While the rest of baseball was settling into the season, the Baltimore Orioles were spinning out of the way, reeling from inside pitches too mean to be believed, looking silly and sad. Starting with a 12-0 opener at home, the Orioles lost the first six games for second-year Manager Cal Ripken, who was abruptly fired. Frank Robinson replaced him, and they lost ten more to shatter an 84-year-old major-league record. Once Baltimore was the proudest team in the game, and the winningest.
Since the start of divisional play in 1969, even counting the two woeful seasons past, the Orioles have won...