Knocking a Few Players Off

Of my need list, of course. At this point in my Orioles autograph collection, I think it registers as a minor miracle (in my warped view of life anyway) anytime that I'm able to scratch another name off of my list. The fact that I've been able to knock two of my needs off in recent weeks is truly remarkable. I now am searching for just 21 upgrades to "complete" my collection, including two players who were included in the 2012 Topps Update set that I'm hoping to have taken care of before the season starts.

I wrote about Luis back in November, and at that time, I had a signed copy of one of his Padres cards in my collection. I have been searching for a signed copy of this Orioles Crown card, the only card that pictures him as an "Oriole" (were there seriously no pictures of him wearing an Orioles uniform?!?). Luckily, I was able to get in on a signing with him on SportsCollectors.Net recently, and was even able to get my card personalized, just how I like it. Although, I can't make out his inscription, and am pretty sure it's in Spanish, which makes this card a very unique member of my collection. 

Ah, Ronny Paulino, who seemed so opposed to signing autographs last season. (He was one of the very few players who have ever shut me down in a one on one situation at the stadium, made even more confusing as all he seemed to be doing was sauntering down the foul line.) And the reports I got from a few friends from AAA Norfolk (where he spent a large chunk of the season) didn't indicate that he possibly ever picked up a pen all season long. When I saw that Topps was including him in the '12 Update set, I wasn't pleased, and doubted that I would ever be able to get one signed. Luckily, one of the graphers who works in the Dominican during the off-season sold off a few of these on ebay and I happily snatched one up. At least it's in my collection now, and he is pictured rocking the orange uni to boot.

Finally Some New Scans (Super-Delayed FanFest Autographs!)

As some of you may know, I've recently moved, and that has dropped my autograph collection near the bottom of my list of things to do. I barely touched a baseball card for a month, which is likely some sort of modern-day record for me. Add that to the fact that I also purchased a new scanner recently and it equals a major delay in getting anything scanned around here. So without further ado, here are some of the new(ish) autographs in my collection.

I'm going to start with some autographs that fellow collectors helped me out with at Orioles FanFest, which was almost two months ago at this point.

As a reminder, I purchased a number of autograph station tickets for FanFest, and got everyone that I really wanted/needed. But there were a few other players who I could use upgrades for but couldn't justify purchasing a ticket just for that reason, so a few fellow collectors helped me out.

I'll start out with the only one of the group who has actually played for the O's to this point, Lew Ford, who kindly signed and personalized one of my dad's cards for me. He signed it at a great place and the autograph really pops.

Next up is current O's batting coach, Jim Presley. I had his autograph on an Orioles postcard, but have had zero luck getting him to personalize one, which is always easier at signings like this one.

It's hard to say if the rest of these guys will ever appear in a game for the Orioles (they remind me of Matt Antonelli and Jai Miller at last year's FanFest who both signed Orioles postcards for me that don't have a place in my collection at this point since they never made it to Baltimore). 

McFarland, being a Rule 5 pick will have to stay on the 25 man roster all season, and after a rocky start to his spring, that seems unlikely, but who knows? 

Trayvon Robinson was removed from the O's 40-man roster shortly after FanFest, so he is also a long-shot to play in Baltimore. However, I do hear that he is quite a difficult autograph to get in person, so I will happily be covered if he does play for the Birds.

Finally, I swung a trade for an autograph of another player who the O's currently have in camp for Spring Training, pitcher Daniel McCutchen. This Topps Chrome certified autograph didn't scan very well, but it could fill a whole in my collection if Daniel forces his way onto the roster. 

I would certainly always rather be prepared and have an autograph of a guy who never makes it into a game for the O's than to have to scramble to track down an autograph once they are on the team. That's just how I roll; what can I say?

Spring Training Minor Leaguers

I love baseball for many reasons, but at least one of them is due to its general quirkiness. And that rarely is more evident than during spring training, when minor leaguers and their major league counterparts intertwine to form some interesting rosters, especially for road games. Most of the starting lineups for away games consist of back-ups and guys trying to make the roster, and the players that replace them later in the games are generally straight minor leaguers, typically guys with some upside. And here are some autographs that I have of some of those MiLB guys that I've seen in some games so far this spring.

