a central Maryland location that would attempt to capitalize on both markets.

Those concerns lasted throughout Bennett-Williams' tenure as Oriole owner, which would end with his death from cancer in 1988.  The loss of the Colts and the continued deterioration of Memorial Stadium, along with the specter of a Washington based owner, eventually led the to the state of Maryland deciding to build Oriole Park at Camden Yards.   EBW's tenure as owner was also marked by the Orioles last World Championship in 1983, and its first foray into free agent spending in 1985 with the signings of Lee Lacy, Fred Lynn, and Don Aase, as well as the unsuccessful attempt to recapture old glory by paying an enormous salary to woo Earl Weaver back from retirement.

While most Baltimore fans from that era never warmed to the out of town owner who they believe had designs on moving the team, ironically in the end his ownership turned out to be a pivotal factor in keeping the Orioles in Baltimore for a long time to come, as it was a major impetus for the building of the new downtown ballpark.

[Just Regular]

On 12/27/2017 at 7:47 AM, SteveA said:

It's 48 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 48th most significant date in modern Orioles history.

 

#48 April 3, 1989

 

Clemens had allowed 3 hits through 5 innings, and a Mike Greenwell HR had given Boston a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th.  In the bottom of the 6th, Brady Anderson doubled and Phil Bradley walked.   With one out, Cal Ripken blasted a Clemens pitch into the left field bleachers and the underdog Orioles had taken a 4-3 lead!

 

 

 

So in retrospect the Third Time Through the Order Penalty helped launch the Why Not campaign!

You'd be hard pressed to find a better example of it doesn't matter how good the pitcher is, or how well he is doing that day.

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

So in retrospect the Third Time Through the Order Penalty helped launch the Why Not campaign!

You'd be hard pressed to find a better example of it doesn't matter how good the pitcher is, or how well he is doing that day.

Not sure I buy it.   Clemens had a .650 OPSA the third time through the order in 1989.    Do you really think Boston’s middle relievers were a better bet than that?

The game has changed a lot since 1989.    That year, starting pitchers had a .686 OPSA the first time through the lineup, .713 the second time, .710 the third time.   Not a ton of deterioration there, and starting pitchers stayed through the 3rd time through the order about 75% of the time.     In 2017, the OPSA went from .732 to .780 to .800.    That’s a lot more deterioration, and starting pitchers remained in for the third time through only 64% of the time.   To me, the change in the deterioration rate dictated the change in strategy, rather than there simply being a change in strategic insight.