Cal Ripken, Jr., 2002 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classics #B-CR

Cal Ripken, Jr. is really stepping into his swing, and it looks like he's making solid contact. The barrel of the bat is meeting the sweet spot of the ball, most likely. They say that when a baseball player is locked in at the plate, the baseball looks as big as a beach ball as it soars toward home. I think this card offers up an amusing take on that notion, as a giant wooden orb closes in on Cal. Just as bat meets ball, Upper Deck has taken a ball-shaped piece of one of his bats and slapped it on the card.

Maybe this bat was actually used by Junior in the previous season: 2001, his swan song. His efforts brought a somewhat unsatisfying and uncharacteristic end to his career (.239 AVG, .276 OBP, .361 SLG), but I'd like to believe that this piece of lumber was used on one of the fleeting good days. Maybe on July 14, when he found the sweet spot twice and nearly beat the Braves single-handedly.

Tony Batista, 2002 Fleer Maximum #180

Tonight on Bizarre Batting Stance Theatre: Tony Batista and the Corkscrew. It's amazing that he was able to hit as many home runs as he did (221 in his career) with one foot pointed at the pitcher, another at first base, and his torso and head somewhere in between. On the other hand, the .299 career on-base percentage makes a little more sense.

Vintage Fridays: Brooks Robinson, 1968 Topps Game Cards #9

First of all, I've just posted yesterday's entry. I honestly did write the post yesterday evening, but did not post it right away as I was away from my scanner. By the time I got to my PC, I became sidetracked and never remembered to scan and post! It's been a long week, I think.

Anyway, this was also a surprisingly eventful week for Orioles news. I'm going to try to kill a few birds with a single stone today and tackle the news bits that concern O's third basemen past and present. The conversation begins (and usually ends) with Brooks Robinson, who manned the hot corner for most of the first quarter-century of the team's existence, some 2,870 games. Though #5 still doesn't have a statue on the premises of Oriole Park at Camden Yards (only Charm City native Babe Ruth holds this honor), he'll soon have one just across the street. On the Russell Street median that sits between the ballpark and Pickles Pub, a 9-foot high bronze statue will depict the 16-time Gold Glove winner winding up to gun down a runner at first base. You can see a model of the statue accompanying this article. It was the brain child of Baltimore's Public Art Commission and will be sculpted by Maryland native Joseph Sheppard. The piece should be unveiled in time for the 2011 season. I can't wait to see it in its full glory.

Meanwhile, the man who played more games at third base as an Oriole than anyone other than Brooksie has officially been replaced, at least for the short term. With the signing of former Rockies infielder Garrett Atkins, free agent Melvin Mora's departure from the club seems much more tangible. While it's still relatively early in the Hot Stove season, I can't help but wonder just how difficult it is for Mora to sit and play the waiting game. There's been next to no buzz about him in the rumor mill; I heard one report linking him to Colorado and one comment left on a MASN blog in which the person claims to have run into Melvin and solicited the player's opinion/belief that he would return to the Mets. I wish him the best no matter where he goes, but based on what I saw with my own lying eyes in 2009, time is running short for him in MLB.

So, what of Garrett Atkins? As word spread this fall that the slugger would not be tendered a contract by the Rockies, I checked out his stats and cringed. Many are treating his dismal 2009 as an off year. Fair enough; he never has been as bad as he was in the just-concluded season. But in truth, his numbers have declined for each of the past three seasons following his breakout in 2006. I won't bother with the counting stats since he lost his starting job last year, but let's just go by OPS+, since it takes on-base plus slugging averages and adjusts them for ballpark and league averages (again, 100 is league-average):

2006: 136

2007: 113

2008: 96

2009: 66

Ugh. If you're curious, MelMo checked in at 79 last year and the equally hard-to-watch Ty Wigginton was at 87. But I want to be fair, and above all, I want to root for Atkins. So let's weigh the pros and the cons that are being presented elsewhere, along with anything I can cook up on my own.

PROS

-He's hit for power in the past (averaging 25 HR and 110 RBI from 2006-2008), so we know he's capable of it.

-He just turned 30 last week, so we're getting younger at the position and it's not likely that he's washed up so soon.

-He is a righthanded hitter, and boy howdy do we need those.

-He's good buddies with free agent prize Matt Holliday, so who knows? Maybe he's bait for a bigger fish.

