Earl Weaver, 2002 Topps Super Teams #102

Today the Marlins announced that Jack McKeon, who previously led the Fish to their second World Series title in 2003, has been appointed as the club's interim manager for the duration of the 2011 season. This is noteworthy because McKeon is 80 years old, and first managed in the big leagues with the Royals in 1973.  He is plenty old, as countless baseball bloggers have hastened to point out today. He managed George Brett and Rickey Henderson during their rookie seasons, and gas cost 50 cents a gallon when he first took the helm of a big league team (recently having spiked from 25 cents due to shortages). The only other octogenarian skipper in MLB history was the legendary Connie Mack, who managed the Philadelphia Athletics until he was 88. But there's an asterisk there: Mack was also the owner of the A's, so he had some unprecedented job security. He also delegated most of the managerial duties to his son and to coach Al Simmons in his later years.

I'm more than willing to add my voice to the chorus: how old is Jack McKeon? He is three months and nine days younger than Earl Weaver, who retired as Orioles manager for the second and final time 25 years ago. I know that there are plenty of disenchanted O's fans who have spent much of the last quarter-century yearning to see Earl back in the Baltimore dugout, although he seems to want no part of it. If McKeon has any success down in Miami, a lot more people might start pestering the argumentative Hall of Famer.

Paul Blair, 2002 Topps Super Teams #108

One of the things baseball card companies have done right in recent years (and yes, they actually have done a few things right) is to pay more attention to retired players. It's a great opportunity for collectors who are interested in bygone eras to acquire more affordable cards in better condition featuring those names and faces of the past. It also introduces younger generations of fans to baseball history.

I took my father to the Sports Legends Museum this afternoon as a belated birthday present. It's located right next to Oriole Park at Camden Yards and we'd never been, so I thought it was an excellent opportunity to take a closer look at the colorful sports history of Baltimore, and of Maryland at large. We didn't check out the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum on this trip; we'd already been there once, and we stayed at the Sports Legends Museum for three hours as it was.

It was a thorough and excellent experience, and I even learned some things that I did not know. For instance, Brooklyn Dodgers heroes Roy Campanella, Joe Black, and Junior Gilliam all played for the Baltimore Elite Giants, one of the great Negro League Teams. Also, O's shortstop Mark Belanger was the first person to suggest that the team play John Denver's "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" during the seventh inning stretch; it's been an Orioles tradition for three decades since! I took several pictures with my cell phone camera, and I'll share some of them with you when I have more time. For tonight, enjoy this retro card with an excellent picture of Paul Blair showing off his Baltimore road jersey in Yankee Stadium.