A Season to Forget by Ron Snyder

Author:Ron Snyder
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781683582632
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2019-03-11T16:00:00+00:00

1 By comparison, the Dodgers led the majors in attendance with more than 3.5 million fans in 1983 and more than 2.6 million fans in 1966.

2 The Bullets were renamed as the Wizards after the 1996-97 season.

Chapter Nine

THE FALLOUT

While the emotions surrounding the “Fantastic Fans Night” was great for the players and the fans, it only provided a brief distraction from the fact that the Orioles were at the lowest point of their history. A team that far in last place needed to move in a completely different direction.

Roster turnover had been the norm with the front office the past few seasons. Straying from the “Orioles Way,” they were more interested in making trades and taking chances on free agents. Essentially, they were looking for a way—any way—to help return the team to its former glory.

Scott Garceau, who has reported on every major sports story in Baltimore for nearly forty years, said it was obvious the Orioles needed to move in a drastically different direction if it ever wanted to return to a franchise that even closely resembled the one of the mid-1960s to early 1980s.

“At the end of the day, the biggest issue for the Orioles in 1988 was the starting pitching,” Garceau said. “It was starting pitching that had always been the strength of the team during their glory years. Yes, they had great hitters like Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson and Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken, but it was pitching that made the difference. From Jim Palmer and Dave McNally to Scott McGregor and Mike Flanagan to Mike Boddicker and Steve Stone, there were always great pitchers on the Orioles staff. But by 1988, it was literally all gone.”

Never one afraid to make a move, Orioles general manager Roland Hemond remained busy throughout the rest of the 1988 season with hopes of righting the ship. Among the first moves was the release of long-time starting pitcher Scott McGregor on May 2, 1988. McGregor spent his entire 13-year career with the Orioles after being traded by the New York Yankees in 1976.

Over the course of his career, McGregor would be one of the most significant pitchers in Orioles history. He was the winning pitcher in the game that clinched the pennant over the California Angels in 1979. In that game, he pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing just six singles while striking out four and walking one in an 8–0 victory.

McGregor was also the winning pitcher for the Orioles in the World Series–clinching victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 1983. In that game, he pitched another complete-game shutout, allowing just five hits while striking out six and walking two.

McGregor would finish his career with 138 wins and 108 losses, which included a record of 20–8 in 1980. His 107 wins between 1980 and 1988 were among the top ten in the major leagues over that time, trailing such greats as Jack Morris, Fernando Valenzuela, Ron Guidry, and Dave Steib.

But his career began to take a downward trend after he

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.