Contest Winner Announced

The Earl Weaver autograph giveaway celebrating my Orioles Hall of Fame week was an amazing success. It was by far the most popular contest I've held and it led to record site traffic and a huge number of contest entries. 241 to be exact.

How in the world were there that many entries considering that only 46 people were in the contest? Well, on Monday, I wrote this:
If you comment on this post, you get an entry. If you are a follower and comment on this post, you get a second entry. If you have your own blog and spread the word about my contest, you get another entry, just share the link in the comments below. There is also a bonus way to earn entries, but I'm not going to say what it is. (Hint- Participate throughout the week.)

Many of you picked up two or three entries immediately. That was the easy part. But those of you who commented on my posts throughout the week picked up two bonus entries for every comment you left. I was only accepting relevant comments, but everyone stayed on topic, so they all counted. If anyone had commented on any of the older posts that I linked to throughout the week, they would have scored ten bonus entries, but that didn't come into play. I wanted to reward everyone who was leaving comments, because it helps me to know what you all think about my posts.

I know that at least a few of you figured out how to score bonus entries. dawgbones cracked the mystery early on and racked up a ridiculous 35 entries. But unfortunately for him, it wasn't enough.

Without further delay, here's the results of the Earl Weaver autograph contest via Random.org

 

Congratulations to Paul of Paul's Random Baseball Stuff.  He wins the Earl Weaver autograph and a stack of Mets cards. Thank you everyone who entered. I hope that you all enjoyed the contest and Hall of Fame week.

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Palmer & Aparicio

I haven't covered any of the other Orioles Hall of Famers nearly as much as I've wrote about Jim Palmer, and I bet he likes it that way. I'm kidding, but if you've ever heard Jim call an Orioles game, he just can't help but weave in a few stories about the success he had during his career. And honestly, if I was as good as he was, I probably would do that same thing!

Cakes was an amazing pitcher over the 19 seasons he pitched for the Orioles, and was especially dominant from 1969-79 when his ERA never crept over 3.30 for a season. He also won three Cy Young awards, played in six All-Star games, won three Gold Gloves, and received MVP/Cy Young votes most seasons over that stretch. That's some serious dominance.

 

One of the reasons that I've covered Jim as much as I have is that he has remained a presence around the O's over the years, mainly because of his color commentating duties with MASN. Because of that, he typically signs at Fan Fest and can be seen around the ballpark every summer. It's nice for us autographs collectors to have a Hall of Famer who remains relatively accessible. 

 

Jim was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1990, but they had to throw away three plaques before they found one that got Jim's approval. Gotta get that face just perfect, ya know.

 

I got this card on ebay back in the summer of '09 and covered Luis at the bottom of the linked post. The sticker pops in the scan but isn't nearly as obvious in person and I'm a big fan of this card and how he's wearing the old school Baltimore jersey. 

Little Louie was one of the best fielding shortstops of his era and he was terror on the basepaths too. He played with the Orioles from 1963-67, but is best remembered for the ten years he spent with the White Sox. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his sixth ballot in 1984.

Today is your last chance to enter my contest to win the Earl Weaver autograph. Entries won't be accepted after midnight-ish. Good luck everyone!

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Frank Robinson

Frank Robinson might be the best all-around player to ever wear the Orioles uniform, but to me, he will always be the jerk who refused to sign a sheet of paper for me at a Minor League baseball game when I was about 8 years old. I'm not a big fan of the man nor of the autographed card of his that's currently in my collection.

It's a certified autograph and all, but it's not an Orioles card per se, so I would like to upgrade it one day. I just have a hard time justifying paying a lot of money for the autograph of a player I don't care for.

Now here's my story. I know that some of you might feel like I should get over the snub and appreciate how great Frank was during his six seasons in Baltimore. Honestly, Frank's playing career was finished six years before I was even born, so while I appreciate and enjoy the World Series Championships that he helped to bring to Baltimore in 1966 & 1970, my only personal experience with him was decidedly negative.

