70 Years of Orioles Magic Moments...10 Years at a Time: 1994-2003
Two days after the St. Louis Browns finished the 1953 season in last place, American League owners approved the sale and transfer of the franchise to Baltimore, putting the city back in the big leagues for the first time since 1902.
The newly renamed Baltimore Orioles moved into Memorial Stadium, thus beginning a 70-year love affair with Charm City. Good times were lean in the early years; it would take seven years for the team to post its first winning season.
The Orioles eventually would produce three World Series titles, numerous memorable players including a manager and five players whose Hall of Fame careers led to their numbers being retired, and countless magic and improbable moments, including the 2023 AL East Division title.
Now, with a new 30-year lease for Oriole Park at Camden Yards that will take the club through its 100th season in Baltimore, the Orioles are poised to create even more memories in the years ahead.
But first, let’s take a look at the highlights of the first 70 years – memorable moments from seven decades of Orioles Baseball. We’ll look at the players and events that shaped “Orioles Magic” 10 years at a time.
We’ll also include some moments we didn’t know were going to be so memorable at the time.
In recent weeks, we’ve looked at the first four decades. This time, it’s decade five:
1994-2003
4/27/1994: Ben McDonald tosses a complete game to improve his record to 5-0 as the Orioles beat the Angels, 13-1. McDonald becomes the second Orioles hurler to win five games in the month of April.
7/1/1994: The Orioles hit six of the game’s 11 home runs – then tied for the MLB record – in a 14-7 rout of the Angels at Camden Yards. Jeffrey Hammonds homers twice and Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken, Chris Hoiles and Leo Gomez also go deep for the Birds. Mike Mussina ties Jim Palmer’s club record by giving up five homers. Philadelphia and Arizona combined for 13 homers in a game in 2019.
6/10/1995: Jeff Manto homers in the 2nd inning of a 6-2 win over the Angels at Camden Yards, tying a major league record with home runs in four consecutive at-bats over three games. Manto homered five times over that span, connecting twice on June 8 including his final at bat and twice more on June 9 with a pair of walks.
8/2/1995: The Orioles’ get only one hit off Toronto’s Paul Menhart – a 2nd inning home run by Harold Baines – but it gives the Birds a 1-0 win at Camden Yards. Mike Mussina wins his 8th straight decision in nine starts with a four-hit shutout.
9/5/1995: Cal Ripken ties the immortal Lou Gehrig, playing in his 2,130th consecutive game. Ripken goes 3-for-5 and homers in the Orioles’ 8-0 win over the Angels at Camden Yards. The Orioles tie a pair of club home run records, hitting four homers in the 2nd inning, including three in a row by Jeff Manto, Mark Smith and Brady Anderson. Among the many gifts Cal receives during a post-game ceremony is the game ball from Game 1 of his streak, 5/31/82, presented by former Blue Jays pitcher Jim Gott; it was Gott’s first big league win.
9/6/1995: Cal Ripken becomes baseball’s “Iron Man” playing in his 2,131st consecutive game to break Lou Gehrig’s record. Ripken goes 2-for-4 and homers for the second night in a row as the Orioles beat the Angels, 4-2. Amid the celebration when the game becomes official in the middle of the 5th inning, teammates Bobby Bonilla and Rafael Palmeiro push Ripken out of the dugout to take his now-famous lap around the ballpark, starting precisely at 9:31 p.m., or 21:31 in military time.
5/17/1996: Chris Hoiles’ grand slam with two outs and a full-count lifts the Orioles to a 14-13 win over Seattle at Camden Yards, only the fourth time in history a game has been won by one run on a two-out, sudden-death grand slam, and the first with two outs and a full-count. Rafael Palmeiro drives in six runs and Alan Mills claims the victory despite allowing four runs in 1 1/3 innings pitched. The teams get 21 hits each, setting a club record for most combined hits in a game with 42.
6/14/1996: After breaking Lou Gehrig’s record the previous September, Cal Ripken plays in his 2,216th straight game, breaking the world record for consecutive games held by Japanese great Sachio Kinugasa of the Hiroshima Carp. Kinugasa is on hand in Kansas City to congratulate Ripken on breaking the record. Ripken goes hitless, but Luis Polonia drives in two runs with a double and triple and Mike Mussina tosses a complete game in a 6-1 Orioles win.
