Rich Dauer, 1984 Fleer #4

Congratulations to the Houston Astros, who have a date in Kansas City for Game 1 of the ALDS after dispatching the Yankees in the Wild Card Game by a 3-0 margin. There are no former Orioles on Houston's postseason roster, since Scott Feldman is injured and L. J. Hoes spent most of the season cooling his heels at AAA Fresno. But there are still some familiar faces in the navy blue and orange. Rich Dauer mans the first base coach's box for the 'Stros, after spending the previous two seasons managing San Diego's AA San Antonio Missions club. Ex-O's infielder Enos Cabell is a special assistant to GM Jeff Luhnow, and one-time Baltimore pitcher Dyar Miller is the Houston organization's minor league pitching coordinator. It goes without saying that I'll continue moonlighting as an Astros fan in the Division Series; there's no way I'm letting bygones be bygones so soon where the Royals are concerned.

Tippy Martinez, 1984 Fleer #12

As the Orioles prepare for Friday's ALCS opener against the Royals, today is the anniversary of the game in which Baltimore clinched its last trip to the World Series.

It was 31 years ago - October 8, 1983 - that the Orioles outlasted the White Sox in a 3-0, ten-inning nailbiter to capture the American League pennant, three games to one. Storm Davis tossed six scoreless innings, and winning pitcher Tippy Martinez kept the Pale Hose off the board for the final four frames. Chicago starter Britt Burns carried his shutout bid into the top of the tenth inning before role player Tito Landrum blasted a go-ahead solo home run to chase him from the game with one out. Reliever Salome Barojas failed to retire a batter, yielding three straight singles. Gary Roenicke had the third of those hits, driving in a second run. Benny Ayala's sac fly against Juan Agosto capped the scoring, and once Martinez got those last three outs, the Birds had a date with the Phillies in the Fall Classic.

Dennis Martinez, 1984 Fleer #11

It's the big 6-0 today for Dennis Martinez! El Presidente was born on a momentous day. Other May 14 birthday boys include Hall of Famers Ed Walsh, Earle Combs, and Tony Perez, as well potential future Cooperstowner Roy Halladay. Dick Howser, who managed the Royals to their only World Series triumph in 1980, was another member of the 5-14 Club. I'd also like to give an honorable mention to ex-Blue Jays catcher Pat Borders, who belongs in the Hall of Fame of bad, wispy mustaches.

John Lowenstein, 1984 Fleer #10

John Lowenstein may be one of the premier clowns in Orioles history, but even he would have to tip his cap to Bob Uecker as the best of baseball's cutups. So it's only fitting that the Milwaukee Brewers are honoring "Uke" next month with his own statue at Miller Park...in the last row of the stadium. Uecker, a longtime play-by-play announcer for the Brewers, is clearly thrilled and honored, saying: "This will be great for fans and even better for pigeons."

Gary Roenicke, 1984 Fleer #18

I am a man of simple tastes and basic needs. If I had a batting glove with a little 1980s-vintage Orioles logo on it, like the one Gary Roenicke is wearing in this photo, I would be set for life.

Scott McGregor, 1984 Fleer #646

Now that the world has been spared a 41st World Series appearance by the Yankees, I'll turn my attention to the National League Championship Series, where the Giants have a chance tonight to clinch their first World Series appearance since 2002. They're trying to deny the Phillies their third straight N.L. pennant, and are also trying to win their first world championship since moving west from New York in 1956, as hard as that seems to believe. San Francisco is in this position because they have an excellent collection of starting pitchers, including Matt Cain. Cain combined with two relievers to shut out the Phillies on three hits in Game Three on Tuesday night, no easy feat when you consider that Philly's lineup boasts stars such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth.

