/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/20818397/169741264.0.jpg)
Going into the 2013, Chris Dickerson was nothing more than one of Dan Duquette's now-classic scrap-heap pickups for the Orioles. Brought in to compete with the likes of Steve Pearce, Russ Canzler and Nolan Reimold for a reserve role on the club, Dickerson ended up making his way into 56 games with the club. From a baseball perspective, he had one really, really good month and didn't do a whole lot else. From a chemistry and .gif-ability perspective, he gave Orioles fans something to enjoy during a season that didn't quite go as planned.
Let's start with Dickerson the baseball player. Dickerson's overall line screams "replacement player": .238/.266/.400 (note the unsettling .666 OPS), 4 HR, 5 SB -- all good for -0.1 WAR, according to Baseball Reference. Now let's break apart the stats of two players we'll call Chris May Dickerson and Chris EveryOtherMonth Dickerson:
PAs | Slash line | HR | |
May | 35 | .314/.314/.714 | 4 |
EveryOtherMonth | 74 | .200/.267/.243 | 0 |
Chris Dickerson's May was more than the numbers indicate. He hit two solo homers in a win against the Yankees that snapped a six-game losing streak. He mashed a walkoff home run against the Tigers. Dickerson was right in the middle of a heady month where Orioles fans could reasonably believe that everything good was within the team's reach.
But then, there were the .gif-able moments. The fact is, Chris Dickerson may or may not be with the Orioles in 2014. If he is, he probably won't be a huge factor in the team's fortunes. The Orioles could choose to offer him arbitration (for which this would be his first year), or they could non-tender him and hope to re-sign him to a team-friendly contract. It doesn't entirely matter. I'm going to leave you with this gallery of Dickerson .gifs so that we can all remember the good times together.
Thanks for the memories, Chris.