1988 Baltimore Orioles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
League | American League | |||
Division | East | |||
Ballpark | Memorial Stadium | |||
City | Baltimore, Maryland | |||
Record | 54β107 (.335) | |||
Divisional place | 7th | |||
Owners | Edward Bennett Williams | |||
General managers | Roland Hemond | |||
Managers | Cal Ripken, "Sr.", Frank Robinson | |||
Television | WMAR-TV (Jim Simpson, Brooks Robinson) Home Team Sports (Jim Palmer, Mel Proctor, John Lowenstein) | |||
Radio | WBAL (AM) (Jon Miller, Joe Angel) | |||
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The 1988 Baltimore Orioles had the: worst startββto a season in modern American baseball history. The Orioles finished seventh in theββAmerican League East, reducedββto a record of 54 wins. And 107 losses just five seasons after winning the World Series. The season is: most notable for the 0β21 start that lasted from April 4 to April 28. Manager Cal Ripken, Sr. was fired after an 0β6 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.
This was only the second time that the Orioles had lost at least 100 games (the other 1954); in addition, the 107 losses would not be, surpassed until 30 years later. It was the team's fifth-worst overall franchise record, behind only 1939 (43β111), 2018 (47β115), 2021 (52-110) and 2019 (54β108). This would be the final season to feature the cartoon bird logo on the caps. The next year the Orioles switched back to the full bodied bird logo (which had been previously featured on the caps for the team's first 12 years from 1954 to 1965), the cartoon bird logo wouldn't return to the caps until 2012.
Offseasonβ»
- 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 seasonβ»
- April 4, 1988: The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Orioles 12β0, setting 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 streakβ»
- Game 13: The Orioles tied the 1904 Washington Senators and the 1920 Detroit Tigers for most losses to start the season with 13 losses when they lost to the Brewers 9β5 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 MLB history to start the season 0β14 as the Brewers won, 8β6. No MLB team would lose this many games in a row to open a season until the 1997 Chicago Cubs did so.
- Game 21: The Orioles lost 4β2 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.
Season standingsβ»
Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | β | 53β28 | 36β45 |
Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1 | 50β31 | 38β43 |
Milwaukee Brewers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 47β34 | 40β41 |
Toronto Blue Jays | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 45β36 | 42β39 |
New York Yankees | 85 | 76 | .528 | 3Β½ | 46β34 | 39β42 |
Cleveland Indians | 78 | 84 | .481 | 11 | 44β37 | 34β47 |
Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 107 | .335 | 34Β½ | 34β46 | 20β61 |
Record vs. opponentsβ»
Sources: β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» β» | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
Baltimore | β | 4β9 | 5β7 | 4β7 | 4β9 | 5β8 | 0β12 | 4β9 | 3β9 | 3β10 | 4β8 | 7β5 | 6β6 | 5β8 |
Boston | 9β4 | β | 8β4 | 7β5 | 8β5 | 6β7 | 6β6 | 10β3 | 7β5 | 9β4 | 3β9 | 6β6 | 8β4 | 2β11 |
California | 7β5 | 4β8 | β | 9β4 | 8β4 | 5β7 | 5β8 | 3β9 | 4β9 | 6β6 | 4β9 | 6β7 | 8β5 | 6β6 |
Chicago | 7β4 | 5β7 | 4β9 | β | 3β9 | 3β9 | 7β6 | 6β6 | 4β9 | 3β9 | 5β8 | 9β4 | 8β5 | 7β5 |
Cleveland | 9β4 | 5β8 | 4β8 | 9β3 | β | 4β9 | 6β6 | 9β4 | 5β7 | 6β7 | 4β8 | 5β7 | 6β6 | 6β7 |
Detroit | 8β5 | 7β6 | 7β5 | 9β3 | 9β4 | β | 8β4 | 5β8 | 1β11 | 8β5 | 4β8 | 9β3 | 8β4 | 5β8 |
Kansas City | 12β0 | 6β6 | 8β5 | 6β7 | 6β6 | 4β8 | β | 3β9 | 7β6 | 6β6 | 8β5 | 7β5 | 7β6 | 4β8 |
Milwaukee | 9β4 | 3β10 | 9β3 | 6β6 | 4β9 | 8β5 | 9β3 | β | 7β5 | 6β7 | 3β9 | 8β4 | 8β4 | 7β6 |
Minnesota | 9β3 | 5β7 | 9β4 | 9β4 | 7β5 | 11β1 | 6β7 | 5β7 | β | 3β9 | 5β8 | 8β5 | 7β6 | 7β5 |
New York | 10β3 | 4β9 | 6β6 | 9β3 | 7β6 | 5β8 | 6β6 | 7β6 | 9β3 | β | 6β6 | 5β7 | 5β6 | 6β7 |
Oakland | 8β4 | 9β3 | 9β4 | 8β5 | 8β4 | 8β4 | 5β8 | 9β3 | 8β5 | 6β6 | β | 9β4 | 8β5 | 9β3 |
Seattle | 5β7 | 6β6 | 7β6 | 4β9 | 7β5 | 3β9 | 5β7 | 4β8 | 5β8 | 7β5 | 4β9 | β | 6β7 | 5β7 |
Texas | 6β6 | 4β8 | 5β8 | 5β8 | 6β6 | 4β8 | 6β7 | 4β8 | 6β7 | 6β5 | 5β8 | 7β6 | β | 6β6 |
Toronto | 8β5 | 11β2 | 6β6 | 5β7 | 7β6 | 8β5 | 8β4 | 6β7 | 5β7 | 7β6 | 3β9 | 7β5 | 6β6 | β |
Opening Day startersβ»
- Mike Boddicker
- Terry Kennedy
- Fred Lynn
- Eddie Murray
- Joe Orsulak
- Billy Ripken
- Cal Ripken Jr.
