A question for those who remember 1989

[Remember The Alomar]

I was a few months away from being born so, sadly, I missed the '89 season. But, for those who have vivid memories of it: How does the 2022 season compare to it thus far? When did you start to believe that team was special? 

I don't want to get ahead of myself, as this current team could still collapse. But, for some reason, tonight's win really gave me a jolt of excitement and appreciation for this squad. Curious if/when that hit for the people who experienced '89.

Edited August 6, 2022 by Remember The Alomar

[JR Oriole]

I was 14 in 1989.  I felt like that team was special early on in the season.  That season was different than this one because they came out of the gates strong.  At one point, they had a 7.5 game lead in the division but fell behind Toronto in the late summer.  Toronto hired Cito Gaston as manager in the summer and then really took off.  To be fair, the Jays had the most talented roster in the division. Other than the great start and the awesome wins and stories from that season, what I also remember was there was like a 5 week stretch in late August/September when it felt like we could not gain any ground on the Jays.  I think there were only 2 days where we actually won on a day they lost.  They just keep stiff arming us out of the division lead and we could not catch them, which was incredibly frustrating.  It reminds me a bit of 2012 and how as good as we were, the Yankees refused to relinquish first place (Ichiro was the clutchest man on earth for them in August and September). 

So this 2022 team is different because they started horribly and then turned it around when Adley came up.  The real question for us is whether we can win the divisional games, which we have a ton of in this last part of the season.  But it has been WAY more fun than anything that has happened since Encarnacion hit that Ubaldo pitch 500 feet to knock us out of the playoffs.  

[maybenxtyr]

1 hour ago, JR Oriole said:

I was 14 in 1989.  I felt like that team was special early on in the season.  That season was different than this one because they came out of the gates strong.  At one point, they had a 7.5 game lead in the division but fell behind Toronto in the late summer.  Toronto hired Cito Gaston as manager in the summer and then really took off.  To be fair, the Jays had the most talented roster in the division. Other than the great start and the awesome wins and stories from that season, what I also remember was there was like a 5 week stretch in late August/September when it felt like we could not gain any ground on the Jays.  I think there were only 2 days where we actually won on a day they lost.  They just keep stiff arming us out of the division lead and we could not catch them, which was incredibly frustrating.  It reminds me a bit of 2012 and how as good as we were, the Yankees refused to relinquish first place (Ichiro was the clutchest man on earth for them in August and September). 

So this 2022 team is different because they started horribly and then turned it around when Adley came up.  The real question for us is whether we can win the divisional games, which we have a ton of in this last part of the season.  But it has been WAY more fun than anything that has happened since Encarnacion hit that Ubaldo pitch 500 feet to knock us out of the playoffs.  

I still remember that wild pitch by Olson in 89. I can't find fault with him though. Even as a 12 going on 13 year old that year I remember how much fun that team was. I also remember how special Gregg Olson was that summer.

[Teddy OBP]

JR Oriole sums it up nicely. They were up in the division early and playing great ball - the big west coast road trip in the summer did us in. Just couldn’t get back in from of Toronto.  2012 def seems like a better parallel to 1989 as far as how the season flowed but some of the guys they pulled out of nowhere to contribute seems a lot like this year.

 

[waroriole]

I have fuzzy memories of 89, just too young. I remember 2012 vividly. And this year feels exactly like 2012. Magic

[jdwilde1]

Three big differences IMO. First, as mentioned above, the O’s were in it from the start.  The season opener, which set the tone for the season, was a come from behind extra innings win against the Red Sox with Cal hitting a three run jack off of Clemens. Second, the O’s had been so good for so long the fan base was still used to winning in 1989 despite the three previous seasons.  Third, there was no wild card (let alone three), so being in the run for the playoffs just had a different feel.  I would guess that folks older than me feel the same way about pre-divisional play when the regular season was for the pennant.

The seasons are similar in that they are really fun teams with unexpected success. Lot’s of crazy plays! 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, jdwilde1 said:

Three big differences IMO. First, as mentioned above, the O’s were in it from the start.  The season opener, which set the tone for the season, was a come from behind extra innings win against the Red Sox with Cal hitting a three run jack off of Clemens. Second, the O’s had been so good for so long the fan base was still used to winning in 1989 despite the three previous seasons.  Third, there was no wild card (let alone three), so being in the run for the playoffs just had a different feel.  I would guess that folks older than me feel the same way about pre-divisional play when the regular season was for the pennant.

The seasons are similar in that they are really fun teams with unexpected success. Lot’s of crazy plays! 

I strongly disagree with your second point.

The 1988 team was legitimately a national punchline.  You had stand up comedians and late night TV hosts referencing the team.  That 21 game losing streak to start the season was a big deal.

I certainly had no expectations that the '89 team was going to be successful.

