The Orioles' Mike Young

While sorting through some of my unposted autographs recently, it came to my attention that I have never shown off an autograph of former Oriole, Mike Young. That just didn't seem right to me as Mike seems to spend at least some of his time in the Baltimore area and I have seen him around Oriole Park a handful of times in recent seasons. 

So to rectify the lack of Mike Young information, today's post is all about him. 

Mike was the Orioles first round draft pick (11th overall) in the 1980 draft. He would go on to play parts of six seasons for the O's from 1982-1987 and the '85 season was far and away the best of his MLB career as he hit 28 homers with a .273 batting average. Overall, things never quite worked out for Mike with the organization that once had such high hopes for him.

He was traded to the Phillies during spring training in 1988 in return for Keith Hughes, Rick Schu, and Jeff Stone. He went on to also briefly play for the Brewers and Indians before wrapping up his playing career with one season in Japan.

As far as I know, he is currently operating a charity to encourage childhood fitness. Good luck with that, Mike! And here's to hoping that you continue to make some appearances around Camden Yards.

Orioles Coaches Collection Pt. 2 & Congrats to Bobby Dickerson

Around the time that I was writing the first part of my Orioles coaches email yesterday, the Orioles officially announced that they had hired a new third base coach for the 2013 season, Bobby Dickerson.

Luckily, I already had Bobby's autograph in my collection, as he had been a minor league instructor for the organization over the past few seasons. Even better is the fact that Bobby played in the organization back in the day, so this autograph is going to stay in my collection, with the likely addition of a team-issued Orioles postcard.


Moving on to wrap up the various signed coaches cards in my collection...In case you missed it, yesterday I profiled some of the types of signed items of Orioles coaches that are in my collection. Today, I'm showing off the rest.

Many of the men who have coached for the Orioles played at the MLB during their career and were thusly included in some major release sets for whichever teams they played with; this variety of autograph makes up a good 20-25% of my coaches collection.

 Some other coaches were MLB managers at some point along the way, and so signed copies of the cards that commemorated their assorted managerial stints reside in my collection.

While a couple other guys were at one point minor league managers or players and so signed versions of those cards fill their spots in my collection.

 I love pulling out a fairly rare card like this for a guy like Graham to sign. There aren't many of these going around and guys like Graham (who is currently some sort of O's minor league instructor) don't typically get many autograph requests.

If you're wondering why there are two cards from the AA Eastern League Harrisburg Senators, they are the team that was closest to my hometown of Carlisle, PA, so I've been to more than my share of Senators games.

I also have this Orioles signed team card of Stearns from during the time of his O's coaching stint. I never know how to feel about these team signed cards. They are obviously better than nothing, but I still prefer to see a picture of a person with my autographs. Which is why I'm such a fan of my dad's custom cards.


Finally, to finish off the collection, I present to you my autograph a man who was an Orioles coach in 1963, and also happens to be in the Hall of Fame for his on-field success during his playing career, Mr. Luke Appling.

I particularly like this autograph as it fits in both my Orioles coach collection, and my minuscule HOF postcard collection. Two birds with one stone is my kind of thing.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of my autographs of the men who have helped to shape the Orioles over the years.

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...

David Wells Won't Sign Orioles Cards

Nor cards picturing him with the Tigers, Reds, Yankees, White Sox, Padres, Red Sox, or Dodgers. He will only sign Blue Jays cards for some reason.

He spent time with all of those other teams during his 21 year MLB career (and I'm making the assumption that cards were produced picturing him with all of them), but he has some variety of long-standing policy against signing baseball cards that picture him with any team besides the Blue Jays. I have seen a few scattered autographed cards of him with the Tigers, Yankees, and Padres; apparently if you catch him in the right mood, he is willing to break his own rule, but 99% of the time it's Blue  Jays cards only. And this actually holds true for his paid signings as well. The man will turn down money from fans just because he only wants to sign Blue Jays cards.

Now, I know that Boomer seems like an interesting character, and that sure comes through on his TV appearances, but I have never heard a reason behind why he only signs Jays cards. Between his various TV appearances, a number of charity golf outings, and a paid signing here or there, he is accessible enough, but until he lifts this embargo, I'm stuck with having this signed Blue Jays card in my collection. Hopefully one day I will track down a signed copy of any one of his Orioles issues: 1996 Flair, Fleer Update, Ultra, Upper Deck Update, 1997 Fleer, Score, Topps.

But here's the strangest part of this whole deal to me; David will sign 8x10's that picture him as an Oriole.

I recently obtained this one and know that there are a few other examples for sale out there. So what gives? It doesn't seem to be a bias against the team, but maybe the card companies didn't properly compensate him except during his time in Toronto? That doesn't really add up to me, but there has to be some reasoning behind all of this, doesn't there?

Some Recent Upgrades

Thanks to Chris Potter's recent signings, I was able to upgrade a few of my autographs to my preferred personalized versions. I always enjoy my autographs more when they are personalized, because I then know they were signed just for me. That makes sense, right?

