Who was your favorite Orioles non-superstar?

[GotNitro]

Moose's decade of incompetence thread got me thinking. There have been a few Orioles over the last few years that I enjoyed watching no matter how bad they actually were.

Chris Gomez - a very servicable uti guy and probably still can be. He always got that base hit when you needed him to.

David Newhan - I loved this guy from the moment he hit that homerun in his first Orioles at bat!

Eric Byrnes - He forgot how to hit when he was with us, but he was not ever afraid to get down and dirty.

I'll get murdered for this next one. Not so much that I loved seeing him play, but I wanted so bad for Fahey to succeed. I really think he tried his best, even if it isn't good enough at the major league level.

[Jimbo81]

Joe "pick up the slack" Orsulak :clap3:

[Moose Milligan]

Old school: Jack Voigt.

[Bloopandablast]

Merv Rettenmund

[NJOriolesFan]

Moose's decade of incompetence thread got me thinking. There have been a few Orioles over the last few years that I enjoyed watching no matter how bad they actually were.

Chris Gomez - a very servicable uti guy and probably still can be. He always got that base hit when you needed him to.

David Newhan - I loved this guy from the moment he hit that homerun in his first Orioles at bat!

Eric Byrnes - He forgot how to hit when he was with us, but he was not ever afraid to get down and dirty.

I'll get murdered for this next one. Not so much that I loved seeing him play, but I wanted so bad for Fahey to succeed. I really think he tried his best, even if it isn't good enough at the major league level.

Wow, you go WAAAY Back.

How do you define superstar? I loved Ken Singleton. Not a Hall-of-Famer. An All-star a couple of times. My favorite Oriole.

Joe Orsulak
Mike Devereaux
Mike Bordick
Merv Rettenmund
Chris Hoiles
Mickey Tettleton
Craig Worthington
Leo Gomez
Don Buford
Pete Harnisch
Arthur Rhodes
Gregg Olson

[GotNitro]

Wow, you go WAAAY Back.

How do you define superstar? I loved Ken Singleton. Not a Hall-of-Famer. An All-star a couple of times. My favorite Oriole.

Joe Orsulak
Mike Devereaux
Mike Bordick
Merv Rettenmund
Chris Hoiles
Mickey Tettleton
Craig Worthington
Leo Gomez
Don Buford
Pete Harnisch
Arthur Rhodes
Gregg Olson

By superstar I mean guys like Ripken, Belle, Tejeda, the guys who were / are expected to perform. The guys I choose were not ereryday starters. Everyone is so focused on winning, and I want to win to, I just thought it would be fun to see the guys we enjoy watching even if they weren't the greatest.

[Sports Guy]

Surhoff...in his first stint with the O's.

[glorydays]

Sammy Stewart

[McNulty]

Always been a big fan of Alan Wiggins. I have no idea why.

[nerdlinger]

Mike Bordick - a guy who played the game the way it was supposed to be played. He wasn't the best hitter, but he worked hard and made himself much better than he should have been, plus that No Error Streak was a thing of beauty. I wish he were 30 yrs old and our SS, or he would make a great infield coach.

[TonySoprano]

Ben McDonald - wrestled alligators for fun; ate sardines with mustard.

[zff4]

I loved Surhoff's hustle. Loved it.

[Camden_yardbird]

Sam Horn
Harold Baines
Eric Davis

[Ven6]

John Lowenstein. Weaver used to tease him saying he had no right to be in major league baseball so he should be thankful to him.

The other half of the platoon, Gary Roenicke qualifies, too. Especially the year he wore that football style face mask on his batting helmet. Loved that.

[foxfield]

Bordick and Olson are good names.

I know people will not like this, but I would say Melvin Mora. He has been a great Oriole in many ways. I will always think highly of him.

[zff4]

...and a special nod to Ernie Tyler for the superstar non-superstar he is.

[Ven6]

Sam Horn
Harold Baines
Eric Davis

Good call on Davis. Coming back from cancer and all.

And I noticed on your signature--you're an Orioles fan and a Pirates fan? You poor s.o.b., my sympathies to you.

[Oriolidae85]

Larry Sheets...Billy Ripken...Jeff Reb vs the Unit

[Intimidator301]

Mike Deveraux
Joe Orsulak
Randy Milligan
Phil Bradley
Tim Hulett (sp)
Sam Horn

And I don't know why, but I always liked Bob Milacki.

[McNulty]

Larry Sheets...Billy Ripken...Jeff Reb vs the Unit

Larry Sheets....good call.

