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2000-Present
2000 The rebuilding phase began in Baltimore as the Orioles began
mixing rookies and youngsters with their veterans and finished 74-88
under first-year manager Mike Hargrove. Cal Ripken was limited to
just 83 games in the first injury-plagued season of his amazing
career while Albert Belle hit a team-leading 23 homers playing with
what eventually would be a career ending hip injury. Veteran pitcher
Jose Mercedes led the staff with 14 wins while the club lost stalwart
Scott Erickson to elbow surgery.
2001 This was a landmark season in Baltimore, as Cal Ripken announced
that it would be his last in the Major Leagues. What was another
rebuilding season for the Orioles transformed into a farewell tour
for the most durable player in the history of the game. Ripken received
numerous gifts and accolades as he stopped by visiting Major League
parks for the final time. The season ended at home and the Orioles
and Major League baseball agreed to switch the season finale to
Saturday, and Ripken played his final game on Oct. 6, 2001. He finished
the year hitting .239 with 14 homers and 68 RBI. He capped his career
by hitting a home run in the All-Star Game and winning the MVP award.
2002 A young Orioles club took the field and was one of the league's
surprises through the first 126 games, winning 63 and seemingly
en route to a winning season. A 4-32 finish put a damper on the
year, but there were some bright spots. Rodrigo Lopez was named
Team MVP and the Sporting News American League Rookie Pitcher of
the Year while Jay Gibbons hit 28 home runs. It was the fifth consecutive
fourth place finish for the Orioles, who finished the year on a
12-game losing streak.
1990-2000
1991 The final season for Orioles baseball on 33rd Street saw Cal
Ripken have a career year. He hit .323 with 210 hits including 34
HR, 144 RBI, 368 total bases, and only 46 strikeouts. He won the
MVP, All-Star MVP, Major League Player of the Year, and even won
the All-Star Home Run contest for good measure hitting 12 bombs
in 22 swings. Mike Flanagan pitched the last inning of the last
game ever at Memorial Stadium and retired the batters 1-2-3. After
the game a magical ceremony that included over 100 Oriole Greats
bid farewell to the stadium and transplanted home plate from Memorial
Stadium to the new location at Camden Yards to officially end an
era and begin a new one.
1992 The dawn of a new era of Orioles baseball began as Camden Yards
was introduced to the world. Despite many comments about how hitter-friendly
the park was, the first three games played there were low-scoring
shutouts with the O's winning two of them. At the end of the '92
season, Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak had reached 1,735
and Lou Gehrig's record was in sight.
1993 The All-Star Game returned to Baltimore for the first time
since 1958 in the beautiful setting of Camden Yards and All-Star
Fanfest Week was a celebration unlike any in recent memory. In the
Home Run contest, Ken Griffey Jr. became the first player to hit
the warehouse on the fly. Not to be outdone, Juan Gonzalez, a right-hander,
reached the 3rd deck in left field with a shot estimated to be over
500 feet. The Birds as a whole had a streaky season, but catcher
Chris Hoiles was solid throughout en route to winning Oriole MVP.
He hit .310 with 29 HR and 82 RBI even though he missed 21 games
due to injury.
1995 On September 5th and 6th at Oriole Park at Camden Yards against
the California Angels, Cal Ripken Jr. became baseball's all-time
"Iron Man", tying and breaking Lou Gehrig's consecutive
games played record of 2,130. Cal's streak began on May 30, 1982.
In the games Cal went a combined 5-9 and hit home runs in each.
Ceremonies were held after the tying game and included a "roast"
of Cal to congratulate him on his achievement, but the best celebration
was to come during the record breaking game. After the game was
in the books as an official game, play was halted for over 20 minutes
and Cal made a victory lap as the fans showed their appreciation
for baseball's new "Iron Man".
1996 After a frustrating first half which saw the team struggle
to find their identity, the Birds made a charge and captured the
A.L. Wild Card. In the Division Series against Cleveland, Roberto
Alomar secured victory for the O's with his heroics on the field
and at the plate and the Orioles moved on to face the Yankees in
the ALCS. Two extremely close games in New York, including the famous
Home Run That Wasn't game, brought the series back to Baltimore
tied 1-1 but the Yankees proved to be too much to take and the O's
fell short, losing the series 4-1 to the eventual World Champs.
1997 The O's potent attack, led by Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar,
and B.J. Surhoff, and double digit wins from 5 Orioles pitchers
propelled the Birds to a season-long reign in the division as they
went wire-to-wire. Their dominance brought them back to a Division
Series rematch with the Indians, who had also been nothing short
of dominating throughout the regular season campaign. This time
around the Tribe got the best of the favored Orioles, whose offense
had suddenly gone silent in the series, and the Indians eeked out
a six-game series win to take the A.L. pennant before falling to
the Marlins in the World Series.
1980-1989
1980 The Orioles won 100 games behind the brilliant pitching of
Scott McGregor (20-8) and Steve Stone (25-7), who went on to win
the Cy Young, but finished 3 games behind the Yankees in the division.
On the other side of the ball, Al Bumbry had 205 hits for the season
and batted .318.
1982 Rookie Cal Ripken Jr. made his presence known early on, going
3-5 with a homer on Opening Day. Eddie Murray made a bid for the
MVP award hitting .316 with 32 HR and 110 RBI. Earl Weaver announced
that this would be his final season at the helm of the O's. The
Orioles had an up and down season but made a heroic final charge
down the stretch that put them into a tie with Milwaukee Brewers
on the final day of the regular season and it was a head-to-head
matchup. Unfortunately, league MVP Robin Yount and the rest of the
"Wallbangers" proved to be too much and the Birds finished
one game back at 94-68.
