Oriole #969- Evan Meek

The third new Oriole to make their Baltimore debut on Opening Day was relief pitcher Evan Meek who is now Oriole #969. He was an extremely long shot to make the roster heading into Spring Training, but over eight appearances that covered nine innings  Evan allowed just a single earned run and two hits while striking out ten batters. It was enough to edge out Alfredo Aceves for the final bullpen spot and make the Opening Day 25 man roster. 

Evan's story is an interesting one, as he bounced around the minors in the Twins, Padres, and Rays farm systems from 2002-07 before being selected by the Pirates in the 2007 Rule V draft. He then pitched 156 games for the Pirates from 2008-12, and even made the 2010 National League All-Star team, a deserving honor for a season in which he sported a 2.14 ERA over 70 games for a team that won only 57 games. Of course, every team must have an All-Star representative and there weren't many options on the Pirates team, which partially explains how a middle-reliever made the roster (says the Orioles fan whose team was obligatorily represented only by Ty Wigginton that year). 

Evan began to have some injury problems arise in 2011 and really struggled for the Bucs in 2012, and rode the AAA shuttle for much of the year before being designated for assignment in September. He spent 2013 in the Rangers minors before signing a minor league deal with the O's prior to the 2014 season. 

He didn't have a great performance on Opening Day for the O's as he walked two and struck out one against the Red Sox over two thirds of an inning, but did earn a hold for his effort. Evan seems like an easy guy to root for and I hope he can maintain his spring success now that the regular season is in full effect.

He also made it easy for me to like as he was one of the few players that on my Spring Training trip said he would sign when he came back and actually did so; for those of you who might not know, generally when a player tells you that they will sign on their way back out or something along those lines, you probably have just gotten blown off. It happens all the time so it's not a big deal, but I have to give Evan props for following up. The second card he signed for me is for trade if anyone is interested. 

Who Will Play Third For the O's in 2011?

Since it seems as though Josh Bell still needs some seasoning in the Minors and the Orioles don't have any other great candidates in-house right now, I'm interested to see who the Orioles will bring in to play third base in 2011 and possibly beyond. They could re-sign Ty Wigginton, but I kind of hope that they don't, at least not to be the everyday starter. I don't have anything against Ty, but the fan base needs a swift kick in the pants, not a love tap on the behind. It's a sad thing, but less people care about the O's each year in Baltimore. I think it's ridiculous to give up on the team, but some might call me a "superfan".

Let's see if you can guess who I think the Orioles are going to end up with...

Mark was a backup catcher in the Majors for 13 seasons from 1986-98 and spent two stints with the Orioles in 1992-93 & again in '96. He only appeared in 57 games over his three seasons with the O's, all but one as acatcher, and he never played third base over his 474 Big League games.

He is currently a manager in the Phillies' farm system and was promoted to the AA Reading Phillies following the 2010 season, so I might try to get his autograph in person at a Baysox game this season.

 

I wrote about Bob last summer and don't have much to add to that, but I will say that he never played third base over the 140 games covering six seasons that he spent in the Majors.

You have any idea where I'm going with this yet?

Mark appeared in 314 games in the Majors over his eight season career, but every single appearance came on the mound. He spent the 1988-89 seasons in Baltimore and had a dismal 3-12 record for the Birds, including an abysmal 1-8 campaign in '88. 

 

I picked up this autograph at the National in August and to avoid repeating myself, you can read what I wrote here. Harold played in 1374 Major League games but never appeared at the hot corner.  

So what the hell am I getting at here? Has anyone figured it out?  

Well, I think the O's will end up trading with the Diamondbacks to obtain Mark Reynolds. See what I did here? A Mark, then a Reynolds, then a Mark, then another Reynolds. That's about as witty as things get around these parts.

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

After taking the weekend off from my it, I'm back to reviewing the signing habits of everyone who played for the O's this past season.

Today, I'm going to cover the players who I might have seen signing on occasion, but they didn't seem to sign often during their time in Baltimore.

B-Rob had an injury-plagued 2010 season and was away from the team for most of the year, but in the 59 games he played with the O's, I think I only saw him sign one time. 

The only time I got his autograph all year was way back in Spring Training when he participated in a book signing to promote his dad's book on basestealing. 

Brian also fell in this category last season.

JJ signed for me twice this season, but one of those times was at FanFest, so I don't really count that since it's a signing that's more of a contractual obligation than an act of goodwill. As I've said before, most relievers sign on Sundays, but Jim wasn't one that normally took the time for the fans.

I also ranked JJ in this category last year. 

Scott signed cards on two occasions for me this season, one in Spring Training and the other at an early July game in Baltimore, and I remember seeing him sign at least one other time in Baltimore, so I almost listed him as a hit or miss signer. But I couldn't quite do it. Signing three times just didn't cut it for me.

