# 1988 Baltimore Orioles season

The 1988 Baltimore Orioles season was the 88th season in Baltimore Orioles franchise history, the 35th in Baltimore, and the 35th at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles had the worst start to a season in modern American baseball history. The Orioles finished seventh in the American League East, reduced to a record of 54 wins and 107 losses just five seasons after winning the World Series. The season is most notable for the 0–21 start that lasted from April 4 to April 28. Manager Cal Ripken Sr. was fired after an 0–6 start and replaced by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. The Orioles won their first game of the year against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park on April 29. The most runs allowed during the season was 15 in a game on June 19 while the most runs scored was 12 in a game on May 31. Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams died in August of that year.
This was only the second time that the Orioles had lost at least 100 games since their move to Baltimore (the other 1954); in addition, the 107 losses would not be surpassed until 30 years later. It was the team's fifth-worst overall franchise record, behind only 1939 (43–111), 2018 (47–115), 2021 (52-110) and 2019 (54–108). This would be the final season to feature the cartoon bird logo on the caps. The next year the Orioles switched back to the full bodied bird logo (which had been previously featured on the caps for the team's first 12 years from 1954 to 1965), the cartoon bird logo wouldn't return to the caps until 2012.
The Orioles’ 21-game losing streak would not be matched as the American League’s longest losing streak until 2024, when the Chicago White Sox matched it.

## Offseason

* October 8, 1987: Mike Kinnunen was released by the Orioles.
* October 8, 1987: Mike Hart was released by the Orioles.
* November 6, 1987: Rico Rossy and Terry Crowley Jr. (minors) were traded by the Orioles to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Orsulak.
* February 27, 1988: Ray Knight was traded by the Orioles to the Detroit Tigers for Mark Thurmond.
* March 21, 1988: Mike Young and a player to be named later were traded by the Orioles to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rick Schu, Keith Hughes and Jeff Stone. The Orioles completed the deal by sending Frank Bellino (minors) to the Phillies on June 14.

## Regular season

* April 4, 1988: The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Orioles 12–0, setting a record for the largest margin of victory in a shutout win on Opening Day.
* September 7, 1988: Curt Schilling made his major league debut. He pitched against the Boston Red Sox and pitched in 7 innings. Schilling gave up 6 hits and 3 earned runs. He had 2 strikeouts and 5 bases on balls.

### The losing streak

* Game 13: The Orioles tied the 1904 Washington Senators and the 1920 Detroit Tigers for most losses to start the season with 13 losses when they lost to the Brewers 9–5 in Milwaukee.
* Game 14: On a cold, wet night, 7,284 witnessed baseball history at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Baltimore became the first team in MLB history to start the season 0–14 as the Brewers won, 8–6. No MLB team would lose this many games in a row to open a season until the 1997 Chicago Cubs did so.
* Game 21: The Orioles lost 4–2 to the Minnesota Twins in Minnesota, extending their streak of season-starting losses to half again their original record, marking their seventh straight series being swept, and ending the day 16 games out of first place on April 28.

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Red Sox | 89 | 73 | .549 | — | 53‍–‍28 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Detroit Tigers | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1 | 50‍–‍31 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 47‍–‍34 | 40‍–‍41 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 87 | 75 | .537 | 2 | 45‍–‍36 | 42‍–‍39 |
| New York Yankees | 85 | 76 | .528 | 3½ | 46‍–‍34 | 39‍–‍42 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 84 | .481 | 11 | 44‍–‍37 | 34‍–‍47 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 54 | 107 | .335 | 34½ | 34‍–‍46 | 20‍–‍61 |

### Record vs. opponents

1988 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CAL | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIL | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TEX | TOR |
| Baltimore | — | 4–9 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 4–9 | 5–8 | 0–12 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 3–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–8 |
| Boston | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 7–5 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 10–3 | 7–5 | 9–4 | 3–9 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 2–11 |
| California | 7–5 | 4–8 | — | 9–4 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 5–8 | 3–9 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 6–7 | 8–5 | 6–6 |
| Chicago | 7–4 | 5–7 | 4–9 | — | 3–9 | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 3–9 | 5–8 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 7–5 |
| Cleveland | 9–4 | 5–8 | 4–8 | 9–3 | — | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–4 | 5–7 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 6–7 |
| Detroit | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 9–4 | — | 8–4 | 5–8 | 1–11 | 8–5 | 4–8 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 5–8 |
| Kansas City | 12–0 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 6–7 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 3–9 | 7–6 | 6–6 | 8–5 | 7–5 | 7–6 | 4–8 |
| Milwaukee | 9–4 | 3–10 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–9 | 8–5 | 9–3 | — | 7–5 | 6–7 | 3–9 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 7–6 |
| Minnesota | 9–3 | 5–7 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 7–5 | 11–1 | 6–7 | 5–7 | — | 3–9 | 5–8 | 8–5 | 7–6 | 7–5 |
| New York | 10–3 | 4–9 | 6–6 | 9–3 | 7–6 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 9–3 | — | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–7 |
| Oakland | 8–4 | 9–3 | 9–4 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–8 | 9–3 | 8–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–4 | 8–5 | 9–3 |
| Seattle | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–6 | 4–9 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 7–5 | 4–9 | — | 6–7 | 5–7 |
| Texas | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 4–8 | 6–7 | 6–5 | 5–8 | 7–6 | — | 6–6 |
| Toronto | 8–5 | 11–2 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 8–5 | 8–4 | 6–7 | 5–7 | 7–6 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | — |

