Oriole #966- Mike Belfiore

After spending the entire 2013 season on the Orioles 40 man roster, and having joined the team at least two previous times throughout the season without having appeared in a game, Mike Belfiore finally had the opportunity to make his O's and MLB debut on the last Friday night of the season against the Red Sox, and he will forever be the 966th player to wear the Orioles uniform. 

Two previous times this season, I had speculated that Mike was going to make his Orioles debut, once during Spring Training, and again in May when he was called up to join the team. Obviously, my timing was off, but I'm sure that Mike is pleased either way to have gotten his Major League debut under his belt. Unfortunately, it didn't go the way I'm sure that he would have preferred as he gave up three hits, including two homers, and walked a batter over an inning and a third. Better luck next season Mike!

I've been fortunate enough to have gotten Mike's autograph a number of times during the 2012 season when he arrived at AA Bowie, having come to the organization from the D-Backs in return for the ultimately disappointing Josh Bell in a May 2012 trade. And thanks again to my dad's OMC production, I already have a signed, personalized Orioles card of Mike in my collection, so I will never need to worry about an upgrade.

The Orioles ended the 2013 season with 24 new players having made their black and orange debuts, from Alexi Casilla near Opening Day, to Belfiore near the end of the season. The Birds didn't quite have it in them to make the playoffs this season, but I'm happy they remained in contention through the final week of the year.

Hopefully next week I will have time to do a quick rundown on all the players who made it into a game for the O's this season.

Post #1000, Celebrating Some Orioles Debuts

I noticed a few weeks back that I was nearing this milestone number of 1000 posts, a number that I never expected to reach when I began writing about my Orioles autograph collection back in March 2009. Just under three and a half years later, I have reached that crazy number of posts and wanted to take a minute to thank all of the fellow bloggers and my readers who have kept me going all this time. I couldn't have made it this far without all of you. 


I have no idea how long I will keep blogging. I know there are some days that I don't feel like writing while other times the words just flow from my fingertips. I do know that I'm nearing the end of Orioles autographs that I have yet to show off here. I don't like to re-run images too often, so if I ever clear out my scanned autograph folder, that might mark an end of sorts, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Until then, thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to read one of my posts, I really appreciate it!


To celebrate this milestone post, I had been attempting to think of something special to write about and wasn't able to come up with much. But then a trio of players made their Orioles debuts this weekend, including two rather special ones, and my decision was made for me.

Relief pitcher Miguel Socolovich was called up to the Orioles prior to Saturday's game and made his O's and MLB debut in the 10th inning of Saturday's marathon 13 inning game to become Oriole #931. He pitched 1.2 innings and gave up two hits, one run and struck out one.

Miguel had been signed by the Orioles as a minor league free agent this past offseason and had been tearing up the competition at AAA all season long so the call-up was much deserved. It's very possible that he gets sent back to the minors in the coming days to make room for one of the starting pitchers the O's will need, but at least he got his debut out of the way.

At this point in his career, he doesn't have many cards that feature him, including no major set releases yet, but I was lucky and happened to have this Birmingham Barons card of his in my minor league collection. I got it signed on my spring training trip, so I was able to add Miguel's name directly to my have list.

Taylor Teagarden made quite the splash in his Orioles debut, also during Saturday's game. He has been injured all season and was just activated from the DL prior to the game. He came in as a defensive replacement in the 11th inning, after starting catcher Matt Wieters was removed for a pinch-runner in the bottom of the 10th, and he played in the final three innings of the game to become Oriole #932. He had two at-bats in the game and struck out swinging in his first trip to the plate and a few of those swings looked a little uncomfortable.

However, in his second at-bat, he crushed the game winning walk-off home run to seal the 13 inning victory for the O's. From Roch's post on MASNsports.com: "According to Elias, Teagarden was the first Oriole to hit a walk-off home run in his first game with the club. He was the first player in the majors to do it since Joe Randa with the Reds on April 4, 2005." Awesome.

And it provided quite the post-game sound bite for FOX when Teagarden uttered "Oh shit" on the broadcast after receiving three shaving cream pies from his teammates. 

The most significant debut of the weekend, at least from an emotional standpoint, was that of Steve Johnson, Oriole #933. Steve's dad, Dave, pitched for the Orioles from 1989-91, so they join the small fraternity of father-son Orioles combos. On top of that, Steve was born and raised in Maryland, so he joins the equally small group of MD born Orioles. And to top things off, his dad has been involved with various Orioles-related radio and TV broadcasts in recent years, so the fans have had access to Dave's joy and frustration throughout Steve's assent to the big league club. 

