Eight Packs? Only Eight Packs in?

Eight packs in.  One-third of the way through this project and I’m still drawing blanks when it comes to Orioles. Spoiler – there are none in this pack.   I know there are Orioles in this set, I’ve seen them on Zistle. This is the point of the break where I’m wondering if I picked the opposite of a hot box.  Which I guess would be a cold box, and another name for a cold box (“Boy, go to the cold box and get me a Natty Bo!”) would be a fridge.  So I’m thinking I picked the Fridge of Heritage Orioles boxes.  Well, let’s take a look at what I did get.

Drew Storen – I think his name should be Stu Droren.  I like that better. Who was the last MLB’er named “Stu”?  Stu Miller?  Well he played for the Orioles.  I think I have a theme for this break!

Juan Nicasio – I don’t know who this guy is, but apparently he got hit on the neck with a line drive in 2011.  So I had to look that up on YouTube. It took a bit, but I found some footage. 

Wow, fractured vertebrae.  That’s pretty bad. Speaking of pretty bad my pick for Oriole named “Juan” – Juan Guzman.

Wandy Rodriguez – A long time Astro who went from one bad team to another when he was traded to the Pirates. Seriously, I come up with a gimmick that lasts all of two cards? I don’t even know if there has ever been another Wandy in the league.  So we have to go with his last name. I chose Aurelio Rodriguez who played 45 games at third base for the 1983 team.

Carlos Quentin – I don’t have much to say about Quentin, he’s just one of those guys in the league. You recognize the name and think he’s better than he actually is because you know the name.  Then you look at the stats and see he is a career .250 hitter. I couldn’t think of any Carlos’ so I had to resort to the all time O’s directory and found Carlos Lopez who played for the team in 1978.

Ricky Romero – I’m pretty sure Romero has a 39-0 record in his career against the O’s (ed. Note – no he doesn’t). When I was growing up I always thought Chris Bosio was a stud because the O’s could never seem to beat him.  We always over value players that do well against our favorite teams. As for the Oriole named Ricky – lets continue with shitty pitchers and chose Ricky Bones.

Ben Revere – My that’s a large hat you have Mr. Revere.  Ben McDonald is the easy pick here. Not only did he put an alligator in a teammates bathtub as a prank, but he was also my sister’s favorite player for a while.

Adrian Gonzalez – Adrian is a little lost in thought here.  He’s either trying to figure out how much interest his millions are earning or if there will be any repercussions for his dad suing Major League Baseball.  Adrian Lynch played for the 1920 St. Louis Browns (precursor to the O’s) and went 2-0 in five games.  These days that would earn him a $4 million a year contract.

Scott Baker – Baker was signed as a transitional free agent by the Cubs this season.  One of those, “hey we’re gonna suck but we need to throw someone out there every fifth day” guys to get through the season.  Sadly he might not even make it to Opening Day as he’s been shut down with elbow inflammation.  Scott Erickson would be my first choice for Orioles named Scott.  Perfect style pitcher for Camden Yards – lots and lots of ground balls.

Juan Francisco – It’s a Juan hot pack! Another Brave for the trade pile. Juan Bell is my second choice for the namesake game.  Otherwise known as “Tito”, Bell was part of the big Eddie Murray trade with the Dodgers and was one of many thought to be an heir to Cal Ripken.  In the end he couldn’t even beat out Billy Ripken and was traded to Philadelphia in 1992.

Nine more cards down.

Best Card – Ben Revere and his giant hat

Worst Card – Juan Francisco who looks like he sat on a splinter.