The 100 Most Significant Dates in Modern Orioles History

[Frobby]

I was there for this one.    The thought of Brooks running onto the field in full uniform, glove on, and then pawing the dirt around 3B with his cleats still sends goose bumps up my spine.    And the fans had been told there would be a surprise after the game, but nobody saw that coming.  It was awesome, and then it got better.   

[OFFNY]

6 hours ago, SteveA said:

 

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  By 1991, it was outdated, old, and starting to fall apart.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 pitcher 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 reciting James Earl Jones' soliloquy about baseball from Field of Dreams, the talking stopped.  The Field of Dreams 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

 

o

 

I have a brick in my house.

 

o

[beervendor]

During this ceremony I caught a ball signed by the original modern day O's SS Billy Hunter (and yes, I had to look it up). In a box somewhere now but cherished nonetheless. The best part of the day, IMO was the unprompted and deafening crowd chant for FLANNY- FLANNY-FLANNY to come out and pitch the 9th.

This is the Field of Dreams of OH threads. Thanks so much, SteveA.

[SteveA]

It's 12 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 12th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#12 September 18, 1977

Brooks Robinson is the most beloved player in Orioles history, and he also had the longest career of any Oriole.  In fact, no one in major league history played for just one team for more seasons than Brooks' 23 in an Oriole uniform.

By 1977, Brooks' career was winding down.  He had lost his starting third base job to Doug DeCinces.  He would only have 48 at bats on the season.  The most memorable was early in the season, on a Tuesday night in April.  Paid attendance was only 4836, and many of them were probably gone by the time the Orioles went into extra innings vs the Indians.

And a bunch more probably left when Cleveland put 3 runs on the board in the top of the 10th.  But a couple hits and a walk put a run on the board and brought the winning run to the plate.  Brooks, just shy of his 40th birthday, pinch hit for Larry Harlow, and put one out of the park for a walkoff 3-run home run!

That was the last big highlight of Brooks' wonderful career, until September 18.  In August, the Orioles needed a roster spot when Rick Dempsey was due to come off the DL, and Brooks, knowing he was at the end of the line, voluntarily retired.

On a sunny Sunday in September, the Orioles decided to honor their most beloved player.  Thanks Brooks Day, it was called.  51,798 fans packed Memorial Stadium to say one last goodbye.  Brooks said he didn't want any gifts, he only allowed the day to be held because he was told the fans wanted it.

The hour long pregame ceremony saw Brooks make a lap of the field in a 1955 Cadillac (1955 being the year he made his debut).  Tributes were paid to him, even Earl Weaver was emotional.  Despite his request for no gifts, Orioles owner Jerry HOffberger gave him a new car.  Friends gave him a trip to Hawaii.  Rawlings gave him 14 Gold Glove replicas to replace the 14 (of his 16) that he had given away to charity.

The tributes were touching.  Earl Weaver choked up when he said "Brooks, you were number one when it came to doing the things that were right".  One of the most touching tributes was from young Doug DeCinces, who was sitting on the grass in front of the dugout with the other Orioles watching the ceremony.  He got up and went over, pulled 3rd base out of the ground, and gave it to Brooks.

The day was spoiled from the Orioles when the Red Sox came from trailing 4-2 to win 10-4.  Rookie Ted Cox, making his major league debut, went 4 for 4.  But the Orioles had had a fitting, emotional farewell to the universally beloved Brooks Robinson, a Hall of Fame player and Hall of Fame human being.

[SteveA]

It's 11 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 11th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#11  November 4, 1993

After Edward Bennett Williams passed away in 1988, the team was purchased from his estate for $70 million by Eli Jacobs.  Jacobs viewed the team as an investment and did not put a lot of money into the franchise.  He benefited from the move to Camden Yards which had been set in motion before he bought the team.

He was forced into bankrupcy in March 1993.  The ballclub was sold at auction.  The winning group was a group of local investors led by Peter Angelos, a well known Baltimore lawyer who had made millions representing suffering from diseases caused by tobacco and asbestos.

Angelos took over as principal owner of the team on November 4, 1993, and has been in that role for nearly a quarter of a century since.  He has held the reins longer than any previous owner.

Initially, Angelos spent a lot of money on payroll, bringing in the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, and David Wells, as the new ballpark was a revenue monster.  In his 3rd and 4th year as owner, the Orioles went to the American League Championship series.  Later, he added Albert Belle, the biggest free agent signing in Oriole history to that point.

