Mike Mussina, 1999 Upper Deck #48

Mike Mussina is acknowledging the crowd at Camden Yards with a wave, but he could just as easily be shielding his eyes from the sun. We'd nearly forgotten what sunlight looked like here in Baltimore; all last week, it was gray, chilly, and damp. Yesterday we finally had bright, clear skies, so naturally the O's flew up to Minneapolis for a three-game series with the Twins. Tonight's opener was rained out. Enough already!

Mike Mussina, 1993 Score #27

Tonight, with Mike Mussina (and yours truly) in attendance, the Orioles came from behind and pulled out a thrilling walkoff win for the second straight game against Oakland. Tonight's hero was Chris Davis, who blasted a solo shot to right-center field off of ambidextrous A's reliever Pat Venditte with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie. It was his second home run of the night, his sixth in the last six games, his 15th since the All-Star Break, and his 34th of the season. Did I miss any home run factoids? Oh yeah, it was also his 87th career homer at Camden Yards, so he surpassed Cal Ripken for sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Gerardo Parra chipped in with a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning, his second as an Oriole. It's also worth recognizing the effort of starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez, who hung in there for a seven-inning quality start after coughing up three runs in the first three innings. Thankfully, the Birds wrapped things up a bit sooner than they did on Friday night, when it took 13 innings before Manny Machado broke the stalemate with a two-run walkoff homer. With back-to-back feats of Orioles Magic, the resilient O's have closed to within a half game of the Angels for the second AL Wild Card slot. The Rangers, Twins, and Rays are all lurking close behind as well, so the next six weeks should be nerve-wracking.

Mike Mussina, 1994 Triple Play #157

On this date in 1997, Mike Mussina fell tantalizingly short of baseball history in an excellent start against the Indians. It was Friday, May 30, 1997, and Moose thrilled the hometown crowd at Oriole Park at Camden Yards by retiring the first 25 Cleveland batters in order. The O's built a 3-0 lead on single runs in the first, third, and sixth innings, with their runs scoring on RBI singles by Rafael Palmeiro and Brady Anderson as well as a fielder's choice grounder by Cal Ripken. But with one out in the ninth inning, Sandy Alomar Jr. spoiled Mussina's perfect game bid by lining a single to left field. Baltimore's ace rebounded nicely, striking out pinch hitter Brian Giles and leadoff man Marquis Grissom to end the game and preserve the one-hit shutout. In all, he whiffed 10 batters and improved his record to 7-1. The Orioles, meanwhile, boosted their team record to 35-15, increasing their American League East division lead over the second-place Yankees to a whopping 8.5 games. Moose never did toss a no-hitter in his career, but he had a pretty good run of it anyhow.

Mike Mussina, 1991 Bowman #97

The Hall of Fame ballot is still an overcrowded mess thanks to mental midgets like Pedro "it's not journalism" Gomez and Jon "steroid specter" Heyman, but at least multiple worthy candidates are managing to navigate the minefield to Cooperstown. Congratulations to 2015 inductees Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Craig Biggio. None of the eligible former Orioles received the required 75% of votes cast, so none will be enshrined in the Hall this summer. However, all of the ex-O's on the ballot saw an uptick in their support except for Sammy Sosa, who dropped from 7.2% last year to 6.6% this year, but still hangs onto eligibility for another go-round. Better luck in 2016 to Tim Raines (55%), Curt Schilling (39.2%), Lee Smith (30.2%), Mike Mussina (24.6%), and last but not least, Slammin' Sammy. My only further opinion on this year's results is that the three-quarters of the BBWAA electorate who don't think Moose is Hall-worthy need their heads examined.

Mike Mussina, 1999 Bowman Chrome #60

Should you be curious, the "C" in "Michael C. Mussina" stands for Cole. Former outfielder Alex Cole went 1-for-7 with three strikeouts in his career meetings with Mike Mussina. That probably means something, even if that something is "I've been awake for too many hours".

Mike Mussina, 2001 Fleer Triple Crown #174

This is a pretty wild photo. Only Mike Mussina's index finger is extended, and it appears as though the baseball is sailing right off of the tip of that finger. It's not a release that I'm used to seeing.

