Mike Devereaux, 1994 Fleer Flair #252

You might've noticed that I disappeared for a week. There's a hell of a lot going on in my world right now, and I'm trying to make sense of it all. But I can still take solace in the nonsensical, like Mike Devereaux fighting a slightly larger Mike Devereaux. Which is mightier? Little Devo's Bat of Truth or Big Devo's Fist of Justice? There are no wrong answers.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Upper Deck #167

I need a distraction, since the Orioles are now four games under .500 and their bats are missing in action. So I've turned to the excellent 1993 Upper Deck set to see if I can pinpoint the date that this photo was taken. Go figure - it's an Orioles-Angels game, though it's in Anaheim, unlike the current weekend series in Baltimore. Lance Parrish is catching, Mike Devereaux is batting, and there's a Caucasian runner edging off of third base. With Parrish behind the plate, we've narrowed it down to either June 1, 1992 or June 3, 1992. Devo batted with Billy Ripken on third base in both of those games, but only the Wednesday, June 3 game was played in the afternoon hours. So that is our game, and unfortunately the Birds suffered a walkoff 4-3 loss in 10 innings. However, there was a positive outcome from this particular at-bat in the top of the seventh inning. Mike greeted reliever Mark Eichhorn with a single, scoring Ripken and giving the O's a short-lived 3-1 lead. Bob Milacki served up a tying two-run homer to Gary DiSarcina in the bottom of the inning, and it stayed tied until Rene Gonzales scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Lee Stevens in the bottom of the tenth. So it goes.

Mike Devereaux, 1990 Score #232

I chose this card today for the simplest of reasons. I like that the photographer captured the baseball in a blur of motion, presumably just after Mike Devereaux made contact with his bat. Maybe this picture depicts one of the four home runs Devo hit at Memorial Stadium in 1989. This is pretty clearly a day game, so we can rule out his walkoff two-run shot against California's Bob McClure on July 15. Ditto his solo shot off of Minnesota's Allan Anderson on Friday night, April 21. That leaves a pair of round-trippers hit at home that can't be ruled out: another game-winner, this time against Rangers reliever Jeff Russell in the tenth inning on Sunday, August 6; alternatively, it could be the two-run blast off of Toronto's Dave Stieb in the fourth inning of a 7-2 win over the Jays on Sunday, August 20.

It could also be any old routine fly ball out, but what's the fun in that?

Mike Devereaux, 1991 Stadium Club #555

"Good evening, and welcome to 'The Mike Devereaux Show'! Tonight we have two special guests who will be sitting down to chat with Devo: Sam Horn and Leo Gomez! It's sure to be a fantastic show, and...what's that? Tonight's episode has been cancelled due to total lack of interest. Well, that's too bad. Thanks for tuning in anyway!"

Mike Devereaux, 1989 Topps Traded #23T

It's Mike Devereaux Time! The magic number is 12, thanks to Nelson Cruz outslugging the Rays, 7-5, in 11 innings. Kansas City did the Orioles another solid, shutting out the Yankees on Derek Jeter Day and scraping across a symbolic two unearned runs. So the cushion is still nine and a half as the Birds fly north to Boston. The best-case scenario would involve the O's clinching the division next Saturday at home vs. the Yankees. Of course, I'm not expecting them to sweep the Red Sox, then come back home and take the first three against New York after a Tampa Bay sweep of the Yanks. But it would be sweet.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Topps Black Gold #28

For as fervently as I collected 1993 Topps in my youth, I never did get my hands on the two Orioles Black Gold inserts...until now. A hearty padded envelope arrived yesterday from Max, with a stack of 2014 Heritage set needs complemented by some assorted O's cards. Included were 1993 Black Gold cards of Brady Anderson and Mike Devereaux, thus filling my team needs from that particular 44-card insert set. I still think these cards, which were seeded one per every 72 wax packs, hold up well, which you can't say for most of their contemporaries. The design just pops. I remember how thrilled I was when I pulled a winner card that entitled me to the last 11 cards in the Black Gold set. Now that I've got Brady and Devo, I've rekindled some of that feeling. Gracias, Max!

