Oriole #862- David Hernandez

I know that this is a large jump in my debut numbers, but I'm highlighting specific autographs that haven't yet been posted here.

Up today is Oriole #862, David Hernandez, who made his Orioles and MLB debut on May 28, 2009. He was traded to the Diamondbacks, along with Kam Mickolio, before the 2011 season for Mark Reynolds.

The story behind these autographs is kind of interesting. Although I prefer my autographs personalized, I'm not the Ryan that David signed these cards to, but I ended up trading for them with another Orioles autograph collecting Ryan. And now, I happily have two personalized Hernandez autographs, even if they weren't personalized to me, per se.

The O's Trade for Mark Reynolds

I called it last week. Here's proof. I know that I wasn't the first person to bring it up, but I'm still pretty proud of myself since I'm normally wrong on these things. Anyone have a Reynolds autograph that they want to trade? The one up top isn't mine as you can see by the checkoutmycards.com watermark.

 

To get Reynolds, the O's had to give up David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio.  Hernandez has a legit arm and could possibly be a closer for the D'backs while Mickolio wasn't good at much besides being exceptionally tall (he's 6'9") and having awkward mechanics.

I give this trade 3.5 out of 5 O's.  The O's needed to do something. The fans were getting restless.
OOOC

Orioles Autograph Year in Reivew- The Bad Signers

Rolling on with my 2010 O's Autograph Review, today I'm going to cover the worst signers on the team. If I had it my way, no one would fall into this category, but unfortunately, these guys do.

Nick Markakis continues to be, in my opinion, the toughest autograph on the Orioles. The one and only autograph I got from him all season was way back at Fanfest, and I didn't see him signing any other time all season long. At one game, a fellow collector told me that he had signed the previous day, but since I didn't see it, I can't believe it. This dude NEVER signs at games, not even during Spring Training.

Not surprisingly, I also ranked Nick as a bad signer last season. 

Falling in the c'mon man category of bad signers is backup catcher, Craig Tatum. I mean, it's not like he was busy more than one or two days a week. I once had him walk by me, while he was apparently doing nothing, with only a few other people nearby and asked if he could sign. His answer "no". That's all he said. Luckily, I got his autograph in a few trades and got a few cards signed at a private signing.

I picked up Kevin's autograph both at Fanfest and at Spring Training, so I was optimistic about getting his signature a few more times over the course of the year. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and I can't remember seeing him sign once at Oriole Park this season. I know he was the veteran "ace" of the staff, but most starting pitchers will sign occasionally between starts since they have some down time. 

David Hernandez has always been a pretty tough signature, at least dating back to the '08 season when he was with the Baysox, and he continued down that path over this past season. I picked him up at a private signing, but can't remember seeing him sign around the park much, if at all. Sundays are the best day to get autographs from the Orioles relief pitchers, since there is no BP and they warm up on the field, but David would almost always just walk back into the clubhouse after warming up.

Last season, I ranked him as a hit or miss signer since he didn't sign often, but when he did, he signed for a number of fans. 

Sometime closer, Alfredo Simon was another tough autograph to pick up. I was able to get his autograph during Spring Training, but only after persistently calling out his name as he was walking down the right field line. He could only ignore so many times, you know?   I got his signature one other time this season, but again, it was at a private signing. 

Last year, I listed him in the inconclusive/undetermined category since he only spent a few days with the O's before going down with a season-ending injury.

Unfortunately, I once again have to include my favorite Oriole on the list of bad signers. I got his autograph only once this season, and that was at a private signing at a local AT&T Store. He didn't sign in Spring Training, I didn't see him sign once at Oriole Park, and I missed him at Fanfest. All season long, I had my copy of his SI cover in my game backpack, hoping that I might luck out and get it signed, but it looks like that will be a project for next season. 

Since Matt normally catches six days a week, I can kind of understand why he doesn't sign often.  But I wish that I would occasionally see him sign at the Yard on one of his off days.  As I mentioned, he also fell in the bad signer category last season.  

I Like This Combination

Just a quick note to Juan Samuel: The Orioles have 2 wins in their last 8 games. The starting pitcher in each of those W's-Jake Arrieta


And the man who closed out both of those games-David Hernandez

Just remember that Juan.

Also-Jake is now 2-0 in his 2 MLB starts and David has earned the save in both of those games, the first two of his MLB career. Maybe there is some Orioles Magic left...

