Chen & Hammel

While I was able to get a boatload of O's autographs on my Spring Training trip earlier this month, there were a few new players who eluded me, including a couple who are very likely to be on the Opening Day roster. 

The two main players I missed out on were Wei-Tin Chen and Jason Hammel, who were the starters of the two games I attended, which likely had something to do with how or why I wasn't able to get their autographs. Luckily, I ran into a fellow SCN grapher in Sarasota who ended up being able to help me out with both of them. Thanks Matt!

I'll start with Chen since I'm pretty sure that this is the first autograph in Kanji (I believe that's the correct term) that I have in my collection. I know that Koji Uehara would occasionally sign in Kanji, but he always signed "Koji" for me.

 Chen's signature is very unique and he will likely be one of the Orioles top pitchers this season, so I'm excited to be in a position to scratch his name off of my need list once he makes his debut.

 The other guy I missed who is a near lock for the Opening Day roster is Jason Hammel, who was acquired from the Rockies, along with Matt Lindstrom, in the Jeremy Guthrie trade. Jason signature is kind of hard to make out, but I think I see a J, an H, and an L in there.

Orioles Sign Tsuyoshi Wada UPDATED

Many sites are reporting that the Orioles have signed Japanese free agent LHP starter Tsuyoshi Wada to a two year contract for somewhere around $8 million. Wada has pitched professionally in the Japanese Pacific League for the past eight seasons for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks in 2003-04 and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks from 2005-2011. He is a control pitcher best known for his amazing 3.2/1 K/BB ratio, but his fastball often tops out between 84-88 mph so I hope that his left-handed craftiness translates against MLB hitters. He earned the nickname "Dr. K" in Japan and it would be great if that remains applicable for his time in America as well.

Tsuyoshi was the Pacific League Rookie of the Year in 2003 and has made the All-Star team either two or three times (I found conflicting reports). Here is a You Tube video I found of Wada pitching. He seems to have a pretty smooth delivery and appears to somewhat hide the ball until late in his release. A few sites have compared him to Dallas Braden, and I'll be happy with that as long as the perfect game and hatred of the Yankees is included in the deal.

UPDATE- It sounds like Wada was actually an All-Star four times (in 2003, '04, '10, & '11), and was the MVP of the league in 2010. He also pitched in the Olympics in 2004 & '08 and helped Japan win the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006.

$8 million is a huge amount of money to us every-men, but it's not a major financial risk in the world of professional baseball. I think this type of relatively low-risk signing is something that Orioles fans are used to by now. I just hope that Wada can hang as a viable pitcher in the A.L. East. It's always difficult to predict how a player will adjust to batters half a world away from who they are used to playing against. 

I've got my eye on some of Wada's cards, that hopefully I can get signed at some point down the road, but for now I don't own anything with his image on it. So I'm showing off my autographs from the Orioles previous Japanese signings. 

First up is the only Japanese player to play for the Orioles thus far in team history, Koji Uehara. He pitched for the O's from 2009 until a 2011 mid season trade sent him to the Rangers for Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis. When Koji was able to stay healthy, and once he became a full-time reliever, he was very successful for the O's. I've heard that he would like to return to Baltimore for the 2012 season, but I'm not sure if the Orioles will work out a deal to reacquire him. 

The only other Japanese pitcher to spend time in the Orioles organization is minor leaguer Ryohei Tanaka. He has pitched mostly with the AA Bowie Baysox over the past three seasons but spent a good chunk of 2011 with the hi-A Frederick Keys. He briefly pitched in the Japanese Pacific League back in 2003 but had been pitching in the Japanese minor leagues when the O's signed him prior to the 2009 season. At this point I think it's safe to say that Ryohei probably won't ever pitch in Baltimore, but he's been a good signer during his time in the farm system. 

Another Orioles Trade, A Re-Signing & Rule V Draft Results

The Orioles completed their second trade of the Winter Meetings, this time acquiring JJ Hardy, Brendan Harris & cash from the Twins in return for relievers Jim Hoey & Brett Jacobson.

 

Hoey pitched for the Orioles in 2006 & '07 and was recently re-added to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule V draft.

Jacobson was traded to the Orioles from the Tigers for Aubrey Huff in late 2009. He had a solid year at single A Frederick, but is 24 years old and has yet to play in AA.

The Orioles also re-signed their past and possibly future closer, Koji Uehara, to a one year deal with a vesting option for a second season. I haven't heard what Koji needs to do to get the second year to vest, but I like it. The team is protected if he breaks down like he did over his first 1.5 seasons in Baltimore and we get two years of awesome Koji if he is lights-out like he was for the last half of the 2010 season.

