Orioles Fall Again to Secure a Place in the Annals of Losing

A traveling salesman from Nashville or Knoxville--Roland Hemond couldn’t remember which--telephoned the general manager of the Baltimore Orioles Wednesday to offer his services as a motivational speaker.

“I took his name and number but didn’t make any promises,” said Hemond, who might have offered an immediate contract if the salesman had been a pitcher, hitter, fielder or exorcist.

The Orioles came up short in all categories again Wednesday night and are now 0-14 in 1988, which is why there was a banner hanging in the center-field bleachers at County Stadium that read:

“0-162 . . . That’s Why They Call Them the O’s.”

An 8-6 defeat by the Milwaukee Brewers saddled the once-proud Orioles with the major leagues’ longest losing streak at the start of a season.

The slump actually spans 19 games, since the Orioles lost their last five exhibition games and have now gone 23 days without a victory.

The official streak--the 14 in a row--matches the longest losing streak (at any point in the season) in the history of an organization that averaged 94 wins a year from 1964 through 1985. The 1954 Orioles also lost 14 in a row, but that was their first year in Baltimore and they still bore a striking resemblance to the St. Louis Browns.

“Oh, 1954 didn’t count,” Manager Frank Robinson said Wednesday night. “They had to get people off the streets to play on that team. They got parking attendants to hit fourth for that team. I mean, bringing up 1954 only makes me feel worse.”

At least two dozen reporters and cameramen jammed the Oriole clubhouse.

“Media vultures circling for the kill,” designated hitter Larry Shields said.

Robinson seemed determined to maintain his good-natured demeanor but bristled some when repeatedly asked if his team was embarrassed, particularly considering the organization’s previous success.

“We’re not thinking about the past,” he said. “This is 1988. No one likes to lose, but nobody here is embarrassed.

“If we were going out and stumbling over ourselves and making mistakes every night, then it would be embarrassing. That hasn’t happened. They are professional players. They know they have to catch the ball, hit it and pitch it. They know they haven’t yet put two of the three together on the same night. All we can do is stay with it. We’ll win one before it’s over.”

Before they lose 20 in a row to match the longest streak in American League history?

Before they lose 23 in a row to equal the major league record, set by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies?

Who knows? The Orioles lost 95 games last season and 19 more in spring training. They had a season high in runs and hits (12) Wednesday night but are still batting only .201 overall and .124 with runners in scoring position. The pitchers are giving up almost 6 runs a game, and it is a team that seems totally overmatched in its own Eastern Division.

The Orioles have not won any of their last 27 series with division rivals, are 27-98 against Eastern opponents since September 1986 and have lost 19 of their last 22 games against the Brewers, including nine in a row here.

The Brewers got 8 hits and 9 runs off Mike Boddicker in 4 innings Wednesday night, saddling the one-time heir to the Orioles’ rich pitching tradition with his fourth loss in as many decisions.

Boddicker led the Baltimore staff with 10 wins last season, an indication of how far he and the club’s pitching have slipped. In fact, the team earned-run average of 5.01 last year was the Orioles’ worst ever, but that, too, may now be in jeopardy.

Robinson held a pregame meeting Wednesday to discuss the missed signs and base-running mistakes of Tuesday night. But there was little either he or Boddicker could say about the pop fly that shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. lost in the lights Wednesday night, prolonging the fifth inning, in which the Brewers scored four runs, three after two were out.

“I blew it, there’s nothing else I can say,” Ripken said of the play that was characteristic of how it is going for the Orioles. There was also this: The key hit in that fifth inning, a two-out, two-run single that put Milwaukee ahead, was delivered by Jim Gantner, who was batting .148 and had no runs batted in.

Among the Orioles, Ripken has 4 RBIs, Eddie Murray and Fred Lynn have 2, and Terry Kennedy has 1.

Said Kennedy of the record streak: “The win-loss column is definitely a downer, but we’re worn out explaining our emotions. We’ve just got to go out and win a game and put it behind us.

“I’m sure it’s embarrassing for the owner, but we’re doing what we can.

“Maybe 30 years from now, when we’re old . . . sitting at home watching another team creep up on this record, we’ll laugh about it. But we’re not laughing now.”

Bill Cosby, a man who deals in laughs, had tried to pep up the manager by calling from Lake Tahoe Wednesday to wish him good luck.

“Let’s win one for the Gipper,” Robinson said, leaving the clubhouse before the first pitch. “Hell with the Gipper. Let’s win one for me.”

Later, after his own record as the Baltimore manager had become 0-8, Robinson was asked if he was burning inside.

“I’m not burning inside, but my head is spinning, trying to think about what I can do to help these guys,” Robinson said.

It would be helpful, of course, if he was young enough to display the skills that put him in the Hall of Fame. He made it clear, however, that he is not interested in the past. The present isn’t pretty, but it is where he is at now.

“Nice to see you guys,” he said to the reporters as they began to filter away Wednesday night. “I hope to see you in September when we wrap this thing up.”

Did he mean the pennant or the losing streak?

ORIOLES’ LOSING STREAK

The Baltimore Orioles have lost 14 games in a row, setting the record for consecutive losses at the start of the season. The Orioles shared the previous record of 13 straight losses with the 1904 Washington Senators and 1920 Detroit Tigers. Here’s a look at Baltimore’s losing streak:

Date Opponent Score Apr. 4 Lost to Milwaukee 12-0 Apr. 6 Lost to Milwaukee 3-1 Apr. 8 Lost at Cleveland 3-0 Apr. 9 Lost at Cleveland 12-1 Apr. 10 Lost at Cleveland 6-3 Apr. 11 Lost at Cleveland 7-2 Apr. 12 Lost to Kansas City 6-1 Apr. 13 Lost to Kansas City 9-3 Apr. 14 Lost to Kansas City 4-3 Apr. 15 Lost to Cleveland 3-2 Apr. 16 Lost to Cleveland 1-0* Apr. 17 Lost to Cleveland 4-1 Apr. 19 Lost at Milwaukee 9-5 Apr. 20 Lost at Milwaukee 8-6

* 11 innings