A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: George Sisler

Player: George Sisler
Years of Service: 13 (1915-27)
Position: First Baseman


Photo via HowStuffWorks

Sisler is probably the best player on my A to Z list. He was one of history's best pure hitters. His record for hits in a season, 257 in 1920, stood for 84 years before Ichiro Suzuki finally broke it with 262. He was league MVP in 1922, a season in which he enjoyed a 41-game hitting streak. He led the American League in stolen bases four times, hits twice, batting average twice and runs once. He served as team player/manager from 1924-26. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1939.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Brooks Robinson

Player: Brooks Robinson
Years of Service: 23 (1955-77)
Position: Third Baseman


Image via HowStuffWorks

R is a very important letter in the Orioles legacy. For starters, you have Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brooks Robinson, probably the two most beloved Orioles of them all. Plus, you have Frank Robinson, the single best player to take the field for the franchise since the move from St. Louis. All three have had their numbers retired in Baltimore. All three were elected easily to the Hall of Fame and all three were enshrined as Orioles, even though Frank Robinson played most of his career for other clubs. But I decided in the beginning that years of service would be coin of the realm for my A to Z list so Brooks gets the nod here. Even with all of those consecutive games, Ripken's 21 seasons fall short of Robinson's 23. Brooks Robinson is, in fact, the longest tenured Oriole of them all. Only the Red Sox' Carl Yastrzemski spent as many years with one club.

Brooks Robinson is the best ever to field the third base position and he won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves to back that claim. He did plenty of damage at the plate, too, with 268 career home runs. He was league MVP in 1964 and World Series MVP in 1970. In 1999, he was elected to the All-Century team.

Robinson received his highest praise from opposing players. My two favorite quotes both come from Johnny Bench:

(After Robinson was given a car as part of the World Series MVP award) "Gee! If we had known he wanted a new car that bad, we'd have chipped in and bought him one."

and

"I will become a left-handed hitter to keep the ball away from that guy."

There's also one particularly nice one from teammate Frank Robinson:

"He was the best defensive player at any position. I used to stand in the outfield like a fan and watch him make play after play. I used to think WOW, I can't believe this."

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Guillermo Quiróz

Player: Guillermo Quiróz
Years of Service: 1 (2008)
Position: Catcher


Photo via enlapizarra.com

Amazingly, Quiróz is the second Venezuelan to make my A to Z list. He served as backup catcher for the Orioles in 2008, behind Ramón José Hernández, also Venezuelan, interestingly enough. At 29, Quiróz has a minor league deal with the Padres for 2011. As of yesterday morning, he was hitting .286 for AAA Tucson.

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My astute pal Mock submitted the following comment in response to yesterday's post, regarding Ted Danson's resemblance to Jim Palmer:

Originally the character [Sam Malone of Cheers] was supposed to be a former football player. Once Danson was cast, they switched sports.

He is right, of course. In fact Fred Dryer, the one time LA Ram defensive end, was initially considered for the role. Dryer did fine, anyway. Hunter was a fun show. He made four guest appearances on Cheers, too.

I, for one, am grateful that they cast Danson instead. I still think his resemblance to Palmer is uncanny. Perhaps Palmer at least inspired the hairstyle...

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Jim Palmer

Player: Jim Palmer
Years of Service: 20 (1965-84)
Position: Pitcher


Photo via Baltimore Sports Then and Now

By nearly any measure, Jim Palmer is one of the best starting pitchers in Major League history. Where do you start? Three Cy Youngs, six All-Star games, four Gold Gloves, three World Series titles in three different decades, eight-time 20-game winner, two-time league ERA champ, 2,212 career strikeouts, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, etc., etc., etc. Every ace pitcher who has come through the organization since has contended with the misfortune of inevitable comparison to Palmer and none has come anywhere close.

By the time I was old enough to pay attention, Palmer was just as famous for his Jockey ads as for his on-field heroics. Scantily clad male athletes are hardly surprising anymore but Palmer was the pioneer.


Image via flickr

I have always assumed that Palmer was at least part of the inspiration for Sam Malone of Cheers in light of the fact that Ted Danson looks a lot like him, though I've never actually seen or heard any concrete proof of that.


Photo via Piece of Mind

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.

My Baseball Fantasy: Kemp on a Roll

Private League: won 10-0 (17-3 overall, 1st place, 4 games ahead)
Public League: currently in 7th place out of 12 teams
My Player of the Week (April 11-17): Matt Kemp (Center Fielder/Right Fielder, Dodgers) with 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 5 runs, 2 stolen bases and a .520 batting average


Photo via Wokay

I certainly can't complain about my week in the private league. I had a bit of a dip in the public league, though. I have some strong performers on my bench in that league, so I think it might be time to start shopping for trades. I face off against friend and fellow blogger Marc in the private league this week. He's right behind me in second place.

Kemp is on a tear. Particularly pleasing is his stolen base total. He has 8 on the year. He had only 19 for all of last season.

A to Z, The Orioles' Legacy: Gregg Olson

Player: Gregg Olson
Years of Service: 6 (1988-93)
Position: Pitcher


Image via Mr. Irrelevant

Olson was the Orioles' closer during one of the most pathetic stretches in team history - not that it was his fault. When it's your job to lock down the ninth inning, you can't really be blamed for what happens in the previous eight. I remember them drafting him very clearly. It was 1988, the season of the notorious 0-21 start. The streak was mercifully over by the time the draft rolled around but O's fans were still excited about Olson, a thoroughly dominant pitcher in both high school and college. He had not one but two devastating strikeout pitches: a great fastball and one of the best curves in baseball. That sort of weaponry is ideal for a closer.

Olson was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1989, his first full season. He was the first reliever ever to win the award. Olson might have ranked among the all-time greats if not for injury trouble later in his career. 217 career saves is still pretty good.

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For each letter of the A to Z Challenge, I will feature one player from Baltimore Orioles/St. Louis Browns history. I hope you will join me. I hope you'll also check out the other 1200+ blogs participating. See the full list at Tossing It Out.


In particular, check out my new blogger friend at Wistful Nebulae.

My Tennis Fantasy: Ferrer

Current Overall Standing: 26th
My MVP for the Week: David Ferrer (Spain) with $276,425, losing to Rafael Nadal (Spain) in the final of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters


Photo via TopNews

These days, it's not a bad gig being the second best Spaniard on the men's tennis tour. Nor is there any shame in losing to Rafa in Monte-Carlo, an event Nadal has now won seven years in a row. One of the quietest, hardest working and most dependable players on tour, Ferrer has recently had a brush with notoriety, lobbing a ball towards (but not actually anywhere near) a crying baby in the stands. Not a great way to make friends, dude! I thought of posting the video, but that seems a low blow for a player who did well by me this week. As a fan, I hope he makes up for his faux pas with more stellar tennis this season.