Monday, August 29, 2011

Request Week- Rocky Cherry


I'm kicking off my all request week with a suggestion from Justin, AKA piratesfan731, who wanted to see and hear a little bit about former Oriole Rocky Cherry.

I have to start by saying the most obvious thing about him; that his name is just amazing. Way back in July 2009, I described it as "one of the greatest, most ice-cream-sounding names ever", and I'm sticking by that statement. I would guess that his parents either had a great sense of humor, or they were rather oblivious to the awesomeness that those eleven letters contain.

It's best that we remember Rocky for his name because his MLB stats over the 2007-08 seasons for the Cubs and Orioles aren't pretty. He had a 1-4 record with a 5.77 ERA over 40 relief appearances, 28 of which came with the O's after the Cubs sent him and Scott Moore to Baltimore for Steve Trachsel on August 31, 2007. He hasn't pitched professionally since the end of the 2009 season, and I would venture a guess that he has retired.

Interestingly, this is the only card that pictures Rocky in an Orioles uniform. There is a "gold" version of this that's only #ed to 75, but if you want an Orioles card of Rocky, it will be autographed. Which is perfect for me and my collection, but not so much if you didn't want to pay for the signature. I lucked out and got this card on ebay sometime in 2009 for either .25 or .99 plus shipping. You can still find this card but you will need to pay significantly more, proportionally at least. ($5 is a lot more than a quarter, am I right?)

If anyone else is interested in making a request for my O's autograph request week, please leave a comment!

5 comments:

Hackenbush said...

I vaguely remember that people were pulling for him in Chicago. It is a great name.

Paul Hadsall said...

One of the best names in recent baseball history. I think he went to spring training with the Mets a couple of years ago, but he didn't stick around long. I was disappointed, but at least we've still got Angel Pagan. :)

zman40 said...

I would like to see another write-up on Raffy. I know he is not one of your favorites, but I would like to his degresion from fan-favorite to the dog house (if, in fact, that is true for you). He just seems to be too high profile for a "case of the Sundays" post.

zman40 said...

Also, I wouldn't mind seeing a Bruce Chen write-up. I know that he didn't amount to much for you guys, but he has been pretty popular in KC. For instance, the Royals do a "Bruce Chen Joke of the Day" at every game at the K. Last game I went to:

Where do you find a no legged dog?

Right where you left him.

Orioles Magic said...

Hackenbush- It would have been nice to be able to root for Rocky for a longer time.

Paul-totally agree. And Pagan was an O's Minor Leaguer for a time. We missed out on him!

Zman- You're right that Raffy probably deserves more. Believe me, there are some hard feelings there.

The O's had a similar Bruce Chen joke feature they ran between innings during his time with the Orioles. I guess he has a reputation for being a jokester.