Vintage Fridays: Tommy Davis, 1975 SSPC #398

For the second year in a row, I spent the entire month of November growing a mustache from scratch as part of the Movember campaign. While I didn't exactly reach the hirsute heights of Tommy Davis, I'm pretty happy with the results. You can check out the photo gallery on my "Mo Space", and if you want to feel good about yourself, you could also make a donation to support prostate and testicular cancer research and awareness. It probably would've been wiser for me to mention it at the beginning of the month, but rumor has it that I'm an extreme procrastinator. Better late than never, I suppose!

Ben McDonald, 1994 Fleer Extra Bases Game Breakers #18

This is a pretty well-designed card, taking advantage of the horizontal format to juxtapose an action shot of Ben McDonald in mid-delivery with a zoomed-in shot of the tall Cajun in the set position. This card is also a pain in the butt, because it's oversized. At 2.5" by 4.7", it's about 33% taller than the standard card when set on its end. I've got odd cards of varying dimensions scattered around my spare room. I should really just gather them up and stash them all in a trusty shoe box. They should fit easily; that's one of the benefits of having enormous clown feet.

Jose Mesa, 1991 Bowman #91

It's Hall of Fame ballot day! There are a whopping 37 players vying for enshrinement in Cooperstown in 2013, including 24 first-time nominees. Nine, count 'em, nine, former Orioles will be on this year's ballot. The holdovers are Rafael Palmeiro, Tim Raines, Sr., Lee Smith, Curt Schilling, Sammy Sosa, and David Wells. The newcomers are Jeff Conine, Steve Finley, and Jose Mesa.

Yep, Jose Mesa.

Good ol' Joe Table might not be the worst player on the ballot (Todd Walker?), but it's tough to make a case for a guy with a 4.36 ERA just because he hung around long enough with enough good teams to rack up 321 saves. Naturally, Mesa will probably be one of several one-and-done players, dropping off the crowded ballot after receiving little to no consideration. But it tickled me to see his name juxtaposed with Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, and the like.

As for the louder-than-ever Big Bad Steroids debate, my views line up pretty closely with Craig Calcaterra's. It's odd that baseball writers have suddenly decided to become morality police. I hope common sense prevails in this year's vote, but I will not hold my breath.

Larry Sheets, 1989 Upper Deck #254

This is Kevin, your trusted imaginary neighborhood blogger (that is, the neighborhood is imaginary...I'm a real person, I swear), with a public service announcement: Always store your baseball cards properly.

You see, I have lots of cardboard boxes and binders in which to keep my precious treasures. Most of my cards are even housed securely in said boxes and binders. But in my laziness, I've allowed a few of these binders to take up residence on the bottom shelf of my glass-top coffee table, rather than finding space for them in my half-finished spare bedroom, where most of my collection lives.

Perhaps you can already see where this is going.

Last night, I was sitting on my couch, enjoying a frosty Heavy Seas Great Pumpkin Ale and some leftover pumpkin roll from Thanksgiving while watching TV. My charming cat Charlie hopped onto the coffee table, doing a tightrope act precariously close to both my mug and my laptop. In my infinite wisdom, I reached over with my free hand and attempted to scoot him off before he could make a mess...and knocked over the mug my own fool self. Most of the beer soaked into the rug, but some seeped through between the glass panels and the wooden frame, onto said binders. I spent the next portion of my evening on my hands and knees, wiping pumpkin ale off of the plastic binder pages that contain my half-finished 1959 Topps set. To my naked eye, it appears that the cards themselves were unharmed, but I bet that binder is going to be a bit sticky and malty-smelling now. I also leafed through the 1989 Upper Deck and 1994 Topps binders to make sure that they were dry. I brought this all upon myself, and appear to have just barely skirted disaster. Still, any lingering effects will serve as a reminder of my folly.

Harold Reynolds, 1993 Stadium Club #668

Today is Harold Reynolds' 52nd birthday. That's absolutely stunning; he is the very epitome of "well-preserved". When I tune in to the MLB Network, I often think to myself that he doesn't look a day over forty. It's not a stretch to say that Harold looks like he could still be playing.

