2022 Topps Heritage Blaster - One Pack a Day "Break" - Day IV

 Now we're in the groove. I'm currently writing this up at a Starbucks in the greater Tampa Bay area because I needed to get out of the house for a little bit. Visiting family is great, but there is only so long that you can stare at the walls. 

It's kind of funny that everyone around me seems to be working on some serious stuff. Lots of school books out on tables for the middle of June. Then you have me, sitting alone and taking crappy cell phone photos of baseball cards (yes I wiped the table down first). Gotta love being a low-paid blogger some days. Here we go with today's pack.

#362 D.J. Stewart

Back-to-back Orioles! Well, kind of. Mullins was the final card of the last pack and Stewart was the first of this one. The only problem, Stewart isn't currently on the 40-man roster. It was a bit of a surprise this spring when Baltimore DFA'd him, but unfortunately there is a glut of outfielders in the organization and the emergence of Anthony Santander kind of crowded him out. He is is still with organization and recently returned from the injured list in Norfolk.

#241 Tim Anderson

As they say, you don't walk out of Tuscaloosa and Andersen has seen very few pitches he doesn't think he can't hit. With a lifetime batting average of .290 and an on-base of .318 you can tell he doesn't take many free passes. His career walk rate is just 3.5% which is awesome. Go up their and hack, kid. 

#264 Jurikson Profar

Another player that you wonder what could have been if injuries hadn't slowed him down at various points in his career, Profar has settle into a defense-first, play anywhere in the field kind of guy. After debuting as a middle-infielder with Texas he's spent most of the last few years in the outfield playing more than 20 games in left, center, right, and first base in 2021. He even chipped in 10 games at second base last season. He had some pop at points in his career with back-to-back 20 HR seasons.

#343 Luis Torrens

Another member of the young group of players in Seattle, Torrens has just 563 at-bats over five seasons in the majors. He's still only 26-years-old and showed decently in 2021, the one year he saw somewhat regular action. In 378 plate appearances he slashed .243/.299/.431 with 15 home runs. He hasn't found the seats yet this season in 93 PA, so that's a bit concerning.

#394 Emmanuel Clase 

A Topps All-Star Rookie trophy card! Probably my favorite reoccurring subset in Topps sets. Clase throws 101 and has a 94-mph slider. Seriously, how does anyone hit major league pitching.

#68 Home Run Leaders

The nice thing about these leaders cards is that it's a cheap way to get a card with some legends on it. I can get a 1965 Topps Mantle for $40 raw or I can get a 1965 HR Leaders card that has his face along with Harmon Killerbrew and Boog Powell on it for just $12.50. As a cheap person I'm going $12.50 all day long. Plus, BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGGG

#273 Hoy Park - RC

Pirates rookie card! Get your next Yankees star cheap. Okay, that may not be the case with Park as the 25-year-old doesn't crack the Pirates top prospects list. Also, he was already with the Yankees as he signed with them as a free agent in 2014 before heading to the Pittsburgh organization in a 2021 deal for Clay Holmes. Park was called up last week when Ben Gamel went on the IR, but sent down the next day later after the Pirates acquired Yu Chang from the Guardians.

#138 C.J. Cron

Hit bombs. That's pretty much Cron's approach to baseball. It's worked well for him as he's hit 160 HRs in 3054 at-bats for a 4.8% career HR%, well above the league average of 3.0%. He's done it without striking out that much. The University of Utah product strikes out in  22.7% of his at-bats, just above the league average of 21.8%. Not a bad way to earn an estimated $23 million in salary over a 9-year period.

#165 Rodolfo Castro - RC

A Pirates rookie hot pack. Sweet! Castro had 5 home runs last season. They also happened to be the first five hits of his major league career. In case you were wondering, yes that is a record. Here's how his career started:

SO - swinging

GO to first

GO to third

Walk

SO - swinging

HR!

PO to first

SO - swinging

SO - looking

GO to second

GO to short (double play)

HR!

HR!

Walk

GO to second

SO - swinging

GO to short

FO to center

FO to center

GO to second

FO to center

HR!

HR!

That's an interesting first nine games. At that point he had a .238/.269/.833 slash line with 5 HRs and 7 RBI. His first non-HR hit came a few days later and it was a ground-rule double. His first hit that actually stayed in the park came a few days after that and was a ground ball single up the middle. So far this season he has 14 hits and just one of those is a HR.

Running count through four packs

Inserts - 1 (Baseball Flashback)

Parallels - 1 (Chrome Refractor)

Short Prints - 1

Wander's - 0

Orioles - 2 (Cedric Mullins, DJ Stewart)

2022 Topps Heritage Blaster - One Pack a Day "Break" Day Three

We're back with the third pack of the break and we pick up an insert and an Oriole! Not a bad pack for a retail blaster.  

#142 Logan Gilbert

We ended the last pack with a Mariner and we start this one with one. Logan Gilbert with the sneaky double first name name. He's off to a nice start in his second season in Seattle with a 5-2 record, 3.09 FIP, and 167 ERA+. 

#26 Charlie Blackmon

Blackmon is a member of the three-time draft club having been picked by the Marlins in the 28th round of the 28th round of the 2004 draft, the Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2005 draft, and finally the Rockies in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft. He's now in the 12th season of his MLB career and is two hits shy of 1500 for his career. While he's definitely enjoyed a Coors Field bump, his road stats are still respectable at .262/.318/.426 with 85 of his 200 career home runs.

#199 Ryan Zimmerman

Another recently retired player, Zimmerman made his debut for the Nationals in 2005, their inaugural season in the nation's capital. He struck out as a pinch hitter against Atlanta's Jim Brower. A mere 1,799 games later he retired after the 2021 season as the franchise leader in games played, at-bats, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, total bases, doubles, home runs, RBI, strikeouts, runs created, extra base hits, and times on base. He may not be a hall of famer, but he'll definitely have his number 11 retired by the organization.

