2001 Orioles Debuts, Orioles #682-700

So for a long time I've struggled to come up with anything interesting to say about some of the Orioles players that I don't have any personal memories of, or that played in Baltimore for such a short time that there wasn't much to say about them. This is how I'm going to cover many of the remaining Orioles autographs that I have yet to display, by grouping them by debut year. It's straightforward and relatively simple.

So without further ado, here we go...

In 2001, 19 players made their Orioles debut, from Pat Hentgen on Opening Day to Tim Raines Sr. in the season's final week. Here are all of them, with their debut number, debut date, and Orioles years.

Pat Hentgen #682 4/2/2001 (2001-03)

Willis Roberts #683 4/4/2001 (2001-03)

I almost literally have no memories of Willis and honestly, guys like him are why I decided to do these types of posts. I wasn't closely following the O's during his time in Baltimore and it's possible that I never saw him pitch in a game. So that's my "memory" of him. 

Jay Gibbons #684 4/6/2001 (2001-07)

John Bale #685 4/14/2001 (2001)

Chad Paronto #686 4/18/2001 (2001)

Jorge Julio #687 4/26/2001 (2001-05)

Josh Towers #688 5/2/2001 (2001-02)

I remember Josh much more-so for the five seasons he spent with the Blue Jays than his one plus season in Baltimore. He wasn't particularly successful at any of the stops during his career but he did pitch parts of eight seasons in the Majors. After bouncing around between Independent and Internationals leagues, he just retired following the 2011 season.

Brian Roberts #689 6/14/2001 (2001-current)

Larry Bigbie #690 6/23/2001 (2001-05)


Tony Batista #691 6/26/2001 (2001-03)

John Wasdin #692 7/1/2001 (2001)

Sean Douglass #693 7/18/2001 (2001-03)

Douglass pitched in 22 games for the O's during his three seasons in Baltimore, and like Roberts, I don't really have much to say about him. 

Kris Foster #694 8/3/2001 (2001)

Rick Bauer #695 9/2/2001 (2001-05)

Willie Harris #696 9/2/2001 (2001)

This is a pretty shabby autograph isn't it? I might need to look into an upgrade. 

Geronimo Gil #697 9/8/2001 (2001-05)

Casey Blake #698 9/22/2001 (2001)

Casey Blake didn't blossom as a player until after his extremely brief six game stint with the O's at the tail-end of the 2001 season. I'm not sure why he didn't get more of a chance in Baltimore, but he had also passed through the Blue Jays and Twins systems twice before he found regular MLB playing time with the Indians in 2003. 

Tim Raines Jr. #699 10/1/2001 (2001, 2003-04)

Tim Raines Sr. #700 10/3/2001 (2001)