Flashback Friday: The Orioles' youngest Opening Day starter was part of the Kiddie Corps

For the second consecutive year, the Orioles started a pitcher in their home opener age 25 or younger. Brad Bergesen got the call at age 24 last year while Jake Arrieta, 25, did the honors on Monday. Both pitchers had a good three years or more on the Orioles' youngest Opening Day starter.

Jerry Walker was 21 years and 67 days old on April 19, 1960, when he took the Memorial Stadium mound to kick-off the Birds' season against the Washington Senators. Walker was part of the Orioles' original Kiddie Corps along with Steve Barber, 22, Chuck Estrada, 22, Jack Fisher, 21, and Milt Pappas, 21.

Together with veteran pitchers Hoyt Wilhelm, 37, and Hal "Skinny" Brown, 35, the Kiddie Corps posted a league-best 48 complete games (Arnie Portocarrero, 28, had one of those 48 complete games). The O's overall pitching staff tied the Yankees for lowest ERA at 3.52

Catcher Gus Triandos described what made the staff effective in John Eisenberg's, "From 33rd Street to Camden Yards: An Oral History of the Baltimore Orioles."

"The young guys didn't spot pitches; they just wound up and threw good stuff," said Triandos. "They didn't work on things. They just called a fastball and zinged it. You knew they'd be somewhere around the plate. They had good stuff, had good control. And then when Wilhelm relieved with the knuckler, it was tough on hitters."

Earlier this year, O's broadcaster Fred Manfra identified the Kiddie Corps' "kicking ass in big league baseball" among his childhood baseball memories.

The 1960 Orioles posted the franchise's first winning record, 89-65, since moving to Baltimore from St. Louis (the 1957 Orioles finished an even 76-76). They did so on the arms of a young pitching staff. They'll need a similar effort from their current Kiddie Corps in 2011 to post the franchises' first winning season in 14 years.

[Note: Jerry Walker is currently vice president and special assistant to the GM for the Cincinnati Reds.]

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Flashback Friday: Don Buford's Five Strikeout Day

Don Buford established two Orioles records in 1971: He hit five home runs leading off games, and he struck out five times in a nine-inning game.

Brady Anderson easily eclipsed the former mark in 1996 with 12 home runs leading off a game. Hopefully, Mark Reynolds will surpass the latter mark in 2010; not because I don't like Reynolds, but rather because Buford deserves better than to be remembered for a bad day at the plate not consistent with his overall performance.

Buford had a career AB/SO ratio of 7.92. Other leadoff hitters with a similar career AB/SO ratio are Roberto Alomar (7.96), Kenny Lofton (7.99), and Jimmy Rollins (7.89). Anderson, meanwhile, finished his career with a 5.5 AB/SO ratio, which nearly matches Boog Powell's 5.4 ratio.

In four seasons, Reynolds is averaging a 2.6 AB/SO ratio, which is to say that a five strikeout day would be entirely consistent with his overall performance ... except for the fact that he's never actually done it. Reynolds' career high for strikeouts in a game is four. He was worn the golden sombrero multiple times.

Back to Buford. As if keeping company with Alomar, Lofton, and Rollins wasn't impressive enough, Buford's numbers outshine Ichiro's - and any other player in history, for that matter - when it comes to staying out of double plays.

Buford, who played 10 major league seasons, has the lowest GDP in baseball history. He hit into 34 double plays in 4,553 career at-bats. Ichiro has grounded into 46 double plays in 10 seasons. Though the number of games played doesn't match up, Buford's 162-game average (4) is one better than Ichiro's (5).

Strangely enough, Buford's bad day at the plate came during what was otherwise a career year. In 1971, he led the league in runs scored with 99 (his third consecutive season of 99 runs scored), and posted career highs in average (.290), OBP (.413), slugging (.477), and OPS (.890).

Those numbers earned him his lone All-Star appearance for a half-season's work and MVP vote points for a full-season's work. But it only took one day for him to earn his Olympic Rings. 

Other notables from Don Buford's five seasons with the Orioles (1968-1972):

-He was the first player to lead off a World Series with a home run. He did so off Tom Seaver in Game 1 of the 1969 World Series. Dustin Pedroia matched Buford's effort in 2007.

-He was the first Oriole to homer from both sides of the plate in a single game, doing so on April 9, 1970 against the Indians.

Strikeout Percentage (SO%) and AB/SO ratio while in Baltimore

Sam Horn
(Holds team record for most strikeouts in an extra-inning game with 6)
1990 - 22.1%, 4.0
1991 - 27.4%, 3.2
1992 - 32.4%, 2.7

Mickey Tettleton
(Holds team record for most strikeouts in a season with 160)
1988 - 22.2%, 4.0
1989 - 23.9%, 3.5
1990 - 28.6%, 2.8

Don Buford
1968 - 9.3%, 9.3
1969 - 9.4%, 8.9
1970 - 8.7%, 9.2
1971 - 11.3%, 7.2
1972 - 17.1%, 4.9

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Flashback Friday: All Politics Wasn't Supposed to be Local in Baltimore

Jerry Hoffberger & Earl Weaver

Tip O'Neill popularized the phrase "All politics is local." Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn might well have disagreed.

In a move that irked Kuhn, Baltimore Orioles owner Jerry Hoffberger joined Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes on the Memorial Stadium mound for the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game Two of the 1979 World Series. President Jimmy Carter handled first-pitch duties nearly a week later before Game 7, but it was the local guy, a friend of Hoffberger, who raised Kuhn's ire.

Kuhn fined Hoffberger $2,500 for using the governor's services and, according to an Associated Press article, cited a rule that prohibited "movie actresses and actors, politicians and people of note" from handling first-pitch duties.

Time magazine picked up on the controversy.

"Kuhn, standing next to the Governor at the toss, was smiling, but his grin was deceptive. Hoffberger's choice violated a rule that all first-ball throwers must be approved by the commissioner, with politicians and movie stars acceptable only in rare circumstances. For disobeying the rule, Hoffberger, who last season sold his team to Washington Attorney Edward Bennett Williams, was fined $2,500 by Kuhn. Hoffberger has protested the fine and requested a hearing; Kuhn is considering the appeal."

Sports Illustrated also spilled some ink on the stare down.

