Paul Carey, 1994 Donruss #465

I'm not going to lie: I would love a pair of Paul Carey's 1954 Orioles throwback stirrups. The black stirrup with triple orange stripes is a damned sharp look.

Sid Fernandez, 1994 Donruss #396

As you can see here, things usually get ugly when the Orioles and Mets mix. In addition to the Birds' ill-fated acquisition of Sid Fernandez, there's the 1969 World Series, the Bobby Bonilla and Mike Bordick/Melvin Mora trades...by now, fans of both teams are probably throwing things in disgust. But we can and do find common ground in baseball cards. One of my favorite Mets fans is Max, who comments here as jacobmrley. After all these years, he's finally broken down and started his own card blog, Starting Nine. It seems like he's got a unique concept; he's pared down his considerable card collection and has grouped the remnants by theme in nines. (Nine pockets to a binder page, you know.) So best of luck to Max...welcome to the club!

Jamie Moyer, 1994 Donruss #547

We're all about baseball history here at Orioles Card "O" the Day, especially as it pertains to the delightfully elderly Jamie Moyer. Last night, the only active major leaguer born during the Kennedy administration won his ninth game of the season and the 267th of his endless career. He's 36th all-time in total victories, and his next 'W' will tie him with Jim Palmer. After that, he's only two wins away from former O's teammate Mike Mussina. But in Sunday night's game, Jamie unseated another pitching great with Birdland ties for a dubious honor. He surrendered a two-run homer to Vernon Wells - the 506th home run allowed in his career. Of course, when you hang around for 24 years and pitch to contact, you're bound to get hammered a few times. I wandered over to Jamie's Home Run Log on Baseball-Reference and dug up some real great trivia on Moyer's roundtrippers:

-He allowed his first two home runs on June 23, 1986...24 years and five days ago. The first was hit by Juan Samuel, currently the interim manager of the Orioles. The second was hit by Mike Schmidt, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994.

-322 different batters have victimized Jamie, including six current Hall of Famers (Schmidt, Tony Gwynn, Andre Dawson, Wade Boggs, Paul Molitor, and Cal Ripken, Jr.). At a glance, as many as 15 others could be enshrined in Cooperstown when the smoke from the Steroid Era clears.

-Manny Ramirez is Moyer's most frequent flier with 10 home runs. Rounding out the Top Five are Carlos Delgado (8), Bernie Williams (7), and Eric Chavez, Alex Rodriguez, and Frank Thomas (6 each).

-Batters have knocked the ball out of 42 different ballparks against Jamie. Contrary to popular belief, he never pitched at Shibe Park or Forbes Field.

-Once he got to 400 homers allowed, he apparently couldn't wait to give up #500. David Ortiz hit the big 4-0-0 off of Moyer in a Red Sox-Mariners tilt in 2006; it was the first of five home runs Boston hit against the lefty that day. Alex Gonzalez, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis, and Manny Ramirez rounded out the quintet.

-He's given up only one inside-the-park home run. It was hit by Kansas City's Kevin Seitzer on May 13, 1989.

-Likewise, Jamie has surrendered just one walk-off home run. It came on June 24, 2004. The Mariners and Rangers had been tied at seven when Moyer was called upon to make an emergency relief appearance in the 15th inning. He held Texas scoreless for three innings before Hank Blalock singled to open the bottom of the 18th. Two pitches later, Alfonso Soriano ended the game with a round-tripper.

-He has given up home runs to the father-son combos of Cecil and Prince Fielder and Tony Pena Sr. and Jr.

-Last year, Jamie was taken deep by Dan Murphy of the Mets. Murphy was born on April 1, 1985. Moyer was drafted by the Cubs in June 1984, ten months earlier.

Fernando Valenzuela, 1994 Donruss #408

Today is Fernando Valenzuela's 49th birthday. Which do you find harder to believe: that he is two months younger than Cal Ripken, Jr. and just two years older than Jamie Moyer, or that he's not still pitching somewhere? Of course, given what I know about "El Toro", I wouldn't be surprised if he is still toeing the slab somewhere in Mexico as I type this. Feliz cumpleaños, Fernando!