The 100 Most Significant Dates in Modern Orioles History

[SteveA]

2 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Ok...who was there?? 

I think I *might* have been at the Saturday night doubleheader split with Toronto, the second game of which was the last non-Cal game for the Orioles in over 16 years.

I don't remember the games at all, but i know me and a bunch of my high school friends went to a weekend doubleheader that year, and that appears to be the only one (there was one the first weekend of the season but I don't think that was it).

We were going towards the box office to get tickets and an usher motioned to us and said if we each gave him 5 bucks he'd let us in the stadium, just go sit somewhere  up in the upper deck and no one will bother you, and that's what we did.   He let us in some side entrance on the 3B side without turnstiles, and we went way high up in the upper deck behind home plate.   I remember the friends I was with (senior year in high school) and just hanging out up there for a doubleheader drinking and enjoying the games and the company, but I don't remember those particular games themselves.

[Moose Milligan]

2 minutes ago, SteveA said:

I think I *might* have been at the Saturday night doubleheader split with Toronto, the second game of which was the last non-Cal game for the Orioles in over 16 years.

I don't remember the games at all, but i know me and a bunch of my high school friends went to a weekend doubleheader that year, and that appears to be the only one (there was one the first weekend of the season but I don't think that was it).

We were going towards the box office to get tickets and an usher motioned to us and said if we each gave him 5 bucks he'd let us in the stadium, just go sit somewhere  up in the upper deck and no one will bother you, and that's what we did.   He let us in some side entrance on the 3B side without turnstiles, and we went way high up in the upper deck behind home plate.   I remember the friends I was with (senior year in high school) and just hanging out up there for a doubleheader drinking and enjoying the games and the company, but I don't remember those particular games themselves.

That's still a really cool memory.  Back in the day it seems like you could get away with stuff like that.  I can't imagine an usher letting anyone in for 5 bucks (or whatever the equal dollar amount would be today) these days.  

[SteveA]

It's 15 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 15th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#15 October 16, 1983

The late 70s/early 80s Orioles were a re-tooled version of the great Oriole teams from 1969 through 1974, with only Jim Palmer, Mark Belanger, and Earl Weaver remaining from those teams that won the AL East 5 out of the first 6 years of divisional play.

Young talent from the farm system and a big trade in 1976 put the Orioles back incontention in 1977.  They came tantalizingly close several times.  The 1977 team, which no one expected to contend, was in it until the last weekend of the season.

The 1979 team led the majors in wins, won the AL pennant, and took a 3-1 lead in teh World Series before succumbing to the Pirates.

The 1980 squad was one of the few teams in ML history to win 100 games without making the playoffs, falling short of a powerful Yankee team.

In 1981, the strike cut the season in half, and the Orioles had a good record but missed the playoffs.  And the 1982 Orioles fell short of a great comeback, losing the AL East on the last day of the season.

The 1983 team was an aging, veteran team.  Sure, they had an in-his prime Eddie Murray and a 22 year old MVP in Cal Ripken, but they had several starters who were on the high side of 30 in Rick Dempsey, Rich Dauer, John Lowenstein, Dan Ford, Al Bumbry, and Ken Singleton.  They knew that it was now or never.

They had to do it without future Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who had retired at the end of the 1982 season and was replaced by veteran baseball man Joe Altobelli.

Second year shortstop Cal Ripken was the AL MVP, and Scott McGregor (18-7, 3.18 ERA) and young Mike Boddicker (16-8, 2.77) led the pitching staff.  They overcame an 8 game losing streak, and a significant injury to Mike Flanagan, to go 98-64 and win the AL East by 6 games.  They took on the Chicago White Sox in the best of 5 ALCS.  After losing the first game 2-1 to White Sox ace LaMarr Hoyt, the Orioles won the next 3 games to advance to the World Series, the last one in a game that was scoreless into extra innings until journeyman Tito Landrum's 3-run homer.

