Today I realized something about an occurrence in Orioles history that I had never considered before.
And, frankly, it surprised me a bit that I had never heard this story told…or realized what a coincidence it was.
This story involves none other than Tito Landrum, who we all remember fondly as the hero from Game 4 of the 1983 American League Championship Series.
And even though we all know the story of Tito’s famous home run, it’s such a great O’s memory that it’s worth telling again. (After all, that victory was the last time our Birds celebrated an American League pennant.)
The date was Saturday, October 8, 1983. And as it would turn out, that date would prove to be just the first of two very important events that happened when Tito Landrum set foot in Comiskey Park.
First the 1983 story that we all love so much:
After losing Game 1 of the 1983 ALCS at home to LaMarr Hoyt and the White Sox, the O’s had won the next two games to put themselves on the brink of an American League championship in the best-of-five series.
With the prospect of a winner-take-all Game 5 looming should the O’s lose – including another matchup with Hoyt, who would be voted the AL Cy Young Award winner that season – there was plenty of incentive to win Game 4 and get the series wrapped up.
What unfolded on that Saturday afternoon was a wild, tense ballgame dominated by starting pitchers Britt Burns of Chicago and Storm Davis of Baltimore. Davis left the game after the leadoff batter reached in the seventh inning. And despite three singles and a balk in that seventh inning, the White Sox somehow failed to score.
(That failure to score can be attributed to some awful base running decisions and a tremendous sliding catch in left field by Gary Roenicke.)
The game remained scoreless heading into the top of the 10th inning with Burns still on the mound. After striking out John Shelby to start the inning, Burns let loose with his 150th pitch of the afternoon to Tito Landrum.
Landrum, of course, clobbered that baseball into the upper deck in left field at Comiskey Park and immediately became a legendary figure in Oriole history.
(To see the home run – and the full game – you can click here: )
https://youtu.be/8bJmxWCwMKU?si=ODEsenE-QN8G5CdK&t=9633
Of course, that home run is what we all know and remember about Tito Landrum.
But do you know what happened the very next time Tito Landrum showed up at Comiskey Park?
As I said, this fact had never before occurred to me…until today.
Now, remember – Landrum was traded by the Orioles back to the St. Louis Cardinals in spring training of 1984. So he no longer would be visiting Comiskey Park as there was no interleague play back in those days.
And Landrum remained in the Cardinals’ organization until he was released on July 4, 1987. Landrum then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 10, 1987 and was a Dodger until he was released by that club on April 4, 1988.
On April 12, 1988 the Orioles – having just lost their first six games – made a few changes.
The most notable of those changes was the firing of manager Cal Ripken, Sr. and the hiring of Frank Robinson as his replacement.
Naturally, that is the transaction from April 12, 1988 that received most of the attention.
But on that very same date, the team also re-signed Tito Landrum as a free agent.
Landrum appeared in four games with the Birds before heading to Rochester for a week. He came back to the Orioles on April 23 as the team was still desperately seeking to end what would become its 0-21 start to the 1988 season.
That meant Tito Landrum was once again a member of the Baltimore Orioles when they arrived at Comiskey Park on Friday, April 29, 1988…losers of 21 straight games.
And, yes, that was Tito Landrum’s first time back at Comiskey Park since Game 4 of the 1983 American League Championship Series.
Unlike that ALCS game five years earlier, on this night Landrum was not in the starting lineup. Instead he entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner for Billy Ripken, who had to leave the game after being hit in the helmet by White Sox pitcher John Davis.
According to the Washington Post game story, the hit-by-pitch was a frightening scene:
“With his brother Cal leaning over him, Bill lay motionless for several minutes before he was taken from the field on a stretcher. But inside the clubhouse he was conscious and alert, Precautionary X-rays taken at the stadium showed he had a mild concussion but no serious injury.”
Landrum would stay in the game after running for Ripken and he finished it defensively in left field. He struck out in his only at bat of the evening and never had the ball hit to him out in left field.
But the Orioles finally won a ballgame that night by a 9-0 score over the White Sox…their first victory after 21 straight defeats to open the season. That historic losing streak had cost the team its manager and it had generated nightly attention from the national media as the losses continue to pile up.
Until, that is, Tito Landrum went back to Comiskey Park. And suddenly the losing streak came to an end.
Landrum’s tenure with the 1988 Orioles would not last much beyond April 29. In fact, he appeared in just five more games for the club (going 1-for-9) and was released on May 10, 1988. Landrum would never again appear in the major leagues after that.
So while Tito Landrum’s appearance in the streak-ending victory in late April of 1988 was only as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, I find it to be an amazing coincidence that it was the first time he had returned to the scene of his greatest triumph some five years later.
The Orioles were going through a historically bad stretch – the worst in their history – but perhaps it was the good vibes associated with having Tito Landrum back in the building that finally helped finally put the 21-game losing streak to bed.
Trust Your Stuff 