Larry Sheets, 1989 Topps #98

24 hours ago, Chris Davis was sitting on the Orioles' bench, given a night off because, in his own words, "I've been sucking lately". A 4-for-36 slump and a tough matchup in White Sox lefty Chris Sale gave Buck Showalter all of the motivation he needed to start red-hot Steve Pearce at first base and slide Delmon Young into the lineup at DH. A few hours later, Davis was called upon to pinch hit for Young (who had gone 3-for-4 in his stead) against Chicago's righthanded closer Ronald Belisario. What he did next was something that no Oriole pinch hitter had done in nearly 26 years: hit a walkoff home run.

Crush's blast to right field came with one out, two runners on base, a full count, and the O's trailing 4-3.  As he rounded third base, the slugger took off his helmet and bowled it into his teammates, who were waiting at home to mob him. Surprisingly, the Birds hadn't gotten a game-ending homer from a pinch hitter since August 24, 1988, when Larry Sheets batted for Rene Gonzales and turned a ninth-inning, 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 victory over Mike Schooler and the Mariners.

Chris Davis took a very good shot at unsucking last night.

Dave Schmidt, 1989 Topps #677

You have my word that I don't consider myself an overly superstitious fan. But the Orioles, who finally dropped out of first place with last night's ugly 5-1 loss to the Rays, are clinging to a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning this afternoon. They have gotten seven great innings of two-hit ball from Brian Matusz, as well as Endy Chavez's first home run since last August, and I don't want either of those things to go to waste.

In that spirit, I give you Dave Schmidt, who earned a pretty goofy save with three scoreless innings in relief of Mark Williamson on April 29, 1988. The Orioles beat the White Sox 9-0 on a Friday night in old Comiskey Park. This game was noteworthy as the first win for Baltimore following a major-league record 21 straight losses to open the 1988 season. Cal Ripken, Jr. did most of the damage with three runs scored in addition to a home run, a double, and a pair of singles. After Williamson limited the Pale Hose to three singles in six innings, Schmidt took the ball and permitted nothing more than a Donnie Hill single in his three frames.

Sure, a 6-game slide is nothing compared to a 21-gamer, but I'd still like to see the Birds snap out of their funk today.

Bob Milacki, 1989 Topps #324

If you haven't already bookmarked the Baltimore Sun's Toy Department blog, do it already. It's worthwhile just for Mike Klingaman's "Catching Up" series, which I've mentioned here before. Last week he spoke with Bob Milacki, who spent parts of five seasons pitching for the Orioles. You can read the whole thing here, but I'll give you the gist too. Milacki is now the pitching coach for the Phillies' AA Reading club, which is managed by fellow ex-Oriole Mark Parent. He seems to have a self-deprecating sense of humor, mentioning that he has a bottle of champagne in his trophy case at home from the combined no-hitter that he pitched. It's signed by all four pitchers: Milacki, Mark Williamson, Gregg Olson, and the late Mike Flanagan. The righthander mentions that there aren't many other notable keepsakes in that trophy case. He also recalls his retirement in the mid-1990s, saying that "my fastball had caught up to my changeup". It's a pretty good line.

Oswald Peraza, 1989 Topps #297

Do you want to know how cool my younger sister is? She's getting married this Friday, and I'm in the wedding party. I came home last night after having dinner with an old friend, and there was a smallish box sitting on the kitchen table. She told me that it was my gift for being in the wedding, and insisted that I open it right then and there. She's always been impatient when it comes to both giving and receiving gifts. I lifted the flap, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but 50 - that's fifty - packs of junk wax, courtesy of an Amazon.com offer!

These old, unopened packs of cards spanned the years 1986-1994, so I was a bit anxious as I sifted through the box. After all, it could've been like those Fairfield repacks, where they load you up with tons of 1986-1991 Topps, which is at the absolute bottom of my needs list. (More on that later.) But, saints be praised, each and every one of those packs was from a different set and series! There were even a few packs from my recently-mentioned half-completed sets, like 1994 Score and 1994 Collector's Choice. Sure, there were a few packs from sets I've already completed (1993 Upper Deck, 1989 Topps), but that's a near-inevitability at this point. I'm still going to have a lot of fun ripping open all of those forgotten, unloved bundles of cardboard! In case you're wondering what this concoction looks like, here's an image pulled from the item page on Amazon.