#332 Jason Heyward

The first round draft pick of the Braves burst onto the scene in 2010 with an all-star season where he hit 18 home runs, slashed .277/.393/.456 and posted a 6.4 WAR as a 20-year-old. Not too shabby. After five seasons with Atlanta he would be traded to St. Louis in the ill-fated Shelby Miller deal as they knew they wouldn't be able to afford his big free agent contract. Heyward signed that big deal with the Chicago Cubs - 8 years, $184 million. 

He never quite lived up to that big money, posting just 9.2 WAR during his 7 years with the Cubs and it's looking more and more like he won't make it to the end of the contract (which expires after next season). 

#364 Franmil Reyes

It looked like Reyes had his breakout season last year as the then 25-year-old belted 30 HRs, knocked in 85, his highest totals since 2019 when he racked up 37 home runs between San Diego and Cleveland. Injuries have slowed him a bit to start this season as he's struck out 57 times in 145 plate appearances with just 3 bombs. The 39.3%  SO% is well over his career 30.3% number. If he can come back healthy, the Guardians could make a run at the NL Central. They may be 25-26, but they are only 4 games back of Minnesota.

#13 Buster Posey

The recently retired parade continues with a possible Hall of Famer. Buster Posey (who I still think of a 24-year-old prospect and not a 34-year-old veteran) hung up the tools of ignorance after a 12-year career with the San Francisco Giants. With 1500 hits, a MVP, 3 World Series, rookie of the year, a batting title, and a five-time silver slugger award his numbers make for a borderline Hall of Fame career. 

#BF-5 Bench Hammers Three Homers off Carlton (1:18 packs)

This insert takes us back to May 9th, 1973 (I was -3 years old). The sideburns are long, the pants are tight and checkered. Watergate is in the news, Columbo is on the TV and Johnny Bench is socking dingers for the Cincinnati Reds. On this day he belted 3 home runs off of some lefty named Steve Carlton to give the Reds a 9-7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. After homering in his last at-bat the night before, Bench was credited with 4 home runs in 4 at bats, which tied the National League record. With a chance to set the record in his final at-bat, he grounded out. 

When asked about it after the game, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer, "I couldn't help thinking about Roberto Clemente. He hit three homers and drove in eight runs against us and the Pirates still lost the game."

It wasn't the first time he'd gone deep three times in a game, either. On July 26th, 1970 he went yard a trio of times against the St. Louis Cardinals. The guy on the mound that day - some lefty names Steve Carlton. 

#143 Tommy Edman

The back of the card highlights an unusual play from last season. The Cardinals had runners on second and third against the Brewers when Edman drilled a 2-0 change-up to deep centerfield. Lorenzo Cain (hey, we got his card in yesterday's pack!) made a nice leaping play to catch the ball and quickly flipped it to Avisail Garcia. It wasn't fast enough to prevent Harrison Bader from tagging up at second and following Edmundo Sosa across the plate for the rare 2-run sacrifice fly. 

#232 Cedric Mullins

Our first Oriole! In a bleak season for the Birds, Mullins was a shining beacon as he became the first player in Orioles history to post a 30/30 season. He also showed that the COVID-shortened 2020 wasn't a fluke and that his decision to drop switch-hitting was the right one. He slashed .277/.337/.451 off of lefties after spending his entire professional career hitting from the right side against them. Also, this is an uncorrected error card as they have his name listed as Cedric Boyce Mullins on the back and according to Baseball Reference it should be Boyce Cedric Mullins. 

Inserts - 1 (Baseball Flashback)

Parallels - 1 (Chrome Refractor)

Short Prints - 1

Wander's - 0

Orioles - 1 (Cedric Mullins)

2022 Topps Heritage Blaster Box - One Pack a Day "Break" Day 2

 Wow, just the second day into this thing and I'm already a day behind. I'll blame the fact that I am on vacation and that time is just a construct instead of the actual reason - laziness. That being said I did have a nice little day  and enjoyed some of random things  I like to do when I'm back in the area - Cuban sandwich and spicy gumbo from Tampa Cuban, drive down Alt-19 and see the water, over to Tampa and stop at a museum (Florida Museum of Photography this time) and a nice stroll along the Riverwalk before heading to a hockey game.

The Lightning won and a good time was had by all (except all of the Rangers fans that came down here to get sunburned and watch their team lose back-to-back games). Enough about me, though. You're here for the cards. Let's get right to it.

Pack #2

#90 Vidal Brujan - RC

We kick things off with another Tampa Bay Ray! It's the other Ray Rookie folks were excited about last year. Currently the 4th ranked prospect in the organization according to MLB.com, Brujan has scuffled a bit at the plate so far in his major league career with a .115/.163/.146 slash line in 34 career games.

#174 Lorenzo Cain

Here we have Cain pictured reflecting on his long (12 seasons) career. Now in the final season of his 5-year. $80 million deal it's likely that things are near the end for one of the best defensive outfielders of his generation. He's now in that unenviable position of seeing his playing time reduced as the Brewers look to the future in the outfield, still it sounds like he's willing to accept that role and see what the future holds.

#150 Shohei Ohtani

Hey, hey it's Shohei! The beauty of Heritage is that there are SEVEN different versions of this card. Alas, this is just the regular base as far as I can tell, but it's still cool to have the card of the reigning MVP.

#234 Mark Melancon

Are we sure Melancon isn't a left-handed reliever? He's put together a Jesse Orosco-esque career that has now spanned 14 years and and 9 teams. Coming off of a 2021 where he saved 39 games for the San Diego Padres, Melancon has scuffled a bit in his first season as the Diamondbacks closer but still has 11 saves (despite a 1.800 WHIP).

#66 2021 Saves Leaders

It's a Mark Melancon hot pack! Here he is smiling away in his Padres uniform with an equally happy Liam Hendricks. Gotta love those league leaders cards.

#367 Cal Raleigh - RC

It's a rookie card. Quick. Slab It and Flip It! Or, you know, just go ahead and throw it in a box and wait for a Mariners collector to trade/sell it to. Raliegh may not be hitting for average (.163), but he does have a little pop in his bat (6 HRs in 95 plate appearances this year) so he's your typical modern day baseball player, I guess. 