"Hoffberger ... said he defied the rule because Hughes was a personal friend (not to mention a onetime pitcher in Class D baseball), and he said he might refuse to pay the fine. In his anger, Hoffberger claimed that Richard Nixon had thrown out the first ball at an American League playoff game in Anaheim; in fact, Nixon merely was an honored guest of California Angel owner Gene Autry. However, the Pirates did have Pennsylvania Governor Richard Thornburgh hold a ball for photographers before a World Series game in Pittsburgh, after which the widow of former Pirate Manager Danny Murtaugh threw it."

Years later, Commissioner Kuhn had his say in the book, Hardball: The Education of a Baseball Commissioner (p. 232)

"Jerry emerged as president of the Orioles under the Williams ownership. Since the sale was not effective until November 1, 1979, Jerry was still the boss during the Pittsburgh-Baltimore World Series, during which he drew a fine from me for inviting Governor Harry Hughes of Maryland to throw out the first ceremonial ball. This was contrary to our sound World Series rule against using local politicians. It was a typical owners' trick designed to give the commissioner fits: invite a popular local governor to do the honors and then say how churlish the commissioner is for standing in the way. I let the governor go ahead and collected my fine with help from Williams."

Major League Baseball's Official Rules do not currently include any provisions about local politicians throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

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Image: Clarence B. Garrett, The Baltimore Sun

Flashback Friday: Steady Eddie Doubles Down

Earlier this week, Nick Markakis become the third major league player to hit 43 or more doubles in four consecutive seasons. The other two players are Hall of Famers: Joe Medwick and Tris Speaker. There's another Hall of Famer, an Orioles legend, who made history by doing half as well for five times as long.

Fourteen years ago this week, on Sept. 24, 1996, Eddie Murray doubled in a 13-8 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Murray, who two weeks prior hit his 500th career home run, became only the second player to have 20 or more doubles in 20 consecutive seasons. The other was Speaker. Murray hit 560 doubles overall.

Speaker is Major League Baseball's career leader for doubles. The lefty outfielder totaled 792 doubles in 22 seasons with Boston, Cleveland, Washington, and Philadelphia. Speaker had 50 or more doubles in a season five times as well as five additional seasons where he hit 40 or more. His single-season best was 59 doubles in 1923.

Cal Ripken Jr. is the Orioles' career leader in the category with 602 doubles, the 13th most overall. Had it not been for the strike-shortened 1994 season, during which he hit 19 doubles, Ripken would have had 20 or more doubles in 18 consecutive seasons. His single-season best was 47 doubles in 1983.

Ripken is followed on the O's career doubles list by Brooks Robinson (482) and Murray (363). Brian Roberts currently trails Murray by 32 doubles.

Steady Eddie never had a 40-double season in 21 years in the bigs. His career high for a season was 37, set in 1985 and matched in 1992.

Murray had two RBI in the 1996 Boston game where he stroked his 20th double, and he added another on Sept. 27 to finish the season with 79 RBI. It was his 20th consecutive season with 75 or more RBI, which broke Hank Aaron's record of 19 straight seasons.

As is the case with doubles, Murray trails only Ripken and Robinson for career RBI in an Orioles uniform. And, as is the case with doubles, Roberts is the current Orioles player closest to Murray for RBI. Roberts trails Murray in career RBI for Baltimore by 766.

[This article also appeared on Camden Chat.]

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Baltimore Orioles

Flashback Friday: Melvin Mora's two-out, walk-off bunt single

Adam Jones' two-out bunt single against the Mariners in the bottom of the 11th inning on Monday night had MASN broadcaster Jim Hunter - and likely many fans watching at home - enthusing about the play. Hunter stated mutliple times that Jones may start a trend of walk-off bunts. Actually, Jones was only continuing a trend.

Earlier this season Howie Kendrick's ninth inning, two-out bunt single earned the Angels a 4-3 victory over the Indians and none-too-appreciative pitcher Chris Perez who said: "It was a bad baseball play that happened to work out ... I don't want to say it was bush league, but you never see that ... a stupid play that just happened to work."

Kendrick got the green light from Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke, younger brother of former Oriole Gary Roenicke, who was filling in for Mike Scioscia. You can see Kendrick's bunt single to second base here.

Meanwhile, the most recent two-out, walk-off bunt in extra innings came from Melvin Mora. Mora's bases-loaded bunt single in the bottom of the 10th inning on Sept. 28, 2007, gave the Orioles a 10-9 victory over the Yankees.

You can see Mora's effort (featuring post-game fireworks!) here.

Monday night's game-ending rally started with a lead-off double by Nick Markakis. Back in 2007, Tike Redman - yes, Tike Redman - hit a one-out double and moved to third on a passed ball. Intentional walks to Markakis and Miguel Tejada put Kevin Millar in a position to "Cowboy Up" for the O's. Instead, he struck out looking and left Mora to be the hero.

Mora bunted toward Wilson Betemit at third, reached base without a throw, and continued running down the first-base line. Dan Connolly noted in his game story that Mora "nearly ran to Eutaw Street in celebration."

"In my career, what I've had success on is bunting for base hits," Mora said afterward. "When I saw the third baseman way back, I just made my mind up before everything was going to happen. We just want one. We didn't need a grand slam."

The Orioles' collective 10-run, 20-hit effort against the Yankees left fans with plenty of reason to celebrate despite the Birds' 69-91 record at the time.

-The O's throttled former teammate Mike Mussina for 11 hits and six runs in five innings. (I admittedly continued to appreciate Mussina even after he went to New York. See the 2006 Roar from 34 post "Moose Was a Great Bird.")

-Oriole Magic was in full effect even before Mora's hit, and it just so happened against one of the greatest closers in baseball history. Mariano Rivera suffered a blown save after the Birds scored three runs on three hits against him in the ninth inning. The Orioles caused Rivera's only two blown saves after April 20th during the 2007 season.

-With the win the Orioles denied the Yankees their 10th consecutive A.L. East title. The division title instead went to the Red Sox, who watched the game from their clubhouse at Fenway following a 5-2 victory over the Twins. Prior to Mora's walk-off Red Sox infielder Alex Cora called out "He's going to bunt."

