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!

Lots to get to today. First of all, the slowest-developing trade in MLB history has been consummated. Erik Bedard is now a Seattle Mariner, so I’ve updated the roster and the 40-49 page to reflect his departure. Best of luck to Erik…except when he’s facing the O’s, of course. If yesterday’s press conference in Seattle is any indication, he’ll continue to wear #45 for the Mariners. Time will tell which numbers Adam Jones and George Sherrill will wear; Jones wore #10 in Seattle last year (recently vacated by Miguel Tejada) and Sherrill wore #52. The most recent #52 in Baltimore was Jon Leicester, who seems to be a long shot to make this year’s team. Welcome to Birdland, guys!

In other news, we’ve got our first confirmed Orioles player to have found this little site! I got an email this morning from reliever Dick Hall, whose grandson showed him NumerOlogy. He says the following:

“Some of players were into numbers. I remember one time in the bullpen paying a game (we were safely way ahead - we didn’t play games much if the game was close) where someone would say a number and then people would name all the players in the league with that number. Milt Pappas especially knew everyone.”

Dick was also fairly certain that when he first arrived in Baltimore in April 1961, he wore a number other than #29. He thought it might have been #38, but wasn’t sure. He also didn’t know when he switched for good. I did a little sleuthing, and Baseball Almanac lists him as #29 and #38 in 1961. I had already confirmed pitcher Dick Hyde for #38, but he didn’t appear in a game until May. This would support Hall’s claim that he started out in #38, and switched to #29 either before or when Hyde joined the team. I’d like to thank Dick for helping me make that correction, and if anyone has more specific dates for the switch they can let me know.

I wanted to acknowledge a few blogs that have had some positive things to say about this site and that were kind enough to toss a link my way:

Neal Shaffer at the Baltimore-centric sports blog The Loss Column asserts that “this is what the Internet is really for”.

Bill Ordine of the Baltimore Sun’s O, by the Way sports blog says, “Count on a great read”.

Finally, Ben Penserga of The Daily Times in Salisbury, MD was kind enough to interview me for his O’s Chat blog. I answered Ben’s questions by email, so hopefully I’ll actually come across as articulate.

Thanks, guys! The feedback for NumerOlogy is already exceeding my expectations. Don’t forget, pitchers and catchers report to Fort Lauderdale in four days!