The Orioles were back in the World Series for the first time in a dozen years, facing another team with a lot of veterans, the Philadelphia Phillies.  7 of their 8 position players were 30 or older (C Bo Diaz 30, 1B Pete Rose 42, 2B Joe Morgan 39, SS Ivan DeJesus 30, 3B Mike Schmid 33, LF Gary Matthews 32, and CF Garry Maddox 33) and one of their top bench players was 41 year old Tony Perez.

In Game 1 in Baltimore, John Denny defeated Scott McGregor 2-1 on solo homers by Morgan and Maddox.  The Phillies led game 2 1-0 into the bottom of the 5th, John Lowenstein got the Orioles on the board with a solo home run.  The next two batters singled and Rick Dempsey hit an RBI double, and pitcher Mike Boddicker added a sac fly.  The Orioles won 4-1 and the series went up the road to Philadelphia tied 1-1.

In Game 3, Steve Carlton took a 2-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead into the 6th.  Dan Ford homered to get the Orioles on the board.  In the 7th, with 2 outs, Dempsey doubled.  Benny Ayala singled him home to tie the game.  An error helped the Orioles get a 3rd run with two outs and take the lead.  Veteran Jim Palmer had come on in relief and pitched 2 shutout innings and got the win, making him the first pitcher ever to win a World Series game in 3 decades.

Storm Davis faced John Denny in game 4.  Rich Dauer's 2 run single gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the 4th.  The Phillies got 1 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to take a 3-2 lead.  In the top of the 6th, the Orioles loaded the bases vs Denny, and Ken Singleton drew a walk, and John Shelby hit a sac fly to give the O's a 4-3 lead.  Dauer knocked in another run in the 7th.  Tippy Martinez gave up a run in the 9th and the tie run was on base, but he got the job done and the Orioles had won 5-4 to take a 3-1 lead.

An identical 3-1 lead to the one they had four years earlier, when they couldn't finish the job in Game 5 in Pittsburgh and then came home and lost the last two in Baltimore.  

This time, the Orioles came through.   Scott McGregor pitched a masterful complete game 5 hit shutout.  Eddie Murray, who had been criticized for an abysmal 1979 World Series, and who was 2 for 16 in this one so far, was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, including a monstrous blast that hit his name on a scoreboard in deep center.  When the line drive landed in Cal Ripken's glove, the Orioles had won 5-0 and were World Champions!

Rick Dempsey had a homer and a double in Game 5.  He had 4 doubles in the series and was named World Series MVP, an unlikely hero.  Talking to President Reagan on the phone from the locker room, he said "You go tell those Russians we're having a good time over here playing baseball!".

A veteran team that had suffered heartbreaking close call defeats the previous 6 seasons, and lost one of the greatest managers of all time, had pulled together one last time to capture the prize of a World Championship, the 3rd in 18 years for the team.

 

[MDtransplant757]

I would have loved to watch that team. 

[Redskins Rick]

I said it before.

I love that Dempster got WS MVP.

I doubt anybody including his family ever saw that happening.

[Frobby]

A World Series wIn only counts as no. 15?     I can’t wait to find out what the other 14 are!    (I’m sure I can guess some of them.)

[Just Regular]

3 hours ago, SteveA said:

Storm Davis faced John Denny in game 4.  Rich Dauer's 2 run single gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the 4th.  The Phillies got 1 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to take a 3-2 lead.  In the top of the 6th, the Orioles loaded the bases vs Denny, and Ken Singleton drew a walk, and John Shelby hit a sac fly to give the O's a 4-3 lead.  Dauer knocked in another run in the 7th.  Tippy Martinez gave up a run in the 9th and the tie run was on base, but he got the job done and the Orioles had won 5-4 to take a 3-1 lead.

 

 

 

The October jewel of my childhood - your team getting a WS at 10 is just about the best leverage index kid age.

This game's middle innings rally was a unicorn because 4 straight pinch hitters generated it.

It was poetry McGregor got to clinch after being outdueled by the AL and NL Cy Young Award winners in the Game 1's.

