Thursday September 22 vs the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: L
Score: 4-7
Streak: L4
Record: 52-99
Rank: 7th
GB: 33.5

The Orioles returned to Baltimore tonight to take on the Tigers, opening an eight game home stand - the final one of the season.  Tonight was the last "Three Buck Night" of the year so of course I was in attendance.  I had made it to all eleven "Three Buck Nights" that weren't rained out this season.

It was a very sloppy game by the Orioles.  They had 15 hits this evening along with a walk but only scored 4 runs.  They left 10 men on base and went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position.  They also made three errors in the game.

The first error came on the very first pitch of the game.  Dave Bergman led off for the Tigers and hit Dave Schmidt's first pitch for a ground ball to third baseman Craig Worthington who made a bad throw to first that pulled first baseman Rick Schu off the bag.  Dwayne Murphy followed with a ground ball that moved Bergman to second.  An Alan Trammell single moved Bergman to third which allowed him to score when Fred Lynn hit a line drive to center field for a sacrifice fly.  The Birds second error of the game came when center fielder Ken Gerhart attempted to double Trammell off first on Lynn's liner - no one was covering first.  Trammell was able to move up to second on Gerhart's error and then scored on Matt Nokes' single.  2-0 Tigers.

The Orioles cut the lead in half when Pete Stanicek led off the bottom of the first with a home run.  The Birds actually briefly took the lead in the third inning (and ended up knocking Tigers starter Frank Tanana out of the game) on Eddie Murray's 28th home run of the season - a two run shot.

The Tigers took the lead back in fourth inning.  Nokes led off with a double.  After Darrell Evans struck out, Chet Lemon drew a walk.  Tom Brookens then knocked both Nokes and Lemon in with a double.  After Jim Walewander struck out for the second out, Bergman hit the third double of the innin which scored Brookens.  Jay Tibbs now came in to relieve Schmidt and Murphy greeted him with a single that brought in Bergman before Trammell struck out to end the inning.  It was now 6-3 Tigers.  A Bergman RBI single in the sixth would extend the Tigers lead to 7-3.

The Orioles blew a golden opportunity to have a big inning in the seventh.  Singles from Bill Ripken, Cal Ripken and Murray loaded the bases with no outs.  Mickey Tettleton then singled to score Bill Ripken.  The key play of the inning came next - Brady Anderson hit a fly ball to center field that Murray, expecting that Cal Ripken would score on it, tagged up and tried to advance.  When he realized that Cal was still on third he had to beat a hasty retreat and was doubled up by the Tigers.  Rick Schu then flied out to end the threat.  The score was 7-4 and that's how it ended.

I have to confess that I didn't make it to the end of the game this evening.  I was pretty anal about always staying for the entire game but I was pretty tired this week after the concert on Monday night and a couple other late nights.  And this game was dragging.  I remember ducking out after what seemed like an interminable Chet Lemon at bat in the top of the sixth but I'm not sure now that that's what happened.  My scorecard doesn't have anything in it after the top of the fifth so maybe I remember hearing the Lemon at bat on the radio on the way home.  Regardless I did get an Evening Sun the next day and I saved the clippings about the game:

Monday August 22 vs the Mariners

Opponent: Seattle Mariners
Outcome: L
Score: 3-7
Streak: L2
Record: 42-82
Rank: 7th
GB: 31

After seeing the Mariners the previous week in Boston I was getting a chance to see them again tonight in Baltimore - it was "Three Buck Night" of course.  And unfortunately I got to see the Mariners score seven runs against the home team for a win again.

The Mariners got on the board in the top of the second.  With one out Darnell Coles singled and then stole second.  He then scored on Scott Bradley's single.  With Jay Buhner at the plate Orioles starter Oswaldo Peraza balked to move Bradley to second.  Peraza then walked Buhner (which would have moved Bradley to second anyway) but he struck out Jim Presley for the second out.  Rey Quinones lined a single to left then to bring in Bradley with the M's second run of the inning before Bruce Fields grounded out to end the inning.

