Orioles Autograph Year in Reivew- The Inconclusive/Undetermind Players

If you caught yesterday's post, you know that I'm starting my review of the 2010 Orioles signing habits.  Today I'm going to cover the players who either played only a few games for the O's who I didn't get a good feel for their signing habits or I wasn't able to get a good read on how often these players' signed over the season. This post will mainly focus on bench players, injury plagued types, and/or players who weren't cut out to wear the orange and black. I just never determined their signing frequency or figured out their habits, hence the name of the category.

Nolan had two stints with the Orioles in 2010, one at the beginning of the season, the other at the end, and he spent the majority of the year with the AAA Norfolk Tides. The only time I got his autograph this season was at O's Fanfest, but I did see him sign at a few games but wasn't able to get to him in time. Most of his autographs in my collection come from the '08 season when he played for the AA Baysox.

In 2009, Nolan was also in this category, so I guess that not much changed in a year. 

Frank made his Orioles (& MLB) debut as the franchise's 879th player on May 26. Overall, he pitched in relief in 15 games from late May to mid-July, and I got his autograph one time in Baltimore and once in Spring Training.

The Cla was with the O's from the start of the season until the end of May when he was shipped to Norfolk for general ineffectiveness. I got this card signed during the Orioles first homestand, but it was my only autograph from him this season. 

I ranked Cla as a good signer last season, so this could be considered at step backwards. 

Kam signed a few times for me at Spring Training, but since he only spent the first couple weeks of the season with the O's, I wasn't able to get him again in Baltimore.

In 2009, Kam also fell into this category. I won't be able to get a good feel for his signing habits until he spends more time in Baltimore.

Lou played the first half of the season with the Orioles before injuries once again caused him to miss out on any opportunity he might have had in Baltimore. I got his autograph once at a game and at Fanfest, but didn't see him sign much this year.

I determined his signing habits in 2009 fell in the small sample good category, so Lou moved backwards this year.

If you forgot that Justin was an Oriole this season, it's quite alright since he only appeared in 5 games and had 9 at-bats through April 23 before he was sent to Norfolk and then selected off waivers by the Mets. Justin signed for me twice in Spring Training, but I didn't get his autograph in Baltimore. 

Last year, I listed Justin as one of the best signers, so maybe I just caught him at the wrong games this season.

Spring Training Successes- Orioles Card Edition

Here's the beginning of the autographs that I got in spring training. I normally try to avoid displaying so many cards in one post but stick with me on this. All of these are signed Orioles cards, and are either the first time I got that player to sign in person, or their first Orioles card that I have signed in my collection. I would say that this group of cards are my best auto-ccomplishment from Sarasota.

I have to start with two players that have been a thorn in my side for the past year. I recently obtained autographs of them both via trade and a gift but this was the first time that they signed for me in person.


I finally got the elusive "Koji 19" autograph that had evaded me for a complete season. He was also one of the last signatures that I got in my time at Ed Smith Stadium. As was the case on the other occasions that I saw him signing, he started signing far from where I was and I had to make a break for him, but this time, I finally got what I wanted.


I had few opportunities to get Alfredo's autograph since he was injured very early last season and was rarely with the team after his April surgery. I had to call out his name a few times before he reluctantly came over to sign, and he signed for only a few other people and me.



This next group of guys had their first Orioles cards produced after the 2009 season.


Including unlicensed 2010 UD cards of Chad Moeller and Justin Turner.


Whereas UD did a respectable job of hiding any glimpse of the O's logo on Moeller's card,


the Bird logo on Justin's helmet is clearly visible.



I bought the 2010 Topps Heritage team set in the week before I flew south which worked out well since it included Kevin Millwood's and Garrett Atkins's first O's cards.


Millwood is obviously wearing an Orioles uni but I have no idea where the picture may have been taken. Kevin was discussing golf with Scott Moore when he signed this and had just spoken to Dick Vitale, who was on the field during warm-ups.


I'm skeptical that this is actually an Orioles uniform since there is no way that Heritage had the time to take a picture and get it into a set that came out before Atkins had likely ever broken a sweat for the O's, but at least it's not obviously a Rockies uni on an "Orioles" card. This works for me!


Tillman had a few Orioles cards come out in late 2009 sets but this card is perfect for an autograph. He also signed the FanFest picture that Kalina had of the two of them, and said something about that when he signed it.


This is from the 2010 Topps When They Were Young insert set and is the only card to date that shows Berken in an Orioles uniform, even though it's focus is of him as a kid.