I was at a AA Harrisburg Senators game with my dad sometime during the summer of 1991. There were normally scouts at the games, but the O's must have been off that day, because we spotted their current manager at the game. It was none other than Frank Robinson!

I didn't really do the autograph thing way back then, I was generally too shy, but this was a Hall of Famer. Now I don't remember their being too many more than 500 people at the game because it was really hot and we seemed to be the only two who knew Frank was sitting in the stands. He was wearing a large sun bonnet-sombrero type hat to try to hide his face a bit, but we spotted him anyway. The only thing I had to get signed was the autograph page in the Senators' program but luckily the souvenir stand sold sharpies. I waited until between innings and walked over to Frank and quietly asked if he would sign my paper. "No". And that was that. The other guys he was sitting with, including the O's GM at the time, Roland Hemond, kindly signed my paper, but it was no consolation. Frank had refused my request and I dejectedly went back to my seat and told my dad that he refused to sign. I think my dad considered asking Frank to step outside to teach him some etiquette and/or manners. Now my dad isn't the violent type, so you know he had to be pissed.

About twenty years later, that is still what I think of when I think about Frank, and I probably always will. He's one of my least favorite Orioles because of that and maybe I'd feel different if I was around for his playing days, but I wasn't. As Night Owl commented in my post about Brooks Robinson, his brother had a negative experience with Brooks and it's stuck with him over the years. While that seems to have been uncommon considering Brooksie's typically pleasant demeanor, Frank has a reputation as a curmudgeon. And I'm here to tell you it's true, at least in my experience with him.

If you want to read about Frank's career you can go here or here. Apparently he was pretty good.

 

Don't forget to enter my contest. Tomorrow is your last chance to win a certified autograph of Earl Weaver.

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Unpossible Hall of Famers

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that every Friday is "Unpossible Autograph Friday" a play on words (borrowed from Ralph Wiggum of "The Simpsons" fame) highlighting autographs of deceased players. Today I'm featuring the three Hall of Famers who played with the Orioles during their career and have passed away. None of the three were inducted to the Hall as O's or are necessarily remembered for their years in Birdland, but they did play for them, so it ties in to my HOF week.

I've written about these first two players a few times, so click the links if you want to see what I've already covered.

Robin was nice enough to sign my TTM request about a year ago and I wrote about him again when he passed away this past May. He is the only HOFer in my collection who personalized anything to me. 

 

I got Roberts' signed HOF plaque card from a dealer at the National who hadn't raised the price on it since Robin passed away so I got a relative steal. 

 

My dad hooked me up with this Hoyt Wilhelm autograph for Christmas in 2009. (The write-up about Hoyt is half way down the linked post) 

I found this Wilhelm signed HOF plaque card at a flea market a few months back. I've made the argument a few times that I think Hoyt should have entered the Hall wearing a White Sox or Orioles hat over that of the NY Giants, but the decision obviously wasn't up to me.

 

This card is the only new image on this post, and Kell is the only player I haven't really covered before, so now you get something besides blurbs and links to my other posts. 

George was a excellent contact hitter who hit over .300 for his career, led the A.L. in hits and doubles twice in 1950 & '51 and won the 1949 batting title, denying Ted Williams his third Triple Crown. He was also a great defender at third base and led the league in fielding percentage at the position five times. He was a ten-time All-Star and also received MVP votes eight times. He played with the Philadelphia A's, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox before wrapping up his career with two seasons in Baltimore in 1956 & '57. 

He came short of making the Hall of Fame fifteen times via the writer's vote but was elected in 1983 by the Veteran's Committee. After his playing career ended, George went on to find success in the broadcast booth and had nearly a forty year career behind the mic, including almost thirty years calling Tigers' games with Al Kaline.

 

You might have spotted this Kell plaque card in the same post as the Wilhelm plaque.  

