Alejandro Freire, 2006 Fleer Ultra #182

Who is Alejandro Freire? Just another of those late-twenties, early-thirties minor league veterans who got to live out his major league dreams thanks to the lousiness of the recent-vintage Orioles. He was two weeks shy of his 31st birthday when he made…

Continue reading about Alejandro Freire, 2006 Fleer Ultra #182 »

With yesterday’s public service announcement taken care of, I’m going to double back and talk about the demise of my elementary school. St. Clare Elementary in Essex, MD was founded in 1956 by four Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy from Kells, Irelan…

Continue reading about Mike Mussina, 1992 Fleer #20 »

Yesterday I promised a two-part post, but I’ve already gotten sidetracked…as is my wont. Over the weekend I learned that card collector’s worst nightmare had come true for a fellow blogger. While I’ve never had any dealings with The Collective Troll,…

Continue reading about Brian Roberts, 2008 Upper Deck SPX #10 »

Many things in life are fleeting in nature. Take Andy Van Slyke’s Orioles career; he signed with the Birds prior to the 1995 season but played only 17 games with the club. The 34-year-old outfielder, who had been an All-Star just two seasons prior, bat…

Continue reading about Andy Van Slyke, 1995 Upper Deck #368 »

Until recently, Jim Fuller was one of those names that didn’t really register with me. Then I saw a few mentions of his prodigious minor league power in Dave Pugh’s book, and decided to give him a closer look.Though he was born in Bethesda, Fuller pla…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Jim Fuller, 1975 Topps #594 »

Tonight I’m going to talk more about 2010 Topps. So you may be wondering why I chose a card from the 2007 Heritage set, which borrows its design from 1958. I’ll get to that in a moment.Last night I planned to rip open just four packs of my hobby box, b…

Continue reading about Jaret Wright, 2007 Topps Heritage #460 »

Today there is baseball, and life is good. I checked my iPhone this afternoon, and saw starting lineups posted on my go-to blogs. I got in the car after work and heard Joe Angel recapping the lovely totals: 12 runs, 14 hits for the Orioles, 2 runs, 5 h…

Continue reading about Jeremy Guthrie, 2009 Topps Black #194 »

Did you know that Mark Belanger was one of three Orioles who to serve in the National Guard during the April 1968 riots that erupted after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination? (Dave Leonhard and Pete Richert were the others.) Would you believe that…

Continue reading about Mark Belanger, 1981 Topps #641 »

With baseball card companies routinely tapping into the nostalgia cash cow, we’re inundated on a yearly basis by reprints of old cards, recycled versions of bygone card designs, and brand new cards featuring retired players. But rarely do you see a for…

Continue reading about Paul Blair, 1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes MLB 125th Anniversary #211 »

Looking for more information on pitcher Anthony Telford, I came to his Baseball Reference Bullpen page. It didn’t have much to offer, except for a scan of one of his cards, which he had signed with his name and the Bible verse “Rev 3:20″. Lots of profe…

Continue reading about Anthony Telford, 1992 Fleer #29 »

There are many valuable pieces of advice that I can give fellow collectors for taking proper care of your card collection. You probably know most of the basics (store your cards in Ultra-Pro binder sheets, keep them out of the reach of children and pet…

Continue reading about Scott Erickson, 1998 Donruss Silver Press Proof #242 »

Have you ever seen a cheesier airbrush job on an Orioles card than this paint-by-numbers treatment of reserve outfielder Mike Anderson? Sure, the dude only hit .094 in 32 at-bats in Charm City, but he still deserved better. As long as they were making …

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Mike Anderson, 1979 Topps #102 »

Regrettably, this “Funny Photo” isn’t actually all that funny – unless, of course, an evening with Dave Coulier is your idea of a hilarious good time. (If it is, please don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.)To compound my annoyance with this card, the p…

Continue reading about Brian Roberts, 2006 Topps Opening Day SI for Kids #24 »

Today is a great day for celebration! Not only is it the 54th birthday of the Patron Saint of the Chopstache, Death Glare, and Monster Home Run, Mr. Eddie Clarence Murray, but I also finally made it through settlement. Today, I am officially a homeowne…

Continue reading about Eddie Murray, 1988 Topps Woolworth Baseball Highlights #5 »

