Baltimore Gets a Little Cheer : Orioles Give 50,402 Fans Something to Shout About

They were the true believers. Forget the record-setting losses. Forget the doubters and curiosity seekers who drew perverse satisfaction from the Baltimore Orioles’ poor performance.

Monday night, the Orioles saluted their loyal fans with a 9-4 victory over the Texas Rangers at Memorial Stadium.

The team’s die-hard followers, who turned out for a homecoming billed as “Fantastic Fan Night,” shouted, yelled, cheered, stomped, performed the wave and found still more ways to invoke the return of luck to their team.

When the shouting was over, the Orioles had their second win in 25 games this season.

The crowd of 50,402 got another reason to cheer when Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke announced a 15-year lease agreement between the Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority to house the team in a new stadium downtown.

Richard A. Sperry came decked out in formal wear with tails, an orange turtleneck, black-and-orange top hat and a black bow tie. Sperry, a Catonsville, Md., resident, said he went to show his support for the Orioles.

“They’re down a little now,” Sperry said. “They’ve had some hard ruts in the early part of the season. But overall they’re a good team, and I’m going to stick with them.”

After every Orioles feat, the fans thundered their appreciation. Much of the cheerleading was led by Ray Lopez, a junior at the University of Notre Dame, who wore his leprechaun outfit--green velvet knickers, green vest and jacket--and danced atop the Orioles’ dugout.

Lopez said he thought he was able to work some Irish magic for the Orioles. “Cal Ripken’s first homer, I think I helped bring that in,” he said. “The guys just need a motivational factor. I have a feeling they’re going to pull it off.”

Other fans felt the same way. Murray Stahler, 19, a Towson State University freshman, painted his face orange and black and donned a carrot-colored wig in the spirit of the occasion. “I love them O’s,” Stahler said as he cradled two beers in his hand. “They’ll come through in the end.”

That seemed to be the prevailing sentiment. But there were some such as Baltimore resident Vera Braswell, accompanied by her sister and several small children, hurrying up the ramp to the second level. “I came to get out of the house,” Braswell said. “Where else can you be as crazy as you want without being committed?

“I don’t care if they win or lose. We just came for a good time.”

Earlier Monday, a lunch-break crowd of about 1,000 gathered at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to greet their team and attempt to exorcise the demon of defeat.

Organizers of the city-sponsored rally invoked all the political influence they could find as well, with Schmoke, Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, D-Md., and several lesser rainmakers imploring the gods of baseball to smile upon the city.

Schmoke, wearing a black and orange Orioles jacket, officially proclaimed Monday “We Love Our Orioles Day.” He urged fans to keep the faith “through rough times as well as the good times” and to look beyond the Orioles’ unprecedented 21 consecutive losses at the beginning of the season and the two other games they had dropped since Friday.

The spirited rally and Monday night’s second victory of the season countered the increasing pessimism about the Orioles that has hung over this city.

The Orioles and the Stadium Authority had been negotiating the lease for almost a year, and on the opening day of this season team owner Edward Bennett Williams gave reporters a detailed account of his problems with the lease.

He said the authority had asked him to spend about $25 million toward construction of the facility. That included $7 million for scoreboards and video screens, $3.2-million luxury suites and $15 million for concession stands.

The authority agreed to pay for the scoreboards and suites, and the contract was agreed to when the two sides worked out who would pay for the concession stands.