The Rule V draft also went down this morning. I know that it doesn't matter for many fans whose teams are successful on the field, but for the teams that are re-building, it can be a painless and nearly risk-free way to add talent to the organization. It's also a good indication of how other teams view your farm system, as certain teams constantly have their players taken which shows that they have more talent than they can protect. This season the Orioles had four players taken, which is as high of number that I can remember being picked from the system. They also selected four players from other organizations.

In the first round, the Brewers snagged Pat Egan, who finished 2010 with AAA Norfolk. Egan has steadily risen through the O's organization and I will remember him for being exceptionally tall, something like 6'10".

Pedro Beato was selected by the Mets in the second round of the Major League phase. He finished the 2010 season as Bowie's closer and was an Orioles supplemental first round pick, I believe in 2005.

Both Egan & Beato must stay on the Brewers' & Mets' Major League 25 man roster for the entire season or they will be heading back to the Orioles organization. In the minor league phases of the Rule V, the O's lost pitcher Brent Allar, who I have an autograph of but never got it scanned, to the Marlins and catcher Daschenko Ricardo, who I honestly have never heard of, to the Giants.

The Orioles selected Brewers' relief pitcher, Adrian Rosario in the Major League phase of the draft. In the Minor League phases the O's took 2B Dale Mollenhauser & RHP Jacob Rasner from the White Sox and LHP Casey Rasner from the Cubs.

All-in-all, this past week has been one of the most active and exciting in recent Orioles history. We still need a first baseman and some relief pitchers, so I would expect that a few more moves will be made in the coming weeks.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Kinda Good Signers

Rolling on with my Orioles autograph review, we're now getting to the players who were pretty good to the fans this year. These players signed multiple times for me over the course of the season.

Matusz signed this card for me within the first week or so of the season, and he also signed his jersey shirt the Orioles gave away on one of their T-Shirt Tuesdays. He still is a decent signer considering he is probably the O's most likely future star. Last year, I ranked him as one of the best signers on the team, so he might have taken a step backwards this year.

Last season, I saw Koji sign one time at Oriole Park and I just missed out on getting his autograph, so I put him in the don't think he's a good signer category. I sent him a TTM request late in the season, but didn't get it back, so I bought his autograph at a card show prior to the 2010 season. Since then, I got Koji's autograph in Spring Training, he returned my TTM request, and he signed for me at two games during the season. Talk about a turnaround.

Berken signed for me a few times during the season and I probably would've got his autograph a few more times if an injury hadn't ended his season in mid-August. You could consistently count on him to sign on Sundays while he was with the team. Last season, I listed him one step up from here, in the good signer category. 

Garrett was a much better signer than player during his 44 games with the O's.  I got his autograph at Fanfest, Spring Training, and two times in Baltimore before he was released on July 6.  You can tell things might be over for you when no other team will even take a chance on you at the league minimum salary.

Oriole #879-Frank Mata

Frank made his MLB debut during Wednesday night's game against the A's. He was called up prior to Tuesday's game to replace either Alfredo Simon or Koji Uehara in the bullpen. He already appears to be an upgrade over Koji since he was able to pitch on a very hot night without immediately fatiguing or becoming injured. Good for you Frank! All told, he pitched 1.1 innings giving up one hit and one walk. Kakes saved him a few earned runs by making a great diving catch to end the 7th inning after Frank had been replaced by Matt "Fat" Albers.

I was lucky enough to get Frank's autograph in Spring Training so I am able to add him to the O's all-time player list and list of players whose autograph that I have. The Orioles signed Frank as a Minor League free agent this past offseason after he spent the first 6 years of his professional career in the Minor League ranks in the Twins' farm system, never reaching the AAA level over that time. This season, Frank has been the AAA Tides closer and had 8 saves with a 1.86 ERA so he certainly earned his promotion.

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.

Alfredo Simon Joins the Party

Alfredo Simon 2008-

I have written about Alfredo quite a bit since he was the only current member of the Orioles whose autograph that I didn't have after the addition of Koji Uehara last week. But a reader named Paul came through with this awesome addition to my collection. Now I don't have to stay up nights wondering how the hell I didn't yet have Alfredo in my collection. I'm kidding, but I do like being able to say that I now have every current Orioles players' autograph. Thanks Paul!

