A Bunch of Recent Upgrades

Over the past few months, I've had luck upgrading some of the autographs in my collection. A few were obtained TTM, others were had via trade, while I had to shell out a few bucks for some others. But I have at least written briefly about all of them in the past, so I'll try to keep the write-ups short.

I'll lead off with the man with the bad attitude, Albert Belle (Oriole #636). This certified autograph replaces an "Orioles" card that pictured him in a White Sox uniform, something that I could never quite get past, especially considering the number of certified 'graphs that showed Big Al in a legitimate Orioles uniform.

This Lenny Webster (Oriole #600) card came to me via a trade on Sportcollectors.net and replaced a signed Orioles postcard. Lenny had been on my need list for way too long and I was thrilled to knock off his name.

Dick Brown had also been in line for an upgrade for quite some time before I came across this awesome Orioles postcard. This replaced a cut 3x5 autograph in my collection and while Dick technically has a Topps Orioles card, it doesn't picture him in an Orioles uniform, so I feel like this postcard is as good as it will get for him.

This is the third Juan Guzman (Oriole #627) autograph that has trickled through my collection, and this one is here to stay.

Shawn Boskie (Oriole #603) was kind enough to add a very unique inscription to this signed Orioles postcard. This is definitely better suited for my collection than an Angels card.

Here is another Orioles postcard upgrade, this of the spectacled Chuck McElroy (Oriole #658), which interestingly also knocks a signed Angels card from my collection.

This Keith Moreland (Oriole #474) Crown card knocks out a Cubs card that I obtained from the 2010 National from my collection.

Chuck Diering (Oriole #12) sent me one of the more interesting TTM returns I've ever received when he added his signed business card to my request. This personalized autograph replaces an unpersonalized Crown in my collection. 

He also answered the question in my letter about his favorite Orioles memory, and it turns out he was the team's MVP during their inaugural 1954 season. 

This personalized Joe Durham (Oriole #37) card is going to stay in my collection along with the 1958 Topps card he had signed for me at an Orioles alumni signing a few years back.
 

I'm confident that this Dave Skaggs (Oriole #326) autograph is legit, unlike the one that was previously a part of my collection.

And finally, this Dave Van Gorder (Oriole #429) Red Wings card is about a 50% upgrade over the signed Reds card that it is replacing. I hope to one day finally have Van Gorder sign an Orioles Crown card for me, but I haven't had any luck so far.

Orioles 2012 Draft Picks...On Twitter (UPDATED through 15th round)

The 2012 MLB first year player draft began last night and I was very happy with the Orioles' first round pick of  LSU sophomore pitcher, Kevin Gausman. His name had been attached to the Orioles in draft speculation in recent weeks, so it was no surprise that they selected him. From a collector's standpoint, I was pleasantly surprised to see the array of cards that have already been produced of Gausman, mainly due to his involvement with Team USA.

First off, while I have to admit that my college baseball knowledge is woefully lacking, I still enjoy the draft. I tend to follow the players that the Orioles select since I'm a fan of the minor leagues, but I rarely recognize any names after the top ten or so prospects. And since the O's have been in the top ten worst teams in recent seasons, I almost always know a little bit about the players they are considering.

I won't delve into details about the Orioles' draftees since I don't have much personal knowledge to pass along, but there is something interesting that I've seen with the O's picks so far in the 2012 draft; they are all on Twitter. Maybe it something that is more common with the current crop of high school/college players, or maybe it's just something I'm paying more attention to this year, but at least the Orioles' top eight picks are all on Twitter. In past years, I would say that 50% or so might have had a Twitter presence.

Anyway, here are all of the O's draftees, and their Twitter handles, if you are into that kind of thing.

1st Round (4th overall) Kevin Gausman @KevinGausman
2nd Round (65) Branden Kline @Half_n_Half16
3rd Round (99) Adrian Marin @Adrian_Marin8
4th Round (132) Christian Walker @CWALK01313
5th Round (162) Colin Poche @colinpoche
6th Round (192) Lex Rutledge @LexRutledge
7th Round (222) Matthew Price @MattPrice22
8th Round (252) Torsten Boss @T_Boss07 
9th Round (282) Brady Wager- the streak appears to be broken...
10th Round (312) Joel Hutter @jhutter28 
11th Round (342) Kevin Grendell- nope
12th Round (372) William Waltrip @Billz_W18
13th Round (402) Wade Wass @WadeWass_10
14th Round (432) Sean McAdams- not as far as I can tell
15th Round (462) Derick Velzquez- two in a row no-go's

I might update this tonight and again after the draft for anyone that cares to follow along.

