Mike Bordick, 2001 Topps Chrome Retrofractor #T36

It's hard to believe, but it was just a shade over two and a half months ago that the Orioles held their first-ever Birdland Caravan, a successful series of public events featuring players, coaches, team executives, and former players. It was a sendoff of sorts as the team prepared to head down to Spring Training, and was intended to fill some of the void caused by the discontinuation of the traditional FanFest event. I'd been attending FanFest each year since 2010, but I can't say I was too sorry to see it go. There's only so much time you can spend weaving around masses of people in the Convention Center, especially when you've got a toddler to wrangle. So the Caravan seemed like a good way to scratch my offseason baseball itch when it was announced. O's personnel and craft beer? You don't have to ask me twice. I took a look at the itinerary, and decided to drive an hour south to check out Calvert Brewing on Saturday, February 8. We'd originally intended to make it a family outing, but Finn ended up catching strep throat, and Janet graciously offered to stay home with him so that I could go solo and not miss out.

Now, I'm not telling secrets when I say that the Birds haven't played the best brand of baseball in the past few years, and are not expected to be competitive in the near future. Camden Yards has been sparsely populated by fans, and nobody would blame we Baltimore rooters for a lack of enthusiasm. But when I pulled into the building complex that hosts Calvert Brewing on that Saturday afternoon, I had to go to the far end of the lot to find a parking space. I walked into the taproom and there was a crush of people from one end of the room to the other, a throng of orange and black. I told my wife later that it was just as well that she'd stayed home; she's an introvert through and through.

I wriggled my way through to the bar, where I could see team VP and GM Mike Elias (center in above photo), slugger Trey Mancini (right, wearing the hell out of a denim jacket), and former shortstop and current broadcaster Mike Bordick (left above) pouring drinks for the customers. I was looking forward to possibly meeting Brian Roberts again, and thanking him for the bat that he autographed for Janet back when she was battling cancer, but he wasn't able to make it for whatever reason. I did manage to get Bordick's attention, and ordered a Shake Your Tree (the most important thing about craft beer is thinking up ridiculous names that are as embarrassing as possible to say out loud). Now I can't say that I've never been served a pint by the top defensive shortstop of 1999.

I stepped out to get some fresh air and a chicken gyro from the food truck, then made my way back to the brewing tanks, where there were a few tables and games set up. It was less crowded there, which gave me a close-up view of infielder (and surprise owner of a .305 batting average in 2019) Hanser Alberto, who was playing cornhole with some small children. A little later, he took his own turn at tending bar, and paused to take a few selfies with fans as things were winding down. I got my own photo with Hanser, and told him that I was sure he would win the batting crown in 2020. He responded with a thumbs-up, so I think that confirms it. Now we just need to actually have a season of some sort.