Mike Young, 1985 Topps #173

You might think that Mike Young is sending the wrong message by yawning noticeably while taking his lead off of second base, but he's actually playing possum. The catcher thinks he's bored and disinterested and tries to fire a pickoff throw down to the bag to catch the runner unawares, but it's a humid day and the ball slips out of his fingers. Mike's already standing on third base, and now he's laughing.

Sure, Young was a mere 6-for-8 in steals in 1984, but maybe he just knew how and when to pick his spots.

Ken Singleton, 1985 Topps #755

Some of the biggest trades in Orioles history have gone down on December 4. Let's take a look at a Meatloaf Special's worth of these deals:

December 4, 1968: The Orioles trade John Mason and Curt Blefary to the Houston Astros for Mike Cuellar, Elijah Johnson, and Enzo Hernandez. We can cut to the chase here; Mason and Johnson never made the majors and the historically weak-hitting Hernandez was dealt to San Diego in the Pat Dobson swap before making his MLB debut, so this one comes down to the 1965 Rookie of the Year Blefary straight-up for Cuellar. Blefary, battling alcoholism, lasted four more seasons in the big leagues, only one of which was spent in Houston (.253/.347/.393, 109 OPS+, 1.6 bWAR, 12 HR, 67 RBI). The Cuban righty, meanwhile, lasted eight seasons in Baltimore, which was good enough for three American League pennants, one World Series title, one Cy Young Award, and a pair of All-Star appearances. His O's totals: 143 wins, 88 losses, a 3.18 ERA, 133 complete games, and a 109 ERA+. He accumulated a pitching bWAR (Baseball-Reference's Wins Above Replacement) of 17.4 in that span. So this exchange was a clear win for the Birds.

December 4, 1974: The Orioles trade Bill Kirkpatrick, Rich Coggins, and Dave McNally to the Montreal Expos for Mike Torrez and Ken Singleton. Again, Kirkpatrick was a career minor leaguer, so out he goes. Coggins, who'd seen his OPS plunge from .831 as a rookie to .618 in his sophomore season, lasted all of 13 games north of the border before being sold to the Yankees. His career lasted a total of 103 games in two post-Oriole seasons. McNally was entering his age 32 season with a dozen years' worth of major league mileage on his left arm. He added a scant 77.1 innings to his ledger with the Expos, allowing 88 hits and going 3-6 with a 5.24 ERA (-0.5 bWAR) before retiring and serving as a test case in the Players' Association fight for free agency. The 28-year-old Torrez was a 20-game winner for the only time in his career in 1975, putting up a 3.06 ERA (115 ERA+, 3.5 bWAR) despite a league-leading total of 133 walks. He was flipped to Oakland on the eve of the 1976 season in the Reggie Jackson blockbuster. The December '74 trade would be a mismatch even without the inclusion of Ken Singleton; throw him in, and it becomes a laugher. Singleton, also 28 at the time, served the O's for the final decade of his career. He was a three-time All-Star as an Oriole, with a pair of top-three MVP finishes. He gave the club a career triple-slash line of .284/.388/.445 and an OPS+ of 135. His cumulative bWAR in Baltimore was an even 30, which takes into account a dreadful last act in 1984 (-1.9 bWAR). If you like the counting stats, Kenny slugged 182 homers and drove in 766 in orange and black. Well done, guys.

December 4, 1988: The Orioles trade Eddie Murray to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Juan Bell, Brian Holton, and Ken Howell. Welp, this is the one that did not go as planned. Howell, who had been a mediocre reliever in L.A., was quickly moved to the Phillies with pitcher Gordon Dillard in exchange for Phil Bradley. That was fine, as Bradley was worth 3.5 bWAR in a season and a half in Charm City. Holton gave the Birds 174.1 forgettable innings of relief and spot starts in two seasons (7-10, 4.18 ERA, 91 ERA+, -0.5 bWAR). Juan Bell did not make anyone forget the name of Cal Ripken, with a putrid line of .172/.201/.249 in the 1991 season, his lone full year on the O's roster. From there it was off to Philly, Milwaukee, Montreal, Boston, and eventually Taiwan. Murray, entering his age 33 season in 1989, outlasted all of the players for whom he had been traded. He wasn't the star he'd been in Baltimore, but he did produce steadily through the 1996 season and had great individual efforts in 1990 (.330/.414/.520, 159 OPS+) and 1995 (.323/.375/.516, 129 OPS+). He reached the 3,000-hit and 500-homer milestones in the last few years of his run, the latter coming in his 1996 pennant race return to the Orioles. It's not so much that the O's were wrong to trade Eddie when they did. They just got a whole pile of nothing in exchange for him.

