I’m Celebrating Twenty (Plus?) Years of Hanging Out!

[Frobby]

According to my poster profile, I joined the Hangout on December 10, 2003.  So that makes today my 20th anniversary as a Hangout member.  

Now, I actually don’t believe that’s quite right.   In my memory, I joined the Hangout in the last days of the 2003 season.  Then, when Tony created Plus memberships in December of that year, I signed up for that.  But whatever.  Officially, today is my 20th anniversary.

The Hangout has seen a ton of changes in those 20 years.   A few managing editors have come and gone (and I still miss weams terribly), site writers have come and gone, and some prolific posters have come and gone (and in SG’s case, have come back again).   The whole framework for discussion is different.   WAR existed in some dark corners of the internet but most people (me included) had never heard of it.  Moneyball  was published that year and its concepts like the importance of OBP and fielding-independent pitching metrics were just entering public consciousness.   BB-ref existed but was a little-used resource that not many people were aware of and didn’t have nearly the information and functionality it has today.  Fangraphs did not exist.   Nobody talked about spin rate, or launch angle, exit velocity or dozens of other metrics we talk about all the time.

But two things have remained constant throughout those 20 years:

1.  @Tony-OHhas seen to it that the site provides the most detailed and best-researched information on Orioles’ minor league prospects of any site on the internet.  In fact, that was what brought me to Orioles Hangout in the first place, a couple of years before I even realized there was a message board here.  I’d pop over a few times a year reading things like Tony’s comments on Erik Bedard when he was at Frederick, and the exploits of players like Tim Raines, Jr., Keith Reed and Eddie Rogers.  There was absolutely no better place to go for O’s minor league information then, and though there’s a lot more competition today, OH still reigns supreme.

2.  There’s no better place to discuss all facets of Orioles’ baseball with knowledgeable fans.  I know so much more than I used to about the intricacies of the game and the team thanks to the posters here.  And I can’t count the number of times that I had an opinion on some issue about the team and got talked out of it by good information provided by other posters.  

Anyway, it’s been a great 20 years for me and I hope I’m still on here arguing about the 2043 team 20 years from now!  Thanks to Tony and everyone else who makes this a great place to Hang Out!

 
 

Edited December 10, 2023 by Frobby

[CynBeth]

Congratulations!
 

This is such an amazing message board and I am appreciative of everyone.

[UMDTerrapins]

Four days before we signed Miguel Tejeda. And I’ve never seen you and Miguel Tejeda in the same room. That’s enough data for me…..I see what’s going on here. 

[wildcard]

I see that RZNJ, SG and I all have a join dates on September 23, 2003.  I too believe there was a system change and that I was on the OH prior to that.

Thanks Tony for 20 years of enhancing my enjoyment of O's baseball!

[RZNJ]

10 minutes ago, wildcard said:

I see that RZNJ, SG and I all have a join dates on September 23, 2003.  I too believe there was a system change and that I was on the OH prior to that.

Thanks Tony for 20 years of enhancing my enjoyment of O's baseball!

I don’t recall the exact year I started posting but SportsGuy was already here.  One of our first “discussions” was who should be the 2B, Jerry Hairston or Brian Roberts.  I think I predate Frobby and most everyone else.   Anyway, I share Frobby’s sentiments.  Great thread.

[Frobby]

23 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I don’t recall the exact year I started posting but SportsGuy was already here.  One of our first “discussions” was who should be the 2B, Jerry Hairston or Brian Roberts.  I think I predate Frobby and most everyone else.   Anyway, I share Frobby’s sentiments.  Great thread.

Yes, Hairston vs. Roberts was a big debate in those days.  I was in Hairston’s camp, but he was hurt half the time.  And BRob may have gotten some, er, help somewhere along the way.  They both had good careers, though Roberts clearly had the better one.   

[Flash- bd]

10 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Yes, Hairston vs. Roberts was a big debate in those days.  I was in Hairston’s camp, but he was hurt half the time.  And BRob may have gotten some, er, help somewhere along the way.  They both had good careers, though Roberts clearly had the better one.   

That was one of the biggest debates in Orioles circles at the time, yessir. I was also in the Hairston camp. 

[LA2]

52 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I don’t recall the exact year I started posting but SportsGuy was already here.  One of our first “discussions” was who should be the 2B, Jerry Hairston or Brian Roberts.  I think I predate Frobby and most everyone else.   Anyway, I share Frobby’s sentiments.  Great thread.

You beat me by six days--and approximately 9,300 posts! But I'm four years older than you and got to watch Stu Miller pitch....

Congrats and gratitude on Frobby's 20th on the OH  

[Too Tall]

Congrads to Frobby. You make this site better. I have lurked since 05 but took me quite a while to post.  I always look to read a Frobby post. That says it all. Here's to 20 more!

[Frobby]

9 minutes ago, LA2 said:

You beat me by six days--and approximately 9,300 posts! But I'm four years older than you and got to watch Stu Miller pitch....

Congrats and gratitude on Frobby's 20th on the OH  

Yeah, those post counts have been reset numerous times through the years.   I hate to think of how many times I’ve actually posted.  

[OriolesMagic83]

1 hour ago, wildcard said:

I see that RZNJ, SG and I all have a join dates on September 23, 2003.  I too believe there was a system change and that I was on the OH prior to that.

Thanks Tony for 20 years of enhancing my enjoyment of O's baseball!

It could be that you, RZNJ, and Sports Guy are the sMe person.  It all makes  sense now.

[NashLumber]

44 minutes ago, LA2 said:

You beat me by six days--and approximately 9,300 posts! But I'm four years older than you and got to watch Stu Miller pitch....

Congrats and gratitude on Frobby's 20th on the OH  

I'm 18 years on OH as of tomorrow (and start drawing Social Security on Wednesday). But my posts are far, far behind in number, 5.4k. Overall, I have gone by the philosophy that it's better to be thought of as a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt! Although, honestly, I'm still probably a clown no matter how one looks at it. 

Congrats, Frobby! Have always enjoyed your even-handedness and balance in your opinions and thoughts on here. 

Edited December 10, 2023 by NashLumber

[TonySoprano]

Congrats.

I've been here off and on for 18+ years.   Unlike me, Frobby has been here year after year, and practically daily.   If he misses one day, posters freak out wondering where he is.

I saw the Frobby name and almost went with Brobby as a user name.  Instead, I saw Tony-OHs avatar which reminded me of this

and a new username was born

 

[AnythingO's]

I don't remember the timeframe but it was before my 2005 profile date. I remember the BRob-Hairston debates. What I really remember was SG asking what Flanny was thinking when he signed a reliever, Buddy Groom I believe, and I answered "he thought he had a .500 ballclub and this would push them to contention. SG gave me a green pip (remember those). I found out about this site on either Sunspot or Birds of Prey. Someone there was a big Frank Robison fan (FR500 maybe) an I had a detailed article of Frank's career I had trapped somewhere as I moved around for work. I copied it and emailed it to him and he told me about this place. The rest is history. My post count does not reflect the number of times I check in each and every day, thank you Tony for providing this service.

[Sports Guy]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

Yes, Hairston vs. Roberts was a big debate in those days.  I was in Hairston’s camp, but he was hurt half the time.  And BRob may have gotten some, er, help somewhere along the way.  They both had good careers, though Roberts clearly had the better one.   

Hairston could just never stay healthy.