The Orioles came back in their half of the second.  With two outs they loaded the bases on a Rene Gonzales single, a Bill Ripken hit-by-pitch and a Joe Orsulak walk.  Fred Lynn unloaded the bases with a double that put the Orioles up 3-2.

Seattle regained the lead for good in the fifth.  Fields led off with a single and moved to second when Peraza balked for the second time in the game - this time with Harold Reynolds at the plate.   Reynolds then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Fields to third before Mickey Brantley lined a double to left to tie the game at 3.  Brantley moved to third when Alvin Davis singled and scored on a ground ball from Coles that forced Davis at second.  Bradley grounded out to end the inning but the Mariners now led 4-3.

The Mariners picked up single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning on RBI singles by Brantley, Presley and Coles respectively.  Meanwhile the Orioles weren't getting much in the way of timely hitting - they ended up leaving eight men on base and had only one hit (Lynn's three RBI double) out of six at bats with runners in scoring position.

Another loss by the Birds was so unremarkable that Ken Rosenthal's game story from the next day's Evening Sun was mostly about a complaint that Mariners manager Jim Snyder made about the fact that the Mariners relief pitchers were being shown warming up on the large video screen (the "Diamond Vision") while the Orioles pitchers were not.  Somehow Snyder thought the Orioles were doing some sort of high tech spying on his pitchers.  If so, it didn't do any good tonight.

Thursday August 18 vs the Athletics

Opponent: Oakland Athletics
Outcome: W
Score: 10-1
Streak: W1
Record: 40-80
Rank: 7th
GB: 30

I was at this game - it was "Three Buck Night" after all - but I don't have a scorecard from it.  I have no idea why not.

It was a good night to be out at the stadium.  The Orioles got off to a roaring start, scoring five in the bottom of the first of Oakland starter Bob Welch.  Welch was having issues with his command this evening as he walked Brady Anderson and Fred Lynn to start the game.  Cal Ripken followed with a double to knock both of the base runners in.  Welch then walked Eddie Murray and gave up a single to Jim Traber to load the bases.  Ripken scored on a sacrifice fly by Larry Sheets and a single by Terry Kennedy brought Murray in.  After Rene Gonzales struck out Bill Ripken lined a single to left that brought Traber in with the fifth run but Kennedy was thrown out at third to end the inning.

Oakland got on the board in the fourth on a solo home run from Mark McGwire but the Birds buried the A's in the bottom of the inning.  With one out Lynn launched a solo home run.  Cal Ripken followed with a single and Murray then walked.  Traber hit an RBI double scoring Ripken and knocking Welch out of the game.  Rick Honeycutt came into pitch and he got Sheets to ground out for the second out.  But Kennedy singled to score both Murray and Traber and after Gonzales drew a walk Bill Ripken singled to score Kennedy with the tenth run of the game.  Anderson, who had flown out to start the inning, struck out to end it.

Meanwhile Orioles starter Jeff Ballard was throwing a pretty good game.  He held the potent A's lineup to only four hits although he walked five and hit a batter.  He ended up with a complete game victory, his second consecutive one after beating Milwaukee on the 13th.

Thursday August 4 vs the Indians

Opponent: Cleveland Indians
Outcome: W
Score: 5-0
Streak: W3
Record: 35-71
Rank: 7th
GB: 28

It was "Three Buck Night" so I was of course at this game.  And I wasn't alone.  My brother-in-law was coming into town on business and we had arranged for me to pick him up at BWI Airport and head to the game.  We actually ran into my parents at the airport that afternoon - my 85 year old grandfather in Missouri was going to be undergoing emergency open heart surgery that evening and they were flying out to be with him.  So there was a cloud hanging over us as we made our way out to Memorial Stadium.  We met up with my friend Steve who was there with his former landlady Claire (Steve had rented a room in her house during our senior year in college) and her son Ben (who was ten-ish at the time but somehow unbelievably now is a 40-ish ex-Marine).  I had been hoping that Steve was going to bring this Sabra woman with him that he told me I should meet but it didn't happen.

