Jim Palmer, 2013 Topps Allen and Ginter #293

Okay, I'm back from a quick weekend trip to Charlotte, and I'm glad that the Orioles were kind enough to take two of three in Toronto while I was away. For the sake of my blood pressure, I'm also grateful that I didn't have to witness those games live. But as long as the O's have a night off in Boston, I'll show off the one and only Oriole that I pulled from a discounted box of 2013 A&G while on a Target excursion in the Tar Heel State. If you're only going to get a single Oriole in a box of 48 cards, it may as well be 'Cakes. Besides, there were plenty of other great vintage players in that blaster: Stretch McCovey (mini and base), Bob Gibson, Mike Schmidt, Wade Boggs, Catfish Hunter, Robin Yount, and a mini A&G back Spahnie. I also got a mini Bud Selig, but that's why God invented the Sharpie.

Manny Machado, 2013 Topps Allen and Ginter #120

Last night, Manny Machado became the second Oriole third baseman to ever win a Gold Glove. Of course, the other guy won 16 at the hot corner, so the O's are still well-represented in the annals. Machado, as always bears repeating, is only 21 years old. Brooks Robinson had to wait until he was 23 to receive his first award. Young Manny's incredible range, sure hands, and super-powered throwing arm helped him to beat out a bumper crop of skilled third basemen. Fellow finalists Evan Longoria and Adrian Beltre already had six Gold Gloves between them. Baltimore's emerging star was drafted and developed as a shortstop, and is still nimble enough to play at his natural position. One can't help but wonder how dazzling he might be at short.

Of course, Manny is playing at third because of the Birds' incumbent shortstop, J. J. Hardy. Hardy just won his second straight Gold Glove, joining the duo of Mark Belanger and Cal Ripken as the only Baltimore shortstops to win multiple Gold Gloves. Another returning Gold Glover is center fielder Adam Jones, who collected his third trophy in the past five years. Paul Blair is the other O's flychaser to earn consecutive Gold Gloves.

The Orioles took home three Gold Gloves, just as they did in 2012. This tied them with the Royals for the most in the major leagues. Two K.C. Gold Gloves came at the expense of Baltimore finalists, with Eric Hosmer beating out Chris Davis at first base and Salvador Perez besting Matt Wieters at catcher. But then, Hardy topped Alcides Escobar and Jones topped Lorenzo Cain, so THERE.

It's always nice to see the home team add a little hardware, especially when they're receiving notice for their record-setting defensive prowess.

Chris Davis, 2013 Topps Allen and Ginter #288

It's time to put a bow on the 2013 regular season. Congratulations to the Orioles, who weathered a September swoon to finished tied for third in the American League East with an 85-77 record. For the first time since 1996 and 1997, the O's posted consecutive winning years. They set a major league record for the fewest total errors, with 54. They were also MLB's runaway home run leader with 212, thanks in large part to a record-setting effort by 2013's Most Valuable Oriole, first baseman Chris Davis.

"Crush" hit a Baltimore-record 53 home runs and added 42 doubles and a league-leading 138 RBI. His 96 total extra-base hits were also a Birds' team record and were sufficient to lead the majors. The only other players to ever tally at least 50 homers and 40 doubles in a single season are a pair of guys with their own Charm City ties: Babe Ruth and Albert Belle.

I would like to personally thank Chris Davis for bringing a little bit of excitement to each and every one of his 673 plate appearances this season. You can't put a price tag on the feeling of anticipation that comes from knowing that a player could create instant offense with every powerful swing of the bat. It'll be a tough act to follow in 2014, but I look forward to watching Chris try.

Adam Jones, 2013 Topps Allen and Ginter #157

Keeping with yesterday's theme, here's a look at the base card design for this year's Allen and Ginter set. I've never been crazy about horizontal action photos in a brand that lends itself so well to vertical portraits, but fortunately it still seems like the bulk of the cards are indeed portrait-style. Anyhow, Adam Jones is a natural choice for today, since his three-run homer off of Joba Chamberlain was the capper on a seven-run seventh inning rally that allowed the O's to slip out of New York with a 7-3 win and kept their postseason hopes flickering for another day. With 27 games yet to play in 2013, Adam has already reached a career high with 98 RBI, and his 28 home runs are four shy of his personal-best total of 32 from last year. If he can have a good September, the Birds could still make up the three games they need to catch Tampa Bay in the wild card race. Stranger things have happened.