TT: The most productive Oriole in their history could surprise you!

[Frobby]

I think there is one aspect of Frank that is being overlooked. He ran the clubhouse. He kept everyone in line. You didn't cross Frank. Everything I heard or read at the time and all the books written about those teams say the Frank led the teams. You gave 100% all they time or you had to deal with Frank.

Weaver was a disciplinarian an was effective but in many way these teams grew into a veteran group. Frank as the team leader made sure even the veterans did their part. He was very strong willed.

Stats just do not describe what Frank meant to those great teams. Is all part of his production and what he meant as a player.

I don't think anyone is disputing or disregarding Frank's intangie contributions. I still think the O's might well have won a few pennants/WS titles without him in the 1966-71 window due to the confluence of factors I mentioned. When you win your division by 19, 15 and 11 games, you have some margin of error, and the pitching and defense was well suited for playoff success.

[JayThomas]

It's fun to look at Rochester from this era for another angle on how amazing our talent was in those days.

At age 20, he destroys AAA in half a season to the tune of 383/503/570. He does get some 1970 callup and has Troutian scuffle.

So what happens next year? Davey Johnson's still around, so Grich repeats AAA.

One of the soft arguments in Edgar Martinez's HOF case is the Mariners kept him down too long - Grich advocates can say the same thing.

Maybe best thread ever (well, after the Complacent Reynolds thread and the legendary Teixeira Wow offer thread).

In any case I think this is MY favorite thread ever. Amazing information. Thanks TonyOH, tntoriole, OFFNY; everybody. I've never exhausted my rep-giving ability before this thread.

I grew up in Rochester. I was 12 in 1970, so I remember very keenly Bobby Grich's and Don Baylor's years there. I hadn't really picked up baseball as a sport to follow until 1967 though, so I had no pre-1966 point of comparison for the Orioles. To me, the universe was simply as is should be with Rochester graduating All-Star level talent to the Orioles All-Star studded team.

Anyway, great info throughout. I'm sorry I couldn't rep everyone who has contributed to this thread. Hey Mod's how about a blanket greenie for all? 'tis the season and all.

[Tony-OH]

Maybe best thread ever (well, after the Complacent Reynolds thread and the legendary Teixeira Wow offer thread).

In any case I think this is MY favorite thread ever. Amazing information. Thanks TonyOH, tntoriole, OFFNY; everybody. I've never exhausted my rep-giving ability before this thread.

I grew up in Rochester. I was 12 in 1970, so I remember very keenly Bobby Grich's and Don Baylor's years there. I hadn't really picked up baseball as a sport to follow until 1967 though, so I had no pre-1966 point of comparison for the Orioles. To me, the universe was simply as is should be with Rochester graduating All-Star level talent to the Orioles All-Star studded team.

Anyway, great info throughout. I'm sorry I couldn't rep everyone who has contributed to this thread. Hey Mod's how about a blanket greenie for all? 'tis the season and all.

Thanks. I'm really happy to see so many people chime in with so much good information.

[Tony-OH]

o

Happy birthday, Bobby Grich.

Kind of on subject but kinda not, I just the old Topps cards in the 70's and early 80s. Grant it they were when I was growing up and I was huge baseball card kid, but even now, I just love the staged photos, the backgrounds, the air brushing, the designs. They are just great.

[weams]

Kind of on subject but kinda not, I just the old Topps cards in the 70's and early 80s. Grant it they were when I was growing up and I was huge baseball card kid, but even now, I just love the staged photos, the backgrounds, the air brushing, the designs. They are just great.

Absolutely. Great pose.

[DrungoHazewood]

Kind of on subject but kinda not, I just the old Topps cards in the 70's and early 80s. Grant it they were when I was growing up and I was huge baseball card kid, but even now, I just love the staged photos, the backgrounds, the air brushing, the designs. They are just great.

It's a little like cars, where we get nostalgic for the stuff of our childhood even if they were objectively pretty crappy. That's a '71 Topps if I remember right. It's off-center, the black edge would get obviously scuffed before it was even out of the pack, the photo is so airbrushed it makes Playboy look natural, but it has a certain charm that a modern Upper Deck card that's designed to go straight into hermetically-sealed lexan doesn't. They were cards that cost 25 cents a pack, and designed that way. You could put those cards in your bicycle spokes and not worry that you were jeopardizing your college fund.

[weams]

It's a little like cars, where we get nostalgic for the stuff of our childhood even if they were objectively pretty crappy. That's a '71 Topps if I remember right. It's off-center, the black edge would get obviously scuffed before it was even out of the pack, the photo is so airbrushed it makes Playboy look natural...

[Number5]

I've got a nice collection of 50's, 60's, and 70's cards. Plan was to use them to put my boys through school, but values went down before they matriculated, so I had to beg, borrow, and steal as best I could to put them through.. Now, I guess they will just get the collection some day and maybe values will go back up for them.