He also became known as someone who was difficult to work with.   Jon Miller, acclaimed as the best play by play man in baseball, and Davey Johnson, one of baseball's best managers, both left due to conflicts with Angelos.  He overrode respected GM Pat Gillick in 1996 when Gillick wanted to trade veterans for youth.  It turned out in that instance Angelos was right, as the team made the ALCS and the players that Gillick would likely have traded for did not amount to much.

But that began a reputation as a meddler and he had a hard time finding qualified front office personnel.  The Belle signing was derailed by Belle's career ending degenerative hip, the team aged.  Various GMs ranging from an over the hill Syd Thrift, an inexperienced Mike Flanagain, Jim Beattie, and Jim Duquette were unable to turn the team's fortunes around.  Ace pitcher Mike Mussina signed a team friendly extension, was insulted when the Orioles turned around and gave Scott Erickson, a lesser pitcher, more money as a free agent, and walked when the contract was up.

The Orioles endured 14 years of losing until Angelos finally found a pair of GMs, first Andy McPhail and then Dan Duqette, who were able to turn the team around and make the playoffs 3 times in 4 years.  But most accounts indicate that the GM's efforts are hamstrung by rules imposed on them by Angelos that most other teams do not have:  a refusal to invest in young Latin American free agent talent, a refusal to give longterm deals to most pitchers, and overly stringent medical exams for potential player acquisitions.

Angelos also has developed an adversarial relationship with major league baseball, starting from when he refused to consider using replacement players during the 1994-1995 work stoppage, and continuing with MLB's move of the Montreal Expos to Washington which was considered Baltimore territory.  

When Angelos bought the team a quarter of century ago, Oriole fans were thrilled to be rid of Jacobs and his disinterest and improving the team, and thrilled to have local ownership for the first time in over 15 years.  But now, after many years of losing, the 88 year owner is considered one of the worst in baseball and is viewed as a limiting factor on the team's ability to succeed.

[Moose Milligan]

The thing is, you want to like Angelos for the work he's done away from the Orioles.  

 

[osfan83]

On 1/31/2018 at 10:57 AM, Redskins Rick said:

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

 

It's amazing that Dempsey would go and do these things....no player today would ever go through this much effort to entertain the fans during a rain delay!

[Redskins Rick]

10 minutes ago, osfan83 said:

It's amazing that Dempsey would go and do these things....no player today would ever go through this much effort to entertain the fans during a rain delay!

I shook hands with him, 7th inning of a AAA game, he was manager of the Dukes (???) in New Mexico and I was in the stands with 2 other guys and all 3 of us with Os hats, we yelled his name, and pointed to our hats, and he waved us down, said hi and shook hands.
 

 

[SteveA]

It's 10 days until pitchers and catchers report.   Here is the 10th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#10  July 11, 1968

It was the 1968 All Star Break and the Orioles were 10.5 games out in the American League.  Ex-Marine and former Yankee Hank Bauer had managed the 1966 Orioles to a World Championship, but the Orioles had disappointed in 1967 and in the first half of 1968, although a lot of it was due to critical injuries.  Orioles GM Harry Dalton decided to make a change.

Earl Weaver had been coaching and managing in the Orioles' minor league system for a dozen years, after his career as a scrappy undersized second baseman had topped out in AAA ball.  At the start of the 1968 season, he was promoted from the minors to be the Orioles first base coach, and heir apparent as manager.   When Dalton fired Bauer, Weaver took over.

It was the start of a Hall of Fame career.  Weaver would win 4 pennants, 1480 regular season games, and compile a .583 winning percentage.  He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most innovative managers in baseball history.

Many remember Weaver for his combative battles for umpires and his many ejections, over 100 when postseason and preseason (yes preseason) games are counted.  

But Earl was much more than colorful histrionics.  He was decades ahead of his time in understanding the importance of walks and onbase percentage and the value of outs.  He was known for valuing pitching, defense, and three run homers, and the Orioles excelled in all those categories during his tenur.  He knew the rule book inside and out and would use it to find any advantage he could.

Weaver was great at using his bench, keeping all 25 players involved throughout the season and having them ready to produce when needed.  He managed with the entire season in mind, and his teams were always known for starting slowly but finishing very strong.  He platooned more than most managers to get the most out of his players.  He was the first manager to look at specific batter vs pitcher stats, which in the pre-internet days had to be painstakingly compiled for im by hand.

The 1968 Orioles went 48-34 after Earl took over, and were the best team in baseball the next 3 seasons.  Earl never had a losing season until 1986, the final year of his ill-fated un-retirement.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1996 and is one of the six great Orioles to have his number retired and be honored with a statue in the left field plaza.

The greatest manager in Oriole history, and one of the greatest in baseball history, took the helm of the team on July 11, 1968, and began a stretch of winning the likes of which we will probably never see again.

