On October 15, 1997, Baltimore closer Armando Benítez gave up a solo home run in the eleventh inning to Cleveland’s Tony Fernandez to give the Indians a 1-0 win in Game Six of the American League Championship Series. Like that, the 1997 ALCS was over, and so was the Orioles’ season. I still remember that moment vividly. An overexcited kid who loved baseball, I was crushed, and went to go cry in the shower.
There’s few things quite as sad as a little kid crying when their baseball team gets kicked out of the playoffs… although just short of 26 years later, the 2023 Orioles have crashed out of the playoffs, and I haven’t been that much more composed about it.