Dear Baltimore Orioles,
I did not post here on the Fourth of July.
I took the day off. Just like you.
No need to apologize if you didn’t notice my absence. I know you were busy. Not playing, of course. But, busy. Eating. Napping. Whatever it is you do when you’re not playing baseball on the Fourth of July.
Not playing yesterday, on the Fourth of July, was a quirk in the Orioles schedule.
It was also cruel return to that empty first half of the 20th century when Baltimore had no major league team. Those were the years – decades – of emptiness, after New York stole those early Baltimore Orioles for themselves. There were no Fourth of July Orioles games … or third of July … or fifth of July … or sixth … hey, you get the picture.
So, while you Orioles were idle for 51 seasons, Babe Ruth … and Joe DiMaggio … and a rookie Mickey Mantle … got to play on Independence Day, but not you, dear Orioles. Not you.
Babe Ruth. He got to play.
The Babe and Joe and the Mick played for the New York Yankees, the team that had briefly been the Highlanders, and who were – rightly, firstly – the Baltimore Orioles. It was the legendary 19th-century Baltimore Orioles who became the legendary New York Yankees.
They were you. (I hope you find this inspiring.)
And, they got to play on all those Independence Days when there was no Orioles “Birdland.”
There was a tradition that every team played on the Fourth of July. All of them. Not just the very good ones. But, also the very bad ones.
The Baltimore Sun, 7/4/1892
“To Be Played in all Cities on the Glorious Fourth”
You caught that, too, right? “All.”
In 1892, the Orioles and Pittsburg (not yet Pittsburgh) Pirates were set to play a double-header on July 4 and the teams squabbled over who would be the home team on Independence Day. They wanted the biggest tally at the gate, which is very American if you stop and think about it.
Like you, dear 2019 Orioles, the 1892 Orioles weren’t very good either. They lost the squabble with Pittsburg, lost home field, and lost both games of the double-header.
The Baltimore Sun, 7/5/1892
“Walloped with Neatness and Dispatch”
They played a double header in Pittsburg the next year, too. And, they lost both games. Again.
The Baltimore Sun, 7/5/1893
Sigh.
You weren’t the only team that had Independence Day 2019 off, my little Oriole Birdlings.
Look at the off-day teams and their bona fides …
Baltimore Orioles … Baltimore, the home of the National Anthem (you know, that song with the ramparts … and the airports).
San Francisco Giants … a sea-to-shining-sea team, once a New Yorker, now a Californian.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Colorado Rockies … The Rockies, the majestic Rockies – the longest mountain range in the United States and second-longest in the world. Three thousand miles of the home of the free, the land of the brave, and a big chunk of Canada.
Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com
Arizona Diamondbacks … The last of the lower 48. Home of John McCain. Barry Goldwater. Mo Udall. Sandra Day O’Connor. Linda Rondstadt. You’re going to leave that state out?
And, J.J. Hardy, too.
© The Baseball Bloggess
Beloved former Orioles shortstop. Tucson born.
Houston Astros … Astronauts. Man on the Moon. 1969. 50 years. It’s a milestone.
New York Mets … Not the Yankees.
(Dear New York Mets, It’s probably just as well that you had the night off, since your minor league St. Lucie Mets did play on the Fourth of July, ending with a fireworks show that started a major brush fire outside the stadium.)
This year’s season was padded with a handful of “rest” days, and Independence Day became just another day on baseball’s more relaxing calendar. And, for six teams it was a day without baseball.
And, so there you were, my dear Orioles, holed up in a Toronto hotel, spending your holiday in another land while the Blue Jays and Red Sox squared off downtown.
You didn’t even get to wear the special stars-and-stripes’y caps that baseball spiffied up just for you. Now, they are Fifth of July caps.
That B stands for Baltimore, people, not Boston.
But, don’t be sad, little Bird’lettes.
The Fifth of July was important, too.
While the Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4, 1776, it wasn’t until July 5 that the actual Declaration of Independence was printed in final.
Not final, ’til it’s final.
Your record on the Fourth of July isn’t horrible, but it isn’t the greatest either – 37-31 since 1954 (which includes a few double-headers and one tie in 1964 that was replayed, and won, in September. There was no Fourth of July game during the Players’ Strike of 1981).
But, that’s better than the Fifth of July, where your record is a sorrowful 27-35.
Can we go back to 1964 for just a sec?
On July 4, 1964, the Kansas City A’s and the Orioles agreed to a curfew that no inning would begin after 8:15 p.m. This would allow the children at the game to stay up to see a Civil War re-enactment, a band concert, and fireworks.
The ninth inning began at exactly 8:15 p.m. and ended in a 6-6 tie. Since all nine innings were played, it was ruled a complete game that was replayed in September.
