Craig Worthington, 1989 Score Rising Stars #6

You have to love Spring Training photos. Where else could you see Craig Worthington, who wore #3 and #25 in four seasons in Baltimore, wearing a wacky number like #63? That’s the kind of number that belongs to an offensive lineman, not a third baseman…

Continue reading about Craig Worthington, 1989 Score Rising Stars #6 »

The back of this card tells of a simultaneous high and low in Cory Morris’ career. In 2006, the Orioles recalled him from AAA Ottowa on April 9. He was 27 years old and in this, his sixth professional season, he finally got to the big leagues. Three da…

Continue reading about Cory Morris, 2006 Topps ‘52 Rookies #190 »

I’m not sure when exactly Greg Zaun became Gregg, but the latter is now the widely accepted spelling. All of his cards from his Orioles days refer to him as “Greg”, though. Clear as mud, right?Gregg Zaun could be on his way back to Baltimore. The O’s a…

Continue reading about Greg(g) Zaun, 1996 Pinnacle Summit #167 »

There’s a lot to like about this card. In list form:1. This is cut right off of the back of a box of Post cereal, circa 1961. As incredible as it is to hold a Topps card that is decades old, it’s somehow more impressive to me to be in possession of a c…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Hal Brown, 1961 Post #78 »

A year ago today, I started this blog with a card of Fred Lynn and a hope to continue updating once each day. So far, so good. A few times, technical difficulties caused me to pull double-duty the day after, but before this post, we stood at 366 posts …

Continue reading about Fred Lynn, 1986 Topps Champion SuperStars #18 »

Before I take a look back at 2008, I’d like to take a closer look at this card. First of all, we can see Brian Roberts and the second base umpire gazing up to the sky to track the looping pop-up that Aubrey Huff is chasing. We can also see the out-of-t…

Continue reading about Aubrey Huff, 2008 Upper Deck #180 »

One of the things baseball card companies have done right in recent years (and yes, they actually have done a few things right) is to pay more attention to retired players. It’s a great opportunity for collectors who are interested in bygone eras to ac…

Continue reading about Paul Blair, 2002 Topps Super Teams #108 »

For all intents and purposes, the Orioles just brought back Pat Rapp.Not literally, of course. The righthander has been out of baseball for seven years. But his ugly 2000 season in Baltimore (9-12, 5.90 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) is about what I would expect from…

Continue reading about Pat Rapp, 2001 Topps #98 »

Since I spent all day wrapped up in the tension of NFL playoff cliffhangers (the results of which were most pleasing to me, of course), now is as good a time as any to use my blog to answer a few questions posed by Patricia and Lucy of Dinged Corners. …

Continue reading about Chris Hoiles, 1991 Classic I #T13 »

People are always saying that they remember where they were and what they were doing when a great or traumatic moment in history occurred. For my part, I remember where I was when I found out about the Jack Cust Game.First, the details on the game itse…

Continue reading about Jack Cust, 2003 Topps Total #180 »

Take a look at this very old, very classic card. Does anything strike you as odd? If you know your Orioles history, you’ll recognize 1954 as the year that the St. Louis Browns moved east and became the O’s. Of course, that meant that the card companies…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Dick Littlefield, 1954 Bowman #213 »

I hope that all of you have had as enjoyable a Christmas as I have. I woke up at 8:30 (comparably late for me on Christmas morning), and joined my family in the living room for gift exchanges. Everyone liked their gifts, and I did well myself. There we…

Continue reading about Boog Powell, 2004 Upper Deck Timeless Teams #61 »

Earl Weaver may not exactly be a jolly old elf, but he certainly looks like one on this card, and that works for me. As promised, here are a few things I love about Christmas, which truly is my favorite time of year.1. Time away from work. This year, I…

Continue reading about Earl Weaver, 1983 Topps #426 »

Ugh, I don’t even feel like talking about Mark Teixeira, but I suppose I should get it out of my system. I never truly thought he was coming to Baltimore, but as the Hot Stove talk droned on and the Orioles were consistently mentioned in the short list…

Continue reading about Albert Belle, 1999 Stadium Club #315 »

This card design is obviously based on 1955 Bowman, the set from which I posted this Johnny Pesky card. Much like Pesky, pitcher Don Levinski (acquired from the Marlins in the Jeff Conine trade) never played a game with the Orioles. Perhaps the screen …

Continue reading about Don Levinski, 2004 Bowman Heritage #313 »

Today was an interesting day to end a very busy weekend. I drove an hour and a half to a Christmas party/housewarming for Boothe and Molly, good friends of mine who were married in May. This was the third straight day of partying for me, following anot…

Continue reading about Marty Brown, 1990 Donruss The Rookies #39 »

Okay, we’re exceptionally late and brief tonight because football takes precedence on certain days, particularly when my Ravens are fighting for their playoff lives in the final game at Texas Stadium against a tough Cowboys team. (In honor of the game,…

Continue reading about Storm Davis, 1993 Score #449 »

Ten thoughts on Gus Triandos:1. I absolutely would not want to be an opposing baserunner, trying to beat the relay throw home and seeing that mug staring back at me.2. If you’re an Oriole fan looking for any and every example of the Birds getting the b…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Gus Triandos, 1961 Topps #140 »