Obligatory contest plug- You can enter through Sunday for the chance to win a signed Earl Weaver card. If you've already entered, I would suggest that you check the entries post to see if you've been earning any bonus entries. Some of you have figured out how to do it and are really pulling away from the pack.

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Cal Ripken Jr.

One reason that I think I have held off on profiling many of the big-name Orioles Hall of Famers is that I don't feel qualified to write about them. I can blog about the Ramon Nivars and Barry Shetrones of the Orioles past all day and feel like I've done a good job, but trying to summarize Cal Ripken Jr. and what he has meant to me and my love of baseball is a whole different monster.

I was born in 1982 and my love of baseball really started to take shape in the late '80s as I was playing tee-ball and later little league. At that time, I honestly felt like I would make it to the Major Leagues. That obviously never happened, not even close, and I had actually stopped playing by the age of 13 or so, but my love of baseball remains to this day. It's my #1 favorite sport by far; I spend a good part of every day thinking, breathing and day-dreaming about baseball. And if you asked me which one player pops into my head at any given time, it would be Cal.

Now I know that most '92 Fleer cards wouldn't be your first choice to get signed, but I love that this card has the date that the streak started and 2130 on it. Outside of any possible Orioles' World Series Championships in the coming years, I don't think anything can rival "The Streak" and 2131 in my baseball memory hierarchy. Seeing video clips of that game gets to me even to this day. The lead up to 2131 was so amazing. Could Cal stay healthy? Would it benefit the team if he took a day off now and then? How would he handle the pressure?

Well, the "Iron Man" obviously passed Lou Gehrig's record of 2130 consecutive games played and extended the record to 2632 straight games played. My dad took me to a bunch of games in the lead up to 2130 & 2131 and we watched the numbers change of the warehouse count up towards those magical numbers. He tried to find tickets to those two games but the cost was astronomical, I think in the thousands. It just wasn't gonna happen, but I appreciate that he tried so hard. Honestly, it was pretty awesome to see it on TV. I didn't know her back then, but my fiance, Kalina, was lucky enough to have some family friends that took her to 2131. She was standing in line for her "I Was There" t-shirt when Cal homered. Cool stuff, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous, but I am glad that one of us got to be there for it. I was lucky enough to have been at the final game of Cal's career on October 6, 2001.

Kalina gave me this awesome card. 

It didn't scan well because it's in a screw-down case and I was too lazy to take it out for the scan.

Most of you know that Cal was the 1982 AL ROY, won the AL MVP in 1983 & '91, caught the final out in the O's '83 World Series victory, made 19 All-Star teams, won 2 Gold Gloves, 8 Silver Sluggers, was the All-Star Game MVP in 1991 & 2001, and won the '91 Home Run Derby. He has won countless other awards and honors over his illustrious career, too many to list.

Cal's #8 was retired by the O's in 2001 and he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007, his first year of eligibility. Thanks for everything Cal!

I have to plug my HOF week contest. Some of you have been earning a bunch of bonus entries. I won't comment on how you can earn them, but there are some clues in previous posts.

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Brooks Robinson

 

The "Human Vacuum Cleaner" might be the most iconic Oriole in the team's 57 year history. Brooks is regarded as one of the best third-baseman ever to play the game, as his 16 consecutive Gold Gloves attest.  He played with only the O's over his 23 season MLB career from 1955-77 and is absolutely beloved around the city of Baltimore. It's pretty common to run into people who were named in honor of him around the city. I've had the chance to meet Brooks a few times over the years and the man will sign anything and everything for anyone. His autograph has to be one of the cheapest HOF signatures to find because he has signed so many items over the years. I got this card signed, along with a few others, years ago when Brooks appeared at a local car dealership. I was still a kid and it was pretty awesome to have a few minutes of one-on-one time with a Hall of Famer.