This is Kam's first Orioles card and it's from the Bowman Chrome set. I like it even more since he is wearing an orange uniform; the picture was probably taken during spring training last year. Although he doesn't have a great autograph, at least it's close to what is pictured on the card.


I mentioned that Scott had been talking with Millwood about golf. It sounded like both of them are pretty proficient at it and were talking about which other O's could hold their own against them. Scott has only spent a little time in Baltimore and was on the Tides' DL when I went to Norfolk last year, so this was one of my first chances to get his signature.


Somehow, I didn't have a Bordick in-person autograph in my collection. I really like this card of his because of the action shot and the textured laces that are visible in the top left and bottom right corners. Mike also nicely personalized a card for Kalina, who was always a big fan of his.


Sorry again for the long post, the next few Spring Training auto posts should be shorter, but I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my successes.

Minor League Members of the O's 40 Man Roster- Pedro Florimon

Pedro Florimon, or PedFlo as we lovingly call him, came out of almost nowhere to become one of the organizations' top prospects, especially at the SS position. He had a breakout year in 2009 as a member of the Frederick Keys, and possibly has passed Blake Davis on the O's SS prospect depth chart.


He has always had decent speed and could steal bases, forming the main part of his offensive game. But to give you an idea of how unexpected his power was in '09, he hit 9 homers in 115 games for the Keys while he had hit only 5 in 251 previous ABs for Delmarva, Aberdeen & Bluefield. He also upped his average by about 40 points from 2008. Note: (I am not including the disappointing 7 game stretch he spent with Bowie at the end of the season. He was just over-matched at AA.)


I'm not sure how his career will progress but I don't expect to see Pedro playing for the Birds in 2010. He is still only 23 and would have to perform over-the-top in Spring Training to surpass the likes of Robert Andino, Justin Turner, Scott Moore, or Davis. Depending on the development of '09 second-round draft pick Mychal Givens at the low levels of the O's system, PedFlo could be a replacement for Cesar Izturis in 2011. He will need to prove that he can hit and field at the higher levels of the Minors but I hope that his 2009 wasn't a fluke.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: The Best Signers

Well, this will be my last year in review post. I hope that everyone has been enjoying them but I think I might have lost some interest as I haven't got a comment in about a week. But regardless, I will soldier on and complete my review. Whether you like it or not!

These guys were the most reliable signers throughout the course of the season. Now they didn't sign at every game by any means but I probably saw them sign at an average of 1 out of 5 games throughout the year. And that's pretty good for today's current major league player.

So without further delay, here they are. The best of the best!


I have to start out with my boy, LUUUUKE Scott. He was easily the best Oriole signer on the year and seems to really enjoy signing too. I would estimate that I saw him sign 15-20 times in the 50 or so games that I went to. I am giving him my inaugural "Best Orioles Signer of the Year" award. He's a very positive guy and never ignored the fans; even on days that he wasn't signing, you could count on at least a smile and a wave.

Keep up the good signing habits Luke!

Apparently, Matusz and Tillman have become very good friends even though they never played together in the Minors and were only on the O's together for about two months. From what I hear, they spent a lot of time together and luckily for me, are both very good signers. That is somewhat rare for hotshot prospects and the fact that they both are easy to get is great for me.


Matusz signed for me in Frederick, Bowie and Baltimore this year. That's my first auto-trifecta!



Chris signed for me in Norfolk and Baltimore this year, as well as in Bowie last season. That's not too bad either and he has a pretty cool autograph too. I hope that these two guys continue signing throughout their long, productive careers for the Baltimore Orioles!


Chris was trying to look like he didn't want to be in the picture with me, but I know otherwise.



Dino was another player that I would consistently find signing. As the backup infielder, he had some extra time on his hands throughout the season and made good use of it. One of my favorite memories of him is the day he was goofing around with two little kids whose dad was trying to take a picture of the three. He stuck his head through the railing and was making funny faces. The kids couldn't get enough of him.



Even though Rich was injured and away from the team for almost half the season, I was able to get his autograph 3 times. Of course I got an Orioles card of him immediately after he was hurt so I am still hoping to get it signed sometime soon. Will he be back with the O's in 2010? I do not know.



Although both Wieters and Zaun didn't sign very often since they caught almost every day while they were with the team, their backup, Mr. Moeller, had the time to sign and sign he did. It took me a while to get him for the first time on the season but after that, I seemed to get his autograph every other game! Or something like that...