Don't be sad...'cause two out of three ain't bad...

Wayne Gross, 1985 Topps #416

On this date in 1985, Wayne Gross and Larry Sheets hit back-to-back pinch home runs in a losing effort, as the Orioles fell to the Indians 8-5. Scott McGregor had a true disaster start, allowing five runs without getting an out. Ken Dixon saved the bullpen by pitching eight and one-third innings of relief, but the Birds trailed 8-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Mike Young and Jim Dwyer made two quick outs against Cleveland reliever Jerry Reed, and then Earl Weaver sent Gross up to bat for Rick Dempsey. The third baseman responded with a solo homer, his tenth of the year and the penultimate of his career. Next, Weaver called upon Larry Sheets to replace Rich Dauer at bat...and Sheets also went deep, his 13th on the season. But just as things were getting interesting, Floyd Rayford popped out to second baseman Tony Bernazard to end the game. If only Earl Weaver had a few more pinch hitters in his arsenal.

As an aside, I just looked at Wayne Gross' stat line for the season: 11 home runs and 18 RBI in 217 at-bats, with a .235/.369/.424 triple slash. That's pretty incredible. He drove himself in 11 times, and drove in other players only seven times. What's more, a couple of his homers were three-run shots; so he only had three RBI that didn't come via the home run. I'm sure that means...something.

Scott McGregor, 1985 Topps #550

On this date in 1976, the Orioles and Yankees completed a massive ten-player trade that stocked the O's roster for the next decade. Going to New York: Grant Jackson, Doyle Alexander, Ken Holtzman, Jimmy Freeman, and Elrod Hendricks. Coming to Baltimore: Rick Dempsey, Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan. Dempsey claims that Ron Guidry was originally supposed to be sent to the Birds as well, but he's never let facts get in the way of a good story, so who knows? As it was, the O's came out on top in this swap, as Rick, Scotty, and Tippy combined to play parts of 36 seasons in Charm City. All were contributors to the 1979 American League Champions and the 1983 World Champions, and kept the Orioles competitive in most other seasons as well. Even Rudy May won 29 games in a year and a half in Baltimore. I don't say this often, but thank you, Yankees!

Eddie Murray, 1985 Topps #701

So when I posted an Eddie Murray card yesterday, I had no clue that the O's would go out and tie a team record by hitting seven home runs in a game, which they'd previously done on May 17, 1967 and again on August 26, 1985. Wouldn't you just know that Eddie blasted three of those seven home runs in the latter game?

I'm going to break from routine and just mention some of my favorite moments from last night's game bullet-point style:

• The scattered few Orioles fans that punctuated the "O!" whenever it cropped up in the singing of "O Canada". I love this town.
• As the Blue Jays took the field, I told my sister that their second baseman (Omar Vizquel) made his big league debut when she was four years old. That was 1989, folks.
• Tracking Nate McLouth's leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning as it soared toward us in Section 92. I saw Toronto center fielder Colby Rasmus track it to the fence, but I never actually saw it land. The roar of the crowd was the only indication I had that it was gone.
• Standing on the flag court atop the right field scoreboard after getting a beer and looking up at the orange Orioles flag, second only to the navy blue Yankees flag. Listen to those footsteps.
• Meeting my girlfriend at the Eutaw Street gate in the fourth inning so that I could pass her ticket through the bars. (She had a previous engagement and had to arrive late.) It all seemed so clandestine.
• The fifth-inning home run barrage: 42-year-old Jim Thome's first Camden Yards tater as an Oriole (he'd hit 18 as a visitor), 20-year-old Manny Machado's go-ahead solo shot into the Birds' bullpen, and the ensuing trivia tidbits. Thome is now the oldest Oriole to ever leave the yard, squeaking past Tim Raines the Elder. Thome and Machado are the second-oldest teammates to ever go deep in one inning, trailing only Julio Franco (age 46) and current Blue Jay Kelly Johnson (age 23), who performed their feat for the Braves on June 14, 2005...against Buck Showalter's Rangers.
• Whoops, I forgot about Chris Davis! Despite two poor at-bats against Toronto starter Carlos Villanueva, I was confident in the slugger/emergency reliever when he batted in the bottom of the fifth with two outs, two on, and the O's leading 3-2. Villanueva seemed to be gassed, and Davis had homered off of him twice in another memorable game just last month. My sister declared that she would forgive Chris for his defensive lapses in right field in the previous half-inning if only he'd hit a game-breaking home run in this situation...and he did just that, turning on an 0-2 pitch with malice aforethought and sending the ball to the opposite end of our seating section. 6-2.
• The Orioles went for the jugular and added a two-run homer each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings (Mark Reynolds, and Davis and Machado once more each) to arrive at a 12-2 final. I remember the last of those sending the fans into a particular frenzy. That led to...
• L. J. Hoes' first major league at-bat. Baltimore's third-round pick in 2008 is a Washington, DC native who grew up rooting for the O's. "Little Jerome" was named the organization's 2012 Minor League Player of the Year earlier in the week, and he was greeted with chants of "Let's Go Hoes". The rookie outfielder grounded out to shortstop, but made it a close play and received a standing ovation from a good portion of the crowd.