Ohhhhh.... the next card was backwards in the back!

Variation? Chrome? Auto?

#458 Johnny Cueto - SP

Nope, nothing uber-special. It was just the standard short print for cards numbered 401 and above. Cueto is with the White Sox this season for his 15th season in the big leagues.

#126 Taijuan Walker

It's been almost a decade since Walker was a can't-miss prospect with the Seattle Mariners. Injuries have sent his career on a different path, one that has led to the Mets and a decent (but healthy) start to this season. He's 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA in 9 games.

#281 Colton Welker - RC

Welker had his first taste of the major leagues in 2021 with 37 plate appearances. It might have been more if didn't have to serve an 80-game suspension for PED use as well. Injuries have also hampered the progress of the former 4th-round pick. Just last week it was announced that he would be undergoing shoulder surgery. 

Running count through two packs:

Inserts - 0

Parallels - 1 (Chrome Refractor)

Short Prints - 1

Wandar's - 0

Orioles - 0

Orioles Victory Card Number Fourteen (1987 Season Edition): Update on the current season

Baltimore Orioles victory number 14: 6-4 over the Chicago White Sox

2009 Topps Finest Nick Markakis Blue Rerfractor



Nothing like a six-game road trip to raise the spirits of a team. The Orioles finished off their sweep of the White Sox with a 6-4 win in Chicago. They hit 3 more home runs which brought their total in the series to an impressive 12. The bats, especially the middle of the order ones, have heated up. The pitching staff has been good enough to pick the wins, but other than Scott McGregor's outing against Minnesota, there hasn't been much consistency. The bullpen still has its ups and downs, but hopefully some relief is on the way.

So things seem to be stabilizing in 1987, how about 2020? How are things going right now.  Well, not much has changed. Sports are still on pause. At least leagues are starting to be in a position to talk about restarting competition. The owners have agreed amongst themselves on a plan to get through these weird times.

Of course, agreeing amongst themselves is the easy part. Getting the players to agree to it is another thing. Meetings are underway, but don't expect a lot of positive news in the next week. The big sticking point is likely to be the 50/50 split of any revenue generated whenever the season starts back up.

The players have already agreed to a reduction in their salaries back in March when the lockdown's began. Their salaries were set to be paid on a pro-rated basis based on the number of games played. So you can imagine that they might be a bit disgruntled to be asked to sacrifice even more of their salary. 

With the CBA coming up for renewal in 2021 they are wary of giving the owners any leeway in regards to how salaries are arranged. They can ask their hockey brethren about how well a 50/50 revenue split goes. If you're not familiar with how the hockey world works, just type "NHL escrow" into your Google Machine and enjoy.

I'm sure if asked, the owners will say that it's a temporary thing and that it's the "only way" they can survive moving forward, especially if fans aren't allowed to attend games at any point of the season. They do have a point. Without ticket revenue their bottom lines do take a hit, but why should the players just take their word for it?

The only way the players are going to agree to a revenue split is if they know the owners are being truthful about their finances. They have zero trust built up with the players union and if the players aren't sure exactly what revenue is being divided up, how do they know that they're getting their fair share? It's not like the owners have the best history when it comes to being truthful about business relations with the players (seeL collusion and free agency). 

Will not having fans in the stands hurt the owner's pocket books? Yes, but, according to Statista ticket revenue as a percentage of the league's overall revenue has been declining since 2009. IN 2019, it only accounted for about 30% of the total revenue. As long as games are being played money will still roll into the coffers from their deals with ESPN, Fox, and their streaming partners. You can't forget about their "official gaming" partnership with MGM.

That being said, the players do have to realize that a pro-rated salary may not be enough. The owners are footing the bulk of any financial losses and they are interested in getting things going as soon as possible. They can't dig a line in the sand and become overly rigid in negotiations. They may have to accept some terms that they feel are uncomfortable if they are to come to an agreement. After all, isn't the best compromise one that leaves both parties feeling a little uneasy?

All of this is just empty theorizing if the health aspect of this issue isn't solved. Until they get approval from state and federal officials to restart the season and can assure the players that all precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of the virus without affecting the non-baseball world in a negative way, what's the point?

Millionaires (the players) vs billionaires (the owners) is never a great look when the unemployment rate is over 20%, but seeing those two groups snipe back and forth is a bit of a return to normal. 

Orioles Victory Card Number 33: Even out west, that win went late into the night

Baltimore Orioles Victory Number 33: 10-8, 16 innings over the Los Angeles Angels

2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Koji Uehara

Koji Uehara had 13 saves in his 3 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Steve Wilkerson is now only 12 behind him.  After three chances, the Orioles finally held on to a late lead as Wilkerson, originally an infielder, now an outfielder by trade, retired the Angels 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 16th inning to preserve a 10-8 lead. With a steady diet of 50-ish mile-an-hour "fastballs" he got Brian Goodwin (who had homered in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game) to fly out to center. He then enticed a ground ball from Cole Calhoun for out number two. He then had future hall-of-famer Albert Puljos fly out to shallow centerfield for the final out.

Wilkerson entered the history books as the first position player to earn a save (a feat that earned him a baseball card) on what was surely one of his more interesting nights. He was 1-7 at the plate, but drove in a run. He misplayed a flyball into a double that gave the Angels an early lead and then came in to earn the save.

The Orioles themselves had an interesting night. Mychal Givens came in the 8th inning and struck out the world's best player, Mike Trout, looking - with the goahead run on base. Trey Mancini planted a fastball in the right field bleachers in the top of the ninth and it looked like the Os may pull it out. Givens started the ninth by making Shohei Ohtani look foolish on a change-up for a strikeout. Then Goodwin blasted a fastball into the seats.  First lead blown.

In the fifteenth, the Orioles scratched some runs across the old-fashioned way. Jonathan Villar reached on a fielder's choice and then stole second. He advanced to third on a wild pickoff throw. Dwight Smith, Jr. walked and then stole second. Jace Peterson justified his call-up with a 2-run single. He then stole second and scored on Hanser Alberto's single.