Mora's 2007 effort wouldn't have been possible were it not for the clutch hitting of former Red Sox player Jay Payton, whose bases-loaded triple against Rivera tied the game an inning earlier. According to the Boston Herald, many Red Sox players were as surprised as Orioles fans, yelling "Holy S----."

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Baltimore Orioles

A version of this story appeared on Camden Chat on Thursday.

Flashback Friday: Johnny Oates' contributions to the 1989 Why Not? Orioles

There are some fun historical facts related to Johnny Oates' career as a player.

He started his major league career in 1970 with a four-game hitting streak in five games for the Orioles.

He was Hank Aaron's teammate when Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.

He helped Jim Palmer to a 10-0 record in 1972 when he caught for him, leading Palmer to remark: "He was the perfect catcher for me. He was smart, always full of questions. He knew what he could do and what he couldn't. He worked so hard all the time. You have a lot of respect for somebody like that.''

Oates listed his priorities as a player as follows: "My number one goal was to catch a win. Second, I hoped for a shutout. Third, I wanted a complete game for the starter. Fourth, well, if I got a hit, that was fine."

His hitting struggles were no secret. Broadcaster Harry Carey once remarked, 'Johnny Oates just hit his annual home run.' "

Oates played two seasons in Baltimore (1970 and 1972) and 11 seasons in the majors, but he won't be remembered for his contributions to baseball as a player. The Oriole Advocates, who will honor Oates as a member of the team's Hall of Fame this weekend, correctly state, "It is for his work as a manager ... that Oates is best remembered by Baltimore fans."

Oates was Sporting News Manager of the Year with the Orioles in 1993. He replaced Frank Robinson during the 1991 season - inherting a team that had yet to win more than two consecutive games - and became Baltimore's fifth manager in seven seasons. Nevertheless, he turned two consecutive losing seasons into three consecutive winning seasons before being dismissed following the strike-shortened 1994 campaign.

After leaving Baltimore Oates led the Texas Rangers to their first post-season appearance in 1996. He shared American League Manager of the Year honors that season with Joe Torre of the New York Yankees. He added American League Division titles with Texas in '98 and '99.

He is a member of the Rangers Hall of Fame - and come this weekend - the Orioles Hall of Fame. The Rangers retired his number; the Orioles obviously have not.

All things considered, it's easy to overlook Oates's time in Baltimore, in part because he never led the team to the post-season. In many fans' minds his time as skipper likely just fills the space between memories of the beloved "Why Not?" campaign in 1989 and the team's first Wild Card appearance in 1996.

However, Oates deserves to be recognized, though he rarely is, for his role in "Why Not?" And not just because he was a coach for the team.

In 1988 Oates managed the Rochester Red Wings, the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate at the time. He earned International League Manager of the Year honors while coaching League MVP Craig Worthington and Rookie of the Year Steve Finley, both of whom contributed to the "Why Not?" effort.

Oates stood by Finley in 1988 when the outfielder got off to a slow start in Rochester and became a candidate for demotion. Here was Oates' scouting report: "I think he's ready to hit in the major leagues. He has a God-given gift of speed and intelligence. He's going to bunt, and as he gets bigger, he's going to get his 10 to 15 homers. He's going to be outstanding defensively."

Finley played 19 seasons in the majors, won five Gold Gloves, and was a two-time All Star.

Oates insisted at the winter meetings prior to the 1989 season that players like Finley, Worthington, and Bob Milacki were ready to help the parent club immediately. All three did just that, led by Milacki whose win total (14) and ERA (3.74) were both second-best on the club.

And then there's Jeff Ballard.

Ballard acknowledged that he struggled with the mental aspects of pitching, particularly as he bounced back and forth between Triple-A Rochester and Baltimore during the 1987 season. Promoted to the bigs after a fast start Ballard split time with the two teams, finishing with a 13-4 record at Triple-A and a 2-8 record in Baltimore. He then moped in the minors in 1988 after failing to make the team out of spring training. That is, until Oates pulled him from a game and told him "I don't like your attitude."

"I snapped out of it after that," Ballard said. "I realized the way I was acting wasn't helping anyone. I pitched two real good games and was called up May 19."
Ballard led the Orioles with 18 wins and a 3.43 ERA in 1989.

Ultimately, Oates understood that it was about the players and not about him. He summed up that sentiment when he was inducted into the Rangers' first Hall of Fame class alongside Nolan Ryan, Jim Sundberg and Charlie Hough.

"There's one big difference between [the other inductees] and myself," Oates said. "They're here because of what they did. I'm here because of what others did for me.''

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[This post also appeared on Camden Chat on Thursday.]

Baltimore Orioles

Flashback Friday: Ripken homer carries AL to '91 All-Star Victory

Something - ahem - makes me feel like writing about a hometown hero who stuck with the same team throughout his entire career. So today's Flashback Friday looks at the 1991 All Star Game, played 19 years ago on the date of this post, July 9.

All-Star MVP Cal Ripken - who came into the break with a .348 average and 111 hits, both league highs -  stroked a three-run homer off former teammate Dennis Martinez in the third inning to lead the American League to a 4-2 victory. Ripken finished 2-for-3 before being replaced in the bottom of the seventh inning by current White Sox manager and (former?) Twitter phenom Ozzie Guillen.

Overall, the 1991 All-Star Game featured 15 current, former, or future Orioles and one future interim manager: Will Clark, Bobby Bonilla, Chris Sabo, Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Joe Carter, Harold Baines, Pete Harnisch, Martinez, Scott Erickson, Lee Smith, Mike Morgan, Jimmy Key, and of course Juan Samuel.

Ripken became the first player to win both the All-Star Game MVP and the Home Run Derby (Garret Anderson replicated the effort in 2003). His 12 home runs in 22 swings also set a record at the time. The first seven home runs came consecutively at the start of the contest.

Ripken went on to win the 1991 American League MVP after posting a .323 average with 34 homers and a career-high 114 RBI. He was the league's first player to win the award while playing for a losing team.

Thanks, Cal.  

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Flashback Friday: What really happened between Juan Samuel & the Bird?

While boxing playfully with the Bird before an Aug. 6 game, Samuel accidentally knocked the mascot's head off. The Tigers then won to break a nine-game losing streak.