7/15/1996: After making 2,216 consecutive starts at shortstop, Cal Ripken is moved to third base by manager Davey Johnson, with Manny Alexander starting at shortstop. Ripken, who last played third on 6/30/82, scores twice and Chris Hoiles hits a two-run walk-off homer in the 9th to beat Toronto, 8-6.
7/22/1996: One day after being re-acquired in a trade with Cleveland, Eddie Murray returns to the Orioles and receives a standing ovation at Camden Yards. The future Hall of Famer will homer in his third at-bat that night, the 492nd of his career and putting him within one of tying Lou Gehrig for 15th on the all-time list (at that time).
9/6/1996: Eddie Murray, who returned to the Orioles via trade in late July, hits his 500th career homer off Detroit’s Felipe Lira to tie the game at Camden Yards. Murray’s 7th inning, game-tying solo blast comes minutes before midnight in a rain-delayed game on the anniversary of Cal Ripken’s record-breaking consecutive game. Murray becomes the third of seven major league players with 3,000 hits and 500 homers. Unfortunately, the Orioles eventually lose to the Tigers, 5-4, in 12 innings.
10/1/1996: In their first post-season game in 13 years, the Orioles beat Cleveland in Game 1 of the AL Division Series, 10-4, at Camden Yards. B.J. Surhoff hits two homers and Brady Anderson and Bobby Bonilla hit one each. David Wells gets the win with help from four relievers.
10/2/1996: The Orioles score three runs in the 8th inning to break a 4-4 tie to win Game 2 of the AL Division Series against Cleveland, 7-4, before 48,970 fans at Camden Yards. Brady Anderson’s sacrifice fly and Roberto Alomar’s single plate insurance runs after Cleveland catcher Sandy Alomar’s throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score in the 8th.
10/5/1996: Roberto Alomar’s two-out single off Indians reliever Jose Mesa in the 9th ties the game, and his homer off Mesa leading off the 12th inning propels the Orioles to a 4-3 win to clinch the AL Division Series at Cleveland. Four Orioles relievers combine to allow no hits and two walks over the final five innings, giving the Birds a 3-games-to-1 series win.
10/9/1996: Victory is snatched from the Orioles grasp by 12-year-old Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier in the Bronx in Game 1 of the ALCS. With the Orioles clinging to a 4-3 lead in the 9th inning, Derek Jeter hits a long fly to deep right field. Outfielder Tony Tarasco is ready to make the catch when Maier intercedes, reaching over the wall to snare the ball. Umpire Richie Garcia rules it a home run despite a heated protest by the Orioles. Bernie Williams homers off Randy Myers in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Yankees a 5-4 win and a 1-0 led in the series.
4/11/1997 Rafael Palmeiro becomes the only player to hit two home runs onto Eutaw Street in the same game when he goes deep to right in the 7th and 8th innings of a 9-3 win over the Rangers.
4/26/1997 Roberto Alomar becomes the first player to hit three home runs in a game at Camden Yards, going 4-for-4 with a career-high six RBI in a 14-5 win vs. Boston. After singling in his first at-bat, Alomar smacks homers in the 2nd, 4th and 5th innings before hitting a sacrifice fly to deep right in his final plate appearance in the 7th.
5/8/1997 The Orioles end Randy Johnson’s 16-game winning streak with a 13-3 victory at Camden Yards. Johnson’s streak is stopped one game shy of the American League record shared by the Orioles’ Dave McNally (1968-69) and the Indians’ Johnny Allen (1936-37).
5/30/1997 Mike Mussina retires the first 25 Cleveland batters before Sandy Alomar lines a 2-0 pitch to left for a single with one out in the 9th inning, ending the right-hander’s perfect game bid. Mussina strikes out the final two batters for his second one-hit victory, 3-0. It is the 10th time an Oriole pitcher had a no-hitter broken up in the 9th inning, the last until Daniel Cabrera on 9/28/06 at New York.
