April 11, 1985: Injured Cal Ripken Jr. sits as Orioles lose in exhibition at US Naval Academy

On April 11, 1985, about 4,200 baseball fans got to claim a rare distinction: They watched a Baltimore Orioles game played between May 30, 1982, and September 19, 1998, in which Cal Ripken Jr. did not appear.

How was that possible? Even casual fans know that future Hall of Famer Ripken established the major leagues’ all-time iron-man streak during that period, appearing in 2,632 consecutive games before benching himself for the Orioles’ last home game of 1998.1 Between June 5, 1982, and September 14, 1987, Ripken didn’t even miss an inning, piling up a streak of 8,264 straight.2

Simple: The game was an exhibition between the Orioles and the Midshipmen of the US Naval Academy, played at Navy’s field in Annapolis, Maryland. Ripken, suffering from a badly sprained ankle, got the day off and was replaced by Lenn Sakata.3 In the end it was Navy’s shortstop, not Baltimore’s, who struck the biggest blow. Junior Mike Leeney of Madison, New Jersey, hit a walk-off double with a full count and two outs to win the seven-inning game, 4-3.4

Manager Joe Altobelli’s Orioles – with Ripken’s father, Cal Sr., in his 10th season on the coaching staff5 – had begun their season in fine fashion, winning their first two games against the Texas Rangers on April 8 and 10 by a combined score of 11-3. The Orioles had won the World Series two seasons earlier, with Ripken Jr. claiming his first of two American League Most Valuable Player Awards while leading the league with 211 hits and 47 doubles.6 But the team fell to fifth place in the American League East Division in 1984 with an 85-77 record, 19 games behind the Detroit Tigers, who won 104 games and the World Series.

The Orioles’ strong start to 1985 was overshadowed by an injury to Ripken on April 10. While taking a third-inning pickoff throw from pitcher Mike Boddicker, Ripken’s spikes caught on the second-base bag, and he twisted his left ankle. The next day’s Baltimore Evening Sun ran a photo sequence of the play, ending with a shot of Ripken screaming in pain as he fell. Ripken had the swollen ankle taped and stayed in the game, and X-rays showed no fracture. But doctors told him to stay off his feet for a day – which made a meaningless exhibition out of the question.7 Ripken spent the day of the Navy game at a hospital, where he received treatment in a whirlpool and was fitted with a brace.8

Even in those early days, the threat to Ripken’s consecutive-game streak was noticed in Baltimore. As of April 10, he was up to 444 straight games. This was well shy of Lou Gehrig’s then-record 2,130, but it tied Ripken with teammate Eddie Murray for second place in Orioles history. The Baltimore record at the time belonged to Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, who’d played in 463 straight games.9

Murray also didn’t play in the Navy game, nor did left fielder Mike Young, and center fielder Fred Lynn appeared for only one at-bat.10 Instead, Altobelli’s roster went heavy on role players and backups. In addition to Sakata, they included outfielders Jim Dwyer and John Lowenstein, second baseman Rich Dauer, and catchers Joe Nolan and Floyd Rayford, who split time behind the plate. The lineup also included third baseman Fritzie Connally, who’d played eight games for the Chicago Cubs two seasons before. He played 50 more for the 1985 Orioles in his only other big-league experience.11 Wayne Gross, almost exclusively a third baseman during his Orioles tenure, started at first base.12

Despite the patched-together lineup, “[W]hen the Orioles took the field for batting practice and infield, the Navy players stopped what they were doing just to marvel at the talent taking the field before them,” a Naval Academy alumnus and member of the team’s coaching staff wrote years later.13

The start went to 24-year-old right-hander Ken Dixon, beginning his first full season in the majors. An excellent 1984 season at Double-A Charlotte (16-8, 2.85 in 31 games) had earned him a call-up and two September appearances. He’d continued to show promise in spring training 1985, working 16 2/3 shutout innings.14 Dixon, who had not yet made a regular-season appearance for Baltimore, went on to post an 8-4 record and a 3.67 ERA in 34 games, including 18 starts.

The Midshipmen, under longtime coach Joe Duff, were on their way to a 25-7-1 season, an improvement from 1984’s record of 15-15. Duff credited an extra season of maturity for the step up, as the team had started four sophomores the previous season.15 Duff, who took the reins from former big-leaguer Max Bishop,16 coached Navy from 1962 to 1993. As of 2024, he ranked as the program’s longest-tenured and winningest coach, with a record of 595 wins, 332 losses, and 11 ties.17

Because the Naval Academy requires military service after graduation, it traditionally has not attracted players with strong prospects in the pro game. In a 1979 interview, Duff could name only one player who had signed a professional contract during his tenure.18

