Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1971 Topps #501

It's great that Topps started incorporating action photos into their base set in 1971, but an action shot is wasted on Andy Etchebarren. Why would you zoom out and obscure the classic masterpiece that is his face? That could be any old schlub taking his hacks in road grays. Luckily they learned from their mistakes and returned to posed close-ups for the rest of Etch's career.

Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1973 Topps #618

Happy 71st birthday to Andy Etchebarren, the George Clooney of the Orioles. But Etch is more than just a pretty face. He was an All-Star in each of his first two full big league seasons (1966-1967); while he hit just .218/.295/.344 in that span, offense was at such a league-wide low that his OPS+ of 86 was only 14% below league average. Back then, catchers weren't held to a high offensive standard, generally. His defensive marks were pretty strong as well. The 39 runners he tossed out on the basepaths in 1966 were the most in the American League.

If you're looking for a single-game example of Andy's positive contributions to Baltimore, there's July 27, 1973's 5-2 win over Cleveland, when his bases-clearing double provided the margin of victory in a game that featured the O's being outhit 11-6. Or maybe his career-best effort on September 28 of that year, when the unibrowed catcher went 4-for-4 with a walk, three RBI, and three runs scored in an 18-4 thrashing of Cleveland. Have a cold one for the best pre-Ripken #8 tonight.

Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1972 Topps #26

One of the many wonderful things about Andy Etchebarren is his unusual and unwieldy surname. When the name on the back of your jersey is 11 letters long, the nameplate ends up leaking down into your armpits. I've also noticed this phenomenon with Steve Lombardozzi, one of the newest Orioles. Lombo is a utility infielder who grew up in Howard County, just south of Baltimore, and his father (also Steve) roamed the Twins' infield in the 1980s. Steve's also got an 11-letter last name, and it fills up the back of his O's jersey quite nicely. It's not quite Jarrod Saltalamacchia territory, but it's still a fun sight when tuning into a game.

Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1967 Topps #457

This is most probably my favorite Andy Etchebarren card. I love the angle, which makes it look like he's rearing back to fire the ball right through the frame at me. The block-lettering "Orioles" doesn't even look bad, and the juxtaposition with the yellow "Orioles" team name at the bottom is visually interesting. The impish grin and sideways glance suggest that Etch is sharing a laugh with a teammate just off-camera. And of course, we have the Florida palm trees and the Yoo-Hoo sign in the outfield behind him. Who doesn't love the syrupy assault of a nice cold Yoo-Hoo?

Andy Etchebarren, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #124

I owe a debt of thanks to reader OriolePhan, who brought attention to the fact that Andy Etchebarren has the York Revolution in the Atlantic League's Freedom Division Championship Series, which starts Wednesday. Some marketing genius with the Revs dubbed Etch "The Most Interesting Manager in the World", and to that end they've posted three video parodies of the Dos Equis beer ads. Check out Andy's takes on being interesting, on the Lancaster Barnstormers' mascot Cylo, and on the Bridgeport Bluefish. As you can see, Etch is a man of precious few words, but he makes them count.

Vintage Fridays: Brooks Robinson, Dave McNally, and Andy Etchebarren, 1967 Topps #154

With all apologies to night owl and all other Dodger fans, I must quote the Baltimore Sun:

"WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? FOUR STRAIGHT!"

It's been 43 years to the day that the Orioles won their first World Series ever and brought Baltimore its first major league baseball title since 1896. Regular-season AL MVP and Triple Crown winner Frank Robinson clinched his Fall Classic MVP with a solo home run that provided the margin of victory, as Dave McNally out-dueled Don Drysdale in their dual four-hitters. When Lou Johnson's fly ball to center field landed securely in Paul Blair's glove to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base and brought the Series to an end, bedlam ensued. The picture that Topps used for this card is the iconic image of that moment and one of my favorite photos of all time. It's amazing to see Brooks Robinson positively airborne, at least five feet off of the ground, ready to land in the jubilant McNally's arms. I'll drop in a larger version of the picture below, and let it do the rest of the talking. Well, it's from a different angle and a few seconds later, but it's still awesome.

Here's the reverse angle.

P.S.: Happy birthday to my Dad (55), and also to Brian Roberts (32).

Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1970 Topps #213

Since I'm away for a few days, you're getting the short form and liking it. As mentioned recently, this is the beautiful card that reader Alan got Andy Etchebarren to autograph for me at a York Revolution vs. Somerset Patriots game last month. I don't care for the 1970 Topps design, but this is a great photo: "Etch" glowering at the photographer from under the shade of his cap brim while choosing the only bat on the rack that is coated in pine tar. He's sporting some sharp sideburns and a black batting glove that makes me wonder if he ever rode a Harley. A mysterious mustachioed man sits in the dugout, perhaps observing player behavior in a Jane Goodall-type fashion. This card has got it goin' on.