It had been a while since the Phils had been blanked in the postseason...27 years to be exact. The last pitcher to whitewash them was none other than Scott McGregor on October 16, 1983. He performed the feat in the Orioles' Game Five World Series clincher, holding the Phillies to five hits and striking out six. It was the final postseason game for McGregor, who had an excellent track record in October: three wins, three very tough losses, and a 1.63 ERA. He also totaled 45 base runners in 49.2 innings, a superb 0.91 WHIP. All three of his losses were quality starts: in Game Seven of the 1979 World Series he allowed only two runs in eight innings, but the O's went on to lose 4-1. In 1983's ALCS opener, he permitted just two runs (one earned) in six and two-thirds innings, but Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt blanked the Birds until the ninth and prevailed 2-1. In that year's Fall Classic opener, he allowed a pair of runs in eight innings but again dropped a 2-1 final, this time to John Denny. On the flip side, all three of Scott's postseason wins were complete games: a six-hit shutout of the Angels in Game Four of the 1979 ALCS, an 8-4 win over the Pirates in Game Three of the 1979 World Series, and his aforementioned victory over Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and the rest of the '83 Phillies. Eat your heart out, Jack Morris.

Rick Dempsey, 1984 Fleer #6

In all of the grind and tedium of the work week, I completely missed the importance of Thursday, October 16. Two days ago, most Oriole fans marked the 25th anniversary of Scott McGregor's five-hit shutout of the Phillies, which clinched Baltimore's third World Series Championship. I can't help but lament the fact that I was much too young to be aware of that great team's achievements, much less to appreciate them at the time. But that doesn't mean that I can't celebrate them now.

Latter-day O's fans might only know Rick Dempsey as the goofy, slightly muddled broadcaster who has a talent for putting his foot in his mouth. But two-and-a-half decades ago, he was the hardscrabble backstop for the Orioles, a talented defensive player whose offensive contributions weren't much to write home about. He played an important role on the team, but he certainly wouldn't be high on your list of potential World Series MVPs. On a team with Cal Ripken, Jr. and Eddie Murray, who finished 1-2 in regular-season MVP voting, who would pay much attention to a 34-year-old catcher with a .231 average and 22 extra-base hits?

No one could have predicted that Dempsey's pitchers would completely shut down the Phillies (1.60 ERA in five games), or that Rick himself would hit a powerful .385, with all five of his hits going for extra bases. His solo home run, double, and two runs scored in the deciding game gave McGregor plenty of breathing room. So it was that the Dipper got the Pontiac Trans Am, dinner at the White House, and a Sports Illustrated cover.

As a final note, the Angels batter pictured above is former O's second baseman Bobby Grich. He was one of the team's first losses in the free agent era, and he never made it to the World Series with the Halos. Do you think he ever had second thoughts about leaving Birdland?

Joe Nolan, 1984 Fleer #15

I enjoyed approximately eight years of (presumably) good vision before things went south for me. I can't specifically remember having trouble seeing the blackboard in school for any length of time, but I do recall the moment that my parents suspected something was amiss. We were at the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, participating in a Cub Scouts field trip. The rainforest exhibit was one of the few areas of the aquarium with windows, offering a view of downtown Charm City. My mother pointed out the Domino Sugars building, with its name lit up in neon. I, however, could not read the giant electric sign. You can see why there might have been cause for concern.

I was soon diagnosed as nearsighted and equipped with eyeglasses, a rare sight in my second grade class. The glasses themselves weren't so bad: a pair of moderately thick, round, dark tortoiseshell frames. I wore them for about three years, and never broke or even bent them. I was a reasonably responsible kid, I guess. At first I didn't mind my bespectacled status, but when I found out during my third grade year that I'd eventually have to get braces, I was a little more dejected. One afternoon I actually started crying in class, prompting my concerned teacher to pull me aside and ask me what was wrong. I told her between sobs that I didn't want to be a geek. (Of course, being the quiet, sensitive, brainy kid, I'm pretty sure my lot in life was already cast.)