Dave is the type of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, and his on-air emotional reaction when the Orioles acquired Steve (along with Josh Bell) from the Dodgers for George Sherrill at the trade deadline in 2009 ranks near the top of recent Orioles broadcasting moments. Dave's frustration with the Orioles repeatedly not calling up Steve, even when it seemed like he was a deserving candidate, were also obvious at times, but I enjoyed the realness of Dave's commentary. He tried to remain objective about it, but you could tell that it ate at him.


Well, the Johnson family had their moment when Steve finally appeared in his first MLB game during Sunday's contest against the Tigers, and it seemed O-so-fitting that his debut would come during a home game in front of the Baltimore crowd. He received a nice ovation from the hometown fans and it made for a nice moment in an otherwise disappointing loss. Steve pitched the final two innings of the game and gave up just one run on a Miguel Cabrera home-run, while walking two and striking out two. Steve was sent back to the minors after the game, but at least he got his MLB debut under his belt.

Spring Training Orange Uni Autographs

You might or might not know that one of my mini autograph collections focuses on Orioles/O's affiliate cards that picture players wearing orange uniforms. I don't generally like to spend much money on the collection but will get orange uni cards signed when I can. Here's my haul for my Spring Training trip.

I'll start out with a few players who have played for the O's at some point.

Headlined by current/former Oriole Brian Roberts.

Chris Hoiles was in camp as a special catching instructor and he signed a number of cards for me.

As I mentioned the other day, Alan Mills is back in the organization as a pitching coach. 

And Ryan Minor is still around as the manager of the Shorebirds. 

Josh Bell was kind enough to sign a couple cards for me on my trip. 

Next up are some top prospects...

Xavier Avery really seems like he doesn't like signing and it shows in his signature. It's insane how different his autograph is from that pre-printed version.

Dan Klein is continuing to recover from surgery (tommy john maybe?) that he had last year. 

Next up are a few guys battling for roster spots in big league camp...

Including John Hester, who is one of Kalina's favorites since he is a nice guy.

And Steve Johnson, who is trying to become a second generation Oriole, following in the footsteps of his dad, Dave. 

One of my personal favorites it Caleb Joseph, who should make the jump to AAA this season. 

And probably Kalina's absolute favorite O's minor leaguer, Car-los Ro-jas!

The 2011 Norfolk Tides team set was absolutely rife with orange uni cards, so I was obviously a big fan!

Upgraded Orioles Spring Training Autographs

As I continue to work my way through the autographs I got during my Spring Training trip last week, I'm trying to figure out some logical ways to group the autographs.

Today's group features players who have already played in a game for the Orioles. And you'll notice that I continued my trend of requesting personalizations, and that everyone was very accommodating.

One of the highlights of my trip was getting Chris Davis to sign his 2012 Topps card, the first card that pictures him as an Oriole.

Since 2012 Topps came out in late January, I had to add Davis and Kyle Hudson to my need list, something that always bothers me with current players. And with Hudson now with the Rangers, I will have to get creative to add his signature to my collection.  

I was also excited to get Hardy's autograph, since I found him to be pretty tough to track down last season.

Jonesy continues to be an above average signer for a star player.

I continue to have luck with Chris Tillman, although a fellow collector mentioned that he seems to be getting harder to get to sign than in past years. 

I seem to go through feast or famine times in terms of getting Troy's signature, and I'm currently stuffed.

One of the more surprising autographs I got was from Brian Roberts, who is around the team, but not playing in games at this time. I snagged him leaving the complex on an off day, and he seemed to be in decent spirits considering all he's gone through in regards to his concussions. 

I specifically enjoy requesting personalizations from players who are also named Ryan. I like to see how their printing compares to their signature. In Adams' case, it's not very similar.

Josh Bell was kind enough to add the rare personalization & double inscription combo. 

Also, this is not a very flattering action shot, as Josh is kind of making a "derpface". 

One of the most unexpected autographs I got on my trip was of Winston Abreu, who made his major league debut with the 2006 Orioles. He was the 793rd player to appear in a game for the O's when he debuted on August 6th; unfortunately, he didn't have much success and had a 10.13 over seven games. This was my first in-person success with Winston.

I was happy to add personalized cards from a few of the Orioles coaches/instructors who were around Sarasota.

Brady has been a tough signer over the years, so it's nice to have him so accessible.

Chris Hoiles is also helping out during Spring Training as a catching instructor.

Alan Mills has returned to the Baltimore organization as he is poised to be the pitching coach for the short season A ball Aberdeen Ironbirds in 2012. 

I didn't recognize Alan at first since he literally looks the same now as he did on this early 1990s' card. It must be nice to age so gracefully.