9/24/1997 The Orioles become the sixth team ever to lead wire-to-wire as they beat Toronto, 9-3, to clinch their first AL East title in 14 years. It comes on the anniversary of their 1971 AL East title, when Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson both won their 20th game in a doubleheader sweep over Cleveland.
10/1/1997: Mike Mussina’s pitching and home runs by Geronimo Berroa and Chris Hoiles help the Orioles beat Randy Johnson and the Mariners, 9-3, in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Seattle. The Orioles score four runs in the 5th and four more in the 6th to break a 1-1- tie and Mussina allows two runs in seven innings.
10/2/1997: For the second day in a row, the Orioles beat the Mariners, 9-3, at Seattle’s Kingdome, to take a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series. Seattle leads, 2-1, in the 5th when starter Jamie Moyer is forced to leave with a strained left forearm. The Orioles jump on Marines reliever Paul Spoljaric for three hits to take a 3-2 lead, then score six runs off Bobby Ayala between the 7th and 8th innings. Scott Erickson gets the win with help from three relievers, and Harold Baines and Brady Anderson homer as the Birds pound 14 hits.
10/5/1997: Manager Davey Johnson again sits first baseman Rafael Palmeiro and second baseman Roberto Alomar against Mariners’ left-hander Randy Johnson, and the move pays off as Alomar’s replacement, replacement, Jeff Reboulet, homers in a 3-1 victory as the Orioles clinch the AL Division Series. Mike Mussina allows one run on two hits over seven innings to outduel Johnson for the win.
10/8/1997: Brady Anderson leads off the bottom of the 1st inning with a homer and the Orioles go on to a 3-0 win over the Indians in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series. Scott Erickson and relief ace Randy Myers hold the Indians to four hits, and Roberto Alomar also goes deep for the Birds.
4/25/1998: Cal Ripken Jr., playing in his 2,500th consecutive game, drives in three runs to lead the Orioles to an 8-2 win over the Oakland A’s at Camden Yards. Ripken’s 6th inning single drives in two runs to break a scoreless tie. The crowd of 46,026 gives Ripken a huge ovation when the game becomes official in the 5th inning.
9/20/1998: Just prior to the last home game of the season, Cal Ripken Jr. asks Manager Ray Miller to take him out of the lineup, ending Ripken’s consecutive game streak that began 16 years earlier on May 30, 1992 at 2,632 games. Ryan Minor starts at third base, and after the game’s first pitch, the crowd of 48,013, along with players from both the Orioles and visiting Yankees, give Ripken a standing ovation. The Orioles lose to New York, 5-4, as Ripken alternately sits in the dugout and visits the bullpen during the game.
3/28/1999: The Orioles become the first professional sports team to travel to Cuba since Fidel Castro took over in 1959. The Orioles beat the Cuban National team, 3-2, in front of the Castro and a packed Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana. No team would return until the Rays play in Havana in March 2016.
4/5/1999: The Orioles win the season opener 10-7 over Tampa Bay before 46,733 at Camden Yards. The first four hitters in the Orioles lineup (Brady Anderson, Mike Bordick, Will Clark and Albert Belle) combine for nine hits and nine RBI and Mike Mussina wins his fifth opening day start. The third base coach’s box is emblazoned with the number “7” in honor of both former Cal Ripken Sr. and former Gold Glove shortstop Mark Belanger, both of whom had passed away during the off-season.
6/13/1999: Cal Ripken sets club records, going 6-for-6 and scoring five runs, as the Orioles pound Atlanta, 22-1, at Turner Field. Ripken has a double and two home runs and drives in six runs. Will Clark’s four hits and five RBI are overlooked in the O’s 25-hit attack as Ripken becomes the only Oriole to get six hits or score five runs in a game.
8/17/1999: Jesse Orosco enters the game in the 7th inning at Camden Yards and retires Minnesota’s Todd Walker on a fly out for the final out of the inning to set a Major League record with his 1,072nd career pitching appearance, passing Dennis Eckersley. Orosco goes on to appear in 1,252 games in his 24-year career.