With a three-run lead and a runner on second, Tanner Scott forgot how to throw strikes walking three in a row. Trout then got his revenge by lashing a double down the left field line. Two runs scored to tie the game but David Fletcher was ruled out at home on a close play. Second lead blown.

In the sixteenth inning, with the east coast starting to wake up for work, Jonathan Villar blasted a two-run shot off of Griffen Canning to give the Orioles yet another lead. Wilkerson shut it down from there. Just your normal 16-inning, 6-hour 19-minute, 20-pitchers used, 18 runs scored, 10-8 victory.

Wins like this are the fun parts of a mostly dark season. They really don't mean much for the Orioles (although they did pick up a game on the division-leading Yankees), but do provide some fun for the club and the fans.

Orioles Victory Card Number 32: I just really like this card

Baltimore Orioles Victory Number 32: 7-2 over the Arizona Diamondbacks

1994 Score Burger King Cal Ripken Jr. Gold

While surfing through COMC a few weeks ago I stumbled across this card. I didn't know it existed, but it was cheap and I didn't have it so I added it to my cart. Now, of course, I need to complete the set.

In 1994, Score partnered with Burger King to honor Cal Ripken Jr. with a nine-card set available at Burger Kings around the Baltimore and Washington, DC area. If you purchased a large drink, then for a quarter you could buy a pack of three cards. According to baseballcardpedia each pack contained two base cards and one gold parallel.

Featured above is card number 7 and is named "The Ironman". The back details a streak that was more remarkable than his consecutive games streak. On September 14th, 1987 (two days before my 11th birthday) his father, then Orioles manager, told Ripken to stay on the bench in the bottom of the eighth inning. That broke a streak of consecutive innings played that had started in 1982 and lasted for 8,243 frames.

The fact that the Orioles were losing 18-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays and Ripken, Jr. was in a bit of a slump made it easy for Senior. to make the call. According to the Washington Post article following the game,

"[T]onight worked out to be a perfect time to do it. I wanted to take that monkey off his back . . . I wanted to get everybody to stop writing articles about the consecutive-inning streak . . . Playing games wasn't wearing on him, but all those articles were."

As for Junior, he felt a little strange:

"It's a long time since I sat on the bench. I came in {the dressing room} and then I went back out and watched. It was a weird feeling and I need time to reflect on it."

He had been in a bit of a meandering slump that summer, seeing his average slowly drop from a high of .281 in the beginning of July to around the .250 mark when he was benched. Overall, 1987 was the first year he had a bit of a lull in his offense as he slashed .252/.333/.436 for the season, all career lows at that point. He still hit 27 home runs and drove in 98 so it wasn't like he was in a Chris Davis-esque free fall.

Following that benching, he didn't take another inning off until September 25th when umpire Tim Welke ejected him in the first inning of a game against the New York Yankees for, according to Welke, "He argued balls and strikes, screamed in my face and his helmet hit my mask."

(It would be his second career ejection, in 1989, where the umpire he ejected him, Drew Coble, would refer to it as like "throwing God out of Sunday school")

Still in between those rests, Ripken played 9 complete games, including both ends of double headers on September 18th and September 20th. Luckily, in the case of both ejections, Ripken had done enough to qualify for an appearence and keep his consecutive games steak alive. He had cracked the 900-in-a-row mark earlier in 1987 and was just started to garner talk about how he might be able to make a run at Lou Gehrig's record.

As for the Burger King set, I'll probably get around to completing it on my next order with COMC. The base cards go for about a buck a piece while the gold variations can be up to $3.00 per card. The only real difference is his name is in a gold script on front as compared to a white font.

It's a shame they don't sell cards through fast food restaurants any more (Tim Horton's does partner with Upper Deck for hockey cards in Canada). It was always fun to be able to grab some bonus cards while wolfing down a Big Mac or a Whopper.

Orioles Victory Card Number 18: Grand Slams are Fun

Baltimore Orioles Victory Number 18: 9-6 over the San Francisco Giants

2018 Update Manny Machado Vintage Logo #35 of 99

It's not often that a team gives up five runs in the first inning and comes back to win. That, however, is the joy of the grand slam. After Andrew Cashner struggled with location and watched the Giants slap the ball around in the first inning, the Orioles came right back and put a six-spot on the board in the bottom of the inning. The highlight - a grand slam by Dwight Smith, Jr.

(Grand Slam comes at the 2:00 mark of the video)

It was great to see his father (and former Oriole) Dwight Smith so happy after the blast to right field.

It was not a pretty inning by either side, but that's probably what you should expect when the teams had a combined 39 and 72 record going into the game. There were wild throws and bobbled grounders, both pitchers were trying to live on the edges and falling behind on the count while racking up egregious pitch counts.

The following inning saw a few more runs skate across the plate. Former Orioles prospect Mike Yastrzemski hit his first career home run as the Orioles broadcast crew was talking to the man that let him go in spring training - General Manager Mike Elias.  In the bottom of the inning, our hero and savior Trey Mancini homered in the bottom of the inning to give the Orioles the lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

My favorite part of the game (granted I only watched the first two inning) was Jonathan Villar prior to Mancini's shot. He bunted to reach base. Then he stole second easily. Not satisfied with that, he stole third as well. It's nice to see a little bit of small ball still exists in this day and age of home runs and strikeouts.

Villar went 2 for 2 with two walks while Renato Nunez went 2 for 4 with a home run. While they may not bring a massive return, if they keep doing what they're doing, they could peak the interest of a club looking to add infield depth down the stretch and fetch the Orioles a couple of mid-tier prospects in return. 

Cashner gutted out five innings after his disastrous start and the bullpen actually held onto a lead as the Orioles picked up their third win in their last six games. Not quite a hot streak, but considering it took them seventeen games to win their prior three, it's a little something positive. Hopefully, that carries into the month of June and they can pick up a few more victories before the trade deadline rips through their roster once again.

