Cal Ripken, Jr., 1994 Score Burger King #7

I finally organized the pile of cards that I bought last weekend. While I couldn’t quite complete the 2004 Maryland Lottery set, I did compile a few Cal Ripken, Jr. oddball sets. One of them was the nine-card set that includes this card and was sold at…

Continue reading about Cal Ripken, Jr., 1994 Score Burger King #7 »

I strive for variety in this blog, sometimes to the point of distraction. In fishing for ideas today, I went through the tags to see if there were any important players that were under-represented. Some vintage subjects (Dons Baylor and Buford) have on…

Continue reading about Harold Reynolds, 1994 Fleer #17 »

It looks like I have a new set to chase.This is part of a 50-card set produced by the Maryland Lottery to commemorate the Orioles’ 50th anniversary in 2004. The cards were sold in packs at lottery stations, and if you collected all 50 you were eligible…

Continue reading about Rex Barney, 2004 Maryland Lottery #33 »

Sorry to do a link dump, but Deadspin’s Tom Scocca wrote a long, thoughtful, bittersweet, yet ultimately somewhat heartening article about what it means to be an Orioles fan. You can read it here, though you should be forewarned of salty language if th…

Continue reading about Robert Andino, 2012 Topps Orioles Team Set #BALT12 »

It’s been a good couple of days for me personally and for the Orioles. The O’s completed their first three-game home sweep of the Twins since 2002 thanks in large part to some outstanding starting pitching. Jake Arrieta, Tommy Hunter, and Jason Hammel …

Continue reading about Nick Markakis, 2011 Bowman Platinum #34 »

I’ve been bolstering my Orioles collection lately by rooting through some el cheapo boxes provided by my friend (and bargain hunter supreme) Ed. One of the gems I added was this unusual Rafael Palmeiro card. I stared at it for a few seconds before I no…

Continue reading about Rafael Palmeiro, 1996 Upper Deck SP #35 »

I haven’t done many late-night updates recently, but I just got home after a long day that included my second-ever Opening Day experience at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This time I went with my sister; it was my treat for her birthday. The weather was…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Baltimore Orioles, 1967 Topps #302 »

I hope you liked yesterday’s goofy American League predictions. Here, have some National League stuff!Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones’ final season is marred by the discovery that he no longer has knees – no cartilage, no bone, no muscle, nothing. He…

Continue reading about Cesar Izturis, 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH254 »

Everyone and his or her cross-eyed grandma is making predictions this week, I figured I’d give in to peer pressure. But let’s be honest: I’m no insider, and I don’t have any uber-advanced data-driven projection systems. Most predictions are gua…

Continue reading about Vladimir Guerrero, 2011 Topps Update Series #US200 »

We’re less than 72 hours away from Opening Day. The Orioles’ 25-man roster is almost completely set, but there are still surprises to be found in Sarasota.Remember Jason Johnson? Tall guy (6’6″ to be exact), righty, spent the better part of five years …

Continue reading about Jason Johnson, 2004 Topps Heritage #105 »

As if I needed another reason to like Chris Hoiles, I found out from his Twitter feed (@c23hoiles) that he was also watching Wrestlemania on pay-per-view last night. In case you were wondering, he was suitably impressed by the Hell in a Cell bout betwe…

Continue reading about Chris Hoiles, 1991 Fleer Ultra #17 »

This is a hit-and-run post today, since I have to get on the road to Southern Maryland to watch Wrestlemania XXVIII (28 for those of you with a roman numeral phobia) with my friends Donnie and Boothe. This year’s keystone event for WWE is being broadca…

Continue reading about Aubrey Huff, 2009 Topps 206 #263 »

If you quit collecting baseball cards in disgust at some point before the turn of the century, and you’re wondering whether you made the right choice, I present the Card-supial. I didn’t think to scan it alongside a regular-sized card for scale, so you…

Continue reading about Matt Riley, 2000 Pacific Crown Royale Card-supial #3 »

This is a profoundly weird card. Not only do Frank Peters and Ron Stone look eerily alike, with the same facial expression and all, but Stone is clumsily airbrushed to obscure his Athletics cap. The bill is still green, as are his sleeves, and the vest…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Frank Peters and Ron Stone, 1968 Topps #409 »

My friend Andy recently had the pleasure of interviewing former Orioles (and Indians, White Sox, Angels, Mets, Braves, and Phillies) outfielder Dave Gallagher for his High Heat Stats blog. You should give it a read. Dave talks about how he became a Gia…

Continue reading about Dave Gallagher, 1991 Topps #349 »

Congratulations are in order for Mike Mussina and Rich Dauer, the newest members-elect of the Orioles Hall of Fame. Each spent a decade in an O’s uniform, and they’ve both earned the honor. My only hope is that the fans in attendance for the pregame in…

Continue reading about Mike Mussina, 1993 Leaf On the Fast Track #4 »

I’d like to think that I’ve grown as a baseball fan over the years One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is not to be blown away by the dreaded Small Sample Size. Just as great players have bad days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years, so too d…

Continue reading about Eddy Rodriguez, 2005 Upper Deck Artifacts #119 »