I try to always be prepared with Orioles cards in case any one-time Birds are playing or coaching for the opposing teams. I lucked out with former O's pitcher and current Braves pitching coach, Roger McDowell, who was shagging fly balls down the right field line during Braves BP.

 Check out the R's in his signature and the personalization of my name. Now those are some similar R's!

A Bunch of Orioles Postcards

There are quite a few signed Orioles postcards residing in my autograph collection. While I certainly prefer autographed cards over postcards, sometimes a postcard is my best or only option. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you've probably seen a number of different Orioles postcards that were displayed over the years, but these should all be new to you.

Autographed postcards are in my collection for a number of different reasons...


For some players, it will be the only issue ever released that pictures them in an Orioles uniform.

As was the case with short-term catcher Greg Myers

 

And will likely be the case with Rapada & VandenHurk, though they still have a chance to get an O's card

Some other postcards are (hopefully) temporary placeholders until I can upgrade to signed Orioles cards...

 

  

That's Lenny Webster up top, Jason Grimsley, and Erv Palica on the bottom

Palica passed away in 1982, so his signing days are over, but he did have a few O's cards produced during his life, and I'm still hoping that one of them might turn up some day.

Webster & Grimsley are still around, although Jason seems to have crawled under a rock somewhere since he was revealed to be the informant for the Mitchell Report. I actually just added this Grimsley postcard to my collection this week, so it might take quite some time to find an actual signed Orioles card. 

Every now and then, a player will include their own "postcard" when they return my TTM request. 

 

Tom Dukes was nice enough to do just that when he returned my request last year. It's really just a picture, as opposed to a postcard, but it's in the same ballpark.

A few other postcards have stayed in my collection because they are of my (or Kalina's) favorite players.

 

 

As is the case with Wieters & Arrieta. 

And then there are the extra postcards that I sometimes add at team-sponsored signings. These three are up for trade if anyone is interested...

 

  

 

Thank You Kalina!

In an odd turn of events, Kalina went to a baseball game without me this past weekend. Now, don't get me wrong, she is a huge baseball fan and there are times she might fly solo to an O's game with some of her friends, but it doesn't happen often.

This past weekend, she happened to be visiting her grandpa in Pennsylvania without me, and the Orioles AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides, just happened to be playing the Phillies' AAA team, the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, not too far away from his house. And in a good example of why I love her so much, she volunteered to go to the game and get some autographs for me. That's right, she is amazing!


She got eight total autographs from the Tides for me, including Nick Green and John Hester, who are new additions to my collection. Now if they get called up to Baltimore, I can add them to my have list, as opposed to the dreaded need list additions.

 

Her favorite signers were two guys she has enjoyed watching on their rise through the O's farm system, Nolan Reimold and Tyler Henson, as well as John Hester, who she seems to think is cute or something.

All in all, she had a great time and I really appreciate her going and getting those awesome autographs for me. Overall, graphing is more bold activity than she generally likes to get into at games, so I'm thankful she stepped outside of her comfort zone to help me out. Thanks again Kalina!

Continuing with My Spring Training Successes

Wow, what a start to the 2011 Orioles season. The home opener was a bunch of fun and the O's are only the 4th team ever to start a season 4-0 while allowing no more than 1 run per game. Crazy! 

Before I get too wrapped up in the regular season, I want to finish showing off my autographs from Spring Training. 

 

I was happy to get Nolan's Tides orange uniform card signed. Since poor Nolan got demoted to Norfolk yet again, it looks like a road trip is in the books for this summer.

  

Jim Presley is the O's new hitting coach. Here he is pretending to hit off a tee for a craptastic Fleer card. I chose this card to get signed because it's so awesomely bad. 

The next two guys have a chance to appear in a game for the O's at some point this season.

 

While Ballard has a pretty cool and stylized autograph (I especially like the k)...

Jakubauskas relegates his last name to a flying bird shaped squiggle. But I guess I might too with a last name that long.

 

I've been lucky to get Tillman's autograph a few times over the years, but this card looks really nice with the signature and I might have to stash it in the collection.

 

 

I got Adams & Snyder's autographs at Friday's game (actually all of these are from that game) which is good because they were both sent to Minor League camp on Saturday morning. 

This is Snyder's first card showing him playing in a game for the O's and it's probably ticketed for the collection too. 

 

I got this card signed for a fellow SCN member. From what I remember, Guts signs all his non-Orioles cards this way. Pretty cool. I would actually like if he signed his O's cards like this too. 

 

Fox tore up Grapefruit League pitching by smashing ten round-trippers. It's good to see that he still had some time for the fans too. 

 

Josh was nice enough to sign next to the dugout after the game. 

Friday was definitely the better of my two autograph days in Sarasota. I'll wrap everything up tomorrow.