Kevin Hart, 2004 Upper Deck SP Prospects #275

In my ongoing quest to confound and annoy you, I present another fine gentleman who never suited up for the Orioles. Hart was expertly airbrushed out of a Maryland Terrapins uniform for this card, as he'd pitched and played first base for the Terps before the O's took him in the 11th round of the draft in June 2004. In the entire 58-year history of the Birds, pitcher Lou Sleater (who played high school ball at Mt. St. Joseph's in Baltimore) is the only UMD product to log time in Baltimore. He finished his career as an Oriole in 1958.

Hart could not snap the drought, as he was traded to the Cubs in December 2006 for not-so-useful utility player Freddie Bynum. The righty didn't do much to distinguish himself in two-plus seasons in the O's farm system, but made some hay in a September 2007 callup with Chicago after splitting the year between AA and AAA. In 8 relief appearances totaling 11 innings, Kevin allowed a single earned run and had a 13-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was not nearly so masterful in longer looks as a reliever in 2008 and a starter in 2009 for the Cubs and Pirates, and he last pitched at AAA Indianapolis in 2010, where he put up a 6.75 ERA in only 5 games. If he's out of baseball, he'll leave with a 6-11 big league record and a 5.26 ERA. However, that's worth a little something; he's one of just 4 players chosen in his draft round to get the call to the majors. See? It's all relative.