Oriolesfan44

BALTIMORE -- The fans came back again. The longtime Orioles fans who remember the glory years when Baltimore was arguably the most feared team in baseball came out in droves this weekend. They found their way to the Baltimore Convention Center to see some of their old heroes once more, get autographs, buy jerseys and have a good time.
Many fans of the Orioles -- and a number of other teams -- came out to the "Baseball's Best" memorabilia show that will last all weekend. The show is part of the Aspire Gala, whose proceeds go directly to the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, an event that's raised over $1 million in the last two years.

Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, the newest members of the baseball Hall of Fame, gave a press conference on Friday and were around on Saturday. In addition, a number of former Orioles players were there, including many who played in the 1983 World Series.

"It's a tribute to the pull the Ripken organization has that they can bring in all of these players," said Steve Katz, from Baltimore. "Whether it's old Orioles or various other players, it's really a tribute to the respect they have for him and Tony Gwynn."

Katz is a longtime Orioles fan. The 48-year-old went to Game 4 of the 1966 World Series, when the Orioles clinched their shocking four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On this day, he checked out a number of places at the event and eventually spent several minutes watching a video about the 1983 World Series.

That was when the Orioles beat Philadelphia in five games, the team's last championship. Tippy Martinez was the team's closer that year, and he returned for the show, enjoying every minute of it.

"It's always nice to see the guys," Martinez said. "It's just nice to see them. This is definitely a treat for us. It's always nice to reminisce and go back and turn back the pages."

Many people were going back and turning the pages. There were a large number of vendors, fans and people buying all kinds of baseball paraphernalia.


Those interested in baseball could buy a large variety of Ripken pictures of him doing just about anything -- sitting, watching a game, hitting in his final game, making a big play in a big contest, you name it, the picture was there.

There were also pictures of memorable moments in Orioles history, such as Boog Powell sliding in to score a run during the 1970 World Series or Eddie Murray getting a clutch hit. Fans also could buy autographed bats, pictures, baseballs, jerseys, hats, shirts and just about anything else possible.

Vendors were in place showing fans items that might be coming on the market soon. One company was telling fans about a product that would let a player give an autograph with the ball sitting in place on a board that could be designed with the background of anyone's favorite ballpark. A pen would be included in the mix.

The products seemed endless, as did the displays. But the theme remained the same -- Baltimore sports, usually baseball, although there was plenty of information and products about other teams and other sports.

Rick Wright is a caricature artist from Baltimore who drew a number of pictures of fans -- people who usually wanted something having to do with the Orioles.

"It's been mostly Orioles' stuff," Wright said. "It's 90 percent for the Orioles, hitting a home run or just batting or pitching. Most of what it's been has been baseball."

Fans bought tickets also to get autographs from various players, many of whom came from the 1983 championship team or some of the Orioles' great groups. But there were a number of others who baseball fans enjoyed seeing. Gaylord Perry and Frank Robinson signed autographs. The players just kept coming.

One thing that didn't change was how the former Orioles loved seeing their fans once more. The Baltimore fans still loved their team and the memories of how good the Orioles were years ago.

"There's a great gathering here at this event," said Dennis Martinez, who pitched for the Orioles from 1976-85. "We had a great times. There were some great memories."

Former manager Earl Weaver also had a good time. He could see how much the fans enjoyed the day and, after signing a large number of autographs, the former skipper thought it was just a very nice day."

"It's good to see the old friends," Weaver said. "We stay in touch a lot, not as much as you probably want to. To be able to come up and shake hands and get pictures signed, that's great for the fans. They have memories, we have memories, and they're all good because we had some great ballplayers and some good teams."

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Cal Ripken HOF 2007