1988 Orioles Debuts, #440-461

I'm in a grove with these posts now...

1988 was specifically notable for Brady Anderson's debut and also provided the first glimpse of the Orioles' future shutdown closer, Gregg Olson. Curt Schilling also made his Baltimore and MLB debut, but he is obviously much better known as being a member of other franchises.

Here's my older posts in the series...
(2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989)

Rick Schu #440, 4/4/88 (1988-89)

Rick played nine seasons in the Majors between 1984-96, most notably spending four seasons with the Phillies at the beginning of his career. The Phils traded him to the O's in March 1988 and he spent the entire season in Baltimore and played in 89 games, mostly at third base. He appeared in just a single game for the Birds in 1989 before being sent to the minors. 

After his playing career ended, Rick stayed involved with the game of baseball. He served as the Diamondbacks' hitting coach from mid-2007 through mid-2009, under the reign of another former Oriole, Bob Melvin. Since late 2009, he has served as the Nationals' minor league hitting instructor. 

Jeff Stone #441, 4/4/88 (1988)

Jeff also arrived in Baltimore in the same trade that brought Schu to town, and also spent a majority of his career with the Phillies. He appeared in just 26 games for the Orioles during the '88 season. 

He received a vote for Rookie of the Year following his 1984 rookie campaign and was best known for his speed. He set the minor league single season steals record with 123 steals in 1981 but Vince Coleman would shatter the record the following season with 145 thefts.

Joe Orsulak #442, 4/4/88 (1988-92)

Oswaldo Peraza #443, 4/4/88 MLB Debut (1988)

Oswaldo played in the Majors for just a single season, and went 5-7 with a 5.55 ERA over 19 games for the '88 O's. He was a highly touted prospect who arrived in Baltimore in a trade with a Blue Jays in August 1987 that saw Mike Flanagan travel north to Toronto in return for Oswaldo and a player to be named later (PTBNL). Arm injuries derailed Oswaldo's once promising career, and he would never again return to the Major Leagues. Interestingly, the PTBNL in the trade was future long-time Major Leaguer, Jose Mesa. 

Doug Sisk #444, 4/4/88 (1988)

Doug pitched nine seasons in the majors, most notably spending his first six seasons with the Mets, and was a part of their 1986 World Series Championship team. He was solely a relief pitcher and was known for his sinker, which allowed him to give up just 15 homers in 332 career games. However, his walk rate was 4.6 per 9 innings, so he had some control problems. 

He spent just a single season in Baltimore and was 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA over 52 games and finished 29 of them, but didn't record a single save. I guess he might have been the mop up guy?

Mike Morgan #445, 4/6/88 (1988)

Mark Thurmond #446, 4/8/88 (1988-89)

Jose Bautista(1) #447, 4/9/88 MLB Debut (1988-91)

Wade Rowdon #448, 4/10/88 (1988)

Craig Worthington #449, 4/26/88 MLB Debut (1988-91)

Bill Scherrer #450, 4/26/88 (1988)

Keith Hughes #451, 4/27/88 (1988)

Jay Tibbs #452, 5/2/88 (1988-90)

Mickey Tettleton #453, 5/9/88 (1988-90)

Dickie Noles #454, 6/14/88 (1988)

Brady Anderson #455, 7/30/88 (1988-2001)

Gordon Dillard #456, 8/12/88 MLB Debut (1988)

Gregg Olson #457, 9/2/88 (1988-93)

Butch Davis #458, 9/2/88 (1988-89)

Curt Schilling #459, 9/7/88 MLB Debut (1988-90)

Pete Harnisch #460, 9/13/88 MLB Debut (1988-90)

Bob Milacki #461, 9/18/88 MLB Debut (1988-92)

Wrapping up the Trade- Signed Index Cards

Here's the rest of the autographs from my recent trade. These are all cut or signed 3x5s, so I would still like to find signed Orioles cards of these guys, but am happy to add these to my collection for now.

Del Rice was a catcher who played from 1945-61 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles. He appeared in only one game for the Orioles in 1960, and had just one at-bat with the Birds. He was a member of two World Series Championship teams, the '46 Cardinals and the '57 Braves, and was elected to the 1953 N.L. All-Star team as a reserve.

Del was a baseball lifer and immediately following his playing career jumped to coaching, and later managing, eventually rising through the ranks to manage the 1972 Angels. He passed away from cancer in 1983. The Orioles Crown card, which was released in 1991, is his only "Orioles" card, so this cut autograph will stay in my collection.

Dave Pope played four seasons in the Major Leagues from 1952-56 for the Indians and Orioles. He briefly played in the Negro Leagues before his time in the Majors, and had an older brother, Willie, who also played in the Negro Leagues. He passed away in 1999 from leukemia.

Kelly played parts of five seasons in the Majors from 1982-88 and spent parts of 1985-86 with the Orioles, appearing in five games each season. He played at least ten games (of the 92 he appeared in during his career) at each infield position.

I sent him a TTM request in October, but haven't got anything back yet, so traded for this 3x5 in the meantime. A private signing with Kelly was recently announced through MLAM, so I will try to get his Crown card signed that way.

 

Gordon Dillard pitched two games for the Orioles in 1988 and five for the Phillies in 1989. I sent him a TTM request in July 2009, but he never sent my card back and has signed for at least one other collector since then according to SCN. Maybe he didn't like my letter. Who knows?