Still, some of the hitters on Navy’s roster in 1985 were good enough to leave lasting dents in the school’s record book. Thirty years later, Leeney’s .351 career batting average between 1983 and 1986 ranked seventh-best in school history. Catcher Ted Wallace’s .414 on-base percentage between 1984 and 1987 also placed him on Navy’s leaderboard. As of 2024, several team members still claimed some of Navy’s top single-season performances. Three of Navy’s 10 all-time best on-base percentages were achieved in 1985 by right fielder Marius Jones (first at .565), first baseman Craig Snyder (sixth, .530), and center fielder Ron Kinn (ninth, .509). The 1985 team as a whole hit .321 with a .466 on-base percentage – second-best and best respectively in school history.19

Navy’s starting pitcher was senior Scott Wild, a Memphis native in his third year as a letterman. Wild compiled a career college record of 8-6 with a 7.31 ERA, working as both a starter and reliever.20

On a warm Thursday afternoon, Wild gave up two hits in the first inning – a single by leadoff hitter Dwyer and a double by Lowenstein – but got Larry Sheets to ground into a double play in between, keeping the big-leaguers off the scoreboard.

Navy’s offense came out with guns blazing. Wallace drew a leadoff walk in the first. Jones’s double to right scored him, and Leeney’s double brought in Jones to give the Midshipmen a 2-0 advantage after three batters. That was Navy’s last flurry for some time. After Leeney’s double, Dixon struck out the next five Navy hitters. In four innings of work, Dixon allowed only one additional hit and no more runs.21

The Orioles scored one run apiece in the second, third, and fourth innings to build a 3-2 lead. In the second, Lynn singled, Connally drew a walk, and replacement shortstop Sakata singled in a run. In the third, Dwyer doubled, Lowenstein singled, and Navy second baseman Bob Dishman made a throwing error that allowed Dwyer to score the game-tying run. And in the fourth, Sakata doubled, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Dauer’s groundout to Leeney.

Altobelli had indicated that pitcher Dennis Martínez, who hadn’t appeared in the first two regular-season games, was likely to get work, and Martínez entered in the fifth. The Nicaraguan right-hander led the AL in wins in 1981 with 14 but had since slumped. He’d posted ERAs above 5 in 1983 and 1984 – costing himself a spot on the 1983 postseason roster – and did it again in 1985. Not until 1987 did Martínez fully overcome an alcohol problem and shoulder injuries and turn his career around with the Montreal Expos. He later won the National League ERA title in 1991 (2.39) and pitched a perfect game.22

Dishman, whose third-inning error was Navy’s only miscue of the game, tied it at 3-3 in the sixth inning with a run-scoring groundout following a single by designated hitter Jon Mullican and a double by third baseman Mark Bayly.23

After the Orioles scored their third run, only two more Baltimore batters reached base: Dwyer on a two-out walk in the fourth, and Rayford with a leadoff single in the seventh. Wild pitched shutout ball for the final three innings, scattering eight hits to keep matters tied 3-3 going into Navy’s last ups in the bottom of the seventh.

An announcement made clear to fans that the game would end after seven innings, no matter the score.24 Martínez retired Kinn and Wallace to start the inning. After Jones singled, Leeney worked Martínez to a full count, then uncorked a double that brought Jones all the way around for a dramatic 4-3 win.25

The game marked Navy’s first win against the Orioles in four tries, and its first win against a big-league team since a 1971 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Amid a locker-room celebration, Wild admitted that the Midshipmen owed their win in part to the Orioles’ depleted roster: “You didn’t see Eddie Murray out there.”26

When the Orioles resumed their regular season against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 12, Ripken was back at shortstop; he went 2-for-3 and resumed his pursuit of Gehrig’s record. His teammates couldn’t improve on their 1984 performance, though. The Orioles finished in fourth place; their struggles cost Altobelli his job in mid-June.

Acknowledgments

This story was fact-checked by Ray Danner and copy-edited by Len Levin.

The author thanks Marshal Filipowicz of the US Naval Academy Athletic Association for assistance, including providing an image of the cover of the game program. SABR members Donna Halper and Bill Nowlin also contributed research assistance.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used the Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org websites for general player, team, and season data for this game.

Baseball-Reference and Retrosheet.org generally do not provide box scores for exhibition games. The Annapolis (Maryland) Capital ran a box score in its April 12, 1985, edition.

(Click image to enlarge)

Notes

1 Thomas J. Brown Jr., “September 20, 1998: Cal Ripken Decides to End Consecutive Game Streak at 2,632,” SABR Games Project, accessed November 2024, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-20-1998-cal-ripken-decides-to-end-consecutive-game-streak-at-2632/.

2 Trent McCotter, “Ripken’s Record for Consecutive Innings Played,” Society for American Baseball Research Fall 2012 Baseball Research Journal, accessed online in December 2024, https://sabr.org/journal/article/ripkens-record-for-consecutive-innings-played/. As of April 11, 1985, Ripken’s consecutive-inning streak had reached 4,009 innings. Associated Press, “Ripken’s Injury Endangers Consecutive-Game Streak,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, April 12, 1985: 3D.