Oriole #928- Steve Pearce

In one quick and relatively unexpected move on Saturday afternoon, the Orioles acquired first baseman/outfielder Steve Pearce from the Yankees and immediately added him to the 40- and 25-man rosters. Once I heard about the move, I thought that I might have an autographs of Steve already in my collection so I went searching. 

Sure enough, I did have his autograph in my collection; I had obtained it at a Pirates Spring Training game, in probably 2008 or 2009. At the time, it didn't excite me much, but it's coming in pretty handy at this point. And it's a great example of why I don't like to trade away autographs of players who are still active. You just never know who will play for your team one day.

Steve appeared in 185 games for the Pirates between 2007-11 and hit .232 with 9 homers in what amounted to about a season's worth of at-bats. He became a free agent following the 2011 season and signed a deal with the Twins who released him during Spring Training. The Yankees then signed him but he had an opt-out close in his contract if he wasn't on their roster by June 1, which did not happen, so he exercised the clause. The Orioles swung a deal for him in return for cash considerations.

To me, a signing like this says something about what the O's think of their current crop of players at AAA Norfolk. So often, a player has a hard time cracking the 25 or 40 man roster, and is at an advantage to be called up if he's already on the big league roster. So to bring in an obviously non-roster player like Steve and promote him above any of your current guys means that the talent likely isn't breaking down the door at AAA. But I digress.

I'm a fan of Steve's power potential and position flexibility which the O's greatly need right now with all the injuries and players playing out of position. I don't think he is a long-term answer to their current offensive woes but he could provide a spark. After all, he did go 1-4 in his first game for the O's on Sunday and that .250 batting average has to be near the top of the team!

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Sandy Consuegra, Oriole #99

Sandy Consuegra was a Cuban pitcher who played in the Major Leagues from 1950-57 with the Senators, White Sox, Orioles and Giants. His best season was 1954, during his time with the White Sox, when he led the American League with a .842 win percentage with a 16-3 record and made his only All-Star team.

He pitched in only nine games for the Orioles during the 1956-57 seasons near the end of his career. He made his Baltimore debut on September 1, 1956 and became the 99th player to appear in a game for the O's. He wrapped up his time in Baltimore with a 1-1 record and a 3.29 ERA.

Sandy passed away on November 16, 2005, he was 85 years old at the time of his death. RIP Sandy.








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." 

Why Not...Again?

Since the 2012 Orioles are in a bit of a slump right now after starting out the year at such a torrid pace, I'm hoping that showcasing a few autographs of key players on the 1989 Why Not Orioles team might bring the current Birds some luck during their weekend series in Tampa. (I know that my actions on the blog have nothing to do with the team, but maybe this will make me feel better at least!)

I've limited this post to just players who I would consider "full-time" type players for the '89 squad, because when I went to pick out autographs for this post, I quickly realized that I haven't covered this era of Orioles baseball very well at all.

Starting catcher Mickey Tettleton (Oriole #453) made a huge contribution during his second season in Baltimore and led the team with 26 home runs. 

Second baseman Billy Ripken (Oriole #436) continued to prove solid defense in the middle of the diamond alongside his brother Cal, who you might have heard of before. And somehow, this is the first mention of Billy (F&#* Face) Ripken in the history of my blog. That ain't right.

Rookie Craig Worthington (Oriole #449) manned the hot corner with authority and held his own at the plate too. He came in fourth in the A.L. Rookie of the Year voting, losing to a teammate, whom we will soon cover, and finishing directly behind some kid named "Griffey". 

Center-fielder Mike Devereaux (Oriole #469) provided some highlight reel caliber catches during his first season in Birdland and became a fixture in Baltimore over the following six seasons. 

I'm using this 2010 Shorebirds coach card for this post since I've never used it on the blog before, but I'm sure this card is a much better representation of how we all remember Devo. 

Mark Williamson (Oriole #426) was the team's primary set-up guy out of the bullpen and won an insane 10 games without having made a single start. 

Brian Holton (Oriole #465) was another one of the team's primary relief pitchers but also spot-started 12 games.