Molding the Future of the Orioles

Mike Griffin pitched for the Orioles in 1987 both as a starter and reliever and went 3-5 with a 4.36 ERA.

He has been a pitching coach in the Orioles organization for the past three seasons, starting at AA Bowie in 2008 and filling the role for the AAA Tides in 2009 & 2010. He seems to do good work and has aided in the development of current Orioles Chris Tillman, Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken, David Hernandez and Frank Mata. Jake Arrieta has been tearing up International League hitters all season, so hopefully he will join the O's soon. They sure could use the help. And possibly a new manager...what're you up to Mike?

In-Person Autographs from O's First Week

I finally had time last night to scan some of the autographs that I got over the O's first homestand. Without further delay...


This is the first Ohman autograph in my collection, so it was the highlight of the series for me. He seems like a cool guy, and does a great Harry Caray impersonation. He added Colossians 3:17, which says "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."


I have a few Matusz autographs in my collection, but this is his first Orioles card. Hey 2010 Upper Deck, I knew you had to be good for something!


This is also Cla's first Orioles card. It's from the 2010 Topps Orioles team set; he doesn't have a card in the regular Topps release so his inclusion in the team set was a nice surprise.


The Topps team set also included Gonzo's first "Orioles" card. It's just a Photoshop job of his Braves card in the regular set, but is an upgrade to my collection.


Bergy has a number of O's cards from the fall Update set releases, and I chose this one to get since he's rocking the Orange Uni. I missed getting Brad's autograph in Spring Training so this is the first signed O's card of his in my collection. And I have to add that he did something very nice for a little kid at Monday's game. He signed the kid's ball and then took it into the dugout to get the rest of the team to sign it. I think he must've gotten 20 signatures for the kid. Brad's a great guy, he just needs to regain his 2009 form on the mound.


I got my first in-person Tejada autograph at Sunday's game. I was the last person that he signed for before running back to the dugout right before the game started, so I figured that I got the rush job on his autograph.


But no, that appears to be his normal signature. I got this one at Monday's game and it might be marginally better but still looks like an exaggerated MT. You can do better than that Miggy!


Even though he was already in my collection, I was happy to add an in-person upgrade of Jose Bautista from the Jays' weekend swing in Birdland.


And these two guys have made multiple appearances on the blog but are popping up again since I was able to add autographs of them wearing the glorious orange uniforms.


David is looking good so far this year...



And Hey Hey Hey, not so much. He better "shape up" soon or he will be heading to Norfolk.

New Players On the Orioles Opening Day Roster

And I'm not talking about guys like Garrett Atkins, Kevin Millwood or Mike Gonzalez who I have been counting in my total number of Orioles players since they were signed. Barring a tragic injury or untimely death, we all knew that they would be making the team out of Spring Training, so I have included them in my total number of Orioles players since the day they signed with the club.
Is it right to include guys like that in my total? Yes, I think it's fine; it could be slightly misleading at most, but this is my site so we play by my rules.



The three guys that made the team that I didn't expect to see in Baltimore are Will Ohman, Craig Tatum and the newly acquired Julio Lugo. The fact that David Hernandez and Jason Berken made the Opening Day roster were also a bit of a surprise but from my autograph standpoint, I have been able to get them to sign multiple times in person. I do not have an autograph of Ohman or Lugo so they are going to be my primary focus at the beginning of the season. I have been able to obtain a signed card and Orioles player card of Tatum through trades, but would like to get his autograph in person as well. Once Ohman, Tatum and Lugo officially appear in a game wearing the Orange and Black, I will add them to the running total of players that have appeared in a game for the Birds. Right now that number sits at 873, but it will likely soon be 876.

I'm ready for some Orioles baseball!

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: Hit or Miss Signers

These players seemed to be very streaky in regards to their signing habits. I saw a few of them sign multiple times one week but then not at all again for months. It could have something to do with how their performance on the field was going, or what was occurring in their personal lives; but whatever the case, they signed much better at some times than others.



Melmo was the ultimate streaky signer this season. I'm sure that a lot of it had to do with his slipping performance at the plate since I remember him being a better signer in years past. But I didn't get his autograph all season until my trip in early August to see the O's play in Canada.

Later that same week, I was able to get his autograph at Camden Yards. But those were the only two times I got him all year. I did see him sign at the last Saturday game of the year but missed out on him that time.