He's now a minor league free agent, so his time with the O's is likely over.   

Troy was a great signer during the time he spent with the AA Bowie Baysox in 2009, but his signing habits didn't seem to translate to Baltimore. He only made it into a single game for the O's this season, but he spent most of a month as a member of the 25 man roster and I don't think I saw him sign once. He really could have been placed in the bad signer category, but I think I have a bit of a bias since he was so good to the Baysox fans. 

Last year, I ranked Felix in the hit or miss category as he seemed to sign at a few consecutive games, but then not again for two months.  This season, I can't recall if I saw him signing at all in Baltimore, but I got his autograph in Spring Training, at FanFest, and on a rehab assignment in Bowie.  So he's included here because of those times he signed. 

Pedro spent the final three weeks of the season in Baltimore after pitching for the Tides and the Baysox for the majority of the season. He appeared in two games and I got his autograph once, which doesn't seem bad on paper. However, Pedro ignored me and some other fans on a couple occasions. I guess no one has told him that it's not nice to "big league" the fans when you've only pitched in 11 MLB games and have a 6.48 ERA. But at least he signs on occasion I guess. 

Wiggy was a prototypical don't-think-he's-a-good-signer this year.  He is almost always willing to sign if there's only a small group of fans, but he rarely to never signs if a bunch of people are around.  I got him a couple times this year, so I was lucky.  Last year, I ranked him in the hit or miss category. 

2010 Orioles Autograph Year in Review

Starting today, I am going to review the signing habits of the 45 players who wore the Orioles uniform during the 2010 season. I will try to limit my judgment to only their signing habits at the Major League level during this season, although I'm sure that some past successes/failures with each individual could slightly cloud my opinion. I can only base my judgments on the 35-40 games I attended this season, so it's possible that the players signed very differently at every game I didn't attend, but I somehow don't think that was the case.

I did this same thing last season, starting on 10/15 and continuing through 10/27 and I'm a few days behind last season's schedule but should still be able to wrap this up in about a week. If I don't start this now, I will start to forget how my autograph season went, and the posts will become rather pointless.

Last year, I used nine categories to separate the players, but looking back at things, two of the categories are very similar, so I will combine them. Here are the categories (and explanations) of what I will use this season; the 2009 categories are linked if you're interested. 

Inconclusive/Undetermined- These are 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 will mainly focus on bench players, injured types, and 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.

Bad Signers- Pretty simple explanation here. These guys just don't seem to sign.

I Don't Think They're Good Signers- Players who I got autographs from or saw signing, but didn't seem to sign frequently. 

Hit or Miss Signers- These players seemed to be very streaky in regards to their signing habits. Maybe they signed multiple times one week but then not at all again for months. It could have something to do with how their performance on the field was going, or what was occurring in their personal lives; but whatever the case, they signed much better at some times than others.

Small Sample Size Good Signers- Some seemed to be good signers but weren't with the team long enough for me to figure out if I just got lucky or if they normally sign a lot.

Kinda Good Signers- These players all signed for me multiple times over the course of the season. They seemed to sign willingly, at least sometime, so they get bonus points for that.

Good Signers- These guys consistently signed throughout the season.

Best Signers- The players who were the most reliable signers throughout the course of the season. 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.

I hope that everyone enjoys the review.  Check back soon for the next post!

At Least Ty Made An Appearance

That's right Wiggy, stay in the on-deck circle.

Although Joe Buck & Tim McCarver didn't mention it in the FOX broadcast, Ty started the 7th inning as a defensive replacement for AL 3B starter, Evan Longoria. I don't think I would have even known that he was in the game if Torii Hunter hadn't try to throw out Scott Rolen at third, who was going from first to third on Matt Holliday's single. Ty fielded the ball cleanly and it was his only fielding chance in the game, so any potential Orioles ASG embarrassment was avoided.

While I was happy to see that Ty had the chance to play in the All-Star Game, I'm a little disappointed that he didn't get an at-bat. He was scheduled to leadoff for the AL squad in the bottom of the 7th, but Joe Girardi decided to go with his own guy, Nick Swisher, instead of Wiggy. With righty Adam Wainwright pitching, I guess it made sense for switch hitting Swisher to bat instead of playing the odds with the righty-righty matchup that Wiggy would have faced. Still, BOO Girardi. Let the lone Oriole representative hit!

You can put that bat away Paul!

As far as I can tell, Melvin Mora and Paul Blair are the only other Orioles All-Stars who appeared in the game but didn't get a chance to bat. Melmo seems to have appeared as a pinch-runner in the 2003 midsummer classic, while Blair was used as a defensive replacement in the 1973 ASG.

Baltimore All-Stars

Way back in 1959, Jerry Walker & Billy O'Dell were two of the five Oriole representatives in the All-Star game; Hoyt Wilhelm, Gus Triandos, and Gene Woodling also made the squad. Ah, to have 5 All-Stars...it must be nice.