Fun fact: the card number is #213, and as this card auto-posts I will probably be driving down MD Route 213 to Washington College. Go figure.

Vintage Fridays: Orioles Celebrate - Sweep Twins in Three!, 1970 Topps #202

I need a reminder of the good times tonight, an era when October in Baltimore meant a trip down to 33rd Street to see the O's dominate the opposition. This card depicts a mob scene at home plate during the first-ever American League Championship Series, during which the 109-win Orioles squeaked out a couple of walk-off wins over the Western Division Champion Twins before cruising in the deciding Game Three.

The sharp-eyed Birdbrain could tell you that the players who are visible in the above photo are, from left to right, Frank Robinson, Paul Blair, Andy Etchebarren, and Davey Johnson. I'm not sure whether they're reveling in the glory of Game One or Game Two, but both were incredible. In the opener, the host Orioles trailed 3-2 before Boog Powell led off with a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and Brooks Robinson singled, chasing Minnesota starter Jim Perry. A couple errors and a fielder's choice moved Brooks to third, but he was caught stealing home to end the inning! The game ground its way into the twelfth, where Baltimore's Dick Hall inherited a bases-loaded jam from Marcelino Lopez and retired the next two Twin batters to keep it knotted at 3-3. In the bottom of the inning, the Birds finally broke through against Ron Perranoski, who had been on the mound since the ninth. Mark Belanger singled, moved to third on two infield outs, and scored the winning run on a daring bunt single by Paul Blair. It was a rare example of small ball by the czar of the three-run homer, manager Earl Weaver.

Game Two was a breathtaking pitchers' duel. The Orioles' Dave McNally and the Twins' Dave Boswell, a pair of 20-game winners in the regular season, each allowed their share of baserunners: 3 hits and 5 walks for McNally, and 7 and 7 for Boswell. They both did their job in the runs column, however, trading zeroes into the eleventh inning. McNally, who had the stronger line of the two (particularly when you compare his 11 strikeouts to his opponent's 4 K's), stranded two Twinkie runners in the top of the frame. Boswell finally let up, walking Boog Powell and Davey Johnson (the latter intentionally) and turning things over to (who else?) Ron Perranoski. The reliever once again played the goat, yielding a two-out pinch single to Curt Motton to bring home Powell with the game's only run. Utterly demoralized, Minny would scratch across just 2 runs on 10 hits against Jim Palmer in the final game of the series. Baltimore had no such difficulty, with 11 runs to show for their 18 hits off of 7 Twin hurlers.

As you can see, the Orioles had a right to celebrate. I think things got a little gloomier in the World Series, but my computer seems to lock up when I try to research it, so we'll just stop here. ;)

Vintage Fridays: Andy Etchebarren, 1968 Topps #204

I'm currently re-reading Jim Bouton's excellent book, Ball Four. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when the former pitcher described a favorite bullpen time-waster: choosing an all-ugly team. An excerpt:

"Some famous all-uglies are Danny Napoleon ("He'd be ugly even if he was white," Curt Flood once said of him); Don Mossi, the big-eared relief ace on the all-ugly nine (he looked like a cab going down the street with its doors open); and Andy Etchebarren, who took over as catcher from Yogi Berra when the famed Yankee receiver was retired to the all-ugly hall of fame."

If you clicked the links above, I'm sure you'll agree that Don Mossi is a historical, legendary kind of ugly. He truly looks like something that sprung to life in Jim Henson's Creature Shop. It's worth noting that a young Andy Etchebarren nearly faced Mossi in the ninth inning of a late-season game in 1965, but manager Hank Bauer lifted him in favor of pinch-hitter Dick Brown. Mossi retired at the end of the season, leaving generations of fans to dream of the aborted showdown between the Godzilla and Mothra of Ugly.

You can't help but think that ol' Etch made things harder on himself by refusing to do something about that unibrow. Even if he didn't have the self-awareness to realize it was a problem, didn't he have a friend, a significant other, a sibling, or even a barber to say, "Hey, let's get that taken care of"? Then again, judging from the prodigous chest hair trying to escape from the neck of his jersey, as well as the dense thicket on his forearms, it may have been more trouble than it was worth.

As frightening as it is, I think Andy has actually gotten better-looking in his old age. That is to say, he's aged more gracefully than his all-ugly predecessor behind the plate, Yogi Berra. At least Etch doesn't resemble a shriveled old gnome...yet, anyway.

Who do you think is the ugliest player in the game today? Hometown hero Jay Gibbons certainly has a strong case, as does Cincinnati's own Thing That Goes Bump In the Night, Aaron Harang. But for my money, I'd have to go with Pirates pitcher Tom Gorzelanny, who must be a big fan of The Goonies.