Sunday, January 30, 2011

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Palmer & Aparicio

I haven't covered any of the other Orioles Hall of Famers nearly as much as I've wrote about Jim Palmer, and I bet he likes it that way. I'm kidding, but if you've ever heard Jim call an Orioles game, he just can't help but weave in a few stories about the success he had during his career. And honestly, if I was as good as he was, I probably would do that same thing!


Cakes was an amazing pitcher over the 19 seasons he pitched for the Orioles, and was especially dominant from 1969-79 when his ERA never crept over 3.30 for a season. He also won three Cy Young awards, played in six All-Star games, won three Gold Gloves, and received MVP/Cy Young votes most seasons over that stretch. That's some serious dominance.


One of the reasons that I've covered Jim as much as I have is that he has remained a presence around the O's over the years, mainly because of his color commentating duties with MASN. Because of that, he typically signs at Fan Fest and can be seen around the ballpark every summer. It's nice for us autographs collectors to have a Hall of Famer who remains relatively accessible. 


Jim was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1990, but they had to throw away three plaques before they found one that got Jim's approval. Gotta get that face just perfect, ya know.



I got this card on ebay back in the summer of '09 and covered Luis at the bottom of the linked post. The sticker pops in the scan but isn't nearly as obvious in person and I'm a big fan of this card and how he's wearing the old school Baltimore jersey. 


Little Louie was one of the best fielding shortstops of his era and he was terror on the basepaths too. He played with the Orioles from 1963-67, but is best remembered for the ten years he spent with the White Sox. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his sixth ballot in 1984.

Today is your last chance to enter my contest to win the Earl Weaver autograph. Entries won't be accepted after midnight-ish. Good luck everyone!

10 comments:

Greg Zakwin said...

Love the Turkey Red Palmer.

night owl said...

I've been listening to Palmer broadcast games ever since he used to do Little League World Series games for ABC back in the mid '80s.

He does like to talk about himself, but for some reason it never gets annoying. He's a good broadcaster. I get the feeling he wouldn't do anything unless he was good at it.

unclemoe said...

Nice. Luis is my favorite Orioles HOFer!

moe.

Dawgbones said...

more nice looking signatures. The sticker auto even looks good to me.

Dawgbones said...

Actually, I just noticed that Aparicio changed the color of his Sox during his career. Bookending his time spent with the O's.

zman40 said...

That is great that Jim attends Fanfest regularly. I wish I could say that about George Brett and Royals Fanfest.

Dawgbones said...

I just wish I lived closer to a MLB team with a fanfest that I could attend. Although the Tides make for some great baseball, I'd love to meet some of these MLB guys in person. I may try for some Tides autos this year if I get to a game or two.

Matthew said...

Oh, I hope I'm going to make it under the deadline. Thanks for doing the contest. It's been a fun week.

Dustin said...

This might not count as an extra contest entry, but it doesn't matter. I've had fun commenting on your posts and will keep reading.

I love the Turkey sig. There's something so cool about te angle and the curves that, to me, represents that fantastic windup. I can imagine him re-imagining his delivery through the pen.

Orioles Magic said...

Thanks Greg.

night owl- I agree. I guess having heard him 100s of times over the years, I just hear a lot of Palmer talk.

unclemoe- good deal

dawgbones- thanks man!

zman40- Yes it is, and I'm not sure but it could be a contractual obligation as much as anything. Whatever the reason, it is pretty cool.

dawgbones- I made it to one Tides game two years ago and had a good time. It's just a major hike from Baltimore.

Matthew- You sure did, thanks for all the comments!

Dustin- Since it's my contest, I counted it!