This week there has been a startling lack of viable options on television. Tonight I was bailed out by an old standby: Orioles Classics on MASN. The featured game was the first opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Monday, April 6, 1992. As I was gazi…

Continue reading about Rick Sutcliffe, 1993 Stadium Club #246 »

I think I’ve determined one of the primary culprits for the Orioles’ relatively barren farm system over the past few decades. The team saved money on scouting by just drafting and signing players with familiar names. The young man pictured above is ind…

Continue reading about Dustin Yount, 2003 Bowman #329 »

I lost track of time tonight, and in a pinch, oddball cards work well. I’d never seen one of these big boys until Mr. Aase arrived in a bubble mailer from John in the United Kingdom. Donruss put out a set of 60 oversized cards to commemorate the 1986 A…

Continue reading about Don Aase, 1987 Donruss 3×5 All-Stars #47 »

Having finished most of my Christmas shopping for family and friends, I bought a little something for myself today. A round-trip plane ticket to Mark McLemore’s hometown of San Diego. Last Spring, Jill, a close friend from college, moved to the West Co…

Continue reading about Mark McLemore, 1993 Upper Deck SP #159 »

While I was distracted this weekend with family Christmas parties, heartbreaking football games, and Internet outages, the Orioles cut ties with Daniel Cabrera, failing to tender him a contract by the midnight deadline on Friday night/Saturday morning….

Continue reading about Daniel Cabrera, 2008 Upper Deck First Edition #143 »

I just finished reading “It’s Gone!…No, Wait a Minute” by Ken Levine. It’s the memoir of a Hollywood screenwriter who realized a childhood dream by becoming a baseball radio announcer. In 1991, he made his major league debut on Orioles telecasts, tea…

Continue reading about Orioles No-Hitter, 1991 Stadium Club Members Only »

Considering the circuitous route of Dick Williams’ playing career, I’m sure he never imagined that he would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. Before becoming the manager of the Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s, the gruff St. Louis native w…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Dick Williams, 1962 Topps #382 »

I can’t help but feel for Mike Flanagan. Few men have devoted more of their lives to the Orioles organization than the sharp-witted lefty from New Hampshire. From 1975 to 1987, he won 139 games, a Cy Young award, and a World Championship in Baltimore. …

Continue reading about Mike Flanagan, 1991 Score Rookies/Traded #2T »

Some days you’ve just gotta cut your losses, post a card with a picture of Dave Ford looking as tired as you feel, and wander off to bed secure in the knowledge that your mattress and pillow are more comfortable than Dave’s immediate confines in Fenway…

Continue reading about Dave Ford, 1981 Fleer #192 »

Adios, Ramon.Catcher Ramon Hernandez has just become the latest ex-Oriole, having been traded to the Cincinnati Reds with a million dollars cash for utility player Ryan Freel and two minor league infielders. It’s a shame that most fans, myself included…

Continue reading about Ramon Hernandez, 2006 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion #114 »

Former Orioles farmhand T. R. Lewis is one of those guys I haven’t given a second thought since about 1995, when he was putting up decent (but not eye-popping) numbers in the minors. He was just another of the seeming dozens of would-be O’s who got the…

Continue reading about T. R. Lewis, 1993 Bowman #85 »

I always thought that pitcher John Parrish resembled comedian Harland Williams. What do you say? One thing is for sure - he gave the Orioles tantalizing glimpses of what could have been, if only he had stayed healthy and pitched with more control. Thos…

Continue reading about John Parrish, 2001 Upper Deck #27 »

AAAAHHHHHH! LOOK OUT, LADY! The ball is coming right for you! And so is Leo Gomez! At least you’ve got your extra-large round shades to protect your eyes. Not to mention the fact that you’re wearing your Sunday finest…hmmm…I wonder if there’s a Mrs…

Continue reading about Leo Gomez, 1993 Donruss #31 »

I normally don’t scan the card backs for this blog, but if I let today pass by without showing you the other side of this fifty-three year old slab of cardboard, you might think that this was just a nifty throwback to the early days of Orioles baseball…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Fred Marsh, 1955 Topps #13 »

One of the primary influences on this blog was, and continues to be, Josh Wilker’s Cardboard Gods. Today, Josh wrote about a seminal moment in the history of his own blog. He had previously posted a Don Stanhouse card with an amusing and fictional glim…

Continue reading about Don Stanhouse, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #432 »

They’re BAAAAAACCCKKK! Okay, so they don’t have all the proper licensing just now. You might notice the lack of a black and orange cartoon bird logo on Brooksie’s helmet, or the plain all-caps “BALTIMORE” with no subsequent “ORIOLES”. I’m not sure why …

Continue reading about Brooks Robinson, 2008 Donruss Threads #3 »

The baseball offseason can be a bittersweet time of year. While it may be easy to get caught up in the so-called Hot Stove League, constantly checking sports websites and blogs for the latest rumors about which free agent signings and trades your team …

Continue reading about Jay Payton, 2007 Topps Opening Day #212 »