Mark Belanger, 1981 Fleer Star Stickers #39

The whispers and Myspace leaks were true: Adam Jones was announced today as a Gold Glove outfielder, the 13th Oriole to receive recognition as the best defensive player at his position. All told, there have been 59 Gold Gloves awarded to Baltimore players; all of the previous O's winners have received multiple nods. (Gee, who says that the voting process is something less than scientific? Though to be fair, some of these guys were flat-out awesome. How else do you think Mark Belanger carved out a 20-year career, with his bat?) Here's the complete rundown, with the total GG's won and the corresponding years:

OF Adam Jones - 1 (2009)
P Mike Mussina - 4 (1996-1999)
1B Rafael Palmeiro - 2 (1997-1998)
2B Roberto Alomar - 2 (1996, 1998)
SS Cal Ripken, Jr. - 2 (1991-1992)
1B Eddie Murray - 3 (1982-1984)
P Jim Palmer - 4 (1976-1979)
2B Bobby Grich - 4 (1973-1976)
SS Mark Belanger - 8 (1969, 1971, 1973-1978)
2B Davey Johnson - 3 (1969-1971)
OF Paul Blair - 8 (1967, 1969-1975)
SS Luis Aparicio - 2 (1964, 1966)
3B Brooks Robinson - 16 (1960-1975)

Whitey Herzog, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #195

Not only is today the 21st anniversary of Randy "Moose" Milligan's arrival in Baltimore, it's also the 78th birthday of former O's outfielder Dorrel Norman Elvert Herzog. With a name like that, it's no wonder that he went by "Whitey"!

The 5'11", 182-pound Illinois native spent two years near the end of his playing career in orange and black, having arrived in January of 1961 via a six-player trade with the Kansas City A's (catcher Clint Courtney was originally sent to K.C. as well, but was eventually returned to the Birds). Fellow outfielder Russ Snyder also came to Charm City in that trade, and might be better remembered by local fans, but Whitey more than held his own. Patrolling right and left field on a part-time basis, Herzog batted .291 and .266 in his two years here. His plate discipline was a major plus, as he walked 91 times and struck out only 77 time for a cumulative .379 on-base percentage.

The time that Herzog spent in Baltimore may have served a greater purpose for his post-playing career. His manager during the 1961 season was the legendary Paul Richards. During the 1970s and 1980s, Whitey gained acclaim as both a field manager and general manager, much like Richards. His teams in Kansas City and St. Louis won six division titles, and he took the Cardinals to the World Series three times in a six-year span (1982, 1985, and 1987), winning a World Championship in 1982. He was a two-time Manager of the Year, and in 2007 narrowly missed Hall of Fame selection by a vote of the Veterans Committee.

If you're so inclined, crack open an ice cold Budweiser tonight and toast the White Rat!

Adam Jones, 2009 Topps Finest #71

So the baseball offseason has barely started, and the rumor mill is already churning. The first item of local interest leaked out this weekend, as Adam Jones has purportedly won his first Gold Glove Award. Now, the primary source is Adam's older brother, via his Myspace page. But MASN's Roch Kubatko received confirmation from an unnamed source, so we might be getting somewhere.

Assuming for a moment that the rumor is true, it comes as a surprise for a few reasons. I've had the pleasure to watch AJ patrol center field at Camden Yards for two years now, and it's been a blast watching him effortlessly cover so much ground and rob multiple opponents of home runs. But it still seems like he's learning on the job, and his performance can be a little uneven at times. But indeed, advanced statistical measures show that he's got excellent range and compares well when it comes to outfield assists and those highlight-reel grabs, so he's a decent choice.

But the most astounding news to me was that the Birds had only one previous Gold Glove outfielder: Paul Blair, who owned the competition for nearly a decade. "Motormouth" nabbed the honors eight times between 1967 and 1975. Moreover, no Oriole at any position has won a Gold Glove since Mike Mussina was named the American League's top-fielding pitcher in 1999.

The recent dearth of fielding accolades for the O's has allowed the Yankees to tie them for the most-decorated American League club. So as an added bonus, Jones' selection would help the hometown team keep pace. That's assuming that Mark Teixeira is the lone New York winner; Alex Rodriguez could be lurking at the hot corner.

Anyway, a tentative congratulations to Adam Jones! Aside from the occasional Silver Slugger, it's not very often in recent years that a Baltimore player has gotten some postseason hardware.

