If you want to count a game played in Japan at 6:05 EST as Opening Day... well you must live in Oakland or Boston. I live in Baltimore and our Opening Day starts Monday... like normal baseball teams. Question: How many people believe that Opening Day Monday should be a Holiday?

I want to share two memories from Oriole Opening Day past. I would love to see comments about a memory of your own.

 

Opening Day 1989: Cal Ripken hits a three-run bomb in the sixth inning off Clemens to put the Birds up by one and we win in extra innings on a Craig Worthington single. The year of “Why Not?” You felt Memorial Stadium rock that day. I bet you heard the crowd as far as Federal Hill when Rip put that Clemens fastball in the bullpen. I was on a bus trip from a pub in Baltimore. I was the youngest by ten years at least. My Uncle Vernon always made sure I went Opening Day. Yet, he never did that for his own son. Weird? Every one should have an Uncle like him. I am lucky to have remembered that afternoon. Where were the people checking for I.D.? Good thing it was a bus trip.

 

Interesting fact; the first four hitters in the line up that Opening Day; Brady Anderson, Phil Bradley, Steve Finley and Cal Ripken.

 

Opening Day 1982: Murray hits a granny, Cal put one over the fence for his first ever, Gary Roenicke, and “Disco” Dan Ford hit bombs that great afternoon as we destroy KC and Dennis Leonard 13-5. I sat in the right field bleachers with my sixth grade classmates. I was lucky enough to be on the cover of the News American the next morning! Remember Dempsey tried switch-hitting that year. Funny season. Weaver’s last one before that ill attempt at a comeback. Cal wins ROY. We take Milwaukee to the final game… and “Cakes “gives up two ####s to future HOF’er himself Robin Yount. We lose 10-2. Weaver cries as Howard Cossell sings praise to the “Earl of Baltimore.” We win the World Series the next season with Joe Altobelli and have not been to the big dance since.

 

Opening Day line up; Bumbry, Dempsey, Ford, Singleton, Murray, Ripken, Roenicke, Sakata and Dauer. Yes… in that order.

 

Let us hope we do not have to wait 25 more years.

 

When it comes to ' Dynamic Duo's ' in Baltimore Oriole history, two come to mind.

First we had Frank and Brooks Robinson. While they played only 6 seasons together ( I know seems like more, but it was from 66-71 ) they were able to lead the Orioles to two world championships and two other appearances in the World Series.

Frank was traded from Cincinnati to Baltimore ( could there be another OF coming this off season... see below ) before the 1966 season. The Reds thought he was an 'old' 30 at the time. HA!

While in Baltimore, Frank hit 179 home runs, drove in 539 runs and scored 555 times. He also averaged .298 per season. He won the 1966 AL MVP Award, the 1966 Triple Crown Award, the 1966 World Series MVP, and the 1971 All-Star game MVP.

His partner in crime was Brooks Robinson. Brooks hit 123 home runs, drove in 522 runs and scored 468 times. He also hit for a .262 average ( that's a bit lower than his career average of .268 ). Brooks won the 1966 All-Star game MVP, was a gold glover each of the six seasons with Frank and also won the 1970 World Series MVP.

Brooks also received the 1966 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. An award given to a player who gives back to the community and strongly exemplifies the integrity, spirit and given nature.

So together in six seasons they averaged 50 home runs a season, with 193 runs batted in and 170 runs scored. Won four AL Championships and two World Series. Not to shabby, huh?

The second ' Dynamic Duo ' in Baltimore Oriole history would be Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken.

Eddie and Cal played together for only 7 seasons ( '82-'88 ) in Baltimore. I know Eddie returned later, but I'm concentrating on when they were in their primes.

Eddie Murray was starting to establish himself as the best clutch hitter in baseball when Cal entered the scene for good at the start of the 1982 season.

While together Eddie Murray posted these numbers: 200 home runs, 714 runs batted in and 635 runs scored. Eddie also hit a cool .298 in those seven seasons. He finished regularly in the top 5 in the AL MVP races. Murray also was the man who crushed two Charlie Hudson pitches into the night in game 5 of the 1983 World Series.