Mike Devereaux, 1994 Score Select #131

It's Mike Devereaux's 51st birthday today! Why not celebrate by watching him rob Joe Carter of a three-run home run on June 5, 1992 in a still-new Camden Yards? This grab came in the sixth inning of a then-scoreless game, and it ended up being a huge play. Blue Jays starter Jimmy Key held the O's to four singles in seven and two-thirds innings, but Cal Ripken greeted reliever Duane Ward with a single to drive in the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth. With Devo's assist and Cal's timely hitting, Sutcliffe earned his eighth win of the '92 season. Gregg Olson got the save, inducing a double play grounder from Carter and a flyout from Kelly Gruber. With the win, Baltimore pushed their way into a first-place tie with Toronto.

Mike Devereaux, 1992 Pinnacle #165

I don't care what anybody says, it takes an awful lot of dexterity and athletic talent to punch yourself in the butt while running to first base.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Donruss #455

Hey! It's my birthday! I'm 31 years old, and that means that I've been an Orioles fan for 20 years. Where does the time go? As I've mentioned once or 178 times before, I first got hooked on baseball back in 1993, which helps explain why I'm devoting a chunk of my free time to a 1993 Topps blog these days. So if we flash back to August 5, 1993, we'll find that the O's beat the Brewers 3-1 at Camden Yards. Ben McDonald picked up his ninth win of the year with a complete game effort, keeping Milwaukee off of the scoreboard after Robin Yount scored on a first-inning wild pitch. Mike Devereaux drove in the first two Baltimore runs with a first-inning double and a fifth-inning single, and Brady Anderson provided an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh with a sacrifice fly. It was the Orioles' fourth straight win in an eventual eight-game streak, which was immediately followed by an eight-game losing streak. You certainly can't say that the O's didn't try to warn me against getting too deeply involved in the ebb and flow of a 162-game baseball season.

Mike Devereaux, 1992 Upper Deck #209

Today I'll show the last pair of autographs that I received at FanFest last Saturday. The first, from Mike Devereaux, is already ticketed to another collector. Alan Diddle was unsuccessful in obtaining Devo's signature through a mail request, and I'd already gotten the former center fielder's autograph at a previous appearance in 2009. So I'm trading this fine specimen for Alan's spare Ken Singleton autographed card, a 1984 Donruss. I love it when a plan comes together.

This is the first time I've gotten a current Oriole's John Hancock on a non-Oriole card. But I own exactly two Lew Ford cards, both from his mid-2000s tenure with the Twins, so I decided to mix it up a little. Lew didn't seem to have a problem scrawling his name on a cardboard reminder of his previous baseball life, though he joked with one of the FanFest volunteers that they should install a conveyer belt to help make the process more efficient. I kind of pitied the nonpaid workers supervising the autograph stations, as their pleas for the fans to keep moving and to refrain from taking personal photos with the players mostly fell on deaf ears. But I guess that's what happens when you charge $15 for an autograph session, no matter how charitable the cause: folks are going to try to get their money's worth.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Studio #55

Am I the only collector who goes wild for 1993 Studio? I've loved this set since I started buying packs off the shelf of my local hobby shop for 99 cents a pack in the fall of that year. The holographic facsimile signatures and the use of team jerseys, logo patches, and cap insignias as backgrounds were design touches that appealed to me at age 11 and still hold up in my mind. Photographically, it was a departure from the disastrously goofy posed yearbook shots of the previous two Studio sets. Most of the player photos on the card fronts in 1993 Studio appeared to be candid shots, offering a better glimpse into the subject's personality than any stiff "smile for the camera" grin or "show us your game face" glower. The more formal portraits were consigned to the card back, but zoomed in and bleeding in from either the left or right border, giving you a (literally) closer look at your heroes than ever before. These shots are fine as a contrast to the candid pictures on the front, and fit well with the sometimes-enlightening, often-confounding "Up Close" factoids. Where else will you learn that Mike Devereaux dislikes inconsiderate drivers?

Mike Devereaux, 1995 Stadium Club #282

One of the great things about collecting is that you can always find something to surprise you. I bought several packs of 1995 Stadium Club back when it first came out, but it was too pricey for my 13-year-old self to actually complete the set, so it sat around incomplete for a while. A few years ago I bought a Series 1 hobby box online, but I'm still far from finishing off the set. So a few months ago, I added this fantastic Mike Devereaux card to my collection, and it was the first time I'd ever seen it. This has got to be one of my favorite candid baseball photos, and it's certainly my favorite of "Devo". I'm going to assume that he's giving the camera lens a playful fist bump, and not lashing out at an expensive inanimate object in annoyance. He doesn't strike me as a violent sort of guy, and that's not a fighting posture he's taking. He's playing it cool.

