Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Gary Roenicke, 1983 Donruss #27

This card offers irrefutable proof that the modern-day Orioles are so much the poorer for their short-sighted grooming policy. I don't know about you, but I don't want to imagine a world without Gary Roenicke's untamed locks and madman fu manchu. Just think about how much more dull O's history would be without Ross Grimsley's glistening afro, or Dennis Martinez's mop, or (god forbid) Eddie Murray's majestic afro/chops/'stache combo.

Say it with me now...Beards for Birds! Beards for Birds! Beards for Birds!

1 comment:

Commishbob said...

My best memory of Gary Roenicke... from Sports Illustrated story:

Baltimore leftfielder Gary Roenicke hit a grand slam home run with two out in the eighth inning against New York in Yankee Stadium on Sunday. The homer won a game for pitcher Mike Flanagan and $1 million for Anne M. Sommers of College Park , Md. Flanagan was grateful; Ms. Sommers was ecstatic.

But wait. This gets better.

Ms. Sommers, a 45-year-old secretary, isn't a baseball fan. She has never been to an Orioles game. She had never heard of Gary Roenicke . She entered the team's Home Run Sweepstakes by accident. What does she think of Roenicke now? "He's a great guy," she says with a laugh. "I'd like to see him play." See him play? She can buy his contract.

This is how it happened. Ms. Sommers unwittingly entered the sweepstakes by using an automatic teller at a branch of the Equitable Bank. Every Oriole game this season has one sweepstakes inning, and each hitter in that inning bats for a contestant. The jackpot starts at $1,000 per sweepstakes inning and increases in $100 increments when the Orioles fail to hit one out. The pot was $3,000 last Sunday, but it jumped to $1 million when Eddie Murray walked to load the bases. Roenicke then hit a 1-0 pitch into the leftfield stands off Dennis Rasmussen .