His name came up recently in a collecting conversation about players who don't seem to sign TTM requests and his signature seems to be relatively tough to come by, at least on Orioles cards.

Wrapping up this post is likely one of my most egregious blogging omissions from the past four years. It seems as though this is my very first mention of the Orioles' lock-down Rookie of the Year closer, Gregg Olson (Oriole #457). It's pitiful really, how could I have never mentioned this guy before today? It is what it is, I suppose.

Anyway, Gregg was lights out during his first full season in Baltimore; he pitched in 64 games, finishing 52 of them, and amassed 27 saves while maintaining a tidy 1.69 ERA. He ran away with the 1989 A.L. Rookie of the Year award (receiving 26 of 28 first place votes) and also came in 6th in Cy Young voting while also receiving some MVP consideration.

Gregg was an All-Star in 1990 and went on to compile 160 saves over his five plus seasons with the O's. It also appears that Gregg is nearly a 100% TTM signer, so I might need to send out a request for a personalized card sometime soon. And I'm just writing about him for the first time today. Shameful.

Well This Is A New One- Oriole #927, Miguel Gonzalez (UPDATED)

For the first time in my recent collecting experience a player, who I don't believe has ever been featured on a baseball card, made his Orioles debut last night.

Miguel Gonzalez, a 28 year old pitcher from Mexico, made his Orioles and MLB debut in last night's game against the Blue Jays. He pitched 3.1 innings in relief of Jake Arrieta and gave up four hits, one earned run and struck out five. Unfortunately, he also allowed two inherited runners to score at the beginning of his outing, and the Orioles ended up losing 8-6, so that could have made a difference. But all-in-all, he had a successful debut and will be an intriguing member of the bullpen.

Photo "borrowed" from Yahoo

Miguel pitched in the minors for five seasons, spending the 2005-07 seasons in the Angels system and 2010-11 in the Red Sox system before the Orioles signed him to a minor league deal this past off-season. (I believe that he was injured in 2008-09.) He either moved from level to level of the farm system too often or the teams he pitched for just didn't produce a card set while he was with the various minor league teams. I've never run into this before, and in this day and age, it seems so odd to have a player reach the Majors having never been featured on some cardboard! To further complicate things, the White Sox have a catching prospect also named Miguel Gonzalez who does have a few cards out there.

The Orioles' Miguel had appeared in 11 games for the AAA Norfolk Tides, going 2-1 with a 1.50 ERA, prior to his call-up to Baltimore, and it's my hope that he will be included in the 2012 Tides team set. For now, I will try to get Miguel to sign a team card of some sort, and his name is currently added to my need list. I hate it when I have to add names to my list!

UPDATE-
Thanks to fellow Orioles autograph collector Russell, I've discovered that Miguel has at least this one card from his minor league playing days. This obviously changes most of what I wrote in the post, but since it's still not in my collection, I'm not changing anything!

Check Out Autographed Cards' College World Series Contest!

Zach over at Autographed Cards is holding his third annual College World Series Contest. Go check it out; it's easy to enter and it just takes a bit of luck to win, something that I've been fortunate enough to do the past two years and I hope to be in the mix again this season.

He has given away some really great prizes over the years, like this Harmon Killebrew autograph that I scored in, I believe, the first year of the contest.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Celebratory Vlads

BOOM!  

Happy Memorial Day everyone. To celebrate, here are some of my flashiest Vladimir Guerrero Orioles cards. Let's pretend that all the shiny stuff is mini baseball card variety fireworks!

POP POP POP-POP-BANG

KA-BOOM

Oriole #699- Rock Jr.

Tim Raines Jr. is probably best remembered by O's fans as having played in the final game of the 2001 season with his more accomplished dad, Tim Sr.. On October 3, 2001, Senior had signed a one day contract with the Orioles for the chance to play in a game with his son, who had just made his MLB debut two days earlier on October 1. Tim Jr will forever be Oriole #699, while his dad is lucky #700. The Raines' were just the second father-son duo to play for the same team at the same time following the Griffeys'.

While his dad's tenure with the Orioles lasted just that one game, Tim Jr. went on to play in 75 games for the Birds over three seasons, in 2001 and 2003-04. He never did much to distinguish himself at the major league level, but he continued to play professional baseball through the 2011 season. He spent most of the past three seasons in the independent Atlantic League, including the past two under his father's tutelage with the Newark Bears. I don't see any stats for him in 2012 so it's possible that he has finally hung up his spikes.