[OFFNY]

4 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

It's 15 days until pitchers and catchers report. Here is the 15th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

 

#15 October 16, 1983

 

The late 70s/early 80s Orioles were a re-tooled version of the great Oriole teams from 1969 through 1974, with only Jim Palmer, Mark Belanger, and Earl Weaver remaining from those teams that won the AL East 5 out of the first 6 years of divisional play.

Young talent from the farm system and a big trade in 1976 put the Orioles back incontention in 1977.  They came tantalizingly close several times.  The 1977 team, which no one expected to contend, was in it until the last weekend of the season.

The 1979 team led the majors in wins, won the AL pennant, and took a 3-1 lead in teh World Series before succumbing to the Pirates.

The 1980 squad was one of the few teams in ML history to win 100 games without making the playoffs, falling short of a powerful Yankee team.

In 1981, the strike cut the season in half, and the Orioles had a good record but missed the playoffs.  And the 1982 Orioles fell short of a great comeback, losing the AL East on the last day of the season.

The 1983 team was an aging, veteran team.  Sure, they had an in-his prime Eddie Murray and a 22 year old MVP in Cal Ripken, but they had several starters who were on the high side of 30 in Rick Dempsey, Rich Dauer, John Lowenstein, Dan Ford, Al Bumbry, and Ken Singleton.  They knew that it was now or never.

They had to do it without future Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who had retired at the end of the 1982 season and was replaced by veteran baseball man Joe Altobelli.

Second year shortstop Cal Ripken was the AL MVP, and Scott McGregor (18-7, 3.18 ERA) and young Mike Boddicker (16-8, 2.77) led the pitching staff.  They overcame an 8 game losing streak, and a significant injury to Mike Flanagan, to go 98-64 and win the AL East by 6 games.  They took on the Chicago White Sox in the best of 5 ALCS.  After losing the first game 2-1 to White Sox ace LaMarr Hoyt, the Orioles won the next 3 games to advance to the World Series, the last one in a game that was scoreless into extra innings until journeyman Tito Landrum's 3-run homer.

The Orioles were back in the World Series for the first time in a dozen years, facing another team with a lot of veterans, the Philadelphia Phillies.  7 of their 8 position players were 30 or older (C Bo Diaz 30, 1B Pete Rose 42, 2B Joe Morgan 39, SS Ivan DeJesus 30, 3B Mike Schmid 33, LF Gary Matthews 32, and CF Garry Maddox 33) and one of their top bench players was 41 year old Tony Perez.

In Game 1 in Baltimore, John Denny defeated Scott McGregor 2-1 on solo homers by Morgan and Maddox.  The Phillies led game 2 1-0 into the bottom of the 5th, John Lowenstein got the Orioles on the board with a solo home run.  The next two batters singled and Rick Dempsey hit an RBI double, and pitcher Mike Boddicker added a sac fly.  The Orioles won 4-1 and the series went up the road to Philadelphia tied 1-1.

In Game 3, Steve Carlton took a 2-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead into the 6th.  Dan Ford homered to get the Orioles on the board.  In the 7th, with 2 outs, Dempsey doubled.  Benny Ayala singled him home to tie the game.  An error helped the Orioles get a 3rd run with two outs and take the lead.  Veteran Jim Palmer had come on in relief and pitched 2 shutout innings and got the win, making him the first pitcher ever to win a World Series game in 3 decades.

Storm Davis faced John Denny in game 4.  Rich Dauer's 2 run single gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the 4th.  The Phillies got 1 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to take a 3-2 lead.  In the top of the 6th, the Orioles loaded the bases vs Denny, and Ken Singleton drew a walk, and John Shelby hit a sac fly to give the O's a 4-3 lead.  Dauer knocked in another run in the 7th.  Tippy Martinez gave up a run in the 9th and the tie run was on base, but he got the job done and the Orioles had won 5-4 to take a 3-1 lead.

An identical 3-1 lead to the one they had four years earlier, when they couldn't finish the job in Game 5 in Pittsburgh and then came home and lost the last two in Baltimore.  