[Frobby]

Six Oriole statues, not five — Brooks, Frank, Cakes, Cal, Eddie and Earl.   

I think today a lot of statisticians would argue that specific batter-pitcher stats aren’t valid, but a lot of managers still use them.   

[SteveA]

It's 9 days until pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota.   Here is the 9th most significant date in modern Orioles histoyr:

#9 April 15, 1954

The last major league game played in Baltimore had been in 1915, when the Baltimore Terrapins played in the Federal League, which was an attempt by MLB players to form their own league and get out under the thumb of the AL & NL owners.   The Federal League is in fact considered a major league by historians.    Before the Federal League's 3 year existence, Baltimore had the legendary Orioles of the American Association and National league in the 1890s, who had several Hall of Famers and won several championships.   When the National League contracted, the Orioles moved to the brand new American League and played there for a few years, before going bankrupt and being replaced in the AL by the New York Highlanders (future Yankees).

So Baltimore had been represented in 4 major leagues, but had been relegated to minor league status for nearly four decades.   That ended on April 15, 1954, when Baltimore celebrated its re-entrance to Major League Baseball.   After opening the season with a couple games in Detroit, the brand new Orioles took a train back to Baltimore.   They disembarked the train in full uniform, and were taken in open cars in a huge parade to brand new Memorial Stadium, where construction was still being completed.  Vice President Nixon was part of the parade.

Bob Turley took the mound for Baltimore and pitched a complete game 7 hitter, beating the White Sox 7-1, in front of over 46,000 fans.  Clint Courtney and Vern Stephens hit home runs for the Orioles, who were managed by Jimmy Dykes.   The Orioles would draw over a million fans that year, just shy of what the St Louis Browns had drawn in their last 3 years combined.

Major league baseball was back in Baltimore!

 

 

[Just Regular]

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET195404130.shtml

I didn't realize we started on the road, and had never seen that logo before just now.

So the Yankees manager's grandpa got the first run off this incarnation of the franchise, and we had an 80 game score hung on us the first day.  Larsen probably had a nice BABIP that day, was just those balls out of play that were problems.

[SteveA]

It's 8 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 8th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#8 October 15, 1970

The Orioles had won 109 games in 1969, tied for the 5th most in MLB history, but had been upset in the World Series by the New York Mets.

Pretty much the same team was back in 1970, and this time they won 108 game.  The 217 wins in back to back years is the second best total ever, behind the 1906-07 Cubs.

For the second straight year, the Orioles swept the Minnesota Twins in the best-of-5 ALCS and found themselves back in the World Series.  The opponent this year was the "Big Red Machine", the Cincinnati Reds.

The World Series was historic for several reasons:  it was the first World Series where some of the games were played on artificial turf, at brand new Riverfront Stadium which had opened earlier in the season.  It was the last World Series without any night games, and the last World Series between two 100-win teams until the Astros and Dodgers squared off in 2017.  And it was the first World Series with an African American umpire, Emmett Ashford.

It was a contrast of a team known for its pitching (Baltimore featured three 20-game winners in Palmer, McNally, and Cuellar) vs a team known for its powerful bats.

The series started in Cincinnati.  Palmer fell behind 3-0 in the first game on a home run by Johnny Bench.  Home runs by Boog Powell and Elrod Hendricks tied the game at 3.  In the bottom of the 6th, Lee May hit a grounder down the 3rd base line.  Brooks Robinson went deep into foul territory to come up with the ball, stop, and throw to first, just beating May on one of the greatest defensive plays in World Series history.  In the top of the 7th, Brooks did it with his bat too, homering to break the tie.   Palmer pitched well into the 9th; when he walked Pete Rose with two outs, Pete Richert came in to get the last out to give the Orioles a 4-3 win.  The Reds felt they were cheated of a run in the 6th when Elrod Handricks tagged out Bernie Carbo at the plate.  Replays show that Hendricks had hte ball in his hand while tagging Carbo with an empty glove.   Plate umpire Ken Burkhart was poorly position and knocked down by the play so he never saw the "tag", and when he saw the ball in Elrod's hand he called the out.

In game 2, the Reds once again jumped out 3-0, on a 2-run double by Lee May; Paul Blair bobbled it and May went to 3rd, and Hal McRae squeezed him home.  It was 4-0 when Boog finally got the O's on the board in the 4th with a solo HR.  The Orioles bats finally came to life in the 5th with 5 runs, capped by an Elrod Hendricks 2-run double, and the O's held on for a 6-5 win and a 2-0 series laead.

