Oriole #658- Chuck McElroy

Today's focus is on Chuck McElroy, whom I had written about way back in 2009, but I recently upgraded his autograph in my collection to this awesome personalized Old Man Card that I was able to get autographed through a private signing on SCN. 

Pretty much all of the information about Chuck is the same as in the original post that I wrote, except this time around I also want to mention that his Orioles debut came on April 5, 2000 and he was the 658th player to appear in a game for the Orioles.

That's about all I have to add for now, but as always, I like to give my dad a shoutout for producing these awesome Orioles cards for me to get signed. Thanks old man!

A Bunch of Recent Upgrades

Over the past few months, I've had luck upgrading some of the autographs in my collection. A few were obtained TTM, others were had via trade, while I had to shell out a few bucks for some others. But I have at least written briefly about all of them in the past, so I'll try to keep the write-ups short.

I'll lead off with the man with the bad attitude, Albert Belle (Oriole #636). This certified autograph replaces an "Orioles" card that pictured him in a White Sox uniform, something that I could never quite get past, especially considering the number of certified 'graphs that showed Big Al in a legitimate Orioles uniform.

This Lenny Webster (Oriole #600) card came to me via a trade on Sportcollectors.net and replaced a signed Orioles postcard. Lenny had been on my need list for way too long and I was thrilled to knock off his name.

Dick Brown had also been in line for an upgrade for quite some time before I came across this awesome Orioles postcard. This replaced a cut 3x5 autograph in my collection and while Dick technically has a Topps Orioles card, it doesn't picture him in an Orioles uniform, so I feel like this postcard is as good as it will get for him.

This is the third Juan Guzman (Oriole #627) autograph that has trickled through my collection, and this one is here to stay.

Shawn Boskie (Oriole #603) was kind enough to add a very unique inscription to this signed Orioles postcard. This is definitely better suited for my collection than an Angels card.

Here is another Orioles postcard upgrade, this of the spectacled Chuck McElroy (Oriole #658), which interestingly also knocks a signed Angels card from my collection.

This Keith Moreland (Oriole #474) Crown card knocks out a Cubs card that I obtained from the 2010 National from my collection.

Chuck Diering (Oriole #12) sent me one of the more interesting TTM returns I've ever received when he added his signed business card to my request. This personalized autograph replaces an unpersonalized Crown in my collection. 

He also answered the question in my letter about his favorite Orioles memory, and it turns out he was the team's MVP during their inaugural 1954 season. 

This personalized Joe Durham (Oriole #37) card is going to stay in my collection along with the 1958 Topps card he had signed for me at an Orioles alumni signing a few years back.
 

I'm confident that this Dave Skaggs (Oriole #326) autograph is legit, unlike the one that was previously a part of my collection.

And finally, this Dave Van Gorder (Oriole #429) Red Wings card is about a 50% upgrade over the signed Reds card that it is replacing. I hope to one day finally have Van Gorder sign an Orioles Crown card for me, but I haven't had any luck so far.

Meghan comes through in the clutch!

My friend, Meghan, who is a reader of the blog and all-around nice person, recently surprised me with an autograph I needed. One Mr. Chuck McElroy, who, as the person who sponsors his Baseball Reference page so eloquently puts it, "sure knew how to wear a pair of glasses."

Chuck McElroy 2000-01

Chuck pitched in 654 Major League games over 13 seasons, but only started 7. That means that he was the starter in just over 1% of his apprearances. Why am I focusing on this stat? Because Chuck started those 7 games for the Orioles during the 2000-01 seasons. Here is a guy that had pitched in over 550 games in 11 seasons before he came to the Birds and he gets there and someone in the brain trust of the front office was like "this career reliever should start for us." Now I understand that it was likely slim pickins on those dismal early 00's teams but c'mon now. But hey, it wasn't all bad, he did go 3-1 in those starts.

Chuck came to O's from the Mets in the '99 offseason for Jesse Orosco. He is currently volunteering his time for Cal Ripken baseball camps.