Vintage Fridays: "Rod" Hendricks, 1969 Topps #277

There are a few things that I love about this card. First things first, it's Elrod Hendricks' rookie card, and it's incredible to think that a man who spent 37 years in an Orioles uniform was ever a rookie. As fresh-faced and wide-eyed as the longtime O's catcher and coach looks here, he was 27 when he debuted in the majors. He'd been in pro ball since 1959, with minor league stints with the Braves, Cardinals, and Angels, and a swing through Mexico. But what's more, Hendricks is billed simply as "Rod". I've done my homework, and Topps was pretty indecisive when it came to his name. In 1970 and 1971, they went with "Elrod", which is probably the variation on his name that comes to mind for most Baltimore fans. In 1972, 1975, and 1976 (his only other Topps cards), they shortened it to "Ellie". Pick a lane, guys!

Elrod Hendricks, 2004 Maryland Lottery #30

The O's just-concluded 2012 campaign, and the resultant response by the fans of Baltimore, makes me think of the strong ties that men like Elrod Hendricks had to this city and its people. I'm still somewhat astounded by the realization that I attended 18 Orioles games this past season. I'm reasonably certain that I've never visited Camden Yards more than a half-dozen times in a year before. But it makes sense: I live closer to the stadium than I ever have before, I've been blessed with a bit more discretionary income, my parents gifted me with a Legends series six-pack of tickets, and of course the O's held up their own end of the bargain by making things fun and exciting again (and eventually coming to their senses and offering bigger discounts to more effectively fill the park on weekdays in September!). I got more than my money's worth for the 22% of the club's 83 regular season and postseason home schedule that I witnessed in person. The Birds went 48-35 at Oriole Park, a .578 winning percentage. But through uncommon good luck, they went 14-4 in the games I attended for a .778 winning percentage! You could root through the past six months of archives to figure out which games I saw, but there's no need for that. Out of the kindness of my heart, I cobbled together a fancy-schmancy results table on Baseball Reference. Observe!

Rk	Gm#	Date		Tm	Opp		R	RA	Inn	W-L	Rank	GB	Win	Loss	Save	Time	D/N	Attendance
1	1	Friday, Apr 6	boxscore	BAL	MIN	W	4	2		1-0	1	Tied	Arrieta	Pavano	Johnson	2:38	D	46,773
21	21	Saturday, Apr 28	boxscore	BAL	OAK	W	10	1		13-8	1	Tied	Chen	Ross		2:53	N	26,926
33	33	Friday, May 11	boxscore	BAL	TBR	W	4	3		21-12	1	up 1.0	O'Day	Peralta	Johnson	2:37	N	26,669
47	47	Saturday, May 26	boxscore	BAL	KCR	L	3	4		29-18	1	up 1.0	Holland	Strop	Broxton	3:14	D	26,714
61	61	Tuesday, Jun 12	boxscore	BAL	PIT	W	8	6		35-26	2	1.0	Chen	Lincoln	Johnson	3:22	N	15,618
70	70	Friday, Jun 22	boxscore	BAL	WSN	W	2	1		40-30	2	1.5	Hammel	Zimmermann	Johnson	2:20	N	45,891
77	77	Saturday, Jun 30	boxscore	BAL	CLE	L	5	11		42-35	2	5.0	Tomlin	Eveland		3:16	D	35,335
87	87	Saturday, Jul 14	boxscore	BAL	DET	W	8	6	13	46-41	2	8.0	Gregg	Benoit		4:43	D	43,215
100	100	Friday, Jul 27	boxscore	BAL	OAK	L	9	14		52-48	2	8.5	Blevins	Johnson		4:00	N	29,278
113	113	Friday, Aug 10	boxscore	BAL	KCR	W	7	1		61-52	2	5.5	Gonzalez	Hochevar		2:31	N	17,277
114	114	Saturday, Aug 11	boxscore	BAL	KCR	L	3	7		61-53	3	6.5	Mendoza	Tillman		2:59	N	40,456
125	125	Friday, Aug 24	boxscore	BAL	TOR	W	6	4		68-57	3	5.0	Britton	Villanueva	Johnson	2:52	N	25,754
128	128	Tuesday, Aug 28	boxscore	BAL	CHW	W	6	0		71-57	2	3.5	Tillman	Sale		2:30	N	12,841
137	137	Thursday, Sep 6	boxscore	BAL	NYY	W	10	6		77-60	1	Tied	O'Day	Robertson		3:09	N	46,298
141	141	Tuesday, Sep 11	boxscore	BAL	TBR	W	9	2		79-62	1	Tied	Johnson	Moore		3:03	N	23,828
156	156	Wednesday, Sep 26	boxscore	BAL	TOR	W	12	2		89-67	2	1.5	Gonzalez	Villanueva		2:47	N	26,513
158	158	Saturday, Sep 29	boxscore	BAL	BOS	W	4	3		91-67	1	Tied	Hunter	Doubront	Johnson	2:37	N	46,311
	ALDS Game 2	Monday, Oct 8	boxscore	BAL	NYY						N

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/15/2012.

And because I'm a bit wonky about this particular phenomenon, I've run some other numbers:

Wins: Chen 3, O'Day 2, Gonzalez 2, Arrieta 1, Hammel 1, Gregg 1, Britton 1, Tillman 1, S. Johnson 1, Hunter 1.
Saves: J. Johnson 7.
HR: C. Davis 13, Jones 5, Reynolds 5, Machado 5, Hardy 4, Markakis 2, Andino 2, N. Johnson 1, Teagarden 1, Quintanilla 1, Ford 1, Wieters 1, McLouth 1, Thome 1. (43 total)

Call me crazy, but I don't expect another 93-win (96 including the playoffs) season in 2013. But I had such a blast in Oriole Park this year that I plan on keeping up my frequent visits next year. Also, some day I might have to name my first-born after Chris Davis. He's no man; he's a remorseless home run machine.