Both Frank Baker, and especially Drungo Hazewood, have been tough autographs to track down in the past, and it's great that Potter was able to work out signing deals with both of them.

I can now replace the signed version of this card that I purchased a few years back that made me (rather irrationally) mad. This one has a much clearer signature than the other card, which is now available for trade, so in addition to the personalization, this is an all-around upgrade. 

This autograph replaces my much-hyped Hazewood autograph that I obtained at the 2010 National Card Show here in Baltimore. While Drungo's signature is marginally better on the other card,  the "To Ryan" aspect of this autograph trumps the quality of the signature. Autographs of Drungo once bordered on near-impossble but Chris Potter has made his signature available to the masses. Which is great as I was able to get this upgrade, but not so great now that my other card has lost some trade value, at least in the short-term.

Thanks for tracking down some tough former O's, Chris!

Back to 100%! Unpossible Autograph Friday- Dick Luebke, Oriole #184

With the addition of Dick Luebke, I am (once again) back to having an autograph of every player who has appeared in a game for the Orioles, and this time, I believe all 942 of my autographs are authentic signatures. There are a few that are very difficult to confirm without sending them into a professional certification service, but that probably isn't going to happen and I'm satisfied, so I guess that's what counts.

Dick Luebke was the final signature I needed for my collection, and his autograph was very hard to track down. To the best of my knowledge, it seems like there are only a few examples floating around for sale, and none of them are cheap. Luebke was included in two card sets, 1983 Fritsch One Year Wonders and 1991 Orioles Crown, but both of them were issued well after his death in 1974. I'm very happy to have this cut autograph of his, as I have yet to see any sort of image of him during his playing days that might have been around for him to sign during his lifetime.

After pitching for about a decade in the Orioles minor league system, Dick made his O's debut on August 11, 1962 and finished out the season with the team. Over 10 MLB appearances that season, he had an 0-1 record with a 2.70 ERA, in what would prove to be the extent of his big league experience. During that following off-season, he was traded to the Reds for Joe Gaines.

I wasn't able to find a cause of death for Dick, but he passed away when he was just 39 years old in 1974. There are three factors as to why his autograph is so hard to come by; the fact that he died so young, that he passed away well before autographs became big business, and that his time in the big leagues was so limited. RIP Mr. Luebke.


While I now have autographs of all 942 players who have appeared in a game for the Orioles from 1954-2012, I am still looking for a handful of upgrades. If anyone out there can help me with any of these guys, I would really appreciate your help! I have a bunch of autographs to trade, so we might be able to help each other!

John Anderson- Orioles Crown
Luis Ayala- 2012 Topps Update
Bret Barberie- 1995 Collector's Choice, Flair, Leaf, Topps Traded, Upper Deck
Chris Brock- 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man
Mark Brown- Orioles Crown
George Brunet- 1964 Topps, Orioles Crown
Luis DeLeon- Orioles Crown
Howie Fox- 1954 Topps
Luis Garcia- 2002 Fleer Box Score, Upper Deck 40 man
Jason Hammel- 2012 Topps Update
Lou Jackson- 1964 Topps
Stan Jefferson- Orioles Crown
Mark Lewis- 2001 Pacific
Matt Lindstrom- 2012 Topps Update
Ed Lopat- Orioles Crown
Terry Mathews- 1998 Pacific Online
Darren O'Day- 2012 Topps Update
Chuck Oertel- Orioles Crown
Ronny Paulino- 2012 Topps Update
Carl Powis- Orioles Crown
Vern Stephens- 1954 Topps or Wilson Franks, 1955 Bowman
Pedro Strop- 2012 Topps Update
Joe Taylor- Orioles Crown
Valmy Thomas- Orioles Crown
Marv Throneberry- Orioles Crown
David Wells- 1996 Flair, Fleer Update, Ultra, Upper Deck Update, 1997 Fleer, Score, Topps
Jaret Wright- 2007 Topps, Topps Heritage, Upper Deck

To briefly explain the misspelled/made up title of these weekly posts: Every Friday, I profile a former Oriole who has passed away. I've substituted the word unpossible for impossible as an homage to a line from "The Simpsons". Young Ralph Wiggum, who is not very smart, says "Me fail English? That's unpossible." 

Trade With O No, Another Orioles Blog

A few weeks back I swung a trade with Ryan, who is behind the great "O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog, when he posted a bunch of cards that he wanted to trade. A few of them caught my eye, and we were able to work out a deal.

He is a much more consistent poster than I, and he showed off his end of the trade a week and a half ago. For those of you that care, I apologize for my sporadic posting as of late, but sometimes life gets in the way of the fun stuff.

Anyway, here is my haul from the trade, three great cards that each have their own spot in my collections.

The O's signed Daniel McCuthchen to a minor league deal, so I now have his autograph if he makes it up to the big leagues with the team. Markakis is one of my favorite current Orioles and I will gladly add his game used patch cards to my O's collection, even if I don't particularly collect him. And Kalina is a fan of Kila's after she and I had a prolonged discussion about how to pronounce his name at a minor league game a few years back, so that one is all her. And for the record, the name and conversation still comes up on rare occasion.

