70 Years of Orioles Magic Moments ... 10 Years at a Time: 2014-2023
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 six decades. This time, it’s the last 10 years:
2014-2023
6/23/2014: Chris Davis slams a pinch-hit three-run homer in the bottom of the 9th off Chicago reliever Ronald Belisario to be the White Sox, 6-4. It is the Orioles’ first walk-off pinch-hit home run in 26 years.
8/8/2014: The Orioles celebrate their 60th anniversary, wearing 1954-style uniforms and pounding 15 hits in a 12-2 rout of the Cardinals. The barrage includes five homers – two by J.J. Hardy and one each by Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Chris Davis. Following the game, the crowd of 43,743 stays for a gala laser and fireworks show featuring 22 Orioles Hall of Fame members, the most ever gathered in one place.
9/12/2014: After the Yankees break a scoreless tie in the 10th inning at Camden Yards, Jimmy Paredes hits a two-out, two-run pinch-hit double to win the opener of a day-night doubleheader, 2-1. Bud Norris and two relievers combine to shut out the Yankees in the second game, 5-0, for the Orioles first doubleheader sweep of New York since 1984.
10/2/2014: The Orioles score a club post-season record 12 runs – including eight runs in the 8th inning – to take a 1-0 lead in the AL Division Series over the Tigers, winning 12-3. J.J. Hardy and Nelson Cruz homer and Alejandro de Aza adds a pair of doubles to pace the Orioles attack.
10/3/2014: Trailing Detroit, 6-3, in the 8th inning of Game 2 of their AL Division Series, the Orioles score one run and load the bases before pinch-hitter Delmon Young delivers a bases-clearing double into the left field corner at Camden Yards, with J.J. Hardy beating the tag at home with the go-ahead run for a 7-6 lead. Jason Johnson retires the Tigers in order in the 9th as the Orioles take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.
10/5/2014: The Orioles complete a 3-game sweep of the Tigers to win the AL Division Series, 2-1 at Comerica Park. Bud Norris goes 6 1/3 scoreless innings to outduel David Price as the Orioles beat a former Cy Young Award winner for the third straight game. Nelson Cruz’s two-run homer in the 6th holds up when Zach Britton gets a double play with two runners on in the 9th for the final outs.
6/16/2015: The Orioles set a club record with eight home runs in battering the Phillies, 19-3, at Camden Yards. Manny Machado and Chris Parmelee hit two homers each, and Chris Davis, David Lough, Jimmy Paredes and Ryan Flaherty also go deep.
8/1/2015: Gerardo Parra, acquired the day before from Milwaukee, singles in his first at bat while becoming the 1,000th player in Orioles history and the Birds go on to beat the Tigers, 6-2, at Camden Yards.
4/15/2016: DH Mark Trumbo becomes the first Oriole to hit two home runs in the same inning, connecting twice in the 7th inning of the Orioles’ 11-5 win at Texas’ Globe Life Park. The Orioles score nine runs in the inning and tie a club record with four homers in an inning. Trumbo opens the scoring with a two-run homer off the Rangers’ Martin Perez and closes it with a three-run blast off Andrew Faulkner. In between, Jonathan Schoop and Nolan Reimold homer, the third time in club history the Orioles have hit four homers in a single inning.
5/5/2016: The Orioles and Yankees battle to a scoreless tie into the 10th inning at Camden Yards. Hyun Soo Kim and Jonathan Schoop single off Yankee reliever Johnny Barbato to put runners on the corners, and Pedro Alvarez greets new pitcher Andrew Miller with a sacrifice fly to deep center to score pinch-runner Nolan Reimold for a 1-0 win.
5/16/2017: Chris Davis homers twice in extra innings to give the Orioles a 13-11 win at Detroit. Davis hits a solo homer in the 12th as part of a three-run inning before the Tigers tie the game, then hits a two-run homer in the 13th to for the victory.
11/14/2018: Mike Elias is named Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Orioles, replacing Dan Duquette. A native of Alexandria, VA who used to come to Oriole games while growing up, Elias had spent the previous seven seasons as assistant GM for the Astros.
7/25/2019: Stevie Wilkerson moves from center field to the mound in the 16th inning, becoming the 10th Orioles pitcher of the night, and records the first save by a position player in baseball history as the Birds hold off the Angels, 10-8, in Anaheim. The O’s blew a one-run lead in the 9th and a three-run lead in the 15th before Jonathan Villar’s two-run homer in the 16th puts them in front for good.
7/26/2019: More than 40,000 music fans pack Oriole Park at Camden Yards as “The Piano Man” – Bill Joel – performs the first stand-alone concert ever in the ballpark. Paul McCartney will perform on 6/12/2022 in the second Camden Yards concert, also drawing more than 40,000 fans.
8/5/2019: Jonathan Villar becomes the fifth Oriole in club history to hit for the cycle when he singles to right in the 9th inning in a 9-6 loss to the Yankees at Camden Yards. It is the Orioles’ first cycle in 10 years, since Felix Pie did it against the Angels.
6/11/2020: The Oriole Bird, the team’s official mascot since 1979, is inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. The Orioles were the first MLB team with a mascot – Mr. Oriole, in 1954, lasted only two seasons before the Oriole Bird was hatched on Opening Day in 1979.
5/5/2021: John Means throws the Orioles’ first complete game no-hitter since Jim Palmer in 1969, striking out 12 and walking none in a 6-0 win at Seattle. The only runner to reach against Means is the Mariners’ Sam Haggerty on a 3rd-inning strikeout that eludes catcher Pedro Severino. Haggerty is promptly caught stealing. Means becomes the first pitcher in history to record a non-perfect game while allowing no hits, walks, hit batters or batters reaching by error.