According to Baseball Almanac Manny Machado has 8 career grand slams, including three in a month's span of time in 2017.

Orioles Victory Card 11 : A tale of two prospects

Orioles Victory Number 11: 5-4 over the Chicago White Sox

2019 Topps Dylan Bundy


Baseball is a funny game and projecting success or failure of prospects is more or less a shot in the dark. Of all of the professional sports picking which player will succeed and which will be selling cars three years after they're drafted baseball has to be the toughest. It's also the longest journey for prospects. Kids drafted this summer may not make an impact for three or four years.  And that's for the ones drafted in the top two or three rounds.

Even if those prospects make it to the majors, year-in and year-out success can be tough to maintain. Just because someone was a first round pick doesn't mean he is going to win 20 games. Vice versa, just because a player is drafted in the 46th round doesn't mean he is going to be a career journeyman. Sometimes that 46th round pick can be leading a team in victories while the first round pick is just searching for a start where he doesn't give up a home run.

In 2011, the Baltimore Orioles made Dylan Bundy their first round pick and the fourth person chosen in the major league draft. He was the fourth pitcher taken following Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Danny Hultzen (Mariners), and Trevor Bauer (Diamondbacks). It took them all summer to sign the strapping righthanded high-school pitcher from Oklahoma, but with his skill set (two breaking balls and a bat-breaking 98 MPH fastball) the consensus was that he wouldn't be long in the minors.

That same year, way down in the 46th round - a round where favors are cashed in and family friends are drafted, the Atlanta Braves selected John Means, another high school hurler from fly-over country. According to Means, he was surprised at being drafted and was injured at the time the scout came out to visit him in Kansas City.  The scout actually advised against him signing at the time and so Means went to college. After a year at a nearby community college, Means ended up at West Virginia and then, after his junior season, was drafted in the 11th round by the Orioles in 2014.

By 2014, Bundy had already made his major league debut, a 2-appearance, 2-inning cup of coffee in 2012, been subject to a pitch count controversy, and was recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was also in the middle of a 5-year $6+ million contact. He was also a leading figure in the next wave of great Orioles pitchers that would return the organization to their former glory.

After sailing through the minors in his first year in professional baseball (from Delmarva to the majors in just one summer) the pain in his elbow kept him on the shelf for over a year. Recovery and rehab consumed all of 2013 and the beginning of 2014. He lasted just nine semi-productive appearances in Fredrick and Aberdeen before shoulder pain shut him down for the rest of the summer.

Means shared roster time with Bundy on that 2014 Aberdeen IronBirds. Following a brief stay in rookie ball, the left-hander made nine starts in Aberdeen and pitched fairly well, striking out 33 and walking only 2. He would spend the next four years working his way up through the system, never once making a top-prospects list for the Orioles, but also never getting to the point where he was in danger of being released. He gave up hits, but walked few and kept the ball in the park.

In 119 minor league starts from 2014-2018 Means had a pedestrian Win/Loss record (35 and 41) and an uninspiring 1.323 WHIP. There were some positives, he only walked 2 per game and gave up .8 home runs per game - a dreadfully important stat for pitching in the bandbox that is Camden Yards. With the Orioles in complete burn down mode, he earned a late-season call-up to the majors. He appeared in the first game of a double header against the Red Sox and gave up five runs on six hits in a 19-3 blowout. He didn't walk anyone but did give up a 3-run homer to J.D. Martinez.

Bundy had pitched in the game prior to Means' debut and lasted about as long (3 innings) and also surrendered a home run, a 2-run shot by Mookie Betts. He was saddled with the loss, his 16th of the season. The home run was the 39th out of 41 that he would give up during a trying season.

He was no longer the upper-90s power pitcher that had debuted with such promise six years earlier. That electric fastball, when left in the middle of the plate, was knocked around by hitters in ballparks all across the American League.  Bundy is still the de facto ace on the Orioles, now more by attrition than by sheer talent.

There are moments when he can look untouchable. He spots the fastball and then mixes in a sharp breaking slider that has hitters looking foolish. It's still there, that spark of a dominating pitcher, but all too often he labors around the strike zone. He fails to hit the corners and falls behind in counts. Then he is forced to come over the heart of the plate, and there it is extremely vulnerable. Despite several years in the majors he is still learning to pitch within his current talents. He now has to be more Greg Maddux than Roger Clemens.

Meanwhile, John Means has succeeded by being John Means. Mix speeds and pitches (according to FanGraphs he uses his change-up about 33% of the time and his fastball about 54% of the time with an 11 MPH difference between the two). He works fast and doesn't give up home runs. Well, at least until his last start when the White Sox tagged him for two bombs and jumped his hard hit percentage from 16% to 20%.

All of Means stats come with the usual small sample size warning. As he pitches more, the hitters will develop a "book" on him. His tendencies will become known and it's on him to figure out the next step, how to get major league hitters out when they know what you're throwing.

The summer is long, especially if you have any investment in the Orioles, and John Means may never win another game in the majors. Bundy could figure it out and become a dominant, soft-tossing ace.

For the record, John Means currently has zero officially licensed baseball cards. There are some minor league cards floating around, but he has yet to have one issued by Topps or even by Panini. On the other hand, according to the Trading Card Database, Bundy has 1,064. That will most likely change over the summer as Means will pop up Topps Update series and a handful of other releases.

Orioles Victory Card Number 3 - David Hess Will Lead the Way

Orioles Victory Number 3: 6-5 over the Toronto Blue Jays

2018 Topps Chris Tillman

Seriously, I'm obviously having trouble keeping up with these wins. No off days, actual morning shifts and a two hour time differential is wrecking havoc on my free time writing. Oh and I was recapping the Lightning victory over the Senators as well.  It's hard to watch two games at once when you're supposed to be keeping track of one of them.

So I missed David Hess' 6+ inning, bullpen-saving start against the Blue Jays.  The Orioles really needed a starter to work deep into a game in order to save some arms. It shouldn't be so shocking that he worked into the seventh inning, he did work at least six innings in seven of his starts last year. Hopefully, he can keep that rolling this year and become one of those unsung, back-of-the-rotation innings-eaters that help keep a team around .500.