Thanks for the awesome trade Ryan!

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Ken Rowe & Chuck Diering

The Orioles family unfortunately lost two players last week, as both Ken Rowe and Chuck Diering passed away on Thanksgiving and Black Friday respectively. This is one of the few times I can recall that two former O's players died in the very same week.

Ken Rowe passed away on Thanksgiving day due to complications of pneumonia; he was 78 years old. 

He briefly pitched in the Majors between 1963-65 with the Dodgers & Orioles (he became the 217th player to appear in a game with the O's when he debuted on 9/14/64) before moving on to a long post-playing career as coach. He stayed involved with the game, mainly as a pitching coach, from the late 1960's through the 2010 season, including a stint as the O's pitching coach in 1985-86. 

I obtained this autograph of Ken's in a trade, and had always intended on sending him a TTM request as he was a consistently great signer of mail requests. It's too late now, but it's nice to know that he was so responsive to his fans. RIP Ken.

The second player to pass away last week was one of the original 1954 Orioles, outfielder Chuck Diering. He was the 12th player to debut with the O's when he appeared in the second game of the team's existence on April 14, 1954. He was selected as the 1954 "Most Valuable Oriole" which he cited as the highlight of his playing career when I sent him a TTM request. 

Chuck was also a very accommodating responder to fan mail requests and signed this card and business card for me when I sent him a request earlier this year. He owned a car dealership for a number of years after his playing career ended and it seems as though he typically included a copy of his signed business card when people sent him a request.

Chuck apparently fell in his house either sometime late on Thanksgiving or early Friday and hit his head, which sadly caused his death. It seems as though his son found his unresponsive dad, and was able to get him medical care, but Chuck passed away a few hours later in the hospital.

Thank you for signing for me Chuck. Rest in Peace.



To briefly explain the misspelled/made up title of these weekly posts: Every Friday, I profile a former Oriole who has passed away. I've substituted the word unpossible for impossible as an homage to a line from "The Simpsons". Young Ralph Wiggum, who is not very smart, says "Me fail English? That's unpossible." 

O's Acquire Valencia, Mahoney Designated

Today, in a bit of a head-scratching move, the Orioles acquired third baseman Danny Valencia from the Red Sox in a cash transaction. To make room for Valencia on the 40-man roster, the Orioles had to designate first baseman, Joe Mahoney for assignment.

Now, I'm not particularly a believer that Mahoney was going to be an everyday Major League starter at first base, but with the impending decision on the future of Mark Reynolds with the O's also coming this week (and it's sounding like the two sides might not work out a deal), it's possible that the team won't have a legitimate first baseman on their team by the weekend. I know that Chris Davis, Wilson Betemit, and (it sounds like) Valencia can all play first base, but at least in regards to Davis & Betemit, I can say with some certainty that the team would prefer to not have them play there.

So with the impending possibility that the O's are cutting ties with their 2012 starting first baseman, they have released the only other true 1B on the roster, and added another guy who can man the hot corner. Is anyone else confused by the move?

Ultimately though, I know the team probably has feelers out on corresponding moves, or maybe they do intend to bring back Mark Reynolds, which would really limit this to a discussion about possible bench players for the 2013 campaign. After last season, it's hard to not trust what's going on with the team right now.

The Beginning of the End of My Orioles Vladdy Cards

I'm finally almost to the point where I've shown off all of my Vladimir Guerrero Orioles cards. Which is probably a good thing since he hasn't played for the Orioles in about 14 months.

But even though Vladdy hasn't played for the Orioles in quite some time, Topps continued to milk his time in the black and orange as long as possible, with Vlad's (likely) last major release picturing him as an Oriole coming out in the early August release of Topps minis, almost a full year after his time in Baltimore had clearly ended.

I've probably had this card for almost two years but have refused to show it before since it's ruined by the picture of a Red Sox player. And how are these two a duo in any way, shape, or form? I guess they're both from the Dominican Republic, but it's not like they ever played together professionally. A duo during the World Baseball Classic or some such-a-thing maybe, but not a duo with these two A.L. East rivals. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone out there has an amazing turkey day today. Personally, I'm thankful for my amazing wife, wonderful parents, awesome friends, (mostly) great dogs, and my health. And I'm thankful to all of you out there who have ever helped out with this crazy collection.

Most recently, fellow Orioles autograph collector, Russell, sent me this really nice Gordon Jones autograph, which is an upgrade in my book over my signed Orioles Crown card, which shows him wearing a Giants cap (in fact the "picture" on his Crown card is just a cropped image of his 1959 Topps card). So thank you, Russell, for helping me with this upgrade! And, again, thank you ALL for your help!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's an Orange Day

Why? Why not? I like to see some orange uniforms on my Orioles (& their affiliates) cards.

The 2012 AA Bowie Baysox set really brought it with the orange uniform pictures. Here are some that I was able to get signed last year.