It’s June 28, 1996, and for one day at least, the O’s look like contenders. Rafael Palmeiro hit two homers, Cal Ripken drove in four runs, and Baltimore scored three runs in the 9th off young Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera to end a three-game skid and win 7-4 in the Bronx.

“It was a big win,” Palmeiro said to the Sun’s Buster Olney. “It gets us back to 4½ games, and we have a chance to leave here 2½ out. We’ll see what happens.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1C, June 29, 1996)

Roberto Alomar also had three hits and scored three runs for the Birds. Young lefty Rick Krivda struggled, giving up four runs and 11 baserunners in just four innings. But the bullpen pitched five scoreless innings to give the O’s a chance to steal the game late. Arthur Rhodes picked up the win to go to 9-0.

Slumping third baseman B.J. Surhoff had two hits to go with three strikeouts on the night. He’s hitting just .174 in his last 18 games after spending time on the injured list with a hurt ankle earlier in the year. He hit 10 homers in his first 37 games, but has just two in his last 25. “I’m just trying to get back to where I was,” Surhoff said. “I haven’t had the kind of success I had early on. Sometimes you go through bad periods.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 6C, June 29, 1996)

Here’s the box score with the lovely totals.

Before the game, Orioles owner Peter Angelos vented some frustration, calling out … Cal Ripken? “This team is in desperate need of leadership on the field and around the clubhouse, and no one is more qualified than Cal Ripken to provide that leadership,” Angelos said. “If Cal accepts that challenge with as much zeal as he plays and goes about his business of preparing to play every day, there’s no question the Orioles will be able to reach their potential.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1C, June 29, 1996)

Cal didn’t comment, deciding instead to drive in four runs, including the game-winner in the 9th. But his brother Billy did clap back.

“If Cal’s not the first guy that everyone goes to for advice, then he’s the second guy,” Billy Ripken said. “After 14 years, you can’t just turn that [vocal leadership] on. What would happen if he did chew somebody out? I think people would lose respect for him. There are leaders who go out there and stir it up, but they’ve stirred it up since Day 1, and that’s how they got to be a leader.”

Angelos seems particularly miffed about this earlier comment from Ripken: “People lose sight of the fact that we’ve assembled a team of new faces. The coaches are new. Management is new. It requires jelling. It’s a process where we have to learn each other.”

Angelos: “To suggest the lack of familiarity with two of the most respected men in baseball, [manager Davey] Johnson and [GM Pat] Gillick, and the coaching staff, is a problem, is simply off the mark. It’s off the mark, but more importantly, it precludes one from capturing the underlying truth.”

Whooo boy. Angelos has had a bit of a honeymoon period since buying the team four years ago. Even though the team hasn’t yet made the playoffs, Camden Yards is a delight and Angelos is spending big to bring in star players. He also refused to use scabs during the 1994 strike. But by going after a franchise icon like Cal, he runs the risk of alienate both the team and the fans.

Seems like the easiest solution to all this mess would simply be to win some games.

Two bricks for Raffy. That’s 20 on the season!

Orioles (41-35) at Yankees (46-31) 1:05 p.m.
BAL – RHP Mike Mussina (10-4, 4.99 ERA)
NYY – LHP Andy Pettitte (11-4, 4.25 ERA)

The #1 movie in America this weekend is Eddie Murphy’s “The Nutty Professor,” debuting with a $25,411,725 weekend. It bumped Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Eraser” from the top spot after just one week, though that film came in a strong second. Disney’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Demi Moore’s wholesome film “Striptease,” and the greatest movie ever made, “The Rock,” rounded out the top five. The summer of ‘96 is just getting started! Hercules! Hercules!

Pieces of the famous Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art are hitting the road for a global tour. The museum is sending a collection of works — including 65 paintings, sculptures and drawings by Henri Matisse — to the Osaka Municipal Museum of Art in Japan. 

The Cone Collection is undoubtedly the most famous art collection in the city. Commissioned and compiled by wealthy heiresses Claribel and Etta Cone, it is one of the biggest collections of Matisse art in the world, but also has original works from Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, and more.

“The Japanese are very interested in telling the story of these two sisters who made the collection possible,” BMA Director Arnold Lehman told the Sun. “And for us, it really helps to focus some renewed attention on Baltimore.”

The pieces will be on loan until February 2027.

“This is very important,” said Toshitsugu Uesawa, cultural attache in the Japanese Embassy in D.C. “This is part of the internationalization of our nation, so this will be very, very popular in Japan.”

I have seen the Cone Collection several times at the BMA. It is some truly remarkable art and it is free to see, so next time you’re in town, be sure to check it out.

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

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