Oriole #980 Andrew Miller, and #981 Cord Phelps

Well, what happened there? After posting pretty regularly for most of the year, this is my first post in nearly a month. And honestly, I don't expect things to get much less busy in my life as my wife and I are expecting our first child, a baby boy, in just under a month. So I will post when I can, but they will be few and far between.
It's kind of funny timing for me to slow down posting considering the Orioles have been playing so well. Most of the years I've been writing posts about the O's in August/September, the team was so out of contention it wasn't even funny. Now that they are in firm control of the AL East, I'm nearly non-existent. But, at least for now, I have been able to continue to watch most of their games, and it's certainly been a fun season to this point!

Also, strangely enough, I've actually been spending more time working with my cards lately as I continue to attempt to organize and pare down my collection in preparation for our little guy. But I'm sure that will come to a screeching halt soon enough too!

Anyway, today's post is highlighting the two players who have made their Orioles debuts since my last post.

First up is lefty relief pitcher Andrew Miller, who the O's acquired at the trade deadline from the Red Sox in exchange for pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez. Miller was widely regarded as the top left-handed reliever available and the Birds did what they needed to do to make the deal happen.

I just pulled the trigger on a certified copy of his autograph on COMC, and it should arrive any day.

Since Miller was a former first-round pick by the Tigers, I was surprised the be able to pick up an autographed swatch card of his numbered of just 99 of his for a few dollars. His career as a starter never really took off but he has certainly found his niche as a reliever. He will likely only be an Oriole through the end of this season, and I've heard talk about his possibly sliding into the closer role for a team in 2015.

Not too surprisingly if you know him, my dad had this Old Man Card made the day after Miller's Orioles debut on August 1st and was trying to get it signed for me the very next day. I always really appreciate his help, and I hope to get this card signed soon enough, if I can find the time!

The next Orioles debut occurred on August 16th as Cord Phelps became the 881st player to appear in a game for the team. Luckily, Cord was with the team in Spring Training and I was ready for his debut! I briefly wrote about him in this post following my Florida trip, saying at the time that I had "an inkling that Cord Phelps might be the 2014 version of Russ Canzler, knocking on the big league door but never quite cracking the club." Looks like I wasn't right on that one!

Cord has previously played in some games for the Indians between 2011-13 so he isn't completely new to the big league scene. It seems like he is in a pinch-hitting defensive replacement role for the Birds and has only appeared in two games so far, but he is officially an Oriole!

I have a few extra of Cord's autograph, all obtained in-person, if anyone needs one for their collection. I actually just got his 2014 Tides card signed on my trip to Norfolk, not long before he was called up to Baltimore.

Spring Training Autographs- Old Man Cards

I've said it before, and I know that I'll say it again, but I really appreciate the time and effort that my dad puts in to create his awesome Old Man Cards. I know that he enjoys doing it, but it's quite a time-consuming process and it makes having these signed cards in my collection mean that much more to me. Thanks dad!

Today, I'm going to start with a player who will almost certainly never appear in a game for the Orioles after he didn't make the 25 man roster out of Spring Training and opted out of his contract. For all the stories, I have heard about Alfredo Aceves over the years, I had no idea what to expect from him on the autograph front. Turns out that he was about the most approachable player I've dealt with on the O's in Spring Training, short of Pat Neshek, but he's nearly incomparable in his fan friendliness. 

Alfredo pulled out of the player lot one day, and parked on the side of the street, and got out of his car to sign autographs. Neshek was the only other player I've ever seen do that. And when I thanked Alfredo for signing, he said thank you for giving me the opportunity to do it. Pretty awesome. So I'm sad that things didn't work out for him and the O's, but I will definitely remain a fan of his after our interaction in Sarasota. If only more players acted that way, at least from time to time!

You might recognize some of these other OMCs, as I had many of these personalized in addition to these unpersonalized versions. But you might notice some subtle differences in the design, as my dad stepped up his game and added the year and some other bells and whistles on some of the cards.

There is a dated version...

And another with the year kind of highlighted. 

I just now realized that Ivan and Eddie kind of look like each other.

With Johnny Monell, he even did a few versions of his cards.

I was anticipating that Suk-Min might sign in Korean, and while I'm not exactly sure what he signature says, I believe it is his last name and number.

Thanks again for your help Dad! I look forward to our yearly Spring Training trips!

Spring Training Autos Ready to Join the Collection

Today's focus is on the autographs that I got on my Spring Training trip that are ready to plug into my collection if and when these players debut for the Orioles this season. I've tried to list them in the order of likelihood that they end up in Baltimore at some point, starting from the most likely down to the least. 

I have a pretty good feeling that Evan Meek will be on the 25 man roster that breaks camp. Looks like Evan agrees with me. 

If Meek isn't the last member of the bullpen that breaks camp, then I'm pretty sure it will be Alfredo, who is out of options while Meeks isn't, but Meeks has pitched better. This one should be interesting. 

I'm pretty sure that Brock was merely a victim of the roster crunch, and that he impressed Buck enough to eventually make it to Baltimore this year. 

Almanzar is an interesting case since he is a Rule V pick from the Red Sox, if that wasn't the case, he would be much further down this list. He is currently injured, which seems to even further muddy the waters on this, so really only time will tell. I am pretty sure that the O's would like to keep him in the system if it's a possibility.

 

The O's seem to be intrigued by Berry's speed and could certainly use a pinch-running stolen base threat, so he will likely make an appearance at some point.

Eddie and his knuckleball was likely another victim of the roster crunch, but he also seems to have impressed Buck this spring. And I know that the creator of these awesome Old Man Cards is certainly in his corner! (My dad has run into Eddie's dad each spring the past three years, and they seem to have hit it off.)

We have officially entered crapshoot territory, I'm not really sure about the chances of any of the rest of these guys. Depending on injuries with the big league club and their performance, anything is possible. 

Ivan seemed to battle some small injuries this spring and struggled to make his way into games. Who knows?

I'm pretty sure that Tim will play for the Orioles someday in the future, but I'm not convinced it will be during the 2014 season. 

I really don't know what to make of Xavier's chances; he played in the late innings of a lot of games, but I don't know what he brings to the table that some of these others do not.

Chris was injured for a vast majority of the spring and never made it into a big league game. If he can stay healthy and put up a strong season, it's possible he could make it to Baltimore.

I have an inkling that Cord Phelps might be the 2014 version of Russ Canzler, knocking on the big league door but never quite cracking the club. 

Johnny Monell is currently in DFA(designated for assignment) limbo after being taken off the 40 man roster to make room for David Adams. He lost the spring back-up catcher competition to Steve Clevenger and would likely stay at Norfolk if he stays in the system.

 Fabio spent a good chunk of the Spring at big league camp, but worked mainly in mop-up type duty. I would be surprised to see him in Baltimore. Side note- I got to use my rudimentary Spanish skills to ask Fabio to personalize this card for me.

Jonah has a good shot to play in Baltimore down the road, but is probably a few years away at this point.