Joe Orsulak, 1989 Topps Big #181

Longtime reader and commenter Zach knows that I take his posting requests as a challenge, and I like to think that I'm up to the task. He took it easy on me yesterday by asking for a Topps Big card. The Orioles had a schizophrenic presence in that particular set, as all of the action photos used for the backdrops featured the players in 1988's tri-color headgear with the cartoon bird, and the foreground portraits had the O's clad in the brand-spankin'-new solid black caps with the more realistic bird. Joe Orsulak's card shows him batting in a chilly and sparsely-attended Old Comiskey Park, I believe. This is Topps Big, so I'd be remiss if I didn't scan the card back, too:

Unlike most of the players included in the Topps Big sets, Joe actually somewhat resembles the generic beefy white dude in the cartoons. The first panel, with "Orsulak" sporting an old-timey pirate hat and eye patch as he hoists a stack of pilfered bases, is especially choice. I do find it a bit odd that they couldn't pick out anything about his just-concluded 1988 season to highlight. Joe O was one of the few bright spots on that year's wretched Baltimore club, posting a team-high .288 batting average after a year's hiatus from the big leagues. His 113 OPS+ was a new career best, until he topped it in '89 with a mark of 121. But yeah, tell me all about his time in Pittsburgh in the middle of the decade.

Joe Orsulak, 1993 Fleer #549

Alright, I'm back after a very necessary sick day yesterday. Trust me when I tell you that I barely had the energy to take a shower. But now that I'm on the mend, I bring you Joe O and one of the dullest card designs known to man. Still, there is a kernel of goodness on this otherwise ho-hum card. As Joe Orsulak jogged back to the dugout from his defensive position, the photographer captured a larger scene reflected in Joe's mirrored sunglasses. You can see the infield grass and the dirt of the basepaths, as well as one of the other Orioles preceding Orsulak off of the field. It's far more interesting than the primary scene on the card.

Joe Orsulak, 1990 Classic Yellow #T50

I usually take my sweet time ramping up to my point in blog posts, and that's when I even have a point, but I don't want to bury the lede this time. So here goes: my 60 year-old high school track and field/cross-country coach tried out to be an Orioles ballboy yesterday.

I heard about it from Keith Mills during his 6:30 AM sports report on 98 Rock's morning radio show as I drove into work today. When he uttered the name "Gene Hoffman", I just about swerved into the next lane. (For a colorful anecdote about my own personal history with Coach Hoffman, read this blog post from 2008.) According to Keith, he had just parked his car at Oriole Park at Camden Yards when he ran into Gene, with whom he was already acquainted because you can't throw a rock in Baltimore without hitting someone that Keith Mills knows personally. Hoffman explained that just by trying out, he'd be fulfilling one of his dreams: scooping ground balls on the field at the O's ballpark. It didn't bother him that he was decades older than the majority of the other applicants. As he told his coworker Matt (a friend and former classmate of mine, and a diehard Oriole fan in his own right), the age requirement was 18+ and by that measure he was the most qualified person there.

Joe Orsulak was helping to judge the hopefuls, and Keith claims that he ensured that at least one fungo was hit out onto the grass so that Gene could range over from the third base-side foul territory and realize his goal of snagging a grounder on the playing field. He dove for it and everything! The invaluable secondhand account I received from Matt fills in further details:

-Gene was wearing a Cal Ripken, Jr. shirt for his tryout, and when he signed in he was #8 in the queue. Coincidence, or good omen?

-Though he'd run in championship meets and the Penn Relays and spoken at many public events, he'd "never been this nervous". But it was "a thrill coming out from behind home plate and sitting in the dugout".

-Bob Popik, who Gene coached at Archbishop Curley High some years ago, runs the music for the O's and the Ravens. At Keith's insistence, Bob played the "CHARGE!" rally music when Gene took his turn.

-One last quote: "I don't know the outcome---really don't care, but it was a neat thing to do. Maybe we'll all be there next year."

For my part, I'd like to wish Gene Hoffman luck, and just hearing about his tryout made my day.

Joe Orsulak, 1993 Topps #28

Posting that Joe O card last night reminded me that some of my favorite Orioles cards feature Orsulak as the subject. There's just something about him that is so expressive and it comes through in these pictures. A lot of times, he's grimacing or concentrating heavily - even his smile has a hint of a groan in it. Do yourself a favor and click on the "Joe Orsulak" tag at the bottom of this entry. You'll see that I've posted some doozies.

