If this card seems uncommonly spooky, keep in mind that today is Friday the 13th. I don't know about you, but that mutant colony of chaw in Al Severinsen's cheek gives me the willies. Then there's flycatcher Roger Freed, who became just the third player in team history to wear #13 on his back when he debuted with the Orioles in 1970. Above all, there is the misleading label of "Rookie Stars", bestowed upon two young men who combined to play 14 games in O's uniforms. There's a chill in the air...Actually, I was hoping to post a "Jason" card tonight, for obvious reasons. But sadly, the Birds did not have any Jasons in their history until 1999, far past the Vintage Fridays cutoff date of 1980. To date, these pitchers are the only three players in team history who share that name:
Jason Johnson (1999-2003) 34-53, 4.84 ERA
Jason Grimsley (2004-2005) 3-6, 4.78 ERA
Jason Berken (2009) 6-12, 6.54 ERA
AAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH! Now that's a scary group of killers. Sleep with one eye open, kids...
Al was a nice guy.
ReplyDeleteI have a polaroid of him I took as a 13 year old fan down on the field on Picture Day-July 1969. The Orioles would let fans come down onto the warning track before one game a year and chat with the players and take photos.
Al had just been called up and he was very gracious. It was tough to break in with the great Orioles staffs of that era and only 9-10 pitchers on the team--unlike the pampered rich players of today.
The 65 set is the best!
Anon - Glad to hear a nice story about Al...he had good numbers in Baltimore and San Diego. I wonder why he didn't have a longer career?
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