1988 Baltimore Orioles season

Offseason

On October 8, 1987, the Orioles released pitchers Mike Kinnunen and Mike Hart. In November, they traded Rico Rossy and Terry Crowley Jr. to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Orsulak. On February 27, 1988, Ray Knight was sent to the Detroit Tigers for Mark Thurmond. On March 21, Mike Young and a player to be named later were traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Rick Schu, Keith Hughes, and Jeff Stone; the deal was completed on June 14 with Frank Bellino going to the Phillies.

Regular season

The season opened on April 4 with a 12–0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the largest margin of victory in a shutout on Opening Day. After an 0–6 start, manager Cal Ripken Sr. was replaced by Frank Robinson. The losing streak reached 13 games, tying the 1904 Washington Senators and 1920 Detroit Tigers for most losses to start a season, then extended to 14 games on a cold, wet night in Milwaukee before 7,284 fans, making Baltimore the first MLB team to start 0–14.

The streak ended at 21 games on April 28 with a 4–2 loss to the Minnesota Twins, leaving the Orioles 16 games out of first place. The first win came on April 29 against the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park. On June 19, the team allowed 15 runs in a game; on May 31, they scored 12 runs. On July 29, Mike Boddicker was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Brady Anderson and Curt Schilling.

Curt Schilling made his major league debut on September 7, pitching 7 innings against the Red Sox, allowing 6 hits and 3 earned runs with 2 strikeouts and 5 walks. The Orioles finished with 107 losses, a mark not surpassed until 30 years later. Owner Edward Bennett Williams died in August.