Sid Fernandez, 1995 Donruss #270

Today it was Sid Fernandez's turn to be featured on my 1993 Topps blog. That got me thinking. I've spent some time smacking El Sid around on this blog, but he must have had a good game or two amidst that horrific season-plus in Baltimore, right?

Right. As a matter of fact, Sid had seven "quality starts" as an Oriole, all coming in 1994. The best of those was on April 28, in his third appearance in orange and black. He pitched into the ninth inning against the host Angels, allowing three hits and two walks and striking out five. The only Halo runs came on a pair of solo homers by Chili Davis and future sexual predator Chad Curtis. The second of those homers chased Fernandez from the game, but Lee Smith only needed three pitches to nail down the 4-2 O's win, Sid's first with the Birds.

Now you can't say that I never said a kind word about Sid Fernandez.

Mark Eichhorn, 1995 Donruss #475

Happy Mark Eichhorn Day, everyone!

What? Don't even pretend that you'd forgotten the 52nd birthday of one of the foremost relief pitchers of the 1980s and early 1990s. Whatever you do, don't tell me that you weren't aware that today marks the momentous anniversary of the birth of Cabrillo Junior College's greatest athlete. I just can't bear to have you toy with my emotions.

All sarcasm aside, Mark Eichhorn was a mighty fine pitcher. The stat line for his 1986 rookie season in Toronto is the kind of thing we might never see again. Despite the fact that all 69 of his appearances that year came in relief, he tossed 157 total innings...leaving him just 5 shy of qualifying for the league's lowest earned run average. That's especially notable because he posted a 1.72 ERA that would've bested Mike Scott's official major league-leading mark by a half a run! If you like the counting stats, Mark had a 14-6 record to tie Jimmy Key and Jim Clancy for the team lead in wins, and he also wrested 10 saves from the grasp of closer Tom Henke. Eichhorn's 9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings and 3.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio were also the kinds of numbers his parents could brag about, if they were boastful-type folks. If Wins Above Replacement (WAR) had existed in 1986, the Eichhorns could have trumpeted his 7.1 figure, which trailed only Teddy Higuera and Roger Clemens among all A.L. pitchers. All of that was enough to get him a third-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Jose Canseco (2.8 WAR) and Wally Joyner (2.9 WAR). Imagine the field day that sabermatricians would've had with THAT vote!

Mark was never quite so otherworldly in any other season, but he had several other good-to-great years before throwing his last pitch in 1996. That includes his 1994 season with the Orioles, in which he had a 2.15 ERA (17 ER in 71 IP). He was no longer missing many bats (4.4 K/9 IP), but the then-33-year-old still found a way to keep runs off of the board. Happy Birthday, Ike!

Harold Baines, 1995 Donruss #538

Since I've already postponed the 1989 Orioles retrospective one day and declared myself to be a master of suspense, what's one more day? Don't blame me, the Orioles news just keeps on coming this week. Yesterday, the team announced that Harold Baines has been selected to join the Orioles Hall of Fame. It's about time that the organization that he spent the majority of the latter half of his career with afforded him some honor; the White Sox got the jump on it by retiring his jersey number and erecting a statue in his likeness.

I've always had a certain soft spot for old #3, the quintessential designated hitter. He got two hits and two RBI in the first game I ever attended at Camden Yards, and he didn't slow down for almost a decade after that. He came home to Maryland as a 34-year-old with the knees of a much older man, but he made a surprisingly bold mark in the team's record books. In three stints spanning all or parts of seven seasons in orange and black, he batted .301 (fifth in club history), slugged .502 (fourth), hit 107 home runs (17th), and drove in 378 runs (24th). He did it all without a complaint or a cry for attention. Harold was the first player to ever log 1,000 games as a DH and another 1,000 games at another position (outfield). I'm just pessimistic enough to sense that he might never get the call to Cooperstown, but he has earned his rightful place in one Hall of Fame for sure.