As I mentioned, I've got much more junk Topps than I know what to do with, which includes Mr. Oswald Peraza, who combined with Jose Mesa as the "fruits" of the trade that sent Mike Flanagan to Toronto. Anyway, it's probable that I will be moving into a new house (new to me, anyway) in about a month. I have boxes full of duplicate cards from the 1988 through 1991 Topps sets that I'd rather not lug with me to the new digs, so I'm giving you readers and fellow bloggers and collectors the first crack at it all. If by some crazy chance you still haven't completed any of those four sets, send me a want list and I'll pull together a package for trade. Because I don't expect you to trade treasure for trash, the wants I'll be looking to fill in my own collection will be of a similar vintage: 1986, 1990, and 1992 Topps and 1989 Upper Deck will come first. Some of the want lists are already posted in the left sidebar of my other blog. If you don't have what I need, we'll work something else out. After all, I'll always take any Orioles, and there are a few other sets from the past few decades that I keep meaning to complete one of these days. As always, email your requests to brotz13 AT gmail DOT com.

The deadline to propose a trade is Monday, November 2. What happens after that? I take the excess dupes to Goodwill, where they'll find their way to a kid who doesn't know any better or an adult who's feeling nostalgic.

So get to emailing while I try to tackle four dozen packs of pre-wild-card-era whimsy!

Gregg Olson, 1989 Topps #161

UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that Le'Ron went to Alabama, not Auburn. As someone who is friends with an Auburn graduate, I am aware that such a lapse is a cardinal sin on my part. The lesson, as always: no matter how sure you think you are, always look it up first. Oops.

From one McClain to another. Sure, the player pictured above is closer Gregg Olson, the newest inductee to the Orioles Hall of Fame. But I posted this card because it depicts "the Otter" in his Auburn Tigers uniform. Since the O's have the day off, I don't think they'll hold a grudge if I talk a little football. The Ravens opened the NFL season in style today, pounding the visiting Bengals 17-10 with a major contribution by another Auburn Tiger, young fullback Le'Ron McClain. After carrying the ball 16 times total in the 2007 season, the second-year pro had a career day, toting the pigskin 19 times for 86 yards to wear down the Cincinnati defense. He also showed good hands out of the backfield, grabbing two passes for 24 yards in support of rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. He moves pretty well for a guy who tips the scales at 260 pounds. In case you're curious, Gregg Olson is listed at 206 pounds. At 6'4", Gregg stands four inches taller than Le'Ron.

While I certainly wish that Baltimore had two strong franchises to root for, it is nice to be able to celebrate a strong performance by one club. The Orioles' neighbors in purple and black will have to keep me distracted until the tenants of Camden Yards are ready to uphold their end of the bargain.

Terry Kennedy, 1989 Topps #705

I'll say one thing for Terry Kennedy; he took a good picture. Some of the most memorable cards in my collection feature TK: on his 1987 Topps card, he seems to be shouting at a teammate or opponent from his perch in the dugout; he also has a great 1992 Upper Deck card with a closeup of his eyes framed by his catchers' mask. The card I'm featuring today is right up there with the best of them. It's an uncharacteristically dynamic action shot for the 1989 Topps set, with Terry perched over home plate, mask already flung away, waiting anxiously for the relay throw as the coaches look on from the blurry Oriole dugout. The intense concentration is etched on his face as the unseen base runner barrels down the third base line.

Terry became the first second-generation Orioles player when he arrived from San Diego along with Mark Williamson in the October 1986 trade that sent Storm Davis to the Padres. His father Bob had been a third baseman and outfielder for the O's in their infancy. The younger Kennedy had the unenviable task of replacing an all-time fan favorite in Rick Dempsey. While Terry was named to the All-Star team in 1987, it was more on name recognition than merit; the three-time National League All-Star batted just .250 that year. It would be his last year as a full time player. In 1988, Terry was one of many Birds to have a lousy year, dropping to .226 with just three home runs in 85 games. The following January, he was swapped to the Giants for fellow catcher Bob Melvin, who was a dependable part-timer for the O's for the next three years.

The future is bearing down on Terry Kennedy, but he doesn't flinch. Here comes the throw...