Of course, he batted .232 with a .290 slugging percentage and a 10-for-17 success rate on stolen bases in his swan song with the Angels in 1994, so it's probably for the best that H. R. traded in his glove and cap for a microphone and a suit. But he still looks damned good for 52!

Brian Falkenborg, 2000 Bowman Chrome #189

You'd have to get up pret-ty early in the morning to find an Oriole more obscure than Brian Falkenborg. The 6'7" righty was the team's second-round pick in the 1996 draft, and had a cup of coffee in October 1999 that consisted of three scoreless relief innings spanning two games against Boston. That offseason, he underwent Tommy John surgery and subsequently missed the entire 2000 season. The O's released him, and he spent three seasons in the Seattle organization. Brian next latched on with the Dodgers, and made it back to the major leagues in 2004, five years after his debut in Baltimore. He earned his first big league victory on May 9, 2004, tossing two shutout innings of relief against the Pirates. He bounced around the league through 2008, also pitching for the Cardinals and Padres. Since then, he's actually carved out a living in the land of the Rising Sun. Falkenborg has been a member of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks for the past four seasons, compiling a 10-5 record and a scant 1.39 ERA as a reliever, striking out 12 men per 9 innings. For his first three years in Japan, Brian was a teammate of current Orioles pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada. It's a small world after all.

Jeff Conine and Jason Johnson, 2002 Upper Deck Victory #11

I know that pitcher wins aren't the most precise statistic, but you don't have to look much further than Jason Johnson's team-leading 10 wins to puzzle out the fate of the 2001 Orioles. When a team wins 63 games total (against 98 losses), there aren't many W's to go around. That was a pretty brutal team, all things considered. Buddy Groom was the leading fireman with a whopping 11 saves, Jay Gibbons and Chris Richard tied for the club lead with 15 home runs, Cal Ripken, Jr. sputtered to a .276 on-base percentage in his final season...yuck. At least Jeff Conine had a pretty solid year, with his .311 average and .386 on-base percentage.

Man, I hope the Orioles don't go back to being crappy next year.

Vintage Fridays: Boog Powell, 1970 Topps #410

As I was leafing through my 1970 Topps Orioles cards this evening, it struck me that several of them have other O's players clearly visible in the background. I've already featured Dick Hall's card, with cameos by Gene Brabender and Russ Snyder. Now I'm showing you Boog Powell posing for the camera at Yankee Stadium, but he's not the only one getting photographed. To his left, our right, you can see Mark Belanger standing with bat on shoulder and wearing his trademark #7. It's a shame that Topps went with such a dull design in 1970, because they really had some unique snapshots.

Sid Fernandez, 1994 Pinnacle #483

Today, I'm thankful that I didn't have to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Sid Fernandez. Happy Turkey Day, folks. It's time to slip into a food coma.

Mark Eichhorn, 1995 Donruss #475

Happy Mark Eichhorn Day, everyone!

What? Don't even pretend that you'd forgotten the 52nd birthday of one of the foremost relief pitchers of the 1980s and early 1990s. Whatever you do, don't tell me that you weren't aware that today marks the momentous anniversary of the birth of Cabrillo Junior College's greatest athlete. I just can't bear to have you toy with my emotions.

All sarcasm aside, Mark Eichhorn was a mighty fine pitcher. The stat line for his 1986 rookie season in Toronto is the kind of thing we might never see again. Despite the fact that all 69 of his appearances that year came in relief, he tossed 157 total innings...leaving him just 5 shy of qualifying for the league's lowest earned run average. That's especially notable because he posted a 1.72 ERA that would've bested Mike Scott's official major league-leading mark by a half a run! If you like the counting stats, Mark had a 14-6 record to tie Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy for the team lead in wins, and he also wrested 10 saves from the grasp of closer Tom Henke. Eichhorn's 9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings and 3.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio were also the kinds of numbers his parents could brag about, if they were boastful-type folks. If Wins Above Replacement (WAR) had existed in 1986, the Eichhorns could have trumpeted his 7.1 figure, which trailed only Teddy Higuera and Roger Clemens among all A.L. pitchers. All of that was enough to get him a third-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Jose Canseco (2.8 WAR) and Wally Joyner (2.9 WAR). Imagine the field day that sabermatricians would've had with THAT vote!