This time, the Orioles came through.   Scott McGregor pitched a masterful complete game 5 hit shutout.  Eddie Murray, who had been criticized for an abysmal 1979 World Series, and who was 2 for 16 in this one so far, was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, including a monstrous blast that hit his name on a scoreboard in deep center.  When the line drive landed in Cal Ripken's glove, the Orioles had won 5-0 and were World Champions!

Rick Dempsey had a homer and a double in Game 5.  He had 4 doubles in the series and was named World Series MVP, an unlikely hero.  Talking to President Reagan on the phone from the locker room, he said "You go tell those Russians we're having a good time over here playing baseball!".

A veteran team that had suffered heartbreaking close call defeats the previous 6 seasons, and lost one of the greatest managers of all time, had pulled together one last time to capture the prize of a World Championship, the 3rd in 18 years for the team.

 

o

 

I used to watch The Baseball Bunch, with the kids. 

In one episode, Tommy Lasorda compared the experiences that the Orioles had in the 1979 and 1983 World Series. Both times, the Orioles were up 3 games to 1 with a road game coming up in Game 5. He said that the Orioles "learned from what happened in 1979", and did not wait to go home (for Game 6 and/or Game 7) to wrap it up in 1983, like they did in 1979.

 

o

[Frobby]

In a lot of ways, that ‘83 team was my favorite of them all.     They were nowhere near as talented as the 1966 or 1970 teams (though they were more experienced than the ‘66 team for the most part).    But they were a true team, and had great camaraderie and quiet self-confidence.   It took them five years to knock that door down, and when they finally did, it was extremely satisfying.

[SteveA]

It's 14 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 14th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#14 September 20, 1998

1998 was not a good year for the Orioles.  After two straight trips to the ALCS, everything went wrong in 1998.  Ray Miller replaced Davey Johnson at manager, after Johnson left abruptly due to a dispute with owner Peter Angelos.  The team that had gone wire to wire in first place the year before could not gain any traction.  They started 10-2, but by the All Star Break they were 12 games under .500.  A team that had been one of the best in baseball the last two seasons suddenly found itself struggling, and nothing seemed to work.

The only constant was Cal Ripken.  Three years earlier he had amazed baseball by breaking a record that most thought to be unbreakable -- Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games played.  And not only did he break it, but he continued to play, adding over 500 more games to his record.  Very few players ever play 500 consecutive games, but Cal did that on top of the longest streak in major league history!

But all things must come to an end.   On Sunday night, September 20, the Orioles played their last home game of the season.  They would end the year with a 7 game road trip.  They weren't quite mathematically eliminated, but it would take 8 straight wins and 8 straight Red Sox losses for the Orioles to tie for the wild card.  It was over.

The game was nationally televised on ESPN and played in front of over 48,000 fans.  Cal reportedly walked into Ray Miller's office about a half hour before the game and told Miller he wanted to end the streak.  For the first time since May 29, 1982, and the first time ever at Camden Yards, a lineup without Cal Ripken was posted.

Ryan Minor, a two sport athlete who was an All American basketball player at Oklahoma, started at 3rd in Cal's place.  In the top of the first, the Yankees came to the top step of the dugout and started an ovation for Cal, which the fans picked up.  Eventually Cal acknowledged.  He spent the game giving autographs over the dugout, and went out and hung out in the bullpen for a while.

Cal would play 3 more years for the Orioles.  It was said about Gehrig and turned out not to be true, but it certainly appears that Cal's 2,632 consecutive games played is a record that will never be broken, and probably never even approached.  Since Cal's streak ended, there has been just one consecutive game streak longer than 514 games -- Miguel Tejada's impressive 1,165 game streak, which still is still over 9 seasons short of Cal's achievement.

[Moose Milligan]

Hate to argue with this but, IMO, Cal sitting doesn't trump a WS victory.

Happened to be there for this game.  Orioles lineups announced, Yankees lineups announced, didn't give one thought to Cal not being in the lineup because it was taken for granted that he would be.

