Where Have You Gone, Eddie Murray?

October 28, 2019 Michael Olesker

Eddie Murray (Photo by Mitch Stringer/PressBox)

It’s 95 years since Washington, D.C., baseball fans witnessed a World Series victory at home. And judging by the way the Nationals rolled over for the Houston Astros over the weekend, it may be 95 more years before they get another chance.

The Nationals of the last three games couldn’t beat last year’s last-place Orioles.

Or this year’s Talmudical Academy junior varsity.

I’m still trying to figure out which team I want to win. Yes, Washington’s just down the road from Baltimore, but they’re also the team whose birth signaled the shrinking of the Orioles’ fan base.

We’re a team that used to draw nearly 4 million people ayear. When the Nationals arrived, they snatched away all those D.C. area fans who’drooted for the nearby Orioles. Last year, the O’s drew roughly 1.3 million.

Yes, we all know it’s not just the Nationals’ fault. TheOrioles have lost fans on merit; you play bad baseball, nobody wants to watch. Butthere’s no denying the damage inflicted by the rebirth of Washington baseball.

On the other hand, I can’t root for any team from Texas. Texas gave us George W. Bush and Rick Perry and Lee Harvey Oswald.

I tend to nurture my grudges.

Orioles’ fans are left to nurture some old (OK, very old) memories (for very old fans).

After all, this is the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Orioles, who swept through the American League to reach the World Series, where they …

Wait, not such a good memory.

But let’s not forget, this is the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Orioles, who swept through the American League to reach the World Series, where they…

Wait, another bad memory.

But this is the 30th anniversary of the “Why Not?” Orioles of 1989 who against all odds went into the final series of the year, where they …

Oh, yeah.

Here’s a better memory for Orioles’ fans, and a touch of hope for Washington.

A year ago, the Babe Ruth Museum and the Sports Boosters of Maryland held a gala 35th anniversary celebration of the 1983 Orioles, the last Baltimore championship team.

That club was up, three games to one, against the Philadelphia Phillies. But nervousness pervaded. Memories were still fresh from four years earlier (Yes, kids, that’s how often the old O’s used to win) of the 1979 World Series, where the Orioles blew a three-games-to-one lead over Pittsburgh and lost in seven.

Would it happen again?

Charles Einstein, who spent two decades as a statisticianand public relations exec with the Orioles, told the story of the night beforethe fifth game of that ’83 Series. He had dinner with Eddie Murray, Cal Ripkenand two women from the club’s front office.

Over the first four games, Murray hadn’t done a thing. But that night, Murray told the others, “Don’t worry. We’ll get it tomorrow.”

Despite his slump over the first four games, Murray hadn’t uttered a word of excuse. But now in private, he confided that he’d hurt his wrist in the first game of the series. His wrist had been taped. He’d even covered the tape with wrist bands, so the Phillies wouldn’t know about it and pitch accordingly.

But now?

“It started feeling better today,” Murray said. “I’ll begood tomorrow.”

He sure was. Murray hit two monster home runs, and nearly hit another with the bases loaded. And the Orioles were World Champs.

Sometimes, it just takes one guy getting hot and carrying everyone else.

The Orioles have waited 36 years for another such player to emerge. That’s a long time.

But not as long as 95 years.

A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, most recently “Front Stoops in the Fifties: Baltimore Legends Come of Age” (Johns Hopkins University Press).