Joe Orsulak, 1988 Fleer Update #U-2

Fred Lynn (left) and Joe Orsulak (right) want to know what the hell you're staring at.

Joe Orsulak, 2010 Orioles Alumni Postcards

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you generally have to take the good with the bad. For instance, I don't do lengthy trade posts with scans of a couple dozen cards and explanations of the significance of each. Don't get me wrong; I'm not vehemently opposed to trade posts like some people. They have their place, but I prefer them in small doses. They're just not part of my blogging style. So that's the good. I don't try to force it vis a vis long and image-intensive trade posts.

However, I do tend to go in the other direction, milking a single transaction for several posts in a short span. This is the third card I've featured in a week from out-of-state Oriole fan Randy. This one was the most thoughtful contribution. Randy's employer had a company day at Camden Yards last year, with a private suite and everything. He wasn't personally able to make it, so his boss brought this card back. Joe Orsulak dropped by the suite, as Orioles Alumni often do to mingle with the team's benefactors. When I mentioned a few weeks back that I had narrowly missed an opportunity to get Joe O's autograph, Randy thought I might appreciate this. Of course I do. Now that I've put this up on the blog, hopefully I'll remember to put a few Roberto Clemente cards in the mail for him as promised.

Joe Orsulak, 1993 Upper Deck #260

Reasons Why 1993 Upper Deck Is The Daddy Mack, Or Maybe Just The Most Visually Arresting Set Ever:

a) This card

2) Seriously, how great is that photo?

Even the neon gradient stripe with gold script writing gives just the right touch. It's unmistakably 1990s and yet it aged well. I certainly hope that Joe O caught the ball, but the great thing is that I can always play it out that way in my head.

Joe Orsulak, 1993 Score Select #234

Today is a lazy Sunday, making it an excellent occasion for a "just-for-the-hell-of-it" card. I chose this Joe Orsulak number for its somewhat unique photograph. I don't remember seeing many cards featuring an outfielder camped directly under a fly ball, waiting with glove outstretched to secure the out. This angle in particular is rare, directly at field level with the player. It's unsurprising that Joe O used both hands to nab this one. He was well-coached, I guess.

Joe Orsulak, 1988 Score Rookie & Traded #41T

I spent a couple hours this evening opening a package from Andy of Traded Sets fame. A few weeks back, I was home sick from work when he posted a Photoshopped image: a mosaic-type composite image taken from several 1988 Topps cards. By scouring his old '88 Topps blog, I was able to identify all 24 cards that were used to compile the Frankencard within a couple of hours. Since I was the first person to get them all right, I won a prize that is simply staggering: the complete factory sets of 1989 Topps Major League Debut and 1988 Score Rookie & Traded (including the pictured glorious Joe Orsulak card, complete with Spring Training batboy in short-shorts), as well as a box stuffed with a few hundred 2008 and 2009 Topps and Upper Deck cards. Even the few doubles were a very welcome sight, the better to restock my trading pile.

The box that Andy set was assembled with great care. Each small box of cards was enveloped in bubble wrap and wound tight with packing tape, then those boxes were placed in a larger box full of packing peanuts. The larger box was also covered top, sides, and bottom with packing tape. Nothing was happening to those cards in transit. I've alluded to my profound lack of motor skills in the past. Let me just say that if I had thought to videotape the painstaking ordeal that I made out of opening the package, it would have been an instant hit on YouTube.

Now I need to sort, catalog, and store these cards, along with recent deliveries from Greg the Night Owl and readers Jeffrey, Matt, and Alan. Then there are the stacks of cards piled on my dresser, and computer desk, and in my den...

Feel free to grab me by the shoulders and shake vigorously. It probably won't do any good.

Joe Orsulak, 1989 Upper Deck #429

Yesterday my other sports love, the Baltimore Ravens, drafted the man who will hopefully be their quarterback of the future. His name is Joe, and he's a native of New Jersey. In honor of Joe Flacco, here's another Jersey Joe who was very popular in Charm City. Joe Orsulak was one of those guys that was never the most talented player on the team, but he was quietly consistent. From 1988 through 1993, he hit between .269 and .289 every year. It seemed like he was always diving for fly balls in the outfield, getting his uniform dirty and compensating for any lack of speed and size. He just epotimized the blue-collar everyman, which really helped the Baltimore fans to connect with him. Joe Flacco might have all of the physical gifts that he needs to succeed, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that those gifts will translate to the NFL and he'll be the next Joe to be treated as a local hero.