On Thursday I provided details of past attacks on Baltimore's beloved Oriole Bird and included a mention of Juan Samuel's knockout blow in a fight with the Bird. Samuel was the Detroit Tigers' first-base coach at the time of the throwdown.

(Quick aside: Perhaps Samuel could have given the Royals' Tom Gamboa some useful tips for fending off attackers in the coach's box. Gamboa also could have looked to Conan O'Brien ... "The More You Know.")

This week's Flashback Friday takes a closer look at the battle between base coach and mascot and locates a useful lesson for the 2010 Orioles: If you need to end an extended losing streak, have Juan Samuel attack the opposing team's mascot. 

Here's what former Phillies' reporter Jayson Stark had to say in the Philadelphia Inquirer about the incident a week after it occurred.

Mascot masher of the week: The Orioles' Bird mascot is suing a fan from Philadelphia - and our old amigo, Tigers coach Juan Samuel, may be next. While boxing playfully with the Bird before an Aug. 6 game, Samuel accidentally knocked the mascot's head off. The Tigers then won to break a nine-game losing streak. So Samuel said, "I'm forced to beat him up again." The Bird dodged him the next day, and the Tigers lost. But they had a rematch before the series finale Sunday - and the Tigers won again. Told there was no mascot to fight in the Tigers' next stop in Texas, Samuel said, "I may have to import one."

Word spread far and wide, as evidenced by these comments on Aug. 25, 1999, by Tyler Kepner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer when the Tigers came to town to face the Mariners.

During a recent game at Baltimore, Detroit Tigers coach Juan Samuel playfully fought with the Orioles' mascot, pulling off the bird's head. The Tigers won the game, snapping a losing streak, and won again later in the series when Samuel did the same thing.

For a team struggling to find ways to win, mascot-bashing may be the answer - which could be bad news for the Mariner Moose.

"If he comes down here, I'm going to get him," said Samuel before last night's game with the M's. "But he doesn't usually come down."

The 2010 Birds need to go down fighting from here on out. And Juan Samuel should lead by example.

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Flashback Friday: Sammy Stewart sets the record that Stephen Strasburg tied on Tuesday

"The most amazing thing was the velocity on his fastball, his poise, and the fact he threw strikes."

-Earl Weaver, on Sammy Stewart's first game.

Bob Costas ran down a Rolodex worth of pitchers' names during Stephen Strasburg's debut in Washington this week in an effort to provide historical context. Jim Palmer was the only Oriole on the list. By the end of the night, Sammy Stewart's name should've been mentioned as well.

Stewart accomplished a rare baseball feat, one that Strasburg matched on Tuesday, by striking out seven consecutive batters during his rookie debut. The Sporting News ranked Strasburg's consecutive strikeouts to end his outing first among the game's "five most magical moments." Far less magical is Stewart's post-baseball life, which has been a tragic mix of drugs, crime, homelessness, and inevitably prison. But it wasn't always so.

On Sept. 1, 1978, a 23-year-old Stewart established a new rookie record when he struck out seven straight White Sox batters. Overall, he had nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work as part of a 9-3 Orioles victory in a doubleheader sweep at Memorial Stadium.

The Boston Globe recounted the event as part of a 2006 profile of Stewart (check out the Globe's photo gallery "The story of Sammy Stewart"):

"Rick Dempsey [Orioles catcher] said, 'Turn around. Look at the scoreboard,"' says Stewart, his eyes lighting up. "So I turned around and it said, 'Sammy Stewart has just tied a record by striking out six consecutive batters in his first major league appearance. The record was set by Karl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1954.'

"Well, I turned around and threw three of the hardest sliders I've ever thrown and I got the record, and that's 28 years ago, and I still got the record."

Until that night Spooner shared the record with fellow Dodgers pitcher Pete Richert, who tied the mark in 1962. Jim Deshaies later struck out eight consecutive batters as a rookie in 1986, but it wasn't during his debut. Stewart stood alone atop the mountain.

The burly right-hander drove to Baltimore from Rochester one day prior to his debut with his wife's car in tow. Then Red Wings manager Frank Robinson pulled Stewart from a scheduled minor league start on Wednesday and told him: "You're not pitching tonight, you're pitching Friday night. In Baltimore." 

After a rough first inning that included a wild pitch and an error, Stewart settled down to strike out the side in the second and third innings. He struck out White Sox shortstop Greg Pryor to start the fourth before allowing fly ball outs to Mike Squires and Ron Blomberg. Overall, he retired 13 consecutive batters before allowing another hit. His fastball topped out at 94 MPH.

Earl Weaver lifted Stewart after four consecutive one-out singles in the top of the sixth. Afterward, Stewart was succinct.

"I wouldn't know how to rate it," he said, "but it feels good."

"The most amazing thing was the velocity on his fastball, his poise, and the fact he threw strikes," Earl Weaver added.

Jim Palmer pitched seven solid innings for the Birds in the opener of the doubleheader before leaving with a stiff neck; Don Stanhouse finished off the 3-0 win. Palmer then coached Stewart on what to expect from the White Sox hitters in the nightcap.

Having benefited from Palmer's tutoring, Stewart returned to the clubhouse after the game to discover that his teammates had switched the nameplate above his locker with that of the three-time Cy Young winner.

"Just a locker room joke," Stewart said. "These guys don't stop. They're loose."

Stewart lost his second and final outing of the 1978 season to the Tigers on Sept. 29. He pitched in two World Series for the Orioles (1979 and 1983) and recorded six strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work.

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Flashback Friday: Baltimore no-hitters, and "The Summer of the Near Miss"

Catcher Rick Dempsey told him, "Let's go throw a no-hitter," to which Martinez responded, "Why not?"

[Note: You can also read this post on Camden Chat.]

Chris Tillman returns to a big league mound on Saturday for the Orioles against the Blue Jays. Tillman got the call up to the parent club after a successful stint in Norfolk that included a no-hitter against the Gwinnett Braves on April 28.

The Orioles' most recent no-hitters came against the opponent that just left town, the Oakland Athletics: Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Scott Williamson, and Gregg Olson tossed a combined no-hitter against the A's in 1991; meanwhile, Jim Palmer posted a solo effort in 1969.

