Walter Young, 2006 Topps Heritage #216

I never like talking about recently-deceased Orioles, and I especially don't like it when the ex-player is two years older than me. Walter Young suffered a fatal heart attack last Saturday at age 35. His O's career consisted of a 14-game stint in September 2005, but he made a splashy debut in the Baltimore organization a year earlier with 33 homers and 98 RBI at AA Bowie after being claimed off waivers from the Pirates. According to the text on the back of this 2006 Topps Heritage card, big Walter (6'5", 320 pounds) hit the B&O Warehouse on the fly during a batting practice session at Camden Yards. It's a shame he didn't get to showcase that light-tower power in an extended trial in the bigs. His lone big league round-tripper was hit in Texas on September 13, 2005, leading off the seventh inning against future Cy Young winner R. A. Dickey. Ten years later, he's gone. It's just too soon.

Walter Young, 2006 Topps Opening Day #146

I'm burning the midnight oil for this post, because my new workout regimen took priority. After weeks of dithering, I finally bought Nintendo's Wii Fit over the weekend. After all, I'm 26 and I haven't gotten regular exercise since I stopped running track in high school nearly a decade ago. I'm going to start paying attention to the warning signs...like tweaking a muscle in my back when I bend down to pick up one of the cats. It's a slippery slope, and I'd like to whip myself into better shape before I end up looking like ol' Walter Young there. Because I'm some sort of glutton for punishment, I do occasionally write at other locales on the Web, and it just so happens that I gabbed at further length about my first impressions of Wii Fit over at Crunchable. Check it out while I collapse into bed.