I'm not sure if Felix was a streaky signer as much as he seemed to prefer signing on the road. He signed at all three Blue Jays games that I went to in Toronto, but I only saw him sign once or twice in Baltimore. And I can't really count the Orioles Store signing he did in York that Kalina went to for me as it wasn't his choice to be there. But I appreciate her effort to further my collection!




I was going to categorize David as a bad signer or at least an I don't think he's a good signer until the last series of the season in which he signed at all three of the games. So I guess that upgraded him to a streaky signer. To that point, I only got his autograph one time (on the above card) including the '08 season while he was with the Baysox.

But then I got this card signed at the last Saturday game of the season. It's his first Orioles card and I really wanted to get it signed even though it's a chrome card. I tried to wipe the card down and it at least somewhat worked. I don't think he had seen the card yet since he flipped it over the check out the back before he threw it back my way. I would have offered him an extra if I had one even though these cards aren't cheap.




I'm not sure that calling Ty's signing habits streaky is accurate. He fell somewhere on the spectrum between streaky and I don't think he signs much. I got this card signed in Toronto too and I was really happy since it was my first card of him in an O's uniform. It's an interesting shot as Ty is between the netting and the camera but I like it since it's unique.


Ty signed this card for me earlier in the season. I lucked out and was the only person he signed for since the usher had just gone through to clear all of the non-ticket holding, seat-jumping autograph hounds out of the area by the dugout. But I was sneaky and stayed a few minutes longer, hoping for some luck. Ty walked to the dugout steps near the camera well and I asked if he would sign for me. He said yes, so I hopped the ropes and got my card signed before the usher could shoo me away. Too bad that I chose a card that spelled his last name wrong! I somehow had never noticed that and Ty pointed it out to me but at least he still signed it.

WIETERS WIETERS WIETERS! Happy Wieters Day!!! & Hernandez's great success

So even though I will get to David Hernandez's successful debut shortly, I have to start by talking about how today is the day baseball's #1 prospect premieres for the Orioles.

I can honestly say that this is the most hyped Orioles prospect premiere of all time. The crowd expected tonight is at least 10-20,000 more than normal and I think the scene will be amazing. Every Orioles fan I know in Baltimore has or is trying to get tickets to this game. It will be the largest crowd at an Orioles game in recent years, not counting Opening Day, or Skankees/Red Sux games. This is all my speculative opinion but I would venture a guess to say that tonight's attendance will exceed the total for the past 3 games (not too tough since it will only need to be about 35,000).

Matt was Baseball America's top prospect of 2008 and he has absolutely torn up the minor leagues for the last year and a half. Kalina and I have been lucky enough to see him play about 15 times, mostly in Frederick and Bowie last season along with our one game in Norfolk this season. Most of the pitchers in the minors were afraid to pitch to him and he seemed to walk every other at-bat.

My Matt Wieters collection includes two different bobbleheads, a signed picture of him & me, 2 signed cards, about 20 different unsigned cards, and countless pictures.

Here is one of the cards

Now about last night's game,

Nolan homered for the third consecutive game

Luke Scott hit 2 HRs, had 4 RBI, and 8 total bases-and earned himself a curtain call!

But the biggest story was David Hernandez's largely successful debut. He pitched 5 2/3 innings (Trembley pulled him mid-inning to get the standing ovation) and only gave up one run while striking out 3. His fastball was hitting 95-96 all night and he also used a curveball, slider and changeup.

I got this card signed last year at a Baysox game but remember David not signing too often

His first Major League strike

David's Win earned him a post-game shaving cream pie from Adam Jones

It was also an Alumni autograph day so I added Calvin Maduro to my collection and got autos from Joe Orsulak & Ken Dixon as well. Since I have had Orsulak on here recently, I won't add more scans from him.

I also added Cesar Izturis to my collection.

Nolan signed for fans

And I got Adam Everett on the Tigers side, but missed out on
Justin Verlander, Bobby Seay, Brandon Lyon & Fernando Rodney

One additional note: the O's have had 4 pitchers win their Major League debut this season, Koji Uehara, Brad Bergesen, Jason Berken and now Hernandez. I think that has to be some sort of record and I was luckily at 3 of the 4, only missing Koji's debut W.

Happy Wieters Day everyone! My prediction for tonight-Wieters goes 5-4 with 8 HRs.