Trey Mancini and Jonathan Villar keep hitting and Chris Davis managed a walk (baby steps). The bullpen did enough to hold the win, even if it was a bit of a Katie-bar-the-door ending. Brandon Hyde kept true to his closer-by-committee stance as Richard Bleier became the third pitcher to pick up a save. 

Hopefully they keep finding a way.

Orioles Victory Card # 2: Well...this was unexpected

Orioles Victory Number 2: 7-5 over the New York Yankees

2002 Fleer Ultra Brook Fordyce

If you had the Orioles taking two out of three from the Yankees on opening weekend, well you're better at this than I am. I was thinking one of three would be good and if they were at least competitive for all three, but lost, that would be ok as well.

Instead, timely offense, Yankee mistakes and a cavalcade of relievers all led to the O's finishing up the weekend in second place, mere percentage points out of first. This could be the high point of the season (if you're a glass half empty person) or the beginning of a super fun summer (if you like the glass being half full).

One of the fun surprises was the animated actions of Pedro Severino. It was a delight seeing him pump his fist after strikes and emphatically position his glove to remind the pitcher where he wanted the pitch to be.  As a former catcher (through high school, at least) I remember there were certain pitchers that needed a little extra support or encouragement. Either they didn't pay attention that much or were quick to get down on themselves if something went wrong.

Watching him pump up Dylan Bundy throughout the first four innings was great. Hopefully, that's something that can continue throughout the season. As for Bundy, there were some positives to take from his start. He only made it through 3.2 innings, but he did strike out 7 and more importantly did not allow a home run. That's something that only happened in 9 of his 31 starts last season and only once in his last 15 appearances. 

The five walks were a bit of a bummer and the biggest reason he couldn't make it out of the fourth inning, but it's still a positive start for him. There were five flyballs hit against him, but nothing that came close to leaving the yard. That's quite an accomplishment against the Yankees. He'll get to face them in his next start in Camden Yards this weekend, hopefully the results are the same.

John Means bailed the pitching staff out with a solid 3+ innings of work. He racked up 5 strikeouts of his own by mostly featuring his change-up. It was working so well that he basically broke Giancarlo Stanton  with a change-up to end the jam the Orioles were in in the fourth inning. I'm all for him rolling through the AL East throwing his change-up 45.6% of the time. Just keep throwing it until they hit it.

On to the Blue Jays!

Orioles Victory Card Number 45

Orioles Victory Number 45: 6-3 over the New York Yankees

1985 Topps Traded Earl Weaver

The Orioles avoided yet another series sweep by winning on Sunday in New York. They inadvertently mimicked the Tampa Bay Rays "opener" strategy as Alex Cobb lasted all of four pitches. Luckily none of those pitches were tagged for home runs and the O's were able to overcome an early deficit on the back of two home runs from Tim Beckham and a couple of RBIs from the suddenly scorching hot DJ Stewart.

The win leads them into their final week of the season where they face the Red Sox for three games in Fenway before returning home to finish the season with four against the Houston Astros. Nothing like ending the season against the best team in baseball (Boston) and a team that should have a 100 wins by the time their jet touches down at BWI (Houston has 98 going into their series with Toronto). So that means there is a chance that the Orioles won't win another game this season.

Their season record against Boston is 2-14 and they were swept in Houston way back in April.  Should they fail to win a game in the upcoming week that will leave Buck Showalter with a record of 667-686 during his tenure as skipper in Baltimore. That's good enough for second in career wins as an Orioles manager as well as second for losses. He trails the man above, Earl Weaver, in both categories.  The diminutive Hall of Fame manager ended his career in Baltimore with a record of 1480-1060, a record which most likely will never be matched.

Speaking of endings, it sounds like Showalter's time in Baltimore is approaching it's end as well. USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweeted that Buck is "expected to be dismissed" when the season is over while Jon Heyman reported that the long-tenured manager is "very likely to be replaced" at season's end. Both reporters have been wrong in their predictions in their past about a great many things, but it's not going out on a limb suggesting that the manager of a club that has lost 110+ games is going to be let go, especially when the end of their contract coincides with the dismal season.

Of course, for Showalter's contract not to be renewed someone has to be in charge. And based on an article (paywall) by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal from earlier this month - it's not quite certain who is running the ship these days:

"But the league, which has not heard from [current owner] Peter Angelos in the current calendar year, wants the Orioles to appoint a new control person by November or December, sources say. At the moment, even the extent of the son's authority is unclear, according to some in the organization."

Reports indicate that John and Louis, the aforementioned sons, are running the team due to their father's declining health. Former Oriole legend Brady Anderson, nominally the VP of Baseball Operations, has the ear of the younger Angelos' and may be encroaching on Dan Duquette's territory.  The same reports that herald Showalter's departure claim that Duquette should be retained. If he is, there has to be a clear delineation of duties between him and Anderson so that they hire the correct replacement for Showalter and engineer the rebuild correctly.

As for Showalter, he will leave Baltimore with a pretty good legacy despite the atrocious last season. He took over in 2010 and finished the season 34-23 (impressive for a club that finished with 96 losses). After another 90+ loss season in 2011, the Orioles took off finishing with .500 or better records in five consecutive seasons, peaking in 2014 with 96 wins and a spot in the American League Championship Series.

They would make it back to the playoffs again in 2016, losing in the AL Wildcard game when Showalter infamously left Zach Britton (who had given up 4 earned runs ALL YEAR LONG) in the bullpen and brought Ubaldo Jimenez (who was not having a great year) into a tie game in extra innings. That did not end well:

Since that moment, the Orioles magic seemed to wane. Despite being in contention for most of 2017, an ugly September sent them spiraling down the standings. The team that had outperformed it's underlying numbers could no longer slug their way past a bad rotation. The defense suffered as did their bullpen - the two hallmarks that allowed them to compete with the Red Sox and Yankees - and by 2018 the team was an embarrassment.

