Baltimore Orioles reliving history with season surge and top pick in draft

When Baltimore took Ben McDonald with the top choice in the 1989 draft, it was just one small part of a thrilling season for the Orioles.

They had the No. 1 pick because the previous year had been terrible, but by the time they actually made the selection, the Orioles were in first place in the AL East, on their way to becoming one of baseball's classic underdog stories. In fact, McDonald was drafted on June 5, 1989 — the same day Baltimore won a season-high eighth game in a row.

Sound familiar?

This year's Orioles are suddenly drawing comparisons to that '89 team. After entering the season in the midst of a difficult rebuild — Baltimore will pick first in the draft Sunday for the second time in four years — the Orioles have become one of the game's biggest surprises over the past few weeks. A 10-game winning streak put Baltimore briefly above .500. As the All-Star break approaches, the Orioles have almost as many victories (45) as they did all of last year (52).

A playoff spot still seems unlikely, but at this point, Baltimore is only 2½ games behind the final wild card in the American League.

«It's been fun to watch this team, man,» said McDonald, a right-hander who pitched nine seasons in the majors and is now part of Orioles TV broadcasts. «It reminds me a lot of that '89 team in some ways, where they got some confidence and then took off.»

The 1989 team occupies a special place in the hearts of Baltimore fans. The 1988 Orioles lost 107 games, and that didn't do justice to what a laughingstock they were after an 0-21 start. There wasn't much reason to expect a quick turnaround in '89, but shockingly, Baltimore led the AL East by 7½ games in the middle of July.

The division ultimately came down to the final series of