Back in Baltimore for game 3, Dave McNally pitched a complete game and also hit a grand slam as the Orioles won 9-3.  McNally to this day is the only pitcher to hit a World Series grand slam.  Brooks Robinson made fantastic plays to rob Johnny Bench, Tommy Helms, and Tony Perez of hits, and also had a bases loaded double in the Orioles' 9-3 win.

In game 4, the Orioles were 6 outs away from a sweep, leading 5-3, but Lee May hit reliever Eddie Watt's first pitch for a 3-run home run and the Reds' bullpen made it stand up for a 6-5 win.  That ended a 17 game winning streak by the Orioles, who had won their last 11 regular season games before sweeping the Twins in the ALCS.

In game 5, the Reds jumped on Mike Cuellar for 3 runs in the top of the first.   Cincinnati starter Jim Merrit, a 20 game winner, was battling a sore arm, and the Orioles got 2 runs each in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd against him, including home runs by Frank Robinson and Merv Rettenmund.  The Orioles coasted to a 9-3 win and for the second time in 5 years they were the World Champions!

Brooks Robinson was the MVP of the series, as the nation got to see an awesome display of defense at 3rd that Baltimore fans had been watching for years.  Remember in those days there were very few nationally televised games, no nightly higlights from around the league.  This Week in Baseball didn't even exist yet.  But it wasn't just Brooks' glove:  he hit .429 in the series, had 17 total bases (a new record for a 5 game Series), and had a 4 hit game.

 

 

[SteveA]

It's 7 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 7th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#7  May 2, 1988

A Monday night game in May.  A team that had the worst start in the history of major league baseball, 0-21, coming home from a road trip with a 1-23 record.  A team that had become the butt of jokes on late night talk shows.

Not only that, but a team that had 18 straight winning seasons and 25 out of 26, had just put together 2 straight losing seasons, the latter being the worst for the franchise in 33 years.

Not only that, but Edward Bennett Williams, the DC based owner of the Redskins who had made no bones about wanting to play at least some of the team's schedule in DC when he first bought the team, was involved in contentious negotiations to extend the lease in Baltimore, and it was well known that the ballpark was getting old and decrepit.   There had been talk of a new ballpark, but EBW and the state of Maryland were said to be far apart in negotiations.

All that would be the recipe for a crowd of about 9,000 fans.

But that's not what happened.  The Orioles announced that the Monday night game would be a salute to the fans, called "Fantastic Fan Night".  Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke and Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer encouraged Oriole fans to come out, hinting that there would be a surprise or two.  A guy in a leprechaun costume was brought in to bring the team "luck".  

And Baltimore fans came out en masse to demonstrate that they still cared about their team despite the recent misfortunes.  An amazing crowd of 50,402 shows up to see the 1-23 Orioles play the Texas Rangers.

The crowd was loud and rowdy, as Memorial Stadium crowds always had been.  And before the game there was a huge announcement.   The Orioles had reached agreement with the state of Maryland to build a brand new state of the art downtown ballpark just west of the Inner Harbor and the Orioles had signed a 15 year lease agreement to play there!

At one of the darkest times in Oriole history, the fans came out in force to celebrate their love for the team.  They were rewarded with the news of a new ballpark that would begin a new era in Baltimore Oriole history, and actually would turn out to be a new era in baseball history as well, since Oriole Park at Camden Yards would change the perception of what a modern baseball park should be like forever.  And they also got to see Cal Ripken homer and the Orioles defeat the Rangers 9-4.  Fans were also treated to a visit by the famous "Morganna the Kissing Bandit", a former dancer from The Block in Baltimore whose measurements were reputed to be 60-23-39.  She ran out on the field and planted a kiss on Cal Ripken.

 

 

[SteveA]

It's 6 days until pitches and catchers report.   Here's the 6th most significant date in modern Orioles history:

#6 October 16, 1969

The 1969 Orioles were probably the best baseball team of a generation.  No team had won more than their 109 games since 19554, and no team would surpass that figure until 1998.  There's little doubt they were one of the best defensive teams ever, and they had plenty of pitching and hitting too.

The Orioles won the brand new AL Eastern Division by 19 games over the 90-win Detroit Tigers.  They swept the Minnesota Twins in 3 games in the very first American League Championship Series, and faced the New York Mets in the World Series.

The Mets had some great starting pitching, including Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and a young Nolan Ryan.  They had a young lineup with very few houshold names:  C Jerry Grote, 1B Ed Kranepool, 2B Ken Boswell, SS Bud Harrellson, 3B Wayne Garrett, LF CLeon Jones, CF Tommie Agee, and RF Ron Swoboda.  All were between 21 and 26 years old, and none were superstars.  Those 9 no-name players would combine to go to a total of 8 All Star Games in their career, and only 2 of them ever finished higher than 20th in the All Star voting.