3 Ken Murray, “Stewart Enjoys Warm Feeling on Cold Day at Ballpark,” Baltimore Evening Sun, April 11, 1985: B13. Ripken began the 1982 season as a third baseman, but was shifted to shortstop starting on July 1 and remained there for much of the rest of his record-setting streak. Sakata was the last Orioles starting shortstop before Ripken claimed the position. Rory Costello, “Lenn Sakata,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 2024, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/lenn-sakata/.

4 Associated Press, “Navy Slips Past Orioles, 4-3,” Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, April 12, 1985: 7D; Phil Berger, “Where Late Bloomers Succeed,” New York Times, May 11, 1986: Sports:6. Madison is located in Morris County, in the north-central part of New Jersey.

5 Ripken Sr. served as bullpen coach in his first two major-league seasons, 1976 and 1977, then was the team’s third-base coach thereafter. He served as temporary Orioles manager for four games in 1985 and became their full-time manager in 1987.

6 Ripken won his second MVP award in 1991. Ripken’s 1983 season (.318/27/102) was also recognized with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America AL MVP Award, The Sporting News’ AL Player of the Year Award, and a Silver Slugger award. Ripken, who was named to 19 All-Star teams, made his first of 18 All-Star appearances in 1983.

7 Kevin Cowherd, “Ripken, Orioles Survive a Scare,” Baltimore Evening Sun, April 11, 1985: B1.

8 Ken Murray, “Altobelli Is Feeling Better About Ripken’s Sore Ankle,” Baltimore Evening Sun, April 12, 1985: C4.

9 Cowherd, “Ripken, Orioles Survive a Scare.”

10 Al Hopkins, “Mids Deep-Six Shorthanded O’s,” Annapolis (Maryland) Capital, April 12, 1985: 21; Murray, “Altobelli Is Feeling Better About Ripken’s Sore Ankle.” Altobelli said Murray and Young were nursing minor aches and pains of their own.

11 Richard Justice, “Midshipmen Feed Their Guests Well, then Take the Field and Beat Them,” Baltimore Sun, April 12, 1985: 3D.

12 In parts of eight seasons with the Oakland Athletics (1976-1983), Gross appeared at first base 137 times. With the Orioles in 1984 and 1985, he made only 12 appearances at first, compared to 184 at third.

13 Bob Ravener, “A Legend, a Game, and a Ball,” US Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation website, accessed November 2024, https://www.usna.com/tributes-and-stories-1981. This is a first-person reminiscence by a member of the Navy Class of 1981 who was stationed in Annapolis and served on the baseball coaching staff.

14 Richard Justice, “Ripken to Leave No. 3 Spot Tomorrow for Cleanup,” Baltimore Sun, April 20, 1985: 3C.

15 Cris Barrish, “Midshipmen Walk All Over Hens 13-2,” Wilmington (Delaware) News-Journal, March 27, 1985: C1.

16 Navy’s home field, originally called Lawrence Field, was renamed Max Bishop Stadium in 1974. Following extensive renovation, the facility was renamed Terwilliger Brothers Field at Max Bishop Stadium in 2007. The ballpark has hosted major-league exhibition games, and temporarily housed the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League in 1994. 2024 US Naval Academy baseball media guide: 2, https://navysports.com/documents/2024/2/13/2024_BASE_Full_Guide.pdf.

17 2024 US Naval Academy baseball media guide: 44-45.

18 Pat O’Malley, “Joe Duff, Navy Baseball Coach, Fills the Shoes of a Legend,” Baltimore Sun, April 15, 1979: 12. The player was identified in the story as “Al Lemeran.” Navy’s baseball media guide and Baseball-Reference indicate that it was actually Alan Lemerande, who played a single season (1967) in the lower reaches of the Baltimore Orioles farm system. As of November 2024, Lemerande’s Baseball-Reference page did not mention his Naval Academy connection.

19 2024 US Naval Academy baseball media guide: 35-43.

20 2024 US Naval Academy baseball media guide: 71; “Frayser Bowl to Grab Spotlight,” Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 17, 1984: B5.

21 All play-by-play info taken from Justice, “Midshipmen Feed Their Guests Well, then Take the Field and Beat Them,” and Hopkins, “Mids Deep-Six Shorthanded O’s,” unless otherwise specified.

22 Rory Costello, “Dennis Martínez,” SABR Biography Project, accessed November 2024, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/dennis-martinez/.

23 Ravener, “A Legend, a Game, and a Ball.”

24 Joe Gross, “Underdog with a Bite,” Annapolis Capital, April 12, 1985: 21.

25 Part of this action is extrapolated from the box score published in the Annapolis Capital. Jones and Leeney hit consecutively in the lineup, so two outs must have been made before Jones came to the plate. Kinn and Wallace were the two batters preceding Jones in the Navy lineup.

26 Hopkins, “Mids Deep-Six Shorthanded O’s.”