Eddie Murray, 2002 Fleer Fall Classic #33

As you may remember, when the Orioles are playing especially poorly, I throw up the Eddie Signal. It's like the Bat Signal, but with sideburns and mustache in place of cape and cowl. Rarely in recent years have things looked so dire. 19 games into the season, the O's are 5-14, scraping the bottom of the barrel. They've been swept thrice in six series this year, and are staggering back to Baltimore tomorrow night on the heels of an 0-6 road trip to Boston (understandable) and Detroit (inexcusable). Chris Tillman is looking just as cooked as he was last year, Alex Cobb is not exactly in midseason form, and Mike Wright Jr. is exactly who we thought he was. Zach Britton, Mark Trumbo, Colby Rasmus, and Jonathan Schoop are hurt. Trey Mancini, Manny Machado, and Pedro Alvarez are the only guys who are hitting at all. The defense is uncharacteristically sloppy. To sum it up in one word, yuck.

The good news? Dylan Bundy pitches tomorrow, and he's been as good as the Birds could've hoped. After a road-heavy early slate, the Orioles will actually get to settle in for a ten-game homestand, which can't hurt. I have tickets to tomorrow night's game, and so far I've witnessed the team's only two home wins in 2018. Also, Fleer gave Eddie Murray card number 33 in this set, and I can't tell you how much that pleases me.

Eddie Murray, 2013 Topps Rookie Card Patch #RCP-10

Oh day of days! It is the 60th birthday of Eddie Clarence Murray, long may he reign in badassitude. It would be nice and tidy if this happened to be my 60th Eddie post, but it's actually number 67. Oh well. More is more, you know? Anyhow, just for a lark, I looked up Steady Eddie's 60th career home run. It came on June 19, 1979, in the midst of his third big league season, and it was a pivotal one. In the bottom of the sixth inning in Cleveland, Steve Stone and Tim Stoddard had allowed three runs to the Indians to tie the game 3-3. Leading off the top of the seventh, Murray went deep against Mike Paxton to put the O's on top for good. They held on for a 6-4 win, their fifth straight. At that point the Orioles were 43-22 en route to capturing the American League pennant.

Eddie then, Eddie now, Eddie forever.

Eddie Murray, 1983 Donruss 3x5 All-Stars #1

As promised last night, here's the exquisite Eddie Murray glass from Zach.

As you can see, I christened it with a celebratory long-weekend beer. (Snow day tomorrow!) A Google search tells me that these glasses were from Horn and Horn Restaurants, which offered a series of six in 1985. The others were Cal Ripken Jr., Rick Dempsey, Storm Davis, Mike Boddicker, and Fred Lynn. Now I kind of want to track down the other five. I mean, I only have an entire cabinet full of drinking glasses at the moment...

Eddie Murray, 1986 Fleer #282

Tonight's game looked really nasty in the top of the third inning, when poor defense, poor pitching, and poor umpiring conspired to chase Kevin Gausman from the mound after two and a third innings. It was 4-0, and the bases were still loaded. Chaz Roe, fresh off the disabled list, induced a double play grounder to end the inning, and the O's bats awakened from their long slumber to tie the game with a four-run outburst in the bottom half of the inning. Chris Davis' two-run homer knotted it up and ensured the O's of scoring more than three runs in a game for the first time since their last win one week ago. They also spent the prior week failing to exceed three runs in any game. What I'm saying is that the offense is not thriving. So I'm resorting to the ever-reliable Eddie Murray talisman. Let's go O's! Score some runs, break this slide, or Eddie's gonna come straighten you out.

Eddie Murray, 1982 Donruss #483

I've never understood why some people don't like to celebrate their birthdays. Today is my 33rd, which seems like quite a good number. In the spirit of Eddie Murray, Chris Davis made my birthday all the sweeter with a tenth-inning grand slam to seal a 7-3 win, helping the O's to take a three-game series in Oakland. I'm still not completely sold on the Orioles' chances to make it to the postseason, but we're into August and the games still mean something. I haven't forgotten all of the years when that wasn't the case.

Eddie Murray, 2005 Upper Deck MVP Batter Up #BU-12

Four baserunners in eight innings tonight. No runs scored since the second inning of last night's game. This calls for some Eddie Murray mojo. C'mon, Steady Eddie. It's still a 1-0 game, up for grabs.

Eddie Murray, 1997 Skybox Metal Universe #5

My scanner doesn't really know what to do with all of this prismatic foil, but you can probably see the most pertinent detail. There is a chunk of space rock that looks poised to strike Eddie Murray square in the ass. 1997 Metal Universe never ceases to confound and amaze me.

Eddie Murray, 1997 Pinnacle #65

It's rare that I go a full weekend without posting unless I'm out of town, but for the past two days I was busier than Eddie Murray at an ass-kicking contest. On Saturday I put my new home brewing kit to the test and started making my first homemade beer, an IPA. I did not expect it to take six hours. All that, and it still won't be ready to drink for another four weeks. The next time I buy a six-pack from the store, I'll be a little more appreciative of the convenience for the price. We spent all afternoon on Sunday doing some much-overdue cleaning around the house. I can neither confirm nor deny that we left our Christmas decorations up for a full month after Christmas. Then last night, I made the 90-minute drive up to Philadelphia with a couple of friends to view WWE's Royal Rumble live from the Wells Fargo Center. So that's why I was missing in action...not that you asked.

