HECK, IT'S NOT EVEN THE STRANGEST BOX CAL APPEARS IIN:

Unforgettable win by '83 O's remembered: Twenty-five years later, the team's wild, substitution-filled victory over the Blue Jays stands out as a night to remember (Childs Walker, August 24, 2008, Baltimore Sun)

The box score remains confounding 25years later.

Some parts - the game-tying homer by Cal RipkenJr., Tippy Martinez entering at a tense juncture - fit.

Others - utility infielder Lenn Sakata playing catcher, left fielder John Lowenstein at second base, the other left fielder, Gary Roenicke, at third - look like puzzle pieces jammed into the wrong slots by a hasty child.

Yet somehow, this mishmash produced the signature game of the Orioles' 1983 regular season. That team wasn't a super-talented juggernaut. But it had useful role players up and down the roster. Every one of them helped the Orioles win a game at some point in the year.

The magic just felt especially potent that Aug.24.

"I would call it the oddest game I ever played in," said Martinez, who now serves as pitching coach for the independent York Revolution.

For about 8 1/2 innings, it seemed a normal enough contest between the second-place Orioles and the up-and-coming Toronto Blue Jays.