“Orioles Magic” is a phrase fans still associate with the 1979–1983 seasons, Baltimore’s last championship era, when they played excellent, exciting ball with a penchant for late-inning
heroics. This book analyzes the Orioles not just as a great team but as the team to be marked by the fabled “Oriole Way,” an organizational commitment to fundamentally sound baseball that
guided them for nearly 30 years. The Magic years are discussed in the context of Baltimore sports, fan culture and baseball history, recalling the thrills of a splendid squad that delighted
fans and reminding us why Peter Gammons called the 1979–1983 Orioles one of the major league’s “last fun teams.”