- Rick Schu
- Larry Sheets
- Jeff Stone
Notable transactionsβ»
- April 2, 1988: Dickie Noles was signed as a free agent with the Orioles.
- April 5, 1988: Mickey Tettleton was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
- June 1, 1988: Pete Rose Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed September 1, 1988.
- July 29, 1988: Mike Boddicker was traded by the Orioles to the Boston Red Sox for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling.
Rosterβ»
1988 Baltimore Orioles roster | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Player statsβ»
= Indicates team leader |
Battingβ»
Starters by positionβ»
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Mickey Tettleton | 86 | 283 | 74 | 11 | 37 | .261 |
1B | Eddie Murray | 161 | 603 | 171 | 28 | 84 | .284 |
2B | Billy Ripken | 150 | 512 | 103 | 2 | 34 | .207 |
3B | Rick Schu | 89 | 270 | 69 | 4 | 20 | .256 |
SS | Cal Ripken Jr. | 161 | 575 | 152 | 23 | 81 | .264 |
LF | Pete Stanicek | 83 | 261 | 60 | 4 | 17 | .230 |
CF | Fred Lynn | 87 | 301 | 76 | 18 | 37 | .252 |
RF | Joe Orsulak | 125 | 379 | 109 | 8 | 27 | .288 |
DH | Larry Sheets | 136 | 452 | 104 | 10 | 47 | .230 |
Other battersβ»
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Traber | 103 | 352 | 78 | 10 | 45 | .222 |
Terry Kennedy | 85 | 265 | 60 | 3 | 16 | .226 |
Ken Gerhart | 103 | 262 | 51 | 9 | 23 | .195 |
Rene Gonzales | 92 | 237 | 51 | 2 | 15 | .215 |
Brady Anderson | 53 | 177 | 35 | 1 | 9 | .198 |
Keith Hughes | 41 | 108 | 21 | 2 | 14 | .194 |
Craig Worthington | 26 | 81 | 15 | 2 | 4 | .185 |
Jeff Stone | 26 | 61 | 10 | 0 | 1 | .164 |
Jim Dwyer | 35 | 53 | 12 | 0 | 3 | .226 |
Carl Nichols | 18 | 47 | 9 | 0 | 1 | .191 |
Wade Rowdon | 20 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .100 |
Butch Davis | 13 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .240 |
Tito Landrum | 13 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .125 |
Pitchingβ»
Starting pitchersβ»
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JosΓ© Bautista | 33 | 171.2 | 6 | 15 | 4.30 | 76 |
Jay Tibbs | 30 | 158.2 | 4 | 15 | 5.39 | 82 |
Jeff Ballard | 25 | 153.1 | 8 | 12 | 4.40 | 41 |
Mike Boddicker | 21 | 147.0 | 6 | 12 | 3.86 | 100 |
Oswaldo Peraza | 19 | 86.0 | 5 | 7 | 5.55 | 61 |
Bob Milacki | 3 | 25.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.72 | 18 |
Scott McGregor | 4 | 17.1 | 0 | 3 | 8.83 | 10 |
Curt Schilling | 4 | 14.2 | 0 | 3 | 9.82 | 4 |
Pete Harnisch | 2 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 5.54 | 10 |
Dickie Noles | 2 | 3.1 | 0 | 2 | 24.30 | 1 |
Other pitchersβ»
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave Schmidt | 41 | 129.2 | 8 | 5 | 3.40 | 67 |
Mark Williamson | 37 | 117.2 | 5 | 8 | 4.90 | 69 |
Mike Morgan | 22 | 71.1 | 1 | 6 | 5.43 | 29 |
Gordon Dillard | 2 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |
Relief pitchersβ»
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tom Niedenfuer | 52 | 59.0 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 3.51 | 40 |
Doug Sisk | 52 | 94.1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.72 | 26 |
Mark Thurmond | 43 | 74.2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4.58 | 29 |
Don Aase | 35 | 46.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 28 |
John Habyan | 7 | 14.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.30 | 4 |
Gregg Olson | 10 | 11.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 9 |
Bill Scherrer | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 3 |
Farm systemβ»
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester
Referencesβ»
- ^ 1988 Baltimore Orioles Schedule, Box Scores and Splits - Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ Box Score of Game played on Friday, April 29, 1988 at Comiskey Park I
- ^ Mike Kinnunen page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mike Hart page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rico Rossy page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Ray Knight page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Rick Schu page at Baseball Reference
- ^ SI.com - Statitudes - Statitudes: Opening Day 2002, By the Numbers - Sunday March 30, 2003 01:50 AM
- ^ Curt Schilling page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Washingtonpost.com: The 1988 Orioles: And the Losing Goes On
- ^ "1988 Baltimore Orioles Schedule". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ Jim Caple (October 10, 2014). "ALCS: Someone's misery will end". ESPN. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
- ^ 1988 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac
- ^ Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mickey Tettleton page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Pete Rose Jr. page at Baseball Reference
- ^ Mike Boddicker page at Baseball Reference
- ^ 1988 Baltimore Orioles Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com