J. J. Hardy, 2011 Topps Heritage #339

Well, there's nothing but an ongoing rain delay and two and one-half innings separating the Orioles from another long, lonely offseason. But even if the O's fall to Boston tonight, you certainly can't blame J. J. Hardy. In what looks like the masterstroke of Andy MacPhail's tenure, the general manager pried Hardy away from the Twins for Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. With a two-run homer tonight, the shortstop extended his career-high total to 30 roundtrippers and matched his personal best of 80 RBI. He's also walked and hit his 27th double, only 4 shy of his top total. He's pretty smooth with the glove, too. I can only imagine what he would have done if he hadn't missed a month with an oblique injury. Either way, I'm glad that the Birds signed him to a contract extension in midseason. J. J. is one of the few guys I would absolutely not want to be without in 2012.