Adios Luke

Yesterday, free agent DH/LF Luke Scott signed a one year deal, with an option for 2013, with the Tampa Bay Rays.

After a disappointing 2011 that included season-ending shoulder surgery in July, the Orioles declined to offer him salary arbitration. I was on board with that decision since the arbitration process would've netted him a raise from $6.4 million he made in 2011. And I don't think Luke's health and track record should have earned him something in the $8 million range in 2012. 

From what I understood, it seemed like the Orioles and Luke were going try to work out a deal to bring him back to Baltimore at a reduced salary, but it seems like those talks never got very far. 

I was slightly disappointed to hear that Luke had signed with another team. When Luke was good, he was really good, as proven by his 2010 MVO (Most Valuable Oriole) season. And his relationship with Felix Pie was entertaining to watch over the past three seasons. 

LUUUUKE had also been one of the best, most consistent signers on the Orioles over the past four years, as evidenced by this glut of Luke autographs I obtained over his time in Baltimore. It actually got to the point where I no longer pursued his autograph, since I didn't want to get in the way of other fans getting something signed. It is very rare for me to turn down an autograph, so this is really a testament to his signing regularity. 

However, Luke was a controversial figure at times and gave a few inflammatory interviews to national news sites during his time in Baltimore. He was a very opinionated guy, especially regarding gun rights and religion, and wasn't afraid to share his beliefs with anyone that would listen.

Here is Luke telling the Topps photographer about his beliefs...

Luke certainly had his ups and downs in Baltimore, but since I'm an autograph collector, one of the chief ways I judge a player is how often he signs for the fans. And I don't honestly think that I saw anyone sign more than Luke over the past four seasons. Heck, I'm still waiting to see Markakis voluntarily sign once at Camden Yards.

Good luck in Tampa, Luke. I know that your bilingual skills will serve you well in Florida. I'd just prefer you be on one of your cold streaks the 18 times you play the O's.

Orioles Non-Tenders

Earlier this week, the Orioles did not offer contracts (non-tendered) to three of their arbitration eligible players; Luke Scott, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Willie Eyre. 

I hear that the O's would like to bring Luke back, but didn't want to have to pay whatever the amount (with a raise) would have been over the $6.4 million he made last season. I recently heard that up to ten teams are interested in him though, so I'm skeptical that he will be an Oriole in 2012. 

Reyes had a 6.16 ERA during his nine games late in the season, after the O's claimed him off of waivers from the Jays in early August, so I wasn't surprised to see him on this list.

However, Eyre's non-tendering confuses me. Just last week, the Orioles designated him for assignment when they acquired Dana Eveland from the Dodgers. I thought that when a player who didn't have any options was designated, he became a free agent. But I guess not? Can anyone explain this one to me?

2011 Orioles Autograph Year in Review

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm going to do my review a bit differently this year. Here is the list of all fifty players who appeared in a game for the Orioles this year, and the number of times I either got their autograph or saw them signing at a game. I'll then give some thoughts and opinions on my observations.

(The very random selection of autographs are scans of my 2011 O's autos that hadn't yet been on the blog)

Jeremy Accardo 1
Ryan Adams 2
Robert Andino 2
Matt Angle 0
Jake Arrieta 2

 

Mitch Atkins (3 in minors)
Josh Bell 2

 

 Brad Bergesen 1
Jason Berken
Zach Britton 4 (1 additional at minor rehab)
Blake Davis
Chris Davis (1 at minor rehab)
Willie Eyre 1
Pedro Florimon (3 at minors)
Jake Fox 4

 

Mike Gonzalez 2
Kevin Gregg 1
Vladimir Guerrero 3
Jeremy Guthrie 3
JJ Hardy 3
Mark Hendrickson 0
Kyle Hudson (1 at minors)
Tommy Hunter 1
Cesar Izturis 0

 

Chris Jakubauskas 3
Jim Johnson 1
Adam Jones 3
Derrek Lee 2
Nick Markakis 0

Brian Matusz 1
Troy Patton 1

 

Zach Phillips 1
Felix Pie 0
Clay Rapada 1
Nolan Reimold 1
Jo-Jo Reyes 0
Mark Reynolds 2
Brian Roberts 1

 

Josh Rupe 1

 

Luke Scott 2 (1 at minor rehab)

 

Alfredo Simon 2
Brandon Snyder 2
Pedro Strop 2
Craig Tatum 0
Chris Tillman 3
Koji Uehara 1
Rick Vanden Hurk 0

Pedro Viola (5 at minors)
Matt Wieters 2

 

Mark Worrell 1


There are some things to keep in mind while looking at this list. For example, Izturis has been a great signer in past seasons, but was only with the team for a few weeks this year, so I had very few chances to get his autograph. The small sample size also applies for the late season call-ups, spot starters and others who only spent a few games on the roster. 

