Chris Brock, Finally

In my experience collecting Orioles autographs, some of the more difficult autographs to obtain are of somewhat recent players who were featured on a single card as an Oriole. When you are trying to get one specific card signed, it severely diminishes the chances that you will just happen across a signed copy of that card. It's not particularly difficult to find some sort of autograph of this type of player, but finding that signed Orioles card can be nearly impossible at times. 

Until recently, such was the case with Chris Brock, who is featured as an Oriole on just one card, itself in a relatively obscure set, 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man. In fact, this is the only card that pictured Chris with a MLB team, although he was also included in some relatively plentiful minor league sets. 

Well, I did some internet sleuthing, and was lucky enough to track down Chris online through his current semi-pro team. The team put me in touch with the man himself, and he was kind enough to get back to me with his address. He signed, and personalized, his one and only Orioles card for me. Unfortunately, the marker he was using had pretty well faded by the time he got to his signature, but after searching for a signed copy of this card for about five years, I'm not gonna complain.

Thanks for taking the time to sign for me Chris!

Spring Training Contest Update- The Braves are in the Lead

Well, we're just over a week into Spring Training action and, as of this morning, the Braves have the best record at 7-2 which should make Captain Canuck happy. The 6-2 Royals and Twins are trailing them closely, while the 8-3 Giants, 6-3 Rangers & Reds, and 4-2 Orioles aren't far behind.

The 1-7 Tampa Bay Rays remain at the back of the pack and I can say with a fair amount of confidence that they will not have the best Spring Training record in consecutive seasons. That's just too many games to make up in a just over three weeks.

To celebrate the Braves lead, I wanted to show off an autograph of an Orioles player on a Braves card and this was the closest thing I could find.

The unforgettable Chris Brock. OK, I need some work on my descriptive terms. I had no idea who Chris was before I started my project but he pitched in the Majors from 1997-2002 for the Phillies, Giants, Orioles and Braves. He had an 18-17 record and 4.81 ERA over 148 games, and was 2-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 22 games for the 2002 O's in what would prove to be his final big league action.

It seems like the most newsworthy thing that he did during his career was during his time with the Phillies when he complained to GM Ed Wade about HOF broadcaster Harry Kalas's habit of riding in the back of the team charter with the players. He was apparently the only one who had an issue with this as Kalas was at the back of the plane entertaining everyone a few days later. Not a good way to endear yourself to the other players or the organization.

Brock is pictured as an Oriole on a 2002 UD 40 Man card but is not a good TTM signer and doesn't appear to do any signings. The card pictured above is the only autograph of his that I've been able to track down, so it's in the collection for now.