Who told the Orioles that baseball could be a joyful experience?

Gary Roenicke, 1985 Topps #109

Gary Roenicke had a big game earlier this week.

No, I haven't gone completely out of my gourd. I'm referring to the game results from the Statis Pro 1984 blog, a new project from Rob, a fellow O's fan. He's replaying the entire 1984 season using a computer game from his childhood, and posting the results along with scans of 1985 Topps cards of the star players. You'll be glad to know that the Orioles took it to the White Sox on Opening Day by a score of 9-1, with Mike Boddicker going the distance and Gary Roenicke contributing a pinch grand slam. Go give it a look, and tell Rob that Kevin sent you! Or not. I just felt like saying that.

Sammy Stewart, 1985 Topps #469

I'll begin this entry with a heartfelt apology to anyone who might have assumed that this would be a full Joe Orsulak week. Never assume, folks.

Early this morning, Dan Connolly printed a letter from former Orioles pitcher Sammy Stewart on the Baltimore Sun's Orioles Insider blog. Stewart is currently incarcerated at the Buncombe Correctional Center in Asheville, NC due to a felony drug charge levied in 2006. It sounds like he's truly contrite and hopes for a fresh start when he's released from prison, which could be as soon as January 2013. In the letter, he mourns the untimely death of his teammate and friend Mike Flanagan, and also pays tribute to the other O's of his era who have left us. It is definitely worth a read, and if you would like to offer some words of encouragement to Sammy, he also provided his address. I'll reprint it here for convenience's sake:

Samuel Stewart, 0390745
PO Box 18089
Asheville, NC 28814

Let me know if any of you write to him. I'm planning on doing so, and I'd be glad to know if he responds to you. We all deserve second chances, and I'm optimistic that Sammy will make the most of his when the time comes.

Dennis Martinez, 1985 Topps #199

I am into my fourth year of operating this blog, and I have never posted a Dennis Martinez card on President's Day. If it weren't for Ryan's suggestion in the comments to yesterday's post, it wouldn't have occurred to me this year, either. Sometimes we miss the obvious. President's Day and "El Presidente"...I guess you guys are going to have to keep me on my toes. If you were fortunate enough to have off today, I hope you had a restful and enjoyable day. I slept in, bought groceries, and started reading "The Bullpen Gospels" by ex-Padres and Blue Jays pitcher Dirk Hayhurst. Viva todos de los presidentes!

Eddie Murray, 1985 Topps #700

This past Tuesday I got a complimentary email from a reader named Robert. He has visited and enjoyed this blog for a few months now, and he requested that I post this very card. Robert supposes that this is his favorite card, and I must say that he has exquisite taste in cardboard.

This is the Mona Lisa of baseball cards, says I. Instead of a knowing smirk, Steady Eddie wears an icy-cool stare. The juxtaposition of his game face and the wide smile of the cartoon bird on his cap is pitch perfect. His afro glistens in the afternoon soon as though it were ringed with fire. His mutton chops join with his mustache to create an unbreakable wreath of hair from his skull to his face and back again. Of course I don't have to tell you that Eddie puts the soul in the soul patch, a finishing touch that he pulls off with aplomb.

If I had my way, this card would hang in the National Portrait Gallery.