Has the game passed Showalter by? No, but that doesn't mean it isn't time for a new voice in the clubhouse. For whatever reason, the Orioles aren't responding to his leadership. Also, is he the right voice for a rebuilding team? He's managed for 20 years and has 1549 career wins. Three times he's been named manager of the year. Is it fair to him to have to watch 22-year-olds flail away as they learn to win at the major league level for the next two seasons? Probably not.

The competition to be the next Orioles manager will be wide open. Will they promote from within? The young players coming through the organization might be more familiar with the coaches from down in the farm system. Or do they go with an experienced bench coach that's ready to make the next step? That will be the biggest question for the brain trust on Eutaw Street to answer this winter and the biggest step towards building the next great Orioles team. Hopefully they get it right.

Orioles Victory Card Number 44

Orioles Victory Number 44: 2-1 over the Toronto Blue Jays

1990 Donruss Ben McDonald

Despite avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays, the Orioles appear to have the overall number one pick in next year's draft. The Royals (who were swept by Pittsburgh) are eight games "back" of Baltimore in the race to the bottom of the standings. One of the key factors in the Orioles victory was D.J. Stewart. The 25th pick in 2015 launched a towering home run and scored the winning run after doubling in the 7th inning.

Stewart had struggled in the early going of his MLB career as he failed to record a hit in his first 15 plate appearances. In his last two games, however, he is 3-for-5 with 3 runs scored. So, perhaps he is starting to adjust to his somewhat surprising big league call up.

Speaking of surprising, Stewart is the first non-top-five draft pick (not counting supplemental picks) drafted by the Orioles to make his debut for them since Brandon Snyder (drafted 13th in 2005) had a cup of coffee with the club in 2010 and 2011. Granted, the Orioles were drafting in the top 10 most of the years that followed so Stewart didn't have much competition.

Barring a late-season run, the Orioles will be drafting number one overall in 2019. As of right now, the consensus pick would be Bobby Witt, Jr., a five-tool shortstop playing high-school ball in Texas. Yes he is the son of former 142 game winner Bobby Witt. Entering his senior season at Colleyville Heritage, Witt Jr. could be the centerpiece of the next great Orioles team as a rangy shortstop who can win the game with his glove and his bat.

Of course, a lot can change over the next nine months. Witt Jr could struggle and fall back into the pack of other top shortstop prospects like CJ Adams or Greg Jones. The Orioles could decide they want a franchise catcher and go with Adley Rutschman from Oregon State. Or maybe they go the pitching route and are intrigued by Daniel Espino and his 99 MPH heater. While Witt Jr. might be the front runner, he's not head and shoulders above the competition.

The same can't be said for the player the Orioles selected the last (and only) time they had the first overall pick. When they finished with the worst record in the major leagues in 1988, there was no doubt who they were going to draft the next summer.

Ben McDonald literally towered over the competition. At 6'7" the lanky pitcher from LSU was the undisputed best amateur player in baseball. He struck out 373 batters in a whopping 307 innings during his three seasons in Baton Rogue while also starring for the US Olympic team in the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

Also, it wasn't like there was a lot of competition in the 1989 draft. Names like Tyler Houston (#2 Atlanta), Jeff Jackson (#4 Philadelphia) and Earl Cunningham (#8 Chicago Cubs) are familiar to only those who bet heavily on their rookie cards. Even in hindsight, the only real competition McDonald has was Frank Thomas, who was drafted 10th by the White Sox.

So there was no doubt the Orioles were going to draft a pitcher with a mid-90s fastball and a hammer curve. The problems began when they tried to sign him. McDonald and his father Larry were determined that the hard-throwing right-hander be paid what they thought he was worth, after all he was the highest-rated player by the Major League Scouting Bureau. Bo Jackson had signed a few years earlier for over a million dollars and that's what the McDonalds (advised by a young Scott Boras) were looking for.

The Orioles disagreed. Believing that Jackson's case was special (Kansas City had to woo him away from the NFL and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had selected him in the NFL draft) they offered a mere $255,000 as a take-it-or-leave-it offer.

Negotiations dragged on. McDonald contemplated returning to LSU for his senior season (the reason Boras was an "adviser" instead of his actual agent was to allow McDonald to keep his amateur status. Another option was an alternative professional league that was rumored to begin play in 1990. Focused on 16 cities that didn't have major league teams, would be financed by a group of millionaires that included our current president.

Much like the USFL had lured some of college football players best prospects away from the NFL by offering them a lot of money, they offered Ben McDonald $2 million to join their league. He declined (rightly so as the league quickly fell apart). Shortly after the meetings in Trump Tower the Orioles and the McDonalds came to an agreement on a three-year $950,000 deal.

McDonald debuted later that summer and went on to have a mediocre career that was derailed by injuries. He finished with a 58-53 record with the Orioles before leaving as a free agent in 1996. He lasted just two seasons with the Brewers before retiring. He is now part of the Orioles broadcast crew and a cautionary tale for number one draft picks.

Being drafted first is no sure fire sign of future success. While Witt, Jr. has all of the tools to be an important part of the Orioles future nothing is guaranteed. There are a lot more Ben McDonald's than Ken Griffey Jr's in the history of overall number one picks.

Orioles Victory Card Number 42

Orioles Victory Number 42: 5-3 over the Oakland Athletics

2018 Topps Living Set Joey Rickard



You're welcome Tampa Bay. The O's victory on Thursday night helped the Rays pick up a half game in the wild card standings. They now stand 8 games back with about two weeks to go in the season. Do they have enough time to catch them? Possibly. The two teams go head-to-head this weekend and if the Rays emerge on Sunday only down 5, it could get interesting.

That's enough about winning teams. Lets focus on the Orioles who win once every week or so these days. They did get a nice start from Dylan Bundy, as the "ace" went six innings for the first time since August 4th.  He still gave up a home run, because that's what Dylan Bundy does, but did strike out eight Athletics which is a good sign that maybe he's starting to get the feel back for his pitches.

