I started a new job in September, and the Orioles’ customary late-season snooze didn’t do much to spur me to update the site, but I guess that’s the occupational hazard of the O’s fan/blogger. Still, there are roster moves to belatedly report.
September 8: #10 Adam Jones was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. The second wave of expanded-roster callups included pitchers #55 Chris Lambert, #41 Bob McCrory, and #29 Chris Waters. McCrory and Waters had been in Baltimore before, but Lambert was a first-time Oriole and the tenth player to wear double-fives.
Two other new Birds made team history by becoming the first to wear their respective numbers in a regular season game: catcher #78 Guillermo Rodriguez and infielder #83 Justin Turner. These are exciting times, huh?
The O’s used their extra coaching slot in September to call up Norfolk pitching coach Mike Griffin, who had worn #42 as a pitcher for the club in 1987. This time around, he broke in the #91 jersey.
September 9: Deciding that they were just one marginal reliever away from perfection, the Birds added #53 Sean Henn (pictured) in a trade with the Twins. Henn had been with Minnesota’s AAA club in Rochester, whose season had already concluded. He was shocked to get the call at his Dallas home ordering him to fly to Boston to meet his new teammates! Sean became the tenth Oriole to wear Arthur Rhodes‘ old number.
September 19: Having lost another outfielder (#14 Nolan Reimold) to the disabled list, the club did an about-face and reinstated #2 Lou Montanez from the DL. #31 Kam Mickolio was also shut down in mid-September, but the team mercifully did not replace him with yet another relief arm.
This finally brings the 2009 season and its manifold roster moves to a close. According to the relentless Roch Kubatko, Baltimore used 48 players in these 162 games (27 pitchers, four catchers, nine infielders, eight outfielders). There were 23 first-time Birds, nine of whom made their MLB debuts. The all-time tally of O’s players stands at 871 (counting only those who have played in games). Pity the clubhouse attendant!
So what does 2010 hold? There’s already been word that rookie phenom #52 Brian Matusz wishes to switch to #17, the number worn by his favorite player, former Cubs first baseman Mark Grace.
Until the Hot Stove Season starts, let’s all take some time to decompress…and root against the Yankees, if you’re so inclined. I know that I am.
…That’s what Matt Albers spent the last week riding. The Birds’ first transaction of the new season came last Saturday, when they sent #34 down to AAA to make room for fifth starter/uniform filler #24 Adam Eaton. Eaton traded down from #56, which he wore in Spring Training. Much as Brian Bass was the 25th Oriole player to wear #25 on Opening Day, Adam is now the 24th to wear #24. Go figure!
I’ve made some corrections from the 1990 O’s roster, thanks to the vigilance of reader Bruce. He dug through his personal files to find the roster listing at left, from 
A few things worth mentioning in the afterglow of an 8-2 thrashing of the Yankees:
…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