Rick Dempsey, 1985 Topps #521

Rick Dempsey is blowing out 61 candles on his birthday cake today...at least he would be if his friends and family were sadistic enough to put that many candles on a cake. While his continued lobbying for the Orioles' managerial job throughout the years (and his complaints and laments when he is passed over each time) have gotten a bit tiresome, I certainly appreciate his decades of work in the Baltimore community, both on and off the field. He was one of the more entertaining players in team history during his playing days, but you don't stick around in the major leagues until age 42 on pranks and pantomimes. He was a strong defensive catcher and had some rare successes with the bat at the most opportune time, rapping five extra-base hits in 13 World Series at-bats in 1983 to walk away as the series' MVP. I've also met Rick a few times in recent years, and he couldn't be more patient and friendly with his fans.

Since I mentioned Rick's longevity, I'll expound on something interesting about his career. If you look at his baseball-reference.com page, you'll see that he pitched in two games...both in 1991, when he was 41 and a member of the Brewers. On July 2, he got a rare start at catcher and had a single and two RBI in four trips to the plate. But the Red Sox had pounded three Milwaukee pitchers and took a 13-4 lead into the top of the ninth. Dempsey made his mound debut (in his 23rd big league season!) and pitched to future Oriole B.J. Surhoff, who had replaced him behind the plate. It didn't go great; he yielded a double, a couple of singles, and a run. But he got those last three outs and saved manager Tom Trebelhorn from having to use another reliever. A month later, he sat on the bench (or in the bullpen) and watched four Brewer pitchers cough up 14 runs to the Rangers in the first eight innings. In the ninth, Rick once again got the call, and this time he'd learned a trick or two. After walking leadoff hitter Gary Pettis, he retired the next three hitters (including slugger Ruben Sierra) on grounders to the middle infield. Not bad for an old rookie pitcher.

Tom Underwood, 1985 Topps #289

A gem of a fact tonight, courtesy of MASN's Jim "Not Catfish" Hunter: Koji Uehara is the second player in Orioles history to have a last name beginning with the letter U. The first was Tom Underwood, who teamed up with his mustache to win exactly one game with the Birds. Tonight, Koji tied him by allowing one run in five innings. Your glorious final: Orioles 7, Yankees 5.

It wasn't easy for the Japanese veteran, who threw 86 pitches and scattered five hits and a walk, but he frustrated the Yankee hitters when he had to, getting several pop-ups and lazy fly balls. Though there were only 22,856 fans at the stadium, the local fans still managed to shout down the visiting invaders, particularly when Mark Teixeira was at bat. He even got booed for cutting off a throw to home plate, which may have been a first in baseball. At one point in the game, play-by-play man Gary Thorne mentioned that 20 million Japanese people were expected to watch Uehara's major league debut, which really hit home. Millions of people from another country, people who wouldn't have known the Orioles from the Royals a few months ago, tuned in and watched them batter a very talented pitcher on a very powerful and internationally renowned team. It happened for the second day in a row. The Orioles announced themselves to Japan in grand fashion. Good stuff.

Mike Boddicker, 1985 Topps #225

Thursday evening, I came home weary from an extra-long commute in miserable, rainy weather and found a self-addressed envelope waiting for me. The return address had a familiar name: Mike Boddicker. The card above was included in the envelope; it was my first foray into the world of TTM (Through the Mail) autographs. It had been about four weeks since I'd sent a brief letter, the card, and the SASE to Mike, not a bad turnaround. I'm thrilled to have an autograph of the last 20-game winner for the O's, a man who was instrumental in the World Series win twenty-five years ago.

I have a pretty good assortment of Mike Boddicker cards now, but I chose this one for a specific reason. It was the first card of his that I ever owned, a childhood relic that stood out even before I knew the first thing about baseball. You get used to seeing the same kinds of faces on baseball cards: awkward action shots with the faces contorted with exertion, blank confused stares, or pleasant bland smiles. But there was something mischievous playing across Mike's face in this shot. He was in mid-windup, but he knew something that the imaginary batter didn't. He was on top of his game, toying with the opposition. I'd like to think that Boddicker had to chuckle a bit when he opened his mail and saw the young, playful righthander smirking back at him.

No matter what he thought of it, the fact that he took the time to sign it and slip it back in the mail made my day.

Storm Davis, 1985 Topps #599

George Earl Davis, aka "Storm", has a classic baseball name, even if his mother did pluck it from a book that she read before he was born. I'm convinced that the superiority of his moniker was worth at least two wins per season above the average, even if there's no way to accurately measure it.

Of course the rich, 55-year history of the Baltimore Orioles is flush with great names. While Drungo Hazewood, Arnie Portocarrero, and Treindad Hubbard may take the crown for most outlandish full birth names in O's lore, none of them ever won 61 games for the Birds. So Storm gets the nod from me today.