Eddie Murray, 1986 Fleer #282

Tonight's game looked really nasty in the top of the third inning, when poor defense, poor pitching, and poor umpiring conspired to chase Kevin Gausman from the mound after two and a third innings. It was 4-0, and the bases were still loaded. Chaz Roe, fresh off the disabled list, induced a double play grounder to end the inning, and the O's bats awakened from their long slumber to tie the game with a four-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning. Chris Davis' two-run homer knotted it up and ensured the O's of scoring more than three runs in a game for the first time since their last win one week ago. They also spent the prior week failing to exceed three runs in any game. What I'm saying is that the offense is not thriving. So I'm resorting to the ever-reliable Eddie Murray talisman. Let's go O's! Score some runs, break this slide, or Eddie's gonna come straighten you out.

Wayne Gross, 1986 Fleer #276

Things I never would have guessed before checking Baseball Reference: in 1984, Wayne Gross ranked third among Oriole players with 22 home runs and 64 RBI, trailing only the exalted duo of Murray and Ripken. Though he batted just .216, his 68 walks boosted his on-base percentage to a healthy .346. He also slugged .442, giving him an OPS+ of 120 for the year. His 22 homers matched a career high set in 1977, his rookie season with Oakland. During that '77 campaign, Wayne made his only All-Star team. That one was a surprise to me, too.

John Shelby, 1986 Fleer #287

John Shelby was definitely not known for his hitting, as you might expect for a guy who scraped together a mere .281 on-base percentage in an 11-year career. But he had his moments. Consider his performance on June 15, 1983 in a 10-inning, 11-8 O's victory at Milwaukee. Batting leadoff for the Birds, "T-Bone" reached base five times in six tries, with a pair of walks, three singles, two runs scored, two batted in, and a stolen base. His efforts helped the Orioles rally from a 7-0 hole in the seventh and eighth innings, though the biggest blow was a Cal Ripken three-run homer. But Shelby was right there again as Baltimore put up a four-spot in extras: his single off of Brewers reliever Bob Gibson (no, the other one) scored Joe Nolan with the go-ahead run, and John subsequently stole second and scored the eventual winning run on a Ripken double. Not a bad day's work for the center fielder.

Storm Davis, 1986 Fleer #271

I didn't expect to still be receiving wedding gifts six weeks after saying "I do". But today, a plain white envelope arrived from reader Alan, who is much more proactive about collecting Oriole autographs than I am. As he'd promised some days ago, he sent me five autographed O's cards: Tim Stoddard, Scott McGregor, Tom Niedenfuer, Bob Milacki, and ol' George Earl Davis, pictured above. Storm was a better pitcher for the Birds than I'd realized; he only had one subpar season in his initial five-year tenure in Baltimore. Even though he was only 20 years old when he debuted in 1982, Davis posted a 54-40 record and a 3.65 ERA (110 ERA+) in the first half-decade of his career. He completed 27 of his 121 starts. At that juncture, the Orioles traded their young middle-rotation starter for 31-year-old catcher Terry Kennedy and middle reliever Mark Williamson. Kennedy was gone in two years, and Williamson stuck around for eight mostly-competent seasons out of the bullpen. Storm soon landed in Oakland, won 35 games in a two-season span on the strength of the great team behind him, and wound up as a free-agent flop in Kansas City. He had good seasons as a reliever for the Orioles in 1992 and the Tigers in 1994, but never pitched in the majors again after the strike that ended the latter season. That's certainly not the career path that many would have predicted when ex-teammate Mike Flanagan was referring to him as "Cy Clone" due to his similarity to Jim Palmer. But baseball history is rarely tidy.

Mike Boddicker, 1986 Fleer #269

Some bizarre yet encouraging news came out today about former Orioles pitcher and broadcaster Mike Boddicker. The native Kansan was diagnosed with cancer recently, but it was confined to his tonsils. I've never heard of something like that, but a little Internet research tells me that tonsillar cancer affects more than 8,000 Americans per year. It seems that Mike was fortunate to receive his diagnosis early. Three weeks ago, the tonsils were removed. A follow-up biopsy of the lymph nodes came back negative, but he will still undergo localized radiation treatments as a precaution. Roch Kubatko reports that Boddicker is feeling fine and looks forward to a hunting trip this week. I wouldn't be game for that kind of activity even in perfect health, so I hope and think that Mike will be alright.

Sammy Stewart, 1986 Fleer #289

Do you think Sammy Stewart enjoyed the humid summers in Baltimore? I'm just asking.

Dennis Martinez, 1986 Fleer #280

Things I learned from this photo:

1) Dennis Martinez donates his hair to "Locks for Labradors", a pet wig service that I just made up.

2) El Presidente's head was disproportionately large for the rest of his body.

3) Martinez used a Mizuno glove with his name embroidered on it.

4) The large blurry gentleman in the light blue shirt at top right must really enjoy watching Dennis pose for baseball card pictures.

Floyd Rayford, 1986 Fleer #283

As if you needed any more proof that the polyester-and-elastic era of the 1970s and 1980s was not the high water mark of baseball aesthetics, I give you the sight of Floyd Rayford's gut spilling over his waistband. You and I could fill out a uniform at least as well as Sugar Bear, don't you think?

Jim Dwyer, 1986 Fleer #274

"Howdy, folks! This is your old pal, Jim 'Pigpen' Dwyer, comin' atcha from the not-too-distant past with a brief announcement! Like most good men and women, I'm enjoying a relaxing Labor Day Weekend...um, in the past. Right. Anyway, I'm doing some fishing, a little bit of reading, and of course, squeezing in a photo shoot for Franklin's new vulcanized rubber batting gloves. But I thought I would drop in to let you know that your good friend and blogger Kevin is still toiling in his new living space, unloading and meticulously arranging boxes full of the kind of mind-boggling garbage that takes twenty-six or so years to accumulate. He's been up since six this morning, and he's a bit too weary to talk about baseball cards at the moment. But tomorrow is a day of rest, Lord willin', and I'm sure he'd like nothing better than to pop back in during the day to do his thing. Thanks for your time, and for talking me out of that Broncos Super Bowl pick."