Ouch. I’m feeling creakier than Harold Baines’ knees today, and I only have myself to blame. After months of near-total inactivity, I recently realized that I should get in better shape. I’ve spent the last few weeks doing a half-hour of aerobic workou…

Continue reading about Harold Baines, 1996 Score #408 »

This is probably a silly question, but does anyone else watch Mad Men? I was behind the curve with it, as I am with many pop culture phenomena. Thanks to Netflix, I’ve taken a crash course on the first four seasons of the show. I just now watched the l…

Continue reading about Josh Towers, 2002 Studio #65 »

I’m making an executive decision here. There’s a Giants logo on the back, so the TeamSets4U website lists it as a Giants card. But the keen-eyed among you will note that this is an action photo of Hoyt Wilhelm delivering a pitch for the Orioles. It’s a…

Continue reading about Hoyt Wilhelm, 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers #88 »

I am just in a phenomenal mood. It’s Friday, the weather is sunny and warm and mild here in Baltimore, I ordered sushi from one of my favorite local restaurants for dinner, and tomorrow I’m following up my sister’s celebratory birthday lunch with a boy…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Lee May, 1979 O-Pee-Chee #1 »

This is one of a couple dozen Brady Anderson cards that I picked out from the nickel and dime boxes at the last card show I attended, and it’s the rare card that I’ll scan front and back. I always liked this insert set from Donruss, since it relies on …

Continue reading about Brady Anderson, 1993 Donruss Spirit of the Game #SG17 »

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Internet makes the world a pretty small place. Case in point: Today Anthony Telford left a comment on a blog post I wrote about him two years ago. Fortunately, I had kind words to say about him, and vice versa. It’…

Continue reading about Anthony Telford, 1992 Score #853 »

It’s not like I need additional reasons to count Chris Hoiles among my all-time favorite Orioles, but I’ll reach for them as they come. Andy at High Heat Stats posted a list of the all-time home run leaders who played exclusively for each franchise. In…

Continue reading about Chris Hoiles, 1997 Score #223 »

Before I move away from my recent all-1991 Crown/Coca-Cola format, I have to make a correction to yesterday’s Dave Philley entry. Reader Russell sent me an email pointing out that Eddie Robinson is not actually the oldest living Oriole. Outfielder Wall…

Continue reading about Wally Westlake, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #480 »

Three years ago, I figured out that Dave Philley was the oldest living Oriole. Sadly, that’s no longer the case, as the 18-year major league veteran passed away last Thursday in his hometown of Paris, TX. He was 91 years old. His American League record…

Continue reading about Dave Philley, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #360 »

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Even here at Orioles Card “O” the Day, we partake in the Wearing of the Green. In this case, it’s Gene Green, a veteran of seven big league seasons whose O’s career lasted all of one game in 1960. He’d been with the Cardinals f…

Continue reading about Gene Green, 1991 Crown/Coca-Cola All-Time Orioles #163 »

Let this card serve as a reminder that Topps has been clumsily manipulating images for several decades. It’s not just a recent thing. In this case, Earl Robinson’s Dodgers helmet has been painted over with an orange and black that look more like red an…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Earl Robinson, 1961 Topps #343 »

I hope somebody else finds this card as hilarious as I do. It just perfectly encapsulates Felix Pie’s three-year tenure in Baltimore. The design gives the appearance of classic baseball, but you don’t have to look too closely at the contents to see tha…

Continue reading about Felix Pie, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #272 »

I don’t play Topps Attax myself, mostly because the substitution of the letter “x” for “-cks” offends my English major sensibilities. But if you can read the small print on Vladimir Guerrero’s Attax (ugh) card, you’ll see that he gives his card player …

Continue reading about Vladimir Guerrero, 2011 Topps Attax #NNO »

Ah, Metal Universe, I just can’t walk away from you. Sure, it’s mostly because the swirly patterns etched in your foil have seared my retinas, but at least you’re trying to be something that other cards are not. All the same, you’re at your brain-colla…

Continue reading about Charles Johnson, 2000 Skybox Metal Universe #61 »

Today is Steve Finley’s 47th birthday! I always feel like birthday posts are a bit of a cheat, so I’ll try to dig up some interesting bits of trivia:-Others born on March 12 include Daryl Strawberry (age 50) and Dale Murphy (56). Together with Finley, …

Continue reading about Steve Finley, 1989 Donruss The Rookies #47 »

This is a pretty silly card. Despite that fact (or maybe because of it), I just had to have it. I placed it the Covetous Cluster, or most-wanted, list on the left sidebar. Ed, who spends more time working on my various want lists than I do, tracked it …

Continue reading about Doug Drabek, 1998 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice #312 »

I went to a small card show this morning over in Glen Burnie, and emptied out my wallet at some nickel and dime boxes. About half of my haul was various Orioles cards, the better to keep the good times rolling here. I haven’t sorted them yet, but it se…

Continue reading about Miguel Tejada, 2006 Upper Deck #888 »

This spiffy black and white portrait of Don Larsen, the only Oriole pitcher to ever suffer a 20-loss season, comes to us via Max of the Starting Nine blog. It’s part of a 270-card set that was released in six annual series of 45 cards each from 1977 th…

Continue reading about Vintage Fridays: Don Larsen, 1977 TCMA Renata Galasso Greats #3 »