Justin Turner was one of the players who came over in the Ramon Hernandez trade. If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you should know that I wasn't a big Ramon fan. So that in turn (ha) makes me a Turner fan. He seemed to be a great signer after his September call-up and even got a little excited to be recognized and hounded for autographs. Keep up the good work Justin!




Sean Henn was another guy who didn't make his O's debut until later in the season but signed frequently once he was with the club. I'm not a big fan of getting Yankees cards signed but they are certainly better than nothing. Especially the A&G card turned out really well.



Well, there you have it. I reviewed the signing habits of all 48 players who suited up for the Birds in 2009. Hopefully, I will still be doing this little blog after the 2010 season and will again share my review. I hope that you all enjoyed it!

3 New Orioles to add to the list

Three players made their Orioles debuts in last night's O's game in Boston. I don't want to talk about the game at all except for mentioning the new Birds. I have very little good to say about the game last night, it was total crap.

In order of appearance:

The Orioles claimed Chris Lambert off waivers from the Tigers on August 20, 2009 and he made his O's debut last night with 2 outs in the bottom of the third inning with one runner on.

His stats for Detroit in 11 games over the past two seasons: 1-3, 7.90 ERA, 2.049 WHIP

His stats for the O's last night: 13.50 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER in 1.1 innings pitched. Only 12 of his 23 pitches were strikes

Chris Lambert does not give me a good feeling in my belly. He might only be an Oriole for a brief amount of time. And yes, Core Contrarian did warn me.



Justin Turner came to the Orioles in the Ramon Hernandez trade this past offseason. That automatically makes him OK in my book. He made his major league debut in the top of the 7th inning last night, replacing Melmo in the lineup and at third base. He went 0-2, striking out swinging in his debut AB and lining out softly in the ninth. Hey, that's still better than Ramon Hernandez, and probably Ryan Freel, combined!




Guillermo Rodriguez or G-Rod as we referred to him as at Bowie this season, made his Orioles debut as a defensive replacement for Matt Wieters in the bottom of the 6th inning. He also struck out to end the game (and the misery) in his only plate appearance.

He played 39 games for the '07 Giants in his only other Major League action to date. He is a minor league veteran who has played in 852 minor leagues games over the past 14 seasons so it's always nice to see a guy like him make it to the Bigs.


As you can see I was able to get G-Rod's autograph a couple of times while he played for the Baysox, so I am happy to add him both to the list of players who played for the O's and to the list of players that I have autographs of. It's always ideal for me to be able to do that since it makes my project so much easier.


*I stole the scans of the Lambert & Turner cards from Ebay. I try to avoid this but i had no choice as I had no pictures of either.

But the Keys Lost 2/2

Here are the rest of the autographs I got at Friday's Keys game:



The cards on the left and right are very similar but Nate switched in up in the 06 Ironbirds card in the middle.



Here Ryan Rodriguez makes another appearance. These cards are proof of his brief time in Bowie but he is back in Frederick, where he probably belongs.


Kennie Steenstra is the Keys' pitching coach and has been for the past two seasons. Somehow I never got his autograph before and had been toting this card around for 1.5 seasons. He is normally in a rush to get to the field to work with his pitchers. Come on Kennie, what's more important, signing an auto for me or making your pitchers better?



Bobby Stevens is fielding in this picture. I don't know much about him and have no insight to share. Sorry for the poor effort here.



Jake Stevens was drafted by the Braves in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft. This is his first season in the O's organization and he did not pitch at all last season after being released by the Braves, so he is trying to make a comeback this year. I really like the card on the right for some reason; it's like he is mesmerized by the baseball.



Brandon Waring was traded to the Orioles this past offseason along with Ryan Freel and Justin Turner from the Reds in exchange for Ramon Hernandez. There haven't been many Orioles that I don't like but I would've been happy to trade Ramon for his weight in excrement. He played such uninspiring baseball that it brought down everyone around him. Freel was a bust but hopefully Brandon and Justin will help out the Birds for years to come. Brandon hit a HR in the game and he plays a position that will likely be open in Baltimore starting next year.



Robbie was named the O's minor league player of the month for June. This was my first time seeing him and he seemed a little cocky. It was a snap judgment so I hope I'm wrong but who knows. I will get back about this next time I see him play.



Rick started Friday's game and was a little shaky. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2008 draft and has already jumped from Aberdeen to Frederick in just over a year so I would expect some growing pains. And check out that crazy leg kick!