4/15/2000: Cal Ripken gets his 3000th career hit, a single at Minnesota’s Metrodome off Hector Carrasco in the 7th inning. Playing in his 2800th game, Ripken becomes the 24th major leaguer to reach the 3,000 career hit milestone and the only the seventh player to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs in major league history. The Orioles win the game, 6-4.
9/28/2000: The Orioles score 10 runs in the 4th inning at Camden Yards en route to a 23-1 pounding of the Blue Jays, the club record for most runs scored in a game. The Orioles use eight hits, a walk and two errors in the 4th to take a 16-0 lead. Delino DeShields has five RBI, Brady Anderson scores four runs and has four RBI, and Brook Fordyce has four hits and scores four runs to pace the Orioles’ 23-hit offense.
2/2/2001: The Orioles announce a new field alignment for Camden Yards, with home plate moving back and slightly to the first base side, reducing the foul territory and meaning it will take about seven more feet to hit a home run. The new alignment will last one year, with the field returned to its original dimensions for the 2002 season.
5/13/2001: The Orioles score five runs in the 11th inning off Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera for a 10-5 win. Jerry Hairston beats out a double-play grounder allowing Brooke Fordyce to score the tie-breaking run, Mike Kinkade adds an RBI single and Jeff Conine caps the inning with a three-run homer.
3/8/2001: With three years remaining on his five-year contract, the Orioles announce that Albert Belle has a degenerative right hip and place him on the 60-day disabled list, effectively ending the slugger’s 12-year career. Belle, who batted .289 with 60 homers and 220 RBI in two seasons with the Orioles, will remain on the Orioles roster through the 2003 season.
6/19/2001: After leaking word the night before, Cal Ripken Jr. announces at a Camden Yards press conference that he will retire at the end of the season, ending his 21-year Orioles career. Ripken, batting .210 with 4 homers at the time, will finish the season with a .239 average and 14 homers in 128 games.
7/18/2001: After the Orioles lose the first game of a doubleheader to the Rangers, 6-4, on “70s Night” at Camden Yards, the second game is postponed when a train derails in a tunnel near the ballpark, and catches fire, causing toxic chemicals to leak. No one is injured, but the leak forces postponement of the Orioles game against the Angels the next night, and their game with the Rangers is made up in Texas the following week.
10/6/2001: With the season extended a week after cancelations because of the 9/11 attacks, the Orioles lose at home to the Red Sox, 5-1, in the last game of the season and the last game of Cal Ripken’s career before 48,807 fans at Camden Yards. Ripken, who in May had announced his plan to retire at season’s end, goes 0-for-3 and is left in the on-deck circle at game’s end when Brady Anderson strikes out for the final out. Had the schedule not been altered, Ripken would have ended his career a week earlier at Yankee Stadium.
4/1/2002: Tony Batista hits a grand slam and the Orioles score seven runs off Roger Clemens, spoiling his debut with the Yankees in a 10-3 win on Opening Day at Camden Yards. Later that evening, the University of Maryland’s men’s basketball team wins the NCAA title, capping a memorable day in Charm City.
4/11/2002: The Orioles set club records for runs and hits in an inning on the way to a 15-6 win vs. Tampa Bay. The Orioles scored 12 runs on 11 hits in the 6th inning, which started with back-to-back home runs by Geronimo Gil and Mike Bordick. Bordick, Jeff Conine and David Segui all had two hits during the 6th inning barrage.
2/17/2003: 23-year-old pitcher Steve Bechler dies at a Fort Lauderdale hospital, one day after collapsing on the field from heat stroke during spring training drills. Bechler, 23, was found to be using ephedrine as a weight loss supplement, which contributed to his death and led to the banning of ephedra products in the United States. Bechler had made his major league debut the previous September for the Orioles, pitching in three games.
3/31/2003: In the season opener at Camden Yards, the Indians score two runs when Ellis Burks’ fly ball gets lost amid the falling snow, but Marty Cordova’s two-run homer ties the game in the 8th inning for the Orioles. The Birds re-tie the game in the 12th on an Indians passed ball with two outs, then win 6-5 in the 13th inning on Gary Matthews’ single.