Meanwhile, the Orioles also had great pitching, and had a far better lineup.  Hendricks/Powell/Johnson/Belanger/Brooks/Buford/Blair/Robinson would 39 All Star Games in their career, win 31 Gold Gloves, and 4 MVP Awards, with 12 other finishes in the top 5 of the MVP voting

This appeared to be a mismatch of the highest proportion.  The Orioles were historically good and expected to win their 2nd World Championship in 4 years, in their first full season under new manager Earl Weaver.

The Series began in Baltimore, with Mike Cuellar facing Tom Seaver.  Don Buford hit Seaver's 2nd pitch for a home run.  The Orioles added 3 more in the 4th on RBIs by Belanger, Cuellar, and Buford, and coasted to a 4-1 victory.

In the 2nd game, lefties McNally and Koosman squared off.  Koosman took a no hitter and a 1-0 lead into the 7th, when Paul Blair broke up the no-no with a single, stole 2nd, and scored on a Brooks Robinson single to tie the game.  But McNally would give up a run on 3 straight singles in the top of the 9th and the Mets would even the series with a 2-1 win.

The Series moved to New York, with Jim Palmer facing Gary Gentry, a rookie who had won 13 games.  Tommie Agee led off the bottom of the first with a home run off Palmer, and would save, by most accounts, at least 5 runs in the game wish his spectacular defense.  He made a running backhanded catch of what would have been a 2-run double by Elrod Hendricks, and a headfirst diving grab of a bases loaded line drive off the bat of Paul Blair.  Gentry would hit a 2-run double of his own, and pitch 6.2 shutout innings. Young Nolan Ryan would pitch the last 2.1 innings for a save in what would turn out to be the only World Series appearance of his 27 year Hall of Fame career.

In Game 4, Tom Seaver put up zeroes against the Orioles.  Meanwhile, a Donn Clendennon homer gave New York a 1-0 lead in the 2nd.  In the 3rd, Earl Weaver argued balls and strikes and became the first manager thrown out of a World Series game since 1935.  Seaver took a 1-0 lead into the 9th.  Frank Robinson and Boog Powell had back to back singles with one out.  Brooks hit a sinking line drive to right.  RF Ron Swoboda made a fantastic diving catch... it still went for a game tying sac fly but not the hit that would have put the Orioles ahead.  In the bottom of the 10th, after a bloop double by Grote and an intentional walk, JC Martin came on to pinch hit for Seaver, who had pitched 10 6-hit innings.  Martin bunted; Oriole reliever Pete Richert fielded it and his throw hit Martin running to first.  A pinch runner came around to score the winning run.  Replays indicated that Martin ran inside the baseline and should have been out for interference (and the ball dead) but the umps ruled he did not interfere.  The Mets won 2-1 and had a 3-1 lead.

Dave McNally took the mound in Game 5, on Octoer 16, 1969, hoping to send the season back to Baltimore.  He hit a home run, as did Frank Robinson, and cruised into the 6th with a 3-0 lead.  In the top of the 6th Frank Robinson was hit by a pitch, but the ump ruled it hit his bat.  (Replays later showed it bounced off his hip first and hten hit his bat).  So the Orioles lost a chance at a baserunner.  In the bottom of the inning, McNally bounced a pitch that appeared to hit Cleon Jones on the foot and then bounced into the Mets dugout.  Mets manager Gil Hodges "proved" that the ball hit Jones by showing the up a spot of shoe polish on the ball, and Jones was awarded first base.   Clendenon hit a 2-run homer to make it 3-2.

In 2009, Jerry Koosman stated in interviews that Hodges had instructed him to rub the ball on his shoe after he picked it up in the Mets dugout, and he did.

In the 7th inning, light hitting Al Weis homered to tie the game.   He only had 7 home runs in his career.

The Mets came up with 2 in the 8th to put away the game and the series.  Ron Swoboda doubled in a run and another run scored on a Boog Powell error.

The New York Mets had broken Baltimore's heart and won the 1969 World Series 4-1.  The 1969 Orioles are very possibly the best team in baseball history that didn't win the World Series.  And it ended a year of sorrow for Baltimore fans at the hands of New York teams.  The previous January, the New York Jets, heavy underdogs, defeated the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl.  And in the spring, the New York Knicks had eliminated the Baltimore Bullets from the NBA playoffs, a feat they would repeat in 1970 as well.