The Orioles won this evening without getting an earned run.  In fact since the Indians were shut out there were no earned runs at all in this game.  The Birds got their first runs in the third inning.  Eddie Murray led off with a walk and Mickey Tettleton followed with a single.  A passed ball by Indians' catcher Chris Bando with Larry Sheets at the plate moved the runners up although Sheets ultimately struck out.  Murray scored when Ken Gerhart grounded out to shortstop Ron Washington.  The next batter Rick Schu also hit a ground ball to Washington who booted it, allowing Tettleton to move to rhird and Schu to reach first.  Bill Ripken followed with a single to center that scored Tettleton.  Indians center fielder then misplayed the ball for an error that allowed Schu to score and Ripken ended up at third.  Pete Stanicek then grounded out to end the inning.  The Orioles had scored three runs on two hits, two errors, a walk and a passed ball.

They picked up a couple more runs a few innings later.  With two outs Cal Ripken walked and Murray reached on a second error from shortstop Ron Washington.  Tettleton then doubled to bring both runners in and make the score 5-0.  The victory completed the Orioles' first three game series sweep of the season  Their modest three game winning streak was tied for the longest of the season.

My brother-in-law and I must have gotten to the game late because I didn't keep score and I don't have the newspaper clippings from the next day.  I dropped my brother-in-law off at his hotel in downtown Baltimore (which coincidentally was the hotel the Orioles' next opponent - the Milwaukee Brewers - would be staying.  They had a big banner up welcoming them) and headed home.  Shortly after I got home I got a phone call from my father in Missouri letting me know that my grandfather had passed away.  Apparently the surgery had been successful but there were complications from the anesthesia and he never regained consciousness.

Thursday July 14 vs the Twins (2)

Opponent: Minnesota Twins
Game 1
Outcome: W
Score: 7-1
Streak: W3
Record: 29-59
Rank: 7th
GB: 24.5

Game 2
Outcome: L
Score: 2-8
Streak: L1
Record: 29-60
Rank: 7th
GB: 24.5

The Orioles kicked off the post All Star break portion of the season with a twi-night double header against the Twins.  One of these games was the makeup of the May 5th game that had been rained out.  Since it was Thursday, it was "Three Buck Night" and since it was "Three Buck Night", I was at the ballpark this night.  I was accompanied this evening by my friends Steve and Chris who had driven down from Delaware.  Unlike the last "Three Buck Night" double header I went to, I got to the ballpark in time to see all of both games.

And of course since I was there that night Mike Boddicker was on the mound for the Birds in the first game - this was his eighth home start of the season and the sixth one I had attended.  It would turn out to be the last time I saw him pitch for the Orioles but obviously I didn't know that yet.

Boddicker pitched a very good game that night although it started out a little shakey.   Mark Davidson and Randy Bush had back-to-back singles to start the game and Kirby Puckett followed with an RBI groundout that brought Davidson in from third.  But after a walk to Kent Hrbek Boddicker settled down and got out of the inning.

The Orioles got him off the hook in the bottom of the inning.  Ken Gerhart singled to lead off and Fred Lynn followed with a two run home run off of Twins starter Bert Blyleven.  Two batters later Eddie Murray teed off on Blyleven for a solo home run.  3-1 Orioles.

The Orioles added two more runs in the next two innings.  Cal Ripken had a sacrifice fly in the second inning and Murray led off the third with his second home run of the game.  Not to be outdone, Lynn hit his second home run of the game in the fourth inning - another two run shot that again brought in Gerhart. That made the score 7-1 in favor of the Birds.

And that's the way it finished.  Boddicker allowed just four more hits the rest of the game along with four walks.  The Twins made it interesting in the eighth inning when they loaded the bases with only one out and the top of the lineup coming up but Boddicker struck out Davidson and got Bush to fly out to end the threat.  Boddicker ended up throwing a complete game for the victory, his first one at home all season.

