It’s May 1, 1996, and a night after playing the longest nine-inning game ever, the O’s and Yanks played even longer. After 15 innings and more than five and a half hours, the Birds lost 11-6 and fell another game behind their division rivals.

Well past midnight, Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez launched a grand slam off O’s reliever Jimmy Myers to help the visitors wrap up a quick two-game sweep. Gerald Williams and Bernie Williams (no relation) combined for 11 hits for the Yankees. 

Brady Anderson hit yet another leadoff home run for Baltimore, and backup catcher Gregg Zaun added his first homer of the season after coming in for Chris Hoiles who left with a shoulder contusion after being hit accidentally by Gerald Williams’s bat. But those homers were not enough.

In the Sun, Buster Olney noted that the game started with 47,472 in attendance and ended after 1 a.m. with fewer than 10,000 people left.

“Who would’ve thought we’d play a longer game than last night?” asked Orioles manager Davey Johnson. “Four and a half hours, 5½ hours, I’ve never seen anything like it.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 1D, May 2, 1996)

Outfielder Tony Tarasco had another theory for why tonight’s game went so long. “We were in the fifth inning, only and hour and a half had gone by, and I looked over at Billy Ripken [on the bench] and said, ‘We’re at a good pace tonight.’ I jinxed us.”

Had the game not ended in the 15th, it would have been suspended due to the American League’s curfew that says no innings can start after 1 a.m.

But it did end, and the O’s came up short yet again. Hours earlier, they had erased a 5-1 deficit and heroically tied the game at 6 in the bottom of the ninth. Those are just moral victories, though. And they will have a lot to think about during a much needed off day tomorrow.

One thing that local media rabble rouser Ken Rosenthal is thinking about is the fate of the Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr. With the O’s down one in the eighth inning, Johnson pulled Cal for pinch-runner Manny Alexander, something that hadn’t happened since Cal’s consecutive games streak – now 2,180 games – began in 1982.

“I don’t wish to make a comment one way or another,” Ripken said. “I’ll just let that stand as my response.”

“I didn’t think anything about the streak,” Johnson said. “I thought about winning the ballgame.”

“There’s a bigger picture to consider,” added Rosenthal. “Ripken’s streak eventually is going to end, and everyone — including No. 8 – should get used to the idea.” (Baltimore Sun, p. 6D, May 2, 1996)

Anderson’s leadoff homer was his fifth of the season. Rickey Henderson holds the American League record with nine, and Bobby Bonds has the major league record with 11. Are we on a record watch with our guy Brady?

Here’s the box score with the not so lovely totals.

In other news, the O’s are shuffling the pitching staff again. Arthur Rhodes’s brief stint in the rotation is over and he is headed back to the bullpen. Jimmy Haynes, fresh off a win in relief, will make the start during the upcoming series against the Brewers. That drops Kent Mercker to fifth in the rotation. With an ERA well above 9, his spot seems tenuous at best. 

Brady gets his 12th brick. Gregg Zaun gets his first. That’s 40 bricks if you’re counting, which we are.

That’s a dozen for our boy!

Tomorrow’s Game

Off day!

American League Standings

After six weeks, we finally have a new #1 song, and it’s a great one. Ascending to the top spot this week is “Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey. I have a suspicion that this one might also stay at the top of the charts a while. Enjoy!

Since it is May 1, let’s acknowledge The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which started right at Camden Yards. When the B&O Railroad announced a 10% pay cut on top of shortened weeks, railroad workers in Baltimore refused to work and took to the streets. The strike spread across the country, with over 100,000 workers participating. The federal government, led by ender-of-Reconstruction Rutherford B. Hayes, eventually sent the army in to crush the strike. Over 100 people were killed during the strike. The historic marker above – which goes hella hard with a skeleton fist made of railroad spikes – sits somewhat hidden away across the street from the O’s ballpark. Here’s historian Bill Barry talking about the strike if you want to know more. 

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is in D.C. today to meet with President Bill Clinton. He has met with the president before, but this time it’s different. For the first time, Arafat will meet in the Oval Office while being recognized as a national leader.

The Sun’s front page lede tells the progression. “Five years ago, he would have been barred as an ally of terrorists and a pal of Saddam Hussein. On his first visit here, in 1993, U.S. officials worried that he might show up with a pistol. Even last year, he was welcome at the White House only as part of a larger signing ceremony.”

The shift in attitude is described as a “reward” for the Palestinian Liberation Organization revising its charter and removing the provisions calling for the destruction of Israel.

“We respect our commitments and our obligations,” Arafat said. “We will honor our signature. For us, the peace process is irreversible.”

The line was also a dig at the major donor countries who have not kept their commitments to provide $1.3 billion in aid, which is needed much more now that Israel has essentially locked down Palestine for two months. “I’m facing the tragedy of closure and collective punishment,” Arafat said.

The Sun correctly notes that the meeting probably wouldn’t have happened if not for the blessing of Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, who is facing a tough challenge from far-right rival Benjamin Netanyahu, who, in a massive understatement by the Sun, “has adopted a far tougher posture toward the Palestinians.”

It’s May now, and that means the Israeli elections are later this month.

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

The Olympic Torch is on its way to this summer’s games in Atlanta.