### Opening Day starters

* Mike Boddicker
* Terry Kennedy
* Fred Lynn
* Eddie Murray
* Joe Orsulak
* Billy Ripken
* Cal Ripken Jr.
* Rick Schu
* Larry Sheets
* Jeff Stone

### Notable transactions

* April 2, 1988: Dickie Noles was signed as a free agent with the Orioles.
* April 5, 1988: Mickey Tettleton was signed as a free agent by the Orioles.
* June 1, 1988: Pete Rose Jr. was drafted by the Orioles in the 12th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. Player signed September 1, 1988.
* July 29, 1988: Mike Boddicker was traded by the Orioles to the Boston Red Sox for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling.

## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
| C | Mickey Tettleton | 86 | 283 | 74 | 11 | 37 | .261 |
| 1B | Eddie Murray | 161 | 603 | 171 | 28 | 84 | .284 |
| 2B | Billy Ripken | 150 | 512 | 103 | 2 | 34 | .207 |
| 3B | Rick Schu | 89 | 270 | 69 | 4 | 20 | .256 |
| SS | Cal Ripken Jr. | 161 | 575 | 152 | 23 | 81 | .264 |
| LF | Pete Stanicek | 83 | 261 | 60 | 4 | 17 | .230 |
| CF | Fred Lynn | 87 | 301 | 76 | 18 | 37 | .252 |
| RF | Joe Orsulak | 125 | 379 | 109 | 8 | 27 | .288 |
| DH | Larry Sheets | 136 | 452 | 104 | 10 | 47 | .230 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average
| Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. |
| Jim Traber | 103 | 352 | 78 | 10 | 45 | .222 |
| Terry Kennedy | 85 | 265 | 60 | 3 | 16 | .226 |
| Ken Gerhart | 103 | 262 | 51 | 9 | 23 | .195 |
| Rene Gonzales | 92 | 237 | 51 | 2 | 15 | .215 |
| Brady Anderson | 53 | 177 | 35 | 1 | 9 | .198 |
| Keith Hughes | 41 | 108 | 21 | 2 | 14 | .194 |
| Craig Worthington | 26 | 81 | 15 | 2 | 4 | .185 |
| Jeff Stone | 26 | 61 | 10 | 0 | 1 | .164 |
| Jim Dwyer | 35 | 53 | 12 | 0 | 3 | .226 |
| Carl Nichols | 18 | 47 | 9 | 0 | 1 | .191 |
| Wade Rowdon | 20 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .100 |
| Butch Davis | 13 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .240 |
| Tito Landrum | 13 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 2 | .125 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| José Bautista | 33 | 171.2 | 6 | 15 | 4.30 | 76 |
| Jay Tibbs | 30 | 158.2 | 4 | 15 | 5.39 | 82 |
| Jeff Ballard | 25 | 153.1 | 8 | 12 | 4.40 | 41 |
| Mike Boddicker | 21 | 147.0 | 6 | 12 | 3.86 | 100 |
| Oswaldo Peraza | 19 | 86.0 | 5 | 7 | 5.55 | 61 |
| Bob Milacki | 3 | 25.0 | 2 | 0 | 0.72 | 18 |
| Scott McGregor | 4 | 17.1 | 0 | 3 | 8.83 | 10 |
| Curt Schilling | 4 | 14.2 | 0 | 3 | 9.82 | 4 |
| Pete Harnisch | 2 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 5.54 | 10 |
| Dickie Noles | 2 | 3.1 | 0 | 2 | 24.30 | 1 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Dave Schmidt | 41 | 129.2 | 8 | 5 | 3.40 | 67 |
| Mark Williamson | 37 | 117.2 | 5 | 8 | 4.90 | 69 |
| Mike Morgan | 22 | 71.1 | 1 | 6 | 5.43 | 29 |
| Gordon Dillard | 2 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Tom Niedenfuer | 52 | 59.0 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 3.51 | 40 |
| Doug Sisk | 52 | 94.1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3.72 | 26 |
| Mark Thurmond | 43 | 74.2 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4.58 | 29 |
| Don Aase | 35 | 46.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.05 | 28 |
| John Habyan | 7 | 14.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.30 | 4 |
| Gregg Olson | 10 | 11.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.27 | 9 |
| Bill Scherrer | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 3 |

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Rochester Red Wings | International League | Johnny Oates |
| AA | Charlotte Knights | Southern League | Greg Biagini |
| A | Hagerstown Suns | Carolina League | Mike Hart |
| A-Short Season | Erie Orioles | New York–Penn League | Bobby Tolan |
| Rookie | Bluefield Orioles | Appalachian League | Glenn Gulliver |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Rochester