Fittingly, the team's website categorizes no-hitters under the heading "Rare Feats." (Pretty soon they'll have to include winning seasons in that category as well.) Also rare is that the O's pitched no-hitters in three consecutive seasons from 1967 to 1969. But when it comes to no-hitter-related novelty, it'd be tough to match the summer of 1978.

Call it "The Summer of the Near Miss." In the span of a little more than two weeks in August 1978, three different Baltimore pitchers carried no-hitters into the seventh inning only to lose them around stretch time.

First was Scott McGregor on Aug 9. After recording two seventh-inning ground-outs to the left side of the infield, McGregor allowed a two-run double to Hal McRae. Four consecutive hits produced two Royals runs and McGregor took the 2-0 loss at Memorial Stadium. Final line: nine innings pitched, five hits, two earned runs, four strikeouts, and one walk.

Next came Mike Flanagan on Aug 21. Facing the A's, Flanagan gave up a run-scoring single to Rico Carty in the seventh, shortly after he considered the possibility of pitching a no-hitter. Said Flanagan: "I started thinking about the no-hitter after six innings. 'There are nine outs to go,' I kept telling myself, but the no-hitter was secondary." The O's won 3-2 at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Final line: nine innings pitched, three hits, two earned runs, eight strikeouts, and three walks.

Four days later, on Aug. 25, Dennis Martinez thought about the no-hit possibilities in the fifth inning of a home game against the Mariners. Catcher Rick Dempsey told him, "Let's go throw a no-hitter," to which Martinez responded, "Why not?" With two outs in the seventh, Mariners third baseman Bill Stein ended Martinez's bid with a single to centerfield. Final score: Orioles 5 - Mariners 0. Final line: nine innings pitched, two hits, no runs, four strikeouts, and six walks.

Asked when a no-hitter would be pitched, McGregor stated, "As soon as we get rid of the seventh inning."

Not quite.

September 26. Ninth inning. Two outs. Orioles lead the Indians 3-0. No hits for Cleveland. Flanagan on the mound. Three thousand fans on their feet at Memorial Stadium. Two-one count to designated hitter Gary Alexander. Flanagan goes with the curve, Alexander goes deep.

"The pitch," said Flanagan, "was not really where I wanted it."

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Flashback Friday: Playing ball for both the Orioles and the Senators

With the Orioles and Nationals preparing for a three-game set this weekend, here are some historical anecdotes involving players to have taken the field for franchises in Baltimore and Washington.

-Leslie Ferdinand "Buster" Narum pitched for both the Orioles (1963) and Senators (1964-1967). The pitcher shares with Lou Montanez the distinction of being the only Orioles to hit home runs in their first major league at-bats. Narum did so on May 3, 1963, Montanez on Aug. 6, 2008.

Narum had a career .059 average with three home runs in 118 career at-bats. The Orioles traded him to the Senators prior to the start of the 1964 season for a player to be named later. That player was Lou Piniella, who played four games for the Orioles in 1964 and went hitless in one at-bat.

A vagabond early in his career, Piniella was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1969 while playing for the Kansas City Royals.


-John Orsino played three seasons in Baltimore (1963-1965) and parts of two seasons in Washington (1966-1967).

Two things stand out from Orsino's brief career.

1. He homered in his first five Spring Training at-bats for the Orioles.

2. He  was the catcher on Sept. 12, 1964 when both starting pitchers tossed one-hitters. Orsino had the Orioles' only hit in the 1-0 victory over the Athletics.


-The Orioles traded Mike Esptein and Frank Bertaina to the Senators for Peter Reichert in 1967.

The Sporting News named Epstein Minor League Player of the Year in 1966. He also earned International League Player MVP honors that season after batting .309 with 29 home runs and 102 RBI. However, his path to the majors was blocked at first base by Boog Powell and efforts to convert him to an outfielder failed. He was traded at the end of May after refusing to report back to the minors.

Epstein got a measure of revenge on June 24, 1967, by hitting a grand slam in his first at-bat against the Orioles in an 8-3 Senators victory at Memorial Stadium.


-Outfielder Roy Sievers never made it to Baltimore in 1954 when the St. Louis Browns relocated. The Orioles traded Sievers to Washington on Feb. 18, 1954, for Gil Coan.

Sievers, the 1949 A.L. Rookie of the Year with the Browns, was a four-time All-Star (five if you count the fact that he played in both games in 1959).

Coan, the 1945 Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year, appeared in 155 games with the Orioles during the 1954 and 1955 seasons before being selected off waivers by the Chicago White Sox.

Coan holds the record for most at-bats in a season hitting .500 or better with 42. He set the mark while appearing in 11 games in 1947.

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Flashback Friday: He earned one career victory, and it came against the Red Sox

"I only got a couple cups of coffee. But they were good cups." 

-Former Orioles pitcher Mark Brown

I appreciate stories about the Moonlight Grahams of the baseball world, the guys outside the spotlight who loved the game and got a brief shot to play it at the highest level. Mark Brown is one of those guys. Even better that he played in parts of two major league seasons, one for the Orioles and one for the Twins, the Birds' opponent in their current series.

Brown earned one major league win in 15 relief appearances. It came at Fenway Park on the last day of the 1984 season. Baltimore's staff ERA was second best in the majors that year.

Brown's line for the day read as follows: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO. But as always, the full story is better than a single line.

Here's how it went down, as described by Jeremy Rosenberg of SABR's Baseball Biography Project.

It's September 30, 1984, an early autumn Sunday afternoon in Boston's Kenmore Square. The trees are already tinged with red, yellow and orange; soon the Green Monster will be the only thing still green. Inside Fenway Park, a righthander is warming up in the visitors' bullpen. He's built like a ballplayer -- 6'2", 190 lbs., according to his baseball card -- and wears his tri-colored cap stiffly, with little curve in the brim. He's got his road grays on, with "Orioles" stitched across his chest in orange script. His black Nike cleats have swooshes so visually loud they're practically flourescent.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the bullpen gate opens and the righthander heads for the mound. He's a struggling rookie, still winless after eight major league appearances; now it's the last game of the season, his last chance to pick up a victory. In the stands, his father takes in the moment, thinking about how the two of them used to come each summer to this very place, a mere three-hour drive from home.