Chris Singleton, 2002 Fleer Box Score #18

I know that many of you don't follow Twitter, or see the usefulness in it, and I'm still not sure that I can blame you. But I often feel that my life could use a bit more inanity from obscure public figures, and that's one thing that Twitter does exceedingly well. Today, I discovered that former Orioles (and White Sox and Athletics and Devil Rays) outfielder Chris Singleton tweets his innermost thoughts under the user name c_singleton. Chris currently works for ESPN as a baseball analyst; fancy that! So what sort of pearls of wisdom has Chris shared with the fine folks of Twitter lately? Observe:

-"Women be shopping!"

-need an optimum nutrition protein shake. what r the chances of finding one in the bronx? probably not.

-Riding into NYC with Tim Kurkjian. He's doing a radio interview while driving and I'm in the backseat praying! LOL.

-Need a little motivation for my workout. Was so much easier when I was getting paid to stay "lean and mean". Now I'm just mean. LOL.

-Just saw that Lebron wants to dunk and shatter the glass on George W. Bush. Strong statement. Curious why exactly since he's not a hooper.

It's like looking directly into his soul.

Vintage Fridays: Dave Leonhard, 1972 Topps #527

It may sound cliche, but sometimes it truly is a small world. Right-handed pitcher Dave Leonhard earned a history degree from Johns Hopkins University, just 1.8 miles from the Orioles' Memorial Stadium digs at East 33rd Street. The local club signed the Arlington, VA native as an amateur free agent in 1963 and called him up to the majors in 1967 after he had earned the International League Pitcher of the Year award at AAA Rochester (15-3, 2.61 ERA). He spent his entire major league career (1967-1972) in Baltimore, posting a 3.15 ERA mostly in relief. He remains the only big leaguer in the modern era (post-1900) to come from JHU. Despite starting just 29 games in his career, he tossed four shutouts, including a one-hitter, a two-hitter, a three-hitter (on weekend leave from the National Guard!), and a five-hitter.

That's Dave Leonhard in a nutshell...interesting guy.

Gary Roenicke, 1982 Topps #204

I appreciate the overwhelmingly supportive response to last night's bitter, over-the-top post. However, the 2009 season is now in the past, so I will gladly take a walk on the bright side, which should be a relief to the vocal minority of readers.

This is one of the cards that has been in my collection forever, longer than I've even been a collector. Before I ever knew who Gary Roenicke was, I thumbed through a stack of cards and found him grinning back at me. Though this card was probably only six or seven years old when it came into my possession, it seemed positively ancient. Sure, I was born in 1982, but I only had four cards from that year and two from 1981. Even cards from the 1970s were a mysterious rumor to me.

Not knowing Roenicke from Adam, my first impression of him was this relaxed, harmless, happy-go-lucky guy. It's a great candid photo. It looks like he was posing for Topps's photographer, because I can't imagine that any player actually lounges around the field like that, kneeling and propped up on his bat. But in the middle of the photo session, John Lowenstein comes by and cracks a joke or does a little pantomime behind the photographer's bat and catches Gary off guard. Thinking quickly, the paparazzi of the diamond shoots away and gets a excellent picture.

It's a good thing that my introduction to Gary came by way of this card, instead of this one. Otherwise, I might harbor some irrational fear of him to this very day.

Jerry Hairston, Jr., 2000 Pacific Crown Collection #32

(Okay, I'm posting this a bit early. I'm not about to deprive myself of sleep just to watch those chump Yankees clinch it.)

So, now Jerry Hairston, Jr. has a World Series ring. Good for him, I guess.

Alright, there's no sense in wallowing in bitterness and self-pity. I'd like to congratulate the new world champions.

Kudos to the whiny, rag-armed catcher who pees on his hands.

Thumbs up to the phony, corporate, choker first baseman.

Job well done for the overhyped, bland-as-hell, power-deficient shortstop.

Take a bow, you purple-lipped, self-centered, steroid-abusing third baseman.

Pat yourself on the back, you dopey, obnoxious frat boy right fielder. That wacky mohawk sure distracted everyone from your .130 postseason average.

Bravo to the cro-Magnon, philandering left fielder.

Three cheers for the monstrously ugly designated hitter with the vast pornography collection.

Bully for you, HGH-abusing, stool-pigeon veteran starting pitcher.

And of course, a hearty huzzah to the fist-pumping, drunk-driving, fly-chasing relief pitcher.

But just remember that none of you could have done it without your skeletal, micromanaging prig of a skipper or your doddering, tyrannical plutocrat owner. You truly are the best team that a half-a-billion-dollar offseason orgy can buy.

May you all rot.