The nightcap didn't go as well for the Birds.  The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double from Dan Gladden but the Orioles tied it up in their half of the inning on a Bill Ripken sacrifice fly.  A solo home run by Mickey Tettleton put the O's up 2-1 in the fourth inning but that lead was short lived.

Al Newman led off the top of the fifth with a single and John Moses followed with a double.  Greg Gagne flew out for the first out but Orioles starter Jay Tibbs hit Gladden with a pitch to load the bases.  Tibbs got Hrbek to strike out but then gave up a bases clearing triple to Gene Larkin to put the Twins up 4-2.  Bush was intentionally walked to set up a force play at second but Tibbs threw a wild pitch while pitching to Brian Harper which moved Bush to second (although Larkin remained at third).  Harper then doubled to bring in both Larkin and Bush.  Orioles manager Frank Robinson went to the bullpen and replaced Tibbs with John Habyan who promptly gave up another RBI double, this time to Steve Lombardozzi before getting Newman (who had started all this with a single) to ground out to end the inning.  The Twins sent ten men to the plate and scored six runs on five hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

The Twins added another run in the seventh inning on a second RBI double for Harper.  Meanwhile Allan Anderson was mowing down the Orioles, holding them to only two hits and a walk over his last four innings of work before giving way to Juan Berenguer who pitched a perfect ninth for the Twins.  Final score was 8-2 and the Birds three game win streak (tied for their longest of the season so far) was over.

In other baseball news this day, the Red Sox fired manager John McNamara.  The Red Sox had been expected to contend this season but entered today with a record of 43-42, tied for fourth with the Brewers nine games behind the front running Tigers in the AL East.  McNamara had managed the Red Sox since 1985, taking them to World Series and one pitch away from a Championship in 1986.  He was replaced on an interim basis by third base coach Joe Morgan, who is not the Joe Morgan that you're probably thinking of.  The interim label didn't last long - the Red Sox won their first 12 games under Morgan and 19 of their first 20 under him to catapult into a first place tie with Tigers on August 3rd.  It was dubbed "Morgan Magic" and earned him the "permanent" job.

There's one other thing about this night I want to mention.  At some point during the game my friend Steve mentioned that he'd met a woman that he thought I should meet.  Her name was Sabra and she was into a lot of the same music that I was into and knew her way around a baseball game.  He promised to introduce us at some point.

Here's the game stories from the next day's Evening Sun.  There's a lot of talk in the article about Frank Robinson's ailing back.  I've been trying to determine if he missed any more games due to his back this season and I've not been able to confirm it so far.

Thursday July 7 vs the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: W
Score: 6-0
Streak: W1
Record: 26-58
Rank: 7th
GB: 26

The day started on a somber note - Ralph Salvon, the longtime trainer for the Orioles, passed away after complications from heart surgery.  Salvon had been with the team since 1966 and had been head trainer since 1968.  He was just 60 years old.  The team held a moment of silence before the game in his honor.

The Birds used the long ball tonight for most of their runs.  Mickey Tettleton lead off the second with a solo home run and Ken Gerhart added a two run shot later in the evening.  They got an unearned run in the seventh when Texas shortstop Scott Fletcher fumbled a ground ball from Bill Ripken that allowed Rick Schu to score.  Cal Ripken led off the eighth with a solo shot and Eddie Murray scored later in the inning on a Joe Orsulak sacrifice fly to make it 6-0.

I was at the game as it was "Three Buck Night".  Here's the game story from the next day's Evening Sun:

Monday June 6 vs the Tigers

Opponent: Detroit Tigers
Outcome: W
Score: 5-2
Streak: W1
Record: 13-42
Rank: 7th

GB: 22.5

On the face of it there's not a lot to say about this game.  The Birds won 5-2 on the back of a three run home run by Cal Ripken off of Jack Morris.  Jeff Ballard started for the Orioles and almost pitched a complete game - he was lifted with two outs and two on in the top of the ninth.  Tom Neidenfuer came in and struck out pinch hitter Darrel Evans to end the game and earn his sixth save of the season.