So I'm not really sure what's going on with this card; he's obviously wearing a Phillies uniform but the card has the Giants logo on it so it's from around the time he was traded by the Phillies to the Giants in mid-2004. Why do card companies do this? I know you want the team logo to be current, but it bothers me when you have these "2 team" types of cards. It should either be one or the other since I now have no idea how to categorize it. What I do know is that it's definitely not an Orioles card, which Alfredo does have two of, a 09 Topps Heritage and a 09 O-Pee-Chee, so I still hope to get one of those signed when I'm at spring training.

Also, his autograph is already a front-runner for my 2010 Siggy award for the least legible autograph. I guess the big swirl at the beginning is an A, and then I guess there is an S, but I'm not sure. His given name seems to be Alfredo Carlos E Cabrera Simon so he could sign some variation of that but it's impossible to tell.

Alfredo broke camp last year as the Orioles 5th starter, which lasted all of 1+ regular season starts (and a grand total of 6.1 innings) before he went down with a Tommy John injury and missed the rest of the year. Reports out of Sarasota are saying that he looks good so far this spring and he is really bringing the heat. He had also pitched in 4 games for the O's at the end of the '08 season.


Another thing that I found interesting about Alfredo is that this is his second go-round (technically) in the Birds organization. The O's drafted him in the 2006 Rule V draft from the Texas Rangers and traded him that same day to the Phillies for Adam Donachie (who had been taken in the draft from the Royals). The Phillies eventually returned Alfredo to the Rangers and the O's returned Donachie to the Phillies (who returned him to the Royals) since neither was able to crack the clubs' 25-man Opening Day rosters. But now it's 2010 and they are both together in Sarasota at the Orioles Major League Spring Training camp. Pretty cool, right?


Also, Adam was a member of the NW Arkansas Naturals, the Royals AA team, in 2008. The team plays in Springdale, Arkansas where my grandma lives and I got to see them play when I visited her last summer. It's a small baseball world.

Finally! A Koji Autograph Enters the Collection!

Koji Uehara 2009-

Thanks to some help from my dad, I was finally able to add a Koji Uehara autograph to my collection. He was one of only two players still with the Orioles organization (the other is Alfredo Simon) that had played for the O's and who I still needed an autograph from. I had just missed out on him when he signed a few times at Camden Yards over the '09 season but I labeled him a "I Don't Think He's a Good Signer" in my 2009 Year in Review post last fall since I only saw him sign 2 or 3 times all season.

I also sent him a TTM request towards the end of the season but think that it probably reached the O's after he had gone home to Japan for the offseason. So I was 0-2 to that point.

I was hoping that he would attend O's FanFest so that I could get his autograph there but the the team didn't have him travel to Baltimore from Japan just for that one event. 0-3.

My next step was to check online and I found that he had quite a few certified autograph releases in last year's Topps & Upper Deck sets. One would think that I should be able to find something for about $10 since there were 5-10 different autographs and most were numbered into the 100's right? Wrong! Most of them sold for no less than $20 with a few that I specifically liked going for upwards of $50. I hate the thought of paying that much for a player who is still on the team that I could theoretically get to sign for me at a game. I think the prices on all of his certified autos have remained so high since collectors in both Japan and the US are interested in buying his cards. 0-4, man I wasn't catching any breaks with Koji.

But then my Dad came through and found a seller who was open to bargaining and he got this awesome card for a good price. Koji is even wearing a sweet Baltimore jersey in the shot on the card. And his signature is pretty awesome. I think that I see some exclamation points in there or something. It's also pretty legible which is surprising for a veteran player like him.

So I can finally scratch Koji off of my needed list! It's nice to have him under the belt.

Now watch out, Alfredo Simon! I'm gunning for you next!

2010 Orioles FanFest!!!

Picture From Orioles.com website

OK, the FanFest announcement was made on Wednesday afternoon and was going to be the topic of yesterday's blog entry. But then the O's signed Mike "The Cobra" Gonzalez and Garrett (nickname pending) Atkins. I figured that those signings were bigger news, but in terms of my autograph collecting, FanFest is one of the best days of the year for it.

If you're not familiar with the setup, the highlight is that they have a bunch of current and former players sign autographs and take pictures with fans. There are also a bunch of stadium giveaways that are handed out, various O's memorabilia that isn't available anywhere else, ballpark food, and some vendor tables. There are also kids areas with various fun activities but I normally skip over all that.

The past few years FanFest was held at Camden Yards on the weekend before the season started, but since the O's open the season at Tampa Bay, they moved the event back to January. When I first went to FanFest as a kid, it was held at Camden Yards, then moved to the Convention Center, then back to the Yard, and now back to the convention center. Try to keep up with the bouncing FanFest!

