It’s April 10, 1996, and with the temperatures in the 30s, the Orioles battled Cleveland deep into the night. When Rafael Palmeiro finally singled home Jeffrey Hammonds with the winning run in the 10th inning, the O’s were on top 3-2 and players and fans alike were finally able to thaw out.

This marked a great early-season measuring stick for the Birds, because the power-packed visitors came in as the defending American League champs.

The Sun’s Ken Rosenthal, obliterating the concept of “too soon,” penned this lede: “First, we stole their football team. Now, we’re after their baseball team. Relax, Cleveland — it’s not that kind of after. It’s after, as in chasing. After, as in gaining. After, as in challenging for American League supremacy.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, April 11, 1996)

Cleveland had won 14 straight extra-inning games, dating all the way back to before the strike in 1994. The Orioles had lost 10 of 12 games to them a season ago. But for tonight, the O’s can dream about a deep October run.

Orioles starter David Wells got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and pitched 8 solid innings, giving up just two runs. “After that first inning, it was dandy,” he said. (Baltimore Sun, p. 6D, April 11, 1996)

Despite the temperature, the 45,097 in attendance were fired up and made it seem like a playoff game.

Rosenthal, writing like such a heel he might have ended up in Lake Erie if he wasn’t careful, somehow called Cleveland fans “the biggest front-runners in sports” and said they were shouted down with chants of “Let’s Go Ravens.” Well, that’s embarrassing. (Baltimore Sun, p. 6D, April 11, 1996)

O’s catcher Chris Hoiles, looking strong and healthy, hit a home run earlier in the game. 

In very sad news, Cleveland reliever Paul Assenmacher gave up the winning hit and then his day got much worse. He was told that his dad, Leo, had died earlier in the day. His brother had asked the team not to tell him until after the game. (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, April 11, 1996)

Not everyone is happy in the Orioles dugout, though. Infielder Manny Alexander wants to play, but there’s no room for him on a team packed with superstars. “You’ve got Alomar and you’ve got Junior,” he said. “Why are you keeping me here? Why don’t you trade me?” (Baltimore Sun, p. 6D, April 11, 1996)

For now, the O’s are 6-1 and Alexander isn’t going anywhere. But I suppose we can keep an eye on the situation.

Here is the box score with the lovely totals.

Chris Hoiles…YOU are on the Wall of Dingers!

Cleveland (2-4) at Baltimore (6-1), 7:35 p.m. ET

Starting Pitchers
CLE – Orel Hershiser, 0-1, 6.75 ERA
BAL – Scott Erickson, 0-0, 4.50 ERA 

Celine Dion’s reign at the top of the charts continues with “Because You Loved Me.” We’ve already covered the Alternative and UK charts, so let’s look at the Dance chart. Over there, the number one song is Björk’s “Hyperballad.” Enjoy!

James W. Rouse died at 81. A renowned developer, he is perhaps best known in Baltimore for building Harborplace, the revolutionary mall pavilions in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor that were much-copied around the country in the 1980s.

Personally, I know him as the founder of Columbia, Md. You see, in the 1960s there were several government-funded projects to build utopian city/suburb things. As the Sun notes, “In Columbia, Mr. Rouse wanted a place where people of all races and religions could live together in comfort, convenience and a sense of community.

He assembled 14 people from the behavioral sciences, education, religion, government and communications. Over a four-month period, they met to brainstorm on how to create a new kind of suburban city. While other developers might worry about sewage systems, Mr. Rouse was delving into loneliness and angst.

As of 2026, approximately 107,000 people live in Columbia.

For a great read on that era of community development — focused specifically on an all-Black utopian development in North Carolina — I’d recommend Thomas Healy’s Soul City: Race, Equality, and the Lost Dream of an American Utopia.

Welcome to a recurring segment where I find fun things in today’s (in 1996) Baltimore Sun!

It was a cold night in the Bronx.