I was sitting down behind home plate with my camera, I was still in high school and taking my camera to a game and trying to get photos of my favorite players was a thrill.  Didn't understand what was happening when the Yankees came out and started applauding.  

Got to be there for 2130, 2131 and the first game he sat down.  Pretty fortunate all throughout the years. 

[Frobby]

9 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Hate to argue with this but, IMO, Cal sitting doesn't trump a WS victory.

I’ve got to agree.   Not many things do.

[Moose Milligan]

Just now, Frobby said:

I’ve got to agree.   Not many things do.

Yeah, there's time for debate back and forth after #1 is revealed, which would be fun but I think I'd put this probably somewhere after #30.  Everyone remembers 2130 and 2131, those are games that transcend the game and probably make the top 5 spot for anyones list.

Cal stopping the streak isn't too memorable though.   

[SteveA]

It's 13 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 13th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#13  October 6, 1991

Memorial Stadium was the home to the Orioles for 38 years.  By 1991, it was outdated, old, and starting to fall apart.  But it was home.   The big horseshoe whose acoustics and echos caused a crowd of 30,000 to sound like 50,000.

All the great Orioles had played on that field.   It was the site of 5 World Series, of "Orioles Magic", of Section 34, of Rick Dempsey rain delay antics.  It was where Rex Barney had announced countless players, and Chuck Thompson had broadcast many hundreds of games.

It was where Frank hit it out, where chants of "Eddie" resonated, and where four 20 game winners took the mound.

And in 1991, it's days as a major league stadium came to an end.

The entire season the memories of Memorial Stadium were celebrated.  And on the last day of the season, October 6, the Orioles' PR department gave the stadium a fitting farewell.  All that weekend they had giveaways and had Oriole players greeting early arrivers at the gate.  Jointly throwing out the first pitch were Brooks Robinson and John Unitas.

On the final Sunday game, vs Detroit, the Oriole completed a dismal 70-92 season with a 7-1 loss to the Tigers.  The last Oriole to throw a pitch at Memorial Stadium was Mike Flanagan, a beloved starter from the late 70s and early 80s who had returned to the team late in his career as a reliever.  The last batter was Cal Ripken, who hit into a game ending double play.

The postgame ceremony was memorable and left 50,000+ fans in tears.  First there was a ceremonial digging of home plate out so it could be transported to the site of the new downtown ballpark, and a video presentation of it being planted there.

Then, after playing James Earl Jones' sililoquy about baseball from Field of Dreams, the talking stopped.  The Field of Dreams musical score kept playing.  Oriole greats began to walk out on the field and take their traditional positions in Oriole uniforms.  First, of course, was Brooks Robinson, who went out to third with that familiar hunch shouldered lope, and took his fielding position, looking ready to field a grounder.  One by one, Oriole greats went out to their positions.  Boog.  Frank.  Palmer.  All four 20 game winners.

Rick Dempsey, though under contract with the Brewers, begged out of the last day of the season so he could attend and he went behind the plate to a huge ovation.  Palmer, on the mound, pretended to shake him off.  Roenicke and Lowenstein went out to left together.  Belanger to short.  They came out faster and faster, each one bringing cheers when fans recognized them.  No one announced their names.   No one needed to.

By the time it was over, more than 100 former Orioles from every era of the team's history was out on the field.  They formed a circle so a ceremonial 360 degree panoramic picture could be taken of all of them.   Rick Dempsey led an O-R-I-O-L-E-S chant.  The players throw balls into the stands for souvenirs for fans.  Finally, an ailing Rex Barney, from a hospital bed, was shown on the video board with a closing message for the stadium, ending in his trademark "Thank you.....".

It was a fitting ending for a place that had so many memories, and history, and love for Oriole fans.

https://youtu.be/bA2ngYFgoBQ?t=465

[Redskins Rick]

fun times. I love the Sammy Stewart as Palmer and Dempsey as Yount rain delay antics, skip to 34:34 for that.