It’s June 17, 1996, and in somewhat of a baseball oddity, torrential rains in Baltimore stopped the O’s and Rangers game at 1-1 in the sixth inning. It is an official game and all the stats count, but it will be replayed in its entirety, possibly as a doubleheader tomorrow.

Per the Sun’s Peter Schmuck, the last time the O’s played a tie game was in 1982 against Milwaukee.

O’s first baseman Rafael Palmeiro extended his hitting streak to 16 games, but that’s about all the team did on offense. Rangers starter Roger Pavlik had only given up two hits when the game was stopped.

The rain interrupted what was a great bounceback start for struggling Baltimore starter Scott Erickson. He pitched all six innings, giving up just the one run on five hits.

Before the game, struggling outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds was sent to Triple-A Rochester. He is hitting just .237 with six homers and 19 RBI in nearly 200 at bats.  “I had an opportunity, and I didn’t fulfill it . . . yet,” Hammonds told Sun writer Jason LaCanfora. “I wasn’t going down the right avenue. I was supposed to be not only an impact ballplayer, but sort of a leader. Maybe I was slotting myself just to be a supporting role player. I don’t like the way I was going. I wasn’t waking up feeling the way I should.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, June 18, 1996)

Grumbling former first round pick Mark Smith was called up to take Hammonds’ place. Smith started in left field and struck out once and was hit by a pitch.

That’s about all there is to say for this one.

Here’s the box score with the semi-lovely totals.

Some interesting tidbits from LaCanfora and Schmuck’s Orioles notes in the Sun.

As the Sun’s Ken Rosenthal points out in a column telling the O’s to “crank it up or wave white flag,” over the next two weeks they will play 10 games against first-place teams (six vs. the Rangers and four vs. the Yankees). As Raffy Palmeiro says “This could tell a lot. We pretty much stumbled through the first 65 games. Now the movement of truth is here.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, June 18, 1996)

Buckle up.

No homers today.

Rangers (41-27) vs. Orioles (36-29), 7:35 p.m.

Starting Pitchers
TEX – LHP Darren Oliver (5-2, 3.86 ERA)
BAL – LHP Kent Mercker (3-5, 6.79 ERA)

The early results in the Russian election show incumbent president Boris Yeltsin with a slim lead over Communist rival Gennady A. Zyuganov.

A wire story from the Los Angeles Times published on the front page of the Sun describes a “disgruntled Russian electorate” giving a slight advantage to Yeltsin ahead of a runoff vote next month. One poll has Yeltsin at 35% and Zyuganov at 29%.

Far-right general Alexander Lebed got a somewhat surprising 15% and the article notes he could be a “kingmaker” in the runoff, depending on if he chooses to endorse someone. He has been negotiating with Yeltsin on a potential alliance in the second round.

In another front page piece, Sun foreign correspondent Clara Germani talked to one Russian lady who says it’s Yeltsin in a landslide.

“I know because I’m doing my own polling,” said bread-seller Tatyana Chalkhaina. When asked why she thought Yeltsin would win easily, she waved a loaf of bread around. “Well look, there are no more lines for bread, that’s why.” 

Thanks for the analysis, bread lady. I’m sure there are great times ahead for Russia.

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

For the fourth time in six seasons, the Chicago Bulls are champions of the world. Playoff MVP Michael Jordan and company beat the Seattle SuperSonics 87-75 to wrap up the series in six games.