Craig Gentry made his Orioles debut as a pinch-runner in the 10th inning of the Opening Day contest against the Blue Jays. He remained in the game to play right field. He has pretty much been used that way in a majority of his games so far this season; in the 31 games he's played appeared in, just eight have been starts while the rest came as a defensive replacement or pinch-runner.
Craig signed with the Orioles on February 20th, as Spring Training was already under way, and was an extreme long-shot to make the Opening Day roster. At the time, it seemed like a AAA depth signing, somewhat due to his Rangers ties with hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. The fact that he and Chris Davis are good friends and appeared in each others' weddings didn't hurt his chances with the Oriole either, but he still needed to perform.
Craig went on to shock everyone and break camp with the O's. He hit .321 with a .429 OBP over 29 spring games, and his playing time was certainly aided by Adam Jones playing the World Baseball Classic in addition to some injuries to other outfielders in camp.
As you can tell, Craig was a generous signer to both my dad and me during our time in Sarasota, and the card up top is heading for my collection. Good luck in Baltimore, Craig!
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