We had some prospects. Steve Finley came up from the Minor Leagues. When we did trade for players and gave young guys a chance, it was an opportunity. There was sort of a hopeful attitude but expectations were low. The comeback kids of '89 return tonight! Join us as we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the "Why Not? Ripken Jr. But I figured I could go through the rebuilding process, so I signed in August I was one of the few guys who had experience at the big league level. I was in my first Spring Training, so everything was new to me.
And we were going to have five or six -- six when I was on the mound -- rookies out there at a time. Kurkjian: "There were NO expectations. I took that to heart, and I think everyone did, too. Worthington notched the Orioles' first hit in the third and Ripken their biggest in the sixth, putting Baltimore ahead with a three-run homer off Clemens.
Sign up to receive our daily Morning Lineup to stay in the know about the latest trending topics around Major League Baseball. But the real signature of Opening Day was a play early on in the game. He saved a double or even a triple, then had to go on the disabled list. But it had been years since the Orioles had an outfielder who could make a play like that. When Finley ran that ball down, that really set the tone for the season. That kind of got the '88 guys out of their funk, got the new guys going and got everyone believing we could win right away.
Maybe that terrible streak is over. Maybe this is where everything turns. Then the Orioles did something nobody expected -- they kept winning. They went in April, in May. They finished the month winners of eight of nine and in sole possession of first place, behind a group of unsung heroes -- Olson, the rookie closer, breakout catcher Mickey Tettleton and out-of-nowhere starters Jeff Ballard and Bob Milacki among them. This was the first time in the ninth inning of a real game. Miller: "And he struck out the side; he ran the table.
From that point on, they said, 'Hell with it. Half the battle is believing you should win. Our pitching was even better than expected. Our outfield defense was awesome. We made it a point for them not to score runs. It's fun and it was a thrill to be able to take runs away. But in '89, they had young, athletic defensive players and everything changed. The fans caught on almost right away, with every diving catch that was made in the outfield.
The Orioles lost their first 21 games of It set the stage for a summer fueled by slogans, comebacks and catch phrases, one that captured the imagination of a city clamoring for a winner. I knew his wife, Sylvia, was in the stands one night and found her for an interview. Steinberg: "Say that occurred around the third inning. Davis: "I was as stunned as anybody else. It stuck. Ripken: "I remember the city embraced us in a big way. It was almost like everybody was asking, 'Is this real? It was truly amazing and inspiring to watch.
They would go from about 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. There was no person in charge of marketing, because we believed so many departments are part of resonating, connecting with your market. What are our community partners telling us? What are our crab-cake-eating, Natty-Boh drinking fans telling us? Memorial Stadium to me was a special place to play.
Steinberg: "Sometime after that meeting, someone in the fans held up a sign that said 'Why Not? You could walk out after the game and there are hundreds of people standing around waiting to shake your hand. It never felt like we got booed. It felt like percent support. It was talked about. Read our Announcement.
Transactions Def. Top 12 Players Please note that players may not be in the uniform of the correct team in these images. Team Batting League Register. Pitchers in non-DH games that appeared on the lineup card but didn't bat will still have a game in this column.
Team Pitching League Register. Coaching Staff. Team Fielding--Totals League Register. More Orioles Pages. Full Site Menu Return to Top. Louis Cardinals. We're Social Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. Mickey Tettleton. Randy Milligan. Billy Ripken. Cal Ripken Jr. Craig Worthington. Phil Bradley. Mike Devereaux. Bob Melvin. And it will be a great feeling for them when they make that transition.
They have a choice to make, just like we had a choice to make 30 years ago. We can either believe what we read or go out and play and let the chips fall where they may. We got off to a slow start.
Baseball is games with ebbs and flows. But you have a chance to show up and win every night. In fact, Bradley remembered a loss in mid-summer when he was involved in a key play that still bothers him. We were winning. That game should have been suspended, and we ended up losing. Ken Phelps hit a fly ball that I saw it be hit and the next thing I know, I heard it land behind me.
It was a big game. We were in position to win those first two games, which to this day it still is a bit of a disappointment. We put ourselves in great position to win both of those games. It was great to see so many players from that team return to Baltimore. They clearly enjoyed their time back, and it was cool to hear them relive some wonderful memories of a wonderful summer. Subscribe to mobile updates! Featured School's always in session! Bring an apple and check out Roch's new classroom.
Steve Melewski. By: Steve Melewski. View Comments.
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