1995 Baltimore Orioles | |
---|---|
Major League affiliations | |
|
|
|
|
Location | |
|
|
|
|
Results | |
Record | 71–73 (.493) |
Divisional place | 3rd |
Other information | |
Owner(s) | Peter Angelos |
General manager(s) | Roland Hemond |
Manager(s) | Phil Regan |
Local television |
WJZ-TV/WNUV Home Team Sports (Mel Proctor, Josh Lewin, John Lowenstein, Jim Palmer) |
Local radio |
WBAL (AM) (Jon Miller, Fred Manfra, Chuck Thompson) |
< Previous season Next season > |
The 1995 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Orioles finishing 3rd in the American League East with a record of 71 wins and 73 losses.
The Orioles scored 704 runs (4.89 per game) and allowed only 640 runs (4.44 per game), second only to the Cleveland Indians. The Orioles pitching staff also allowed the fewest hits in the Majors (1,165), the most complete games (19) and the most shutouts in the AL (10).
On Wednesday, September 6, 1995, many baseball fans within and out of the United States tuned into cable TV network ESPN (and called by Chris Berman and Buck Martinez) to watch Ripken surpass Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record for consecutive games played. The game, between the Orioles and the California Angels, still ranks as one of the network's most watched baseball games. Cal's children, Rachel and Ryan, threw out the ceremonial first balls.
Both President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore were at the game. President Clinton was in the WBAL local radio broadcast booth when Ripken hit a home run in the fourth inning, and called the home run over the air. When the game became official after the Angels' half of the fifth inning, the numerical banners that displayed Ripken's streak on the wall of the B&O Warehouse outside the stadium's right field wall changed from 2130 to 2131.
Everyone attending (including the opposing Angels and all four umpires) erupted with a standing ovation lasting more than 22 minutes, one of the longest standing ovations for any athlete; ESPN did not go to a commercial break during the entire ovation. During the ovation, Cal was convinced by his teammates to take an impromptu victory lap around the entire Camden Yards to shake hands and give high-fives to the fans, creating a highlight reel moment that's been played repeatedly over the years since then.