Roberto Alomar, 1998 Upper Deck 10th Anniversary #X3

Well, I left town for a couple of days and the O's dropped two straight one-run games to the Twins. I had a wonderful time hanging out with old friends in Chestertown on Saturday, then spent Sunday in southern Maryland watching WrestleMania with a few other friends. No regrets, but I need to get back on the blogging horse as the Orioles hit the road. They're in Boston tonight, and if they're looking to spend the first full week of the 2013 getting out to a fast start, they could take a cue from Robbie Alomar. In April of 1996, the talented second baseman burst out of the gates for his new team. After signing a three-year free-agent deal in the prior offseason with the Birds, Alomar proved that he was worth his contract by batting .375 with a .441 on-base percentage and a .558 slugging percentage. In 26 games, he scored 20 runs, had nine doubles, a pair of triples, a pair of home runs, and 15 RBI. Roberto had 13 multi-hit games in that first month in orange and black. So yeah, just be more like Roberto Alomar, guys. Um, except for the extracurricular stuff. Nobody wants that.

Vintage Fridays: Clint Courtney, 1954 Bowman #69

I mentioned a few days ago that bespectacled catcher Clint "Scrap Iron" Courtney hit the first home run in Orioles history, though thankfully he wasn't wearing a jersey guilty of apostrophe abuse when he did so. I guess the artists over at Bowman weren't big on grammar.

Anyhow, Courtney wasn't much of a power hitter throughout his 11-year career with the Yankees, Browns/Orioles, White Sox, Senators, and Athletics. He totaled 38 home runs in 946 games, with a season high of eight. In the Birds' inaugural 1954 season, Clint hit four in 397 at-bats.

Today, Chris Davis hit his fourth home run in his first 15 at-bats of the 2013 season. This one was the biggest yet, a first-pitch, tie-breaking grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning in the O's home opener. "Crush" is now the fourth player in MLB history to go deep in each of his team's first four games, joining the formidable trio of Willie Mays, Mark McGwire, and Nelson Cruz. He also has 16 of the team's 29 RBI, and that's a modern record for the first four games of the year - at least since 1920, when they started keeping track of runs batted in as an official statistic. Since my sister and I attended today's game, Chris is also going to be taking the blame for my hoarse voice. I may have completely lost my fool mind with that one swing of the bat that wrapped up the Orioles' 9-5 win over the Twins. But that's a trade I'll make every time.

Chris Davis, 2012 Topps #151

Man, I really need to diversify my Chris Davis collection. This is the third card I've posted of the O's slugging first baseman, and the other two were parallels of this base card. That's what I get for boycotting new Topps products and being too lazy to initiate trades with others.

Anyhow, I'm looking for the silver lining of last night's ugly 8-7 walkoff loss to the Rays. Sure, Wei-Yin Chen ran out of gas in the sixth inning, which is something of a trend in his brief Orioles career. Sure, Luis Ayala and Pedro Strop each blew a late-inning lead, and Tommy Hunter doomed the Birds by doing what he does best: tossing up a meatball to Matt Joyce for a game-ending homer. But Chris Davis is a flat-out beast, an unstoppable, hulking monster who was made to send baseballs to heaven.

Last night, Davis was 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles and another towering three-run homer, and he had four RBI total. Through two games (smallest of sample sizes!), he has a .625 average, a .667 on-base percentage, a 1.625 slugging percentage, two home runs, and seven RBI. He has at least a share of the league lead in doubles, total bases, RBI, slugging, OPS, and OPS+ (586...again, 100 is average!). Hell, let's just go right off the deep end and project Chris' two-game totals through a full 162-game season. Were Davis to keep up his pace - and I see no reason why he shouldn't - he would finish the year with 162 doubles, 162 home runs, and 567 RBI. Those would all be major league records, I think.

EDIT: I obviously wrote the above before today's 6-3 win over the Rays. Chris went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run, drove in four more runs, and was hit by a pitch. The updated totals: .636/.692/1.727, three doubles, three homers, 11 RBI. As I write this, he's outproduced the Marlins 11-1, and he is now the first player in Orioles history to hit 10 home runs in a span of 10 regular-season games (dating back to last season, of course). Mercy.

Okay, let me take my tongue out of my cheek and provide a serious update on the Brian Roberts Comeback Watch: 2-for-4 with a game-tying double in the ninth inning off of Fernando Rodney, who blew only two of his 50 save attempts in 2012. That's Brian's first extra-base hit since May 4, 2011. I don't think I can tell you how badly I want the O's senior player to be back in his 2009 form...or at least reasonably close to it.

EDIT: Brian singled in the ninth inning today, stole second base with a headfirst slide, and came up favoring his right knee. He had to be helped off the field. Dammit.

Andy Van Slyke, 1995 Stadium Club #541

Yesterday, Matt Wieters had the honor of hitting the Orioles' first home run of the 2013 season, breaking the seal with a first-inning, two-run blast off of reigning American League Cy Young winner David Price. That got me wondering: who was first in each of the previous 59 seasons of O's baseball? Through the magic of Baseball Reference, here's your list.

Some notes of interest:

• Clint Courtney's home run was the first in team history, in their third game. The 1954 Birds hit a whopping 52 home runs all season, led by Vern Stephens' total of eight.
• As you can see, Gus Triandos hit the Orioles' first home run of the season in FOUR straight years, 1956-1959. What's more, all four were two-run homers.
• Brooks Robinson had a three-year streak from 1966 through 1968, part of his team-high five "first homers". Cal Ripken Jr. tied his mark with his fifth in 1998.
• How about Mike Devereaux's three-year run from 1992 through 1994?
• Cal and Tony Batista have the only two grand slams.
• Pity Joe Coleman of the Tigers, whose father (also named Joe) pitched for the Orioles. The younger Joe surrendered the first O's homer three times in a four-year span (1972, 1974, 1975). Three other opposing pitchers were touched up twice: Kevin Appier (1994 and 1997), Pedro Ramos (1959 and 1960), and Roger Clemens (1989 and 2002).
• There are some unlikely names here. Les Moss hit two home runs as an Oriole; Andy Van Slyke and Cesar Izturis had three, Rick Schu four, and Courtney had five.
• Marty Cordova's home run, besides being the club's only round-tripper ever in March, was the last of his career. It came in the infamous snow game.

Brian Roberts, 2008 Upper Deck #782

One win, zero losses. It's the finest way to start the season. I didn't get to watch much of this game, and listened to little more; my girlfriend's stuff has been stubbornly refusing to move itself. But as I watch the Orioles' 7-4 comeback win over the Rays on DVR, there's so much to like. Jason Hammel breezing through the first five innings and hanging on to earn his first career win at Tropicana Field, after he spent the first three years of his career pitching for Tampa Bay. Manny Machado making several flashy defensive plays at third base, as he became the fourth O's player to start on Opening Day before his 21st birthday. (The others: Brooks Robinson, Ron Hansen, Boog Powell.) Matt Wieters, Adam Jones, and Chris Davis delivering game-breaking extra-base hits. The bullpen locking the game down over the final three innings, as they did so many times in 2012. Perhaps most meaningful was the presence of Brian Roberts, Nolan Reimold, and Nick Markakis, all taking the field in the same game for the first time since September 25, 2010. I've maintained that those who qualify the Birds as exceedingly lucky in 2012 have discounted the near-total absence of Roberts and Reimold (33 combined games played) and the multiple trips to the disabled list by Markakis. Good health for that trio would go a long way towards ensuring that the O's remain contenders in the American League East. In the opener, those three homegrown players combined to go 5-for-13 with a pair of runs scored. That's a start.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Upper Deck #60

As promised, I watched nearly all of last night's surprising 8-2 Astros win over the Rangers. It didn't really have my undivided attention, but that's the beauty of baseball. I will watch many of my Orioles' 162 regular-season games intently, taking a moment to fret over the bad plays or to celebrate the good ones, but there will be plenty of Rangers-Astros or Tigers-Yankees or Phillies-Braves games that provide a soothing and familiar backdrop to my daily activities. Baseball is a ubiquitous part of my life for the next sixth months...seven, including the postseason.

Anyway, it looked like things would unravel for the underdog Houston team in the sixth inning last night. Starter Bud Norris was clearly running out of gas, and a pair of two-out RBI singles cut the Astros' lead in half. Suddenly a familiar face was summoned from the bullpen to put out the fire. Erik Bedard, the putative fifth starter for the 'Stros, got the call with the tying runs on base and lefty-swinging catcher A. J. Pierzynski due up. Bedard induced a fly out to center field on his second pitch, and the Rangers' rally was squelched. Rather than turn the game into a LaRussa-esque bullpen relay race, Houston manager Bo Porter stayed with the hot hand. Bedard was allowed to pitch the seventh inning...and the eighth...and the ninth. He was near-perfect, retiring 10 of the 11 batters he faced an allowing only a one-out, ninth-inning single to Nelson Cruz. Though the home team added four insurance runs in the late innings, Erik earned his first career save the old-fashioned way. Coming off of a pretty miserable 2012 season with the Pirates, maybe the Canadian lefty has found a new role. It's something to consider if he falters in the rotation again.

Bob Saverine, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #402

If you and your people celebrate Easter, I hope you have had a happy one. I spent the day with my family, eating lots of junk (and a little ham and green beans that probably got mixed in by accident), picking eggs, and participating in an adult Easter egg hunt that was the brainchild of my sister. I found 10 plastic eggs, most of which had slips of paper that could be redeemed for scratch-off lottery tickets or alcoholic beverages. It was a full day, and now I just want to watch the Rangers-Astros opener on ESPN and maybe go to bed.

But first, our card. Bob "Rabbit" Saverine was a utility player for the O's in 1959 and 1962-1964, and he batted .221 and slugged .270 during his time in Baltimore. He actually gave the Orioles a big boost in a June 8, 1966 doubleheader, although he was playing for the opposing Senators at the time. He went 0-for-7 with a pair of strikeouts in the opener, a 6-5 Birds win. In the nightcap, Bob went 0-for-5 with another whiff, as the O's squeaked it out 8-7. The teams combined for 56 hits in the twinbill, yet poor Bob was 0-for-12. He set an American League record for the most hitless at-bats in a doubleheader. No Easter eggs for the Rabbit that day...only goose eggs.

I can't resist cheesy wordplay. Feel free to throw your tomatoes. Or eggs, I suppose.

Mike Bordick, 2001 Upper Deck MVP #73

In 2001, Mike Bordick kicked off his second stint with the Orioles by batting .249 with 7 home runs, 30 RBI, and a .314 on-base percentage in 58 games. That may not seem very impressive, but it's downright inspiring when you consider that he lost his right arm in a logging accident during the previous offseason.

Vintage Fridays: Gus Triandos, 1962 Topps #420

You might have heard by now that Gus Triandos passed away yesterday, dying in his sleep at age 82 after spending the past decade suffering from congestive heart failure. So it is that on the cusp of Opening Day, the Orioles say goodbye to the team's first true star, a slugging, slow-footed catcher who was rescued from the sprawling Yankees farm system by the savvy Paul Richards. He rewarded Richards and the Birds with seven strong seasons as the club's primary backstop, and was a four-time All-Star in his prime (1957-1959; this includes both All-Star Games in the latter year). Gus has already been eulogized quite expertly by Joe Posnanski over at Harball Talk. So I'll keep it simple here. Obviously, I never saw Gus play; his Oriole career had been over for twenty years before I came drooling and bawling into this existence. But I look at the photo on this card, and I see a strong man taking his stance. His bat is gripped tightly in large, calloused hands. His sleeves are roughly half the length of those on the uniforms of today's players, the better to show off his powerful arms. It may not be Ted Kluszewski and his famous vest, but Triandos' brawn must have been intimidating to many pitchers. He knew it, too. You can see the confident calm in his face as he stares out at the mound. The next pitch is leaving the yard on a line to left field.

Eddie Murray, 1986 Donruss 3x5 All-Stars #13

I've spent much of the past week helping my girlfriend move all of her worldly possessions into my little rowhouse. So this place is in even greater disarray than usual, my body is bruised, and I'm resorting to that old fallback: lookit this slightly oversized Eddie Murray card! It's huge! (Compared to an Allen and Ginter mini parallel, maybe.) No one else could make those bright orange wristbands work, especially considering that they don't even match the shade used elsewhere in the Orioles' uniform. Thanks, Eddie. You're always here for me in a pinch.

Dave Van Gorder, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #467

Here's the circuitous route that I took to today's blog entry:

1. Check Baseball Reference for today's birthdays. See that Dave Van Gorder is turning 56.

2. Click on Van Gorder's B-R profile. I know that he was a catcher in the 1980s, but that's about it.

3. Okay, he was the Reds' second-round draft pick in 1978 out of USC. Didn't do a helluva lot in Cincy: 171 games, .538 OPS.

4. Finished his career in Baltimore in 1987. A dozen games, 24 plate appearances, 5-for-21 with a homer and three walks. I wonder what the story is with that home run...

5. Check Home Run Log. Look at that, he took Frank Viola deep in a tight game. I wonder if the O's came back to win?

6. Peruse box score for May 12, 1987 game vs. Twins. Holy crow. Mike Flanagan put the Orioles in a 4-0 hole in the third inning. Ray Knight's two-run shot an inning later cut the Minnesota lead in half, and Van Gorder's solo blast in the fifth made it a one-run game. Ken Dixon replaced Flanny in the sixth, and promptly set the pitchers' mound on fire and danced over the ashes. The Birds headed to the bottom of the eighth inning down 7-3. That's when it got really fun.

Van Gorder led off with a walk to chase Viola. Keith Atherton came out of the Twins bullpen and got two quick outs, but couldn't finish the job. Cal Ripken singled and Eddie Murray walked, causing manager Tom Kelly to pull Atherton in favor of closer Jeff Reardon. Fred Lynn welcomed Reardon to the game with a grand slam, finally allowing the O's to pull even at 7-7. Dixon set down the heart of the Twins' order in a perfect ninth, giving Baltimore the chance for a walkoff win.

Cal Ripken Sr. sent Jim Dwyer up to pinch hit for rookie Ken Gerhart, and the veteran specialist delivered a single. Second baseman Rick Burleson also hit safely, moving the winning run to scoring position for...Dave Van Gorder. Not so fast! Senior yanked the unlikely hero from the game, sending up regular starter Terry Kennedy. Kennedy flew out to center field, but Dwyer tagged and went to third. Another fly ball would end the game, so a third pinch hitter was summoned: Larry Sheets, batting for Alan Wiggins. Sheets promptly said "the hell with it" and crushed a three-run, walk-off home run off of Reardon. It was the third of Larry's career-high 31 bombs that year, and it gave the Orioles a wild 10-7 win.

To think that I discovered this buried gem of a game all on account of Dave Van Gorder's birthday.

Damon Buford, 1993 Score Select Rookies and Traded #149T

It's a good thing that Damon Buford's bat is clearly labeled "BUF" on the knob. There's no telling what would happen if he were to accidentally pick up one of Leo Gomez's bats. I hear that Leo had a hair-trigger temper, and was capable of beheading another man with the simple flick of a wrist. Better safe than sorry.

This is probably a good time to remind you that I am prone to flights of fancy, and that Leo Gomez is not in fact a violent psychopath.

Wady Almonte, 1997 Fleer Ultra #510 and 1997 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion #G510

This is the first ever Orioles Card "O" the Day Double Feature. Until I recently came across a large amount of 1997 Fleer Ultra, I had no idea that the Gold Medallion parallels featured completely different photos from their corresponding base cards. But it is so, as ably demonstrated here by Throwin' Wady Almonte and Swingin' Wady Almonte. Wady Almonte, Wady Almonte, Wady Almonte. There. Now I've said his name five times.

Wady Almonte.

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1995 Star Cal Ripken, Jr. #28

Let me count the ways this card could have used an editor:

1. The photo negative is reversed. Note the script on Cal's jersey, and the turned-around bird.
2. There should not be a comma after "Cal".
3. There should be a space between the second comma and "Jr".
4. Ideally you would avoid a picture with a blurry half-a-head in the foreground...especially when it looks like the Iron Man is checking out that person's rear end.
5. I would copy-edit the back of the card, but the first sentence features the following apostrophe abuse - "Oriole's". Ugh. I'm done.

Memorial Stadium, 2004 Maryland Lottery #41

I can only imagine the frenzy that surrounded the Orioles' first Opening Day in Baltimore nearly 60 years ago. Of course, I'm sure that the team's 2013 home opener will be a raucous scene as well. The Birds are coming off of their first winning season and playoff berth since 1997, after all. I'm happy to say that I will be there for my second straight opener and third overall. Today I hauled myself out of bed at 8:00 (on a Saturday...scandalous!) and drove down to Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the team's Tag Day event. After careful consultation with my sister, I picked out a pair of seats in section 340, Upper Reserve, behind home plate, and locked us in for a 29-game partial season ticket plan. Of course, I'm hoping that the next time I'm looking out on the field from my seats, it's not 36 degrees with gusting winds as it was this morning. That's not baseball weather.

Vintage Fridays: Earl Weaver, 1970 Topps #148

What's better than a classic "Earl Weaver being a confrontational crank" story? How about a classic "Earl Weaver being a confrontational crank" story that features the great manager butting heads with former O's GM Lee MacPhail?

I owe a debt of gratitude to Camden Chat's j.q. higgins (if that IS his real name...) for unearthing this gem, which unfolded on this date back in 1981. The O's had been scheduled to play an exhibition game against the Royals a few days prior, and Earl had gone and gotten himself into an argument with the umpires over the lineup card. As he was wont to do, the Orioles skipper got so incensed that he pulled his team off of the field and forfeited the game. In stepped MacPhail, the American League President at the time, to levy a three-game suspension from Grapefruit League contests.

Yes, Earl even managed to get himself into hot water when the games didn't count.

There's a Sarasota Herald-Tribune article posted on the Google News Archive. I would recommend reading it just for the quotes. MacPhail is as even-handed as you would expect a league authority to be, but Weaver can't resist needling a higher authority. He threatens to treat his suspension as a "sit-out", a peaceful means of protesting the shabby work done by the A. L. prez and his staff. The money quote from Earl:

"[My sit-out] is in support more or less of President Reagan's program. He wants more productivity and wants us to eliminate stupidity, waste, bureaucratic uselessness, and red tape."

We miss you already, Earl.

Miguel Tejada, 2006 Topps Opening Day #99

Congratulations to Miguel Tejada, Pedro Strop, and the rest of 2013 World Baseball Classic-winning team from the Dominican Republic. The Dominicans went 8-0 in the WBC, capped by a 3-0 win over Puerto Rico in Tuesday night's final game. Miggi appeared in seven games, batting .316 (6-for-19). He also bailed out Strop in the finale, making a nifty falling-backwards catch on a foul pop down the left field line to strand two runners in the seventh inning. Pedro didn't need a whole lot of help during the WBC, as he allowed no runs on three hits in six and two-thirds innings. He was the winning pitcher in three of his six appearances, and struck out seven batters while walking none. So although Adam Jones and Team USA didn't make it to the Final Four, there was still significant O's representation at the end of it all.

Jack Voigt, 1995 Donruss Press Proof #327

Oh, mid-1990s Donruss. You're so precious, with your specially-stamped parallels of base cards. I guess we're just supposed to take your word for it that this Jack Voigt card was one of the very first 2,000 Jack Voigt cards to come tumbling off the printing press, since there's no authentication provided. Not even a serial number to be found. This isn't just any Jack Voigt card, it's a very limited and super-special Jack Voigt card, unlike the rest (give or take 1,999). We might as well operate under the honor system, because a card company would never manufacture scarcity to drive interest in its product, right?

Naturally, I type with tongue placed firmly in cheek. "Press Proofs" are incredibly tame when compared to the Monopoly Holder's short-printed base card variations and Internet-only, $100-a-pop Heritage update sets. Which reminds me: Nearly three months into 2013, I have not bought a single Topps retail product. I don't even really miss it. Well done, guys.

Zach Britton, 2011 Topps Diamond Duos #DD10

A lot has changed in the year-plus since Topps produced this card featuring two of the most notable rookie starting pitchers of the 2011 season. Most obviously, Michael Pineda was traded from the Mariners to the Yankees prior to the 2012 campaign, with one-time New York mega-prospect Jesus Montero going to Seattle. But it's also an example of how quickly a young pitcher's fortunes can change. Pineda sat out all of last year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and the Yankees are hoping that he will be able to make his debut in pinstripes this coming May or June. Zach Britton also dealt with injuries in 2012, though his were less severe. A left shoulder impingement kept him off of the Orioles' roster until mid-July, and he looked rusty when he finally did return. In 11 starts and a single relief appearance with the O's, Zach posted a 5.07 ERA and walked 4.8 batters per 9 innings (up from 3.6 BB/9 in 2011).

The jury is still out on Pineda; shoulder injuries are lagging behind elbow problems as it relates to advances in surgical treatment and repair. But Britton still has a decent outlook for 2013. The overall improvement of the Baltimore rotation in 2012 has pushed the lefty into an all-out competition for the fifth and final starter's slot, but he's healthier than he was a year ago and (HUGE grain of salt alert) he's gotten good results in Grapefruit League action: only two earned runs allowed in eight and two-thirds innings so far, with a pair of walks and six strikeouts. As the rest of the baseball world expects the overachieving O's of 2012 to take a step back towards the pack, a resurgence by Zach Britton would do much to help them stay competitive.

Joe Orsulak, 1993 Fleer #549

Alright, I'm back after a very necessary sick day yesterday. Trust me when I tell you that I barely had the energy to take a shower. But now that I'm on the mend, I bring you Joe O and one of the dullest card designs known to man. Still, there is a kernel of goodness on this otherwise ho-hum card. As Joe Orsulak jogged back to the dugout from his defensive position, the photographer captured a larger scene reflected in Joe's mirrored sunglasses. You can see the infield grass and the dirt of the basepaths, as well as one of the other Orioles preceding Orsulak off of the field. It's far more interesting than the primary scene on the card.