However, here are a few observations I am comfortable making after tracking all of my successes for the season.

Nick Markakis and Craig Tatum are the worst signers on the team. They both spent the entire season with the O's and I never saw either sign a single card. Of course, they theoretically could have signed at every single game I did not attend, but based on their track records, I highly doubt it. It seemed as though Jo-Jo Reyes wasn't a huge fan of signing, but I had a smaller sample size to form that opinion.

The best signers seem to be Zach Britton and Jake Fox, who were consistent signers throughout the year. Jeremy Guthrie, JJ Hardy, Chris Jakubauskas, Adam Jones, and Chris Tillman were also good signers. From what I understand from talking to other graphers, I must have been at the only three games that Vlad signed at, so I'm hesitant to call him a good signer, but I will say the future hall-of-famer signed more than I thought he would.

If any of you would like me to give additional thoughts/opinions about the signing habits of the 2011 O's, leave a comment and I'll try to answer everything by tomorrow.

Sunday Pictures

As you may know if you've been following my blog over the years, I feel like Sunday's are the best day for Orioles autographs. If you get in early enough, you have the best access to players with the least amount of competition for autographs. And the relievers, who are generally the toughest guys to come across, typically warm up down the line, so you at least have a chance to get their autographs. Most evening games, the relievers shag fly balls during BP, disappear into the clubhouse and then go directly to the bullpen through a "secret" passage.

Tomorrow, I'll post the autographs I got but  for now, here are some pictures that I took yesterday.

Immediately when I got down on the field, there was Chris Jakubauskas, throwing with Clay Rapada. Jaku is one of my favorite guys on the club since he always seems to enjoy interacting with the fans. I called him over to sign, and then about 10 kids got him to sign as well, so he jokingly said to me "See what you started?"

Zach Britton was also warming up and came over to sign after he was done. 

If you were wondering what Zach looks like from the other side, wonder no more.

Mike Gonzalez was the next guy to come over, and I think he literally signed for everyone down the line

 

 

Although he continues to struggle on the mound, Gonzo continues to be a good signer 

 

 

Ryan Adams was signing at the end of the dugout, so I moved down there to get him

 

 

This was the first time I saw Adams signing in Baltimore; which was nice to see because he didn't seem to enjoy it at times in the minors. 
 

 

Luke Scott came out to talk with some what-I'm-guessing-are veterans. LUUUKE is a big military supporter, and it looked like he had the camo Scott shirts made himself.

Nick Markakis even made a brief appearance. 

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Best Signers

This will wrap up my review of the 2010 O's signing habits, which I started just about two weeks ago. Last year I included 8 players in this best signers group; this year it's down to 7, but it's still about 15% of the players who played for the O's this year which isn't bad. 

Luke is once again the player who signed the most over the course of the season. I'm pretty much at the point where I try to let other fans get his autograph since I've got his signature so many times. He always seems like a nice guy and talks to the fans while he's signing. I listed Luke in this category last season too, but he really deserves his own category. 


The following three relief pitchers signed almost every Sunday during the season (Sunday's are the day pitchers can warm up on the field since there's no batting practice).

Albers has been inconsistent on the mound over his time in Baltimore, but he's typically been a good signer at least.

I put Hendrickson in the good signers category last year, but this year he took his signing to the next level.

Ohman was sent to the Marlins at the trade deadline, but he signed very frequently before being sent to Miami. I think he signed every card I had of him before the trade, so I was fine with it.

I've heard that some other people had trouble getting Cesar's autograph this year, but not me. He was always the first player to come back to the dugout after B.P. and would normally sign early on. Cesar really upped his signing game this season; I listed him in the kinda-good category last year.      

 

Dino only spent the last month of the season in Baltimore, but he signed enough over that time to get listed here. He was in this category last year too, making him the second back-to-back best signer.  