These first two guys were actually on the official camp roster, but were among the first round of cuts that were announced yesterday. de San Miguel spent part of Spring Training playing for Australia in the WBC and was mainly in big league camp because extra catchers are always needed. Wright is actually the O's number four pitching prospect and held his own over three appearances.

The other three players sent to minor league camp were Eduardo Rodriguez, the O's #3 pitching prospect who is just 19 years old, and catcher Luis Martinez and pitcher Zach Braddock, neither of whom have yet appeared in a game due to injury/recovery from an injury. I don't yet have an autograph of any of those three guys.

And here is some of the menagerie of minor leaguers who have logged some game time with the O's so far this spring. I've even added some notes when I have something "worthwhile" to say.

Buck is Zach Britton's older brother

 Glynn is a local undrafted speedster prospect

 I really don't like Ty's signature. I know he has a short name and all, but c'mon.

Yes, John is related to the Rudy Ruettiger, who is his uncle.

What an awesome name. 

Chris is an under the radar guy who likely has a shot at an MLB relief role some day.

Plugging a Hug(h)e(s) Hole in the Collection

I like to think that I'm pretty on top of my Orioles autograph collection in regards to which players have been featured on Orioles cards, and who hasn't, so I know what autograph should be in my collection. I always prefer signed O's cards whenever possible. 

Of the 942 players who have appeared in a game for the Orioles, I would like to think that I'm aware of the Orioles card status of all of them. But every now and then something seems to slip through the cracks. One of these issues occurred recently when I came across this autograph in my collection. 

This signed Phillies card of Keith Hughes might not seem to be an issue, but I knew that Keith was also included in the Orioles Crown set, which means I was essentially "missing" an autograph that I hadn't even known that I needed for my collection.

The good news is that Keith is a great TTM signer, and he nicely signed and personalized his only Orioles card for me. Crisis averted. And my collection was once again, relatively complete.

Downsizing Some Cards

As I mentioned in a post the other day, I have recently moved. The space I have for my cards hasn't decreased but I would rather say that it has shifted, and I'm attempting to decrease the sheer volume of cards that I own.

So in an effort to do that, I'm attempting to sell some of my cards, a lot of approximately 20,000 cards from the late 1980s through early '90s. I know that a majority of these are from the junk wax era, but I'm sure that someone out there could use them.

I placed an ad for them on Craiglist last week and I have not received any interest yet. I'm hoping that someone out there will reach out to me. I'm not really sure if the price is too high, but $100 for that many cards surely could yield a profit for someone who is willing to go through them. I don't really have the time or motivation to sort through all of them but as you can see, some of the cards are already broken out by set.

If you, or anyone you might know in the Baltimore area, are interested in taking these off of my hands, please let me know. Many of the cards are unsorted, but I doubt there is anything too earth shattering in there.

And if you don't want them, does anyone have any suggestions about what to do with them? Thanks for any help!

Who Will be the Next New Oriole?

As the baseball season approaches, my "baseball nerd" mind begins it's yearly process of trying to figure out some Orioles-centric questions that likely only matter to me and a handful of others. Or maybe just me, it's honestly hard to say. But since it matters to me and this is my blog, you know that I'm gonna write about it.

In Monday's post, I wrote about (and reminded myself) that prospect L.J. Hoes was the final new Oriole to make his debut last season; he became the 942nd player to appear in a game in Orioles history when he debuted on September 25 in Baltimore against the Blue Jays. Hoes grew up in Maryland, had been with the team for nearly a month before his debut, and has a fun last name, so the fans were rather excited for his debut.

Anyhow, my wheels have begun to spin in regards to whom might be the first new player to appear in a game for the Orioles in 2013. It's a difficult, nearly impossible, thing to predict over a month before Opening Day, but I'm going to look at a few candidates today, and possibly make a prediction.

To make things easier for myself, I'm going to break the possible candidates into a few possible categories, in descending order of the likelihood that Oriole #943 will come from that group.

First off, let's look at the players currently on the 40-man roster who have never appeared in a game for the Orioles. Since a roster move wouldn't have to be made for them to break camp with the O's, it's most likely that the newest O will be amongst these guys: LHP Mike Belfiore, IF Russ Canzler, IF Alexi Casilla, RHP Zach Clark, LHP T.J. McFarland, IF Yamaico Navarro, RHP Todd Redmond, IF Jonathan Schoop, IF Danny Valencia, and LHP Tsuyoshi Wada all fit the bill here.