I can’t believe that it took another card company 25 years to rip off Topps’ so-simple-it’s-sublime “hat design”. I think I like it even better than the original, since it features the actual team logo. If you somehow missed the Aaron Rakers era in Bal…

Continue reading about Aaron Rakers, 2006 Fleer Tradition #120 »

The Orioles sure waited until the last possible moment, but word has finally leaked out that they’ve secured a TV announcer lineup for the 2010 season. There are plenty of familiar names to O’s fans, including a couple of surprises.It was presumed that…

Continue reading about Mike Boddicker, 1986 Donruss #8 »

As part of my ongoing losing battle to better organize and display my collection, I spent the early part of this evening putting my 1993 Upper Deck factory set in a binder. It was long overdue, since I adhere to the opinion expressed by some of my favo…

Continue reading about Randy Milligan, 1993 Upper Deck #228 »

I believe I promised you a Dave Criscione story, and a Dave Criscione story you shall have. David Gerald Criscione was born in Dunkirk, NY, and attended Dunkirk High (go figure) before signing with the Senators in 1969 as a fifth-round draft pick. Desp…

Continue reading about Dave Criscione, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #88 »

“Why are baseball cards so attractive to kids and adults?”"I can only speak for myself. Years ago that was a source of information. Stats were always big. They were an educational index card. You read all the little small things that were on the back o…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Tom Shopay, 1972 Topps #418 »

If there’s a sports Hall of Fame somewhere in North America, chances are good that they’re inducting an Oriole soon. I’ve already mentioned Harold Baines (Orioles Hall of Fame) and Ben McDonald (Lousiana Sports Hall of Fame), but I’ve heard tell of fou…

Continue reading about Gregg Olson, 1990 Fleer League Leaders #28 »

Today, pitchers and catchers reported to Sarasota and Ed Smith Stadium to begin spring training for the Orioles. The world is a little better for it, I’d like to think. I went searching for an image that embodied this time of year and I found Jeffrey H…

Continue reading about Jeffrey Hammonds, 1994 Upper Deck SP #121 »

The next time you wonder how long the fine sports fans of Baltimore can carry a grudge, consider this: I have a friend who is a fellow card collector. He’s been a diehard Orioles fan longer than I’ve been alive. Although it’s been almost 20 years since…

Continue reading about Glenn Davis, 1991 Upper Deck #757 »

Yesterday, my girlfriend Barbara and I started our Valentine’s Day off right with breakfast at a small cafe near her house, followed by a quick and relatively bloodless trip to Wal-mart. I’ve been holding off on buying new cards, hoping vainly that I c…

Continue reading about Luke Scott, 2010 Topps #231 »

With piles of snow still coating the entire state of Maryland, I’ve been intending to write about the one snowy Orioles game in my lifetime that I can remember. Fortunately, the Baltimore Sun recently made mention of it to jog my memory.It was Opening …

Continue reading about Gary Matthews, Jr., 2003 Topps #509 »

The first year that I played Little League baseball, my jersey number was 35. It was a big deal for me because two of my favorite major league players wore that number: Mike Mussina and Frank Thomas. With all due respect to “Moose”, I was actually a bi…

Continue reading about Mike Mussina, 2000 Topps HD #39 »

When examining the worst trades in Orioles history, there’s a temptation to begin and end with Glenn Davis. Actually, it’s usually necessary to stop at Glenn Davis, because the mere mention of his name causes foaming at the mouth and blackouts. But I’m…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Earl Williams, 1974 Topps #375 »

Continue reading about Roger McDowell, 1996 Fleer Update #U4 »

Continue reading about Brady Anderson, 1991 Donruss #668 »

Continue reading about Luis Aparicio, 2008 Topps Ring of Honor #RH-LA »

Continue reading about Melvin Mora, 2007 Topps Allen and Ginter #109 »

Continue reading about Jim Palmer, 2006 Topps Turkey Red #587 »

Continue reading about Jim Palmer, 2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics #86 »

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Jim Palmer, 1980 Burger King #7 »

Continue reading about Brian Roberts, 2003 Donruss Classics #62 »

Continue reading about Eric Bell, 1988 Score #101 »