As winter break for students and teachers comes to a close, maybe the Orioles front office can get back to work, too, and sign an actual outfielder.
Top 10 Orioles storylines of 2016 - The Sun
Not nine, not 11. You get 10.
Baltimore Orioles: How much would a Schoop extension cost? - FoxSports
Apparent a Schoop extension has replaced a Machado extension as the new hot taek in Orioles journalism circles.
Some fans see the future and are very concerned - MASNSports
Steve Melewski is not one of those fans.
Wondering what’s next for Kim - MASNSports
Hyun Soo Kim will be a free agent after next year, Roch Kubatko says, with a slight dig at Baseball-Reference.com for good measure. So, what happens?
Notes on Givens and Orioles assistant hitting coach - MASNSports
Mychal Givens will be getting an early start on Spring Training at the O’s complex in Sarasota, and Howie Clark is expected to be named as the newest member of the Orioles coaching staff.
John Angelos Talks Orioles 2017 Season, Keeping Machado & More - CBS Baltimore
John weighed in immediately with his thoughts of how Baltimore has approached this offseason.
Camden Depot's Top 5 Posts Of 2016 - Camden Depot
Theirs are very, very different from ours. Makes sense, though.
My Hypothetical Hall of Fame Ballot - Baltimore Sports & Life
Mike Weber doesn’t get a Hall of Fame ballot, but if he did, it would definitely have Barry Bonds and Mike Mussina on it. It would also have Curt Schilling. But he listed Curt after Moose, so that’s cool.
What It’s Like to Go to the Orioles’ Fantasy Camp - Sarasota Magazine
A first-person account of what it’s like to be 65 and try and relive your youth for $4,000. Reading all that’s included, it actually doesn’t sound like that bad a deal.
Ed Smith Stadium Work Subject of Lawsuit - Ballpark Digest
Apparently that 2011 renovation to the Orioles Spring Training home created some issues of its own, and the county in which Ed Smith Stadium resides is going after the construction company.
Birthdays and History
Happy Birthday to former Orioles Donell Nixon, Ken Rowe, and Ted Gray. They share today’s birthday with famous people including artist Henri Matisse 1869; U.S. general and Secretary of State George Marshall 1880; Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal 1908; actor Anthony Hopkins 1937; musician Andy Summers (The Police) 1942; singer/songwriter and singer (but not writer) of that Orioles anthem "Thank God I'm A Country Boy" John Denver 1943; actor Ben Kingsley 1943; disco queen Donna Summer 1948; bassist Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith) 1951; actress Bebe Neuwirth 1958; actor Val Kilmer 1959; musician Paul Westerberg 1959; guitarist Scott Ian (Anthrax, The Damned Things) 1963; and Joe McIntyre (New Kids on the Block) 1972.
On this day in Baltimore baseball history...
2010 - The Orioles sign veteran 1B Derrek Lee to a one-year contract.
2010 - During year-end celebrations, a shooting takes place in Luperon, a town on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, leaving a 25-year-old man dead and his 17-year-old brother wounded. Three days later, police announce that the main suspect is Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon, who claims his innocence but goes in hiding in his hometown of Santiago. He will surrender to police on January 3rd.
Also, on this day in 1972 - Pittsburgh Pirates superstar Roberto Clemente dies in the crash of a four-engine plane over the Atlantic Ocean. The 38-year-old Clemente was supervising the delivery of relief supplies to the earthquake victims of Managua, Nicaragua. The cargo plane, a DC-7 that departed from San Juan Airport in Puerto Rico, crashes shortly after takeoff. In 18 major league seasons, Clemente batted .317, won the 1966 MVP Award, and led the Pirates to World Championships in 1960 and 1971. Shortly after his death, the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors votes to waive the usual five-year waiting period for Clemente, paving the way for his election to Cooperstown in 1973.
On this day in world history...
1841 - The State of Alabama enacted the first dental legislation in the U.S.
1862 - U.S. President Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.
1879 - Thomas Edison gave his first public demonstration of incandescent lighting to an audience in Menlo Park, NJ.
1891 - New York's new Immigration Depot was opened at Ellis Island, to provide improved facilities for the massive numbers of arrivals.
1929 - Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played "Auld Lang Syne" as a New Year's Eve song for the first time.
1946 - U.S. President Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.
1955 - General Motors became the first U.S. corporation to earn more than one billion dollars in a single year.
1961 - In the U.S., the Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1990 - Titleholder Gary Kasparov of the U.S.S.R. won the world chess championship match against his countryman Anatoly Karpov.
1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigned. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was designated acting president.
Consider this your discussion space for the aftermath of UFC 207: Nunes vs Rousey. I think Ronda’s done, and we won’t see her anywhere for a long, long time. That said, I’d be a pretty grateful kid if my mom wrote a note like this after a crushing defeat.
Enjoy New Year’s Eve, don’t drink and drive, and I’ll see you all here bright and early tomorrow morning, right?