-He won't block top prospect Josh Bell. He's only signed for one year plus a team option for 2011, and if Bell's ready this year Atkins could slide over to first base depending on who is or isn't getting the job done at that position.

-He's (sorta) cheap. You won't find many guys with proven 20-30 HR power for what we'll be paying Garrett ($4-5 million in 2010, depending on incentives).

-There's not much else out there on the market. Chone Figgins landed a big-years, big-cash deal from the Mariners and Adrian Beltre (who's no slam dunk himself) will not come easily. Everyone else is jammed together in the pack, so Atkins is as good as anyone.

CONS

-He was really bad last year and his performances from 2007-2009 could indicate a troubling trend. Some guys are finished at 30.

-He's got a reputation as a subpar defender. With so much young pitching, one of the best (and still cheapest) ways to improve is by tightening up the 'D'.

-It's hard to ignore those home/road splits. Say what you want about humidors, but he's proven to be a much better hitter in the thin air of Denver than he has elsewhere (120 OPS+ at home, 82 on the road).

-He'll be facing American League East pitching for a huge chunk of the season. Things ain't getting any easier.

-Small sample alert! Garrett has three singles in 23 career at-bats in Baltimore.

-Small sample alert II! In 15 career postseason games, he's hit .231 with one home run. Guy's a choker.

Okay, so a few "cons" were tongue-in-cheek. But I'm still on the fence at best when it comes to our new third sacker. We probably could have done worse, and even I am loath to believe that the dude is as awful as he played in '09. But we all know that the games aren't played on paper, so I'll have to reserve final judgment for next year. May Garrett Atkins prove worthy of Birdland...

Sidney Ponson, 2004 Bowman Chrome #125

Before it even dawned on me that the decade was coming to a close, every website and blog started peppering me with "Best/Worst of the 2000s" retrospectives. No less an authority than ESPN gave an infamous Oriole a very great honor in their own look back at the past ten years.

ESPN.com writer Jerry Crasnick tabbed the one, the only, the soused, Sir Sidney Ponson as the Least Valuable Pitcher of the Decade. That's one hell of an honor, when you consider the 6.00 ERA posted in the 'aughts by Jose Lima. Crasnick also gives mention to the money for nothing crowd headlined by Mike Hampton, and of course fellow Birdland favorite Daniel Cabrera. I think D-Cab was disqualified because he is not technically a pitcher.

But it was the cavalcade of extracurricular disasters that pushed the husky Aruban over the top. We've been over this before, but no baseball player that I am aware of ever punched a judge. No, not even Billy Martin. The 10.3 hits per nine innings that he allowed over the course of the decade (including a staggering 265 in 215.2 innings in 2004) are just the icing on the crap cake. When you put it like that, it's hard to believe that the Orioles (twice), Giants, Cardinals, Yankees (twice), Twins, Rangers, and Royals all washed their hands of him, isn't it?

So congratulations, Sir Sidney. Give us the mailing address of the cardboard box where you're currently living, and we'll be sure to mail you your can of SPAM.

Brady Anderson, 1998 Topps Stars #105

After Monday's Roberto Alomar card that looked like spin art gone horribly wrong, I thought I might do a theme week of hideously designed 1990s cards. For whatever reason I decided against it; maybe I didn't want to limit myself to just seven days of ugly. Nevertheless I am going back to that well tonight.

We've got it all here: bad photo (does Brady Anderson really have four chins?), pointless set with bonus serial numbering on the back, hideous unreadable space-age font made even less legible by gold foil, and of course a background that features Jacobs Field (I'm guessing) melting into outer space its very self. Oh, and did I mention that Brady is glossy, while the rest of the card front has a canvas texture? Eccchhh.

All things told, the 2000s may not have been a great decade, but at least cards like this didn't happen on their watch.

Bob Milacki, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #22

I can't believe that we've got actually breaking news about Bob Milacki in 2009, but so it is. The former O's righthander is entering his tenth season as a minor league pitching coach, and he's just gotten a promotion. He'll be mentoring the staff of the AA Reading Phillies, a year after coaching for the South Atlantic League champion Lakewood Blue Claws. Prior to that, he'd been in the Pirates organization since 2001. If he plays his cards right, he could be wandering back to a major league mound in a few more years to impart wisdom like "keep the ball down" and "work quickly". Godspeed, Bob. Godspeed.

