An Assist From Russell- Mark Lewis Knocked Off the Need List

I am very happy with where my collection stands these days since I (currently) have an autograph of every single player who has ever appeared in a game for the Orioles. And there are only a small number of  upgrades I need; it's a number that currently sits at 15, and of those, 9 are guys who have been dead for quite some time. I know that those 9 might always stay on that list. I'm relatively OK with that. But the living players who remain on my list are the ones that frustrate me. Freddy Garcia, Stan Jefferson, K-Rod, David Wells and Jaret Wright are the current 6 living players who continue to elude me. It's frustrating because I know that they are out there, and could theoretically sign an Orioles card for me, if I could just get one in front of them. 

Well, my long-time Orioles autograph collecting buddy, Russell, recently removed one of those long-time living player needs from my list. When he was able to track down this signed copy of Mark Lewis's only Orioles card. 

In a post I wrote way back in October 2009, I displayed the signed Indians card of Mark's that has been in my collection ever since; at the time I wrote the post, I was blissfully unaware that Mark was featured on an Orioles card, and thought I had everything covered. It was only after that post was up on my site that someone alerted me to the existence of this pesky 2001 Pacific card that commemorated Mark's 71 games in Baltimore over the 2000 season. Shortly thereafter, I bought a stack of this card, and sent off a few into the TTM abyss, never to be seen again.

But then, as he is apt to do, Russell sent me an email a month or so ago, letting me know that he had gotten a hold of an autograph that I might be interested in. And not long after that, this awesome Mark Lewis signed Orioles card arrived at my house. (Unfortunately, the USPS seems to have eaten my "thank-you" package, but I am still holding out hope that it eventually will make it to him. But that's a story for another day.)

Thank you so much for your continued help Russell! I really appreciate it, and will make sure to get you a replacement thank-you package if the original never finds its way to you.

Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis 2000

I happily traded for this card with SCN user 2000rad. Mark doesn't have any Orioles cards* and doesn't sign TTM, so I was happy to be able to pick up any autograph of his.

He played mostly as a backup utility infielder over his 11 year MLB career. The Orioles selected him off of waivers from the Reds on 4/26/2000 and he played the remainder of the '00 season with the O's. During that time, he mostly played third & second base but also logged a few games at shortstop and DH. He appeared in 71 games with the Birds and got 163 ABs, hitting .270 over that time with 17 doubles and 21 RBI all while amassing one of the highest OPS% of his career. The Orioles granted Mark free agency after the season and he appeared in only 6 games in 2001 with the Indians before retiring.

While playing with the Reds in the 1995 NLDS against the Dodgers, Mark hit the only pinch-hit grand slam in MLB postseason history. So that's pretty much how he will be remembered in the record books.

*Unfortunately, it turns out that was pictured as an Oriole in the 2001 Pacific set, so I need an upgrade.