Brooks received many honors and accolades over his outstanding career, highlighted by winning the 1964 MVP award and being a key part of the 1966 & 1970 Orioles World Series Championships. He was also a 15 time All-Star (in consecutive seasons from 1960-74), and received MVP votes in 11 additional seasons, including four top five finishes.

Brooks was elected into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1983. His number 5 was retired by the Orioles at the end of his final season. He is currently part of a Minor League baseball investment group that owns four teams in the Independent Atlantic League. My "local" Atlantic League team is the York Revolution, one of those teams, and the plaza outside the stadium is named in his honor.

Before wrapping up this post, I wanted to make sure to remind everyone about my contest. It ends on Sunday, and some people have already been earning bonus entries, so check my past few posts to see how you can too! Remember to stay involved. Good luck everyone!

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- EDDIE

HOF week (don't forget to enter the contest) rolls on with one of the greatest switch-hitters of all-time, Eddie Murray.

Eddie played in the Major Leagues for 21 seasons from 1977-97, and is best remembered for the twelve seasons he spent with the O's at the start of his career. Over that time, Eddie was one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball. He won the 1977 AL ROY, was voted into eight All-Star games, received MVP votes for nine seasons, and won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards during his career, the majority of those honors coming between 1977-86. While not the worst trade in Orioles history, when the Orioles sent Eddie to the Dodgers in 1988 for Juan Bell, Brian Holton and Ken Howell, it was probably the worst trade in O's history at that time. Frankly put, Eddie's bag of bats would've been a fairer trade for those three.

Later in his career, Eddie reached the 3000 hit and 500 HR plateaus, and appropriately hit his 500th HR during his second stint with the Orioles in 1996. He is one of only four players to ever reach both of those magical numbers, the others being Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Rafael Palmeiro. Eddie was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. I took this picture of his plaque on my trip to Cooperstown with Kalina during our Cooperstown-Niagara Falls-Toronto road trip in 2009.

I will always remember the EDDIE-EDDIE-EDDIE chants echoing through Memorial Stadium and later Camden Yards.

Contest Entries- Final Update

Here's what I have so far, including the number of entries for everyone. If you said you will plug the contest on your blog, but haven't done it yet, I will add your extra entry once you've done it, just copy the link in a comment.


Check it over to make sure it's correct.

BA Benny x11
dawgbones x35
JNP624 x1
The Dimwit x2
Hackenbush x4
randombaseballstuff.com x11
Dustin x13
Matthew x14
TheAngelsInOrder x3
AlbuqwirkE x2
Alvin x2
Mark A. x3
Play at the Plate x3
zman40 x16
Greg Zakwin x21
cubsfan731 x9
Cuby x3
CPD x2
Matt H x2
Nathan x2
TheBrooklynMet x3
night owl x13
dodgerbobble x2
Aaron x4
Carl Crawford Cards x3
IkesCards x2
Derek x2
Eric L x2
Collective Troll x3
Photos and Graphs x2
Fuji x4
William x3
Mariner1 x3
unclemoe x13
AdamE x2
Jonathan @ RGB Cards x2
Drew x2
Matt Pederson x2
pete27
JoesAutographs
Mark x2
Chris Mays x3
Offy x2
Beardy x2
Johngy x2
Baseball Nut x2

If you don't know what any of this is about, check out my post from yesterday.
You can win this card (I scanned mine last night, so this is the actual card you can win), and a bunch of other cards of your favorite team.

Good luck everyone!

Orioles Hall of Fame Week- Earl Weaver & Contest Info

Over the past 22 months, this blog has featured thousands of autographs depicting hundreds of past, present, and possibly future Orioles players. I've mostly scanned autographs as I've obtained them, so you might have seen a bunch of obscure players, some whose careers lasted only a single game. Partially due to laziness, and partially because scanning hundreds of cards takes up a lot of time, many of the autographs that have been in my collection for many years remained in my binders, unscanned and unacknowledged. Well, that's about to change. Two weeks ago, I finally scanned the rest of the cards in my collection. So to celebrate, this week I'm focusing on all of the former Orioles who are in the Hall of Fame.