Mike Devereaux, 1991 Fleer #469

It's been a couple years since I posted Orioles-specific want lists for all of the Topps base sets on my other blog. I've done a pretty good job of maintaining them, but to date I still haven't expanded to cover other sets and brands. I really need to get on the ball. Last weekend I was picking through a box of cheapie 1980s-2000s Orioles and something compelled me to pick up this card, even though I've seen so much junk wax for my favorite team that my first assumption would be that there couldn't possibly be any O's that I lack from that era. But sure enough, I didn't have Mike Devereaux in Banana Land in my collection. What's more, there are still eight cards left for me to get from the dime-a-million 1991 Fleer set. Guess I'd better get crackin'.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Topps #741

You'll forgive me if I want to focus more on cards in and of themselves rather than turning the conversation to current on-the-field happenings. One of the most consistently enjoyable blogs that I read is Night Owl Cards, the domain of Dodger fan Greg. Yesterday he posted a photo essay exploring his affinity for horizontally-oriented photos on cards. I'm generally not a fan of them myself - flipping through a binder and seeing a number of cards facing to the side is kind of annoying and disorienting. But I'm willing to make exceptions if the photo justifies the format. This Mike Devereaux card is a good one, allowing the bat draped across Devo's shoulders to be fully seen without cropping. The use of lighting and contrast in what I assume is an indoor batting cage is just plain cool. I'm so accustomed to this card that it just wouldn't look right if it were vertical, personal biases be damned.

Mike Devereaux, 1996 Collector's Choice Silver Signature #468

Two days ago, I was talking about the return of Mike Bordick to the Baltimore organization. The same day, I heard that Mike Devereaux was also coming back into the fold. The former O's outfielder has signed on as the field coach for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, who also announced that hitting coach (and ex-Orioles third baseman) Ryan Minor has been promoted to manager. If nothing the else, the Birds are putting together a staff at the major and minor league levels that could kick some serious butt in Old-Timers' games.

Mike Devereaux, 1994 Upper Deck #356

There's much ado about autographs tonight. Firstly, this is the fourth and final card that I had signed on Friday, August 14 at Oriole Park. I love Mike Devereaux's flashy yet mostly legible John Hancock, and I appreciate his discretion in signing at the bottom of the card so as to not cover up that awesome action shot. In case you were wondering: no, Devo does not sport the high fade hairstyle any more.

I've traded a few cards back and forth with Alan, a loyal blog reader who has seen his share of Atlantic League games. Recently, he's been kind enough to send me cards signed by the last two managers of the York Revolution: ex-O's catchers Chris Hoiles and Andy Etchebarren. He also sent along a ticket stub that was inked by former Baltimore bullpen catcher Sammy Snider, and I can't tell you how awesome and thoughtful that is. I'll do a little "show and tell" with those cards at a later date.

Though I'm really starting to build a tidy little Orioles autograph collection (I've got fourteen or so now), I must bow at the altar of Ryan, a.k.a. "Orioles Magic", whose Great Orioles Autograph Project escaped my radar for far too long. Ryan has collected autographs of 557 of the 871 players in Orioles history, which blows my mind. He's incredibly organized and has lists of autographed cards that he is offering for trade, and players whose autos he seeks in return. If you can help him out, make him an offer. If not, just enjoy the great scans and stories!

I almost forgot that another great trade partner, Max, recently sent me a package that included an autographed Mike Cuellar card. That's another one that I'll wait on, and post it on some future rainy day. How's that for foreshadowing?

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Upper Deck Fun Pack #132

Now more than ever, we need to embrace truth in baseball card advertising. The very brand name of this card promises fun, and it is in fact one of the most fun photos I've seen on a baseball card. We see a flattopped Mike Devereaux having a good laugh while seemingly sumo wrestling with teammate Mark McLemore. What could be the cause for their impromptu grappling match? It's hard to say. After all, it was the mid-1990s, when Cal Ripken, Jr. ruled the Orioles clubhouse with an iron fist (pardon the pun). If there's anything I know about Junior, it's that he loved to wrestle with teammates such as Brady Anderson and Ben McDonald before and after games. Rumor has it that he flat-out beat the hell out of his peers. So Devo and Mac probably just figured, "When in Rome..." Then again, Cal never clamped a bear hug or a headlock on a teammate in mid-game. Something must have gotten lost in translation.