Two innings later, Jim Rice is standing frozen at the plate and the righthander is sprinting off the field, afraid to look back. If he does, he's sure the umpire will wave him back, tell him there's been some sort of mistake; rookies aren't supposed to get any breaks, especially when facing future Hall of Famers. But in this case the rookie threw the exact same pitch twice in a row -- a nasty slider on the outside corner. The first time the umpire called it a ball, in deference to Rice. But not the second time.

In the top half of the inning, the Orioles scored twice on a Wayne Gross single to break a 3-3 deadlock and take the lead for good. Nate Snell and Sammy Stewart come on to finish the game for Baltimore, and the rookie's pitching line in the box score that appears in the next week's issue of The Sporting News reads: "Brown (W 1-2) 2 1 0 0 1 2." As a souvenir, pitching coach Ray Miller gives Brown a game ball. Written between the stitches is the date, the score, the teams, the time and the glorious words "First Major League Win."

Two batters before Rice, Brown struck out Wade Boggs. So in the process of earning his first and only major league win, Mark Brown struck out two future Hall of Famers.

Things went considerably better with the last batter Brown faced as an Oriole than they did with the first batter he faced. Again, Jeremy Rosenberg tells the story.

The first big league batter Brown faced, Julio Franco, smashed a line drive off his knee. To add insult to injury, the hit went for an infield single, and, worst of all, it came on what Brown thought was a good pitch. "I threw him a real nasty slider on the outside corner and he took it right off my kneecap. [The ball] just trickled over to first base. I hobbled over there and just watched him run to first, and he was safe." Brown pitched on and was hit hard. He gave up another hit, Cal Ripken made an error and a 4-4 tie was suddenly a 6-4 deficit. "I had my first appearance, my first loss and my first sore knee," Brown says. "I finished the inning, then [manager] Joe Altobelli took me out. He thought I might hurt my knee more by throwing for another few innings."

"It was alright, it wasn't really hurt bad," Brown says. "It was funny, I got to the clubhouse and I remember Mike Flanagan coming up to me, patting me on the back, saying, 'Oh yeah, welcome to the big leagues, even the outs here are hard.'" Brown says those words from a fellow New Hampshire resident meant a lot to him, as did the treatment he received during each of his five summers in the Baltimore chain. "They were a great organization," he says. "When I went well, they promoted me; when I was hurt, they put me on the disabled list; when I got to the big leagues they were good to me, they gave me a shot."

Brown finished his Orioles career 1-2 with a 3.91 ERA, 10 strikeouts, and seven walks.

Of his brief time in the majors, the Vermont native said: "I only got a couple cups of coffee. But they were good cups."

Image source: Here.

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A Flashback Friday for the Fans

It's the hometown version of Opening Day as the Birds take the field at Camden Yards for the first time in 2010 to square off with the Blue Jays.

The home opener is truly a day for the fans, so this week's Flashback Friday focuses on Bill Thompson, an Orioles super fan if ever there was one.

The YouTube clip below comes from a 1986 Channel 11 news broadcast. It provides the background on Thompson, age 90 at the time, who held season tickets every year since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.

Unfortunately, I was unable to track down additional information on Thompson in any newspaper archives.

The O's lost to the Indians by a score of 6-4 in 1986 when the clip was filmed.



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Flashback Friday: Johnny Orsino's Spring Training Homer Binge

In lieu of this week's Flashback Friday, Roar from 34 turns its attention to Keith Olbermann's MLB blog "Baseball Nerd" where Olbermann tells the story of former O's backstop Johnny Orsino.

Orsino , nicknamed Horse, made a unique claim to baseball fame with his streak of five straight Spring Training home runs to start his Orioles career.

Olbermann describes the accomplishment as follows:

So his first at bat in an Orioles uniform on March 15th was by itself something of a triumph.

Orsino promptly hit a three-run homer off Joe Moeller of the Dodgers. In his next at bat, he was accidentally intentionally walked (Boog Powell had been balked to second and manager Walter Alston was gesticulating wildly about the call; Dodger catcher Mike Brumley mistakenly believed he was being inexplicably ordered to walk his Oriole counterpart). In his third trip to the plate, Orsino hit another homer, a solo blast.

He came out of the game at that point, and missed Baltimore's next two exhibitions. But against veteran Reds' lefty Jim O'Toole at Al Lopez Field in Tampa on March 18th, Orsino made it three homers in three Baltimore ups. Then four in four. Then five in five. 

You read correctly. Not just home runs in five consecutive official at bats, nor just home runs in the first five at bats of spring training, but five consecutive home runs in the first five at bats with a new team. The streak was finally snapped when a Reds' prospect named John Flavin got Orsino to pop up to the catcher.

Orsino was later part of another baseball rarity when he caught a game during which both pitchers tossed one-hitters. The only players to record hits in the game were the catchers.

On Sept. 12, 1964, pitcher Frank Bertaina of the Birds topped Bob Meyer of the Kansas City A's before 13,162 fans at Memorial Stadium.

Bertaina, a 20-year-old rookie, struck out seven and walked five. His only hit allowed was a lead-off double in the fifth inning to A's catcher Doc Edwards.

Meyer, a 24-year-old rookie, pitched seven no-hit innings before allowing a lead-off double to Orsino. A sacrifice bunt by Bertaina moved pinch runner Bob Saverine (nicknamed "Rabbit") to third. Saverine then scored on a Jackie Brandt sacrifice fly.

So the critical sequence started like this: Lead-off double by the Horse, replaced by the Rabbit as a pinch runner. If that's not wise managing I don't know what is.

The Orioles moved to 87-58 with the 1-0 victory while the Athletics fell to 52-91.

Bertaina finished the 1964 season 1-0 in six starts. He recorded 19 career wins in seven major league seasons.

Meyer finished the 1964 season 2-8 in 22 starts. He tallied two career wins in three major league seasons.
 
Image Source: EBay. 

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Flashback Friday: Orioles Basketball (Yes, you read that right: Basketball)

We all know about Brooks Robinson's exploits at the hot corner; less is known about his jumper from the short corner. That is, unless you were following the exploits of the Major League All-Stars and the Baltimore Orioles basketball teams during the late '60s.