Embarrassingly, here's the break-down of how poorly I've shared my autographs of the nine modern-day Orioles who are in the Hall of Fame and the number of autographs I've shared on the site. 

Jim Palmer- 3
Hoyt Wilhelm- 2
Luis Aparicio, George Kell- 1 each
Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver- 0 (!)

Pitiful.

 

I've decided to start the week off by showing off my Earl Weaver autographs. The "Earl of Baltimore" is the only modern era Oriole to be elected to the Hall of Fame without ever having played in a Major League game. He managed the Orioles for 17 years, from 1968-82 & 1985-86, winning four AL pennants & the 1970 World Series. His managerial approach focused on pitching, defense and three-run home runs but he is probably best remembered for his explosive arguments with umpires. Footage from some of his blow-ups are still regularly played on baseball blooper shows.

 

I obtained this autograph at a card show signing when I was a kid. Unfortunately, I don't remember meeting or speaking with Earl, but I was probably too young to have had much to say. I certainly didn't know enough to talk baseball strategy back then. 

Many of you probably want to know about the contest I mentioned in the title of the post. Well, it's really easy to enter. If you comment on this post, you get an entry. If you are a follower and comment on this post, you get a second entry. If you have your own blog and spread the word about my contest, you get another entry, just share the link in the comments below. There is also a bonus way to earn entries, but I'm not going to say what it is. (Hint- Participate throughout the week.)

The winner will get this Earl Weaver autograph and a stack of cards from the team of their choice. 

Disclaimer- the picture below is borrowed from ebay, but I have a copy of the card. It's a 2005 Topps Chrome Uncirculated Autograph. Good luck everyone!

Contest at Maddux, Glavine & Smoltz

You can win Curt Flood's biography and some cards!
Check it out!

A Case of the Sundays- Jay Gibbons

This card, along with the Geronimo Gil autograph that led the way for the "A Case of the Sundays" feature, was really the inspiration for my highlighting cards and/or autographs and/or players that I don't particularly like. This one fits all three categories.

Even before all the steroid confirmations allegations that led to Gibbons being unceremoniously dumped from the O's during Spring Training in 2008 (even though they still owed him $12 million), I never really liked him. He was one of the O's "better" players for a few seasons, but I felt like he NEVER came through in the clutch. I would rather have had Keith Osik and his .080 batting average at the plate down a run with two outs in the ninth than Gibbons. He just always seemed to let me down.

Now I won't share the nickname I had for him, because it's not very nice, but some of you might know it or be able to figure it out. The one thing I will always remember about Jay is how he managed to hit his wife with a foul ball during a game in 2006. That takes skills.

And this card, oh this card. Not to mention the autograph. One word really sums them up. Absolute crap. OK, that's two words, but it's accurate. You've got your blatant sticker autograph that doesn't fit in the with the card at all, and an autograph that isn't much more than two brief squiggles. If you held a gun to my head, I might admit that I see a J, a G, and some sort of i in there. Awful.


In other news- I have something big planned for the coming week. It's something that is long overdue. Check back tomorrow!

Random Saturday Autograph- Mike Figga

Mike played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues with the Yankees and Orioles from 1997-99. He was with the Yanks for all three of his big league seasons before being selected off waivers and wrapping up his time in the Majors with the '99 O's. Strangely enough, Mike appeared in 46 games over those three MLB seasons, but only 5 of those appearances came with the Yankees. Talk about riding the pine. It worked out alright for him though; the single game he played in for the '98 Yankees earned him a World Series ring.

After his MLB time was up, Mike bounced around for five more seasons, spending parts of that time in the minor leagues systems of five organizations, three different independent leagues, and the Mexican League. Bad knees finally forced him to retire early in 2004, and he now spends his time coaching Little League teams in Tampa, FL. I bet his World Series ring is a hit with the kids, even if he didn't do much to earn it.