Matt Wieters, 2013 Panini Pinnacle #59

Can we talk about what Matt Wieters did on his 30th birthday Saturday night? Things looked pretty dire for the Orioles offensively all night, as Angels starter Matt Shoemaker and his 8.49 ERA shut them down into the eighth inning on just three hits. The O's whiffed 12 times against Shoemaker, didn't draw any walks, and put nobody on base until Wieters doubled with two outs in the fifth inning. It looked like Kevin Gausman would be saddled with a hard-luck loss after the O's righty gave up a two-out single to Yunel Escobar in the home half of the seventh for the game's only run. Angels closer Joe Smith quickly notched two outs in the top of the ninth, but the Birds clung to life as Chris Davis grounded a single through the middle of the infield and Mark Trumbo drew a full-count walk. That brought Wieters to the plate, and he jumped on the second pitch he saw from Smith. Earl Weaver Special, Orioles take a 3-1 lead, and that would be the final score despite an unusually wild performance by Zach Britton in the bottom of the ninth. It's always a special thrill to pull out a victory at the last possible moment.

Matt Wieters, 2008 Razor #54

By hook or by crook, the Orioles have kept their faint playoff hopes alive. Today Matt Wieters took over in the eighth inning, blasting a go-ahead two-run homer off of Nationals reliever Blake Treinen in the top of the frame and helping blunt a Washington rally in the home half by pouncing on an Ian Desmond bunt and gunning down pinch runner Wilmer Difo at third base. O's win 5-4, completing the sweep and sprinkling even more dirt on the coffin of the one-time World Series favorite. That's an 11-4 run for the Birds, allowing them to claw back to .500. With ten games left to play (three in Boston, four at home vs. Toronto, three at home vs. the Yankees), the O's are 3.5 behind Houston for the second wild card berth. It's still not terribly likely that they will jump over the Twins, Angels, and Astros to earn the right to visit the Bronx for the coin flip game, but as they say, you can't predict baseball (unless you were to predict that Jonathan Papelbon would act like a Neanderthal and embarrass his teammates, coaches, and fans, but I digress). This has not been the greatest of years for the Orioles, but I appreciate that they've continued putting forth an effort through it all.

Matt Wieters, 2013 Panini Prizm #17

The Orioles are undefeated in 2015 when Matt Wieters starts. Sure, it's a sample size of two games, but it's good to see the team's star catcher back in the lineup after a year-plus hiatus due to Tommy John surgery. He looks to be in great form, too; in Friday's 5-2 win at Cleveland, he had a single, an RBI double, a sacrifice fly, and a run scored in four trips to the plate. Today, Matt completed his weekend cycle with a triple (with an assist to overmatched Indians right fielder Brandon Moss) and a solo homer in a 7-3 O's victory. A week into June, the Birds are finally approaching full strength. They've got five and a half games to make up in the AL East, but there's an encouraging precedent. On this date last year, the Orioles dropped a 4-3 contest to Oakland to fall 6.5 games behind the Blue Jays. So, why not?

Matt Wieters, 2012 Panini Triple Play #9

Well, the starting pitching is still a fright, but I guess the hitters are feeling a bit better. After scoring a total of 22 runs through the first seven games of the season, the Orioles broke out and stomped the Yankees 14-5 this afternoon. They'd managed 10 hits only once, so of course today the O's racked up 20, and in the process doubled their season home run total by going yard three times. One of those homers came from Matt Wieters, one of the few Baltimore hitters who's had any success thus far. Today he drove in three runs and ran his season-opening hitting streak to seven games, giving him a team-best .370 average. It's early, but it would be nice if #32 were able to bounce back from the worst offensive campaign of his career.

Matt Wieters, 2010 Upper Deck #84

I know it seems cruel and unusual to post two 2010 Upper Deck cards back-to-back, but I have to let the chips fall where they may. This is the fourth of the five autographs that I collected on Saturday. The last will wait for Vintage Friday, which cannot come soon enough.

The hype that accompanied Matt Wieters to the major leagues would have been impossible for anyone to live up to, but it's still funny to see people treating him like a disappointment. He'll be 25 in May, and just completed his first full major league season. In 2010, he dealt with the responsibility of handling a pitching staff for 130 games on a team that wasn't exactly a model of stability. In one year, he became one of the best defensive catchers in the league by any measure. I'm willing to wait another year or two for his bat to catch up. Even though his batting line was a ho-hum .249/.319/.377 (89 OPS+), he did improve slightly in the second half (103 OPS+). I'm not worried about #32.

Matt Wieters, 2007 Donruss Elite School Colors #SC-5

He's coming! About 20 hours from now, I will be at Oriole Park at Camden Yards to witness Matt Wieters' MLB debut. If you're not an O's fan, I just don't know how to explain the delirious excitement that's gripping our battle-tested little fan base right now. It's like Christmas, your birthday, summer vacation...every wonderful day that you've ever anticipated for weeks and months in advance all rolled into one. The Birds are starting to show signs of life, and it coincides with the youth movement that is only just beginning. Tonight, David Hernandez became the fourth Baltimore starter this year to win his major league debut, something that hasn't happened since at least 1900 if I heard correctly (Koji Uehara is included - that's a bit of a cheat, but still). Nolan Reimold hit a home run for the third straight game tonight, and refuses to be ignored. But tomorrow, the Alpha Rookie takes the field.

You might have seen Matt Wieters Facts, which is just the latest take on the Chuck Norris Internet meme. The thing is, this hype and hyperbole is only a natural progression from the actual true stories that are out there about the kid. His freshman year at Georgia Tech, he hit a go-ahead home run, then took to the mound and earned the save, prompting his teammates to playfully nickname him "God". During Spring Training, O's manager Dave Trembley took him aside before an at-bat in a game-winning situation. He advised him: "If he pitches to you, make him pay." Wieters delivered the big hit. This past Tuesday, he was informed before his game at AAA Norfolk that he would be playing in Baltimore on Friday. He responded with a 4-4 night and 4 RBI. Then there are his minor league stats, which are worth several paragraphs in and of themselves.

Happy Matt Wieters Eve, everyone. I can already feel the Yard rocking.

Matt Wieters, 2007 Tristar ProspectsPlus #53

Now that the Erik Bedard trade has FINALLY been completed, I thought we could all use a reminder that we've traded the present for a brighter future. Matt Wieters might be the brightest part of that future; it's not every day that your team drafts a catcher who: a) is projected to be ready for the majors in two years, b) draws comparisons to the best major league players at his position (Joe Mauer and Jason Varitek), and c) actually signs with the team. That last point just can't be overstated. The first positive step the Orioles made under Andy MacPhail was signing Wieters right before the deadline last year. Just the fact that they drafted a Scott Boras client said a lot, but it didn't end there. In recent years, the O's had draft debacles like Rice pitcher Wade Townsend (who never signed with the team and re-entered the draft the following year) and Adam Loewen (who didn't sign for nearly a year after the team picked him).

As far as the trade goes, it seems that a large percentage of Orioles fans support it. But there are always going to be voices of dissent, those who say that counting on unproven young players is a gamble, or that you just don't give up a certified left-handed ace. Just remember that Erik Bedard isn't as much of a sure thing as he might seem. In the past five years, he's had Tommy John surgery (2002), a knee injury that cost him two months (2005), and a strained oblique muscle that shut him down with a month to go in his breakout season (2007). He's never made it to 200 innings in a season. No trade comes without risk for one party.

We're waiting for you, Matt. Don't rush yourself; we've got plenty of other things to figure out in the meantime.