Mark was never quite so otherworldly in any other season, but he had several other good-to-great years before throwing his last pitch in 1996. That includes his 1994 season with the Orioles, in which he had a 2.15 ERA (17 ER in 71 IP). He was no longer missing many bats (4.4 K/9 IP), but the then-33-year-old still found a way to keep runs off of the board. Happy Birthday, Ike!

Mike Young, 1986 Donruss #123

You may notice that I failed to post a card yesterday. Honestly, I'm surprised that I haven't missed more days over the nearly five years that I've been pecking away on this blog. Sometimes, after 1,700-plus entries, I feel like I've written all there is to write about the Orioles, baseball cards, my own mundane life, you name it. My mind and the computer screen are both as blank as the expression on Mike Young's face. So yesterday I took a mulligan. It's November, the hot stove season hasn't even gotten going in full force, I've got one eye on the long holiday weekend upcoming, and it was a blah sort of Monday.

Yeah, excuses, excuses. I'll try not to let this become a habit.

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1992 American Sports Monthly

This is just another in a long line of Cal Ripken, Jr. oddball cards, but at the very least it's one of the more visually compelling. The border is actually blue foil, and is much brighter than it scans. It provides a nice complimentary color contrast with the Oriole-orange background. The picture is even pretty distinct, offering a profile portrait of the Iron Man in mid-career. You can see him gazing out at the field (presumably) with his icy blue-gray eyes. He still has his hair at this point, but it's already more salt than pepper. On the blue and white card back, the stat line for his MVP-winning 1991 season is printed, along with defensive statistics. I am also informed that this card is of a "limited edition" run of 16,000, which really stretches the concept of "limited". FYI, my card is number 4275. Truly one of a kind.

Adam Jones, 2012 Topps Opening Day #66

Earlier this week, Adam Jones capped a very good year by finishing sixth in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player award. To review, the O's center fielder was an All-Star and a Gold Glover for the second time each, was the only player on the team to appear in all 162 games, and set career highs in average (.287), slugging percentage (.505), OPS (.839), runs (103), doubles (39), home runs (32), and stolen bases (16). Though Miguel Cabrera's Triple Crown helped him win the MVP by a comfortable margin, Jones got some down-ballot support with a third-place vote, two fourth-place votes, seven fifth, five sixth, four seventh, three eighth, and two ninth. His voting total of 120 points trailed fifth-place finisher Josh Hamilton by only 7. It was the highest finish for an Oriole since Miguel Tejada placed fifth in 2004.

A few other Birds players received some recognition in this year's vote. Jim Johnson's team-record 51 saves earned him a 14th-place finish, as he had a third-place vote, one fourth, one seventh, and one eighth. Matt Wieters got a single lonely seventh-place vote, landing him 22nd in the MVP race. All in all, a couple members of the baseball media noticed what the Orioles accomplished in 2012.

Vintage Fridays: Jack Harshman, 1959 Topps #475

On September 23, 1958, Orioles pitcher Jack Harshman redefined the well-worn baseball cliche of "helping your own cause". In a sparsely attended Tuesday home game against the lowly Senators, the southpaw improved his record to 12-14 with a 3-2 complete-game victory. Just 6,478 fans straggled into Memoral Stadium that day, and they watched as Harshman spotted Washington a pair of runs on six total hits in the first two innings. But something clicked for the O's starter after that, and he permitted only three more hits in seven shutout innings thenceforth. For the game, Jack struck out nine Senators and walked none. Though he allowed nine hits in all, none went for extra bases.

