1988 Baltimore Orioles season

Updated on Dec 07, 2024

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Record 54–107 (.335) General manager(s) Roland Hemond		Divisional place 7th
Owner(s) Edward Bennett Williams Manager(s) Cal Ripken, Sr., Frank Robinson Local television WMAR-TV(Jim Simpson, Brooks Robinson)Home Team Sports(Jim Palmer, Mel Proctor, John Lowenstein)

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 7th in the American League East with a record of 54 wins and 107 losses. The season is remembered for the 0-21 start that lasted from April 4 to 28 to start the Orioles season. Manager Cal Ripken, Sr. was fired after an 0-6 start and replaced by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. The Orioles won their first game of the year against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on April 29. The most runs allowed during the season was 15 in a game on June 19 while the most runs scored was 12 in a game on May 31. Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams died in August of that year.

Offseason

October 8, 1987: Mike Kinnunen was released by the Orioles.

October 8, 1987: Mike Hart was released by the Orioles.

November 6, 1987: Rico Rossy and Terry Crowley Jr. (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Orsulak.

February 27, 1988: Ray Knight was traded by the Orioles to the Detroit Tigers for Mark Thurmond.

March 21, 1988: Mike Young and a player to be named later were traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rick Schu, Keith Hughes and Jeff Stone. The Orioles completed the deal by sending Frank Bellino (minors) to the Phillies on June 14.

Regular season

April 4, 1988: The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Orioles 12-0, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in a shutout win on Opening Day.

September 7, 1988: Curt Schilling made his major league debut. He pitched against the Boston Red Sox and pitched in 7 innings. Schilling gave up 6 hits and 3 earned runs. He had 2 strikeouts and 5 bases on balls.

The Losing Streak

Game 13: The Orioles tied the 1904 Washington Senators and the 1920 Detroit Tigers for most losses to start the season with 13 losses after being beaten by the Brewers, 9-5, in Milwaukee.

Game 14: On a cold, wet night, 7,284 witnessed baseball history at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Baltimore became the first team in the history of major league baseball to start the season 0-14 as the Brewers won, 8-6.

Game 21: The Orioles lost 4-2 to the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota, extending their streak of season-starting losses to half again their original record, marking their seventh straight series being swept, and ending the day 16 games out of first place on April 28.