I was at this game (all the "Three Buck Nights" were either Monday or Thursday games) and I remember almost nothing about it.  But reading Richard Justice's game story from the next day's Washington Post (and I have no idea why I have the Post's article and not the Baltimore Evening Sun's) I see there's a couple interesting things.  Had Ballard gotten the complete game it would have been the first complete game victory for an Orioles pitcher in half a season.  Cal's home run was the first three run home run the O's had hit since the previous September.

The big news of the evening though was the demotion of slumping first baseman Eddie Murray to the DH role.  Murray's relationship with the Orioles had been deteriorating since he was criticized by owner Edward Bennett Williams late in the 1986 season and this was just one more stone in his road out of town after the season ended.

Thursday May 19 vs the Angels (2)

Opponent: California Angels
Game 1
Outcome: L
Score: 1-2
Streak: L1
Record: 6-32
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

Game 2
Outcome: L
Score: 6-9
Streak: L2
Record: 6-33
Rank: 7th
GB: 19.5

The rainout on Tuesday night this week created the first double header in 1988 for the Orioles this night.  It was "Three Buck Night" so fans could get two games for the low, low price of $3.  It turned out to be one of the most frustrating, disheartening and disappointing nights of the season.

Since it was "Three Buck Night" I was already planning on going that evening.  I don't remember exactly what I did in getting there that evening but I'm fairly certain that I got to the ballpark after the first game started at 5:05 PM simply because I didn't keep score for that game.  Not sure how much I missed but I definitely missed the top of the first inning when the Angels scored a run on an RBI single by Johnny Ray.

I was in time to watch quite the frustrating game.  Mike Boddicker (but of course!) and Kirk McCaskill were the starters and neither pitcher pitched really well but they managed to keep the other team off the board for most of the game.  As I mentioned the Angels score a single run in the top of the first.  The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Mickey Tettleton brought in Eddie Murray with a single. 

Both teams squandered numerous opportunities to score in the game.  The Angels left 7 men on base and were 1-10 with runners in scoring position (Ray's RBI single being the one).  The Orioles left 9 men on base and were 1-9 with runners in scoring position (Tettleton's single being the one).  Even more frustrating was the fact that the Orioles hit into FIVE double plays.  The Angels hit into double plays of their own over the first nine innings as well.

The game was tied 1-1 going into the top of the tenth.  Interim manager Ellie Hendricks replaced Boddicker on the mound with Dave Schmidt (this would be the first start by Boddicker this season that he did not get the loss in) and the Angels greeted him with back-to-back singles by Bob Boone and Brian Downing.  Boone had advanced all the way to third on Downing's single which became important minutes later when he was able to score when Chili Davis hit into a double play (of course!).  The Orioles went quietly in the bottom of the tenth for the 2-1 loss.

As frustrating as that game was, it was just an appetizer for the nightcap.  The game started ominously as the Orioles committed two errors in the top of the first but they got out of it without giving up a run.  The Orioles appeared to blow the game open in the bottom of the third. Bill Ripken and Rene Gonzales led off the inning with singles and Keith Hughes hit a double to bring them both in.  Joe Orsulak then singled and Cal Ripken hit a sacrifice fly to score Hughes (although Orsulak was doubled up at second trying to advance).  Eddie Murray singled and then Fred Lynn hit a two run home run to put the Orioles up 5-0.

The Angels got a run back in the top of the fourth when Johnny Ray tripled and scored on a Tony Armas ground out but Lynn hit his second homer of the game leading off the bottom of the sixth to keep the Orioles five runs up.

Then came the top of the eighth.

Jay Tibbs had started the game for the Birds and was still on the mound when the inning started.  Tibbs hadn't pitched a particularly good game - he'd only given up one run but California had left at least one runner on base every inning except one.  The Angels were continuing to have issues with getting hits with runners in scoring position.  Until this inning anyway.