Again, it's nearly impossible to eliminate anyone at this point, but Wada is the easiest cut as he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery that was performed last May and his MLB ready date is expected to be somewhere in late May, so it's highly unlikely the he could become the first new Oriole of the season.

The next three easiest cuts for me are Navarro, Redmond, and Schoop. I just rank too many of the other similar players ahead of Navarro and Redmond, so they have an extremely uphill battle to break camp with the O's, but an excellent March could obviously change that. And Schoop is the O's #3 prospect,  still just 21 years old. He spent 2012 at AA Bowie, and is spending part of Spring Training with the team from the Netherlands to play in the World Baseball Classic, so I just don't see anyway he comes north with the team.

The group that I have an extremely hard time of creating some separation with includes three pitchers; Belfiore, Clark, and McFarland. The one advantage that McFarland holds over the other two is that he is a Rule 5 draft pick and would have to be offered back to the Indians if the Orioles don't keep him on their 25 man roster all season. Which is extremely unlikely, although they did it with Ryan Flaherty last year. But the other two guys have pitched better than McFarland through the first week of games, so that doesn't establish much. Both Belfiore and Clark were added to the 40-man over the winter, and none of the three have any MLB experience to date.

Zach Clark has been in the Orioles farm system for a number of years, and has steadily moved through the ranks, but put himself firmly on the team's radar after a 2012 late season promotion to AAA Norfolk where he went 5-2 with a 1.75 ERA over seven starts. Like Hoes, he is another (relatively) local guy from Wilmington, DE who went to college in Baltimore at UMBC. I like Zach' chances because Buck Showalter keeps calling him a "baseball player" which is a very high compliment in Buck's vernacular.

Mike Belfiore was acquired from the Diamondbacks last season in return for one-time prospect, Josh Bell. The O's added him to the roster prior to the Rule 5 draft to protect him from other teams, so that tells you that they obviously think that he possibly has something to offer the team. And he has pitched well so far this spring in a few appearances.


So as far as the 40-man roster guys go, that leaves us with three infielders, Russ Canzler, Alexi Casilla, and Danny Valencia, and in my opinion, Oriole #943 is likely going to be one of these three. Although it could also be that not a one of them ever plays for Baltimore. Currently, all of them are playing multiple positions during Spring Training to prove their value to their new organization and they will also have to hit at least a little bit too to prove that they belong. On top of that, they are competing with a glut of non-roster invitees to fill very similar roles and if any of those non-roster guys outplays this trio, they could easily swipe their spot on the 40-man without much of a hassle.

My gut says that probably two of these three guys break camp with the O's, and that Casilla is the most likely to become Oriole 943, mainly due to his glove skills, and that he would specifically be providing depth at 2B behind the recently oft-injured Brian Roberts.


In addition to all of these players, any of the non-roster invitees could stand out and break camp with the big league squad. This group includes pitchers Zach Braddock, Kevin Gausman, Mark Hendrickson, Jair Jurrjens, Daniel McCutchen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Adam Russell, Daniel Schlereth, and Mike Wright, catchers Allen de san Miguel, Jose Gil, Luis Martinez, and Chris Robinson, infielders Travis Ishikawa, Steve Pearce, and Niuman Romero, and outfielders Chris Dickerson, Lew Ford, Conor Jackson, Jason Pridie, and Trayvon Robinson.

My short list of those guys who are more likely than the others to make it to Baltimore in April are Jurrjens, Ishikawa, Pearce, Dickerson, Jackson, and/or Trayvon, although guessing about something like this on March 1st is like pulling names out of a hat. If I had to narrow my list down to just two of this group, I would take Jurrjens and Ishikawa.

And on top of all of those options for the next Oriole debut remains the distinct possibility that the O's swing a trade between now and Opening Day. Baltimore's surplus a of starting pitching is well documented, and the team really could use another power bat. If they make a trade like that, that type of player would likely be someone who would be in the Opening Day lineup. So absolutely everything that I've just written could go out the window.

Finally, to wrap things up if anyone has actually made it to the finale of this novel-length post, as of today, my guess for the next player to make his Orioles debut will be utility infielder Alexi Casilla. But I will likely revisit this topic again closer to Opening Day, when the overall picture might be a bit more clear.

