Oriole #1025- Welington Castillo

Welcome to the 2017 Orioles baseball season, starting only four days late here at the Great Orioles Autograph Project; which let's face it, is pretty timely for me these days.

This year's Opening Day roster includes four new faces to the Orioles. (In addition to one that I still am trying to track down from last year, since a Wade Miley Orioles autograph has continued to elude me since he was traded to the O's last August.) The new members to the 2017 Baltimore Orioles 25 man Opening Day roster are C Welington Castillo, OF Seth Smith, OF Craig Gentry, and LHP Vidal Nuno. Three of those guys made their Orioles debuts on Opening Day, and I'm guessing that you can figure out who this post is about by the little clue up there at the top.

Let me just get this out of the way first. Matt Wieters, the former top prospect, my favorite player, and the O's regular catcher for most of the past eight seasons is no longer on the team. That's a tough thing for a fan to deal with, but the writing had been on the wall. I was shocked that he was back in 2016, as he became one of the first ever free agents to accept a qualifying offer from his former team. It was nearly a foregone conclusion that he wouldn't be back after the O's did not extend another offer after the 2016 season.

Unfortunately, he never attained the level of success that the Orioles or their fans had hoped for; I mean this guy was the top prospect in all of baseball at one point and some people were ready to anoint his as a Hall of Famer in waiting before his MLB debut. I admit, I overvalued him early on, but I was not alone. I will miss him being on the Orioles, especially since he's now playing for the somewhat-rival Natinals, but I enjoyed rooting for him for a long time. Now I just need to figure out who my new favorite Oriole will be!

So anyway, no pressure on Welington Castillo from me or anything...he's only replacing the guy who had been my favorite player for about a decade. But realistically, he very well might be an offensive and defensive upgrade over Wieters, and anything that makes the Orioles better is a good thing for all of us. The Orioles signed Castillo to a one year deal with an option on December 16th after the Diamondbacks surprisingly released him.

As another year begins, my dad once again came through with his Old Man Cards (OMCs) to help ensure that I can have signed Orioles cards of any possible player for my collection. He really enjoys making them, and I really appreciate his help. In addition to making this card, he actually got it signed for me too, since Welington was with the Dominican World Baseball Classic team for the duration of my time in Sarasota this year. It must be nice to be semi-retired and be able to spend a month down there, hopefully I can live that life in another 30 years! But I won't complain about a short (mostly yearly) trip to balmy Florida!

Welington has played in both of the Orioles games so far, and is 3-7 at the plate and has looked solid behind it as well. He seems to have really meshed with the pitching staff, especially considering that he spent a large chunk of Spring Training away from the O's pitchers.

One interesting item that I came across while researching this post is that in 2015 Welington had been  traded from the Mariners to the D'Backs for two other current Orioles, Mark Trumbo and Vidal Nuno. And now they all play in Baltimore together. Baseball is funny like that sometimes.

Oriole #987- Travis Snider

Thanks to my dad's Old Man Cards, his trip to spring training, and the time he spent getting autographs, I have signed Orioles cards of the five new players on the 25 man Opening Day Roster. 

Only one of those five made their Orioles debut yesterday, and what a debut it was, Travis Snider, have yourself a day! (Everth Cabrera, Jason Garcia, Ryan Lavarnway, & Wesley Wright's Orioles debuts are pending, and will all likely occur in the next few days. Be on the lookout for up to five posts here, in a week! I know, I know, I'll believe it when I see it too.)

Travis Snider had one of the best Orioles debuts in recent memory as he went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI, threw out a runner at the plate and made a great diving catch in left field. (Nick who?!? Just kidding, I miss Markakis like we all do, but if Snider keeps this up, he will certainly be an upgrade.) He did get thrown out easily try to stretch his only single into a double, but after the way he contributed overall, I'm not worried about that blip today.

The Orioles easily beat the Rays 6-2, behind a strong start from Chris Tillman and overall solid defensive play, and run support wasn't an issue as Stevie P, Ale Alejandro, and Flash all homered. What a great start to the 2015 season, now let's win another 99 or so games.

Because Snider was impressed by my dad's card making ability, he kindly signed all three OMCs at one game for him. So these two can be had in a trade if you are interested.

As always, thanks Old Man, and let's go O's!

Who Will Be the First Player To Make Their Orioles Debut in 2012?

One thing that we all know is that some players will make their Orioles debut during the 2012 season, but what he don't know is who will be the first. My assumption, which generally has been proven true in past seasons, is that multiple players will make their Orioles debut on Opening Day. And if multiple players debut in the same half inning, I use the position numbering system (pitcher- 1 through right fielder-9) to break any ties.

I don't believe that the Opening Day starter will be Wei-Yin Chen, Dana Eveland, Jason Hammel, or Tsuyoshi Wada, although Chen and Hammel are remote possibilities.

I'm confident that Matt Wieters will be behind the plate on Opening Day, but, God forbid, he tweaks something in Spring Training, Taylor Teagarden is the most likely guy to fill-in as the backstop.

Looking around the infield, Wilson Betemit is a lock to get regular playing time, but his position is up in the air; he could play first or third, DH, or pop up somewhere else on the field. He's definitely on the O.D. roster though.

Nick Johnson is a wild card, but will likely make the team if healthy. Ryan Flaherty and Matt Antonelli seem to be in direct competition with one another for the utility infield spot, with Flaherty having the edge since he's a Rule 5 guy that would have to be returned to the Cubs if he drops off the 25 man roster. Even if either of them make the team, it seems unlikely they would start on Opening Day. 

My money is on Endy Chavez to be the fourth outfielder, and I think that's a safe bet, but again, it's unlikely he would start the first game of the year. Jai Miller and Steve Tolleson are in the discussion too, but likely only can make the team if someone gets hurt.

If no position players make their debut on Opening Day, which is a possibility, then a relief pitcher very well could be the first O's debut of the season. I have no idea how Buck will use the guys out of the 'pen this year but I know that Luis Ayala and Matt Lindstrom are both near locks to make the team. Darren O'Day, Pat Neshek, and Armando Galarraga are also posibilities to break camp with the Birds.

 

 My guess is that Wilson Betemit is the first new player to debut for the Orioles at Camden Yards on April 6. Think I'm wrong? Who do you think will become Oriole #911?

The Home "O"pener

Happy "O"pening Day!

I know that yesterday was technically MLB's Opening Day but the O's first game is tonight, so I've decided that today is my "O"fficial "O"pening "O"bservance. "O"K I'll stop.

Anyway, Jimmy Key is the autograph of the day since he was the Orioles' Opening Day starter in 1997, the last season the O's made the playoffs and had a winning record. Maybe by showing his card today, some of that '97 Orioles Magic will rub off on the 2011 squad.

What's that? You say that my blog has nothing to do with the Orioles on the field performance? Well then, good day to you sir. I say good day!


(For the 2-3 of you that might have noticed or care that I'm skipping Unpossible Autograph Friday, it just seems like too much of a downer to write about a deceased player on the day of the first O's game of the season. It'll be back next week)