Charles Johnson, 2000 Skybox Metal Universe #61

Ah, Metal Universe, I just can't walk away from you. Sure, it's mostly because the swirly patterns etched in your foil have seared my retinas, but at least you're trying to be something that other cards are not. All the same, you're at your brain-collapsing best when you're unashamedly ratcheting the insanity up to 11. Charles Johnson gunning down a base runner while hurtling into a black hole is all well and good, but it can't hold a candle to B.J. Surhoff's nuclear power or Rocky Coppinger falling prey to a giant emerald spider. You can do better, Metal Universe. Give in to those screaming, howling noises of malevolent lunacy in your head. Do it.

Charles Johnson, 1999 Topps Stars #132

I hope you'll indulge me in a second football post in a week, but it is January after all. Today I took my sister to her first Ravens game, and my first game this season. We had bought tickets online from a reseller on Friday on a whim, and were prepared to grab a Sherpa to help us with the trek up to section 537. But fate smiled on us. One of our uncles is a season ticket holder and he and his wife decided to forgo today's game when the rain started falling this morning. They offered us their tickets, in section 141 (bottom seating bowl, west end zone). We were also able to meet up with our uncle's regular tailgating crew and share in their free parking a flew blocks from the stadium. After grabbing a bite to eat and a few drinks at the tailgate, we walked over to M&T Bank Stadium (oh, corporate naming rights) and had our second bit of luck on the day as the rain stopped. The sun didn't make an appearance all afternoon, but 50 degrees and overcast is nothing to complain about for a January football game in Baltimore.

I generally like to make it to one football game a year just for the experience.  Though baseball is my first passion, NFL games are a different creature. Crowd noise is such a big part of it, and it starts with the player introductions. My sister works for the company that provides the special effects for the Ravens, so we both enjoyed watching the team come charging through the tunnel with its glowing red eyes and columns of smoke and flames. A few moments later came the Star-Spangled Banner, complete with the roar of an "O!" from the hometown crowd. Here you can see me doing my best to blend into the sea of purple while still representing the Orioles, thanks to one of the purple O's-Ravens "rally caps" that were given away at Camden Yards on NFL Draft Day in April 2009.





The game itself was kind of brutal, with the 4-11 Bengals gaining twice as much yardage as the 11-4 Ravens. The Baltimore defense locked into "bend but don't break" mode, forcing five Cincinnati turnovers. Yet the game was still in doubt until only 16 seconds remained. At that moment, Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer threw an incompletion on fourth down from the Ravens' two-yard line. But two interceptions by future Hall of Famer Ed Reed (a University of Miami product, much like Mr. Charles Johnson) and three fumble recoveries gave all 71,088 of us in attendance plenty to shout about. Every time Palmer lined up under center, the crowd noise was deafening. Sometimes it's a lot of fun just to make loud noises for the sake of it, and even though I'll be hoarse for the next few days, I have no regrets. Now, Baltimore's other birds will hit the road for the playoffs. Kansas City won't know what hit it.

Charles Johnson, 1999 Upper Deck #316

Here's an excellent action shot of Charles Johnson tagging out a runner at the plate during the Orioles' 3-2 exhibition win against the Cuban National Team in Havana on March 28, 1999. It was an historic event, the first match-up between an American and a Cuban team in 40 years. The Birds prevailed in the 11th inning thanks to an RBI single from Harold Baines. Who knew that Upper Deck sent a photographer to Cuba for the occasion?

Charles Johnson, 2000 Fleer Focus #213

As I thumbed through a stack of recent additions to my Orioles collection, something in the background of this Charles Johnson card caught my eye. More to the point, someone caught my eye. If you look to the left of the catcher (your left, his right), you'll see a blurred figure in black pants, a white polo shirt, and a black O's cap. This gentleman is Ernie Tyler, a household name to most Birds fans. Tyler is the team's umpires' assistant, a role that he has filled since 1960. If you're counting, that's forty-nine years of dutiful service to the men in blue, and a heck of a lot of Baltimore history: thirty-two seasons in old Memorial Stadium and another seventeen in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The most remarkable part? He didn't miss a single home game until August of 2007. Charm City's other Iron Man, Cal Ripken, Jr., invited Ernie to be his guest at the former shortstop's Hall of Fame induction in Cooperstown, New York. It was Tyler's first day off after 3,769 consecutive games; he outpaced Junior's record-setting streak by more than 1,100 games!

You might wonder just what it is that an umpires' assistant does. Before every game, Ernie does everything he can to make things easier for the least popular men in the ballpark. That includes setting out food for them, laundering their uniforms, and rubbing down the game balls with mud to break them in. But during game action, Tyler really shines. He's known for jogging out from the O's dugout several times per game to deliver a fresh batch of balls to the home plate umpire. He'll often spring forth to retrieve stray balls as well. What's more, he does all this at the age of 84! But then, Ernie doesn't do anything halfway. He has been married to his wife Juliane for 61 years, and they have eleven children. Two Tyler sons, Fred and Jimmy, serve as the clubhouse attendants at Oriole Park.

In a perfect world, Ernie would have his own card. But I'm sure he's happy just to be in the background, doing his thing.