Randy Milligan, 1990 Bowman #257

It's Saturday night, which means that the Orioles are wearing their orange jerseys, and so I have an opportunity to remind you that the orange jerseys are magnificent. The Birds are clinging to a 4-3 lead over Walgreens the Nationals in the sixth inning as I type, so let's hope they can keep on going.

Randy Milligan, 1993 Donruss #191

Sometimes it's Tuesday night, you're ready for bed, and you scan and post a mid-90s Randy Milligan card. It's a somewhat unusual camera angle, straight down the first base line, allowing you to see the 318-foot marker on the right field wall in still-new Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Milligan crouches, ready to stretch and receive the throw.

Randy Milligan, 1990 Donruss #519

My internal monologue right now: Finish sorting your junk wax. Finish cataloging it. Finish sorting your Orioles cards. Put together your 1956 Topps binder. Then you can play video games.

Adulthood is what you make of it.

Randy Milligan, 1991 Studio #7

It's a big day for animalistic baseball transactions, as the Orioles traded a (Ross) Wolf to the Athletics for a (Jake) Fox. At first blush, it's a swap of 27-year-old minor league vets, but I appreciate the fact that corner infielder/outfielder/emergency catcher Fox joined the major league club right away, ostensibly putting one more nail in the coffin of punchless Garrett Atkins.

"Moose" Milligan could not be reached for comment. Neither could Walt "Moose" Dropo, Mike Mussina, Howie Fox, Chico Salmon, Bob "Rabbit" Saverine, Marlin Stuart, Dizzy Trout, Gregg "Otter" Olson, Mike Parrott, John "Horse" Orsino, Terry "the Crow" Crowley...well, you get the idea.

Randy Milligan, 1993 Upper Deck #228

As part of my ongoing losing battle to better organize and display my collection, I spent the early part of this evening putting my 1993 Upper Deck factory set in a binder. It was long overdue, since I adhere to the opinion expressed by some of my favorite fellow bloggers that the card company from California was at the peak of its powers in that year. The design is unobtrusive but distinct, and I appreciate the fact that the Orioles are the only team to have a bright orange team-color stripe at the bottom of the card. The Mets are given blue, and the Giants are black. The photos (both front and back) are nothing short of amazing. They offer a great blend of incredibly detailed and dynamic action shots and imaginative and unique poses and candid moments. More than anything, the clarity and quality of the photos is noteworthy.

Randy Milligan's card had the most uniquely composed photo of the team set. Honestly, have you ever seen another card featuring the team trainer applying eye black? I love it all the more because you can read the trainer's watch if your eyes are sharp enough. I couldn't quite decipher the time, but the date appears to be 5-17, or May 17. The O's were indeed on the road that day, visiting the White Sox. It wasn't a pretty game, with Chicago battering Ben McDonald and Storm Davis and outlasting the Birds by a football score of 14-10. "Moose" Milligan had a decent day at the plate, picking up a pair of singles in five at-bats and driving in two runs, probably because the sun wasn't in his eyes.

Randy Milligan, 1991 Fleer Ultra #20

This Thursday, Randy "Moose" Milligan will be celebrating not only Thanksgiving, but also his 47th birthday. It stands to reason that he has a lot to give thanks for. It's important to have perspective in what has become a very trying time for increasing numbers of people. More than ever before, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. There are more poor, as well. The United States, and the world at large, are in the midst of the largest economic recession in the past few decades. Jobs are disappearing, homes are facing foreclosure.

Looking at things from this vantage point, I've been very fortunate. I have a stable job that pays well, and a roof over my head. I can afford to feed and clothe myself, with enough left over for diversion like these cards. I spend a lot of time throughout the year complaining about my long commute to work, or shouting at the television when the Orioles blow a game. But if these are my most pressing concerns on a day-to-day basis, I'm doing alright.

Chances are that most of us are soon to get swept up in the runaway consumerism of the Christmas season, and Thanksgiving comes with its own focus on conspicuous consumption. I'm going to follow the lead of baseball blog Walkoff Walk and urge you to make a donation to your local food bank. Every dollar helps provide meals for families less fortunate than yours or mine. You can find a list with links to a food bank in each Major League Baseball city here. If you wish to donate elsewhere, you can probably find it on the Google. Thanks for humoring my philanthropic side.

Randy Milligan, 1990 Topps #153

After fifteen years as an Orioles fan, the team that I most identify with is a team that I never followed at all: the 1989 Orioles. That team is a microcosm of everything about baseball that enchants us. A year after hitting rock bottom with a thrown-together mess of aging veterans and underqualified refugees from AAA, a year after losing their first 21 games of the season, firing Cal Ripken, Sr. as manager in April, and finishing dead last with 108 losses, the Orioles spent most of the 1989 season in first place in the American League East. They did it with the old methods of Oriole baseball: pitching and defense, along with some timely hitting. There were different heroes every day, most of them untested rookies and unwanted castoffs from other organizations. In one year, the O's went from laughingstocks to lovable underdogs.

Why Not?

That was the rallying cry of the fans, and the name of a VHS tape made locally to tell the story of the most improbable season in Baltimore baseball history. I own the tape, and try to watch it at least once a year. It's one of my favorite baseball keepsakes, for reasons both genuine and ironic. First, the genuine: it's narrated by Jon Miller, who is still sorely missed in Baltimore. The video is also well-constructed, showing the most pertinent and exciting highlights in chronological order and giving a real sense of the dizzying highs and crushing lows of the entire 162-game season.

As for the ironic, this tape is rife with uninentional comedy and is a perfect time capsule for the late 1980's. Certain points in the season are set up through "letters" the players write to friends and family. You'll see Mike Devereaux scribbling intently on a pad of paper as he also dictates the letter out loud in a stilted voiceover. In a cute touch, Cal Junior even dashes off a letter to former teammate (and at that time pitcher for the rival Blue Jays) Mike Flanagan. The players' hairstyle and fashion choices are also a source of amusement. There's the goofy soundtrack, which includes the over-the-top cheesy "Why Not?" (if you've heard any song explicitly written for your local sports team, you know what I mean), "I Love Mickey" (appropriated for slugging catcher Mickey Tettleton), "Great Balls of Fire", "Wind Beneath My Wings", and Kenny Rogers' "Blaze of Glory". I do have to admit that "Runnin' Down a Dream" was a great choice though.

But the absolute funniest moment in the entire video comes during a highlight of Randy Milligan's dramatic game-tying three run home run off of Boston's Rob Murphy. As footage of the at-bat rolls, we're treated to a voiceover by the burly first baseman, simulating his thoughts as he dug in at the plate. When he gets a hold of the pitch and it soars over the fence at Fenway Park, he lets out a loud, "YEEEAAAAHHHH BOOOOOYYYYYY!". It kills me every time.

Something else happens when I watch this video. I'm transported back in time, twenty years in the past. I find myself smiling as Dave Johnson gets that complete-game win in his Memorial Stadium debut, or Mickey Weston notches his first save in the bigs after eight-plus years in the minor leagues. Above all, I hope against hope that things will be different in the end. Maybe Mark Williamson cleanly fields that Joe Carter bunt. Perhaps the fog lifts just enough for Phil Bradley to find that Ken Phelps fly ball. Maybe, just maybe, Pete Harnisch doesn't step on a nail and miss that last starting assignment in Toronto. After all, they finished just two games back. Two wins away from a worst-to-first season.

Why Not?