Orioles!

Oriole Bird, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

The Orioles have some of the classiest looking logos on sports. I enjoy the "O's" as well as the various birds.


Nolan Reimold, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

A recent callup of the Orioles, featured on FB365


George Sherrill, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Your 2008 All-Star!


Danys Baez, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Yes!!! I remember Baez well. Years ago he went on a partially successful run as the Indians closer. Emphasis on partial.

I've always had an inflated opinion of him because of an old Peter Gammons column. Come to think of it, he's one of several players I overrated in the late 90's / early 00's thanks to Peter Gammons. Jeff D'Amico and Kris Benson also come to mind.

Not to rip on Gammons though. I love his writing style. Not the clearest of writers, but you never question his enjoyment of the game.


Chad Moeller, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Phenomenal shot of Moeller, Mark!


Cesar Izturis, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Not sure if Harry Carray ever had a chance to pronounce Cesar's name, but it would have been a riot to hear. My favorite one-off was his interpretation of Hideki Irabu. "Hih..hi..hidek...Irr--Irrah...Ear-a-boo"

Steve Stone quickly corrected him ("some say ih-rah-boo, some say ear-a-boo, we'll call him ih-rah-boo and leave it at that"), but Harry probably couldn't have cared less.

My favorite regular was his interpretation of "Jose Vizcaino." Harry could pronounce it as if there were 22 syllabyles, adding pitch and inflection into each sub-syllabyle, including all 7 z's.


Cal Ripken, Jr., Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman


Brooks Robinson, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Brooks and Cal...two Hall of Famers.


Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Very talented player. He's a Mitchell guy, but most fans don't seem to remember/care.


Brian Bass, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Don't know much about Brian Bass, which is always fun. Seriously, does it ever give you a bit of a jolt or rush when you hear a baseball player's name that you've never heard before? It does for me.


Brandon Snyder, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Swinging the donut.


Brad Bergesen, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Wow, another player I've never heard of. And another case of alliteration. I wonder if both of them are middle relievers? That would be my guess.


Alfredo Simon, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

I love shots like this, where you can see the grip on the ball.


Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Did I bury the lead here or what? What a great card. Adam is having an absolute beast of a year.


Adam Eaton, Baltimore Orioles
by Mark aka Hookman

Had the "pleasure" of squaring up against Zack Greinke the other week. The Orioles actually did pretty well against Greinke, all things considered!

Well Mark, thanks again for all the excellent cards! These are phenomenal!