Wally Joyner led off the inning with a single and then Tibbs walked Ray.  Armas singled which scored Joyner and Davis followed up with another single that scored Ray.  That was it for Tibbs who left the game with the score 6-3 and was replaced by Doug Sisk who had failed to get anyone out the night before. 

Lightning struck twice as Sisk couldn't get anyone out this evening either - Jack Howell and Boone hit singles that each scored Armas and Davis respectively and now the score was 6-5.  Sisk was replaced on the mound by Orioles closer Tom Niedenfuer (and the Angels replaced Boone with Junior Noboa as a pinch runner).  Niedenfuer got his first hitter Dick Scofield to ground into a fielders choice that forced Howell at third for the first out of the inning (finally).  But Brian Downing singled to load the bases.

This brought Mark McLemore to the plate.  The Angels manager Cookie Rojas decided to attempt a suicide squeeze and McLemore bunted right back to the pitcher.  I remember thinking to myself from my seat in the upper deck "Great - they'll get the force at the plate and maybe even get a double play out of this!"  And then Neidenfuer threw the ball away.  Noboa and Scofield both scored to put the Angels up 7-6.  When the dust settled Downing was on third and McLemore was on second.  The Orioles intentionally walked Joyner (who had started this inning hours before it seemed at this point) to load the bases back up.  Ray struck out for the second out but Armas then singled to bring home the seventh (and mercifully final) run of the inning.  Neidenfuer got Davis to fly out to end the inning.  The Angels sent 13 men to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits, two walks and one big error.

After the Birds went three up, three down in the bottom of the eight the Angels came back for a little more off Neidenfuer in the top of the ninth.  Butch Wyneger (who had replaced Boone behind the plate after he was lifted for pinch runner Noboa) hit a triple with one out and scored when Downing singled two batters later.  McLemore doubled, moving Downing to third and Wally Joyner was intentionally walked to load the bases for the second inning in a row before Hendricks replaced Neidenfuer with Mike Morgan who got Ray to fly out to end the Angels' scoring.  The Orioles got a single in the bottom of the ninth from Bill Ripken but couldn't do anything with it.  The final score was 9-6.  The Orioles had been swept in a double header that they could have easily swept had their offense shown up in the opener and had the bullpen not had a meltdown in the nightcap.  With game two ending around midnight it had been a rough seven hours on 33rd Street.

It ended up being a little bit longer of a night for me.  It had been drizzling when I left work that afternoon and I had had to turn my headlights on.  But the sun was out by the time I got to Memorial Stadium and parked across the street at Eastern High School.  You can probably guess where this is going - I left my headlights on.  The Orioles would periodically check the parking lot and put up announcements on the scoreboard at least during the game if someone had an issue with their car.  I remember glancing up at the scoreboard as the announcement was going off and wondering if I had just seen my license plate.  It turns out that I had but I didn't realize it until the game was over.  Luckily someone was able and willing to give me a jump so my departure wasn't delayed too much.

Which was good because I was actually moving the next day!  I had been sharing an apartment with a married couple in Silver Spring and it was less than an ideal situation for both me and them.  I won't get into the details too much other than while I got along well (and had worked with) the husband, I didn't get along well with the wife.  Looking back over 30 years I know that I was partly at fault as well but after nine months of living with them it was time to move on.  I moved into an apartment by myself in Ellicott City, just west of Baltimore.  You can tell I moved from the DC suburbs to the Baltimore suburbs because my clippings for the game are from the Baltimore Evening Sun rather than the Washington Post:

And in case you're wondering - yes, it's THAT Ken Rosenthal.

