NumerOlogy

Things have been pretty slow on the uni-number front; it’s hard to believe that the O’s have gone almost three weeks between roster moves. It’s a good sign that everyone’s staying healthy and that those not named Steve Trachsel are mostly performing, at least. Even though it’s frustrating watching this team pitch and defend well and still lose, I’m trying to remember that a .500 record two months into what was supposed to be a rock-bottom rebuilding year is a bonus. This team is much more fun to watch than most of the patchwork squads that have trudged through in recent years!

I do have one tangentially-related tidbit. The Orioles have announced that June’s installment of the T-Shirt Tuesday promotional giveaway will honor the late, great “Wild Bill” Hagy, the rotund cab driver who led cheers from Section 34 in Memorial Stadium during the heyday of Orioles Magic. Appropriately, the bright-orange t-shirt will feature the “Orioles” script on the front in black, and will have “HAGY 34” (also black) on the back in the style of a jersey. This is the first time I can remember the Orioles honoring a fan in such a way. The giveaway will take place on Tuesday, June 17, which just happens to be Hagy’s birthday. In August, he’ll be given a posthumous award to honor his loyalty to the Orioles; the award will be named after him and given to a top fan each year.

I plan to be at the Yard on June 17, and I hope to see you there!

P. S. : To make up for the slow period around here, I’ll update again this weekend with a contest that I hope will be a lot of fun.

That’s what I get for taking the Internet rosters at face value! It turns out Alex Cintron is wearing #13 for the Orioles, becoming the sixteenth player in team history to wear my favorite number. He joins the ranks of Steve Barber, Rodrigo Lopez, and the most recent, current Norfolk Tides outfielder Tike Redman. I’ve made the necessary fixes to the site.

A quick update to start the week, as the O’s celebrated Mother’s Day by bolstering their paltry three-man bench. Middle infielder Alex Cintron got the call-up, and was given #19. He’s the thirty-second player to suit up for the Birds so far in 2008, and the fifteenth to wear the nineteen jersey in team history. Cintron had previously worn #10 and #12 in Arizona, and #8 with the White Sox. The only one of those numbers that was open in Baltimore was #12, but I assume it’s still being held for Brandon Fahey, should he return from Norfolk later this year.

To make room for Alex, #31 Bob McCrory was sent back to Norfolk. After a rocky debut and another tough outing the next night, he hadn’t pitched in a week and a half. Well, you gotta start somewhere, anyway.

I’ve updated the usual suspects: the 10-19 bio page, the Odds and Ends page (the Least Issued Numbers), and of course the All-Time Roster. Believe it or not, I’d somehow overlooked #52 George Sherrill on the roster page, so I’ve set that right as well. Nobody’s perfect, I guess!

I’ve gotten away from a hectic couple of weeks at work long enough to update the latest transactions in Birdland. Last Friday, #51 Randor Bierd had to be placed on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, and up from Norfolk to replace him is reliever Lance Cormier. Lance was given #54. He’s just the second Oriole player to ever wear the number, following in the footsteps of righthander John Habyan. Of course, former bullpen catcher Sam Snider practically owned five-four for the better part of two decades before pitching coach Leo Mazzone claimed it in 2006. I miss Sammy…I understand he’s coaching for Von Hayes‘ independent-league Lancaster Barnstormers now.

The other roster move occurred today, as the Birds turned to a familiar face in the ongoing search for a decent shortstop. #3 Freddie Bynum (left) returned from a season-opening injury and collected hits in his first two at-bats. He replaced #14 Eider Torres, who returns to the AAA Tides. I have a soft spot for Freddie, but Harold Baines is still my favorite number three.

As for tonight’s game, they’re looking strong! Hopefully this is a turning point in the middle of a rough road trip.

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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That’s right, it’s finally here! I’m realistic about the Orioles’ chances this year (as in, they have a chance to win 65-70 games), but they’re starting out even with everyone else at 0-0. There’s something refreshing about the feeling, however small, that anything is possible.

The final roster spot was claimed by Scott Moore, who will see time as a backup at the corners of the infield, and maybe even some second base. This meant that the O’s took another mildly surprising step in the rebuilding process by releasing #31 Jay Gibbons and treating the two years and $11.9 million they owed him as a sunk cost. The move isn’t surprising based on merit: as I stated last week, Gibbons has been chronically injured, has declined as a player in recent years, and is limited defensively. But it is surprising that Peter Angelos gave Andy MacPhail the green light to dump him and to eat all of that money. Although I (and most Baltimore fans) have been rough on Jay recently, this is still a bittersweet moment. He had been the second-longest tenured Oriole behind Melvin Mora, having spent his entire seven-year MLB career in orange and black. He seemed like a nice guy and a good teammate, and he was once a productive power hitter. But there’s just no room for him on this team any more, especially not at his current level of play. Best of luck to Jay wherever he goes from here.

I’ve been eager to update the site for the 2008 season ever since new players and new numbers started trickling into Fort Lauderdale nearly two months ago, and now that the roster is official, that’s just what I’ve done! There are updates to all of the number countdown pages where applicable, and of course the All-Time Roster. Let’s summarize the new guys, as well as a few number switches:

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