Mark McLemore, 1993 Topps #55

I'm leaving town tomorrow, and the O's sent me on my way by sleepwalking through a 10-1 drubbing at the hands of the Red Sox tonight. We are heading to northeastern Pennsylvania for an end-of-summer weekend getaway at my family's lakeside cottage. I have a random memory of buying one of my first packs of 1993 Topps up that way, at a McCrory's store that was probably closed within a few years. It was a Series One rack pack, and I'm fairly sure that this Mark McLemore card came from that pack. Ah, memories.

Mark McLemore, 1992 Orioles Postcards #19

In my weaker moments, I consider collecting team-issued postcards. I've accumulated a few by osmosis, including this little number from 20 years ago. It's a great action shot of Mark McLemore hustling out of the batter's box on a chilly day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. On the back, there's this inspiring message from Mac:

"Dear Orioles Fan:

The Baltimore Orioles and I are so happy that you take an active interest in our team. We truly appreciate the support our fans give us.

We hope you will enjoy adding this photo card to your Orioles memorabilia collection.

Thanks again, and we look forward to seeing you at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the near future!

Sincerely,

Mark McLemore"

Yeah, if that stilted tone sounds familiar, it's because you wrote similar words when your mom forced you to write thank you cards for everyone that gave you a birthday gift that one year. I like that he speaks for not only himself, but also the entire Orioles organization. He also makes sure that you know that the Orioles have a shiny new stadium to play in. I don't mean to shatter the illusion, but the exact same note appears on the back of Cal Ripken's postcard. I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you.

At the very least, I need to track down the 1995 postcards. It may be my only chance to commemorate Kevin Bass and Terry Clark in O's uniforms.

Yes, that's something I want.

Mark McLemore, 1994 Score #415

I should have gotten around to this sooner, but I was probably saving it for a rough day, and today's third straight ridiculously heartbreaking loss by the Ravens was nothing if not rough. I've complained about the interminable length of the baseball season before, but when you've got 162 games to play (or watch), at least the really bad losses aren't fraught with so much significance. Football games are draining and agonizing in a way that baseball games rarely are. But enough blather.

Last month, the bloggers par excellence at Dinged Corners proposed the Six-Cards-in-30-Seconds Binder Test, or simply Six-in-30. To put it succinctly, grab a binder and pick out six cards that grab your attention in some way. You have thirty seconds. You might think it boring to do this test with several cards from the same set, but I hope that's not the case. I chose the binder that houses my unfinished 1994 Score set. This is one of several really appealing sets from my early collecting years that just fell by the wayside long before I could complete it. I blame my own short attention span - I also bought bunches of 1994 Collector's Choice and 1994 Topps that year - and the August players' strike, which cooled my desire to buy baseball cards for a while.

So why do I like this set so much? Besides the simple navy blue borders and team-colored bars for the players' names on the front, there's the completeness of the card backs: full career stats, two-paragraph biographies, and full-color photos. The busy backs manage to not look cluttered while nicely complementing the minimalist fronts.But best of all are the high-quality photos, which I'd never previously seen as a strong suit for Score. There's a lot of character in these shots, from the goofy posed pictures like Mark McLemore's GQ shoot above, to...

The candid close-up portraits, such as Paul Molitor's...

The preservation of memorable moments in baseball history, like Chris Bosio's no-no...

The preservation of infamous moments as well, most notably Jose Canseco's ruinous pitching debut...
Lots of great action shots of catchers, including Erik Pappas chasing a pop-up...

More action shots in the infield, like Greg Gagne trying to turn two as Harold Reynolds bears down on him...

Finally, photos celebrating the team aspect of baseball, as seen here: Sandy Alomar, Jr. and Kenny Lofton congratulating Carlos Baerga on a job well done. You can also see some strong interplay of sun and shadows here, as well as in the other cards I posted. Traditionally, cards with daytime photos were either washed-out or cloaked in oppressive shadows, but Score did a great job with this set when it came to making you feel like you were at a sun-drenched afternoon game.

This was a lot of fun, as well as a good reminder that I need to put forth an effort to finish the 1994 Score set...and 1994 Collector's Choice...and 1995 Stadium Club...and 1996 Score...and 2008 Topps and Topps Heritage and maybe Goudey...and 2009 Topps and O-Pee-Chee...and 1982 Topps...ugh. Never mind.

P. S.: If you counted seven cards, allow me to clarify. My Orioles are sorted and stored separately, so I didn't count Mac in my Six-in-30 tally.

Mark McLemore, 1993 Upper Deck SP #159

Having finished most of my Christmas shopping for family and friends, I bought a little something for myself today. A round-trip plane ticket to Mark McLemore's hometown of San Diego. Last Spring, Jill, a close friend from college, moved to the West Coast with her fiance, who's pretty cool himself. All that I ever hear about San Diego is how unbelievably nice it is, particularly the weather. So now I had a gift-wrapped excuse to take a trip out there, no small feat for someone who'd never traveled farther west than Youngstown, Ohio. So I talked about visiting from time to time, but mostly as a murky promise of something to come at some undetermined date in the future.

Then, winter came.

I may have mentioned in the past that I am, and always have been, a summer person. I am grouchily intolerant of bitter cold weather and skies that darken before five P.M. Plus, there's the lack of baseball. So when I found myself shivering on the train platform on a recent weekday morning, waiting for a tedious day of work while a nasty frigid wind blasted me in the face, I thought: "The hell with this. I'm going to San Diego." I don't see why not. You never know what the future will bring, so I'm going to jump at the chance while I have the time and the funds. That means that you should be on the lookout for another installment of "This Day in Orioles History when President's Day weekend rolls around in February. It seems like an ideal time to get out of Maryland, as winter on the East Coast generally saves its worst for last and summer vacations will still be several months away.

If I run into Mark McLemore, I'll tell him that you said hello.

Mark McLemore, 1993 Upper Deck #801

Mark McLemore has been running for what seems like days. He lost track of the time long ago. If it weren't for the compass on his wristband, he wouldn't even know which direction he was heading in. He is a stranger in a strange land. His eyes are wide with fear and exhaustion as he finally falters. Stumbling, Mark reaches out with his arms to break his fall. But relief is in sight. He sees his base, his safe haven. Those diabolical black batting gloves that have chased him from Baltimore to Oakland must be long gone, dozens of miles behind him, sputtering as they ingest the dust and brown clay that he left in his wake.

Little does he know that the gloves climbed onto his back somewhere near Reno and sat there waiting...watching...biding their time.