Oriole #732- Javy Lopez

Javy Lopez played with the Orioles from 2004-06, near the end of his fifteen season MLB career. He is best known for the twelve seasons he spent with the Braves from 1992-2003, during which time he was a key member of their perennially contending roster. During his time in Atlanta, he was a member of their 1995 World Series Championship team and was selected to three All-Star teams (1997-98, 2003). He was also behind the plate for Kent Mercker's no-hitter on April 8, 1994.

2003 was the best season of his career as he mashed 43 home runs, and had an OPS of 1.065 which is pretty insane for a catcher. His 43 homers are an MLB most all-time by a catcher during a single season. He was fifth in the N.L. MVP voting and earned himself a Silver Slugger award for his efforts.

Javy debuted for the Orioles on Opening Day 2004, April 4th, and his time in Baltimore started pretty well when he smashed 23 homers over that season. Now that was obviously well down from the 43 he hit the previous season but still solid for a catcher. Unfortunately, he declined in 2005 and even more so in 2006 and the O's flipped him to the Red Sox in August 2006 for Adam Stern and cash. It was a fairly precipitous fall for Javy.


Before I end the post, I want to comment on Javy's autograph. While I'm quite sure that my Orioles card up top is authentic even though I purchased it online, it is a pretty crappy signature. On top of the overall chicken-scratchedness of it, is the fact that his gigantic J is smudged. Overall, I like the card and I'm happy to have it signed but check out this example I have of his autograph near the start of his career. 

Can you say upgrade? Or downgrade if you're talking about my O's card.

It's Derby Time & Contest Info

I've always been a fan of the HR Derby even though I know that it can get a little silly or out-of-hand at times. I could certainly live without Chris Berman and his back-back-back shenanigans, but I've faithfully watched the event over the years. It also marks a yearly get together with me and some friends who enjoy betting on and arguing about who will hit the most homers. I'm almost never right, but always have fun anyway.

Tonight's Derby prompted me to look into the Orioles' players with the most career home runs (Cal, 431, mainly because he played for so many years in Birdland) and the highest slugging percentage (SLG). 

Eric Davis surprisingly has the highest SLG (.567) for any O's player with over 100 at-bats, which is pretty amazing since Eric's 1997-98 seasons in Baltimore were during and shortly after his battle with colon cancer. I can't imagine hitting home runs in the Major Leagues, let alone after having gone through such a traumatic time, but Eric proved that it can be done. 

The Oriole with the highest all-time SLG is Les "Buster" Narum who homered in his only O's AB, which is good for a 4.000 slugging percentage. He was the only player to homer in his first Orioles at-bat until Lou Montanez repeated the feat in 2008. Not too shabby, Buster. 

Interestingly, over Buster's 117 at-bats with the Washington Senators after that one with the O's, he had six more hits; two of those were homers, so almost half of his career hits left the ballpark. That's pretty amazing for a .059 lifetime hitter.

I think that most of you missed my post on Saturday, because not many of you have entered my contest to win this Adam Jones bobblehead. Either that, or you don't want an AJ bobble. The few of you that are in so far have some pretty awesome odds to win, so good luck to you!

If you haven't entered yet, click that link or scroll down to see Saturday's post. The contest is really easy to enter, and could be very easy to win too.

VLAD!

 

Always the source for your breaking Orioles news, I'm happy to say that the O's signed Vladimir Guerrero to a one year deal last Friday. And I couldn't be more excited; well, maybe if it had happened the first time they tried to sign him back in 2004, but I'm still really jacked up about this move. I literally freaked out when I heard about it. I can't wait to get my Vladdy jersey.

Vlad has long been one of my favorite non-Orioles. I had the pleasure of watching him tear up the AA Eastern League with the Harrisburg Senators back in 1996 and he signed the cards in this post for me at games over the course of that season. My dad tried to dig up a picture of me and Vlad, but he doesn't think we still have them, if we ever did. One thing I still remember is trying to speak with him using some of my middle-school level Spanish since he didn't really speak any English back then. I don't think I made much sense, but I recall that he seemed to appreciate my attempt.

As you might have noticed or already known, I've had Vladdy's name on the left hand sidebar of the site under the "Who We Collect" tab for some time now. I've never made a concentrated effort to collect his cards, but will happily trade for some if anyone has some that they are looking to get rid of.

The addition of Vlad really makes the 2011 Orioles lineup look formidable on paper. Not only will I love watching him hit, and occasionally unload his cannon from the outfield in the few games he might play out there, but he might be the one to push the team over the .500 mark this season for the first time in 13 seasons. I'm a relatively realistic fan, if not slightly too optimistic, so I'm not predicting playoffs, but I think the team can at least go 82-80 this year.

  

I traded with Josh over at Dodgerbobble to add this cool Angels Silver Slugger bobblehead of Vlad. The pinetar on the helmet is the best part and very accurate.


Whether or not Vlad is the one to push the franchise over the perennial losers hump, I know that I will enjoy seeing a former Oriole-killer in the lineup. In 2009, Vlad literally got a base hit against the O's on a ball that bounced in the dirt before reaching home plate. Literally. He's on pace to be the best bad ball hitter in Orioles history and hasn't even suited up for a game yet. Now if the Birds can add Pujols in 2012...

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- 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.

Andy Van Slyke Private Signing

Recently, a fellow autograph collector on Sportscollectors.net hosted a signing with Andy at a golf tournament and I was very happy to knock him off of my need list. If you're an autograph collector and you've never checked out SCN, you are missing out. They don't pay me anything to say this, but it's my favorite site for researching TTM information, trading with fellow collectors, and learning about private signings that are being held around the country. So click the link, and then come back to finish reading my post!

Anyway, Andy is only about a 1% TTM signer and never returned the request I sent him in April 2009, so I don't think that one will ever come back. At the time I sent it, Andy was in his fourth season as the Detroit Tigers first base coach. I also tried to get his autograph when the Tigers were in Baltimore for a series during that season, but even though Andy was standing next to the left field wall at one point during batting practice, he didn't sign for me, or anyone else. 

I was a big fan of the Pirates growing up, which I know isn't very common for older O's fans who experienced the Orioles heart-breaking World Series losses to the Bucs in 1971 & '77, but that was before my time, and since Sid Bream was from my hometown of Carlisle, PA, I was a Pirates fan back then.  Besides Sid, Andy was one of my favorite players on the the team and I still have a cracked bat of Andy's that I bought at a Pittsburgh collectors store back in the day.

Andy played in the Major Leagues for 13 season with the Cardinals, Pirates, Orioles & Phillies and is best remembered for his 1988-93 seasons during which Andy was a three time All-Star, five time Gold Glove winner, three time MVP vote getter, and two time Silver Slugger. He also had one of the most powerful arms in all of baseball, and supposedly could reach 100 mph from the mound during batting practice. 

His time in Baltimore was very short; he only played in 17 games at the start of the '95 season before being traded to the Phillies, but he was a big enough star that there are four or five cards that depict him in a Orioles uniform. And now his autograph is a part of my collection, after all of those years, I'd say it's about time.