Long before the Ironman staged pick-up games at his home with fellow major leaguers and college players from around Maryland, Brooks Robinson was hooping it up with the likes of Jim Palmer, Paul Blair, Jim Bouton, Pete Rose, and Jeff Torborg (who caught Sandy Koufax's World Series perfect game).

In 1966, for example, Robinson joined the Major League All-Stars, described by the New York Times as a basketball team made up of major league baseball players from half a dozen clubs, in games against high school, fraternal, and charitable organizations.

Joining Brooksie on the All-Star squad were teammates Frank Robinson and Dave McNally; Bouton and Al Downing (Yankees); Rose (Reds); Dick McAuliffe (Tigers); Al Jackson (Cardinals); John Orsino (Senators); Torborg (Dodgers); Ed Kranepool (Reds); and Dennis Ribant (Mets/Pirates).

One thing's for certain: I wouldn't want to mix it up in the post with Pete Rose even if it were for charity.

Back home in Baltimore, the Orioles' legendary third baseman competed with faculty members of local schools as a way of staying in shape during the off-season. As this 1969 article from the Washington Afro-American reports, Blair, Palmer, McNally, Dick Hall, Eddie Watt, Pete Richert, Bobby Floyd, and Billy Hunter took to the hardwood with Robinson as part of that effort.

Said Hall, who played college basketball at Swarthmore: "We are looking forward to having a lot of fun with with this while staying in shape at the same time."

Pictured at the top of this post is a warm-up top worn by a member of the off-season basketball team between 1967 and 1973 that now serves as an auction item. Special thanks to my friend and fellow baseball fan Jon Bloom, who blogs at Wasted Food and BBQ Jew, for the tip.


Image Source: Huggins & Scott Auctions

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Flashback Friday: The First Grand Slam in Orioles History

Orioles fans know the names Chris Hoiles, Frank Robinson, and Jim Gentile. Among other accomplishments, they're the only O's players to hit two grand slams in one game.

Less well remembered is the name  Robert Daniel Kennedy. Bob Kennedy played 132 games in an Orioles uniform from 1954 to 1955, during which time he hit the first grand slam in team history. It happened on Friday, July 30, 1954, before 27,385 fans at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles defeated the Yankees 10-0 despite the fact that the teams sported nearly inverse records: Baltimore 36-64; New York 67-34.

Kennedy's grand slam came in the bottom of the fourth inning off five-time All Star Allie Reynolds, who finished the season, his last in the majors, with a 13-4 record and a 3.32 ERA. The Yankees did not compete in the post-season that year despite winning 103 games. The first-place Cleveland Indians won 111 games before losing to Willie Mays and the New York Giants in the World Series.

Eddie Waitkus, Chuck Diering, and Vern Stephens scored on the grand slam, which gave the Orioles a 7-0 lead.

Kennedy hit six home runs in 1954 and tied with Cal Abrams for second-most on the team behind Vern Stephens' eight home runs. Memorial Stadium originally had hedges instead of fences, and they stood 445 feet from home plate.

Don Larsen pitched a complete-game shutout for his third and final win of the 1954 season. Larsen finished 3-21, setting the club record for losses in a season. The Orioles traded him to the Yankees that November. Two years later he pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.

Kennedy also holds the distinction of being among the rare father-son combinations to have both played in an Orioles uniform. The Chicago native's son, Terry Kennedy, played catcher for the Orioles during the 1987 and 1988 seasons, earning an All-Star nod in '87.

The Orioles' other father-son player combos are Don Buford (1968-1972) and Damon Buford (1993-1995) along with Tim Raines (four games in 2001) and Tim Raines Jr. (2001, 2003, 2004). Though Cal Sr. never played for the Orioles there's also a bit of a Ripken family line that runs through the team's history.

There are other potential names that could be added to this list as well. The most likely candidates are Steve Johnson, who would follow in the footsteps of his father, Dave Johnson (1989-1991), and Steve Bumbry, son of Al Bumbry (1972-1984), who was drafted by the Orioles in 2009.

Other possibilities include Toronto pitchers Kyle Drabek, son of Doug Drabek (1998), and Josh Roenicke, son of Gary Roenicke (1978-1975). Meanwhile, Tug Hulett, son of Tim Hulett (1989-1994), plays in the Boston system.

You can read more about Bob Kennedy, including his role as a popcorn vendor during the Joe Louis-James Braddock heavyweight title fight, at StateMaster.


Image Source: The Virtual Card Collection.

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Flashback Friday: Baltimore's 1979 World Series Parade

In New York or Philadelphia, they will soon hold a parade to celebrate the World Series champions.

To the victors go the spoils. Usually.

On Oct. 18, 1979, Baltimore had a parade for its beloved Orioles despite the fact that the team lost the World Series in excruciating fashion to the Pittsburgh Pirates, blowing a three-games-to-one lead, including the final two home contests.

Wrote Malcolm Moran in The New York Times: "The sun came up here, as hoped, at 7:19 on the morning after. The victory parade started, as planned, shortly after 11:30. Earl Weaver, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, reminded everyone that his team had won more games than any other team in baseball this season. And for a little while, thousands of people chose not to remember that the Orioles had lost the last one."

At City Hall, Rick Dempsey sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Wild Bill Hagy led the O-R-I-O-L-E-S cheers that turned him into a local legend.

And the crowd chanted for its cleanup hitter, who batted .154 in the Series: "Ed-die, Ed-die, Ed-die."

An estimated 80-million people - then the largest audience in the history of televised World Series games - watched the Orioles' lose Game 7.

A day later, 125,000 Baltimore fans showed up downtown despite the outcome.

"It's the greatest parade I've ever seen," said Mayor William Donald Schaefer. "Never seen anything like it."

Perhaps the words emblazoned on a billboard near Memorial Stadium said it best: "We love you, Birds."
 
Image source: Here.

Flashback Friday: Was Boog Powell "Slow Footed"?

Wikipedia never lies. Okay, maybe sometimes. More often, though, the truths in question are matters of interpretation.

Which brings us to the story of a town crier, an Orioles legend, and a disputed proclamation. Oh, and there's beer involved, too. 

Oyez, Oyez, Oyez. Harken, and take heed! It's Flashback Friday.

The story begins (and ends) on Oct. 8, 2009, at the "Opening Tap Celebration" for Baltimore Beer Week aboard the iconic USS Constellation.