It is the best event of the year to gain access to some of the players that don't sign much around the Yard. Nick Markakis comes to mind, but since he is one of the most popular players on the team, his line will be really long, and inevitably filled with some adolescent girls that want to meet the "hottest" Oriole. Meh, not really what I'm trying to do and since I do have his autograph, I will likely avoid his station.

My goal is to get Koji Uehara, Kevin Millwood, Garrett Atkins and Alfredo Simon to add to my collection. I don't know if they will all be in attendance but I will add whoever I can. I'm really excited about this and will have to work on getting my cards ready after Christmas. Winter graphing, I love it!

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: The "I-Don't-Think-They're-Good-Signers" Updated

Added scans of B-Rob & Bass autos.

I was able to get autographs from all of these players (except KOJI!) but they didn't seem to sign often.


I have to start by addressing Koji, the second Orioles player that I did not obtain an autograph from this season. This is the card I would like to get signed if I ever get the opportunity. Also, a quick check of eBay reveals multiple Orioles certified autographs available for sale at reasonable prices. I prefer getting things signed in person, but if it doesn't work, at least I have some options.

I saw Koji sign at about two games but he drew quite a crowd, specifically from his Asian fans, so I didn't get him to sign anything for me either time. He also got injured early in the season and didn't pitch after June 23, so that also made his auto tougher to get in person. I know he was signing TTM through the season so I tried that route, but no success there yet.



Oscar signed this card for me at the Tides game I went to this season. I also sent him a TTM request while he was at Norfolk, but that seems to be gone for good. He was with the Orioles from June 7-July 12 this season and I don't recall seeing him sign while in Baltimore. But since he signed for me in Norfolk, I can't say I've never seen him sign for the fans.



JJ signed for me twice this season. Both times were early in the year before he was promoted to being the O's closer. I don't think that I saw him sign at all after he was named the closer so it could have something to do with a superstition of his or possibly he got an inflated sense of himself once he was the closer. Who knows? Not I.



This picture is from the one time this season that I saw B-Rob sign. I somehow neglected to scan the card that I got signed that day but trust me, I did get one autographed. I will scan it tonight if I get a chance.

And here it is...
B-Rob definitely falls into the category of being one of the most popular Orioles players so hundreds of people want his autograph at every game. He's a great player and definitely the focus of many female fans' attention so that leads to added competition when seeking his signature. That said, I think I only saw him sign openly like this one or two other times out of all the games that I attended.

I got Brian's auto twice this season. He signed this card for me in Toronto while he was walking back to the dugout after stretching and also signed an Allen & Ginter card for me at the last game of the season. I hope to also scan and add that to this post tonight. It looks really good, and is replacing this card as my favorite Bass auto.

Even though you can't see the borders it looks pretty nice

Those were the only two times that I can recall seeing him sign all season long. I think some of that has to do with the whole relief pitchers staying in the dugout and then walking out to the bullpen together thing. As a reminder for next season, if you are trying to get relievers' autographs, you should focus on Sunday games.

Time for the Brooms & Alumni Autograph Series

Since the O's have a chance to sweep the Yanks for the first time in like 4 years, it's hard not to be excited today. The O's have won the first two games of the season the right way, with good starts from Guthrie & Koji and by mashing the ball off of CC and Wang. It would be excellent to start the season 3-0, especially to the detriment of the Yanks.

I've also been meaning to write about the newly implemented Orioles' Alumni Autograph Series which will bring over 20 former O's players out to the Yard to sign autographs throughout the season. This is a perfect year for this to start for me since it coincides with my refocused autograph project. While I have autographs from most of the guys that will be appearing, there are 4 or 5 that I have yet to add to my collection, so I'm pumped.
Two or three players will be at the MASN booth on Eutaw Street from 1.5 hours until 30 minutes prior to the first pitch during every Monday and Thursday home game. Today was the first appearance with Al Bumbry, Tippy Martinez & Billy Hunter signing; my awesome girlfriend was able to get them all for me while I was at work!

Here is the complete list of players that will be signing throughout the season:
(* indicates an auto I need)

Paul Blair
Al Bumbry
Ken Dixon
*Joe Durham
Ross Grimsley
Dick Hall
*Ron Hansen
Bill Hunter
Dave Johnson
Rick Krivda
*Calvin Maduro
Tippy Martinez
Scott McGregor
*John Miller
*Curt Motton
Tim Nordbrook
Joe Orsulak
Larry Sheets
John Stefero
Bill Swaggerty
*Jimmy Williams

So come out to the Yard and check out the past players. It should be a fun season!