Baltimore Orioles, 1985 Fleer Stickers

You’ve probably noticed that I use player birthdays as a convenient topic for a blog entry whenever I’m lacking for inspiration. If it seems like it’s happening a lot lately, well…let’s just say that baseball season can’t start soon enough. So I was stunned to pull up Baseball Reference’s birthday page for today only to find that there has not been a single Oriole player who was born on January 31! When you stop and think about it, it’s nothing too unusual. Since 1954, 910 men have suited up for the Birds, and there are of course 366 possible birth dates on the calendar. The rest of baseball picks up the slack for Baltimore, however: Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Nolan Ryan were all born on this date. I wouldn’t mind claiming any one of those men as Orioles, but it doesn’t quite work that way.

Daniel Cabrera, 2006 Fleer #234

Pop quiz: Is Daniel Cabrera still an active player? I consider myself fairly plugged in when it comes to baseball news. I'm subscribed to Hardball Talk and Baseball Nation's blog feeds, I follow baseball writers and fans by the dozens on Twitter, and MLB Network is frequently on my TV. Yet somehow, I was surprised by the news that Baltimore's favorite erratic 6'7" pitcher had recently signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates. I did know that Cabrera hadn't been seen in the major leagues since 2009, when he walked 42 batters and struck out only 23 in 51 innings for the Nationals and Diamondbacks. I had a vague memory of the White Sox giving him a go, but Ozzie Guillen and company set him adrift in the middle of spring training in 2010. He didn't catch on with another team until that June, when the Angels picked him up. He appeared in 11 games between AA and AAA with sufficiently awful results (0-3, 7.09 ERA, 20 K/16 BB in 26.2 IP). Baseball Reference has no record of Daniel playing anywhere in 2011, which brings us to the present day. Even considering the lowly state of the Pirates, Cabrera has to be considered the longest of long shots to return to a big league mound in 2012. If he does, I have one friendly suggestion for baseball fans in Pittsburgh: duck.

Brooks Robinson, 1987 Hygrade Baseball's All-Time Greats #36

Thoughts and prayers to Brooks Robinson, who is recovering in a Florida hospital after falling six to eight feet off the back of a stage at a charity event in Hollywood on Saturday night. He broke two bones in his rear shoulder area, but is reported to be "doing fine". Let's hope so.

Eddie Murray, 1988 Jiffy Pop Discs #13

Forgive the wonky scan. I guess my scanner isn't very keen on round items. Anyhow, this is the most outta-sight card to come from a package of various O's cards that Max recently sent. Nothing beats a surprise mailing, especially when it arrives on Friday afternoon! Once again, Eddie Murray proves his standing as King of Badass Mountain by appearing in a logo-free airbrushed picture on a goofy circular card that was manufactured by the folks who sell you popcorn kernels in an aluminum pouch...and still looking like a boss. 25 years later, Eddie still keeps you on your toes.

P.S.: Sorry about the "outta-sight" thing. Trying to switch things up from "interesting, "cool", etc. That one might not do it for you.

Vintage Fridays: John Lowenstein, 1980 Topps #287

I'm counting on you, dear readers, to keep me honest on this blog. When I go nearly two years between John Lowenstein posts, someone has to tell me! Fortunately I can use today to set things to rights, as it is Brother Lo's 65th birthday. Unreal, isn't it?

Speaking of unreal, there's a fair chance that you don't remember how good Lo was in 1982. To set the stage, this was his age 35 season, his 13th in the major leagues. To that point, he had been thoroughly average: .245 AVG/.326 OBP/.375 SLG. A 99 OPS+, if you swing that way. 69 career home runs in 2,548 at-bats, a rate of 37 at-bats per homer. Granted, he'd been more productive since coming on board as a lefty batter in Earl Weaver's most notable platoon, putting up a .271/.361/.426 triple slash and a 119 OPS+ in the previous three seasons. Still nothing that would set the baseball world aflame. It's also worth noting that over that 1979-1981 span, he totaled just 21 home runs in about a full season's worth of trips to the plate (582 at-bats/676 plate appearances), which breaks down to a big fly every 27.7 times at bat.

This has been a long-winded way of saying that no one could have expected John Lowenstein to hit the way he did in the year of my birth. No matter how you slice it up, the left fielder was red-hot. He started off with a .318/.375/.591 April, then exploded for 8 home runs, 19 RBI, and a 1.193 OPS in May. June brought a season-low .222 average in 36 at-bats, but he still reached base at a .349 clip. He batted at least .296 in every subsequent month that season, and put up identical 5-HR, 11-RBI tallies in July and August. His OPS was .971 at home and an astronomical 1.059 on the road, with a bit more road power making the difference there. Without further ado, the 1982 season totals:

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	Pos	Awards
1982	35	BAL	AL	122	384	322	69	103	15	2	24	66	7	6	54	59	.320	.415	.602	1.017	176	194	6	1	3	4	10	*7/9

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/27/2012.