Jerry still holds the record for being the youngest All-Star game starter in history; he was only 20 when he took the hill for American League squad. Jerry outdueled Don Drysdale over three innings and earned the win. That's pretty impressive stuff right there.



Billy was appearing in his second consecutive (and final) All-Star Game in '59. He earned a hold for pitching an inning of relief, and preserving Walker's win.

The NL lineup that Walker & O'Dell shut down was pretty menacing and featured future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Stan Musial and Frank Robinson.

Somehow, I doubt that Ty Wigginton will have the opportunity to dominate tonight's ASG like Walker and O'Dell did in '59, but we can hope that he has the chance to jack a pitch out of the park. Or at least can avoid embarrassing Baltimore. Make us proud Ty!

Congrats to Wiggy, Nick Snubbed?

Your 2010 Orioles All-Star representative is none other than Ty Wigginton. Unfortunately, some talking heads feel that Ty is the A.L.'s super-utility player who will only get in the game if it goes in to extra innings. Great, so we have one player in the game who likely won't even play. It reminds me of the 08 All-Star Game, when George Sherrill didn't appear in the game until the 12th inning.

While I would agree that Ty was the only Oriole who was "hot" at the plate for the beginning of the season, he has really cooled off lately. Before yesterday's 2-3 performance in Detroit, he was mired in a 1-28 slump. And while he does have 14 HR on the year, only 1 of those have come since May 23.

Kalina and I feel like Nick Markakis would've been a better representative. Kakes has been hitting around .300 all year and also gets on base about 40% of the time, mainly due to his 25 doubles (tied for 2nd in the AL) and 49 walks. He was likely not selected due to the position he plays, rather than his stats on the year. Juan Samuel did mention that he would've endorsed Kakes if Joe Giradi had been respectful enough to ask him.

I got this card signed at a game recently and Ty used another guy's marker to sign it. The marker is much thicker than the sharpie I normally use but it still looks decent. While neither Ty nor Nick are good autograph signers, I have gotten Ty's autograph 3 times at Camden Yards while I'm still waiting for my first Markakis game autograph...so Ty's an autograph All-Star at least.

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.

Minor League Members of the O's 40 Man Roster-Rhyne Hughes

As you can see, this card is not autographed, which is the reason why I have waited to profile Rhyne until last in my posts about the Minor League members of the O's 40 man roster. I do not own an autograph of Mr. Hughes. He was at the Orioles FanFest but wasn't a priority for me since he hasn't (yet) played for the Birds and wasn't signing with anyone else who I was specifically targeting.

Rhyne came to the Orioles as the PTBNL (player-to-be-named-later) in the Gregg Zaun trade with the Rays last August. The Rays originally selected him in the 8th round of the 2004 draft and he played with five of their Minor League affiliates up through AAA Durham in his 4.5 years with the organization. After the trade to the O's, he played with the Norfolk Tides for the remainder of the season and appeared in 20 games. The first baseman is known mostly for his bat and has decent power but his defense and plate discipline have been questionable at times.

I'm not really sure how Hughes fits into the Orioles plans, but I figure that he is behind Brandon Snyder in the 1B prospect spot and trails Ty Wigginton and Michael Aubrey for the backup 1B spot. I hope that he has a good spring and expect that he will begin the year at Norfolk.

The Other Jose Bautista

Jose "Utility Bomb" Bautista 2004

I list this Jose Bautista as "the other" and "Jose Bautista 2" because he is the second Jose Bautista to play for the Orioles. The first Jose was a pitcher who was an Oriole from 1988 through 1991.

This Jose Bautista's time on the Orioles was very short. He played 16 games for them at the beginning of the 2004 season, mainly appearing as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner. He got 3 hits in 11 at-bats and also scored 3 runs for the O's. He spent the 2009 with the Blue Jays where he earned the nickname "Utility Bomb" for his strong throwing arm and the pop in his bat.

The most interesting thing about Jose is the number of transactions that he was involved in between December 2003-2004. Try to follow this mess...

December 15, 2003- the Orioles drafted him in the Rule V draft from the Pirates (the team who originally drafted him)

June 3, 2004- after the Orioles put him on waivers, the Devil Rays selected him

June 28, 2004- the Royals purchased him from the Devil Rays

July 30, 2004- the Royals trade him to the Mets for Justin Huber

July 30, 2004- traded by the Mets with Ty Wigginton and Matt Peterson to the Pirates for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger

August 4, 2004- Jose completely forgets what team he plays for and what city he lives in, reports to Team USA

OK, I made that last one up, but have you ever heard of one player being bounced around like that in a single season?

To recap, he appeared in games for four different Major League teams during the 2004 season, the Pirates must have really wanted him to lose him in the Rule V and trade for him in the same season, and Jose, along with Wigginton and Benson, was one of three all-time Orioles involved in the 7/30 trade with the Pirates and Mets. Amazing.

