From 1966 to 1983, the Orioles played in six World Series and won three.
They went to the World Series in three consecutive seasons: 1969, 1970 and 1971. They were upset by the upstart New York Mets in ’69, beat the early Big Red Machine in ’70 and were again beaten as favorites by the Pittsburgh Pirates in ’71.
The Orioles then got back in 1979 but lost again to the Pirates despite again feeling as if they were the better team. After great runs in 1980, strike-shortened 1981 and 1982, they managed to get back to and win the 1983 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
For me, I saw no chance the Orioles wouldn’t be back a few more times in the ’80s and ’90s. But aside from that two-year window in ’96 and ’97 and again maybe from ’12 to ’16, there has been nothing bordering on the run from 1966 to 1983. The club remains stuck on a total of six World Series appearances and three World Series wins.
It was against the backdrop of the club’s 40th anniversary celebration weekend (Aug. 4-6) that we came face-to-face with the current team’s chances to get through this upcoming gauntlet and win the World Series.
I take with at least a tiny grain of salt how so many members of that ’83 band of brothers were optimistic that this team has the right stuff. Separate panels of three to four players from the ’83 team were presented to the local media for questions, and while most questions were about that team four decades ago, certain writers were sharpening their pencils to make the comparisons.
In my mind, I think the current team lacks one major characteristic that the ’83 team had — a pedigree of being a winning team for the better part of a decade.
But in paying close attention to what most of the returning players said, they talked about how driven they were by that World Series loss to the Pirates in ’79. The strike-shortened season robbed them of yet another chance, and then the ’82 team made a ferocious run to tie the Brewers for the AL East lead at the 161-game mark, only to lose to Don Sutton.
So much of what drove this team in ’83 was born by the sting of losing in big spots. The ’23 Orioles have not been hardened by anything like that. It doesn’t mean they can’t win now. It just means this club would be fueled by a vastly different dynamic.
The flip side of that coin is how the ’83 Orioles were not devoid of in-season tests. They twice lost seven games in a row and in between those streaks in May and August came four three-game losing streaks.
Compare that to these Orioles: As of early August, they hadn’t been swept in a two-plus-game series in 75 tries. That stat was posted by the great baseball researcher Sarah Langs, who lists the Orioles as fourth on the all-time list:
1942-1944 Cardinals: 125
1903-1906 Giants: 106
1922-1924 Yankees: 83
2022-2023 Orioles 77 (as of mid-August)
1904-1906 Athletics: 74
That’s something special for sure, and it’s something the Orioles are adding to their DNA slowly but surely, day by day, one series at a time.
If I knew how this would turn out, I’d empty my pockets and be firing up the bets. But with age comes wisdom as well as an expanded waistline. Forty years removed from 1983, I remember what my belief all year long was — that this team could and would win the World Series.
The 1983 season brought a lot of excitement to the town and fan base. It was also really my first year being on the radio (on flagship station AM 1300 WFBR).
Each and every weekend, after every game I filled up the airwaves with my then-scant baseball knowledge but an audacious notion that I was right all the time.
The 40th reunion was like entering a brief trip aboard a time machine for me. I flashed back to certain games. I remembered big home runs by Dan Ford and amazing pitching performances by Mike Boddicker. I thought back on Cal Ripken Jr. growing into a Hall of Famer right before our very eyes. There was the steady and spectacular Eddie Murray. And of course there was Ken Singleton, the veteran of all veterans, working the pitchers he faced in every at-bat. I also met Jon Miller, perhaps the greatest play-by-play man of all time. OK, maybe Vin Scully was a tad better.
I thought back to riding my bike from WFBR to Memorial Stadium after doing postseason pregame shows and reversing that ride at 11 p.m. to get to our studios on 20th Street just above North Avenue to do postgame talk.
I don’t host pre- and postgame talk on any stations now. That ship has sailed.
But every day during the baseball season, I still put on my game face and pull out a scorecard and get ready to root for the Orioles. And nothing will change that.
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox