Bill Swaggerty, 1986 Donruss #594

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Matt Albers, 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH62

I've been tapping away in this little corner of the Web since 2008. I've published 2,377 posts, some without any words at all, some with very many words. But I don't think I've ever posted an entry that was just one word long. I've also never posted a card of husky ex-O's reliever Matt Albers, who is now a free agent after the Astros declined a $3 million option on his contract. In his return to Houston, Albers allowed a single run in ten innings in April, then missed the rest of the season with a bum shoulder. Might the Orioles give him a look? I wouldn't count on it, since competition is always stiff in the Baltimore bullpen and he's a 32-year-old middle reliever who doesn't typically strike out a lot of guys. Then again, if you thumb back through my archives, you'll find that I'm a pretty poor prognosticator.

Okay, so I mark off the imaginary "Matt Albers" box on my blog checklist. But it's safe to say that the one-word entry will have to wait for another day.

Nick Markakis, 2014 Topps Opening Day #161

The Orioles had three Gold Glove winners again this year, tying the Royals (argh) for the most honorees in 2014. Adam Jones and J. J. Hardy each won their third straight, and Nick Markakis became a two-timer. Jones was tabbed as the American League's top defensive center fielder for the fourth time overall, tying Jim Palmer, Bobby Grich, and Mike Mussina for third place in team history. Only Brooks Robinson (16), Paul Blair (8), and Mark Belanger (8) can top that. The O's extended their margin over the rest of the American League with 70 total Gold Gloves, and closed the gap with the Cardinals (85) for the overall lead. This is three straight years with three Gold Gloves for the Birds, which may not mean much in the grand scheme of things...but it's better than not winning them.

Josh Bell, 2010 Bowman Topps 100 Prospects #TP55

Could this insert set name be any more unwieldy? With 21st-Century baseball cards, it doesn't take much prodding to bring out my inner Abe Simpson. But as a dedicated team collector, I just, like, needed this card, dagnabbit, so much so that I included it on a wish list that I then prominently displayed on the left sidebar of my blog, and thoughtful fellow collector GCA sought out that card and bought it for me, and sent it through the mail along with the 1999 Fleer Tradition Update Mike Figga card that's listed two slots down from Josh Bell, and here we are, and I seriously need to update that blasted "Coveted Cluster" list, and maybe find a better name for that list, and definitely bring this absurd run-on sentence to a close.

Hey, where am I? Where did everybody go?

To sum up: 1) Thank you, Greg. 2) New and improved "most wanted" list in the works, scheduled date TBA. 3) Was it really less than five years ago that the Orioles and their fans were doing mental gymnastics to convince themselves (ourselves) that Josh Bell was the answer at third base in a post-Melvin Mora world?

At the very least, I can answer the Josh Bell question. Because he looked so abysmally overmatched in his failed trials in Baltimore in 2010 and 2011 (cumulative .200/.221/.264, 32 OPS+, 6 BB, 78 K in 282 PA), my current perception of Bell's past promise has been unfairly colored. In 2009, his age 22 season, the hulking third base prospect batted .295/.376/.516 with 35 doubles and 20 homers in 127 games in his first (and as it happened, only) tour of AA. He walked 61 times and struck out 98, which is worlds more discipline than he showed in the majors. There were questions about his defense and his ability to switch-hit, but he was a legitimate power hitter in the minors who could even take a few walks. Baseball America tabbed him as the 37th best prospect in all of the minor leagues prior to the 2010 season, when this card was in the works. That same year, Baseball Prospectus ranked him 39th overall, so another group of knowledgeable folks saw the upside that Bell had. He just didn't make it there.

Brooks Robinson, 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #86

Upper Deck's Goodwin Champions set may not have been a hot item, but at least they went with the School Photo Day "clouds" backdrop for a good chunk of the cards. I'm also amused by the sentient old-timey baseball glove hovering over Brooks Robinson's left shoulder. I'd like to think it's whispering helpful bits of advice in Brooksie's ear, like "Take your time and set up for your throw; Lee May runs like a wounded bison". Also, my eyes could be playing tricks on me, but that glove doesn't appear to be golden. I did notice that the glove on Number 5's left hand is clearly stamped with the Rawlings logo, which is a sneaky advertisement for the company that sponsors MLB's Gold Glove Awards. Pretty smooth.

Jay Payton, 2008 Topps Orioles Team Set #BAL7

Gee, don't look so happy to be here, Jay. You weren't exactly our first choice either.

Cal Ripken Jr., 1996 Upper Deck #115

"Young at Heart" was a subset in the 1996 Upper Deck base set that highlighted prominent veterans. If you think about it, it's kind of condescending, though. "Sure, your best days are behind you, but you're only as old as you feel!" The career dates at the bottom of the card (1981 and 1996, in this case) seem like an epitaph. But hey, at least Cal Ripken's card features an awkward photo of him standing at a podium in the middle of the diamond. Harold Baines is also featured in the subset, should you be wondering.

Jeremy Guthrie, 2009 Topps Heritage #12

Jeremy Guthrie is starting Game Seven of the World Series tonight. There's a sentence I didn't ever think I'd type. Of course, the ex-Oriole is taking the mound for the Royals in this evening's winner-take-all contest against the Giants. I'm actually rooting for San Francisco; the Orioles' ALCS sweep at the hands of Kansas City still stings, and many of my favorite non-O's (including Pablo Sandoval, Tim Hudson, Tim Lincecum, and the delightfully gooberish Hunter Pence) play for the Giants. Guthrie's post-Game Three press conference in the ALCS, in which he wore a shirt that said, "These O's Ain't Royal", stirred up a lot of anger in Baltimore because it was considered to be kicking his former club while they were down. Once the smoke cleared, I was actually more disappointed to learn that the phrase on the offending shirt was a parody of a line from a Chris Brown song. Brown, for the uninitiated, is a garbage person. So I'm not going to hold some silly lifelong grudge against Jeremy for a pretty dumb clothing choice, but I'm not exactly going to cheer him on, either. When it comes down to it, I'll be pulling for the team in orange and black. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Mike Mussina, 2001 Fleer Triple Crown #174

This is a pretty wild photo. Only Mike Mussina's index finger is extended, and it appears as though the baseball is sailing right off of the tip of that finger. It's not a release that I'm used to seeing.

Ryne Duren, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #117

Ryne Duren is one of the numerous early-era Orioles who found his fame either before or after passing through Charm City. Duren had signed with the franchise back when they were still the St. Louis Browns, in 1949. He made his big league debut in the O's inaugural season in Baltimore, relieving Don Larsen after the starter allowed three runs in two innings against the White Sox on September 25, 1954. Duren fared no better, also yielding a three-spot in two innings, though at least one of his runs was unearned. It mattered little, as the punchless Birds were blanked on five hits by Billy Pierce in their season finale, 11-0. It was their 100th loss, a nice, round number.

Duren never pitched another game for the Orioles, and eventually resurfaced with the Athletics in 1957. They traded him to the Yankees later that season, and wouldn't you know it, he had a brief burst of stardom. He was an All-Star reliever in New York in 1958 and 1959, accumulating a 9-10 record, a 1.95 ERA, and 34 saves in those two seasons. He struck out 10.8 batters per nine innings, helping to offset the 5.1 batters per nine that he walked. The bespectacled, hard-throwing righty was never that effective again, as he struggled with alcoholism throughout his career. However, he sobered up after he was through in baseball and spent the second half of his life counseling others about the dangers of addiction. He was 81 when he passed away in 2011.

Hank Foiles, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #138

It's been a relatively quiet weekend on this blog because I'm on the road again. I'm in Richmond, VA (birthplace of Hank Foiles!) to see a Chikara Pro Wrestling show with some friends. Back to normal tomorrow, I suspect.

Vintage Fridays: Rich Coggins, 1974 Topps #353

This is a card that I intend to upgrade some day, especially since I intend to complete the 1974 Topps base set. You can see the shmutz (technical term) on the left border, and the print is a bit out of focus. I've been staring at the card, and I still can't tell whether it's miscut or if I just scanned it crooked. Like most things in life, a baseball card collection is forever a work in progress.

In 1974, Rich Coggins must have felt as fuzzy as he looks on this card. A year earlier, he had batted .319/.363/.468 (134 OPS+) in 110 games as a 22-year-old rookie. His nine triples were second on the club only to fellow rookie Al Bumbry's 11. He was also the Orioles' first runner-up to Bumbry (.337) in batting average. But the hits didn't fall in for Coggins as a sophomore. He had a brutal April (.154/.241/.250), and things didn't get a whole lot better from there. Aside from a .354 average in July, the outfielder didn't bat above .250 in any single month. He finished the year at .243/.299/.319 (81 OPS+), which didn't really cut it. The year ended on a particularly sour note for Coggins, as he took an 0-for-11 collar in the team's ALCS loss to the Athletics. He did steal 26 bases in 32 tries, combining with Don Baylor and Paul Blair to give the O's a trio of outfielders with at least 26 steals apiece. But Rich wouldn't get a chance to reverse his fortunes in Baltimore, as the Birds shipped him north to Montreal with Dave McNally in exchange for Mike Torrez and Ken Singleton.

As bad as 1974 seemed for Coggins, things were worse beyond Charm City. His major league career had only two more seasons and 103 games left to it, as he compiled a measly .498 OPS (43 OPS+) for three teams. I've read that a thyroid condition was to blame for his abbreviated and downward-trending career. How frustrating it must have been to be robbed of his livelihood at age 25.

Rick Krivda, 1996 Collector's Choice #11

Oh no! Rick Krivda is being forced to pitch in front of a giant American flag for some reason! Only you can save him now.

Brooks Robinson, 2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Across the Years #ATY-BR

This week I've been featuring cards from a Fairfield repack box that jumped into my hand last weekend at a Target in Charlotte. I've pretty much given up on the repacks that consist of a 50, 100, or 200-card loose assortment, since they're always packed to the gills with junk wax. But the $20 boxes that feature 20 packs of recent-vintage cards still scratch that itch. I can justify buying newish Topps products by telling myself that the money's not going directly to the company (though I'm sure Fairfield is compensating them for their unsold inventory), and a buck a pack is a price I'm willing to pay.

This box consisted of a single pack of 2008 Upper Deck Spectrum, a bunch of 2013 Topps products (Allen & Ginter, Opening Day, Archives, and flagship Series Two), and to my surprise, a few packs of 2014 Topps Heritage. Each box also comes with a randomly-inserted "hit", which in this case was a 2005 Topps Update All-Star Stitches jersey relic of Morgan Ensberg. It doesn't get much more random than that, and the swatch is a lovely deep orange. I also pulled a Craig Gentry autograph from one of the Opening Day packs, which is a nifty thing to get even if I couldn't pick the guy out of a lineup. I filled a few more set needs for Heritage, and got some 2013 Topps Series Two and Opening Day Orioles that I needed. There was also this Brooks Robinson insert from last year's Allen and Ginter, a fortuitous pull from a six-card pack. On the back, it lists some notables that share Brooksie's May 18 birthday, including Pope John Paul II, Frank Capra, Tina Fey, Reggie Jackson, actor Robert Morse, and Superfly Jimmy Snuka. Truly news you can use.

Adam Jones, 2013 Topps Opening Day #76

I've been wondering what I could say about the Orioles' 2014 season that I haven't already said over the past six or seven months. It was a thrilling ride, often frustrating, but even more often delightful. I think I captured my feelings succinctly last Wednesday, while watching the O's go down fighting in their ALCS and season finale against Kansas City: I just wasn't ready for it to end. Not yet.

Including the postseason, the Orioles played 169 meaningful games in 2014. They won 99 of them, a level of success they hadn't approached since 1997. That was something of a common phrase throughout the year: "since 1997". It's little wonder, since that was the last time the O's stood atop the American League East after 162 games. Make no mistake, this team belongs to Baltimore's baseball history in a high place, as does that wire-to-wire squad. As the saying goes, "flags fly forever". The Orioles might have been stopped four wins short of the pennant, and eight shy of the big shiny trophy, but they were still division champions. That flag will hang in Camden Yards next year, and the year after, and so on. A four-game stretch of bad breaks and near misses shouldn't cancel out 162 (or 165) successful games.

In my second year as a season-ticket holder, I was fortunate to attend 25 games, including the first three of the club's four postseason home contests. It was my pleasure to witness 17 wins against just eight losses:

Rk	Gm#	Date		Tm	Opp	W/L	R	RA	Inn	W-L	Rank	GB	Win	Loss	Save	Time	D/N	Attendance
1	1	Monday, Mar 31	boxscore	BAL	BOS	W	2	1		1-0	1	Tied	Britton	Lester	Hunter	2:53	D	46,685
11	11	Saturday, Apr 12	boxscore	BAL	TOR	W-wo	2	1	12	5-6	4	1.5	Britton	Redmond		3:39	N	30,446
23	23	Saturday, Apr 26	boxscore	BAL	KCR	W-wo	3	2	10	12-11	2	1.5	Britton	Duffy		3:09	N	34,941
33	33	Friday, May 9	boxscore	BAL	HOU	W	4	3		19-14	1	up 0.5	Chen	Williams	Hunter	2:29	N	28,875
35	35	Sunday, May 11	boxscore	BAL	HOU	L	2	5		20-15	1	up 1.5	Cosart	Tillman	Qualls	3:21	D	45,944
45	45	Thursday, May 22	boxscore	BAL	CLE	L	7	8	13	23-22	3	1.5	Outman	Patton	Atchison	4:22	N	18,894
47	47	Saturday, May 24	boxscore	BAL	CLE	L	0	9		24-23	3	2.5	Kluber	Jimenez		3:05	D	36,873
60	60	Saturday, Jun 7	boxscore	BAL	OAK	W	6	3		31-29	2	5.5	Gausman	Gray		2:51	N	44,202
64	64	Wednesday, Jun 11	boxscore	BAL	BOS	W	6	0		33-31	2	4.5	Chen	De La Rosa		2:49	N	25,886
66	66	Friday, Jun 13	boxscore	BAL	TOR	L	0	4		34-32	3	4.5	Hutchison	Jimenez	McGowan	2:44	N	44,031
77	77	Wednesday, Jun 25	boxscore	BAL	CHW	W-wo	5	4	12	41-36	2	1.5	Hunter	Webb		4:03	N	22,020
80	80	Saturday, Jun 28	boxscore	BAL	TBR	L	4	5		42-38	2	1.5	Bedard	Chen	McGee	3:13	D	36,387
90	90	Wednesday, Jul 9	boxscore	BAL	WSN	L	2	6		49-41	1	up 2.5	Fister	Norris		2:50	N	35,575
92	92	Friday, Jul 11	boxscore	BAL	NYY	W-wo	3	2	10	51-41	1	up 3.0	McFarland	Warren		3:05	N	45,389
119	119	Wednesday, Aug 13	boxscore	BAL	NYY	W	5	3		69-50	1	up 7.5	O'Day	Kelley	Britton	2:45	N	37,587
129	129	Monday, Aug 25	boxscore	BAL	TBR	W	9	1		74-55	1	up 6.0	Tillman	Odorizzi		2:56	N	15,516
131	131	Wednesday, Aug 27	boxscore	BAL	TBR	L	1	3		75-56	1	up 6.0	Smyly	Gausman	McGee	2:44	N	20,762
139	139	Thursday, Sep 4	boxscore	BAL	CIN	W	9	7		82-57	1	up 9.5	Hunter	Parra	Britton	3:26	N	21,114
146	146	Friday, Sep 12 (1)	boxscore	BAL	NYY	W-wo	2	1	11	87-59	1	up11.5	Brach	Warren		3:51	D	31,871
147	147	Friday, Sep 12 (2)	boxscore	BAL	NYY	W	5	0		88-59	1	up11.5	Norris	Mitchell		2:57	N	43,707
151	151	Tuesday, Sep 16	boxscore	BAL	TOR	W	8	2		91-60	1	up13.5	Jimenez	Hutchison		3:02	N	35,297
152	152	Wednesday, Sep 17	boxscore	BAL	TOR	W	6	1		92-60	1	up14.5	Norris	Happ		3:13	N	37,537
Rk	Gm#	Date		Tm	Opp
	ALDS Game 1	Thursday, Oct 2	boxscore	BAL	DET	W, 12-3			WP: Tillman LP: Scherzer
	ALDS Game 2	Friday, Oct 3	boxscore	BAL	DET	W, 7-6			WP: Brach LP: Soria SV: Britton
	ALCS Game 1	Friday, Oct 10	boxscore	BAL	KCR	L, 8-6 (10 IN)			WP: Davis LP: O'Day SV: Holland

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 10/21/2014.

If you go further down the rabbit hole with me, you'll see that things started well with a personal four-game win streak, followed by a dip that tracked the team's first-half struggles. Then there was a 10-1 stretch (and an embedded seven-game win streak) that lasted through the season's second half and on into the ALDS, before those magical, mystical Royals gummed things up on October 10. But still, I experienced a lot of great games and moments, including:

• Opening Day, featuring the first of Nelson Cruz's career-high 40 home runs.
• Five walkoff wins. The heroes in those games were David Lough, Nick Markakis, Lough again (scoring on a wild pitch, and this game gets an asterisk anyway, because I reluctantly left during a lengthy late rain delay on a work night), Nick Hundley, and Jimmy Paredes. Go figure, right?
• Kevin Gausman's first major league win as a starting pitcher.
• Two of the team's 13 shutouts. How long has it been since the Birds had such a strong pitching staff?
• Four of Baltimore's pivotal 13 wins over the Yankees, including both ends of a doubleheader sweep, the first twinbill they'd taken from New York in 30 years.
• A two-homer, four-run eighth-inning rally to down the Yanks in mid-August.
• A raucous win over the Rays that featured separate instances of back-to-back AND back-to-back-to-back home runs (a first in team history), as well as an astounding catch-and-throw by Adam Jones to take three runs away from Tampa Bay.
• The first division-clinching win in Charm City since 1969.
• Christian Walker's big league debut and first career hit, as well as a multi-homer game from Steve Pearce.
• The first and second games of the Orioles' three-game ALDS sweep over Detroit's three Cy Young winners, featuring a pair of incredible eighth-inning offensive outbursts.
• The first ALCS game at Camden Yards (all together now) since 1997. It represented the beginning of the end for the O's, but the atmosphere was surreal and the game was exhilarating, featuring a comeback from a four-run deficit before the home team succumbed in the tenth inning.

That's just from a 15 percent slice of the team's full schedule. I wasn't there for the walkoff homers from Matt Wieters, Chris Davis, and Manny Machado, or Manny's acrobatic defense in his injury-shortened season, or Caleb Joseph's five-game home run streak, or the 60th anniversary ceremonies...it goes on and on. The 2014 Orioles were a joy to watch, and I'm already missing them.