Mike Mussina, 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes #234

Yesterday was Mike Mussina's 45th birthday, and he probably didn't spend it wondering whether he'd be selected for the Hall of Fame. However, he is on the ballot for the first time this year, and we'll find out next month whether he made the cut. I will say that he probably has a better chance than former O's teammate Armando Benitez, whose very name makes fans in Baltimore and New York twitch.

Speaking of making the cut, I can tell you that Panini's continued insistence on removing all accent colors from player uniforms on their cards is an idea that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Moose looks like he's pitching for the White Sox, not the Orioles. Are they so paranoid as to think that Topps and/or MLB would sic their armies of high-priced lawyers upon them if they dared to include orange on their Orioles (excuse me, "Baltimore") cards? Why not just go the extra mile and Photoshop Mike into a completely blank, white uniform? I realize that the lack of an MLB license puts Panini in a bind, but there has got to be a better, more creative way to do things.

Mike Mussina, 2001 Fleer Tradition #147

Mail day! I received an unannounced plain white envelope from Max today. It contained some new cards of my favoritest team, including my first O's cards of Bud Norris, Francisco Rodriguez (boo hiss), and Kevin Gausman...to be seen here later, of course. There was also this strange card, which is a thick cardboard punch in the gut to any orange-blooded Baltimore fan. It wasn't enough that Mike Mussina signed with the juggernaut Yankees after the 2000 season, but Fleer had to keep Moose in his Orioles uniform and put the team's banner on the card. It logically belongs in the completist's team set, but there's that stark black lettering under the veteran righty's chin, forever taunting Birdland, a reminder of things lost. I should hate this card, and yet I kind of like it because of the oddity of it all. I must be getting soft in my old age.

Mike Mussina, 1997 Fleer E-X 2000 #6

This is my 2,000th post on this blog. I'm not sure what that means, except that I've been plugging away on a near-daily basis for five years, seven months, and change. There are always new games to talk about, old games to discover, odd cards to pick apart. If you're reading this, I hope you're doing it because you're entertained somehow, and not just out of habit. I've heard from enough of you (and even met a few fine folks in person) to get the impression that I'm not just tossing my words into an echo chamber. Hopefully that's the case for the next 1,000 posts and then some. I just want to say thanks for stopping by, whether this is your first visit or your 2,000th.

Mike Mussina, 1992 Pinnacle #204

The Orioles are having an unexpectedly rough series in Kansas City, so I'm reduced to fashion criticism. One of my uniform pet peeves is when players leave their jerseys unbuttoned halfway to their belts. I'm surprised to see someone as strait-laced as Mike Mussina sporting this haphazard look. I'm sure there's a rational explanation. Maybe he had rookie jitters and forgot to finish buttoning up? Or maybe the sheer force of his delivery has caused his top to pop open...ladies.

Mike Mussina, 1992 Leaf #13

Here's a rare sight: Mike Mussina in a #42 jersey. Moose wore that number for his initial two-month stint with the Orioles in 1991, switched to #35 in 1992, and wore the latter for the rest of his career.

Tonight is the one night of the year that the Orioles will wear #42...each and every one of them. Since the O's had off yesterday, they're observing Jackie Robinson Day tonight against the Rays by wearing his number on nameless jerseys. I'll be there, trying to send good-pitching vibes to the confounding Jake Arrieta and probably enjoying a more "intimate" crowd experience after enduring the crush of revelers a few weeks back at the home opener. C'mon, Jake...don't mess up my personal eight-game win streak at Camden Yards!

Mike Mussina, 1994 Upper Deck #102

I usually don't post scans of card backs, but this one has a great view of Camden Yards that you don't often see on cards. As Mike Mussina rushes to cover first base, we can see straight through to the center field picnic area and the double-deck bullpens. The sign behind Moose is advertising the Giant Foods supermarket chain, and from the loose way that the Maryland flag hangs, it's apparently a windless day. Just looking at this photo makes me wish I was sitting in the bleachers along Eutaw Street.

