NumerOlogy

To the left is Garrett Olson, one of a group of O’s who have been on the move in the past week. It started when #29 Adam Loewen went on the disabled list last Friday with elbow pain. He was replaced on the roster by infielder #14 Eider Torres, who made his major league debut over the weekend and became the twenty-third Birds player to wear one-four. The most recent had been another infielder (Chris Gomez).

Considering the lousy weather in Chicago, and the resultant strain on the pitching staff, it’s no surprise that the team went back to carrying thirteen pitchers yesterday. Shortstop #12 Brandon Fahey drew the short straw, returning to Norfolk for the time being. He was replaced by #18 Garrett Olson, who took Loewen’s turn in the rotation and pitched a strong game, escaping from a few jams along the way. Olson debuted in Baltimore last year in #57, but now he’s the twenty-third Oriole to wear #18.

I documented the use of #18 as a fill-in jersey in Spring Training this year; it was worn at various times by Ramon Hernandez, Mike Costanzo, and Adam Stern in a pinch. Olson becomes the first O’s pitcher to sport the number since Bob Milacki in 1992.

There was another casualty of Tuesday’s roster shuffle, as #35 Greg Aquino was designated for assignment. The designated mop-up guy had no one to blame but himself, as a 14.21 ERA did nothing to inspire confidence in him. He was replaced by another brand-new bird, reliever #31 Bob McCrory. Bob’s choice of jersey number makes you wonder…what is Jay Gibbons up to these days? He becomes just the ninth Oriole player with this number, which was traditionally issued to pitching coaches in Charm City.

I’ve caught up to the personnel carousel, and updated the All-Time Roster, the Odds and Ends page (most and least issued numbers), and the Tens and Thirties biography pages.

Before I go, I want to share a great link. Steve has an amazing collection of photos of baseball players, mostly from the 1960s and 1970s. They are beautiful pictures, and he posts a few more each day along with some interesting facts about the players. Go take a look, and pass it along if you like what you see.

Well, ‘dem O’s  just dropped an 8-1 yawner to the Rays, but a 15-12 April (one game out of first place) for a rebuilding team is a nice surprise!

A few things worth mentioning in the afterglow of an 8-2 thrashing of the Yankees:

Adam Jones wore #42 as planned on Tuesday for Jackie Robinson Day. Incidentally, it was the same night that the O’s gave away t-shirt replicas of Adam’s regular #10. It wasn’t a great night for the home team, as Toronto handled them 11-3, but Jones made Jackie proud by slugging his first home run as an Oriole. I’ve updated the All-Time Roster and the Forties page to reflect the temporary uni number change. Image credit: baltimoresun.com

For some reason, country music star Kenny Chesney took batting practice before Thursday’s 6-5, 10-inning win over the White Sox. He did so wearing a #7 jersey. In actuality, no one has worn that number for the Birds since Cal Ripken, Sr. last manned the third base coach’s box in 1992.

The LaTroy Hawkins saga has taken another turn. The relief pitcher, who toiled for the 2006 O’s, has gotten off to a rough start as a Yankee. His struggles have been exacerbated by the fact that he is the first pinstriper to wear #21 since Paul O’Neill. After the Yankee Stadium “faithful” serenaded him on a few occasions with chants of “PAUL-O-NEI-LL!”, Hawkins relented and switched to #22. It hasn’t seemed to help, as he was racked for two runs in Baltimore’s seven-run outburst in the sixth inning last night. Apparently a seven-run deficit is all it takes to silence the interloping Yanks fans in Camden Yards. Here’s hoping we can give them plenty of reasons to stay quiet tonight!

Over the weekend, the O’s temporarily bid goodbye to infielder #9 Scott Moore,  who was optioned to Norfolk to ease the strain on the pitching staff that was caused by last week’s doubleheader in Texas…or something. Taking his place is pitcher Jim Johnson, who becomes the nineteenth player in Oriole history to wear #43 by my count. He has previously worn #47 (2006) and #59 (2007) in his brief stays in Baltimore. To welcome Johnson back to Birdland, I’ve updated the Forties biography page, the All-Time Roster, and the Odds and Ends page. Jim makes it into Odds and Ends by wearing his third different number in as many years. Many happy returns to Jim, who actually helped the O’s preserve a slim lead tonight. Two weeks into the season, and we’re still in first place. I don’t know about you, but I could get used to this.

…Well, sort of. You may remember last April 21, when former O’s outfielder Corey Patterson put aside his regular #17 to wear #42 as part of a league-wide tribute to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut. Robinson, of course, became the first black player in the major leagues in baseball’s modern era. His #42 was retired across baseball in 1997, with the players who were wearing it at the time (including O’s catcher Lenny Webster) receiving a pass. Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is the only one of those players still active. Last year was the first time that #42 was “unretired” for players and coaches who wished to honor Robinson. This idea came from Reds outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr.

Yesterday, manager Dave Trembley informed Adam Jones that he had chosen the center fielder to be the Orioles’ representative in the #42 jersey. This year’s Jackie Robinson Day will be held on Tuesday, April 15, which just happens to be the birthday of Jones’ mother. Jones says it’s “an honor” to put #10 on the shelf for one game only.

For what it’s worth, I’m glad to see the O’s stick with one #42 honoree each year. Several teams had everyone wear the number last year, and one or two are planning to do so again this year. I just think that cheapens the honor somewhat; it strikes me as a bit of politically-correct pandering. If you’ve got more than one guy who wants to wear it, and you’re worried about hurt feelings, just follow the Brewers’ lead and pick a name out of a hat.

Of course if you read the article I just linked to, you’ll see that commissioner Bud Selig encourages the “everyone in #42” approach. Big surprise.

Your first-place Baltimore Orioles…boy, that sounds good! We might as well enjoy it while we can, O’s fans. After last night’s 7-4 win over the Seattle Mariners, the good guys are over .500 for the first time since last April. If you’re like me, you also exhaled loudly when they got that first win over Tampa Bay on Wednesday. There’s something about rooting for a team that once lost their first 21 games that will make you appreciate that initial W. At this point, the only players on the roster who haven’t seen any game action are today’s starter, #29 Adam Loewen, and backup catcher #24 Guillermo Quiroz. After #55 Ramon Hernandez’s Friday night heroics, Guillermo may be waiting for a little while longer!

I wanted to have something number-related to give you today, so I checked out Baseball Reference’s Opening Day lineups to see if I could figure out which Orioles Opening Day lineup was the highest combined uniform number total, and which was the lowest. Unfortunately, their records begin with 1956, which was the third season in existence for the Birds. But I still found some fascinating stuff.

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