A Moving Experience

For all of you out there who probably don't know, my wife and I recently moved. Luckily, it was a relatively local move, but a move nonetheless. And it's at least partially to blame for my infrequent, and at times, uninspired posts.

Besides the autographs that I obtained and scanned from Orioles Fanfest in late January, I haven't scanned any of the other new additions that I've added to my collection. You see, the thing is that I have some (somewhat) interesting things to say about most of those autographs, while many of these autographs that have been sitting in my to-be-posted folder are signatures that leave me lacking for words.

Like this autograph of current Orioles owner, Peter Angelos. I don't really collect autographs of Orioles owners, but I got this one for cheap on ebay a few years back. Whoever got this signed had pretty nice seats, as I don't sit in $68 seats, unless someone else is buying.

Angelos has owned the team for quite some time and certain segments of the fan-base aren't very supportive of him. While I don't personally understand some of the moves that he has made during his tenure of owning the team, I think that he has the best intentions most of the time, but things just haven't always worked out for the best. He was born and raised in Baltimore and I think that the thing he wants most is for his hometown Orioles to be a playoff-caliber team. Which it seems like they might be nowadays.

I'm sure that some of you out there likely have different opinions about him, but it seems like the team is certainly heading in the right direction at this point, even if it took a number of years to get there.


In summary, please stick with me, until I get my card station reestablished at my new place. I hope that it won't be long now. Both for the blog and my sanity.

I Love Spring Training Games

MASN, the local Orioles TV network, broadcast the first Orioles game of the year today, and it is always great to see some Orioles baseball again after four long months. 

The network almost always airs O's home games played at their stadium in Sarasota, so the game typically begins with a fairly typical Orioles line-up, featuring many of the regular starters. But, as I'm sure you all know, as the innings pass by during Spring games, the regulars slowly disappear from the game, and they are replaced by players trying to make the 25 man rosters and/or minor leaguers trying to show off their skills. 

I think that I get the most enjoyment out of watching these late innings of games. They help me to get acquainted with new players in the organization and remind me about some minor leaguers I have seen play in the organization over the years. 

Towards the end of today's contest, both Xavier Avery, and L.J. Hoes made an appearance. Respectively the O's 2nd- & 3rd-round draft picks in the '08 draft, both players made their Orioles debuts last season. (Avery debuted on May 13th as Oriole #926 & Hoes appeared in just a single game on September 25th, the final debut of the season, as Oriole #942.) 

The late innings of Spring games are a great chance to catch a glimpse of players who will eventually make it to Baltimore, while some others never will.  

Interestingly enough, former Oriole, and one-time late innings Spring Training guy, Pedro Florimon, is currently in camp with the Twins and played against the Orioles in Saturday's Spring Training opener.

While a guy like Jai Miller, who I probably considered a near lock to become an Oriole at some point at this time last year, never came close to making it to Baltimore and had actually slid down to AA Bowie by the end of the season. 

This off-season, Miller retired from baseball, and announced that he is returning to college to play football at Alabama. Seems like he came to a fork in the road and decided to take it. 

Random Autograph Saturday- Tom Matchick

I'm reviving a long-forgotten feature around here to highlight some of the remaining, unposted autographs in my collection. I've said it before, and I apologize if it seems repetitive, but many of the autographs that I have yet to show off feature players that I just don't have a lot to say about. It's nothing personal, but sometimes, shockingly, I don't have much to say. 

Tom Matchick is a near perfect example of a player who leaves me at a loss for words. He was a utility player in the Majors between 1967-72, and he appeared in the Orioles for just the final three games of the '72 season, in what proved to be his last Major League action, although he continued playing in the Minors through 1976. The highlight of his career seems to be that he was a member of the 1968 Detroit Tigers World Series Championship squad.

As far as I can recall, I obtained this autograph in a trade, so I don't have any interesting back-stories about that side of things either.

But anyway, that's about all I have to say about Mr. Matchick.

2013 Topps Heritage Orioles

As I promised yesterday, here is a breakdown of the Orioles included on the 2013 Topps Heritage Checklist. And my comments on each inclusion, whether you want my opinion or not.