Mike Mussina, 1993 Studio #202

One exciting outcome from my weekend of sorting miscellaneous 1993 cards was the discovery that I nearly have a complete set of 1993 Studio, one of my favorite card sets of all time. I only need 18 more cards to finish it off - I've put the rest in a binder and everything. So if you have the inclination, go check out my 1993 Studio want list here. Drop me a line and maybe we can make a deal!

Mike Mussina, 1992 Baseball Cards Magazine #77

Today is Mike Mussina's 44th birthday, and I've spent much of it trying to sort mountains of early 1990s junx wax, something I've been putting off for months. On the plus side, it allowed me to come across this oddball card of Moose. Back in the day, Baseball Cards Magazine used to give away cards in every issue featuring contemporary players and classic Topps set designs. Here, they've produced a pretty faithful tribute to the 1970 set, for better or worse. I'm not nuts about the original design, but for some reason this card works for me. Maybe it's a calming influence when set against the excesses of the hobby in the 1990s. Hopefully someone got Mike a decent razor for his birthday.

Mike Mussina, 1994 Pinnacle #295

This is a pretty incredible photo. Taken mere moments after Mike Mussina released a pitch, it shows the baseball seemingly floating in midair adjacent to his right hand. It doesn't look like it could have come out of his hand; you'd expect it to appear above the fingertips rather than next to them. All I know is that I don't envy the opposing hitters that had to guess where and when pitches like this would arrive at home plate.

Mike Mussina, 1993 Upper Deck #233

Last night, Jason Hammel pitched the first complete-game one-hit shutout for the Orioles since Mike Mussina dominated the Twins on August 1, 2000. Like Moose, Jason had a no-hitter going until serving up a two-out single in the seventh inning. In 2000, it was Ron Coomer that played the spoiler; last night it was Jason Heyward ruining the fun. There was still plenty to enjoy, as the first-year O's starter ran his record to 7-2 while striking out 8 batters and walking a pair. It took him just 103 pitches, and was already his second no-hit bid of the year following seven hitless innings on Easter Sunday. To offer the cherry on top, this afternoon Wei-Yin Chen also earned his seventh win, collaborating with four relievers to blank Atlanta again in a 2-0 squeaker. In taking 2 out of 3 in the weekend road series, the Orioles' pitchers kept the Braves off of the scoreboard for 20 straight innings dating back to Friday. It's June 17, and the Birds are 39-27 and 1.5 games back of the first-place Yankees. If the season ended today (which would be silly and arbitrary), they would host the Rays in the wild card game. The surging Angels are still two games back of Tampa Bay and four behind the O's in the playoff "race", if you will. There's still a lot of games left to play, but less and less all the time. 66 down, 96 to go. This is fun.

Mike Mussina, 1991 Score #383

It's draft day! How's about I put together a Top Ten list? Too late, I've already made up my mind. Here are the Orioles' best picks in each of the first ten rounds of the June amateur draft, or Rule 4 if you're persnickety about it:

1. Mike Mussina (20th overall, 1990): At least until fellow righty pitcher Dylan Bundy arrives in Baltimore on his flaming chariot. Eventually, I think Matt Wieters will also give Moose a run for his money. If you're a fan of Baseball Reference's Wins Above Replacement (bWAR), Mussina is the career leader among O's number ones with 78.2. He is followed by the 19th overall pick from 1967, Bobby Grich (67.3). 1999 supplemental rounder and 50th overall pick Brian Roberts is a distant third with 27.4 bWAR to date.

2. Cal Ripken, Jr. (48th overall, 1978): Hopefully this choice requires no explanation. 90.9 bWAR for Junior, as well as more easily digestible numbers like 2,632 consecutive games played and 431 home runs. Lurking behind Cal are Don Baylor, who was chosen after Grich with pick #39 in 1967, and Arthur Rhodes, who was once a high school athlete in the way-back of 1988 (34th overall).