1983 Joe Altobelli became the new manager and took over an Orioles
team on a mission. The mission looked to be derailed by several
key injuries to players such as Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, Dan Ford,
and Tippy Martinez, but the O's stayed the path and charged all
the way to the World Series to face Pete Rose and the Philadelphia
Phillies. It was MVP Rick Dempsey who led the Birds to the Championship,
batting .385 and throwing out the speedy Joe Morgan twice, as the
Orioles claimed their third title and avenged the heartbreaks of
the previous four seasons.
1988 On a night where 50,402 turned out to welcome the 1-23 Orioles
back from a 1-11 road trip, Governor William Donald Schaefer announced
that owner Edward Bennett Williams and the Maryland Stadium Authority
had agreed upon a long-term lease for a new downtown ballpark to
be built in time for the 1992 season. Williams, who was very ill,
never attended another game after that and lost his battle with
cancer on August 13, 1988. The season was a lost one as the Birds
went 54-107, but the process of rebuilding had begun.
1989 The Orioles new uniforms and new attitude were on display as
the team
improved by 32 1/2 games in the standings and spent nearly three
months of the season in first place. '89 became known as the "Why
Not?" season and Frank Robinson won American League Manager
of the Year for his role in leading this young group into a pennant
chase that ended on the next-to-last day of the season following
consecutive 1-run losses to Toronto.
1970-1979
1970 The O's posted three 20-game winners in 1970 with Dave McNally
(24-9) and Mike Cuellar (24-8) leading the way, followed by Jim
Palmer, whose 20-10 record included five shutouts. Sweeping the
Twins in the ALCS for the second straight year put the O's back
in the Series against the NL champion Cincinnati Reds. However,
the Big Red Machine proved to be no match for an Orioles team set
on avenging '69's loss to the Mets. The Birds took the Series 4-1
for their second title behind the MVP play of Brooks Robinson who
made several plays for the ages at third and batted .429.
1971 Not satisfied with their pitching brilliance in 1970, the O's
outdid themselves by posting four 20-game winners in '71. Pat Dobson
joined McNally, Cuellar, and Palmer as the Birds went on to win
101 games. Again an ALCS sweep, over Oakland this time, put the
Orioles into the World Series for the 3rd straight year where they
would meet up with Roberto Clemente and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Clemente hit .414 and was the catalyst for a Pirates victory in
a hard-fought seven game series.
1973 The O's returned to form going 97-65 and facing the powerhouse
A's in the ALCS. In the decisive final game it was Jim "Catfish"
Hunter who took the reigns and shutout the Birds 3-0 to clinch the
title for Oakland. During the regular season rookie Al Bumbry shined
as he hit .337 and stole 23 bases and Earl Weaver was voted Manager
of the Year for the first time.
1979 Orioles Magic came to town for the 1979 season as the Birds
always seemed to find a way. If it wasn't a home run from someone
you least expected, it was a late-inning rally that willed the O's
to victory. Mike Flanagan took over as the ace of the staff going
23-9 with 16 complete games, five shutouts, and a 3.08 ERA on his
way to the Cy Young Award. The team finished 102-57 and faced the
Pirates in the World Series where history repeated itself as the
"We Are Family" Bucs overcame a 3-1 series deficit to
win the Championship on an RBI single by Willie Stargell in the
8th inning of the decisive seventh game.
1960-1969
1960 The Orioles of 1960 made a charge for the pennant and the team
emerged as a perennial contender. Finishing with 85 wins, it was
clear that the future was bright with rookies Jim Gentile, Ron Hansen,
and Steve Barber shining bright alongside more established players
such as Milt Pappas and Brooks Robinson, who went to the first of
his 16 All-Star Games.
1961 The Orioles eclipsed the 90-win mark for the first time finishing
95-67, but still finished 14 games behind the Yankees who were being
powered by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Jim Gentile had a stellar
season and set 11 team records finishing third in the MVP vote behind
Maris and Mantle.
1964 As late as mid-September the O's were in first place in a tight
pennant race with the Yankees and White Sox but the Yankees won
11 straight down the stretch to take the division by a game over
Chicago and two games over the Birds. Brooks Robinson had a fantastic
season hitting .317 with 194 hits, 28 HR, and 118 RBI.
1966 In a trade for Milt Pappas and two others, Frank Robinson came
to the Birds and proved to be the missing ingredient for the Championship.
Robinson's timely power and the amazing pitching of the O's staff
brought the trophy home to Baltimore, who outscored the L.A. Dodgers
13-2 to capture their first ever World Series title.
1969 Jim Palmer's (16-4) dominance was on display as he fired off
an 11-game win streak in the summer of '69. The O's finished 109-53
and played the Minnesota Twins in the first American League Championship
series, which they promptly swept in 3 games. The World Series pitted
the favored Birds against the Miracle Mets who shocked all of baseball
with a 4-1 victory in the Fall Classic.
1954-1959
1953 On September 28, 1953, baseball's owners unanimously agreed
upon the move of the St. Louis Browns to Baltimore. The move followed
a season in which the Browns went 54-100 and drew a crowd of only
3,174 to their season finale, an 11-inning loss to Chicago.
1954 The Orioles debut in the modern day game was not a stellar
one, as they finished 54-100 and 57 games back in the division.
However, the love affair with the Birds had begun as the O's drew
1,060,910 fans to their 67 home dates of their inaugural season.
1957 An indication of better days appeared in '57 as the Birds finished
at .500 for the first time. Veteran Connie Johnson (14-11) led the
charge of a surprising Orioles pitching staff that saw four pitchers
throw shutouts on consecutive days in late June.
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