Calvin Pickering, 1999 Upper Deck MVP #28

Tonight the Orioles selected high school shortstop Manny Machado with the third overall pick in the first round of the Amateur Draft. He certainly didn't have to wait as long to find out his fate as Calvin Pickering did. In 1995, the O's made the beefy then-outfielder their 35th-round pick. He is the lowest Birds draft pick to actually play in the majors with the club. You hear about the occasional late-round selection that hits it big, like 62nd rounder Mike Piazza. But more often than not, players chosen beyond the 15th round don't make a contribution to the team that drafts them. Either they're lesser talents who were chosen largely as organizational filler, or they're high school players who are likely to go on to college.

In 1969, the Orioles drafted just such a high schooler with their 40th round pick. He was a tall, lanky right-handed pitcher from St. Paul, Minnesota. The youngster chose not to sign with Baltimore, electing to attend the University of Minnesota on a full athletic scholarship. As a Golden Gopher, he played both baseball and basketball. When he graduated, he was drafted by teams in four different professional leagues: the NFL's Vikings, the NBA's Hawks, the ABA's Utah Stars, and the San Diego Padres of MLB. His name was...Dave Winfield.

At least the Orioles got Don Hood and Dave Skaggs out of that 1969 draft...aw, crap.

Ryan Minor, 1999 Upper Deck MVP #29

This card creates the only situation in which you'll ever see "Ryan Minor" and "MVP" mentioned in the same breath. But I sort of feel for the guy. He was clearly the victim of the hype of others. If you look at his minor league stats, there's nothing there to justify the hopes and dreams that the Orioles held for him. As a 23-year-old in 1997, he had a .918 OPS with 24 home runs at low Single-A. As has often been the case, everyone got all hot and bothered over him and skipped him past Frederick the next year. So he posts a .295 on-base percentage at Bowie in 1998, strikes out more than he hits (152 K, 130 H), and...gets a September call-up to Baltimore? Ooookay.

Any remaining chance that Minor had of developing into a hitter may have been dashed against the rocks on September 20, 1998. One week after the guy makes his major league debut, he has the thankless job of replacing Cal Ripken, Jr. on the first day that #8 takes a break in sixteen years. No pressure or anything, fella. Ten years later, his brief career has been reduced to a trivia tidbit. At least Babe Dahlgren had a decent career and played in a World Series after he relieved Lou Gehrig in 1939.

Speaking of trivia, the O's traded Minor to the Expos in December 2000 for a flamethrowing pitcher named Jorge Julio. In the end, that's probably the most legitimate reason for Birds fans to associate Ryan Minor with suffering and anguish.