3. Eddie Murray (63rd overall, 1973): Boy, there's not much drama in the early rounds. Once you get past Steady Eddie's 63.4 bWAR, the next-highest scorer is Alex Ochoa at 5.7. Lots of other role players: John Habyan, Kiko Garcia, Chris Ray, Anthony Telford, Jeff Tackett...Zach Britton (85th overall in 2006) could be the runner-up in a few years.

4. Brad Bergesen (109th overall, 2004): Here you can see how top-heavy baseball's draft can be. Bergy has a career bWar of 2.3. In his 2009 rookie season, he was worth 3.0 wins above replacement. That should tell you something about how his career has unfolded. The only other fourth rounders to even play in the big leagues for the O's are Blake Davis, Kyle Hudson, Carl Nichols, Jesse Jefferson, and Bob McCrory. Ouch.

5. Jim Johnson (143rd overall, 2001): That's better. Dirty Jim has succeeded in every role he's been assigned in the Baltimore bullpen, helping him accrue 7.7 bWAR in 284 career innings. Other fifth-rounders of interest: busted prospect Hayden Penn (-3.5 bWAR for the 2002 pick) and scuffling young starter Jake Arrieta (0.8 bWAR so far for the 2007 draftee).

6. Mike Boddicker (152nd overall, 1978): 134 career wins and a 108 ERA+ is a pretty good get, especially since Mike had to spend the better part of four seasons at AAA Rochester before breaking into the stacked O's rotation. He accumulated 29.1 bWAR if you're curious. He's still well ahead of 1999's #187 pick, Erik Bedard (16.8 bWAR).

7. Mike Flanagan (159th overall, 1973): How about that Oriole scouting department in the 1970s? I'm not aware of UMass-Amherst as a hotbed for baseball, but this lefty carved out an 18-year career in the majors, racking up 167 wins and 22.8 bWAR. His former teammate Storm Davis was another savvy pick in the seventh round of the 1979 draft (175th overall), totaling 113 wins and 15 bWAR.

8. Chris Britton (233rd overall, 2001): Woof. Here's another dead spot for the Birds. Chris managed 1.2 bWAR in 78 games as a reliever with the O's and the Yankees. Jay Spurgeon and Chad Paronto are the other big league graduates on this meager list. Recent Oriole Eights include 2011 pick John Ruettiger (yes, Rudy's nephew) and 2008er Bobby Bundy, who was quite good last year but still seems destined to be known as Dylan's older brother.

9. Jack Voigt (221st overall, 1987): That's 1.5 career bWAR and a .726 OPS in 294 games for Johnny Oates' favorite bench contributor. The O's did select infielder Mike Lansing (8.3 bWAR) 219th overall in 1989, but he did not sign. The Expos landed him in 1991.

10. Luis Matos (291st overall, 1996): This pick looked a lot better when Luis was hitting .303/.353/.458 in 109 games as an Oriole at age 24, but injuries and questions about his work ethic accelerated the demise of his career and he was out of the majors within three years, leaving behind a total of 3.8 bWAR. Again, an unsigned pick went on to a better career elsewhere; in 1982, the Birds spent the 260th pick on a high school shortstop named Walt Weiss. He didn't sign until the Athletics tabbed him out of the University of North Carolina three years later, and he went on to win the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year Award (14.6 career bWAR).

So now you have a glimpse at what's gone right and wrong for the Orioles in the previous June drafts. Keep it all in mind as you read the glowing scouting reports on this year's haul.

Mike Mussina, 1997 Score Team Collection #8

We're not even a quarter of the way through the 2012 season, and I'm already running out of superlatives to describe the odds-defying success of the Orioles. With their 5-3 win over the Royals today, they claimed the best record in baseball at 25-14. Last year, the O's didn't get to 25 wins until June 3. In the disastrous 2010 campaign, their 25th win came on July 4, leaving them with a 25-56 record. Incidentally, I'd nearly blocked out just how putrid the Birds were two years ago. At least it brought Buck Showalter to town.

