By the time 1988 came around, the Birds had been in a high-priced free agent spiral for three years of failure. The team was actually getting worse in each year, injury-prone and defensively challenged, with a marked inability to pitch or perform fundamentally (sound familiar?)
In 1988, a lot of changes had been made. There were new coaches, a new spring training home, a lot of positives.
But, when the season began...there was "The Streak". No, not Cal's streak, which then was just becoming truly noteworthy (it reached 1000 games in mid-1988). It was THE STREAK. The Streak that was featured on national TV, in water cooler jokes around the country, even in "Peanuts".
It was the 21-game losing streak to begin the season. No AL team had ever lost so many games in a row since leaving the starting gate. (Thank God for the '61 Phillies.)
Bad luck? Well, as The Man said, you make you own luck. Check these numbers out: During "The Streak", the O's were outscored 129 to 44. Opponents hit .311. while the Birds managed a .200 batting mark. The team ERA was 5.96. I recalled leaving a lot of 1988 games after six innings or so, which was not my M.O. <this was my first season in Baltimore...I moved here just at the end of "The Streak", watching the game against the White Sox on TV from my new digs>, and after looking at those numbers, I recalled why. This team was hopelessly out of games VERY early in 1988.
The worst thing about that streak was the fate of Cal Ripken Sr. He was, of course, the manager of that team, and therefore was fired six games in. (This was certainly one of those cases of "you can't fire the ballclub, so fire the manager", though, of course, the club had been terrible the year before under Senior's direction (not that Walter Alston would have done better with the ill-advised lineup the Orioles posted in 1987.)
Frank Robinson, an Orioles icon, came in to manage the club. But the losses continued to pile up. When the team finally won on April 29, the returned home to one of the most electric and proudest moments for Baltimore fans, I was fortunate for this to be the first game I attended as a resident of Baltimore; the May 2 9-4 win played before 50,000 people.
Now, this was no turnaround win. This team was remarkably awful. They posted SIX four game losing streaks, as well as a five-spot. The longest win streak was four games. The O's didn't win a single series in another East team's ballpark all season. Kansas City, who was only seven games over .500 that year, went 12-0 against the Birds.
What happened? The sticks went totally south, for one. As outlined in the previous segment, the Orioles had become dependent on the long ball in recent years for scoring. Well, when Jim Traber and Larry Sheets reverted to their true abilities, Eddie decided he didn't want to play in Baltimore for EBW any more, and Fred Lynn continued his decline, the homer numbers dropped dramatically, as did the Orioles' scoring. Their .238 batting average was the lowest in the AL in 16 seasons, and their run total of 550 was second worst.
Defense? The outfield may have been the worst of all time: Pete Stanicek, Fred Lynn, and Joe Orsulak, with Jeff "Hands Of" Stone (the worst ML outfielder I've ever had the pleasure of watching), Larry Sheets and Ken Gerhart as the primary backups. (Lynn was traded in mid-season for a group that included future catcher Chris Hoiles.) O's fans didn't see a ball run down in either gap until Brady Anderson arrived in the mid-season trade of Mike Boddicker to the Red Sox for Anderson and Curt Schilling. The problem was, Brady hit for a .232 average with a "slugging" percentage of .272 (calling Rey Ordonez...)
Cal and Billy were rocks defensively, but Billy's batting average dropped 100 points in the wake of his father's dismissal. Eddie continued his indifferent play after the previous season's ill-considered remarks by owner Williams concerning his effort, making 11 errors and seemingly not even reaching for grounders or errant throws. Rick Schu proved to be merely the latest in the team's never ending search for a third baseman.
One high note was the play of a Oakland A's castoff behind the plate. Mickey Tettleton proved to be promising, hitting .261 with 11 homers in only 86 games, though he was bit long in the tooth as a "prospect" at age 27.
There were more lows than just what happened between the lines, however. Ralph Salvon, the O's long time trainer and Earl Weaver crony, passed away. And after brokering the deal that would eventually result in Camden Yards, Edward Bennett Williams, the team's owner, died, leaving more uncertainly about the future of the Orioles.
One thing was for certain as the curtain fell on the 1988 season...the Birds had no where to go but up. The question was, how far, if at all, would the 1989 team be able to fly?
Next Time: A New Day Dawns