6/19/2021: Ryan Mountcastle becomes the second Orioles rookie to hit three home runs in a game, but the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 10-7 at Camden Yards. Mountcastle equals Nick Markakis’ feat, set 8/22/06 at Camden Yards.
9/24/2021: In an 8-5 loss to Texas at Camden Yards, outfielder Cedric Mullins hits his 30th home run, becoming the first Orioles player to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. He becomes only the 46th different player to accomplish the feat in MLB history.
5/22/2022: As rain begins to pour at Camden Yards, Austin Hays hits a two-run, 9th inning single to tie the Rays, 6-6, before a 51-minute rain delay halts the game. In the 11th inning, automatic runner Adley Rutschman is sacrificed to third before Rougned Odor hits a ground ball under the glove of Tampa Bay first baseman Ji-Man Choi as Rutschman scores, giving the Orioles their third walk-off in four games for the first time since 1974.
6/22/2022: Austin Hays hits for the cycle and does it in only 6 innings in the Orioles’ rain-shortened 7-0 win over the Nationals at Camden Yards. Hays singles in the 1st, homers in the 3rd, triples in the 4th and homers in the 6th before rain causes the game to be called after a 1 hour, 46 minute delay. It is the sixth cycle in Orioles history and the fourth at home, all four coming at Camden Yards. Hays, who scores three and drives in three, becomes the first player in history to hit for the cycle in a game of less than 9 innings. Tyler Wells tosses five shutout innings and Nick Vespi gets his first big league save after pitching a scoreless 6th in a 3-run game.
7/8/2022: Down to their last strike three times while trailing the Angels by two runs with two outs in the 9th, the Orioles get four straight hits to complete a 5-4 walk-off win at Camden Yards. After Rougned Odor singles, Adley Rutschman doubles to pull the Orioles within one run, and Cedric Mullins follows with a single to score Rutschman and tie the game. Following a wild pitch, Trey Mancini singles into the left field corner to score Mullins for the win.
8/25/2022: After White Sox left fielder Adam Engel drops his foul fly ball with two outs in the 9th inning, rookie Kyle Stowers hits an 0-2 pitch off Chicago closer Liam Hendriks into the right field bleachers for his first career home run to tie the game. Two innings later, with automatic runner Cedric Mullins at third after Adley Rutschman’s single, Anthony Santander laces a single to center to score Mullins and give the Orioles a 4-3 walk-off victory.
9/3/2022: For the first time in club history, the top three draft choices from the same year start for the Orioles, as the 2019 draft class’s Adley Rutschman (1st round), Gunnar Henderson (2nd round) and Kyle Stowers (also 2nd round) combine for four of the team’s 11 hits in an 8-1 win over Oakland before 30,853 at Camden Yards.
3/30/2023: Adley Rutschman becomes the first player in MLB history to go 5-for-5 and drive in four runs on Opening Day and the Orioles hang on for a 10-9 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Rutschman gets four singles and a homer and also walks, becoming the first Oriole to reach base 6 times in a season opener. The Orioles also steal five bases and add five more in their second game two days later, the first time a team has stolen 10 bases in its first two games.
4/13/2023: Adley Rutschman tags a 1-0 pitch from A’s reliever Trevor May leading off the 9th inning for a home run to deep right-center field for his first career walk-off, giving the Orioles an 8-7 win at Camden Yards.
4/23/2023: Adam Frazier, the automatic runner at second to start the 10th inning, is sacrificed to third by Terrin Vavra and scores on a wild pitch by reliever Mason Englert to give the Orioles their second 2-1 walk-off win over the Tigers in three days. On 4/21, the Orioles won in the 9th when Ryan Mountcastle beat Tiger first baseman Spencer Torkelson’s throw home on Frazier’s grounder.
5/12/2023: Cedric Mullins becomes the seventhth Oriole to hit for the cycle in a 6-3 win over the Pirates at Camden Yards. Mullins singles in the 3rd inning, triples in the 5th, doubles in the 7th and then blasts a three-run homer in the 8th to complete the cycle.
6/11/2023: Rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson blasts a 462-foot, three-run homer, the longest ever to land on Eutaw Street, to lead the Orioles to an 11-3 Orioles win and a sweep of the Royals. The home run caps a week in which Henderson bats .526 with three homers, six RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases in five games and is named AL Player of the Week.
8/5/2023: After celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1983 World Champions in a pre-game ceremony, the Orioles pound the Mets, 7-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 44,326 at Camden Yards. Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander homer and the Orioles also have five doubles among their 12 hits as they take a three-game lead in the AL East.
9/17/2023: Moments after Adam Frazier’s two-out single in the bottom of the 9th ties the Rays, the Orioles clinch a post-season berth for the first time in seven years when Texas loses to Cleveland. After falling behind in the 10th, Adley Rutschman singles to tie the game again, and in the 11th, Cedric Mullins’ sacrifice fly to deep right center scores Rutschman to give the Orioles a 5-4 win and give them a two-game lead on the Rays in the AL East. The Rays also clinch a post-season spot with the Texas loss, marking the first time opposing teams have clinched the playoffs while playing each other.
9/28/2023: The Orioles clinch their 10th AL East title with a 2-0 win over the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Anthony Santander’s 1st-inning homer and Heston’s Kjerstadt’s RBI double in the 8th supported Dean Kremer and five Orioles relievers, who combined to allow only three singles and one walk.