Great Minds Think Alike

Ryan, genius behind “O” No, Another Orioles Blog, and I, obviously have one major commonality. We are both gifted writers. Our genius aside, we also share a love of our Orioles. I have always enjoyed trading with Oriole collectors more than others because I know my Birds will be finding a good home. It also means that I will likely have a few cards they need and vice versa.

That was definitely the case here. But Ryan got to the vintage party before me and he has been busy snatching up lots of O’s. I was quite happy to take 28 pre-1970 Birds and 31 post-1970 Birds off his hands. I broke them down to pre and post ‘70 because at the moment I am only pursuing the former.

My thought process:
The older cards will only become rarer with time and increase in value, making it a more costly venture. I want to try and get them earlier and decrease my expenses. Newer cards will go through a similar change but not as exaggerated in my mind. Then when I have a good grasp on the oldies, move forward in time. I will not however break into the 1980’s. I want this part of my collection to remain “classic” and in my mind the only thing classic in the 80’s was Cal Ripken’s rookie cards (got ‘em).

So without further adieu, my pre-1970 Vintage Orioles haul from Ryan.








Each year when Heritage arrives on shelves, collectors and bloggers debate the merit of the design and how horrible/awesome the originals are. I think every set pre-1970 is awesome. It’s because of the era, the level of play on the field and the history. Technology was a long way off to make these cards “pretty” or “cutting edge”. I think they did a hell of a job with film, presses and artist renderings, while lacking computers, graphic designers and digital formats.

My vintage Orioles hat off to the pioneers of the hobby I love so much.

A Difficult Post to Write

I don’t want anyone to be alarmed; it is just a dramatic title for a basic post. Did the hook work, are you still reading?

If so, here is the upsetting part:
I just added two difficult autographs to my Orioles collection, but they are of a Yankee and a Red Sox player. How disturbing is that?

Dwight Evans 2005 Donruss Greats Autograph #22

Evans finished up his 20 year playing career in 1991 as a member of our club. The first 19 seasons he was of course our rival to the North, amassing 379 homeruns for the Sox.

He didn’t tear the cover off the ball in Baltimore, but I don’t think anyone expected that from a 40 year old, pre steroid era. He did hit a solid .270 over 101 games before retiring.

Evans doesn’t sign TTM and I haven’t been lucky enough to track him down through the Sox organization or public signings. This will have to do for now but he has a handful of Orioles cards I would love to swap for this puppy if anyone is interested. Also, I am not above stalking so if you know when Dewey is, I could track him down.

Aurelio Rodriguez 1981 Topps #34

Aurelio is another player to spend the twilight of his career with the Birds. But unlike Evans, he was not a member of the Evil Empire for very long, playing the majority of his 15 seasons with the California Angels and Detroit Tigers.

I Hate Comcast

Or is it Xfinity. Either way, two weeks with no internet access is awful.

I couldn't do anything at work and I am the smartest person without a "smart" phone.

Well, I'm back again and hopefully, more consistently.

Ray Murray

Ray Murray 1991 Orioles Crown #322

Murray made his debut with the Cleveland Indians in 1948 during their championship run, but his 4 games were not in the playoffs and he did not earn a ring. He spent the next 5 years working his way toward Baltimore, garnering a reputation for a strong arm behind the plate and stronger personality.

He was dubbed "Deacon" becuase of how he would preach to umpires about calls that didn't go his way. He even went so far as to remove all of his gear on the field, kneel behind home plate and pray for the umpire to to regain his sight and no longer be blind. He was promptly ejected from the game. Well deserved, but quite original.

His last season in baseball was the Orioles first in Baltimore, 1954. Murray hit a modest .246 but threw out over 45% of would be base stealers. His final game came on September 25, 1954, exactly 57 years ago. Ray went 2-4 with a double in the 11-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox. He was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dreadful game.

Ray died April 9, 2003 at the age of 85.

Some More 50/50 Help

I made a contact at this years FanFest that has proven to be a big help with my collection. His name is Derrick and he is a autograph hound. He goes by the name Scoreset, because he is trying to complete the colorful 1988 Score set, autograph style. He hits up a ton of minor league games on the East Coast and is always willing to help out. He did just that this season for me.

Brandon Snyder 2011 Topps #213

I will always lean toward either a TTM or IP autograph over a certified autograph because of the personal touch. This bad boy replaces the card of this kid:

Who needs it?

He also sent back two of these:
Rhyne Hughes 2010 Topps Update #282

One of which is for trade if anyone is interested.

And finally:
Josh Bell 2011 Orioles Topps #BAL12

This is my favorite of the two and it will be supplanting my Orioles Postcard.

Josh Bell 2010 Bowman Topps 100 #TP-55



Please let me know if you see anything you like, always looking to make a trade.

Another Manager Success

Keeping with the trend of Managers signing TTM requests after their season ends, I give you, Aaron Ledesma.