You're not seeing things; that's a 176 OPS+. Frank Robinson had exactly two seasons with a higher number than that. Among all O's players with 300 or more plate appearances in 1982, Brother Lo was the team leader in average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS+. He doubled his previous career high in home runs, and topped his previous best RBI total by 18. He came within one double of his personal best, and set new benchmarks in runs scored and total bases. Once again, he did it all playing part-time. That home run rate I've been blathering about? One every 13.4 at-ats. Eddie Murray, who led the Birds with 32 homers that year, went deep once every 17.2 at-bats...a personal best.

Now maybe I'm assuming too much, and many of you remember 1982 as a great year for Lowenstein. But I can't recall ever hearing much about it. Even though I know I've looked at his numbers before, they were kind of hiding in plain sight, maybe because his platoon status kept the counting stats down. On a 94-win team with its share of stars (Eddie, Cal, Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, the Martinez boys), Brother Lo was an indispensable piece of the puzzle.

One last tidbit to play us out: 11 of John's 24 homers in 1982 either tied the game or gave the O's the lead. Perhaps none was bigger than the two-run walkoff shot he hit off of Jack Morris on Monday, September 20. The 3-1 win helped the Orioles stay within a couple games of first-place Milwaukee, which was crucial when the Brewers came to town a few weeks later for a season-ending, division-deciding four-game set.

Gary Roenicke, 1985 Topps #109

Gary Roenicke had a big game earlier this week.

No, I haven't gone completely out of my gourd. I'm referring to the game results from the Statis Pro 1984 blog, a new project from Rob, a fellow O's fan. He's replaying the entire 1984 season using a computer game from his childhood, and posting the results along with scans of 1985 Topps cards of the star players. You'll be glad to know that the Orioles took it to the White Sox on Opening Day by a score of 9-1, with Mike Boddicker going the distance and Gary Roenicke contributing a pinch grand slam. Go give it a look, and tell Rob that Kevin sent you! Or not. I just felt like saying that.

Jerry Hairston, Jr., 2002 Topps Gallery #111

I've done my share of mockery when it comes to Topps Gallery, so it's only fair that I commend the cards that got it right. This is a photo-realistic portrait of Jerry Hairston, Jr. gunning a throw to first base, with just enough artistic touches to keep it visually interesting. I'd like to tip my cap to Stephen Gardner, an England-born artist. According to his bio on the back of this card, Gardner's portrait of Joe DiMaggio hung in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I love his take on Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World", which can be found at his website.

Jack Voigt, 1994 Fleer Ultra #10

I still love seeing the distinctive 1993 All-Star Game sleeve patch on Orioles cards from that era. It especially stands out on the black alternate jersey that Jack Voigt is modeling. This seems timely, since the O's have thrown their hat in the ring to be considered as host to the 2016 All-Star Game. They want to celebrate the 25th season of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in style that year. They've got to have a pretty good chance, since I think Major League Baseball will have run out of shiny new taxpayer-funded stadiums to show off by then. Of course, we'll just have to play the waiting game for now, if we can stand it.

Jake Arrieta, 2010 Topps Chrome Refractor #213

Last Saturday marked the third consecutive year that I've attended Orioles FanFest. Why would I do such a thing, wondered nobody in particular? It's simple. Winter is long and cold and gray. It's about to get a lot duller, what with football season drawing to a close. I get a momentary respite from that baseball-lacking void that runs from November into February, and I allow myself to push aside just a bit of the abundant cynicism that allows me to cope with being an O's fan. In January, everyone is healthy, in shape, and 100% focused on having their best year ever...well, except for Brian Roberts, I guess. But I'll admit to being just a little encouraged by things like Mark Reynolds being 15 pounds lighter and determined to improve his comical defensive play at third base. I'm willing to believe that Brady Anderson has the magic formula to fix Brian Matusz when the new assistant GM asserts that Matusz is "like a different human".

Most of all, I get pumped up when I hear how strong Jake Arrieta feels after having large bone chips removed from his elbow. Given that Arrieta had knowingly been pitching with the chips for years, there's a good possibility that we've never seen what he can do at full strength. He acknowledges that anything beyond five innings was a physical struggle for him, and that this shouldn't be the case any longer.

Look, my football team just missed a spot in the Super Bowl in harrowing fashion. I need a little happy juice today.

Brooks Robinson, 2001 Upper Deck Decades: 1970s #125

Let it never be said that Brooks Robinson couldn't grow himself a pair of sideburns.

