Brady Anderson, 2000 Skybox Dominion #235

So Brady Anderson, Gaylord Perry, and "Spaceman" Bill Lee play in an 1890s-style baseball game for charity...

No, it's not a really cheeseball joke; this actually happened this past weekend in San Jose, CA. The event was the first annual Legends of Baseball Vintage Showdown, and it pitted a team full of ex-major league greats against the Stogies of Santa Clara County. The Stogies are one of several teams around the country that are stocked with weekend warriors looking to recreate the game of "base ball" as it was played over a century ago. That means fielding your position with work gloves instead of padded, oversized mitts, and taking a walk on seven balls instead of four. I can think of several recent Orioles pitchers who could use the extra rope!

According to this excellent first-hand account from the Walkoff Walk blog, Baltimore's own sideburned hero of the 1990s made some of the headlines at the game. Before the first pitch, he was traded from the Legends to the Stogies in exchange for a catcher and a giant novelty bag of cash. Perhaps the Stogies owner was a distant Steinbrenner relative. Brady also pitched an inning, and reportedly threw very hard. Accounts differ on whether it was Anderson or ex-Yankee phenom Kevin Maas who was presented with an oxygen tank after legging out a triple (but I'm sure Maas would need it more).

As near as I can tell, lumbering save-master Lee Smith was the only other former Oriole to play in the game, but he did not factor into the decision. In a fitting conclusion, Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers (still sporting the classic handlebar mustache!) nailed down a 16-15 win for the Legends

by inducing a grounder to second baseman Jeff Kent with runners on the corners. I'd love to see the Legends take their show on the road, wouldn't you?