Chris Brock, 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man #200

Why am I posting a Chris Brock card? Just because I can. It's an off-day for the Orioles, and nothing else readily comes to mind, so I thumbed through my 2002-2005 box looking for someone obscure. This dude was drafted in the 12th round by the Braves in 1992 out of Florida State, and made it to Atlanta in his sixth pro season. He had six subpar starts and one good relief appearance, and signed with the Giants in 1998. After two so-so years in San Francisco he was traded to the Phillies, and had his two best seasons there (10-8 with a 4.29 ERA). But it seems that he's best known for pulling rank and complaining to Phils GM Ed Wade about beloved broadcaster Harry Kalas sitting in the back of the team's charter plane with the players. Some of his teammates expressed their support for Kalas, and he returned after a few days.

Brock's major league career ended with a 22-game swing through the O's bullpen in 2002. He allowed 52 hits in 44 innings, and compiled a 4.70 ERA. He was scored upon in half of his appearances, including eight multi-run games. He did win a couple of games in long relief:

-On June 19, the Birds were in Arizona for an interleague game and Sidney Ponson was knocked out in the fourth inning. Entering with runners on the corners, two outs, and a 2-1 lead, Chris walked Tony Womack to load the bases before coaxing a grounder from Alex Cintron to end the inning. He ended up pitching around three walks and a double in three scoreless innings, and departed with the Orioles leading 6-1 in the seventh. That was ultimately the final score. The losing pitcher was Curt Schilling, who finished the season 23-7.

-On August 23, Scott Erickson had a disastrous start against the Blue Jays, and Brock relieved him in the second inning with Baltimore already trailing 6-0. Again he stranded a pair of runners. He blanked Toronto for four more innings before giving up an Eric Hinske home run to lead off the seventh, but escaped the inning without further damage. In total he allowed six hits and no walks in five and one-third innings. The O's chipped away at the Jays' lead throughout the game, and had taken the lead with a four-run sixth inning against three pitchers (the last of whom was current Oriole Mark Hendrickson). The Birds won 11-7, thanks in part to four solo home runs from Geronimo Gil, Tony Batista, Melvin Mora, and Jay Gibbons. Ah, the bad old days.

Since his last major league appearance (September 28, 2002), Brock has spent time in the minors and Japan, and his last documented action came in 2007 for the independent Lancaster Barnstormers. He put up a 5.40 ERA in 21 games, which probably convinced him to go home and call it a day. Three years later, I wrote about him on my blog, and now a dozen or so people are reading a cursory overview of his career, and the world keeps turning.