John Parrish, 2001 Topps #711

Today the Orioles announced their promotional giveaway schedule for the 2015 season, and you'd better believe that I've already compared it to my 29-game season ticket plan to see where the two intersect. I'm in for a few treats, even before I start switching games to optimize the goodies. How about a pair of Orioles high socks for starters? I think I can make them look at least as good as John Parrish did. If colorful hosiery isn't your cup of tea, how about a Buck Showalter Garden Gnome? I'm glad to see the O's branching out from the standard t-shirt and hat giveaways.

John Parrish, 2002 Fleer #228

I'm cutting and running on you tonight, in my ongoing and futile effort to get to bed before 11:30. I've just gotten home from a college friend's wedding in the Lancaster area. You'll be delighted to know that Lancaster is the hometown of southpaw John Parrish, although the last time I checked they haven't gotten around to putting it on their street signs. I'd already forgotten that John started the 2010 season in Kansas City, making nine appearances out of the bullpen and allowing two runs in six innings before getting injured. The Royals released him in June, and it doesn't look like he's caught on anywhere else. Still, I wouldn't say that we've seen the last of Parrish. After all, he is left-handed.

John Parrish and Fernando Lunar, 2001 Fleer Ultra #238

Last week, the Orioles announced that they'd resigned lefty John Parrish, who spent the first twelve years of his career in the Baltimore organization before being traded to Seattle in mid-2007 and splitting 2008 between Toronto and AAA Syracuse. If Parrish and Chris Gomez can break through the numbers game and earn spots on the Opening Day roster, they would join catcher Gregg ZAUN to form a trio of second-time Orioles. Because this is the goofy kind of trivia/minutiae that captivates me, I'm going to attempt to gather and post a comprehensive list below of players who had more than one stint in an O's uniform. In order to be eligible, they must have left the organization in between stays on Baltimore's major league roster. I'll attempt to put them in some sort of chronological order:

-Clint Courtney, C (1954, 1960, 1961): Courtney was traded to the A's in January 1961, and returned to the O's in April after just one game!

-Jim Brideweser, SS (1954, 1957)

-Don Larsen, P (1954, 1965): His eleven-year gap between Oriole stints is a team record.

-Dave Philley, OF (1955-56, 1960-61)

-Gene Woodling, OF (1955, 1958-60)

-Dick Williams, UT (1956-57, 1958, 1961-62): Clearly a favorite of Paul Richards.

-Jim Busby, OF (1957-58, 1960-61)

- Lenny Green, OF (1957-59, 1964)

-Fred Valentine, OF (1959 and 1963, 1968): Was in the Oriole organization from 1959-1963.

-Charley Lau, C (1961-63, 1964-67)

-Dick Hall, P (1961-66, 1969-71)

-Frank Bertaina, P (1964-67, 1969)

-Moe Drabowsky, P (1966-68, 1970)

-Curt Motton, OF (1967-71, 1973-74)

-Elrod Hendricks, C (1968-72, 1973-76, 1978-79): Elrod was essentially loaned to the Cubs for the 1972 pennant chase, and when he returned from the Yankees in 1978, he was essentially a coach who played in emergencies.

-Terry Crowley, OF-1B-DH (1969-73, 1976-82)

-Ross Grimsley, P (1974-77, 1982)

-Mike Flanagan, P (1975-87, 1991-92)

-Rick Dempsey, C (1976-86, 1992)

-Eddie Murray, 1B-DH (1977-88, 1996)

-Don Stanhouse, P (1978-79, 1982)

-John Flinn, P (1978-79, 1982)

-Floyd Rayford C-3B (1980 and 1982, 1984-87): Lucky Floyd! He was out of the O's organization for just one year...the 1983 championship season.

-Storm Davis, P (1982-86, 1992)

-Tito Landrum, OF (1983, 1988): The best of times...the worst of times.

-Billy Ripken, 2B (1987-92, 1996)

-Mike Devereaux, OF (1989-94, 1996)

-Mark Parent, C (1992-93, 1996): One of four second-time O's on the 1996 Wild-Card team. There were also three first-time Birds who would come back for another go-round.

-Alan Mills, P (1992-98, 2000-01)

-Richie Lewis, P (1992, 1998)

-Harold Baines, DH (1993-95, 1997-99, 2000): Had three stints each with the Orioles and the White Sox!

-Rafael Palmeiro, 1B (1994-98, 2004-05)

-B.J. Surhoff, OF-3B (1996-2000, 2003-05)

-Mike Bordick, SS (1997-2000, 2001-02): The O's traded Bordick at the deadline for a package including Melvin Mora, and then resigned the former as a free agent in the ensuing offseason. Not a bad deal!

-Sidney Ponson, P (1998-2003, 2004-05): Same as the Bordick deal, only they didn't get anything good in the trade and Ponson drank his way off the team upon his return. Awesome.

-Jeff Conine, 1B-DH-OF (1999-2003, 2006): Played twice each for the Orioles, Royals, and Marlins.

-Karim Garcia, OF (2000, 2004): Possibly the most useless two-time Oriole...0-for-16 in 2000, .212 with 11 RBI in 23 games in 2004.

-Howie Clark, OF-DH (2002, 2006)

-Luis Lopez, IF (2002, 2004)

-Steve Trachsel, P (2007, 2008): Urrrggghhh.

Whew. So that's an even forty, pending the re-arrivals of Parrish, Gomez, and ZAUN. I guess you can go home again.

John Parrish, 2001 Upper Deck #27

I always thought that pitcher John Parrish resembled comedian Harland Williams. What do you say? One thing is for sure - he gave the Orioles tantalizing glimpses of what could have been, if only he had stayed healthy and pitched with more control. Those are pretty big ifs, of course. But I'll always remember his debut in July 2000, when the former 25th-round pick from Lancaster, PA stood toe-to-toe with Roger Clemens. Though he lost a 4-3 heartbreaker, he actually outpitched a man who would win 354 career games by striking out nine Yankees in seven innings. He also seemed genuinely moved by the rousing ovation he received on Opening Day of 2007, when he made the O's roster after missing a year and a half with injuries. He was incredible out of the bullpen that April, notching ten straight scoreless appearances with 13 strikeouts and just two walks.

This past May, my Dad and I were in the right field bleachers at Oriole Park for a surprisingly chilly Friday night game with the Nationals. I overheard a guy behind us talking about what a friendly, down-to-Earth guy John Parrish was. He had apparently chatted him up prior to a Spring Training game a few years earlier in Fort Lauderdale, and the lefty invited the guy to go out drinking later that night with a few of the O's. I don't remember who else ended up being part of the outing besides Nick Markakis, who was headed into his rookie season. But in this era of closely guarded public images for athletes, it's nice to hear about a player raising a few glasses with the little people that help to pay his salary.