Graphing at Minor League Camp is Hard Without a Roster

One of the first mornings on my Spring Training trip was spent at the Orioles Minor League Spring Training complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota. I spent a vast majority of the morning watching large groups of players walk past me, without asking hardly any to stop and sign. Why is that, might you ask? Well, there was a clue in the title of the post. 

You see, I didn't have a minor league roster as it hadn't been released yet, and I was left looking at players with only number of their backs pass by me. There were a select few that I could recognize, but not nearly as many as in past years when I had the time to attend more minor league games to get an idea of what the guys looked like. 

Luckily, I was able to pick out most of the coaches and instructors that were around, so was able to get some autographs out of the experience. 

Long time MLB infielder Dave Anderson returned to the Orioles organization this year after a one year absence. As far as I can recall, he is once again serving as the Orioles minor league infield coordinator.

Brian Graham has been the Orioles Director of Player Development for the past four seasons and is an ever present site around Twin Lakes.

Former MLB catcher Don Werner has been the Orioles minor league catching instructor for most of the past decade. He recently battled cancer and came out on top so it's great to see him looking strong once again.

 Another long-time MLB player, Dave Schmidt pitched in the major leagues for 12 years. He has been the O's minor league pitching coordinator for as long as I can recall and is always a good signer.

Ryan Minor is the nicest guy you will come across, and seems to always have time for the fans, signing autographs, asking how they are doing, or just generally being and all around good guy. 

 

Luckily, I read something before my trip about Hee Seop Choi being around the Orioles minor league camp as part of some sort of Korean baseball coaching exchange program. I don't really know any details about it, but Hee Seop was there, and kindly signed my cards.


As I mentioned at the top, there were a few players that I recognized in addition to the coaches. So at least I got some active player autographs as well.

Michael has been in and out of the Orioles organization over the past 2-3 seasons so he was a familiar face.

Josh Hart was another guy who I have seen play enough to have picked him out of the crowd.

Cory Jones was actually the only guy who I "allowed" my dad to ask who he was since he was walking alone and not in much of a hurry. Honestly, I probably could have gotten another 10-15 autographs by asking players who they were, but it's not my thing. I take pride in my facial recognition skills!

Quincy was a big part of the 2015 Baysox Championship team so I picked him out too.

Adrian was a third round pick a couple years back so I have seen enough cards of him to pick him out.

I got lucky with Tucker and just happened to be flipping past his card as he walked past me. 

D.J. is a very distinctive looking guy. I had never seen him play but I described his look to another fan as being built like a bull. He's listed at 6 feet tall, 230 pounds. I heard some horror stories between him and the fans in the past, but he was nice enough to me.

Orioles Coaches Collection

At times, I almost forget that I am still trying to add a few Orioles' coaches autographs to wrap up my managers & coaches collection. That mini-collection has never been a top priority for me, but I have been able to acquire signatures of all of the managers in O's history, as well as all of the coaches but two. I'm still also looking for a few upgrades as well.  Here is my need list as things currently stand and what I'm looking for:
Carlos Bernhardt- Any autograph
Minnie Mendoza- 1981 Miami Orioles, 1988 French Bray
Tom Oliver- 1954 Topps coach card
Ralph Rowe- 1984 Orioles postcard
Ray Scarborough- Any autograph

The various autographs in my coaches collection really run the gambit visually, much more than my Orioles player collection which is probably 90% cards, and as many Orioles cards as possible. However, it's pretty rare that coaches are included on cards, so I will gladly snag anything that's signed.

I would say about 50% of my coaches collection features autographs on team postcards, which is typically the only item produced of the coaches that picture them in an Orioles uniform.

A few index cards reside in my collection as well, but notice these are mostly guys that I am on the lookout to upgrade.

Jimmie Adair

Minnie Mendoza

 Tom Oliver

Ralph Rowe

There are also a few random major release sets that included coaches, but that largely seems to be a thing of the past.

While some others were featured on cards in an oddball release over the years. These are both French Bray cards from two different years.

Some of the guys were also coaches in the Orioles minor league system, so I have signed cards of them from the team sets issued by the various minor league affiliates.

To be continued...

Orioles Spring Training Autographs- GM, Manager, Coaches, Instructors...

I'm continuing to plow through the Spring Training Autographs I got on my trip a couple weeks ago. I'm nearing the end of them, but have a few more long-ish posts before it's all over. Try to stick with me.


My dad and I saw Dan Duquette sitting in the stands at both games we attended and my dad went over and got me his autograph. I don't particularly collect the autographs of GM's but when it's that easy, I can't say no.

Buck signed for the fans after the first game we attended and I happily upgraded his autograph in my collection to include my preferred personalization. 

I also added Rick Peterson's autograph(s) for my coaches collection, although I'm not sure what his exact title is, I know he is working with pitchers on their mechanics. 

Up next are a few current minor league coaches & instructors who have coached at the MLB level at some point over the years.

Don Werner briefly filled in as one of the many bullpen coaches last season. He made a funny comment about the inset photo in this card making it look like he had a mustache, something he claims to have never had in his life. 

Gary Allenson was the third base coach fill-in late in the 2010 season after Juan Samuel left the organization. 

Brian Graham currently runs all of the O's minor league operations. He briefly was a Major League coach during the 2000 season. He made a funny comment about my old school card, and I don't think he sees too many of these anymore. 

Up next are a few former Orioles players who are currently coaches or instructors. Neither seemed to particularly be in the mood to sign but stopped nonetheless. 

 And a few guys who never played for the Orioles...

Ron Johnson is the new Tides manager and looked shocked when I asked him to sign. His cards are few and far between and he seemed genuinely pleased be asked to sign.

I don't know what Jesus's current title is but he's been around the organization for years. Both of these cards are at least five years old.

And, finally, Milt May is some sort of Spring Training instructor at the minor league camp. I saw him there last year but didn't have any of his cards, so I made up for it by getting these three gems signed this time.