Squire Frederick - the official town crier of Annapolis and Baltimore County, Md., and, I should note, my father - is in the midst of introducing one John Wesley "Boog" Powell to the not-yet-drunken masses via the colonial news medium known as crying.

Suddenly, a voice of protest arises from none another than the guest of honor himself.

At issue is the crier's Wikipedia-inspired description of the revered slugger as "a slow-footed third baseman and left fielder before switching to first base in 1965."

(Note: Other sources have adopted the same characterization of Powell. Wiki came first: the chicken or the egg?)

"I stole 21 or 23 bases," Powell doth counter. "Nine consecutive bases without being thrown out in 1968."

Wikipedia may occasionally lie, but statistics never do. Okay, scratch that. Once again it seems the truths in question are matters of interpretation.

But the facts are these: Boog Powell stole 20 bases in 17 major league seasons; he was caught stealing 21 times. The 1968 season was in fact his best in the category - he stole seven bases (four consecutively without being thrown out) and was caught stealing just once.

Therefore, be it resolved that you should draw your own conclusions on this matter. Just be careful who's listening when you do.

See video of Squire Frederick, Boog Powell, and the matter of the disputed resolution at the Baltimore Beer Week website and/or the Baltimore Sun's Toy Department blog.

Flashback Friday: Beau Knows Doubles

With his 52nd double on Tuesday Brian Roberts knocked Beau Bell out of the franchise's top spot for doubles in a season. Roberts tied Bell's record 51 doubles in 2008.

Nevertheless, you won't hear Bell's name much in relation to the record because he played for the St. Louis Browns - "perhaps history's worst Major League franchise" - before they moved to Baltimore in 1954.

This week's Flashback Friday revisits Bell's record-setting 1937 season.

Roy Chester Bell was a 6'2", 185 pound right fielder who occasionally logged time at the infield corners.

He played a total of seven seasons in the majors and posted his best numbers in 1937 when he led the league in hits (218) and doubles (51) and posted career-highs in home runs (14) and slugging percentage (.509). It was his second-best year for batting average (.340) and on-base percentage (.391).

Not surprisingly given his success, he played in a career-high 156 games in '37.

Bell joined Harlond Clift as the first of 18 St. Louis Browns to be All-Stars. Both players were members of the 1937 American League All-Star team, though neither one appeared in the July 7 game at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C.

At season's end, Bell finished 17th in the MVP race won by Charlie Gehringer of the Detroit Tigers. He ended the 1937 season in the Top 10 among American League players for average, games played, at-bats, plate appearances, hits, total bases, doubles, RBI, singles, runs created, extra-base hits, and times on base.

Bell, like Roberts is currently doing, hit well for a losing team; believe it or not, he had it much worse than does Roberts.

The 1937 St. Louis Browns finished 46-108, 56 games behind the New York Yankees, who won the World Series behind the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig. The Browns' problem was pitching, not hitting.

Five Browns players batted .300 or better in 1937: Bell (.340), Clift (.306), Ethan Allen (.316), Joe Vosmik (.325), and Sammy West (.328). The team compiled 10 or more hits for 15 consecutive games, a mark matched this season by the Florida Marlins.

However, the Browns pitching staff posted a 6.00 ERA. Three players - Oral Hildebrand, Jack Knott, and Chief Hogsett - lost 17 or more games that season.

Bell and Roberts also reached their high mark for doubles at similar ages. Bell's 51 doubles came at age 29; Roberts tied Bell's record at age 30 and broke it at age 31.

However, Bell was not as consistent as Roberts, who this season joined Hall of Famers Tris Speaker, Paul Waner and Stan Musial as the only players to hit 50 or more doubles three times.

Bell's next-highest totals were 40 doubles in 1936 and 39 doubles in 1939. He hit 51 doubles in the minors for the Texas League's Galveston Buccaneers in 1934.


Be sure to check out the St. Louis Browns Fan Club. The group will holds its 25th reunion in October.


Image source: Here.

Flashback Friday: Curt Motton Wins Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS

"The pitch was away on the outer part of the plate, and I did something I rarely did - I hit it to right field. I just wanted to make good contact and hoped things worked out."

-Curt Motton, on his game-winning RBI single in the 1969 ALCS

Curt Motton played some outfield, but really he was a career pinch-hitter.

One of Motton's most famous pinch hits - an 11th inning RBI single against the Twins forty years ago - carried the Orioles to a 1-0 victory in Game 2 of the 1969 ALCS. The O's won the series 3-0.

A powerful pull hitter, Motton set what was then a major-league record in 1968 when he hit consecutive pinch-hit home runs. Motton's power earned him his keep with Earl Weaver; however, his game-winning hit in the '69 ALCS was an uncharacteristic opposite-field single.

Motton batted against Ron Perranoski, who came on in relief of Dave Boswell, a Baltimore native, after Boswell tossed 10.2 innings of shutout baseball.



Boog Powell had opened the Orioles' half of the 11th inning with a walk and was sacrificed to second on a Brooks Robinson bunt. Boswell then intentionally walked Dave Johnson and retired Mark Belanger on a pop-out to third base.

In came Perranoski and up stepped Motton - pinch-hitting for catcher Elrod Hendricks - for his only at-bat of the game.

"The pitch was away on the outer part of the plate, and I did something I rarely did - I hit it to right field," Motton recalled in Jeff Seidel's 2006 book Baltimore Orioles: Where Have You Gone? "I just wanted to make good contact and hoped things worked out."

The hit made a winner of the Orioles and of Dave McNally, who struck out 11 batters and gave up only three hits in 11 innnings of work.

Motton's ALCS effort capped the best season of his career. He batted .303 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 89 at-bats. Motton also tallied a .398 on-base percentage with 13 walks against 10 strikeouts for the 1969 Orioles, who won a franchise-best 109 games.

He had just one at-bat in the 1969 World Series, an eighth-inning pinch-hit appearance in place of Dave McNally in Game 5. Motton grounded out to shortstop during a 3-3 tie, and the Mets went on to score two runs against Eddie Watt in the bottom of the frame for a series-clinching 5-3 victory.

Motton won a World Series ring with the Orioles in 1970. His name appears alongside numerous Oriole greats in the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame.


Image: Here.