Buck Showalter, 2011 Topps Heritage #121

I'm back home and resting my tired bones after putting in five hours at Orioles FanFest. You might remember that I had bought a voucher for an autograph session with Troy Patton, Buck Showalter, and Brian Roberts. Of course, Roberts is still struggling with the post-concussion symptoms that have sidelined him since last May, so he was unable to make an appearance. His chances of playing again just keep getting worse, and at this point I just hope his personal life isn't impaired in the coming years. The O's made up for Roberts' absence by adding pitchers Alfredo Simon and Jim Johnson to the session. While I waited in line for the 2:00 start time, my sister took a seat behind the stage and did some reading. She sent me a text message to let me know that the O's manager and players were waiting back there while the Nick Markakis/Matt Angle/Al Bumbry/Mike Bordick session finished. Buck even jokingly made a dash for the emergency exit. Everyone was very gracious, and Patton in particular seemed to enjoy interacting with the fans. An older woman in line ahead of me had clear pockets on her bag with pictures of several Orioles on display. Troy told her, "You're missing the best-looking dude on the team". I've already shown off Buck's autograph above. The other three cards I got signed were ones that I've previously featured on the blog, so I'll show off the autographed versions in this same blog post. Enjoy!

Vintage Fridays: Gene Stephens, 1961 Topps #102

Don't even act like you didn't know that today was Gene Stephens' 79th birthday. I poke fun, but the Arkansas native hung around the big leagues for a dozen seasons as a part-time outfielder, primarily with the Red Sox. He spent 364 days as an Oriole, arriving on June 9, 1960 from Boston in exchange for outfielder Willie Tasby and departing for Kansas City on June 8, 1961 in exchange for the supremely flaky "Marvelous" Marv Throneberry.

At first blush, his O's tenure was underwhelming. Gene batted .238/.327/.373 with 5 homers and 11 RBI in 227 plate appearances in 1960, and dipped to .190/.347/.224 with a pair of RBI in 72 trips to the plate the following year before being traded. But the five homers he hit in his first half-season in Charm City are more than he hit in all but one full season elsewise (9, 1958). Stephens had one of his biggest hits as an Oriole just a week after joining the team. On June 17, 1960, Detroit's Frank Lary had blanked the Birds for 6 innings and was protecting a 1-0 lead when Brooks Robinson led off the seventh with a triple. The runner had to hold on a grounder to first base by pinch hitter Bob Boyd, which brought up the pitcher's spot in the order. Manager Paul Richards called upon Gene to pinch-hit for Jerry Walker, and the outfielder responded with a go-ahead two-run home run. The O's pushed across another run and held on for a 3-1 win. It was the third and final pinch homer of Stephens' career. Incredibly, his first longball as a pinch-hitter also came off of Lary, on August 28, 1956. Even better, it was an inside-the-park job! Frank Lary was probably not a Gene Stephens fan; in their 28 meetings, the outfielder batted .308 and slugged .731, adding a pair of doubles and a third home run to his couple of pinch homers. Not bad work for someone with 37 career home runs.

Brady Anderson, 1999 Skybox Premium #120

It's been a big week for Brady Anderson. Yesterday was the former outfielder's 48th birthday (that's not a typo), and today he's been officially named Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations. Whew, that's a mouthful. Anyhow, it sounds like he'll have a lot of the same tasks that he'd already been doing, just on an organization-wide basis: player relations/development and conditioning. The Sun's Dan Connolly speculates that this places Brady pretty high on Dan Duquette's chain of command. I'm very much in favor of it. The career trajectory and injury history of most of the team's young pitchers certainly suggests that the Baltimore philosophy on conditioning could use an overhaul, and they could do much worse than this guy.

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1993 Kraft Singles Superstars #12

I don't know about you, but when I was a kid it sure was a drag to see cards like this, with any hint of team logos and wordmarks scrubbed clean to avoid copyright violations and threats of legal action by Major League Baseball. While it's plenty reasonable for MLB to protect their intellectual property by stopping any old Tom, Dick, or Harry from making a buck off of likenesses of their teams and players, there are wonderful laws in this country concerning things like "fair use" and "due process". These legal precedents could be thrown right out the window if our beloved United States Senate votes in favor of SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act). It's not hard to imagine Topps or Upper Deck deciding one day that I'm violating their copyrights by posting scans of their cards. If that happened, this blog would be shut down immediately and I would be considered a felon. This isn't hyperbole: the bill as currently written is so ridiculously broad and undefined that nearly anything is possible. So contact your senators and make your voice heard. Tomorrow I'll get back to saying silly things about goofy photos and summarizing old box scores.

