Tim Raines, Jr., 2002 Topps Total #119

I thought Tim Raines, Jr. was a fitting choice on the night that rains washed out the sixth game of the World Series. Yes, I know. That's a reach even for me. But look on the bright side: we're able to put off the end of the 2011 baseball season for at least one more day. It'll be a long winter, so the longer we can hold it at arm's length, the better.

Tim Raines, Jr., 2001 Bowman Chrome #279

Today I was researching Orioles home runs, and I uncovered something interesting...to me, anyway. In 174 plate appearances in 75 major league games spanning three seasons, Tim Raines, Jr. never hit a home run for the O's. His father made just a dozen trips to the plate for the Birds in four games in 2001, his penultimate season, and went deep once. Tim Junior was schooled by his 41-year-old Dad!

So why was I preoccupied with round-trippers? I put together another Sporcle quiz, this one asking the taker to list the top 200 players on the Orioles' all-time home run list. Why 200? Because that's the largest number of questions that Sporcle accommodates. Again, why 200? It seems excessive, considering that it encompasses every Oriole with as many as five homers, and even a few with four (there was a 20-way tie, but only three spots left to 200, so I took the three who used the fewest at-bats to get there). I've taken several home run list quizzes that were created for other teams, and had a great time seeing how many players I could pluck from my brain in the 20 minutes allotted. I just figured that the Birds should be represented too. So feel free to kill some time and exercise some brain cells by taking my quiz (and rating it)! I'll even give you a hint: you can enter last names only and kill multiple birds with one stone. Typing "Smith" might hypothetically get you four points. Wink, wink. Good luck!

Tim Raines, Jr., 2000 Topps #445

So here's another attention-grabbing 2000 Topps prospect card featuring an Oriole. There are actually two Orioles, counting future Bird Gary Matthews, Jr. Topps made a sharp move in putting three second-generation outfielders (all named after their accomplished fathers!) on the same card. The only thing that would be snazzier would be if all three of their major league dads also made an appearance.

So how do these flycatching progeny stack up against their papas?

The elder Tim Raines is hopefully a future Hall of Famer, by virtue of his .294 career average, .385 on-base percentage, and 808 stolen bases. Seven straight All-Star appearances don't hurt, either.

The first Gary Matthews spent 16 years patrolling major league outfields and has a Rookie of the Year award on his mantle. He hit .281 with a .364 on-base percentage, and batted .323 in four postseason series.

Garry Maddox, Sr. was an outstanding center fielder for 15 years, nabbing eight Gold Gloves. He didn't walk much, but did hit at an .285 clip. He was a teammate of Sarge Matthews on the Giants and the Phillies.

The Juniors have totaled 1,320 major league games in 14 seasons: 1,245 games belong to Matthews and 75 to Tim Raines, Jr. Garry Maddox, Jr. never made it to the bigs, and was out of organized baseball after 2003. "Little Sarge" has the only All-Star appearance, a 2006 selection that looks like a fluke in hindsight (he is a .258 career hitter). Raines has not played in the majors since a 48-game swing through Baltimore in 2004, despite hitting over .300 in the minors in 2007 and 2008.

As you can see, the younger trio had some especially big shoes to fill and couldn't quite achieve the same level of success as their fathers. But they still got closer than most young men with baseball dreams.

Tim Raines, Jr., 1999 Bowman Foil #363

Man, these foil cards sure do scan like crap. Anyone have any special tricks they can recommend?

Anyway, this card reminds me of a lost period in my Orioles fandom. For my first few years of college, I had very little to do with the Birds. I was preoccupied with plays, classes, girls, living away from home for the first time...lots of stuff. Let's face it, the O's were in the early dark stages of their decline, still cluelessly banking on aging veterans. Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brady Anderson were at the end of the line, and Mike Mussina was bound for Yankee Stadium. There wasn't much to miss.

So it was that Tim Raines, Sr. and his son played side-by-side in the Orioles outfield, and I didn't even know about it.

Let's acknowledge this for what it was: a desperate grab at publicity by a terrible team (63-98). The younger Raines was by no means comparable to Ken Griffey, Jr., the only other man in major league history to team with his father. But still, the elder Raines was a true legend and absolutely should be elected to the Hall of Fame in the next few years. It would have been cool to have seen him play in Baltimore, even if it was at the end of his career and just for a few games (four, to be exact). At age 41, "Rock" didn't embarrass himself. He was 3-for-11 (.273) with a home run and five RBI for the Birds.

That's one of the great things about baseball. 162 games might be a long and sometimes monotonous commitment to make, but you never know what might unfold before your eyes...or what you might miss if you tune out.