Mike Devereaux, 1993 Fleer Ultra #493

When I became an Orioles fan in 1993, I took a quick dislike to Mike Devereaux. Looking back, it's almost hard for me to remember how Devo became the first in a long line of my personal whipping boys. It probably didn't help that he was fresh off a breakout season in which he'd hit .276 with 29 doubles, 11 triples, 24 home runs, and 107 RBI. Expectations were high, but the outfielder had a down year in '93. He hit .250 with 14 HR and 75 RBI, and missed 31 games in total. It's possible that I could have personally seen a few games in which he made high-profile mistakes and they made a lasting impression upon me. Certainly, his awful 1994 season didn't do anything to disabuse me of my animosity toward him (.204, 9 HR, 33 RBI in 301 AB). An ugly beaning at the hands of Cleveland's Chad Ogea did nothing to help him, of course.

The following season, he wound up hitting .299 with the White Sox and the Braves, and was the unlikely MVP of the National League Championship Series (.308, 5 RBI in 4 games). He proceeded to return to the O's in 1996, just in time to stop hitting well again (.229, 8 HR, 34 RBI), capped off with a hitless postseason (0-for-3). My dodgy relationship with Mike Devereaux continued unabated.

But Devo was a fine Oriole in the big picture. He was a gifted athlete, and his speed helped him to play an exciting center field (though he wasn't much of a base stealer). He put together back-to-back years with double-digit doubles, triples, and home runs (1991-1992), which you don't see much. He also holds a few major league records for players born in Wyoming: most triples (33), home runs (105), and RBI (480). That counts for something, doesn't it?

Mike Devereaux, 1995 Topps #23

I just finished reading an excellent book - The Pitch that Killed, by Mike Sowell. It's about the fatal beaning of Indians shortstop Ray Chapman by Yankees pitcher Carl Mays, but it goes deeper, of course. There's a good amount of backstory given for both men, as well as a faithful narrative of the thrilling 1920 American League pennant race which was overshadowed by the tragic events of that one game. I'm admittedly a soft touch, but by the time the story progressed to Chapman's death and the aftermath of it, I found myself getting choked up.

Sadly, the accident - and given the facts, which are laid out without any tangible agenda on the part of Sowell, I do believe it was an accident - was a plot straight out of a movie. Two teams are embroiled in an unbelievably tight pennant race when one team's star pitcher (who is hated nearly league-wide for his antisocial behavior and his habit of brushing batters off of the plate) hits the other team's genial, popular star shortstop in the head with a pitch and fractures his skull. The shortstop dies at the hospital hours later, following surgery. To further the tragedy, Chapman and his wife were expecting their first child, and the player was planning to retire at the end of the season to more fully join his father-in-law's business. Even the ending is straight out of Hollywood; a raw young shortstop named Joe Sewell joins the Indians in September, dedicates his play to the memory of Chapman, and helps lead the team to the American League title - and ultimately to a World Series win over the Brooklyn Dodgers.

As I read the book, my mind drifted to the scariest thing I had ever seen as an Orioles fan. It was an early season day game in 1994, and the O's were home against Cleveland. The invaluable Baseball Reference tells me it was May 8, 1994 to be exact. We were winning 8-3 in the sixth inning when Mike Devereaux came to bat, and he was having a great game. He'd hit a solo homer and a triple, driving in four runs. He dug in to face rookie reliever Chad Ogea with the bases empty and two outs. Ogea's pitch hit Devo flush on the left cheek. All I can remember is the vivid image of the center fielder dropping to the dirt on all fours, blood suddenly pouring out of his mouth in a thin but steady stream.

I could have sworn he missed some games after that, but remarkably, my research shows that he simply spent a few hours in the hospital and was able to play a full game the following day against the Blue Jays once the swelling subsided. Devereaux singled and scored a run in a 4-1 win over Toronto. In hindsight, he was incredibly fortunate, and evidently fearless. The card I've chosen today shows that fearlessness manifesting itself in another way, as he goes head-over-heels to snag a sinking liner to center field in Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The grass stain on his knee is a nice touch.

Postscript: Oddly enough, Ogea's errant toss was Devo's only HBP in 1994.