Eddie Murray, 1986 Donruss Pop-Ups #13

I can't tell you just how badly I want to pop this Eddie Murray card from its frame and let two-dimensional Eddie exist in three dimensions...or two and a half at least. He deserves to loom over the dingy, empty Metrodome. Maybe if I get another copy, I can sacrifice the unaltered condition of this one.

Eddie Murray, 1985 Donruss 3x5 All-Stars #9

I got mail today! It was a pair of plain white envelopes taped together, from Friend of Blog (TM) Randy. Included were some 23 O's cards, many of which were brand new to me. I'll hold a few back for the coming days, but this was my absolute favorite from a sheer visual standpoint. The very 80's Tron border, the postcard size (because the only thing better than an Eddie Murray card is a BIGGER Eddie Murray card), and of course, the sheer Eddie-ness of both the action shot and the inset headshot. Some day I might have to make a list of my favorite cards of ol' number 33. Thanks, Randy!

Eddie Murray, 1997 Fleer #9

It was 18 years ago today that Eddie Murray returned to the Orioles, as the Indians dealt the future Hall of Famer to Baltimore in exchange for lefty pitcher and free agent bust Kent Mercker. The 40-year-old Murray was reunited with Cal Ripken, Jr. and with the fans of Charm City, the latter of whom were thrilled to chant "ED-DIE! ED-DIE!" once again. In a storybook moment, Eddie went on to hit his 500th career home run at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 6, 1996 - exactly one year to the day that Cal Ripken played in his record 2,131st consecutive game. It was one of 10 homers that Murray hit in a 64-game stint with the O's, helping them capture the American League Wild Card with a 35-22 surge over the final two months of the regular season. Number 33 also had a big hand in the team's Division Series upset of the Indians, as he reached base nine times in 18 trips to the plate against the club that had dealt him away a few months earlier. Although Eddie's twilight encore in Baltimore ended with the heartbreak of a six-game ALCS defeat at the hands of the Yankees, he had a poetic farewell. In his final at-bat in an Orioles uniform, in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 5 at Camden Yards, he hit a home run off of O's nemesis Andy Pettitte, cutting the deficit to 6-2. It was too little, too late for the Birds, but that doesn't take away the reality that it happened.

Eddie Murray, 2001 Upper Deck Decades: 1970s #163

Yesterday I completed my second vintage Topps set. It's been almost two years since I reached 100% on the 1965 Topps set, and now I've finally finished off the 1975 base set as well. The elusive 660th card was a doozy, card number 228. That would be the rookie card of Hall of Famer George Brett, which explains why I didn't hesitate to drop $15 on the rough-around-the-edges specimen I discovered in one of my local hobby shops. I'm pleased to wrap up Topps' most colorful, funky set without any real headaches. As you can see from the 2001 Eddie Murray card I posted above, '75 Topps inspired plenty of imitators, but it was never successfully duplicated. Now I'll move on to pursue a number of the half-full, commons-heavy 1970s binders in my spare room. I also grabbed some 1971-1973 high number cards from this store's dollar box, sparing myself a dozen or two wild goose chases in the future. The comforting thing about catching up on vintage cards is that there is a finite goal to build toward. No unscrupulous manufacturer is going to come along and extend the finish line.

Vintage Fridays: Eddie Murray, 1980 Topps #160

I'm a bit preoccupied this weekend because I'm having my wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Yes, all four of them, and the top two are impacted. So it's a bona fide surgery, with the cutting into the gums and all of that fun stuff. It's not the ideal way to celebrate Eddie Murray's 58th birthday; instead of raising a glass to one of the all-time great Orioles, I'll be getting the knockout drugs. I've never had surgery of any kind before, and I've heard just enough horror stories from friends and coworkers (two words: dry socket) to give me pause. So keep me in your thoughts next week, and try to understand if I'm scarce around these parts for a few days.

Eddie Murray, 1988 Fleer Star Stickers #2

Eddie Murray has neither the time nor the inclination to deal with this crap today. Freezing rain overnight? A rainy, foggy, 40-degree Wednesday? That's the sound of winter overstaying its welcome.

Eddie Murray, 2004 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts #35

On this date in 1977, Eddie Murray was named the American League's Rookie of the Year. At just 21 years of age, the native Los Angeleno appeared in all but one of the Orioles' 161 games, starting at designated hitter 110 times and spelling Lee May at first base in 42 contests. He even mixed in a handful of games in left field. Steady Eddie batted .283/.333/.470 (123 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 27 homers, and 88 RBI. He tied May for the team lead in homers, and trailed only May and Ken Singleton in RBI (they had 99 each). All this for a 97-win club that finished just two and a half games behind the Eastern Division champion Yankees. Murray bested Oakland's Mitchell Page (.307/.405/.521, 21 HR, 75 RBI, 42 SB) in a close vote, with Bump Wills and Dave Rozema also receiving consideration. Page had the more impressive numbers overall, but Murray undoubtedly received extra credit for being on a contending team, hitting more dingers, and being a certified, stone-cold badass.