May 9 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 0-3
Streak: L1
Record: 4-26
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

In a season this bad, you look for little victories.  After being shut out three times in their first 11 games, the Orioles had managed to score at least one run in each of their next 18 games.  That streak ended tonight.  Jerry Reuss, who had had some big years with the Pirates and Dodgers in the 1970's and early 1980's, and Bobby Thigpen combined to keep the Orioles off the board, holding their offense to just four hits and one walk.  It was Reuss's 200th career win, making him the second pitcher in MLB history (after former Oriole Milt Pappas) to win 200 games without ever winning 20 in a season.  Mike Boddicker took the loss, dropping his record to 0-7 in as many starts.  Dan Pasqua did all the damage for the White Sox this evening, driving in the first run of the game in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Greg Walker.  Two innings later Pasqua brought Walker in again as well as himself with a two run home run.

The only other significant thing about this game besides Reuss's 200th win was that it was the Oriole debut of catcher Mickey Tettleton.  Tettleton would take over the regular catching duties from Terry Kennedy for much of the rest of the season and would be a major contributor to the Orioles magical 1989 season.  But of course we didn't know that at the time.

I was at this game (it was "Three Buck Night" after all) and I remember almost nothing about it.  This was the fourth game I had gone to this season and it was the third one that I'd seen Boddicker start in - I was starting to notice a pattern.

Since I was at the game, I saved the game story from the next day's Washington Post:

The Orioles' woeful season had been going on long enough that they had time to make it to the comic's page.  Here's this day's Tank McNamara strip dedicated to the team:

May 5 vs the Twins - Rained Out

The Orioles game against the Twins on May 5th was rained out.  It would be made up as part of double-header on July 14th.  This was the second of four "Three Buck Nights" that had been rained out this year so far.

May 2 vs the Rangers

Opponent: Texas Rangers
Outcome: W
Score: 9-4
Streak: W1
Record: 2-23
Rank: 7th

GB: 15.5

This was special.  The Orioles and 98 Rock had marketed this night's game as "Fantastic Fans Night" and the fans responded in droves.  It helped that it was "Three Buck Night" but 50,402 fans packed into Memorial Stadium, even into the seats that weren't three bucks.  My friends Steve and Rick and I were three of those fans although we got delayed by the traffic getting to the ballpark so we didn't settle into our seats in the right field bleachers until the bottom of the first.  We missed Bob Rivers, who had finally gotten some rest after his 258 hour marathon, throwing out the first pitch and the pregame announcement that the Orioles and the State of Maryland had come to an agreement on a 15 year lease on a new stadium for the Birds "a few blocks west of the Inner Harbor in the Camden Railroad Yards".  There had been unease in Baltimore about the Orioles' future for a few years given that owner Edward Bennett Williams was based out of Washington DC (and had previously owned the Redskins) and Washington DC had been without a baseball team since 1972.  The abrupt departure of the Colts for Indiana in March of 1984 didn't help.

We did arrive in time to see this in the bottom of the first however:

If you don't know who she is, I'm not sure I can really explain her.  Give her Wikipedia page a read.

On to the game itself.  Perhaps the best part of the night is that the Orioles were able to rise to the occasion that night and reward the 50,000 fans with not just a victory but another laugher.  Appropriately Cal Ripken got the scoring started with a solo home run in the bottom of the third (he struck out in the first, apparently dazed by Morganna's kiss).  They exploded for five runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Keith Hughes and Terry Kennedy led off the inning with a single and a double respectively.  After Craig Worthington popped out, Pete Stanicek and Bill Ripken had back-to-back RBI singles.  A wild pitch brought Stanicek in and then Cal Ripken reached on an error by third baseman Steve Beuchele.  Eddie Murray followed up with an RBI single and then with Larry Sheets at bat Rangers pitcher Jose Guzman balked for the second time in the game (I'm pretty sure the first time was when Morganna ran onto the field) and scored Cal Ripken from third for the fifth run in the evening.  The Rangers got one back in the top of the third when Curtis Wilkerson tripled and scored on a wild pitch but the Orioles put up another three runs in the bottom of the sixth on five walks, an error and one hit.  It was 9-1 going into the top of the ninth when Ruben Sierra hit a three run home run to make it a little closer but really all it did was prevent the Orioles starting pitcher Jay Tibbs from pitching a complete game.  He was replaced on the mount by Doug Sisk who got the final out.

