1991 Orioles Debuts, #497-512

Today, I'm continuing the Orioles Yearly Debut Series (2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992).

1991 saw 16 players make their Baltimore debuts, including two players, Mike Mussina and Arthur Rhodes, who would go on to play with the Orioles for most of the following decade. 

Glenn Davis #497, 4/8/91 (1991-93)

Dwight Evans #498, 4/8/91 (1991)

Paul Kilgus #499, 4/8/91 (1991)

It took me quite some time to track down a signed copy of Paul's one and only Orioles card, but I finally was able to knock his name completely off of my list. 

Jeff Robinson #500, 4/14/91 (1991)

Ernie Whitt #501, 4/14/91 (1991)

Roy Smith #502, 5/25/91 (1991)

Todd Frohwirth #503, 5/28/91 (1991-93)

Chito Martinez #504, 7/5/91 (1991-93)

Chito was the first, and still the only, MLB player to hail from the country of Belize. He's also the only Oriole to share a name, albeit spelled differently, with a snack food. 

Shane Turner #505, 7/17/91 (1991)

Shane played in 56 major league games for three teams over three seasons, and only four of those were with the Orioles. This Line Drive Red Wings card is the only cardboard testament to Steve's time in the Orioles organization. 

After his playing career ended, he became a minor league manager in the Giants farm system and held that position at various levels between 1996-2007. He is currently the Coordinator of Instruction for San Francisco. 

Jimmy Poole #506, 7/30/91 (1991-94)

Jim pitched 11 seasons in the Majors from 1990-2000 with eight different franchises, most notably the Indians, Orioles, and Giants. Over his parts of four seasons in Baltimore, he had a 6-3 record with a 2.86 ERA over 123 games. 

Stacy Jones #507, 7/30/91 (1991)

Mike Mussina #508, 8/4/91 (1991-2000)

Arthur Rhodes #509, 8/21/91 (1991-99)

This awesome Arthur Rhodes signed black and white postcard was given to me by my wonderful wife from her personal collection. She's so good to me, and understands me and my collection, for the most part at least.

Francisco de la Rosa #510, 9/7/91 (1991)

Luis Mercedes #511, 9/8/91 (1991-93)

It seems like almost all of Luis's cards picture him wearing the orange uniform, and I'm fine with that, as I kind of enjoy orange uniform autographs.

Jeff Tackett #512, 9/11/91 (1991-94)

Orioles Playoff Memories

With all of this playoff research surrounding my postseason bracket contest, I've become nostalgic about the Orioles' last playoff appearance, way back in 1997, when they went wire-to-wire and won the A.L. East title.

Here are the autographs I have of some of the players on the club...

 Bordick was always great with the glove, and it's nice to still see him around the team as a special instructor

I tend to remember Scott being a little better than it seems he was during his years in Baltimore, but he had a solid '97 season, going 16-7 with a 3.69 ERA

Is this an Orioles or Dbacks card? Believe Beckett says Dbacks, but it's the only one that shows him in an Orioles uni...I'll allow it.

 Where have you gone Jeffrey Hammonds? Your signature is awesome by the way.

  Wait, who? I honestly don't remember Charlie.

Ah, the good old days when Mussina's name didn't bring up such conflicting memories. He was probably the Orioles' last true ace and they sure could use someone new to fill that role.

I can't believe that Arthur Rhodes is still pitching in the Majors. And he's in the playoffs for a second consecutive season, albeit with a different team this year. Ah to be a lefty and know how to throw strikes.

I generally remember Jeff as a Twin, but he was a versatile utility player for the Orioles for three years. 

 

And I don't think I'm alone in remembering Jerome mostly as a Cub. His career peaked early when he took home the Rookie of the Year honor for the Cubbies in 1989.

RIP Flanny

Some very sad news hit yesterday when we learned that Mike Flanagan was dead at only 59 years old. And now today, multiple news outlets are reporting that it was an apparent suicide. I have no idea what might have caused Mike to take his own life but it just makes the news that much harder to accept.

I'm pretty sad about Mike's passing; I had the chance to meet him a handful of times over the years and he always seemed like a pretty nice guy and was known throughout baseball for his dry, witty sense of humor. For some odd reason, I've never done a post about Mike before today, and that makes me feel like I've done an inadequate job with my Orioles blogging over the past few years.

It's hard to rank Mike's exact spot in the Orioles pitching pantheon, except I would say that he's comfortably in the top five, along with Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Mussina, and Mike Cuellar. Flanny was the 1979 A.L Cy Young winner and was a member of the '78 A.L. All-Star team. In the all-time Orioles record books, he ranks third with 450 games pitched and 328 starts, fourth with 1,297 strikeouts and 98 complete games, and fifth with 141 wins.

Mike was involved with the Orioles off and on for the past five decades as a player, pitching coach, general manager and broadcaster. He was one of a small handful of former players who have stayed near the team over so many years and meant a lot to the franchise and the city of Baltimore. RIP Mike. You will be missed.