But it wasn't Harshman's pitching that was the story of the game; it was his work at the plate. The native San Diegan had played a lot of first base in the minors (and a bit in the majors) before the Giants converted him to the mound in the early 1950s. He clubbed 192 home runs in 3,101 minor-league at-bats, a rate of one every 16.2 at-bats. It's a little bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison, but Frank Robinson's career rate in the big leagues was one homer per 17.1 at-bats. Anyhow, Jack went 3-for-3 with a pair of home runs and an RBI double against opposing starter Pedro Ramos to drive in all three Baltimore runs. The rest of the Birds' lineup was 3-for-27 with three walks, which brings to mind another old saying: "If you want anything done right, you've got to do it yourself."

Harshman's heroics helped him finish the 1958 season with six home runs, matching his career high. His batting line for the year was .195/.330/.427, giving him an above-average OPS+ of 113. On the other side of the ledger, he had a tough-luck record of 12-15 despite a team-leading 2.89 ERA (124 ERA+) and 17 complete games, with 4 saves to boot! The 30-year-old pitcher did get a few down-ballot votes in the American League MVP race as a consolation prize, the only time in his career that he received that honor. 1958 was his only full season in Charm City; the following year he was dealt to Boston and then selected on waivers by the Indians. He finished his career in 1960 with Cleveland, walking away with a career record of 69-65 and an ERA of 3.50 in parts of eight seasons. As a hitter he batted .179/.294/.344 with 21 home runs and 65 RBI in 521 plate appearances (424 at-bats). Just to save you the math, that's one home run every 20.2 at-bats. There aren't many big league pitchers who could do that today...if any.

Daniel Cabrera, 2007 Upper Deck #63

In case you'd been wondering just where Daniel Cabrera has been hiding since he washed out of the major leagues in 2009, um...Manny Ramirez found him last night.

The now-40-year-old slugger made his Dominican Winter League season debut last night for Aguilas Cibaenas and went deep on the first pitch he saw from the 31-year-old Cabrera, a 91-mph meatball. That's a sellout crowd roaring for Manny's power display. The implication in this Big League Stew blog post is that the ex-Red Sox great is the one who put butts in the seats, but it's worth noting that his teammates include Bartolo Colon, our old friend Miguel Tejada, and one-time Marlins Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan. All that plus Daniel Cabrera on the mound for the opposition! If that's not enough to pack the stands, I don't know what is.

Logo Card, 1988 Sportflics #112

Usually, Sportflics cards don't scan well. But there's something about this logo card featuring the always-excellent bat-swinging cartoon bird that just works. Less is more, probably. But I like that you can see the three different-sized circular logos nested in one another with a sort of bullseye pattern resulting from the orange outer borders. Or maybe it's a vortex...a vortex full of humanoid, baseball-playing birds. It's probably best not to think about.

Frank Robinson, 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini #255

The Orioles - and baseball at large - lost a great man last week when Hall of Fame executive Lee MacPhail passed away at age 95. Younger Baltimore fans may be more familiar with Lee's son Andy, who served as the O's GM from 2007-2011. But the elder MacPhail put his mark on Charm City as the team's general manager from 1959-1965, also serving as club president for much of his tenure. Lee came to the Orioles after nearly a decade as a top personnel man with the Yankees, which worked out pretty well for all involved. But the powerful New Yorkers were already winners. In just a few years in Baltimore, MacPhail worked with manager Paul Richards to build a winner practically from the ground up. Amateur free agents signed and developed under his watch included Boog Powell, Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, Davey Johnson, and Mark Belanger, just to name a few. Paul Blair was drafted out of the Mets' system. Veterans like Stu Miller, Dick Hall, and Luis Aparicio were picked up in savvy trades. Throughout the early 1960s, the Birds were up-and-comers in the American League.

Then, in December 1965, MacPhail arranged the finishing touch just as he was heading out the door. Tabbed for a job in Major League Baseball's front office as an assistant to new commissioner Spike Eckert, Lee informed new O's GM Harry Dalton (who had been promoted from within the organization) that the framework was in place for a trade that would bring the Reds' slugging outfielder Frank Robinson to the Orioles in exchange for three players (say it with me now): Jack Baldschun, Dick Simpson, and Milt Pappas. Dalton wisely signed off on the deal, and the glory years of Baltimore baseball had arrived.