Roberto Alomar, 1998 Skybox Thunder #77

Wow, there is a lot going on here, and I'm not just talking about the abominable Nestle-Crunch foil font, stacked logos, and background vortex of neon. It's hard to believe that Major League Baseball never filed an injunction against Fleer in the late 1990s, isn't it?

The various accessories that are adorning Roberto Alomar's uniform are actually of greater interest to me. We see two patches stacked on the left sleeve of his jersey: the Oriole bird perches atop a logo commemorating the 200th anniversary of the city of Baltimore. The O's actually wore a third patch in 1997, which you can't see in this photo: the 50th anniversary patch that was worn by all 28 teams in honor of Jackie Robinson's major league debut. That would have been on the right sleeve.

Additionally, Alomar's jersey number (12) is reproduced on his batting gloves and the tongues of his shoes. Fortunately, Fleer included a big red twelve in the bottom right corner of the card in case your eyesight isn't that sharp.

Finally, we've got an orange "24" next to the bird on his helmet. Of course that was the uniform number of outfielder Eric Davis, who spent much of the 1997 season battling colon cancer; he would make an incredible comeback during the stretch drive and postseason. It's my recollection that all of the Orioles wore those modified helmets that year, and some players also inscribed "24" on their caps. You can see Armando Benitez showing his support on this card.

It's interesting how one fairly routine picture can give you so many context clues about the era from which it came.

Koji Uehara, 2009 Topps T206 Autographs #FMA-2

One of the neat little perks of being a team collector and blogger is that you don't always have to go out chasing the shiny rare inserts. I haven't opened a single pack of T206 or done an eBay search for it, yet I'm in possession of this excellent framed mini autograph card of Koji Uehara, the first Japanese player in Orioles history. I like his signature. I can make out "Koji", and then it gets ridiculous. I can't imagine what that's supposed to be, because it's not English and I'm reasonably sure it's not Kanji. I hope I got that right.

Earlier this week, Larry (a.k.a. The Sewingmachineguy) emailed me to offer up this fine card for trade. He is a Tigers fan, and by a stroke of luck, one of the few non-Orioles relic cards that I have is of ex-Tigers prospect Cameron Maybin. So I sent Cameron and his little gray jersey swatch off to Michigan and reaped the benefits. Thanks, Larry!

Adam Jones, 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter #20

"No time for blogging, Dr. Jones! We've got a house to clean!"

Vintage Fridays: Tippy Martinez, 1977 Topps #238

Earlier this week, there was a friendly debate on Camden Chat about which player was the best to wear #23 in Orioles history: catcher Chris Hoiles or reliever Tippy Martinez. It's a good question, and not necessarily one with any "right" answer; comparing a position player to a pitcher is an apples and oranges situation. Though Hoiles is one of my favorite Orioles, and was in his prime during my early years as a fan, I had to cast my vote for Tippy.

Many fans who were not around for the glory years may look at Tippy's modest save totals (115 for his career, single-season high of 21 in 1983) and yawn. I had a vague knowledge that the lefty had been a jack-of-all-trades out of the O's bullpen, so I pulled up the his game logs from 1979 - a very good year for both him and the Orioles. What I saw was just incredible.

Earl Weaver used Tippy every which way he could without starting him or inserting him as a pinch hitter. He was called upon in each and every inning possible, from the first through the eleventh. He was used to get one out, but would also be asked to throw an inning or two or three or four or...seven and two-thirds, as was the case in a no-hit, one-walk gem against Oakland on July 23. On that day, he bailed out a struggling Mike Flanagan in the second inning and stayed on for the rest of the game, turning a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 win. Believe it or not, that was the second time Tippy had stifled Oakland in that manner in '79. On April 29, he replaced an ailing Jim Palmer four batters into the game and permitted only four A's baserunners in six and one-third innings. He struck out five batters before Tim Stoddard polished off a 13-1 victory with a couple shutout innings.

So did all of that shuffling around and stretching out have any negative effect on Tippy? Did his arm fall off, or did the lack of a defined role fluster him and cause him to lose his pitching mechanics? Not hardly. At year's end, Martinez had a 10-3 record with three saves, four holds and a 2.88 ERA. He allowed 59 hits and 31 walks in 78 innings, while striking out 61.