Eddie Murray, 2011 Topps Diamond #651

There might be a few people out there who haven't quite grasped the extraordinary nature of Chris Davis' 2013 season to date. Maybe this will put it in perspective: today, Chris hit a two-run homer in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Yankees. (Boooo.) He now has 33 home runs and 85 RBI in 87 games played, matching his full-season totals from 2012. Last year, it took him 139 games to reach those marks. Eddie Murray (pictured above, having hit a baseball so hard that the universe exploded into tiny crystalline fragments around him) had a career high of 33 home runs in his legendary 21-year career. So it's only logical that "Crush" Davis was this year's leading vote-getter among all major leaguers for the All-Star Game: 8,272,243 votes were cast for the O's first baseman. Contrary to popular belief, I only cast about 130 of those votes.

There is plenty of other good news regarding Baltimore's representation in the Midsummer Classic. Adam Jones will make his first start in his third overall All-Star appearance, and J. J. Hardy's strong defense and 15 home runs assured him of his second All-Star Game (also his first as a starter) in a Jeterless American League landscape. This is the first time since 2005 that the O's have had any All-Star starters via fan vote, and the first time since 1997 that the Birds have had three starters. Back then, it was Brady Anderson, Roberto Alomar, and Cal Ripken, Jr. earning fan favor.

A fourth Oriole will represent the American League as a reserve, as Manny Machado celebrates his 21st birthday today by earning a slot backing up starting third baseman Miguel Cabrera. Young Manny is batting .315 with a major league-leading 39 doubles, but has the misfortune of sharing his position with the reigning A.L. Triple Crown winner and MVP. Machado does allow the O's to send four players to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2005, when Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, and B. J. Ryan all went to Detroit in early July.

There are a pair of disappointing absences, for different reasons. Nick Markakis fell about 200,000 votes short of Jose Bautista for the third and final starting outfield slot, so he's now in his eighth big league season without All-Star recognition. (Nate McLouth surged to fifth in the final vote, so it would seem that Baltimore fans were highly motivated this year.) Jim Johnson won't be going to Citi Field either, and with good reason: he blew his league-high sixth save last night after letting only three opportunities slip out of his hands in 2012. He's already walked one more batter than he did last year, and his earned run average is north of 4.00. If he were on his game throughout the first half of this season, the O's probably wouldn't be looking up at Boston and New York in the division standings. Thankfully, it's a long season, and there are still 74 games left to be played.

Eddie Murray, 1986 Donruss 3x5 All-Stars #13

I've spent much of the past week helping my girlfriend move all of her worldly possessions into my little rowhouse. So this place is in even greater disarray than usual, my body is bruised, and I'm resorting to that old fallback: lookit this slightly oversized Eddie Murray card! It's huge! (Compared to an Allen and Ginter mini parallel, maybe.) No one else could make those bright orange wristbands work, especially considering that they don't even match the shade used elsewhere in the Orioles' uniform. Thanks, Eddie. You're always here for me in a pinch.

Eddie Murray, 2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics #83

This is a great card, largely because of one of the best late-career photos of Eddie Murray that I've seen. In his road grays, #33 literally stands in the twilight and eases into that familiar crouch one more time. His face is hooded in shadow, but you can still see the laser-focused gaze of his eye toward the pitcher. You almost pity the unseen opponent of Eddie Murray.

Eddie Murray, 1988 Topps #4

Look out, New York. The Orioles are coming, and they'll be firing from both barrels. At least I hope so, after sweating out two mostly tense ALDS games in Baltimore. The first contest was tied 2-2 after 8 innings, and Monday night's game was a 3-2 final. It's not likely that the O's bats will bust out against Hiroki Kuroda tonight, but stranger things have happened...you know, like the 93-win Birds needing only a pair of wins in Yankee Stadium to earn a trip to the ALCS. I have a bit more faith in Miguel Gonzalez, the 28-year-old rookie who won 9 of his 13 decisions as a starter and tries to win his third in as many tries in the Bronx. I believe that he and the Orioles will find a way to outlast the Yanks. After all, they've won two out of three in each of their three series in New York this season. They may not have Eddie Murray in the lineup, but I think Mark Reynolds, Adam Jones, and Chris Davis might do in a pinch.

Eddie Murray, 1985 Donruss #47

Yep, I'm going back to this well. Eddie Murray looks pissed off after that Yankees win last night. It looks like I'll be attending a must-win game for the Orioles at Camden Yards tonight. But I believe they can do it. The O's have lost consecutive games only twice since August 18, which takes remarkable resilience. With six days' rest, Wei-Yin Chen should be sharp. The Birds have been defying expectations all year, and beating their old nemesis Andy Pettitte would be plenty unexpected. Let's rock.