The Baltimore Sun, 7/5/1964
“It would have been more desirable to have seen the game through to its completion, but, after all, the fans did see three hours of good baseball, an outstanding holiday show, and everybody got home at a decent hour,” Orioles General Manager Lee McPhail told reporters.
Everybody got home at a decent hour.
It was a different time.
And, it’s a different time right now. It’s the Fifth of July. I hope you had a nice day off. Now don your fancy caps, my darling Birds, and go give it your best shot.
Sincerely, Your Friend Who Is Fully Aware That You Are 31.5 Games Back But Still Appreciates Your Effort, The Baseball Bloggess
The Baseball Bloggess 
awesome edition i am still laughing from parts of it. Esp our great national anthem, the one with the airports :)
Thanks, Lydia! And, 3 in a row for the Orioles! :)
Still laughing about the airports…. Thanks!
Lynne
“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed.” William Faulkner (1897-1962)
>
And, “Cornwallis of Yorktown.” hmmm …
Hi. I live near Philadelphia. I’ve watched a fair number of innings this year of Phillies baseball, far more than I have in at least six years. Very frustrating team. They started the season great, but have been up and down since then. See you!
Neil Scheinin
At least your Phils have had some “ups.” We’re big University of Virginia baseball fans, so we are very excited to see Adam Haseley play. :)
Fyi…on July 5, 1991 the expansion team for Denver was announced, including the team’s name!
I will tell you it was weird not having a game on the 4th. It was like America’s past time was missing, and my day was all messed up.
Excellent blog!
It was very peculiar, wasn’t it? I always plan to watch the O’s on the 4th of July … that’s my tradition. We ended up just watching parts of all the other games … it wasn’t the same, but it was still baseball.
Great blog. Thanks for the smiles that extend a happy 4th for an extra day By the way, like that cap?!👍
The Orioles finally got to wear their 4th of July caps! (And, Toronto players have their Canada Day version.)
Hey now, you’re neglecting those great Oriole minor league teams. Seven straight championships under Jack Dunn and winners of the 1944 Little World Series. The games in Baltimore that year, outdrew the Cardinals v Browns MLB Series match-up. The other owners took notice even if it took 10 years to get the woeful Browns to become the wonderful Orioles.
I think one of the issues in 1944 was that, with WWII, there were very few men left to play baseball so the quality of play was pretty awful all the way around. The other issue, of course, was that St. Louis was playing … well … St. Louis … further depleting the gate. I had to look up the Baltimore minor league series and The Baltimore Sun reported that it was a single game in Baltimore that outdrew a single game in St. Louis. 52,833 turned out to the game in Baltimore (they were playing Louisville) and they were playing in a football stadium. Sportsmans Park’s capacity in St. Louis was less than half that.
Still, that’s pretty impressive. I don’t mean to take away from the years that Baltimore was a minor league town … but, I’ll take the teams with Wee Willie Keeler, Wilbert Robinson, Walter “Steve” Brodie, John McGraw, Jim Palmer, Cal, Eddie, Frank, Brooks, and newest Hall of Famer (hooray!) Mike Mussina over their minor league counterparts any day. :)
The point is that Baltimore’s awful players were still better than anyone else’s awful players! And an upper deck was added to that football stadium, which we remember now as Memorial Stadium.
Though born in 1957 myself, I hold a fondness for those minor league Orioles, as my mom attended many games when she was a girl (b. 1916). I have ticket stubs, autographs, a pocket schedule from 1933 (when clearly folks had bigger pockets), two scrapbooks with such esoteric clippings as infielder Don Hefner’s wedding announcement (Hefner would one day manage the Reds), and fond memories of her stories.
But, we don’t really know that Baltimore’s players were better than St. Louis’ … we only know that Baltimore fans were better! :)
Oh-oh-oh! Here’s a fun fact — After the ’44 Series was completed the Mayor of Baltimore invited the major league winning St. Louis Cardinals to come play one game against the minor league Orioles in Baltimore … in the football stadium … with the gate being split 50-50 to each city’s Community Chest programs. St. Louis declined.
That, I did not know!
Reblogged this on Season of the Pitch.
Hi Jackie. Love this, I’m lol about the airports. Maybe if Washington had defended LGA , it wouldn’t be a shit hole airport now, but I degresss. Yes the Mets didn’t play on July 4th and the sports talk shows here in New York were going crazy. But then one of the hosts said, ‘if the Mets had played on July 4th , they would have found some way to blow the game and the fireworks show . ‘The Yankees won though so even though I spent my 4th in Philadelphia , you know, where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia International Airport , the Yankees made my day.
Thanks for stopping by SportsDiva. I think the baseball calendar gods should consider the 4th of July like the Opening Day — everyone plays.
Definately . If the Blue Jays can play every year in Canada on July 1st , Canada Day, why can’t every American team play on July 4th ? The owners are all about revenue , think how much revenue you can get by having DAY games on July 4th .
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