During fifth grade, I got my second pair of glasses, with a slightly stronger prescription. If I was worried about being uncool, I didn't do myself any favors: as I was on a Beatles kick, I chose a pair of large round lenses in a gold frame, a la John Lennon. Before long, I was chafing to break free of my spectacle shackles. Puberty had hit me like a ton of bricks - long, oily hair, braces, and a sudden growth spurt that turned my body into a gangly jumble of limbs seemingly overnight - and I was eager to make any upgrades I could to my appearance to better impress the girls that had become much more interesting to me. Somehow it didn't occur to me to get a haircut or to shave the squirrelly wisps of adolescent mustache. Anyhow, I did start doffing my glasses at any opportunity at school, usually when we were doing classwork and didn't have to look at the chalk board.

As my last year of grade school wound down and high school loomed on the horizon, I knew it was time for a change. With the blessing of my parents, I traded my owlish glasses for a pair of soft contact lenses. Though learning to insert them was one of the most thoroughly frustrating experiences of my life, before long I'd learned to slip them in and out without the aid of a mirror. It's now been twelve years since my Four-Eyed days came to an end, and many of my current friends and acquaintances don't even realize that I have a vision problem. Due to an unfortunate oversight at the MVA, my drivers' license doesn't indicate that I should be wearing corrective lenses when I take the wheel. I do have glasses (thinner tortoiseshell frames with smaller elliptical lenses), but they've been around for a decade and are bent up and are worn as an absolute last resort. So I'm still a little vain - shoot me.

Though I became a baseball fan when I was still the awkard kid with big glasses, I never looked up to the Joe Nolans, Ron Kittles, and Chris Sabos in my card collection. I'm sure it would've helped if there was a four-eyed masher that was active during my childhood, but the Reggie Jacksons and Dick Allens of the world were already retired.

Do you have a favorite glasses-clad ballplayer, past or present?

Mike Boddicker, 1984 Fleer #645

Mike Boddicker made his major league debut on October 4, 1980. It was very forgettable, as he blew a 3-0 lead in the second game of a doubleheader against the Indians. He walked five batters and gave up six runs (five earned) in seven and one-third innings. He allowed a double and a home run to Ron Hassey, for goodness' sake. At the time, it may have been hard to imagine that he would throw twenty-three innings in October without allowing an earned run in three years' time.

While 1983 was the fourth year that Mike spent time in the major leagues, he did indeed still qualify as a rookie: he had pitched that single game in 1980, followed by two more at the end of 1981 and a seven-game trial late in 1982. Having finally had some sustained exposure to the top hitters in the game, Boddicker announced his intentions to stay in '83, shutting out the White Sox in his first start of the season and ultimately winning 16 games even though he started only 26. He led the league in shutouts (5) and fewest hits per nine innings (7.09) and was runner-up in ERA (2.77). Despite this impressive showing, Mike finished third in Rookie of the Year voting behind Chicago's Ron Kittle (who hit 35 home runs but managed a paltry on-base percentage of .314) and Cleveland's Julio Franco (whose .306 OBP was even worse; voters must have been misled by his 80 RBI and 32 steals).

In the American League Championship Series, Boddicker got the last laugh on Kittle and the ChiSox, striking out 14 batters and allowing just five hits in a 4-0 whitewash in Game Two. The Orioles won the next two games to advance to the World Series, and Mike was named the ALCS MVP. In the Series it was more of the same, as he helped the O's rebound from a Game One loss by going the distance to top the Phillies 4-1. Eddie Murray failed to come up with a clean catch of a Cal Ripken relay throw; his error led to an unearned run that proved to be the only blemish on Boddicker's postseason record that year. Again, the Orioles swept the rest of the Series and became World Champions.

I began with an anecdote about Mike Boddicker's rocky first game as an Oriole. It bears mentioning because the current team has several green young pitchers who will be counted on to contribute this year. Some, like Jeremy Guthrie and Adam Loewen, have had some measure of success in their brief time in the major leagues. Others, like Garrett Olson and Radhames Liz, have had a rougher go of it. But even if they continue to take their lumps on the mound in 2008, there's no telling where they could be in a few years' time.

I'll try to remind myself of this entry in August, when it's entirely likely that the Birds will be lagging behind even Tampa Bay.