1988 Baltimore Orioles season

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 April 28 to start the Orioles season.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[1] Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams died in August of that year.

Offseason

• October 8, 1987: Mike Kinnunen was released by the Orioles.^[3]
• October 8, 1987: Mike Hart was released by the Orioles.^[4]
• November 6, 1987: Rico Rossy and Terry Crowley Jr. (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Orsulak.^[5]
• February 27, 1988: Ray Knight was traded by the Orioles to the Detroit Tigers for Mark Thurmond.^[6]
• 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.^[7]

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.^[8]
• 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 has 2 strikeouts and 5 bases on balls.^[9]

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.^[10]
• 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.^[10]

Season standings

Opening Day starters

• Mike Boddicker
• Terry Kennedy
• Fred Lynn
• Eddie Murray
• Joe Orsulak
• Billy Ripken
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Rick Schu
• Larry Sheets
• Jeff Stone^[11]

Notable transactions

• April 2, 1988: Dickie Noles was signed as a free agent with the Orioles.^[12]
• April 5, 1988: Mickey Tettleton was signed as a Free Agent by the Orioles.^[13]
• 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.^[14]
• July 29, 1988: Mike Boddicker was traded by the Orioles to the Boston Red Sox for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling.^[15]

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = position; G = Games played; AB = At Bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting Average; HR = Home Runs; RBI = Runs Batted In

^[16]

Other batters

^[16]

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Other pitchers

Relief pitchers

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester

References

1. ^ ^{a b} 1988 Baltimore Orioles Schedule, Box Scores and Splits - Baseball-Reference.com
2. ^ Box Score of Game played on Friday, April 29, 1988 at Comiskey Park I
3. ^ Mike Kinnunen page at Baseball Reference
4. ^ Mike Hart page at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Rico Rossy page at Baseball Reference
6. ^ Ray Knight page at Baseball Reference
7. ^ Rick Schu page at Baseball Reference
8. ^ SI.com - Statitudes - Statitudes: Opening Day 2002, By the Numbers - Sunday March 30, 2003 01:50 AM
9. ^ Curt Schilling page at Baseball Reference
10. ^ ^{a b} Washingtonpost.com: The 1988 Orioles: And the Losing Goes On
11. ^ 1988 Baltimore Orioles Roster by Baseball Almanac
12. ^ Dickie Noles page at Baseball Reference
13. ^ Mickey Tettleton page at Baseball Reference
14. ^ Pete Rose Jr. page at Baseball Reference
15. ^ Mike Boddicker page at Baseball Reference
16. ^ ^{a b} 1988 Baltimore Orioles Statistics and Roster - Baseball-Reference.com

• 1988 Baltimore Orioles team page at Baseball Reference
• 1988 Baltimore Orioles season at baseball-almanac.com