Sorry Chris, Tippy wins. He was a bullpen ace in the truest sense: he pitched when the team needed him the most.

By the way, Earl did start him once, in 1980...at designated hitter. Benny Ayala pinch-hit for him in the first inning. It was part of an ongoing strategy by Earl Weaver to create a favorable hitting matchup in the event that the opposing starter was knocked out of the game early, and it gave him a slight tactictal advantage; the other team couldn't prepare for the DH slot in the Baltimore lineup. Eventual Cy Young winner Steve Stone was "DH" in a dozen games. Tippy wasn't even with the team on the day in question, having flown to Colorado for his grandmother's funeral. Unsurprisingly, the American League soon amended the rules to require the starting DH to bat at least once before being removed. Read more about it here (scroll down to question #3).

Wow, this was more like two blog posts in one. Talk about versatility.

Fred Lynn, 1986 Sportflics #150

This has got to be the best scan I've ever gotten of a Sportflics card. Usually portions of all three images are picked up, but this scan gives a pretty clear image of Fred Lynn in mid-swing. You can't really tell just how weird this card is.

Most Sportflics featured three images of one player, placed in juxtaposition with one another to create a moving image of the subject in action. But this one actually features static images of three separate players: Lynn, Reggie Jackson, and Dave Kingman. What's even more unusual is their loose rationale for grouping the three 1970s/1980s American League stars. They are apparently "Comeback Players". On the card back, there are stat lines from two consecutive years selected for each man. I would have at least expected that all three would have had their bounce-back efforts in the 1985 season, the most recent at the time of this card's release. But for Reggie, they went back a few years: 1981 (.758 OPS) to 1982 (.907). Same for Fred: 1981 (.639) to 1982 (.891). Kingman was at least only off by a year: 1983 (.648) to 1984 (.826).

As you can see, each member of the trio did improve markedly from one year to the next. But the text on the card curiously refers to the boost in Reggie's counting stats (HR and RBI) from 1981 to 1982, when a good deal of the increase can be attributed to the player strike that cut a chunk of games out of the 1981 season. I can see what Sportflics was shooting for here, but it's just odd. They should have stuck with single-player action sequences; I'm pretty sure they did so in subsequent years.

Chris Ray, 2009 Topps Gold #542

This photo of Chris Ray makes it look as if he's turning his back on us, preparing to make his exit. That's only appropriate, since he is now a Texas Ranger. Today, the Orioles made their first significant move of the offseason by trading Ray for veteran starting pitcher Kevin Millwood and $3 million (to defray the costs of his $12 million salary).

I wasn't crazy about Millwood when I first heard that the O's wanted him, but I've talked myself into him pretty quickly. The price was right: as good as Ray once was, relief pitchers are pretty replaceable - particularly ones with a Tommy John surgery and a 7.27 ERA in 2009. $9 million is still pretty steep, but the O's payroll is pretty low otherwise. Besides, the Orioles always need pitching. Even with their parcel of talented young pitchers, they're not completely stocked. A guy who makes 30 starts every year like clockwork is a valuable commodity, and by all accounts he's a model citizen who is willing and able to talk pitching with his less experienced teammates. By recent O's standards, a 4.02 career ERA is like a Cy Young Award. And even though his ERA has been high for most of his time in Texas, Baltimore's ballpark is actually less hitter-friendly. I don't think he's a panacea, but he'll be a solid addition to the team.

Oh, and he's not Adam Eaton.

Anyway, so long Chris Ray. I wish you nothing but good luck and good health, even if you imploded any time you came within sniffing distance of pinstripes. Welcome to Charm City, Kevin Millwood. Even if you might only be here for a year or less, I hope I have ample reason to root for you. It's nice to have a Kevin on the team again.

Jeff Fiorentino, 2007 Fleer #323

Sayonara, Screech. As of today, Jeff Fiorentino is bound for the Land of the Rising Sun. The mop-headed scamp/serviceable fourth outfielder was signed by the Hiroshima Carp to a one-year contract for 40 million yen, plus performance-based incentives. He'll be a multiomillyenaire! Sure, the exchange rate might be a little bogus, but it sounds impressive and that's what counts. I'll always remember your red-hot debut in 2005, when you bashed five hits in your first seven at-bats. I'll also look back fondly on your return this past season, when you became the first player to wear #70 for the O's.

