Nick Markakis Appreciation Thread

[backwardsk]

Holy Cow. Great picture.

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[OFFNY]

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Markakis will likely be inducted into the Orioles Hall-of-Fame someday.

I wish that he would have stayed for at least a few more years. If he had, he probably would not have wound up being a "Mr. Oriole", ala Jim Palmer, Cal Ripken, Jr., Brooks Robinson, etc., but he would probably have been a borderline Mr. Oriole type, ala Mark Belanger, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar, etc.

I guess that I/we will have to settle for his Oriole Hall-of-Fame induction someday in the distant future.

[atomic]

Great player who was a team first kind of guy. He will be missed.

[spiritof66]

Looks like it's time for a pennant-clinching noogie from Buck.

[ArtVanDelay]

Nick will always be one of my favorite Orioles. Class act and loved by his teammates. I didn't want the O's to resign Nick but now that he's gone I'm kind of bummed. It's for the best though. Can't wait to give him a standing O when the Braves visit Baltimore in late July.

[Birdfan21]

You da man Nick. Sad day for me as a sports fan.

[foxfield]

First of all, a heartfelt thank you to Nick. I really cannot think of a single thing that we as fans could ask for that he did not provide. A team player, who showed up everyday and lived the "Oriole Way" when it no longer existed in the organization. He gave his all and his presence will be missed.

I think the Orioles have made the right move here. A difficult move that unsettles fans and even players. I get that. I think most of us get that. Here is what I think is such a testament to the man Nick is and what he meant to the Orioles:

I think he wanted to stay. I think many fans and players wanted him to stay. I think many believe he is being overpaid by Atlanta. I also think that there are as many O's fans hoping that Nick makes the deal look good as there would have been fans hoping he earned those dollars here. I believe fan's hope that, players hope that and I believe Buck and DD and PA hope that. I think this is a situation where DD made a cold business decision and yet still hopes Nick proves him wrong.

That is how I see this. It's a hard move, but I think the correct move for the O's. Still, every day I will hope nothing but the best for Nick and I will await his return for the Oriole Hall of Fame. He has earned it!

Thanks Nick, hope Atlanta is great for you!

[weams]

[cmurter]

Thank you Nick for being a bright spot in an otherwise miserable era, and the cornerstone of the new era of competitive O's baseball. Not loud, or flashy, or outspoken. The man just came to work everyday and gave it his best. I will definitely miss rooting for Nick as an Oriole. The economics and statistics of modern major league baseball aside, Baltimore lost a great man and player to root for. Just glad he got to taste the postseason in orange and black. Farewell.

[33rdst]

Shortly after Nick was drafted they brought him to the yard to work out. The reports were that our young number one pick was hitting bombs over the right field scoreboard. It was then I began to believe that we had begun the process of turning the O's around and Nick Markakis was going to lead the way. He was our guy. Home grown out of our system. I can't imagine opening day next spring without him in right field.

[Nevermore]

Nick, it was great to see you here, throughout all those losing seasons. I wish you well in Atlanta.

[ConnO'sFan]

A heart felt thanks to you Nick and best of luck in ATL. You are my oldest son's favorite and it's gonna hurt him for a while. Kind of like the feeling I had when Moose left. Thank god you are not a Yank. Hey, for those of us up here in the NYC area, we can now watch Mets vs Braves with an ounce if interest.

[ShaneDawg85]

Most of my life the Orioles have been a dormant, floundering loser of a franchise with few guys to cheer for on a nightly basis, who you know your cheers wouldn't ring hollow. Outside of a brief period in the 90's with Cal, Brady, Mussina, and then the last three years, there wasn't much to like. Nick Markakis was one of the few, major exceptions to that. People have argued for years over the things that he doesn't do, but I always appreciated the things he did do. His hitting approach was professional, never flashy but consistent. He always played hard, never drew attention to himself or seemed to want attention. He didn't speak much, never had a lot to say, just went about the game as a true professional and very rarely complained about the team, when he had every right in the world to do it. Then when he did complain about the team, it spoke volumes, and it drew much needed attention on how bad things had become. He went through a lot of losing, and was cheated out of the playoffs two years ago, but my heart sings knowing that he finally got to experience the playoffs for real this season. Next to Buck and Jones, I'll be damned if Nick Markakis didn't get the biggest ovation before both playoff series, and damn if it wasn't deserved more than anyone. The "Nick Markakis" chants during Game 1 will forever be etched within my memory, that's how much people wanted him to succeed.

I wish Nick all the best in the world in Atlanta. I hope he has a rejuvenation there, and hope he can help them prosper in the way he finally helped us prosper. He was a professional, a class act, and one of the most consistent and finest Orioles to ever come into the organization. Earl Weaver said a few years ago he could have played for him, and darn it, that was good enough for me. There may have been flashier and my productive players, but I'll take another dozen Nick Markakis's on this team in my lifetime. Baseball is a business, and it's going to be a painful reality no matter what happens not seeing Nick patrolling right field come April 2015. But, I'll always have the memories. Thank you for everything Nick, you've been my favorite Oriole for the last nine seasons, and I look forward to you taking your rightful place in the Orioles Hall of Fame one day.

[Moose Milligan]

I agree with 33rdst, it will be weird not seeing him next season.

I can't remember the year this happened, but I want to say it was 2008 or 2009. I don't even remember who the pitcher was, all I know it was a day game and I think Nick had the bases loaded, or two on. He got down in the count, a quick 0-2. He started fouling off pitches left and right and pretty soon he had worked the count back to 3-2. It had to be a 12 or 13 pitch at bat. Finally, he turned on an inside fastball and drove it over the scoreboard in rightfield for a home run.

It was one of the coolest at bats I'd ever seen. He fought and fought and fought and it paid off.

Anyway.... Like I said earlier, I loved taking photos of him.

IMG_3562-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_3704-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_3892.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_0715-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_0716-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_0792-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_2488-3.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_2589-2.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_2707.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

IMG_2847.jpg by boomchikaboom, on Flickr

[Il BuonO]

I've enjoyed reading all the posts here and I'm not saying anything new when I say Nick was the consummate professional on the field and a pretty good human being off of it from what I've read.

It's been a long time since I got autographs as a kid. If I still collected them Nick is the one guy I would have been sure to try and get when I was there this summer.