The win could be a template for a host of 2019 wins for Baltimore. Bundy pitches well, Cedric Mullins and Jonathan Villar score runs while Mychal Givens locks down the game. Chris Davis had a day off as did Adam Jones (again).

The Jones saga is ending sadly.  Unless he is physically unable to play, he should be in this line-up. Using the "take a look at the young guys" is a poor excuse when the guys you are looking at are Joey Rickard and John Andreoli.

Rickard is 27-years-old and has 265 games of major league experience. The Orioles know who he is - a 4th outfielder with a little bit of speed who only hits home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays (4 of his 8 HRs are against the Rays this season). He doesn't hit for average, doesn't get onbase and plays average defense. He's not going to change.

While Andreoli is new to the Orioles, he isn't new to baseball. At 28-years-old, the right-handed outfielder has been in the minors for 8 years and 773 games. While it's nice that he's finally getting a shot at regular major league playing time, it's highly unlikely that he's going to show he's an everyday player.

These aren't the players you rebuild around. They are spare parts. Benching an organizational legend in order to showcase role players isn't fair to Jones or to the fans. The Orioles have 10 home games left and there are going to be some fans coming to see Jones play as an Oriole for the last time. Do you think they want to see Joey Rickard flailing at a slider off the outside corner?

Jones has already ceded his position in centerfield to Cedric Mullins. That makes sense as Mullins could possibly be manning that position the next time the Orioles are relevant. Giving up actual playing time (in his free agent walk year nonetheless) for two players that might not be on the team next year is unforgivable.

He's staying the company man until the end. No good can come out of him speaking out against being benched. All it would do it sour the ending even more. He's better off keeping quiet and filing this away when it comes time to make his decision this winter. The team is almost doing everything they can to drive him to another organization in the off-season. They already tried to trade him, they've moved him from centerfield and now they've benched him. The only way it would be more obvious that they don't want him around is if they leave him off of the charter flight to New York next week.

It's obvious that GM Dan Duquette was irked when Jones invoked his 10-5 rights to refuse the trade to the Phillies. He might "respect" the rights Jones earned by staying with the Orioles for his entire career but that doesn't mean he has to like it. Is the reduced playing time retaliation for screwing up Duquette's grand plan of acquiring another utility infielder or AAA starter for his All Star centerfielder? No one will ever admit it out loud, but the way it's played out, it seems like that might be the case.

While Buck Showalter hemmed and hawed about "responsibilities" and "factors" when it comes to putting a line-up together the organization realized that there defense of watching the young prospects develop was a little thin. So they finally called up a legitimate prospect.

The O's finally selected DJ Stewart's contract. He's gotten one start in left field (a 10-0 loss) and pinch-hit in yesterday's victory. Even if he starts all the games down the stretch, the O's wouldn't lose anything by starting Jones in right field. He won't be taking at bats away from prospects.  Trey Mancini can play first or DH and the Rickard/Andreoli combination can spit sunflower seeds on the bench.

Give Jones a chance to finish out his Orioles career on his own terms. Let him play down the stretch (especially at home).

Orioles Victory Card Number 37

Orioles Victory Number 37: 4-2 over the Cleveland Indians

1993 Leaf Alan Mills

On Saturday the Orioles broke another multi-game losing streak and picked up their third win in their last ten games. All it took was a complete game from Alex Cobb and a three-run shot by Jonathan Villar to do it. It was Cobb's first complete game since 2013 and the fourth in his career. It was also the fourth victory for him in an Orioles uniform. All of those wins have come on the road as he continues to be winless at Camden Yards in his career.

For Cobb the 100-pitch effort continues his second half resurgence. After struggling mightily the first month of the season (0-3, 13.11 ERA) the right-hander has slowly been putting his season back together. He now has two wins in his last four starts and a very respectable 1.55 ERA in the month of August.

He's now worked six or more innings in five consecutive starts and allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven straight starts. With all of the roster churn of the last two months he's emerged as the de facto ace on the staff. Which is what the O's management was hoping for when they signed him to a 4-year/$56 million deal at the end of spring training.

While I'm sure they had hoped his first few months in the Orange and White hadn't been as rough as they were, they were surely prepared for a little rust as he was coming off of a delayed training schedule. He also didn't have a feel for one his best pitches -- his change-up. He told the Baltimore Sun:

“I was just really lost on the mound, and it’s been a constant, everyday burden on me just trying to capture those mechanics again and just have the arm slot, to have an ability to get the changeup to do what it’s doing,”

He mentioned that when he made a mistake with that pitch it left the yard. In his first 14 starts with Baltimore he surrendered 14 home runs. In his last 9 starts only 7 have cleared the fences. He's inducing more ground balls weaker contact as the year wears on. 

On first glance his counting numbers (4-15 record, 5.09 ERA) aren't much to look at, but digging deeper shows the vase amount of improvement (and possibly the uselessness of wins as an individual stat). He has shaved two runs off of his ERA since June and in nine of his starts this year he's gone at least six innings and given up less than two earned runs. His record in those nine game - 3 wins, 3 losses and 3 no-decisions. That's just bad luck and a bad bullpen.

A start that typified his hard luck summer was June 22nd where he pitched seven innings against Atlanta, struck out six and scattered four hits. He left the game with it tied at one and then saw his offense finally remember to hit (and the bullpen forget how to pitch) as the Orioles pulled out a 10-7 victory in 15 innings.

His performance over the final few months might draw some interest from other teams looking to solidify their rotations. Unless it's a home-run deal (more Chris Archer return than Kevin Gausman return) then the Orioles should quietly hang up the phone. With the rebuild just getting started they need someone that can go out there every fifth day and give them a more than even chance to win a ball game. Cobb could be that veteran presence that helps stabilize a young pitching staff and that is worth more than some collection of fringe prospects.

The best case scenario for the Orioles will be for Cobb to get through the rest of the season healthy and continuing the run of quality outings he's posted since the All-Star Break. He can then enjoy an off-season without worrying about a contract and come to spring training fully rested and ready to take the ball on Opening Day.