Well, that was a quick and breezy career retrospective. Konichiwa...

Larry Bigbie, 2004 Topps #453

Things that spring to mind when viewing this card:

-Who is that Seattle catcher? My guess is Dan Wilson. Backup Ben Davis only appeared in two night games at Camden Yards in 2003.

-Actually, it may be Pat Borders. The only day game that the Mariners played in Baltimore was September 7, and the ex-Jays backstop got the start. Wilson entered in the eighth inning, but was not behind the plate for a Larry Bigbie at-bat. The O's won 2-1, thanks to a combined five-hitter by Pat Hentgen and Jorge Julio (go figure).

-Bigbie totaled 31 home runs in his career and was rarely healthy. I hope he got a refund for those steroids he took.

-It was considerate of Topps to blur out the face of the little girl behind home plate. I'm sure the husky gentleman in the Cal Ripken, Jr. farewell tee with the bottle of Bud (who may be her father) also appreciates his anonymity.

Jay Tibbs, 1989 Upper Deck #655

Jay Tibbs holds an odd place of honor in Orioles lore. On May 2, 1988, he was recalled from Rochester and became the first O's pitcher to win a home game that season. This was, of course, the team that set an American pro sports record by starting the season 0-21 before eking out a win in Chicago. They then lost the last two games of that road trip to return to Baltimore with a 1-23 record. 50,402 ridiculously loyal fans packed Memorial Stadium to watch Tibbs and the Birds outlast the Rangers by a score of 9-4. Of course, the righthander went on to tie with Jose Bautista for the team lead with 15 losses. In my mind, Jay takes the booby prize as the worst starter on that team by the tale of the tape: 4-15, 5.39 ERA as opposed to Jose's 6-15, 4.30 line.

That 1988 team was back in the headlines last week, which is an unusual occurrence in December. They found their record for early-season futility being challenged by the NBA's New Jersey Nets, who set a new pro basketball mark by losing their first 18 contests before finally grabbing that first "W" last Friday against the Charlotte Bobcats. As the Nets got within spitting distance of the Orioles' dubious milestone, I was conflicted in my rooting interests. On one hand, any time your favorite team becomes a little less synonymous with failure, that's a good thing. But there's something about that "0-21" that is like a perverse badge of honor. If nothing else, it's a constant reminder that things should never be as bad in Birdland as they once were.

Still, when you compare the respective streaks, the Nets' 0-18 holds a bit more weight than our 0-21, what with the NBA season being half as long as MLB's schedule. That's to say nothing of last year's 0-16 Detroit Lions, who did not win a single NFL regular-season game. I suppose crumminess is all relative.

Ryan Minor, 2000 Fleer Autographics #NNO

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date, so please enjoy this autographed card of former Orioles bust and current Delmarva Shorebirds hitting coach Ryan Minor with no commentary attached.

Vintage Fridays: Curt Blefary, 1968 Topps #312

There's always something that calls out to us, attracting us, pulling us back home again.

Curt Blefary signed his first professional contract with the Yankees when he was still a teenager, back in 1962. Three years later, he was an Oriole and also the American League Rookie of the Year, a 22-home-run slugger with a .381 on-base percentage. The following year he and his Baltimore teammates were World Champions, the greatest thrill that a player can experience in his career. I suppose it was only natural that his career would seem like a letdown after such a fantastic start. After he slumped to .200 with a .301 OBP in 1968, the Birds traded him to Houston. He never recaptured the momentum of his early career, and was out of the league before age thirty.

But some part of Curt apparently remained back in Charm City. After his career ended, he continued what would be a lifelong struggle with alcoholism and developed pancreatitis, which claimed his life at age 57 in early 2001. Though he died in Florida, the ex-outfielder's final resting place is in Baltimore, on 33rd Street. Carrying out his final wish, his widow Lana scattered his ashes on home plate (provided by the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum) on the site of Memorial Stadium, which had already been demolished by that time.

Curt Blefary is home.