Dwight Evans, 1992 Upper Deck #248

Here's a fun little trifle from the High Heat Stats blog: on July 16, 1991, the Orioles played a road game against the Angels. Dwight Evans (age 39 years, 255 days) started in right field for the O's and batted cleanup. He went 0-for-4. Dave Winfield (age 39 years, 286 days) started in right field for the Halos and batted cleanup as well. He went 0-for-3. Combined, they were the oldest pair of starting right fielders in any game in baseball history. It was actually the fifth time they played that season, so that was the game that established the mark. If you're wondering (and haven't clicked the link to the box score yet), Jeff Robinson held the Angels to two hits in seven innings but took a 2-1 loss. Mark Williamson inherited two runners in the eighth and coughed up a scant 1-0 lead. Mark Langston went the distance for the home team, striking out seven and permitting six hits. A Leo Gomez home run in the second inning accounted for the lone Baltimore run, and came one batter after David Segui singled and was thrown out trying for a double. Thanks, David.

Ah, I never get tired of finding new reasons to beat on David Segui, I said nervously, while wondering about the kinds of things people will throw in my face 20 years down the line.

Doug DeCinces, 1981 Fleer Star Stickers #90

Here's one for the previous generation of O's fans: how many of you owned this exact jacket? I distinctly remember my uncle wearing one for much of my childhood in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a nice-looking jacket, plenty of color without being too loud. Looked comfortable, too.

This ends tonight's installment of Jacket Talk. Join us again next week!

Mike Bordick, 2002 Upper Deck Victory Gold #108

Orioles fans will be seeing and hearing a lot more of Mike Bordick in 2012. The former shortstop, who returned to the Baltimore organization as a minor league instructor last year, has replaced the late Mike Flanagan as a TV analyst for roughly 80 games on MASN. He still hopes to do some coaching for the O's on his down time. Meanwhile, I will continue using my downtime to watch Netflix and play video games.

Mike Oquist, 1995 Collector's Choice #343

Today is a very Mike Oquist day, wouldn't you agree? I mean, yesterday was downright Steve Kline, but at least it wasn't as Radhames Liz as Tuesday. All in all, it was a pretty Mark Williamson week. But today is perfectly Mike Oquist, and it already looks like tomorrow will be quite B. J. Ryan. Have a good night, folks, and always keep it Tippy Martinez.

Vintage Fridays: Frank Robinson, 1966 Topps #310

Thirty years ago today, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson were both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Talk about your no-brainers. At the time, they were #1 (Aaron) and #4 (Robinson) all-time in career home runs, which is to say nothing about their barrier-breaking roles as black superstars in the 1950s and on through into the 1970s. Robby was even the first black manager, and had unrealized dreams of being a general manager as well.

But look at the voting results from that 1982 ballot. Hammerin' Hank, despite being the all-time home run king and owning all of the sorts of big numbers that have long made baseball writers ooh and aah (3,771 hits, .305 AVG, 2,297 RBI), was left off of NINE ballots, settling for 97.8% approval. That's bad enough, but you can chalk it up to the tiny, moronic cabal that insists that "Babe Ruth didn't get 100%, so no one else should". If we were all bound to the poor decisions of our ancestors, Hank and Frank would never have even gotten the chance to play in the major leagues, so...way to miss the point, fellas.

Look at the next line of results. Frank Robinson got 89.2% of the vote. 370 out of 415. There were 45 clowns that didn't think that big, mean, driven Frank Robinson, with more career homers than anyone not named Hank, Babe, or Willie, with a Rookie of the Year, two MVP awards (one from each league, which had never been done before), a dozen All-Star seasons, the 1966 A.L. Triple Crown, a pair of World Series rings, a .926 career OPS, etc. etc. etc., was either a) worthy of Cooperstown or b) a "first-ballot player" (a fallacy almost as stupefying as the 100% rule). It makes my temples throb just to think about it.

Further down-ballot, we see a full dozen eventual enshrinees who failed to collect the 75% necessary to join Messrs. Aaron and Robinson in the Class of '82. Some are on the outer fringes of Hall-worthiness (Don Drysdale, Red Schoendienst), and surely there were tough choices to be made in filling no more than ten slots on one's ballot, but the notion that it took Juan Marichal three years and Harmon Killebrew (59.3% in 1982!) four years to pass the test is still galling to me. The lesson here is that the BBWAA at large may be creating its biggest mess ever with all of the steroid posturing, but their membership has always acted curiously. It just seems to be snowballing now.

Alan Mills, 1992 Fleer Update #U-2

He's BAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKK. Alan Mills is the new pitching coach of the New York-Penn League's Aberdeen IronBirds, working for former teammates Billy and Cal Ripken, Jr. I sure hope he's still rocking the horseshoe mustache, especially now that Ravens QB Joe Flacco has brought it back to prominence in Baltimore.