Roberto Alomar, 1997 Score Heart of the Order #11

I spotted this card in a quarter box at one of my local hobby shops last week and picked it up. I'm a sucker for cards that show off Camden Yards and the Baltimore skyline, and this one does it with a full-bleed photo. It was part of a three-card subset that also included Rafael Palmeiro and Cal Ripken. I also grabbed the Palmeiro card, but still need Cal to complete the panorama. Raffy's card includes the Bromo Seltzer tower, which is a treat.

If you're eagle-eyed, you might be looking at the scoreboard and trying to hone in on the game. The video board indicates that Dave Hollins is the batter for the Twins. You can actually make out the whole Minnesota lineup up above:

Knoblauch 2B
Lawton RF
Molitor DH
Hollins 3B
Myers C
Kelly CF
Stahoviak 1B
Meares SS
Becker LF

Of course, Jimmy Haynes was the Orioles pitcher. Given this information, the game is easy to pin down. It was Sunday, April 14, 1996, and sadly the O's lost 4-1. Haynes and Twins starter Frankie Rodriguez matched zeroes until the fifth inning, when the visitors broke through for three runs on three hits and a walk. Hollins chased the young Birds pitcher with a two-out RBI single. The lone Oriole run came on a Cal Ripken double to score Bobby Bonilla in the bottom of the seventh. The normally high-octane O's had only three hits in the entire game, but it wasn't the end of the world. Even with the loss, they were still 9-2 on the young season en route to capturing the American League Wild Card.