[JTrea81]

Mike Bordick
Jeff Manto
Chris Hoiles

[The Azman]

Rich Dauer
John Lowenstein
Benny Ayala
Joe Orsulak

[Nemyar]

Mike Bordick, but I don't even remember why.

Must be a shortstop thing.

[ChaosLex]

I liked Segui during his first stint with the O's.

[SBOriole]

For some reason I liked Jimmy Key a lot. Him along with Hoiles, Bordick, Davis, and Bones.

[incubus]

Yeah Eric Davis definately, that guy was tough. Came back from colon cancer to still be productive.
Arthur Rhodes also, one of my favorite relievers, and I know him personally, he's a good guy. Wondering where he's gonna go next year.

[bandy75]

a lot of good ones already mentioned, the first one that popped into my head was Joe Orsulak. I also thought of, or was reminded by this thread:

"Big" Ben
"the Otter"
Billy Ripken
Chris Hoiles
Mike Bordick
BJ Surhoff
A man named Brady
Sam Horn
Larry Sheets
Mark McLemore
Also Mark McElmore (who played when Brooks was doing games) :scratchchinhmm:

A few current O's :
Melmo
Kevin Millar
(love um or hate um)

[TCAlumni9700]

Yeah Eric Davis definately, that guy was tough. Came back from colon cancer to still be productive.
Arthur Rhodes also, one of my favorite relievers, and I know him personally, he's a good guy. Wondering where he's gonna go next year.

Rhodesy, Alan Mills and Elrod.....when I worked on the grounds crew, those guys gave me some great laughs when I'd have bullpen duty.

[Trinidad]

Joe Orsulak is my all-time favorite. Also Jeff Manto, Eric Davis, Pete harnisch, Gregg Olson, tony Batista.

And of course, who could forget the immortal Chito Martinez!!

How can you not like a guy named Chito?

[lint06]

Tim Hulett
Mickey Tettleton
Joe Orsulak (cause he had a bad haircut and a pointy nose)
Jeff Ballard
And I remember loving Don Aase's mustache from his 1987 Topps card (I think it was 87)

I decided to look up that 89 team and boy was that a young team.

[UMDTerrapins]

Dan Ford, Mickey Tettleton, Tippy Martinez, Lou Montanez, Gregg Olson, Mike Boddicker

[jubbyjubb]

Stan Jefferson
Chito Martinez
Sam Horn
Curtis Goodwin

[Sonny76]

I figured someone needed to mention Dick Hall. I'd like to have about 5 of him in our bullpen these days. Check out his BB per IP sometime when you're bored.

[jeffmantoformvp]

Joe "pick up the slack" Orsulak :clap3:

Ditto.

Randy Milligan too.

[Bosibus]

As the avatar shows, the man, Will Clark. And yes, it was a man crush.

[RVAbird]

I was a huge, huge Devereaux fan. Like really huge. Even in 94 and 96 when he was awful at the plate.

Definitely liked Baines and Surhoff.


Bordick and Olson are good names.

I know people will not like this, but I would say Melvin Mora. He has been a great Oriole in many ways. I will always think highly of him.

There was nothing like watching 2003-2004 Melvin Mora. He gave you every reason to root for him and the performance was there. It's a shame that the light didn't come on earlier in his career.

[BRob51]

Eric Byrnes
Brandon Fahey
Chad Bradford
Yeah, I said Brandon Fahey.

[PHRESH]

Jeff Reboulet and his sweet porn mustache.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c397/dmf250/2682.jpg

[TJ Wrangler]

Here's one nobody mentioned...Fernando Lunar. I was younger at the time, and I really didn't realize how pathetic of a hitter he was, but for some reason, he really stuck out behind the plate. I remember always hoping he'd finally hit his first homer with us.

[mrbig1]

Dave Johnson and Tommy Phoebus.

[Elrod]

http://i19.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/db/77/33e5_1.JPG

[houserocker]

Danny Boone. He had a couple of good seasons in Rochester and I always wished they'd call him up. They finally did. Jim Traber. Bob Milaki. Mark Williamson. Jamie Moyer as an O.

[McNulty]

How about Rene Gonzalez?

[brvn52]

Jeff Manto.

[dedwretched]

http://i19.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/db/77/33e5_1.JPG

Why is a card that's worth 5 cents in a toploader? :confused: :D

[opawacz]

top of head: orsulak. sugarbear. alan mills. sal fasano. i had the chance to ask perlozzo about fasano during that spring training. cuz fasano had just dropped this amazing self-deprecating quote in the paper. perlozzo intimated that dude had no chance.