Oh and did I mention that he was the first player EVER to have been on the Major League rosters of 5 different teams in one season? I kind of feel bad for the guy.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: Hit or Miss Signers

These players seemed to be very streaky in regards to their signing habits. I saw a few of them sign multiple times one week but then not at all again for months. It could have something to do with how their performance on the field was going, or what was occurring in their personal lives; but whatever the case, they signed much better at some times than others.



Melmo was the ultimate streaky signer this season. I'm sure that a lot of it had to do with his slipping performance at the plate since I remember him being a better signer in years past. But I didn't get his autograph all season until my trip in early August to see the O's play in Canada.

Later that same week, I was able to get his autograph at Camden Yards. But those were the only two times I got him all year. I did see him sign at the last Saturday game of the year but missed out on him that time.


I'm not sure if Felix was a streaky signer as much as he seemed to prefer signing on the road. He signed at all three Blue Jays games that I went to in Toronto, but I only saw him sign once or twice in Baltimore. And I can't really count the Orioles Store signing he did in York that Kalina went to for me as it wasn't his choice to be there. But I appreciate her effort to further my collection!




I was going to categorize David as a bad signer or at least an I don't think he's a good signer until the last series of the season in which he signed at all three of the games. So I guess that upgraded him to a streaky signer. To that point, I only got his autograph one time (on the above card) including the '08 season while he was with the Baysox.

But then I got this card signed at the last Saturday game of the season. It's his first Orioles card and I really wanted to get it signed even though it's a chrome card. I tried to wipe the card down and it at least somewhat worked. I don't think he had seen the card yet since he flipped it over the check out the back before he threw it back my way. I would have offered him an extra if I had one even though these cards aren't cheap.




I'm not sure that calling Ty's signing habits streaky is accurate. He fell somewhere on the spectrum between streaky and I don't think he signs much. I got this card signed in Toronto too and I was really happy since it was my first card of him in an O's uniform. It's an interesting shot as Ty is between the netting and the camera but I like it since it's unique.


Ty signed this card for me earlier in the season. I lucked out and was the only person he signed for since the usher had just gone through to clear all of the non-ticket holding, seat-jumping autograph hounds out of the area by the dugout. But I was sneaky and stayed a few minutes longer, hoping for some luck. Ty walked to the dugout steps near the camera well and I asked if he would sign for me. He said yes, so I hopped the ropes and got my card signed before the usher could shoo me away. Too bad that I chose a card that spelled his last name wrong! I somehow had never noticed that and Ty pointed it out to me but at least he still signed it.

Autograph pictures from my trip

As I try to catch up on work, and life in general, after my trip I want to make sure I get back to posting regularly (whatever that might be). Pictures of the Orioles playing at the Skydome are forthcoming. And I do know that it's now officially called the Rogers Centre, but I definitely prefer calling it the Skydome.

In the meantime, here are most of the Orioles autographs that I was able to get in Toronto. I love going to O's road games since it is so much easier to get autographs from the Birds. These are presented more or less in order of how much I like the players, and/or whether or not I already have their autographs.

While I'm OK with the Gregg Zaun trade, I was not prepared for it, so didn't have my Moeller cards on the trip with me. I got him on this cool O-Pee-Chee Orioles checklist. But Bad Chad surprising me like that!

Felix finally signed for me at a game.

Berky got the win on Friday, which is the only reason he is ranked this high. I ran into his cousin before that game; he seemed like a really nice guy. And don't get the wrong idea, I don't know Berken but his cousin said hi since I was wearing my Orioles gear.

Dino continued to be a good signer, and to look tough in all pictures taken of him.

Guthrie signed but seems to like to mess with some of the fans by telling them he will sign and then running away multiple times.

Finally an in-person success with "The Crow"!

Also my first time getting Brian Bass in-person. I think Toronto was a good luck charm for me.


Probably the best signer on the team, LUUUKE signed for everyone, and some of their mothers.


This isn't the first time Melmo signed for me, but it is the first time this season.


Ty finally signed this card; his first in an Orioles uniform.


"Claw" signed for me! He has moved down a little on my favorite O's list as he keeps giving up runs but this is an awesome action shot of him pitching!


I think that this is now my favorite Jonesy autograph. What a great looking card.


Nolan was signing and let's just say that Kalina was a little bit happy about that.


But Wiety signed too! And I was very happy about that!
It's the first time I got him to sign since he was promoted to the O's in late May.
He signed all three days of the series too.

So, to wrap up this post; I highly recommend that, if you love the Orioles and getting them to sign things for you, you should hit the road with the team sometime. They are much more likely to sign since there are many fewer O's fans than in Baltimore and it's always cool to check out other ballparks.