Goodbye Al

 

Sadly, another former Orioles player has died this year when Al Pilarcik passed away on September 20. I couldn't find a cause of death listed, but it's always sad when a former Oriole leaves this world behind. 2010 has been an especially bad year for former O's, as Al becomes the tenth Oriole to pass away this year after Curt Motton (1/21), Bob Chakales (2/18), Frank Bertaina (3/3), Billy Hoeft (3/16), Mike Cuellar (4/2), Robin Roberts (5/6), Morrie Martin (5/25), Billy Loes (7/15), and Bobby Thomson (8/16). I'm guessing that 2010 has seen more former Orioles die than any other year.  It somewhat makes sense as the franchise started in 1954 so many of the guys who played for the team in the mid-50's are getting old nowadays.  With over three months to go in the year, I can't help but feel that Al might not be the last Oriole to die this year the way things have gone so far.

Al played all three outfield positions, but chiefly was a right-fielder, during his 6 seasons in the Majors from 1956-61. He played 517 of his 668 games with the Orioles from 1957-60,  played two stints with the Kansas City A's and finished his career with the White Sox. 

After retiring from baseball, Al spent 34 years as a high school health teacher in St. John, Indiana, where he also coached baseball, football and basketball. In his later years, he taught part-time at Indiana University.  He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987.  Here's a link to his obituary. RIP Al.

Birthday Additions- Mainly of the Unpossible Variety

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I got some awesome autographs as presents. In my typical blog fashion, it's taken me a few weeks to scan and post the cards I got, but better late than never, right?

I'll start with what I got from Kalina...

Frank Bertaina's autograph had remained just out of my reach a few times over the past few years but Kalina was finally able to track down his autograph for me. Frank unfortunately died earlier this year on March 3 from complications of a heart attack at 65 years old. I had sent him a TTM request last fall but did not get it back before his death. 

Frank pitched for the Orioles in five of his seven big leagues seasons from 1964-70 and was a member of the O's 1966 World Series Champs, but didn't pitch in a game during the series. He also spent a few seasons with the Washington Senators and pitched his final season in the Majors with the Cardinals. RIP Frank.

Kalina also got me an ebay gift card which I was able to use to get two more unpossible autographs for my collection.

 

 

I traded for a signed O's postcard of Pat a few months ago, but I was still on the lookout for a signed Orioles card of his and I finally found one for the right price. Pat played four of his fifteen big league seasons with the O's from 1977-80; he also played for the Twins, Royals, White Sox & Indians. He made the 1973 A.L. All-Star team while with the White Sox and the best part of his game was his speed on the base paths which he used to amass 250 stolen bases. 

Pat's older brother, Leroy, was a running back for the Cleveland Browns and is a member of the Football Hall of fame.  After Pat retired from baseball, he became an ordained minister in the Baltimore area. And like Bertaina, he also died from a heart attack, but Pat was only 61.  RIP Pat.

Jerry Adair is another player who I have been trying to add to my collection for a long time. I've found some of his autographs available but they have always been too expensive for me to afford since he died over 23 years ago in 1987. Having a gift card certainly helped and I was finally able to add Jerry to my collection. 

He was a utility infielder who played in the Majors from 1958-70 with the O's, White Sox, Red Sox and Royals. Jerry began his big league career in Baltimore and spent his first 9 seasons with the Birds, and was known mostly for his glovework playing mainly second base and shortstop, but he was good enough that he received MVP votes for two seasons during his career. He coached with the A's and Angels after his playing career was over and his life was ended way too early when he died of liver cancer at only 50 years old. It's always sad to hear when a life is cut so short. RIP Jerry.


And now for what my dad got for me...

Will the Thrill was with the Orioles for the last two seasons of his career in 1999 & 2000; the O's did trade him to the Cardinals mid-way through the 2000 campaign so he wrapped up his playing days in St. Louis. I've had his autograph on a Rangers card in my collection for some time, but hadn't been able to add his autograph on an O's card until my dad came through for me.

I don't feel like there's a lot I can say about Will that most of you don't already know. He was a super intense guy on the field, a six-time All-Star, a two-time Silver Slugger, won a Gold Glove, received MVP votes five times, and came in fifth in ROY balloting. Between 1988-91, during his time with the Giants, he lead the league at least once in games played, plate appearances, runs, RBI, walks, slugging percentage, total bases and intentional walks.  He was THE MAN during those four seasons and was one of the most feared hitters in baseball during that time.

Will is in the College Baseball Hall of Fame and Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and is currently working in the Giants front office. While researching this post I found that someone runs a pretty comprehensive website showcasing all of Will's baseball cards and other collectibles. Will is also a direct descendant of the explorer, William Clark, of Lewis & Clark fame.


My dad also got me an autograph of former Orioles Minor Leaguer, Juan Guzman, that I somehow neglected to scan. 

Thank you so much to Kalina and my parents for knowing me so well and getting me such awesome autographs (among other things) for my birthday!

A Sad Month for the Orioles Family

Between February 18 and March 16, 2010 the Orioles lost three former members of the organization as pitchers Bob Chakales (2/18), Frank Bertaina (3/3) and Billy Hoeft (3/18) all passed away. I realize that this post is a little late but sometimes it takes me a little while to find out that any former Orioles have died and then some more time to scan their autographs.

I wrote about Chakales last July, but have never featured Bertaina or Hoeft on the blog. I am lucky to have autographs of Chakales and Hoeft that I obtained through a trade and the Bay, but I unfortunately do not have a Bertaina auto in my collection. I sent him a TTM request last December but I never got it back and am doubtful that he would have signed it.

Bob "the Golden Greek" Chakales was a member of the inaugural 1954 Birds, and was the team's de facto closer. He only has this one Orioles card, and I received it in a trade with a member of a Yahoo autograph group. He had a pretty awesome nickname and was 82 when he died.



Billy Hoeft pitched for the O's for three and a half years from 1959-1962 in the middle of his 15 season MLB career. He went 14-14 with a 3.58 ERA for the Birds, appearing in 127 games, mostly as a reliever. He pitched for 6 teams over his career, but is mostly remembered for his eight seasons with the Tigers at the start of his career. He died in Canadian Lakes, MI at the age of 77.

image from checkoutmycards.com (if you didn't notice that on the picture)

Frank Bertaina had two stints with the Orioles, once at the beginning of his career from 1964-67 and briefly again towards the end of it in 1969. Frank went 4-6 with a 3.07 ERA in 32 games for the O's, and half of his appearances were as a starter. He died at the young age of 65 in Santa Rosa, CA of complications from a heart attack.