Eric Davis, 1998 Upper Deck #39

Just a reminder: Adam Jones is not the first lithe, power-hitting Orioles outfielder to enjoy a good wad of bubble gum. Eric Davis was blowing bubbles while Adam Jones was still in middle school.

Eric Davis, 1997 Pinnacle New #143

It was only once he'd attempted to use the so-called "invisible bat" in a game situation that Eric Davis realized the awful truth: he'd been had. $300, down the drain. He suspected that he'd never see the traveling salesman again.

Eric Davis, 1998 Upper Deck #424

I remember spending those uneasy early months of the 2012 season comparing and contrasting this year's Orioles with the fluky but ultimately doomed 2005 and 2008 versions. With 27 games left to play, the "What the Buck?" O's have already blown past the full-season win totals of those two lamentable clubs and are now being measured against the 1997 Wire-to-Wire squad...as in, "The Orioles have not been in first place in the American League East in September since 1997". Sure, that's a long time. But just how long has it been?

-In September 1997, I was starting my sophomore year of high school. I couldn't drive a car, hadn't even had a summer job or grown my first goofy goatee. I looked a little something like this:

-Hell, my younger sister was 12. She has now been married for nearly three years.

-The single-season home run record was still held by Roger Maris, who hit 61 in 1961.

-Not one member of that 1997 Orioles team is still active in the major leagues. Two (Roberto Alomar and Cal Ripken, Jr.) have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Two others (Danny Clyburn and Terry Mathews) are deceased.

-The Baltimore Ravens were kicking off their second season in Charm City, the final season of pro football at Memorial Stadium. Vinny Testaverde was the quarterback, Ted Marchibroda was the head coach, and they played in the now-defunct AFC Central Division along with the Tennessee Oilers.

-Here are a few items from the headlines: The deaths of Princess Diana and Mother Teresa, El Niňo, Mike Tyson biting off Evander Holyfield's ear, Steve Jobs' return to Apple Computers.

So yeah, that's what 15 years looks like in the rear view. Sure, the Orioles could still run off the rails; they are one of eight teams in a scrum for five playoff spots and their September schedule offers lots of stiff competition. But no matter what happens over the next four weeks, it's September 5 and the supposed doormats from Baltimore are tied with the Yankees atop the American League East, and both are tied with Oakland for the second-best record in the league. Nothing can take away the memory of this moment in time.

Eric Davis, 1998 Pacific Omega #30

On my Saturday afternoon away from the Internet, I give you this 1998tastic triptych with its 33% foil saturation. One assumes that the designers at Pacific were big Star Wars fans, and that they wondered what it would look like if Eric Davis and his baseball-playing contemporaries had been captured by Jabba the Hutt and frozen in carbonite. Oh, and if you think the Omega base cards are tough on the eyes, you ain't seen nothing yet: there were red-foil parallels. Only one collector ever attempted to complete the parallel set, and he soon went mad and stabbed his way through a crowded K-mart. Okay, maybe not...but you can imagine if it were so, right?

Eric Davis, 1997 Leaf #313

Time is getting away from me. Just the other day, I tracked down a girl on Facebook that was a good friend of mine in high school. We were chatting, and I found myself a bit overwhelmed by trying to squeeze in all of the updates on my life. Of course, that's because it had been almost ten years since we'd spoken.

I could go on complaining about the creeping signs that I'm getting older (like the fact that my legs are still sore and stiff from a two-mile jog on Sunday, or that I now seem to have more married friends than singletons), but anyone above the age of 27 who's reading this blog entry would probably give me a gentle suggestion to stuff it.

Anyhow, while the days and months and years keep spinning by, I take comfort in knowing that I might never be as old as the 1998 Orioles. You're likely aware that 1998 was the year that Baltimore's fascination with veteran free agents reached a tipping point, as they gobbled up brittle, ill-fitting pieces like Ozzie Guillen and Norm Charlton and stumbled from first place to fourth in the East. The average age of the 48 players who suited up that year was 33.3 years, which is an interesting number...

