It’s April 11, 1996, and it was an emphatic statement by the O’s as they launched six homers to defeat Cleveland 14-4 and finish off an abbreviated two-game sweep of the defending AL champs.

Centerfielder Brady Anderson had four hits, including his first two home runs of the season. Tony Tarasco, Jeffrey Hammonds, B.J. Surhoff and Rafael Palmeiro also homered as the Birds blitzed Cleveland starter Orel Hershiser and never looked back.

The O’s are now 7-1, and manager Davey Johnson was asked if he could have written a better script to start his first season back in Baltimore. “Yeah,” he said, “eight wins.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, April 12, 1996)

The six homers tied the Camden Yards record and the 14 runs were the most scored by the O’s since July 1, 1994. The game was so far out of reach that Billy Ripken made his first appearance of the season when he replaced Surhoff in the 8th. He got a huge ovation from the crowd. “I didn’t realize they were standing,” Ripken said. “I knew they were pretty loud. It’s nice. They like me, for some reason.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 6D, April 12, 1996)

O’s reliever Arthur Rhodes triggered the rare 3-inning save rule as he pitched the final three frames to close out the 10-run win.

This was the performance that O’s fans dreamed of all offseason when they stacked the lineup with stars. With the Rangers losing to the White Sox, Baltimore now is tied for the best record in all of baseball. Our time is now!

In other sports news, Australian Greg “The Shark” Norman shot an opening round 63 to take the lead at the Masters.

Here is the box score with the lovely totals.

Oh my god, look at all the dingers. Six new bricks!

With Brady Anderson’s first two homers of the season, we’re excited to launch the Brady-O-Meter. Let’s get those sideburns a-growin’!

Minnesota (4-4) at Baltimore (7-1), 7:35 p.m. ET

Starting Pitchers
MIN – Rich Robertson, 0-2, 9:39 ERA
BAL – Mike Mussina, 2-0, 1.80 ERA 

The new American ambassador in London is… William “The Refrigerator” Perry? Well, not exactly, but the Fridge is in London, and he is an ambassador of sorts, an ambassador of American football. His NFL career ended in 1994, but the massive 300+-pound defensive lineman — and former Chicago Bears legend — is now a member of the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football.

The league is struggling, and they’re hoping a superstar of Fridge’s stature will help. The Sun actually had a foreign correspondent covering this story since it is so big. Speaking of big, The Fridge says all the hard work he’s put in, “I could be 300 pounds by the end of the season.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 10A, April 11, 1996)

“I never discuss his weight with him,” said Monarchs coach and Morgan State alum Bobby Hammond. “Man gave me his word he’ll be ready. I’m putting in pass plays for him.”

The Fridge’s work must have paid off because for the last several years (as of 2026) there have been multiple NFL games in the UK. (Ed. note: This is not because of The Fridge.)

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

The brand new Blaustein Building as part of the Baltimore City LIfe Museum has four floors of exhibits. It closed just over a year later, in June 1997. It has since been a Latin-themed night club and is now a church. It is a cool building I drove by it yesterday.