Aaron Ledesma 1999 Fleer Tradition Warning Track #W-413

When I sent this card to Aaron, I thought its return would allow me to cross him from the list for good. But then I got my request back and checked Beckett before writing this post. Pacific produced a card in 1998 featuring Ledesma as an Oriole. Damn. Well at least I know he signs, so all I need to do is get my hands on 1998 Pacific #27. Anyone got one? I would prefer not have to buy it from COMC or Sportlots.

Ledesma showed a tremendous amount of promise during his lone season in Baltimore. He hit .352 in only his second major league season and was a good piece to the Orioles infield puzzle. Unfortunately, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined the American League after 1997 and snatched him up. He hit .320 his first season in Tampa before falling off during his third season. His final big league season was in 2000 as a Colorado Rockie. He made one final attempt to reach the bigs in 2002 as an Independant Long Island Duck, with little success.

Ledesma then moved on to the next chapter in his life, coaching. Unfortunately, his success has been within the Yankee organization. In 2008 he was the hitting instructor for their Class-A affiliate. 2009-10 saw him as the hitting coach for AAA Scranton-Wilkes Barre before getting his first managerial gig. The mail travels slowly to the Charleston Riverdogs, this success took seven months.

Success From Billings Montana

The Billings Mustangs finished their 2011 campaign in the Arizona Fall League on Thursday September 8th with a 2-1 win. Shortly thereafter Eli Marrero sent back my TTM request. The postmark was September 9, so I guess he signed everything following the season.

As the hitting instructor, his team finished with the best record in their division, and mised the Playoffs. A weird loop hole left them on the outside looking in. This glitch gave Eli a little more free time to sign a card for me.

Eli Marrero 2005 Topps Gold #UH-49

Eli will always be remembered as a St. Louis Cardinal, having spent the first seven of his ten Major League seasons in the Midwest. Cardinal fans will remember him as part of the trade that brought Adam Wainwright to their club. Orioles fans will not remember him.

He spent 22 games in Baltimore during the 2005 season, only getting 56 plate appearances. His average barely crested .200 but he made the most of his minimal time. Eight of his eleven hits were for extra bases. He reached base 15 times and scored 9 runs, while driving in 11 runs. His few games did allow for Topps to put him in their update set as a Bird.
Beckett lists him as an Oriole in th 2006 Topps Opening Day Autograph set, but I can't find a picture of it anywhere. He was released in October so definitely shouldn't have been an Oriole. Probably just another Beckett mistake.

Happy to cross this name off the list. After his retirement he was off the grid, only popping up in Billings this year. I wasn't very optomistic, just hopeful.

Did You Miss Me?

Probably not, but I have missed the blogosphere. In the middle of work, trying to sell my home and taking care of a pregnant wife, I went on vacation. My first actual vacation since my honeymoon 2 years ago.

Wifey and I spent 10 days in the West Virginia mountains with awful cell service and worse internet availability. So we "unplugged". But that could only last for so long. Consider me plugged back in.

Watch out blogosphere.

Albert Pujols is Hiding From Me

This weekend I had a training class in St. Louis from Friday through Saturday. Pesky Hurricane Irene has delayed my return home, but gave me the opportunity to visit the city. I hit up both downtown casinos this morning and then made my way to the new Busch Stadium.

I was happy for the chance to visit a new stadium and finally catch up with Pujols. I didn't even think an autograph would be possible, I just wanted to watch the man play. On June 30 I went to the Orioles/Cardinals game at Camden Yards to see Pujols play and was disappointed. He was on the DL at the time and I missed him. Today would make up for that.

Except for the fact that Tony LaRussa gave Pujols the day off. It doesn't make any sense to me. They didn't play last night, just during the day and Monday is a travel day. Why didn't he play? He knew I was coming. He must have.

Well, the Orioles could always pony up $200 million to get him to come to Baltimore so that I could see him play. You hear that Mr. Angelos? Make it easier on me please.

All was not lost though. I did get a chance to spend time with Matt Holliday. And I even got to bring him back to Baltimore with me.


My bobble head has not been opened, I just pilfered the photo from the interweb. If anyone is interested in this item, please let me know. I would be looking for an Orioles Autograph hit in return.

Has anyone had a player escape them like Pujols? I am interested to hear any stories of tracking down Superstars.

Oh yeah, the stadium. It is awesome. It comes fully equipped with six tiers, tons of luxury boxes, high prices and a really loud fan base. Every person in the stands was wearing Cardinals gear of some kind and each fan hung on every pitch. Until they all left, early. The sixth inning saw a mass exodus that clogged up the mass transit system for a few stops. I know this because I was there with them. Sorry, I had to grab a nap before my attempt to fly home tonight.

I hope everyone on the East Coast is safe after the Hurricane ripped through their lives. Wifey hung tough and took care of the homestead and I can't wait to see her around midnight.

A Sad Day

I know I am a little behind, but I am in training half way across the country:

I can't believe Mike Flanagan is dead. It's kinda surreal, especially finding out in a Hair Cuttery getting clipped.

His personality and pressence will ne missed.

I am not a professional, but Tim Kurkjian is, read his sentiments here.