...When put in the context of history. Baseball-Reference.com blogger Raphy sought out some quirky lineups from the past half-century and discovered that the 1998 team was the only club from 1954 to the present to feature a starting lineup consisting entirely of players age 33 and older. They managed the feat on July 23, 1998, when the graybeards downed the visiting Oakland A's 9-7 in a rousing comeback effort. Eric Davis contributed three hits and two RBI, and catcher Lenny Webster was the hero of the day with four hits and six RBI, including a walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to break a tie. The entire "mature" starting ten:

1 Brady Anderson 34.186 CF
2 Jeff Reboulet 34.084 2B
3 Rafael Palmeiro 33.302 1B
4 Eric Davis 36.055 DH
5 B.J. Surhoff 33.353 LF
6 Cal Ripken 37.333 3B
7 Joe Carter 38.138 RF
8 Lenny Webster 33.163 C
9 Mike Bordick 33.002 SS
Doug Drabek 35.363 P

Two days earlier, the entire batting order was 33 and up, but starting pitcher Scott Erickson was a spry 30. Nevertheless, the O's beat the A's easily, 7-1. If only they had kept those ancient wonder boys together all year, clearly they would have been a force to be reckoned with. Ahem.

Eric Davis, 1999 Topps Chrome #153

In my time as a sports fan, I've seen a lot of amazing feats of courage, plenty of examples of playing through pain. From Cal Ripken, Jr.'s 2,632 consecutive games played to Derrick Mason of the Ravens running routes and catching passes with a dislocated shoulder and strained trapezius muscle, I've often shook my head in disbelief. I try to put myself in the shoes of these athletes and wonder where they get the strength and energy to keep taking the field and putting themselves at further risk of injury. But Eric Davis' debut season with the Orioles in 1997 surpasses them all.

At one time, the name of Eric Davis was being mentioned in the same breath as Willie Mays. He was one of the most exciting young players of the 1980s, mixing power and speed in a dynamic package. He had five straight years of at least 24 home runs per season and stole 80 bases in one year at his peak. Injuries eventually ground his career to a near-halt, as he averaged 83 games per year between 1991 and 1994 and failed to hit above .237 in that span. After a year of retirement, Davis felt rejuvenated and returned to the Reds, winning 1996's Comeback Player of the Year award (.287, 26 HR, 83 RBI, 23 SB). He signed with the O's as a free agent and seemed primed to join Brady Anderson and B.J. Surhoff to form an impressive veteran outfield. He got off to a blazing start, homering seven times in his first 21 games. But Davis was not long for the Oriole lineup.

In late May, Eric got the devastating news that he had contracted colon cancer. He immediately underwent surgery to remove a malignant mass, and soon began chemotherapy treatments. He vowed to return to the field before the season's end, a pronouncement that was met with considerable skepticism. Of course the team rallied around Eric, wearing his #24 on the side of their batting helmets. But on August 22, less than ten weeks after his surgery, Davis worked out with the Birds, spent that day's game watching from the dugout, and received a standing ovation from the Baltimore faithful. On September 15, the team activated the 35-year-old and he played in eight games over the final two weeks of the regular season...in between his ongoing chemotherapy treatments. He completed only two of those games, but it was remarkable that he played at all. He had three multi-hit games, including a 4-for-5, 1 HR effort against Milwaukee. As inspiring as this comeback was, it wasn't over yet.

The 1997 Orioles accomplished a rare feat, going wire-to-wire; they won 98 games and sat in first place for every day of the entire season. In Game One of the Division Series, Davis helped the O's break things open with a two-run single off of Mariners ace Randy Johnson. In all, the team scored four runs in the frame to break a 1-1 tie; they would romp 9-3 and dispose of Seattle in four games to move on to the American League Championship Series. Like most of the Orioles, Eric struggled in the six-game series loss to the Indians, going 2-for-13. But he did provide insurance in one Baltimore win, belting a pinch-hit home run off of Paul Assenmacher in the ninth inning of Game Five. The O's won that game 4-2.

Eric Davis won the Roberto Clemente Award after the season, and was stronger than ever in 1998. He set an Orioles record with a 30-game hitting streak, reached career highs with 29 doubles and a .327 batting average, and his 28 home runs and 89 RBI were his best totals in a full decade. I'm running out of superlatives.

Cancer, schmancer.