Lee MacPhail furthered his imprint on the game of baseball in the decades that followed, returning to the Yankees as general manager from 1967-1973 and serving as President of the American League from 1974-1983. He will certainly be missed.

Rafael Palmeiro, 1994 Collector's Choice #605

Wow. I don't quite remember Rafael Palmeiro having such a formidable mullet. It looks like birds could comfortably nest in that thing. Teaming up that mullet with his trademark mustache just seems like overkill, if you ask me.

Mike Hargrove, 2004 Topps #270

"Yeah, so...does anyone have any ideas? Anything? I'm fresh out. I hope the clubhouse boy put some beer on ice. I'm getting too old for this crap."

Ben McDonald, 1990 Upper Deck #54

I'm sure Ben McDonald looked tall enough without having to shoot him from ground level. After all, the dude is 6'7". It's also a bit jarring to see him in number 50; for most of Ben's Orioles career, he wore #19. When he debuted in 1989, he wore #23, since Larry Sheets was the incumbent #19. But I'm guessing that this photo came from a shoot shortly after the O's made him the first overall pick in the 1989 draft. They would have just handed him a jersey at random, as long as it fit. I'd assume - and hope - that he's wearing pants as well. Who's to say, though?

Vintage Fridays: Ray Barker, 1961 Topps #428

Ray Barker played five games for the Orioles in 1960 as a 24-year-old rookie. The Birds had signed him as a 19-year-old free agent in 1955, and he hit 102 home runs in those first half-dozen minor league seasons to earn his September cup of coffee. Poor Ray went 0-for-6 and struck out three times.

He returned to the majors at age 29, earning a bench job with the Indians at the start of the 1965 season (as immortalized on this four-player card)...and went 0-for-6, walked twice, and was traded to the Yankees in May. Surprisingly, he eked out a decent season as a part-timer in New York, putting up a .254/.316/.410 line, 7 home runs, 31 RBI, and a 109 OPS+ in 98 games.

Unfortunately, Barker couldn't replicate that modest success. In 1966, he batted .187 with 3 homers in 61 games for the Yanks. The following year, his last in baseball, he went just 2-for-26 in 17 games. But  he finished his career with cards in four separate Topps sets (also appearing as a Yankee in 1966 and 1967). Not a bad representation.

Harold Baines, 1993 Leaf #249

Today is the 92nd birthday of Waldon Thomas "Wally" Westlake, whose eight-game stint in Baltimore in 1955 qualifies him as the oldest living Orioles player. I already used my lone Wally Westlake card in a post last March, so I thought I'd consult Baseball Reference's Oracle of Baseball to link Wally to the youngest living Oriole, 19-year-old phenom Dylan Bundy. Incidentally, Bundy will turn 20 in a week. So we may as well wish the future 600-game winner a happy birthday while we're at it! There are five degrees of separation (and 72 years of age) between these two O's, and there are some fun names involved in this chain:

• Wally Westlake played with Cal McLish for the 1948(!) Pittsburgh Pirates.
• Cal McLish played with Minnie Minoso for the 1959 Cleveland Indians.
• Minnie Minoso played with Harold Baines for the 1980 Chicago White Sox. (NOTE: Minoso, then age 54, went 0-for-2 as a pinch hitter in the last few games of the season.)
• Harold Baines played with Jim Thome for the 1999 Cleveland Indians.
• Jim Thome played with Dylan Bundy for the 2012 Baltimore Orioles.

There was one four-link chain between Wally and Dylan, but it comes with a catch: though Westlake and Brooks Robinson were each on the 1955 Orioles club, they were not teammates. Westlake joined the O's on 15 and was released on July 9. Brooksie made his big league debut on September 17. Just for giggles, here's that chain:

• Wally Westlake and Brooks Robinson both played for the 1955 Baltimore Orioles.
• Brooks Robinson played with Dennis Martinez for the 1976 Baltimore Orioles.
• Dennis Martinez played with Jim Thome for the 1994 Cleveland Indians.
• Jim Thome played with Dylan Bundy for the 2012 Baltimore Orioles.