Lee Smith, 1995 Score Hall of Gold #HG40

The birthday train keeps on a-rollin' with Shreveport, Louisiana's own Lee Arthur Smith. The barrel-chested fireman blows out 52 candles tomorrow, and it just so happens that he is on this year's Hall of Fame ballot. Many members of the BBWAA are filling out their ballots right about now, and in a month's time we will know whether Lee Smith and/or former teammates Andre Dawson, Harold Baines, Barry Larkin, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Ray Lankford, Don Mattingly, David Segui, and Todd Zeile are bound for Cooperstown next summer. In case you're counting, Lee played alongside nine out of the 25 other players on the ballot. What can you say? The dude got around: eight teams in 18 years. I'm sure he'd like nothing more for his birthday than to get a belated gift in the form of a call from that little rural town in New York. For now, he'll just have to play the waiting game.

Since I know for a fact that some of you fine readers are as fond of The Simpsons as I am, I'll leave you with one of my favorite Homeric quotes:

"Aww, the waiting game sucks. Let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos."

Sid Fernandez, 1995 Stadium Club #188

I'm sure I've been unfairly cruel to Sid Fernandez on the rare occasions that I've blogged about him, but I just can't resist low-hanging fruit. This may be the single funniest Orioles card that I own. "El Sid" looks more like a certain pixellated adventurous Italian plumber than he does a major league pitcher as he looms large over the dugout rail and the low-laying photographer. When I look at his cheesy smile and ample chins depicted in all of their full-bleed color glory, I almost forget about the sky-high ERA and the towering home runs he allowed. This glossy little rectangle makes me glad - for just a fleeting moment - that this pear-shaped Hawaiian was an Oriole.

Mark Smith, 1994 Score Rookies/Traded #RT108

I've been watching Orioles games attentively for about 17 years now. In that time, I've seen plenty of exciting games: historical moments, improbable rallies, ninth-inning escapes, and walkoff wins. But for some reason, the earliest of those last-at-bat victories that I can remember happened in 1996 - three years after I began rooting for the Birds in earnest.

Of course, that ended up being a memorable season for other reasons, as the O's broke a major league record by smashing 257 home runs en route to the American League Wild Card (their first playoff appearance since 1983) and a postseason upset of the defending A.L. champion Indians. But on the date in question - Saturday, June 22, 1996 - the team hadn't quite put it into gear yet. They'd started the year 11-2, but had been playing sub-.500 ball since and sat three games behind the Yankees as they took the field. It was an afternoon game against the Royals, being televised on Fox. It seems inconceivable now that such a matchup would be nationally televised, but the mid-90s were a simpler time. I even recall that Baltimore was wearing its snappy new black alternate jerseys, which thankfully went over better than the previous year's gray cap horror. But I digress.

Anyway, I was watching the game by myself, enjoying the seeming endless summer before my freshman year of high school. Scott Erickson started for the Orioles and pitched a fine enough game, allowing three runs on eight hits and three walks. Those totals may look high, but errors by Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Bonilla led to a two-run first inning for K.C., and after David Howard's run-scoring fielder's choice in the second, Scotty kept the visitors off of the scoreboard for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately, the O's bats were downright anemic. Opposing starter Tim Belcher held them to two hits through eight innings (including a string of 12 straight batters retired) and took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with a 3-0 lead that seemed more than sufficient. Luis Polonia (inexplicably getting the start at DH) hit a grounder right back to Belcher, and there were undoubtedly many fans searching for the exits at Oriole Park.

That's when the fireworks started.

Roberto Alomar lined a double to center field, and Palmeiro atoned for his earlier mistake by crushing a two-run homer over the right-center field fence. Suddenly it was a one-run game and Belcher was history. In came closer Jeff Montgomery, he of the 304 career saves, to try to shut the door. With redemption being the theme of the inning, Bobby Bonilla greeted Montgomery with a game-tying home run. Now it was a whole new game, and all of the momentum was with the good guys. Looking rattled, the Royals pitcher walked Cal Ripken, Jr. before recovering to retire B. J. Surhoff on a deep fly ball to left field. With two outs and the winning run on first base, it was up to 26-year-old left fielder Mark Smith to avoid extra innings. Coming into the game, he had only 161 career plate appearances in 51 games...

Evidently Mark wasn't big on suspense. He launched the second pitch of the at-bat over the wall for a game-winning two-run homer and was mobbed at the plate! Orioles 5, Royals 3. Having relived it with the help of Retrosheet, I'd kind of like to find video of that whole inning.

As a postscript, that was the fifth home run of Smith's career. He would hit only 32 in his career, and never reached double digits in any season. That's baseball for you.