It’s March 11, 1996, and heavy rains washed out the O’s spring training game. But there is some uneasiness in Orioles camp because pitcher David Wells — expected to be the team’s #2 starter behind Mike Mussina — had to go to the hospital with a rapid heart rate. After staying overnight for tests, the doctors seem to think there is no underlying condition and Wells should return to baseball activities in a few days. Regardless, it is a something to keep an eye on for a guy who’s supposed to be a workhorse in the rotation after averaging 7 innings pitched per start in 1995.

David “Boomer” Wells was born in May of 1963 in Torrance, Ca. He was raised by his mother, Eugenia, who was a biker known as “Attitude Annie” and hung out with members of the Hell’s Angels. The bikers would attend his Little League games, offering the young David cash rewards for strikeouts and wins. “I could pull in $100 a game, and nobody dared screw around with me,” said Wells. “Try, and I’d say, ‘I’ll get my mom’s boyfriend on you.’” (Annie’s boyfriend was “Crazy” Charlie Mendez, a senior member of the San Diego Chapter.)

Wells was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1982 directly out of Point Loma High School in San Diego. It took him five years, but he made the majors in 1987 and spent parts of the next six seasons bouncing between the Jays’ bullpen and rotation. He was a member of the 1992 World Series championship team, but they kind of won in spite of him and his quite bad 5.40 ERA across 120 innings (though to be fair, he did throw 4 ⅓ shutout innings in the World Series).

He was released in the spring of 1993 and Detroit took a flyer on him as part of their rotation. At 30 years old, that would be his first season as a full-time starter and it went… pretty well! After two years as a league average starter, he broke out in 1995, making the All Star team before the Tigers traded him to Cincinnati mid-season, where he would eventually win the deciding game of the National League Divisional Series. 

In December, the Orioles traded outfielder Curtis Goodwin and minor leaguer Trovin Valdez for the portly lefty, reuniting him with former Reds manager Davey Johnson and the man who drafted Wells — and ultimately cut him — in Toronto, new Orioles GM Pat Gillick.

In some ways, Wells is working to rehabilitate his image. He was known as a hothead in Toronto. In August 1991 he refused to give the ball to manager Cito Gaston when he came to the mound to take him out of the game, opting instead to try to throw it over the left field wall. A year later in August 1992, Gaston left Wells on the mound to absorb what is still the worst start in Blue Jays history, giving up 13 runs (all earned) to the Brewers. “I think David has matured a lot since Toronto,” said Gillick in February. “He’s still a free spirit . . . but he’s been married [and divorced] since then. He has a son that he’s devoted to. He’s more focused. I’m very confident that David will have a good year here.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 5D, February 18, 1996)

Throughout his career, when he wasn’t pitching well, Wells’s weight often became an issue. But when he is pitching well, the same build makes him durable. “I know I’m not Mr. Olympics,” Wells said. “I’m not a hard-body. You’ve got to e in shape, but look at all the big dudes who have done well in this game. If you had a bad year, it was because of your weight and if you had a good year, nobody said a word about it.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 5D, February 18, 1996)

Gillick and the O’s are betting a lot on Wells being a changed man. The lefty has pitched in the playoffs four times for two different teams. And as long as his health checks out, he’ll be expected to take the ball every fifth day and eat as many innings as he can in order to get the Birds back to where they haven’t been since 1983.

There has been a significant development in the Baltimore sports landscape happening in the background of Orioles spring training in 1996. For the first time since 1985, the Orioles are no longer the only major pro team in the city. In November 1995, Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell announced that he would be taking the team from the people of Cleveland and moving it to Baltimore. It’s a long story, but the short version is that Modell is an asshole, much in the same way Baltimore Colts owner Bob Irsay was an asshole when stripped Baltimore fans of their team and took them to Indianapolis. Their reasons for moving are based solely in greed and not worth dignifying, but we are talking about it now because Modell and Bob Irsay’s asshole spawn Jim Irsay could be trying to work out whether the Colts name can return to Baltimore. As part of the settlement that allowed Modell to move the team, the Browns name and history had to stay in Cleveland.

Per this Baltimore Sun article from March 11’s NFL owners meeting, it all seems like a nonstarter because Jim Irsay is a petty brat and won’t give up the name. “My gut feeling says it’s something that’s not going to happen,” he said, presumably between rancid belches. “I would really emphasize that because I don’t see myself parting with it, and it’s my decision and my decision only, but you always listen.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, March 12, 1996)

While those rich demons determine the fate of the Colts name, there’s an ongoing process to decide the team’s new name. The NFL wants the name to evoke local heritage. The B&O Museum has suggested some train names — Steamers, Railers, Americans — while other options harken back to the city’s World War II aviation history — Bombers, Marauders. Another possibility, Ravens, comes from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem. Poe died in the city and is buried there. (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D & 3D, March 12, 1996) It’s quite a process, so stay tuned. In the meantime, cartoonist Mike Ricigliano weighed in:

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

That’s a mighty fine vehicle.