There was also a cool chain that went Westlake-Joe Nuxhall-Pete Rose-Tim Raines, Sr.-Brian Roberts-Dylan Bundy, but I similarly tossed that one out since Roberts was back on the disabled list by the time the Birds' young phenom debuted with the team in September. Everything is connected if you look hard enough.

John Lowenstein, 1983 Topps Stickers #24

I have got to start accumulating doubles of these decades-old stickers that have been trickling into my O's collection over the past few years. Only then will I give in to temptation and start peeling and sticking those bad boys. I've got scores of boring white and brown cardboard boxes storing my colorful, dynamic cards. Those boxes need John Lowenstein and Rick Dempsey affixed to their facades. It shall be so!

Albert Belle, 2001 Fleer Ultra #139

I hope you exercised your right and duty as an American citizen and voted in the Presidential and State elections today. If not, Albert Belle is coming for you.

This card arrived in the mail today as the spoils of my first successful Listia auction bid. If that's a new one on you, it's an eBay-type site that trades in "points" instead of currency. You earn points in several different ways, but the most reliable is to sell your own items on the site. I haven't gotten off of my lazy duff to offer up any of the chaff in my card collection, so I used some of the 600 credits I got for signing up. If you'd like to join Listia, be a mensch and use my referral link. You'll get 100 extra credits, on top of the standard 500 for signup. I'll get some goodies, too. Happy bidding!

Dennis Martinez, 1982 Topps #712

Dennis Martinez will return to the major leagues next year as the Houston Astros' new bullpen coach. "El Presidente" was most recently an instructor in the Cardinals' organization, but now he'll be answering the phone when manager Bo Porter calls for a reliever. Not a bad gig, all things considered.

Scott Klingenbeck, 1994 Bowman #86

Tonight's question: Just what in the sam hell is Scott Klingenbeck looking at? Because it sure isn't the camera.

Mark McLemore, 1992 Orioles Postcards #19

In my weaker moments, I consider collecting team-issued postcards. I've accumulated a few by osmosis, including this little number from 20 years ago. It's a great action shot of Mark McLemore hustling out of the batter's box on a chilly day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. On the back, there's this inspiring message from Mac:

"Dear Orioles Fan:

The Baltimore Orioles and I are so happy that you take an active interest in our team. We truly appreciate the support our fans give us.

We hope you will enjoy adding this photo card to your Orioles memorabilia collection.

Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the near future!

Sincerely,

Mark McLemore"

Yeah, if that stilted tone sounds familiar, it's because you wrote similar words when your mom forced you to write thank you cards for everyone that gave you a birthday gift that one year. I like that he speaks for not only himself, but also the entire Orioles organization. He also makes sure that you know that the Orioles have a shiny new stadium to play in. I don't mean to shatter the illusion, but the exact same note appears on the back of Cal Ripken's postcard. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you.

At the very least, I need to track down the 1995 postcards. It may be my only chance to commemorate Kevin Bass and Terry Clark in O's uniforms.

Yes, that's something I want.

Vintage Fridays: Jerry Adair, 1965 Topps #231

From August 24-26, 1962, the Orioles hosted the Yankees in a five-game series that included a pair of doubleheaders. Incredibly, the O's swept all five games from the defending World Champs by a combined score of 34-14. Jerry Adair started every game at shortstop in the series, going 13-for-23 with  a walk and a hit-by-pitch. His batting line was a stout .565/.600/.739, which included a 5-for-6 with 3 runs scored in the August 24 nightcap. The O's entered the weekend showdown at 61-64, 14.5 games behind the 76-50 New Yorkers. They were back on the positive side of .500 by the time the smoke cleared, and had drawn to within 9.5 games of the mighty Yanks. That was as close as the Birds got to first place; a rough September dropped them to 77-85 at year's end, a distant seventh place in the American League. But Adair proved his mettle as a Yankee killer, and his career numbers against New York (.282/.314/.413) were some of his best against any team.

Randy Milligan, 1990 Donruss #519

My internal monologue right now: Finish sorting your junk wax. Finish cataloging it. Finish sorting your Orioles cards. Put together your 1956 Topps binder. Then you can play video games.

Adulthood is what you make of it.