A Curse with the Orioles

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

What are the odds of seeing your team win at the ballpark? The answer to this question should be 50/50 with a possible edge to one of the teams depending on who is pitching. However, when I go to the ballpark it appears those odds go out the door and the opposing team is not just likely to win—they will win.

September 6th, 2005: The Orioles played the Blue Jays and handled Toronto winning the game by a score of 5-0 thanks, in part, to Javy Lopez who went 2-4 on the day with three RBI’s in the game. Those kind of shutouts are the ones you love to be a part of as a fan attending the game.

What I did not realize was that would be the last Orioles’ win I would see in person to date. That is right; I have not seen an Orioles win in person since 2005. Nine years have gone by since I attended a game where the Orioles came out victorious. And it was not for a lack of trying.

Each year, I try to make it to about four or five games. So far this year, I have been to two. The first game I attended was actually in Detroit while I was still in school for the Orioles’ first away game of the year.

The Orioles jumped out in front when Chris Davis hit a two-RBI double in the first inning. Unfortunately, it went all downhill from there as Miguel Gonzalez did not have any control of his pitches with the consistent rainfall throughout the game and the O’s dropped the series opener to the Tigers by a score of 10-6.

During this game, it seemed like the Orioles never had a chance as the Tigers went on a hitting spree which was capitalized by Miguel Cabrera hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, which so happened to be his 2,000th career hit.

In an attempt for redemption, my family and I bought tickets to the Tigers game this past Tuesday for the Nelson Cruz t-shirt giveaway promotion. Seeing that Ubaldo Jimenez was going to be on the mound for Baltimore, I got excited when I looked at the temperature because it has been noted that Jimenez is a “warm weather” pitcher.

The O’s struck first with an Adam Jones‘ solo home run down the left field line. However, this game was a pitcher’s duel highlighted by great defense from the Orioles.

Caleb Joseph was able to record his first career hit that night and he had a stellar night behind the plate catching. Joseph threw out two runners (which would have been three if instant replay did not reverse the call in the ninth inning). Everything was going great this game and I thought my “curse” was finally going to be over after nine hair-pulling, heart-wrenching years of not seeing a win.

Everything was going great, that is, until the ninth inning happened. After recording the second out, Tommy Hunter was one strike away from ending the game with the O’s coming out victorious. I pulled out my camera and started to record the action because I wanted to capture the end of the game on film. Unfortunately, the only thing I captured was heart break.

After walking Torii Hunter, Cabrera was up and the rest is history. I sat down and just looked around in disbelief repeating the same word, “How?” How can it be that I never see a win?

In the nine year span of me not seeing a win, I have experienced puberty, I got my driver’s license, the United States elected its first-ever African American President, I have graduated from middle school, high school, and now I am halfway done with college. I have to ask: What gives Orioles?