Mike Mussina, 1994 Triple Play #157

On this date in 1997, Mike Mussina fell tantalizingly short of baseball history in an excellent start against the Indians. It was Friday, May 30, 1997, and Moose thrilled the hometown crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards by retiring the first 25 Cleveland batters in order. The O's built a 3-0 lead on single runs in the first, third, and sixth innings, with their runs scoring on RBI singles by Rafael Palmeiro and Brady Anderson as well as a fielder's choice grounder by Cal Ripken. But with one out in the ninth inning, Sandy Alomar Jr. spoiled Mussina's perfect game bid by lining a single to left field. Baltimore's ace rebounded nicely, striking out pinch hitter Brian Giles and leadoff man Marquis Grissom to end the game and preserve the one-hit shutout. In all, he whiffed 10 batters and improved his record to 7-1. The Orioles, meanwhile, boosted their team record to 35-15, increasing their American League East division lead over the second-place Yankees to a whopping 8.5 games. Moose never did toss a no-hitter in his career, but he had a pretty good run of it anyhow.

Jeffrey Hammonds, 1994 Triple Play #284

As I said yesterday, Jeffrey Hammonds wasn't a total bust. Of the six seasons in which he played for the Orioles, four were productive. But look a bit closer.

1993: Hits .412 in spring training, but a strained hamstring necessitates a season-opening stint at AA Bowie. Makes his major league debut on June 25 at age 22. Has two hits in each of his first three games and at least one hit in each of the first six. Hits .323 and slugs .500 in the first 29 games of his career, but a herniated disk  in his neck puts him out for most of August. Plays only four games in September (two starts) before being shut down for good.

1994: Hits .296 with an .819 OPS, but misses more than six weeks in May and June with a right knee injury. Ultimately has reconstructive surgery on the knee joint in October.

1995: A disaster. He spends 47 days on the disabled list and doesn't play all that well when he is able, hitting .242 with a .650 OPS. Hits four home runs in 178 at-bats.

1996: Another lost season. He hit .226 overall in 71 games and wound up being demoted to AAA Rochester in midseason. He was even worse after being promoted at the end of July, hitting .182 in fifteen games before getting shut down again in mid-August.

1997: Rebounded to contribute to a Baltimore club that led the American League East from wire to wire.  He played in 118 games (his high-water mark with the Birds), hitting .264 with an .809 OPS and a career-high 21 home runs. His home run total was second on the team to Rafael Palmeiro, and he achieved another personal best with a 15-of-16 mark in stolen bases. But like many of his teammates he struggled in the postseason, scraping out a single hit in 13 at-bats.

1998: Stop me if you've heard this before: missed 35 games in June and July. He was a solid player when he was able to play (.826 OPS), but the O's finally washed their hands of him in August and traded him to the Reds for the similarly-disappointing Willie Greene. Jeffrey's final career stats with the Orioles: .264 AVG, .767 OPS, 51 HR, 183 RBI, 38 SB in 410 games.

Harold Baines, 1994 Triple Play #152

You get a shortie today, since I am in the process of the Big Move. In turn, here's a guy that always seemed to be on the move. Hitting machine Harold Baines was traded six times, five of them in-season. He had three tours of duty with both the Orioles and the White Sox. Chicago famously retired his number after having traded him in July 1989, only to unretire it in 1996 when he re-signed with the team! Harold did all right for himself as a multiple time stretch-run hire, but you'll forgive me if I hope to be less itinerant than old Number 3. With a little luck, I'll be unpacked and settled in the next time I update this blog.