On March 3, 1996, the Orioles beat the New York Mets 3-1 in an exhibition game, thanks to a prodigious home run by slugging first baseman Rafael Palmeiro. Under the headline “Strongman Palmeiro lifts weighty home run,” Buster Olney of The Baltimore Sun mentions that Palmeiro has apparently bulked up this offseason and that “his shirts seemed to stretch a little bit more across his chest and shoulders.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 7C, March 4, 1996) As I mentioned yesterday, it’s 1996 and we are firmly in “Boy, these guys really work out a lot” mode, and since this newsletter is unabashedly pro-Raffy, we’ll leave it there.

As we navigate this month leading up to Opening Day on April 1, we’ll introduce the whole cast of characters, including Palmeiro, but for now we’ll just note that he is a familiar face in O’s camp, having joined the team as a major free agent acquisition before the 1994 season. What follows below is a high-level summary of where the O’s are at. 

As we enter 1996, Raffy is having to make some new friends, and listen to a new man tapped to lead the clubhouse. A disappointing 1995 season saw the Orioles finish third place in the American League East at 71-73, causing them to miss out on the brand new expanded playoffs (8 teams instead of 4 teams made it). This was no good for a team drawing the second-most fans in baseball, and owner Peter Angelos decided to shake things up.

Gone is Phil Regan as manager after only one season. Enter Davey Johnson, an Orioles legend who played for the team during their dynastic years from 1966 through 1972. He won two World Series and three Gold Gloves at second base for the Birds. As a manager, he is a major hire. He led the Mets to the world championship in 1986, and in 1995 he led the Cincinnati Reds to the National League Championship Series. The Orioles had interviewed Johnson before hiring Regan a year ago, but this year they chose not to pass.

Johnson is not the only major hire of the offseason. On the same day they fired Regan, general manager Roland Hemond resigned after 8 years. Enter Pat Gillick, architect of the Toronto Blue Jays 1992 and 1993 world championship teams. 

There has been some significant turnover in the roster as well, new faces include major free agent signings Roberto Alomar (a six-time All Star), B.J. Surhoff, and All-Star closer Randy Myers. Trade acquisitions Kent Mercker and David Wells join a starting pitching rotation that saw the departures of Kevin Brown, Jamie Moyer, and Ben McDonald from a year ago. Culturally, the Orioles clubhouse is also evolving, as “Latin American ballplayers make up more than a quarter of the 40-man roster.” (Sun, p. 3D, March 1, 1996)

We will get to know all these new faces in the weeks to come, but for now the main takeaway is that all of Birdland is pretty jazzed for this season. With Gillick building the roster and Johnson leading the team from the dugout — and the second highest payroll in all of MLB — it is definitely playoffs or bust in Baltimore.

As discussed a couple days ago, labor negotiations in baseball are still fraught in spring 1996. The head of the MLB Players Association, Donald Fehr, met with the Orioles on March 3 for about an hour to update them on the talks. “Nothing really earth-shattering,” said O’s veteran B.J. Surhoff. “They’re just trying to keep [the negotiations] low-key and let players play until they work something out.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 7C, March 4, 1996)

Elsewhere, the O’s bullpen is shaping up to be a zany cast of characters, as relief pitchers Randy Myers, Alan Mills, and Roger McDowell took advantage of a near empty clubhouse in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend — when most of the team was in Viera for an exhibition game. “Myers was last seen chasing Mills with his cattle prod (in good fun).” (Baltimore Sun, p. 7C, March 4, 1996) Hmmm… okay. I guess as long as it was in good fun.

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

The O’s have added a bunch of weirdos to the team this offseason, resulting in what some have described as a “looser” clubhouse. Here, cartoonist Mike Ricigliano picks out Roger McDowell, Randy Myers, David Wells, and Billy Ripken as the Orioles’ “Mt. Jokemore.”