Unpossible Autograph Friday- Jim McDonald- Oriole #54

Today's player is one of the stranger "unpossible" autograph situations that I have run across during my time collecting Orioles' autographs. I just read about Jim's passing this week, but the thing is that he died in 2004, and no one in the baseball community seems to have known about it until recently. Both his baseball-reference.com and wikipedia.com pages added information about his passing in recent months, and a fellow collector pointed it out just this week on SCN, which is what grabbed my attention. Before his passing came to light, I had just figured that he didn't like signing TTM requests, and by all accounts I've come across, it doesn't sound like he was a great signer even during his "actual" lifetime.

I guess that Jim had kind of fallen off the baseball map, because in this age of the internet, it's pretty hard for a former MLB player to pass away without someone knowing about it. Normally, player deaths are widely known within a matter of hours, or at least days, but for eight years to pass is unheard of, at least in my experiences. I've heard of some players, like fellow Oriole John Anderson, who have left the country and more or less disappeared, whether intentionally or otherwise, but all accounts seem to indicate that Jim stayed in the US.

Jim pitched in the Majors for parts of nine seasons from 1950-58 for the Yankees, White Sox, Orioles, Browns, and Red Sox and had a career record of 24-27 with a 4.27 ERA over 136 games. He made his Orioles debut on April 17, 1955 and became the 54th player to appear in a game with the O's. His career highlight likely was that he was a member of the 1953 World Champion Yankees, and his being a member of a Yankees Championship team makes his unnoticed passing even stranger.

I picked up this signed 1955 Bowman "Orioles" card a few years back. He is clearly wearing the Yankees pinstriped jersey in the picture on the card, but he was "photoshopped" into an Orioles cap and this is widely considered an Orioles card, so it works for my collection. He was definitively pictured as an Oriole on his Crown card, but I have only ever seen one signed copy of that.

RIP Jim, sorry if this post is about eight years overdue.


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 as sharp as a bowling ball, says "Me fail English? That's unpossible."

TTM Success- Tony Chevez

I recently received a comment on this post that I wrote about Tony (and Dennis Martinez) back in March 2011, and the commenter mentioned that Tony lived in the Rochester, NY area. Since Tony grew up in Nicaragua and I've heard relatively nothing about him over my years of collecting, I figured he returned to his home country after his playing career ended. 

I decided to do some online research to see if I could corroborate the commenter's claim and sure enough I came across an online article about Tony and the work he was doing with his church in Rochester. It referenced his baseball career and the picture clearly was the same guy as is pictured on his Crown card, albeit thirty years later. So I found his address and sent out a TTM request. I figured that it never hurts to take a chance.

Sure enough, one week later, this was waiting for me in the mailbox.

I'm not sure if I got lucky, or if no one has had a reliable address for Tony in recent years, but Tony seems to be a gracious signer. 

The signature on the TTM is slightly different than this one that had been in my collection, especially the T, but there are enough similarities in the rest of the signature to make me confident they are both of the same guy.

Thanks for signing Tony!

Oriole #921- Exposito Knocked Off the List

On Saturday, I took a trip to Nationals Park in DC for this past weekend's "Battle of the Beltway" series between the O's and Nats and was happy to see the Orioles beat the Nationals 6-5 in a very exciting game. It was my first trip of the season to Washington but I will likely get back down there for another game or two, depending on my schedule. It's a nice park and all, but it's no Camden Yards!

It's highly probable that I was one of very few autograph seekers whose primary goal was to get a signature of the team's backup catcher, but such is the madness of my collection. 

And I succeeded! Luis Exposito graciously signed for a nice group of fans, and was kind enough to personalize this card for me. Too bad it pictures him in a Sawx uniform but beggars can't be choosers. 

I also was able to "upgrade" my autographs of a few other players to include my preferred personalization. I don't know exactly why I like it, but it makes the autographs mean more to me. 

Brian Matusz and Kevin Gregg were both leaning against the railing during Orioles batting practice, so it was pretty easy to knock out both of the relatively tough signers in one clip. 

Matt Lindstrom seems to be a pretty good signer thus far and was kind enough to add "Best Wishes".

So I got to see an Orioles win, a new autograph for my collection, and three new personalized autographs. I would say it was a very successful trip to DC, at least by my standards!