[dedwretched]

Mine was Chris Gomez. I liked him since his last starting gig, 2000 with the Rays. I was so happy the O's signed him, but I was pretty pizzed off at the Phillies for taking him in the Rule V draft.

[CalForOwnership]

As a little side note I have talked to Eric Byrnes, and he said that he played his way out of Baltimore when he got here because of the locker room being so bad vibed and the way PA was doing things. Just my opinon.

But i loved watching Omar Daal, wait never i thought this was the watch pitchers give up tons of hits thread my bad :)

[Itoolu]

Jeff Manto.

Is Jeff Manto the guy who had 4 HR in 4 consecutive official AB's?

I would go with

Leo Gomez and Herold Reynolds

[sangar]

Here's one nobody mentioned...Fernando Lunar. I was younger at the time, and I really didn't realize how pathetic of a hitter he was, but for some reason, he really stuck out behind the plate. I remember always hoping he'd finally hit his first homer with us.I'm impressed. This guy was one of the most outstanding defensive catchers the Birds have ever had. His ERA was significantly lower (almost a run) than the overall team ERA. If his bat had just been average he would have had a great career.

On a side note: I was going to vote for Andy Etcheberan (sp) before you reminded me of Lunar. Well, I'll still go with Andy. You got here first.

[lint06]

How about Rene Gonzalez?

You know, as a kid, I liked that guy, but looking back at his stats...jeeeez, he was terrible.

[emmett16]

I can't believe I made it to page 4 and have only seen ONE Devo bid. By far my favorite O ever...I dont' know why but I was a huge fan. He has to have some of the best Oriole highlights ever.

[emmett16]

You know, as a kid, I liked that guy, but looking back at his stats...jeeeez, he was terrible.

I like him just because he was #88....he was the first guy I can ever remember wearing a hockey/football number in baseball...I'll never forget him because of that.

[Moose Milligan]

You know, as a kid, I liked that guy, but looking back at his stats...jeeeez, he was terrible.

He was terrible.

Though I don't think Brady thought so... ;)

Mark Eichhorn was a straight up beast for us for one year. 71 innings in relief, 2.15 ERA, 1.14 whip, 62 hits.

He went to the Angels the next year, had a bad season and he was done.

Whenever I played whatifsports.com baseball, he HAD to be on my team. He was absolutely lights out.

[McNulty]

He was terrible.

Though I don't think Brady thought so... ;)

Mark Eichhorn was a straight up beast for us for one year. 71 innings in relief, 2.15 ERA, 1.14 whip, 62 hits.

He went to the Angels the next year, had a bad season and he was done.

Whenever I played whatifsports.com baseball, he HAD to be on my team. He was absolutely lights out.

Yea, but come on Moose....the guy was the goofiest cat ever to don an O's uni. Who wears 88 anyways?

[Moose Milligan]

Yea, but come on Moose....the guy was the goofiest cat ever to don an O's uni. Who wears 88 anyways?

<img src = "http://www.tigerrag.com/wp-content/uploads/belle_albert.jpg">

[McNulty]

Double Touche, sir....double touche.

But I believe that further proves my point. :D

[JohnnyK27]

I actually had 2

Larry Sheets

Joe Orsulak

[McNulty]

http://www.checkoutmycards.com/CardImages/Cards/008/644/01F.jpg

Just look at him dude!

http://bp0.blogger.com/_4lJTcxT9wLY/R5-HCKHjhcI/AAAAAAAAAdI/P09l7Od3erE/s400/98A.jpg

[Moose Milligan]

Quite a mullet on that first card :)

[Cire]

Nobody liked Jeff Conine?

[sorrycharlie]

I'm surprised Jesse Orosco hasn't gotten more love. He was my favorite. And Reboulet with that cheezy stache and the long homeruns in 1997 against Randy Johnson?

I mean, there are many, but I liked those two, Bordick, Hoiles, Baines and Geronimo Berroa. God he sucked in right field but he cracked me up..

[wildcard]

Dempsey when he played. Not so much as a sportcaster.

Total effort. Great arm. Great spirt. Unafraid. Block the play and take the hit. Climb the screen. Great World Series. Positive presents. Fun during rain delays.

[UpstateNYfan]

how about Stanhouse he drove Weaver crazy, Al Bumbry, Rich Dauer

[clapdiddy]

I don't know why, but I always liked Tim Hulett when he was here. It seemed to me that he liked his role as a utility guy, and seemed to get big hits every now and then.

[Tx Oriole]

I believe for me it is Millar.

[PeterWyshner]

Surhoff...in his first stint with the O's.