Cal came right into the AL and won both the AL ROY Award in 1982 and the AL MVP Award in 1983. Cal also caught the last out of the 1983 World Series, the only one he ever played in.

In seven seasons with Eddie Murray batting behind him, Cal posted numbers like this: 183 home runs, 651 runs batted in and 712 runs scored. Cal also hit .309 with Eddie protecting him.

So together in seven seasons Eddie and Cal averaged 54 home runs, 195 runs batted in and 192 runs scored. They won one World Series and that was the only time they made the playoffs together ( before Eddie returned later in his career to get his 500th home run ).

I know the pitching on those teams was awesome and the defense was even better. But when you look into Oriole history and study the years we won, it came down to the HOF'ers. Cal, Eddie, Brooks and Frank all HOF'ers. The only pitcher in the HOF that played with all four men is Jim Palmer. Not McNally, Cuellar, Flanagan, McGregor, Boddicker, Phoebus, Dobson, etc, etc, etc......

This brings me to my next Baltimore Oriole ' Dynamic Duo.' We have a future All-Star outfielder in Nick Markakis. Now we have his Robin to his Batman in acquiring Adam Jones from Seattle last week for Erik Bedard.

This could be our next Brooks and Frank... Cal and Eddie. Hell, they may even be the first Nick and Adam. Markakis is only 24 and Jones is 21. We could see them together longer than Cal-Eddie and Brooks-Frank were together... COMBINED!

I'm just saying with a little help from a few of our top draft choices and have some of the prospects  we got in return for Tejada and Bedard to mature into solid regular major league players, this could be an interesting team to watch come 2010.

Let the AL East be forewarned... The Oriole Way is coming to a stadium near you!

Every year when I was a kid, my grand mom would ask me to make a list ( normally from the Toys' R US catalogs ) for Christmas. Now I knew going into the list I would not receive all the things I wrote. But that was the cool part of making a list. Not knowing what from the list you would get on Christmas morning.

My favorite all time Christmas gift was a football locker. It had all 28 team logos on the front divided into their divisions. That's right 28 teams. That's how many there were when I was 8.

Well this year I kind of want to make another list. This list is my Baltimore sports wish list. I know I will not receive all the things I will wish for, but I hope some come true.

1. The first one on my list is to bring back the " Baltimore " on the chest our our Oriole road jersey. Who do I need to call to get this ball rolling? Give me the damn number.

2. Trade both Erik Bedard ( who will not sign a long term deal with us ) and Miguel Tejada. While I'm thinking of it trade Brian Roberts too. Did you know he will be 31 soon?

3. For the Ravens to score one more touchdown a game. That would be the difference between averaging 16 a game and 23 a game. Is that asking too much Santa?

4. For the city of Baltimore to embrace the Baltimore Blast. The best entertainment outside the WWE for your money. The game of indoor soccer is fast and fun to watch. Plus they have won three championships this decade.

5. To draft a franchise quarterback and sign a big time play maker ( or as we call them in soccer " a finisher " ).

6. To have Brian Billick actually speak a language that I can understand. Also, could he please come up with some new material. He keeps quoting from the " Coaching for Dummies " book.

7. For Mr. Peter Angelos ( see I have manners ) to please ol please allow our GM to be a GM. Oh yeah could you sell the team too please. Mr. Ripken is awaiting your call.

8. For a new arena in the downtown Canton area. Maybe just maybe than we could at least attract a few professional NHL or NBA games to Baltimore.

9. For the Ravens to get younger and faster on defense. We have been a step slow on the front line all year. We continue to just miss getting to the quarterback. The linebackers have played poorly as a group this year and the secondary has been burned more than Fire Marshall Bob.

10. My last wish is for a parade. That's right a championship parade going down Pratt Street. This wish might be the one I have to wait for the longest.

There you have my list. Are there any other Baltimore sports wishes? Please feel free to add. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Angelos,

I would like for you to read the following and I can only hope I have some support on what I am writing about. You need to know that I have only loved one baseball team in my 37 years on planet Earth, and that team is the BALTIMORE Orioles. I will get back to the caps in BALTIMORE in a minute.

