Melvin Mora, 2003 Upper Deck #78

Next year, Melvin Mora will make his first, and likely last, appearance on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot. This hardly seems possible, since I'm pretty sure it was just last year that I was cursing the name of Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who stubbornly stuck with his own left fielder (Garret Anderson) for four at-bats in the All-Star Game, and saw fit to give a 31-year-old Mora a measly pinch-runner appearance in his improbable All-Star debut. What's that? It's been nearly 13 years since the 2003 All-Star Game that I'm describing? I may need to sit down for a while and wrap my head around this.

Jose Leon, 2003 Upper Deck #3

Upper Deck was pretty fast and loose with the word "Star". Jose Leon was a former 22nd-round draft pick of the Cardinals who was traded to the Orioles in mid-2000 for Will Clark. He wound up playing 88 games for the O's from 2002 through 2004, batting .225/.262/.321 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI. He was last active in 2009, when he played 51 games for the Independent Camden Riversharks and 15 games for the Mexican League's Olmecas de Tabasco. Of course, Jose had his moments. In 2006, he hit 17 homers with a 1.096 OPS in only 47 games for another Mexican team, Piratas de Campeche. Somehow I get the sense that this wasn't what Upper Deck had in mind, though.

David Segui, 2003 Upper Deck #320

Nine years ago, I sat wearily in the left field upper reserve at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It was the sixteenth inning of an Orioles-Phillies futility-fest, and David Segui faced Dan Plesac with the bases empty, two out, and the score tied 1-1, as it had been since the top of the third. Friday evening had given way to Saturday morning, and in my exhaustion and frustration I bellowed a mock-threat to the Orioles' injury-prone designated hitter, implying that I might kidnap his children if he failed to end the stalemate. Instead he foul-tipped a 2-2 offering into the waiting glove of Philly catcher Mike Lieberthal, and the visitors pulled it out in the seventeenth by way of Jason Bleeping Michaels' three-run homer off of Omar Daal. I will never forget the parties involved so long as I draw breath.

Because the world is (sometimes) small and (always) funny, and because it's only natural that we rely on previously-established connections to help us on our path in life, one of David Segui's offspring is now a member of the Baltimore Orioles organization. According to The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly, the O's signed 20-year-old infielder Cory Segui as an undrafted free agent. He played at the junior college level this past spring for the Scottsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes and worked out with his father's ex-teammate Brady Anderson. Connolly also reports that Cory's roommate at SCC was infielder James Boddicker, whose father Mike won 79 games as an Oriole in the 1980s. The younger Segui is making his pro debut for the Gulf Coast League O's today.

The capper to this story is David Segui's self-aware quote regarding his son's lack of a signing bonus: "I figured Peter (Angelos) paid me enough, that's Cory's signing bonus right now. When I die, he's going to get some of it." David's candor is refreshing, even if it doesn't quite make up for the fact that he earned $145,077.72 per game played in his career-capping run with the Birds in 2001-2004.

Jeff Conine, 2003 Upper Deck #317

In retrospect, "Jazzercise With Jeff" was one of the truly underappreciated physical fitness DVDs of the mid-2000s. However, it was probably a bit of a reach for Jeff Conine to dub himself "DJ Jazzercisey Jeff".

Sidney Ponson, 2003 Upper Deck #318

A wise man once said, "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son." Clearly, Sidney Ponson wasn't listening. He squandered his talent and embarrassed the Orioles to the tune of three DUIs during his time in the Baltimore organization. Simply shaming his fans and employers wasn't quite enough for Sir Sidney (yes, he was actually knighted in his native Aruba by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands). He briefly landed in an Aruban jail prior to the 2005 season after recklessly steering his boat near the beach and punching a JUDGE when confronted about it. It's hard to believe that the Birds voided his contract with one year and $9 million left to go, isn't it?

Ponson has bounced around to four teams since the O's washed their hands of him in September 2005, his on-field performance getting progressively worse and his trademark lack of maturity shining through time and again. This Spring he resurfaced in Rangers camp, reportedly several pounds lighter and clean and sober. It doesn't seem to have made much of a difference, as Texas sent him to their minor league camp today. I hope for Sidney's sake that he truly has turned his life around, but as you can tell, I'm not holding my breath.