[jdwilde1]

Another big difference was the quality of the broadcasters.  Radio was John Miller and Joe Angel, who were both tremendous.  On TV, it was Mel Proctor, usually with Palmer or John Lowenstein, and sometimes Rex Barney.  Just a very talented bunch on both TV and radio.  And I don’t point this out to disparage the current crew, but rather to point out how good we had it back in the day.

[Teddy OBP]

13 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I strongly disagree with your second point.

The 1988 team was legitimately a national punchline.  You had stand up comedians and late night TV hosts referencing the team.  That 21 game losing streak to start the season was a big deal.

I certainly had no expectations that the '89 team was going to be successful.

88 was so brutal especially because the team had been so good for so long. Somewhere in a box I have Boswell’s Washington Post magazine “Bums of Summer” cover…and his mid season apology.

I was 15/16 and a true believer - I was too young to be upset about 79, had fun as a 10 year old can in 83, but was SO invested in the 89 team.  It’s still why I hate the Blue Jays more than any other team on earth.

[jdwilde1]

21 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I strongly disagree with your second point.

The 1988 team was legitimately a national punchline.  You had stand up comedians and late night TV hosts referencing the team.  That 21 game losing streak to start the season was a big deal.

I certainly had no expectations that the '89 team was going to be successful.

Yes, there was no expectation that the 1989 O’s were going to be any good, which is why I said they had “unexpected success.” And the O’s were a punchline. 
 

My point was that it was different in that the fan base was used to winning.  Unlike 2012, which came on the heels of 14 straight losing seasons, or the current team, which followed a short period of success with hundreds of losses, the fan base in 1989 was still used to winning.  From  1963-1985 they only had one losing season, while winning three World Series, six pennants, posting sixteen 90+ win seasons and five 100+ win seasons.

There was no apathy with the fan base.  There was no generational gap where anyone under 40 wonders what it would be like to not have the O’s as a perennial loser.  The good will of previous 25 years was still there.  All of that good will was burned through a long time ago.  

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, jdwilde1 said:

Yes, there was no expectation that the 1989 O’s were going to be any good, which is why I said they had “unexpected success.” And the O’s were a punchline. 
 

My point was that it was different in that the fan base was used to winning.  Unlike 2012, which came on the heels of 14 straight losing seasons, or the current team, which followed a short period of success with hundreds of losses, the fan base in 1989 was still used to winning.  From  1963-1985 they only had one losing season, while winning three World Series, six pennants, posting sixteen 90+ win seasons and five 100+ win seasons.

There was no apathy with the fan base.  There was no generational gap where anyone under 40 wonders what it would be like to not have the O’s as a perennial loser.  The good will of previous 25 years was still there.  All of that good will was burned through a long time ago.  

I don't know, maybe it was the fact that I was on the younger side but:

85 - 83/78

86 - 73/89

87 - 67/95

88- 54/107

I wasn't that used to winning in '89.

[csgordos]

30 minutes ago, pdiddy said:

88 was so brutal especially because the team had been so good for so long. Somewhere in a box I have Boswell’s Washington Post magazine “Bums of Summer” cover…and his mid season apology.

I was 15/16 and a true believer - I was too young to be upset about 79, had fun as a 10 year old can in 83, but was SO invested in the 89 team.  It’s still why I hate the Blue Jays more than any other team on earth.

I have similar memories.  First baseball memory was 79 WS.  Growing up in Southern PA, 83 was awesome!!!   88 was brutal.  Never want that type of a record that will never be broken.  
 

89 was awesome from Day 1 so not as unexpected as this year.  Still had national recognized stars on that team and great young players. 
 

This year I challenge anybody nationally who knew one Oriole on the opening day roster other than Cedric. 
 

89 seemed like a team of Destiny.  End was almost as heartbreaking as 82. And 79.  This year I keep waiting for reality with our starting pitchers to come crashing down.  We are do for some Andino type of magic at the end of the season luck.  

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, csgordos said:

I have similar memories.  First baseball memory was 79 WS.  Growing up in Southern PA, 83 was awesome!!!   88 was brutal.  Never want that type of a record that will never be broken.  
 

89 was awesome from Day 1 so not as unexpected as this year.  Still had national recognized stars on that team and great young players. 
 

This year I challenge anybody nationally who knew one Oriole on the opening day roster other than Cedric. 
 

89 seemed like a team of Destiny.  End was almost as heartbreaking as 82. And 79.  This year I keep waiting for reality with our starting pitchers to come crashing down.  We are do for some Andino type of magic at the end of the season luck.  

Means and Mancini were known entities on a National level.

The 1989 squad was Cal Jr and a bunch of nobodies.

Edited August 6, 2022 by Can_of_corn

[spleen1015]

The world knows about Mancini strictly due to his cancer battle and comeback last year.

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, spleen1015 said:

The world knows about Mancini strictly due to his cancer battle and comeback last year.

Sure.

But they still knew him.