Just in case you do not know, I want to remind you that free agency starts 10 days after the World Series ends ( and the way our divisional foe has been hitting and pitching, it may be only two weeks away). There are a few great guys that will become available once this frenzy starts. I am writing about one gut in particular that I want to see roaming the green grass of centerfield next year. Ladies and gentleman I like to introduce to you the newest member of the BALTIMORE Orioles................. Torii Hunter!!!!!!!!!!

I don't care how much money this man wants, because as long as we keep throwing guys out there that can't keep the ball down, we need a guy that can go and get it like no other. I know Andruw Jones might be available but I don't like his demeanor when it come to playing the game. Torii Hunter gives it his all day in and day out. Ask any Minnesota Twin fan right now and they would cringe at the thought of someone else in their outfield. This man never stops smiling. He would be great for this town as well as our team.

I want to show you what this man has down in the last seven years. Besides averaging 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in plus 16 stolen bases, he bring hardware like no one other than Brooks himself. As Goldmember said " I like ggoooooollllddddd". Six straight seasons and another one on the way. He is only 32 years old and imagine how happy those knees will be to play on grass for a minimum of 115 games. You want a character guy on this team? You want a leader? You want a blue collar worker ( born on July 18, 1975 Pine Bluff, Arkansas)? You want someone for our community? You want Torii Hunter. Bring him to BALTIMORE, and throw all the crab cakes you can at him. I'm buying!!

Now to the BALTIMORE thing. This is driving me nuts Mr. Angelos. Why oh why are you being so stubborn about putting the BALTIMORE back on our road jerseys. Please man, one stinking little favor. This would actually help your legacy in BALTIMORE. Can you see this now.....October 2010........ game 7.... Eric Bedard on the mound.... ready to put the final nail in the Mets coffin at Shea..... pop up to center....... Hunter under it.......BALTIMORE you are the 2010 World Series Champs. Sweet huh? This is not a pipe dream. If Mr. Angelos submits a BALTIMORE road jersey to MLB by next spring, it could make the field in 2010. Imagine how many of us would run out a buy this jersey. Do something right before Cal Ripken buys the team, this way you can be remembered as the man who put BALTIMORE back on the map.

I was only 13 years old, a seventh grader at Francis Scott Key Middle School when the Orioles last went to and won a world series. For you Cub fans and Ranger fans and whomever else has a problem with their city winning a world series, I know be quite and sit down right? Wrong. No fan of a team will ever shut up and sit down if they truly believe their team can turn things around. Look I don't think Angelos has the right plan for this team, in fact I'm not sure if Angelos knows a bunt from a punt. The one thing that I do know is that he can field a 4th place team and that's the damn reason I'm writing.

See writing about how bad my team has been is more healthy for me than yelling and screaming about it. I'm about to stick hot needles in my eye if the birds do not start to make progress. We have had enough of the excuses about playing in the same division as the Yankees and Redsox. Hell the Bluejays took second place in the division last year.

So how do I or we go about getting things improved on and off the field for the Orioles? Well first I start by getting our fans back. Players and coaches need to make it a priority to meet and greet with the home folk even in the winter. But here is what I think will get our fans back the most. No I'm talking about bringing Cal Ripken in to run things ( but damn that would be sweet ). I want the BALTIMORE back on our road jerseys. Is that asking too much? I'll even sew all the jerseys for free!!! From what I understand Angelos is not the reason we don't have Baltimore on our jerseys instead it was Edward Bennett Williams. Remember he was owner of the Washington Redskins and he wanted the DC community to embrace the Orioles as their own that he took it off, and don't forget MLB has to approve such a change. Bad times all around.

Now I know this won't improve our fourth place finishes but this will start the flow of positive changes for this team. I see our minor leaguers are getting better, we are drafting better and hopefully we will see more home grown talent like in the 60's, 70's and 80's. The Oriole way has to be the only way. Like all teams it starts at the top, but in this case we must start at the bottom and work our way to the top. As much as I hate to say this, Angelos is not the problem. The problems have been that we have not judged talent well enough to bring a spark or any fire power to the big league club. It may be years before we see another title, but if they have BALTIMORE sewn on their proud chest when it happens, well than Good times all around.