Nick Markakis- pretty standard, has probably represented the O's in almost every Topps set in the past 7 years, except '13 Series 1
Jason Hammel- only his third O's card, but also third consecutive Topps appearance ('12 update, '13 series 1) to decrease my excitement
Manny Machado/Dylan Bundy RC- both have multiple O's cards but first combo card would like great if both sign it
J.J. Hardy- pretty much another one you expect to see, but like Markakis was also left out of '13 Series 1
Jim Johnson- if he pitches like he did last year and remains the closer, he should be in most sets for the forseeable future
Buck Showalter- absolutely deserved, but likely included because the 1964 set this series is modeled off of included managers
Nolan Reimold- a bit of a surprise as he didn't play in any games last season after April 30th, this would be logical spot for McLouth card
Tommy Hunter- similar situation to Hammel, this is his third nearly consecutive (he was in '12 Series 2 instead of Update) Topps card
Luis Ayala- see Hammel & Hunter; dear Topps, this was a nice spot to give O'Day/Strop their 2nd O's card instead of giving Ayala his 3rd

By this point in the set, I was rather pissed about how the set was taking shape. A few guys with not many Orioles cards, but nothing earth-shaking nor first-timers.

Miguel Gonzalez- Until this guy! Finally, a deserving player being given his first O's card. And his MILB cards are few and far between too
Chris Tillman- deserves the inclusion after finding himself last year, but one of many of his O's cards
Joe Saunders- and here is the dagger, an official Orioles card of a guy who left town; it's always a chore to get cards signed once they leave
Adam Jones SP- Kind of surprising to see Jonesy as a short print, but I have plenty of his cards, so it's all good
Wei-Yin Chen SP- same with Chen, but I don't have quite as many of his cards, might need to track this one down

In addition to these base cards, two other Orioles insert cards caught my attention: a Clubhouse Collection relic card featuring Chris Davis (possibly commemorating his day on the pitching mound in Boston), and a Chris Tillman error short print, that likely will feature some sort of photo variation.

So there you have it, my official take on the Orioles included in the 2013 Topps Heritage set. Here's what I said after my review of 2013 Topps Series 1 "However, I was expecting to see Nate McLouth and Miguel Gonzalez featured for the first time as Orioles, especially after last year's playoff run. And it's strange that both Nick Markakis and J.J. Hardy were passed over, but you can't include everyone in every set. But, if it was up to me, I would have included Markakis, Hardy, McLouth, Gonzalez, and probably Wei-Yin Chen, Ryan Flaherty, and Wilson Betemit over the combination of Reynolds, Arrieta, Hoes, Andino, Matusz, Ayala, and Chavez." So it appears that I nailed the inclusion of Markakis, Hardy, Gonzalez, and Chen, as well as the players who possibly shouldn't have been included, minus Ayala. But when is Nate McLouth going to get some Orioles card love? Topps generally loves taking advantage of the former star comes back to make a postseason impact story, and I'm shocked that McLouth didn't make the cut in either of the 2013 sets. 

And mainly because I don't want to write back to back image-less posts, here is an autographed 1964 Topps Orioles card of Bob Saverine, to show the basic template for the 2013 set. Bob played in six MLB seasons between 1959-67, including 170 games over parts of four years spent with the O's. He holds the American League record for having gone 0-12 in a 1966 doubleheader during his time in Baltimore, and definitely seems to have made it to the big leagues more for his defensive prowess than his skills with the bat.

Beckett Releases 2013 Topps Heritage Checklist

(Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that my last post was a week ago when I speculated the the start of Spring Training might hearken an increase in my posting here. Well, it hasn't yet, but I hope it will soon. One post a week isn't good enough for you Orioles autograph fans.)

Yesterday, Beckett posted the final checklist for 2013 Topps Heritage. From an Orioles fan perspective, there aren't too many surprises but a couple of players will be featured on their first card as an Oriole. Since I reviewed the Orioles who were included in the 2013 Topps Series 1 set last month, I will do the same with the 2013 Heritage Orioles. I hope to have that review up tomorrow, which at least would mark my second post of the week, and an improvement over last week!

Happy Orioles Pitchers and Catchers Reporting Day!

Ahh...as of today, baseball is officially back. This is always one of my favorite days of the year, mainly for the anticipation it brings for the coming season. It doesn't sound like the Orioles did much today outside of maybe showing up to the Ed Smith complex in Sarasota, and possibly taking physicals or something, but I'm excited nonetheless. 

And maybe (hopefully) the return of baseball will provide the impetus I need to get back to blogging regularly. 

(picture "borrowed" from O's Facebook page)