Foul Bunt on Location - August 1, 2011 Pirates vs. Cubs

I decided this year that instead of going to Baltimore (like I have since 2005) I would check out another team in another city. I settled on Pittsburgh since I had heard that the city was pretty nice and PNC Park was a great place to catch a game. I was definitely pleased with my decision.

PNC Park, which opened in 2001, is finally able to house a competitive team. Outside the park are statues of former Pirate greats Honus Wagner (seen above)...Roberto Clemente (this was amazing to see in person, by the way)

Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski. I really liked the Stargell statue. I think he is pretty underrated in the history of the game. He was definitely a thorn in the side of some great Oriole teams, especially in 1979 when he helped the Pirates beat the O's in 7 games in an epic World Series.
I got to see Pirate superstar Andrew McCutchen go 1 for 4 on the night. He was very impressive in his at bats and the crowd was solidly behind him.


I was pleasantly surprised at the ovation that Derrek Lee received each time his name was called. It looks like Pirate fans are very happy that he was added at the trade deadline. Lee was the source of all of the Pirates' offense tonight when he belted 2 home runs (both to standing ovations) and got 3 RBI.
Sadly, the Pirates lost their 4th in a row to a score of 5-3. Derrek Lee went 2-4 with 3 RBI. His second homer measured 410 feet.


I got a signed ball from the 1992 AL Rookie of the Year Pat Listach. He played his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1992 to 1997) and had a career batting average of .251 with 444 hits, 5 home runs and 116 stolen bases.

I also got a ball signed by Cubs' rookie outfielder Tony Campana. He is batting .256 on the year with 22 hits, no home runs and 12 stolen bases in 52 games. He appeared as a pinch hitter and bunt grounded out.

I had a really good time in Pittsburgh. Everything I have heard about the city was true, it looks awesome. The city deserves a lot of credit, all of the soot from the steel industry has been cleaned up and now the city looks amazing. I definitely would consider coming back any time to catch a game.

Koji Traded to the Rangers

I just saw that Koji has been traded to the Texas Rangers for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter. While I'm not surprised, I'm still sad. Koji was having a hell of a year and has been one of the few bright spots during a season of disappointment. Hunter is a pretty good pitcher and Davis looks like he could be the Orioles' first baseman of the future. He definitely is now their top 1B prospect, that's for sure. Looks like Brandon Snyder may either be on his way out, too, or may need to shift positions. That may be a little early, but the way it looks now is that Davis will be ahead of him in the pecking order.

I really hate to see Koji go. Good luck in Texas, Koji!

Ebay Pickup - 1933 Goudey Rick Ferrell

I used what was left on my Ebay gift card to pick up this 1933 Goudey Rick Ferrell. This is the first Goudey card that I have picked up, so I wanted to make it a Hall of Famer.
Rick Ferrell (b. 1905 - d. 1995) played in the majors from 1929 to 1945 and 1947 for the Browns, Red Sox and Senators. He had 1,692 hits, 28 home runs and a .281 batting average. He was an All Star 7 times. I'm still a little baffled as to why he is a Hall of Famer, having been elected via the Veterans Committee in 1984. I'm assuming it is because during his era, the catching position wasn't known for much offense? Maybe someone can shed some light on that for me.

Ferrell is a native North Carolinian; he was born in Durham and grew up outside of Greensboro in Guilford County.

After doing a little more research on the card, I found out that this is, in fact, Ferrell's rookie card. So, it appears that with a $25 Ebay gift card, I was able to knock out two Hall of Fame rookie cards. A former Oriole and St. Louis Brown. Not too bad.

Rookie Card Pickup - Jim Palmer

I got a $25.00 Ebay gift card from my wife and son for Father's Day and struggled figuring out just what I wanted to get with it. I finally decided to knock a card out that I have been wanting for some time: Jim Palmer's rookie card, a 1966 Topps.

The scan doesn't do the card justice, the centering is really good and there are very few flaws, mainly a dinged corner. I got the card for $13.00 + $3.00 shipping, so I had a little money left over on the gift card for something else.

Palmer (b. 1945) played in the majors from 1965-1967 and 1969-1984. He retired with a record of 268-152, 2,212 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA. He won 3 Cy Young awards (1973, 75 and 76) and finished second in the voting in 1977 and 1982. He won 20 or more games eight times (1970-1973, 1975-1978). He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1990 with 92.6% of the vote in his first ballot. He played on every Orioles team that reached a World Series (1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979 and 1983) and won rings in 1966, 1970 and 1983. He was on the winning end of Sandy Koufax's last game in the 1966 World Series, pitching a 4-hit shutout against the Dodgers in Game 2. Palmer prides himself on never having given up a grand slam in his career.

TTM Success - KOJI!

Normally, I doubt someone would be too excited about getting an auto of a pitcher with a career record of 4-7 with a 3.06 ERA and 162 strikeouts...

However, I got this ball in the mail from the Orioles reliever, Koji Uehara yesterday (July 27). I mailed to him on July 20 and got the ball back 7 days later. That's an amazing TAT. Koji is my 23rd TTM success on a ball. As you can see above, the ball looks amazing! Looks like he signed it "Koji".

