Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles were born on this day, including one of the best pitchers in team history, the late Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Cuellar (b. 1937, d. 2010). Cuellar spent eight years in Baltimore and racked up four 20+ win seasons, 133 complete games, three All-Star appearances, and a 1970 World Series ring. His 143 wins as an Oriole are the fourth-most in franchise history. Cuellar was the co-AL Cy Young winner with the Tigers’ Denny McLain in 1969, the only time that the Cy Young vote in either league has ever resulted in a tie. Other former Orioles born on this day are left-hander Sean Gilmartin (36) and righties Alfredo Simón and John Maine (both 45).
A whole lot of stuff has happened on this day in O’s history, most of it not good. On this date in 1965, O’s second baseman Jerry Adair saw his MLB record streak of 438 errorless chances come to an end when he booted a Bill Freehan grounder to start the eighth. It was Adair’s first error in his last 90 games, since July 21, 1964.
On this date in 2012, the O’s gave up four home runs in one game to the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton, who became the 16th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat. All four of Hamilton’s homers were two-run shots, all four with Elvis Andrus on base. He bashed his first two in the first and third off O’s starter Jake Arrieta, then added one off Zach Phillips in the seventh and Darren O’Day in the eighth.
In 2014, the O’s were the victims of an immaculate inning — nine pitches, three strikeouts — thrown by Rays reliever Brad Boxberger. What made it particularly unique is that Boxberger did it after coming in with the bases loaded and nobody out, the first time that’s happened in MLB history. Boxberger mowed down Steve Pearce, Jonathan Schoop, and Caleb Joseph for the most impressive possible escape from the jam. Fortunately, the Orioles won the game anyway.
In 2018, Dylan Bundy made dubious history by becoming the first pitcher in major league history to give up four home runs without recording an out. The Orioles starter began the game with a single before coughing up three straight dingers to the Royals’ Jorge Soler, Mike Moustakas, and Salvador Perez. He then walked the next two batters before serving up his fourth homer, to Alex Gordon, which chased him from the game. The Royals ultimately scored 10 runs in the top of the first in an eventual 15-7 drubbing of the Birds.
But not everything that has happened on May 8 has been bad for the Orioles. It was on this day in 1966 that Frank Robinson hit the most famous home run in O’s history, a titanic blast that sailed clear out of Memorial Stadium. The prodigious homer has practically taken on mythical status over the years, but it did actually happen, as Robinson’s first-inning clout off Cleveland’s Luis Tiant sailed over the bleachers, into a parking lot, and rolled under a car. It’s estimated that the ball sailed 451 feet on the fly and another 90 feet on the ground. Robinson received a standing ovation from the fans when he came out to the field the next inning.