One of the many encouraging developments this spring has been the team's success on the road. The Orioles are now 13-5 away from Camden Yards, which is no small feat when you consider that they were 30-51 on the road in 2011. What's more, the win today was Baltimore's seventh consecutive road victory. That's the best streak for the O's since they rattled off 10 straight in late 1999. To illustrate how long ago that was, the tenth and final win in that '99 streak was a 1-0 squeaker in Boston on September 24. Mike Mussina struck out eight Red Sox hitters in six innings, and Scott Kamieniecki and Mike Timlin held the line in relief. Bret Saberhagen was saddled with a hard-luck loss due to Derrick May's RBI single in the fourth inning. (Derrick, son of former Oriole Dave May, finished his 10-year career with a 26-game stint in Baltimore.) The only participants in that game who are still active 13 years later are Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Derek Lowe.

Despite those late-season heroics for the 1999 Birds, the team finished in a distant fourth place at 78-84. A few months ago, most pragmatic O's fans would have considered 78 wins a stretch for this year's team. It's starting to look like we could have aimed higher.

Mike Mussina, 1993 Leaf On the Fast Track #4

Congratulations are in order for Mike Mussina and Rich Dauer, the newest members-elect of the Orioles Hall of Fame. Each spent a decade in an O's uniform, and they've both earned the honor. My only hope is that the fans in attendance for the pregame induction ceremony on August 25 carry themselves with class and grace and give Moose a warm welcome back to Baltimore. He went to the Yankees because they made him feel wanted, both financially and personally. Given the often frustrating and head-scratching actions of the Orioles' ownership in the ensuing years, who can blame him? I was mad when it happened. But that was 12 years ago. You're not going to hurt Mike Mussina's feelings if you boo and jeer him on his special day. You'll just make yourself look petty and foolish. I don't mean to lecture anyone, but I feel strongly about this. Save your derision for people who truly deserve it...like Mark Teixeira.

Mike Mussina, 2000 Pacific Omega #19

When the Orioles traded their erstwhile #1 starter Jeremy Guthrie to the Rockies earlier this month, a lot of media members and fans wondered aloud who the team's Opening Day starting pitcher would be. If you ask me, that's a secondary concern. After all, there's not one pitcher who could be considered a lock for the five-man rotation, much less a front-runner to take on the Twins on April 6. But the speculation did inspire me to do some crack research on the O's previous 58 Opening Day starters. What follows is a list of the 33 men to receive that honor. As you can see, they were not all created equal. The guys at the very top of the list, though, should be no surprise.

-Mike Mussina and Jim Palmer: 6 starts each
-Dave McNally: 5
-Jeremy Guthrie, Rodrigo Lopez, Steve Barber: 3
-Rick Sutcliffe, Mike Boddicker, Mike Flanagan, Dennis Martinez, Milt Pappas: 2

And of course, the one-timers.

-Kevin Millwood, Erik Bedard, Sidney Ponson, Scott Erickson, Pat Hentgen, Jimmy Key, Jeff Ballard, Bob Milacki, Dave Schmidt, Storm Davis, Scott McGregor, Steve Stone, Pat Dobson, Tommy Phoebus,  Billy Hoeft, Jerry Walker, Jack Harshman, Connie Johnson, Hal Brown, Bill Wight, Lou Kretlow, Don Larsen

Which names are surprising to you? Only three pitchers had more Opening Day starts for the Birds than Guthrie, and they're the three best in club history. Rodrigo Lopez's three starts may seem to be an indicator of the team's lack of pitching depth in the 2000s, but two of those assignments came on the heels of his very good 2002 (15-9, 3.57 ERA) and 2004 (14-9, 3.59) seasons. Dave Schmidt's start in the 1989 opener seems like an odd choice in hindsight, since he wound up with an astronomical 5.69 ERA on a surprisingly competitive young team that had a cumulative 4.00 ERA on the season. But he'd been much better than that in 1988, with a 3.40 ERA in a swingman role for a much worse O's team. Besides, Frank Robinson had no way of knowing how well Ballard and Milacki would pitch in '89.

So who's your pick for Opening Day 2012? I'll go out on a limb and say it's Zach Britton. Now I've probably doomed him to have a slow recovery from his ongoing bout of shoulder soreness.