Initially, I didn't care all that much for Koji. I called him the Snowman because he would melt in the summer heat of Baltimore. He was injury prone and it seemed like all he wanted to do was get on a plane back to Japan. Then, last year he gave up a game winning home run to A-Roid that I was actually able to see a video of. The display of emotion that Koji exhibited when he let his team down showed me that he really cared about his team and that he had a genuine desire to win. After that moment, Koji seemed "lights out: to me.

This year, he has been amazing. Right now, he is one of the few bright spots for the O's in a pretty dismal season. He is sporting an ERA of 1.80 in 41 games (45.0 IP) to go with a record of 1-1. He has 59 strikeouts in those 45.0 innings pitched with only 8 walks! It always seems like the Orioles go for relievers who come into a game and forget how to throw strikes. It's so frustrating. With Koji, however, he comes in and shouts the other teams down.

It appears that Koji is the best trade chip that the O's have right now, although his past injury history and age (36) has a few teams shying away. Koji has a vesting option for $4 million that will kick in if he has 14 more appearances. For $4 million, he would be worth keeping around even if only for peace of mind that the O's would have at least one reliever who wouldn't be sending Earl Weaver scrambling for another pack of cigarettes.

So, I hope the Orioles hold on to Koji. If not for anything else, just to give me someone to pull for this season since Roberts is out. Also, I am glad to admit that my first impression of Koji was a mistake and I am so very happy to have been able to add this ball to my collection. Thanks Koji!

Card Show Trade With Ryan

I have finally gotten a chance to post the cards I got from Ryan in a mega trade at the card show a while ago. It is always nice to meet a fellow blogger in person, and it was especially nice since he and I both are Orioles fans. Ryan was able to take some old O's cards off my hands and help me create room in my O's box in exchange for some cards of players who I really like.I was able to add some Nolan Reimold cards from early in his career. I'm a big Reimold fan, having met him in person last year. I hope he can realize his potential, but I don't know how much playing time he will get with Felix Pie clogging up a spot on the roster. As you can see, Pie has fallen out of favor with me.

The season has been a lost one for my favorite player, Brian Roberts. I am still going to be adding to my Roberts PC anyway. I didn't have this 2004 Gold Topps Chrome. I think these cards looked awesome, by the way.

Here's another Reimold, this time when he was on Team USA. I had forgotten all about that. Nevertheless, I was glad to add this to my collection.

I'm certain I had this card somewhere, but I loved the way it looked, so I added it to my pile. Cal is always a plus and with this sharp design of 1989 Bowman, I was glad to add it. I know the one I had before was in kind of rough shape, due to the 89 Bowman's exaggerated size, but I immediately put it in a top loader so it would fit in the box with the rest of my collection.

Ryan had a good bit of Manny Machado Bowmans cards in his collection that he was willing to part with, so I added 3 versions of it... The base, the chrome and the gold.

I added this Nick Markakis relic to my collection. Nick has had an uneven season so far, but I think by the time the season is over, his stats will match up with his career numbers. He did collect his 1,000th career hit this season and is one home run away from 100. Not bad for someone who has only been in the league since 2006. I wish he would hit for more power, though.

I got this Frank Robinson patch, which was cool. I have plenty of Brooks' stuff, but not nearly enough of 'the other Robinson.' I believe Frank is underrated among the all time greats of the game, and was overshadowed the past decade as tainted sluggers passed him on the all-time home run list.
Finally, I added a card of Cal, Sr. A baseball lifer, Cal, Sr. embodied what was known at 'The Oriole Way.' A no-nonsense hard-nosed style of play that a lot of O's players could benefit from. I doubt the O's will get back to the level of excellence they had from the late sixties to the early eighties.

As you can tell, I'm still upset over the O's current play as of late. I'll get over it, but it has been a real hard season considering the raised expectations brought on by the end of last season and this offseason's signings. Oh well. There's always 5 years from now...

Thanks for the awesome trade Ryan! I hope to see you again at the next show!

Unfinished Business

I attempted to do a TTM to Emilio Navarro back in April, only for him to pass away while my ball was on its way from NC to Puerto Rico where Navarro had lived.

I thought getting Navarro would be cool because at the time, he was the oldest foemer professional baseball player at 105 years old. He played in the Negro Leagues, but not in the majors.

I was saddened to hear of Mr. Navarro's passing and figured that I'd never see my ball again. A few weeks passed and one of my mailers appeared in my mailbox. I opened it, thinking that it was going to be one of my HOF TTMs, but instead, a blank ball was inside. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but deduced that it was, in fact, the ball that I had sent to Navarro.

I thought about sending the ball out to someone else for TTM, but my friend Matt posed a different idea.

He said I should leave the ball the way it is. The box wasn't RTS, it was physically opened in Puerto Rico. It looks like Navarro opened the box with the intention to sign the ball, but didn't get to. So, the ball can stand as a symbol of Navarro's unfinished business and I will keep it with the rest of my autographed items. It will always have the story of ALMOST making it there in time for him to sign.