I second that. Loved that guy.

[Frobby]

Dempsey when he played. Not so much as a sportcaster.

Total effort. Great arm. Great spirt. Unafraid. Block the play and take the hit. Climb the screen. Great World Series. Positive presents. Fun during rain delays.

You scooped me. Nobody got more upset with himself when he messed up or cared more about the game. I remember reading a Boswell article about how Dempsey would wake up in the middle of the night and practice his swing by the side of the bed in the dark. One time he knocked over a lamp and scared the hell out of his wife. He was the heart and soul of the great Orioles teams of the late 70's and early 80's, even though he was by no means the best player.

[Old#5fan]

Moose's decade of incompetence thread got me thinking. There have been a few Orioles over the last few years that I enjoyed watching no matter how bad they actually were.

Chris Gomez - a very servicable uti guy and probably still can be. He always got that base hit when you needed him to.

David Newhan - I loved this guy from the moment he hit that homerun in his first Orioles at bat!

Eric Byrnes - He forgot how to hit when he was with us, but he was not ever afraid to get down and dirty.

I'll get murdered for this next one. Not so much that I loved seeing him play, but I wanted so bad for Fahey to succeed. I really think he tried his best, even if it isn't good enough at the major league level.


I had several over the years who fit in this category. I always liked Russ Snyder because he hit a game winning walkoff homer in the first game I ever saw in 1963 at Memorial stadium. I was 8 years old. I also liked Paul Blair, Dick Hall (from that era) and Elrod Hendricks. Later favorites were John Loweinstein and Jim Dwyer.

My most recent non-superstar favorites were BJ Surhoff and Jeff Conine.

I also liked Gary Matthews Jr and Jack Cust when they were Orioles and rued the day they were let go.

As for recent fringe players I really liked and rooted for to suceed, Newhan, Fahey, and LH fit that category.

[little_b]

Floyd Rayford. He gave us Tito Landrum, but missed out on the WS.

[TinCup]

Uh...hello...how about this guy...



<image src= "http://static.baseballtoaster.com/blogs/cardboardgods/images/2007/SammyStewart80.jpg">

[O'sBacker4Ever]

Couple names not brought up yet:

Juan Beniquez (loved this guy in 1986)
Jim Traber (funny watching slide into bases)
Mike Young (70 Hr's from 84-87)
Dave Schmidt (28 wins from 87-89)
Kevin Hickey (loved him in 89)
Mark Williamson (89-90 in relief was awesome)
Todd Frowirth (great years in 91-92)
Bob Milacki (good in 89. Remember the combined no-hitter in 91?)


Of course my favorite now and probably of all time is now Kevin Millar. Great guy as we all know.

Other favorites of mine already mentioned:

Mikey Tettleton (loved him, used to emulate that batting stance in the back yard)
Chito Martinez (I remember a three game stretch in 91 against Tex he was on fire, think he had 8 hits, 3 homers and 6 RBI) The crowd : "CHITO, CHITO, CHITO")
Mike Devereaux (The homer against the Angels inside the fair pole or, outside according to the Angels)
Joe Orsulak (the man)
Harold Baines (the "old" MAN)
Chris Hoiles (2 Grannys in one game)
Jeff Manto (17 Dingers in 95, never hit more than 3)
Randy Milligan (The original Moose)
Eric Davis (31 game hit streak)

Neat thread, brought up a lot of old memories from Memorial.

[xKHx]

I always liked Storm Davis and Billy Ripken. I think Storm because of the name then him doing anything cool heh.

[Peace21]

Randy Milligan
Mickey Tettleton
Chris Hoiles
Leo Gomez
Larry Sheets
Dave Johnson

[SoBo]

Pretty much anyone on that 89 team. I still remember the why not? banners in my middle school cafeteria. That said, Slak will always be my favorite position player and the Otter my favorite pitcher. That curve should have a place in some HOF.

[Peace21]

Recent
Larry Bigbie
Jack Cust
Chris Gomez
Rodrigo Lopez
Robert Machado
Todd Williams

[TiredofLosing20]

Surhoff is my all-time favorite Non-Superstar Oriole and probably my second favorite Oriole. That guy left it on the diamond every day.

Orsulak
Lenny Sakata..

[Old#5fan]

Any of you remember a guy named Sam Bowens? As a kid I saw him mash a ball in Memorial stadium that missed going completely out of the ballpark in left field by two rows of bleachers. So of course at that age he was one of my favorites, and since I batted LHed I liked Curt Blefary.

