"Orioles Classics" #TBT: No turkeys in this feast of Birds baseball

It might have been George Will. Or maybe it was Casey Stengel. I get those two mixed up all the time.

Anyhow, whoever it was that first said it, the great truism goes something like this: "There are just two seasons: baseball season and the void."

And so it is we find ourselves staring across the vast emptiness between here and the spring. During this pause, we here at MASNsports.com will every Thursday give you a little taste of the coming week's "Orioles Classics" offerings, full game broadcasts of the Birds' exploits of the recent and more distant past. They'll keep you going in these cold offseason months.

And happy Thanksgiving. There's no live baseball, but at least we can eat well. And catch perhaps the most memorable Birdland celebration ever.

Thursday, Nov. 25 - 5:30 p.m. - 9/6/95. 2,131. 'Nuff said? OK, maybe not. For the uninitiated and/or numerically challenged, Sept. 6, 1995 was the night Cal Ripken Jr. posted a number most thought unattainable, breaking Lou Gehrig's mark for consecutive games played. And in the process, he pulled baseball out of public relations morass following the labor strife of the previous season. That sound you hear is a lot of wood-knocking aimed at the near future.

Saturday, Nov. 27 - 8 p.m. - Some guys just know how to make an entrance. Take Jason Hammel, who had stints with the Rays and Rockies before coming to Baltimore. On April 8, 2012, in his very first start as an Oriole, Hammel pitched eight innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three batters as the O's notched a 3-1 win over the Twins at Camden Yards. Wilson Betemit had a double and two RBIs.

Monday, Nov. 29 - 11 a.m. - In the mid 20-teens, a guy not too far removed from his own teen years was turning heads at Oriole Park and in the baseball world. Manny Machado went on to cash in on that early success with the Padres, but he gave Birds fans plenty to cheer before he left. On Aug. 14, 2015, Machado blasted a two-run homer to give the Orioles a walk-off win over the Athletics in the 13th inning. Adam Jones went 3-for-5 with a homer of his own, and four RBIs.

Tuesday, Nov. 30 - 2:30 p.m. - With Chris Davis now officially retired after some great (and not-so-great) years in the orange and black, it's fitting that we wrap up November with a pair of games featuring prodigious bombs from the big slugger. The day after the game synopsized immediately above, Davis (who also homered in that one) hit two dingers as the Birds beat the A's again. Unlike the previous night's contest, though, this one wasn't close, as the Orioles romped 18-2. Caleb Joseph led the RBI parade with four.

Tuesday, Nov. 30 - 11:30 p.m. - Davis set a team mark for longballs in 2013 that stands today. No. 51, a solo recorded on Sept. 17, 2013, came off Ryan Dempster in the sixth inning of a 3-2 win over the Red Sox, who would go on to win the World Series that year. Tommy Hunter got the win with 2/3 of an inning of spotless relief. Jim Johnson recorded the save.