 

Bergy was the rare Orioles starting pitcher who signed regularly this season. He would sign on some Sundays and in between his starts too.  

I hope that everyone enjoyed the review and I will now get back to my regular blogging schedule, whatever that might be. 

One Bell of a Debut- Oriole #882

Highly touted third base prospect Josh Bell made his MLB debut for the Orioles last night. I know that the title of the post is a bit of a stretch, since he went 1-4 with a single, strikeout and an error while playing third base, but it was the Orioles' first debut of a big-time position prospect since the Wieters Era began last May 29.



As you might be able to read in this picture, Josh was acquired from the Dodgers, along with RHP Steve Johnson, for George Sherrill just before the 2009 trading deadline. I had the chance to see Josh play for the AA Baysox for the last month of the '09 season and also saw him in Sarasota this spring. He has been playing for the AAA Tides this season; after a slow start to the season, he found his stroke over the past month and had 10 HR and 44 RBI prior to his call up. I don't think the Orioles intend to keep him up for the rest of the season, but were forced to call him up after Luke Scott's HR injury yesterday and since Felix Pie isn't quite ready to come off his rehab assignment.



Here's a picture of Josh's first Major League hit. He smacked a 91 mph sinker from Trevor Cahill into left field in the bottom of the 7th inning. The Orioles lineup only mustered 4 hits off Cahill in 7 innings, so it was nice to see Josh contribute.

I also had the pleasure and luck to run into the U.S. Men's Soccer team manager, Bob Bradley, who was at the game to throw out the first pitch. He was a very nice guy and it was awesome to talk to him for just a minute after watching the U.S. team's run in this year's World Cup. He said that he obviously wishes that he was still there, but enjoyed his time there while it lasted.

Some Recent Orioles Autographs

Since I've been behind with almost all my collecting related activities for this entire baseball season, I haven't been able to scan or show off my current Orioles autographs as I've been getting them at games. So I am going to dump them all into this one post. Sounds like a plan to me. So here we go!




My new thing is trying to get these O's postcards signed, specifically by players who don't have any Orioles cards, like Ohman and Castillo (who has been sent to AAA Norfolk since he signed this for me). Berken's only Orioles card is from the 2010 Topps When They Were Young insert set, so I only give that card half credit as an O's card since the picture of him as a kid dominates the card.

And speaking of guys who are no longer with/on the team...

I intended to have this card scanned for my "Goodbye Dave" post. That obviously didn't happen, but here it is now. I wonder what Dave is up to these days?

Tillman is currently biding his time with the Tides. I was happy to get him to sign this card for my orange uniform collection.

Jeff Datz, the O's bench coach, signed for me for the first time all season. I don't think he's a tough signer, but he is just always in the dugout. I have a few more copies of this card, which is his one and only MLB card, and hope to get another signed since this J turned out very dry.

I got my first in-person C-Pat autograph too. I've seen him sign one or two other times but was in the wrong place to get him then.

Ty signed for me for only the third time since he's been with the O's. He's a tough autograph to get most of the time, and in retrospect, I don't really know what I chose this card to get him to sign. It's pretty blah. Oh well.




It's possible that any of these three guys are sent to Norfolk (or released in Albers' case) to make room for the starting pitcher needed for this Saturday's game. Garrett Atkins would be the most logical guy to get rid of in my opinion, but what do I know?

Luke was the man once again. I know that this is an 08 Heritage short print, and that I probably should have just kept it with my set and all, but look at all that orange! It needed to be signed. And now it's going with my orange uniform autograph collection. I know he's not wearing an orange uni, but it's orange enough for me. It's my collection so I get to make the rules.

Both Cesar and Julio Lugo signed at the same spot the day I got this card autographed. Since this is my 5th Cesar and I still need Lugo on my Orioles postcard, I would gladly have switched up which autograph I got, but that's not how it works. I hope to get Julio sometime soon though.

Guthrie continues to be a good signer. Again not sure why I chose this boring card to get signed, but I did. Can't do anything about it now.



I continue to get lucky with Jonesy. I've heard others say that they've had trouble getting him to sign but I seem to get him 4-5 times a season. I like how he looped his #10 in with his signature on the top card. Oh, and Kalina, I put Jones at the bottom of the post just for you. Let's just say that Kalina doesn't appreciate his "attitude", "hustle" or constant focus on chewing gum/blowing bubbles.