This game was probably the highlight of the 1988 season for the Orioles but this day had some sadness as well - the Orioles released Scott McGregor.  McGregor had had some great seasons for the O's in the early 80's - he went 20-8 in 1980 for a team that won 100 games but finished second and went 18-7 for the World Series winning team in 1983.  But he was 0-3 with an 8.83 this season and at age 34 was no longer viewed as part of the future for the team.  Mike Boddicker was now the last starter from the 1983 team still with the team - Jim Palmer had retired and Storm Davis, Mike Flanagan and Dennis Martinez were in Oakland, Toronto and Montreal respectively.

The turnout by the fans this night made the national news:



Despite being at the game, I didn't keep score and so I didn't save the game story from the Washington Post.  Therefore I can't share the clipping here.

The O's made the cover of Sports Illustrated.  I'm not sure when the issue actually came out but the cover date was this day:

The accompanying article can be see here at the Sports Illustrated Vault.

April 14 vs the Royals

Opponent: Kansas City Royals
Outcome: L
Score: 3-4
Streak: L9
Record: 0-9
Rank: 7th

GB: 8.0

Ugh, this one was painful.  It was "Three Buck Night" and I was out at the game by myself.  It was a dazzling pitching matchup - Mike Boddicker against Bret Saberhagen - and both pitchers actually pitched well.  Boddicker actually outpitched Saberhagen - he went all nine with 10 strikeouts and gave up five hits and only one earned run.  Unfortunately it was the unearned runs that would do him and the Orioles in.

The Royals went ahead 1-0 in the second inning on a balk by Boddicker that scored Jim Eisenreich from third.  They scored two more in the third on a somewhat bizarre combination of two hits, two Oriole errors and another Boddicker balk. 

The Orioles battled back for the first time all season though.  Saberhagen had been perfect into the fifth inning before Fred Lynn hit his first home run of the season.  Then in the sixth the Orioles had an attempt at small ball fail.  After Rick Schu singled to start the inning, Jeff Stone attempted to sacrifice him to second but apparently bunted the ball right back to Saberhagen who threw to second to force Schu.  With Joe Orsulak at the plate Saberhagen then picked Stone off of first for the second out in the inning.  Orsulak then singled, stole second and then scored on Bill Ripken's double.  Cal Ripken then hit a ball through Kevin Seitzer's legs at third for a run scoring error.  The game was now tied at three all.

Meanwhile Boddicker was dealing.  After giving up the third run in the third he retired the next 18 batters in order until Eisenreich singled with two outs in the top of the ninth.  The next batter Frank White lifted a fly ball to left field which Stone lost in the lights.  The ball got by him and Eisenreich scored all the way from first with the winning run.  The O's made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth - Eddie Murray lead off the inning with a single.  After Fred Lynn and Tito Landrum stuck out, Carl Nichols walked to move the tying run to second.  But pinch hitter Jim Dwyer grounded out to end the threat and the game.

Once again I've saved my clippings from the Washington Post for this game:

April 7 vs the Brewers - Rained Out

The Orioles game against the Brewers on April 7th was rained out and I don't believe it was ever made up CORRECTION - It was made up as part of a double-header on August 5th.  This was going to be the Orioles' first "Three Buck Night" of the season - all Upper Reserved, Lower Reserved Grandstand or Adult General Admission tickets were only $3 (normally the Upper Reserved seats were $6.50, the Lower Reserved Grandstand were $5.50 and the Adult General Admission were $4.75).  Keep in mind that at the time the most expensive seats in the ballpark were $9.50.  It was indeed a different time.

Being less than two years out of college and working for the government I wasn't making a lot of money at the time so I took advantage of "Three Buck Night" as much as possible.  I had gone to five or six of them in 1987 and I'm pretty sure I made it to every one in 1988 and 1989.  After the O's success in 1989 the ticket prices went up and "Three Buck Night" was no more.