I also had a couple of relief pitchers that were my favorites: Eddie Watt (with his big chaw of tobacco was cool) and I always liked Stu Miller, Moe Drabowsky (who can ever forget his performance mowing down the Dodgers in 1966) and another more obscure reliever named Pete Reichert, who I am pretty sure they got in a trade with the Senators.

[ironmike26]

No one brought up Todd Frowirth, the submariner

[OrangeJerseys]

Suprised I haven't seen Jim Dwyer's name mentioned yet.

"Jim was a great role player and clutch pinch-hitter for the Orioles. In the heat of the '82 pennant race, he reached base 13 consecutive times over 4 games. In July '83, he hit .452 in 48 at-bats, ranking 5th in the Best Month Performance all-time list."

The quote is from the sponser on Dwyer's Baseball Reference page Raymond Erdman

Edit: Sorry Old #5 I missed yours.

[big00al]

Jim Gentile although I thought he was a superstar and Steve Barber

[OrangeJerseys]

I'd also like to mention Tippy Martinez. I loved his windup, and of course, his move to first.

[NewOwnerNeeded]

BJ Surhoff was one of my favorites. I loved his hustle and how he got the most out of his talent.

When I was a kid, I was also a big fan of T-Bone Shelby. I was always the leadoff and fast and liked to steal bases, so I liked those types of guys.

[wirenutz]

I liked Rick Dempsey always played hard and had fun doing it!

[ChuckyBobby]

I know they've already been said, but I did like Newhan and Byrnes.

[bmorebird]

always liked mike bordick

[OrangeJerseys]

Gotta give a shout to Mickey Tettleton too.

[Col. Claypool]

B.J. Surhoff
Chris Hoiles
Billy Ripken

[jets4ever]

Chris Hoiles was always a favorite.

[ToadB22]

Anybody remember when Leo Gomez got off to that crazy torrid start in '93, something like 8 homers halfway through May? I think he finished with 10 and a .197 batting average. I always liked him though, and the man with the goggles, Chris Sabo.

[Amazin]

Jimbo;
I second that promotion. Slack was "Old School" and "Real Cool."

[MikeAD]

Micky Tettleton,Todd Frohwirth, and Billy Ripken were my favorites growing up.

Also Sam Horn, Lenny Webster, Scott Erickson, John Maine, Sal Fasano, and Delino Deshields at various points over the years.

I also always wanted Gene Kingsale to do well.

[Bill388]

I can't believe Mark Belanger hasn't been mentioned in this thread. He was absolutely unparalleled in the field. Amazing range and a cannon from short. And he always seemed to save his two HR's per year for the Yankees.

Maybe the best fielding shortstop the O's ever had...

[GMU Orioles Fan]

Geronimo Berroa. Okay we only had him for a half year in '97 but that year is my favorite Orioles year(I was 10) and his name was Geronimo and my dad and I would pronounce it like the famous Indian warrior rather than the "H".

[TORRED17]

Al Bumbry, oldest ROY up til then.

[RShack]

Blair, Belanger.
They were like machines in the field. I never saw either one of them diving and falling over. Boring. Incredible. Very fun to watch in a very un-web-gem kind of way. The ball was hit, and was gonna be a hit but then, oops, one of those two was there waiting for it. The hitter would stand there near 1B and stare, like "How was that even possible?" The best part was reading the paper the next day, with sanitized quotes from the Bad Guys' manager talking about how he just *hated* seeing those guys take the field because it just wasn't fair. When Belanger would go way, way into the hole to backhand one that Brooks couldn't get, he had a very pretty grab-leap-spinaround-in-midair-and-throw move, but it looked easy. Unlike Brooks, his throws to Boog didn't bounce, they'd pop into his mitt. Blair would just get there before the ball did. Earl fussed at him for playing too shallow, told him to play deeper. Blair told Earl to leave him alone until after somebody hit one over hid head. AFAIK, it never happened. It was hilarious when he'd field a very shallow single and throw the guy out at 1B. The rest of the team would each cover their mouth with their glove to hide the laughing.

Russ Snyder.
Perfectly competent OF'er. Never made you regret he was there. Sign-stealer supreme.

Pete Richert.
Dunno why. Senators' star SP, obtained in a trade, instantly converted to the BP w/ no whining.

[RShack]

I can't believe Mark Belanger hasn't been mentioned in this thread. He was absolutely unparalleled in the field. Amazing range and a cannon from short. And he always seemed to save his two HR's per year for the Yankees.

Maybe the best fielding shortstop the O's ever had...
Definitely, not maybe.
Maybe the best fielding shortstop anybody ever had.