Brooks Robinson

The report on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball tempts me to cynically say that given the inclusion of 19 present or former Orioles among the 87 players named, you would think that we would have witnessed a better on-field performance than we have had to endure for the last 10 seasons. But the findings of former Sen. George J. Mitchell strike me in a way that leads my mind back to Game Four of the 1970 World Series, when the trees visible beyond Memorial Stadium's open end were full of glorious fall color.

The Hall of Fame features one glass case devoted to the Orioles' powerhouses of the 1960s and 1970s, and it proved a favorite gathering spot for Baltimore fans yesterday as they streamed into town for the induction. It was hard to move 3 feet anywhere in the museum without bumping into a person in orange. But traffic was thicker at the case, where scores of fans stopped to gawk and point digital cameras at jerseys of Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer.

Good morning -- Brooks Robinson -- Hearing you were the top vote-getter on the all-time Gold Glove team stoked memories of the '70 World Series.

Cal Ripken Jr.'s election to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday punctuated his legacy as one of Baltimore's greatest sports figures. Ripken not only played brilliantly, but he also always seemed to embody the very characteristics Baltimoreans use to describe their city. He was a small-town boy who spent his entire career with the franchise he grew up cheering. He didn't always have the game mastered, but he never stopped working to master it. He could be counted on. "I'd have to put him right at the top," said fellow Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson when asked to place Ripken in the Baltimore firmament.

Happy and comforting recollections, built on his young years of being a visitor (not always with a ticket) to Memorial Stadium, emerge from Robert Jones the way water sometimes streams from a faucet.His heroes from the past come front and center once again on the conversational baseball stage as he talks about the Orioles of the 1970s and how he got to know them. Players liked his enthusiasm, how he didn't press them for bats and balls and behaved in a well-mannered way.He worked for the concessionaire stacking cases, was around the stadium, not far from where he lived, and this led to the opportunity to get to know the players.

What makes baseball the greatest game God gave man the opportunity to invent:Those golden memories, still so vivid in the theater of the mind, that no one can take away, of Hank Greenberg, Brooks Robinson and Mickey Mantle.It's where a father can be with his son, and explain how once, with his own father, he actually saw Dizzy and Daffy Dean on a cold October night at Oriole Park in 1934 -- making it sound as timely as yesterday, not yesteryear.Such distinctive nicknames. Pepper, Boog, Flea, Shanty, Mudcat, Stan The Man, Schoolboy, Rowdy and Rabbit.

Former Orioles first baseman, current bench coach and future Hall of Famer Eddie Murray was regarded by teammates as a player who let his actions on the field speak for themselves. However, when his No. 33 was officially retired yesterday, the usually stone-faced Murray couldn't help but give in to the moment.Murray, one of only three players to hit 500 home runs and amass 3,000 hits, wiped tears from his eyes and his voice cracked as he thanked fans, teammates and family after Orioles manager Ray Miller presented him with a framed 1980s Orioles )

Cal Ripken was looking for a breaking ball. He swung at a fastball."Pretty smart hitting, huh?" he said.Pretty effective. Ripken grounded a two-out single into right field in the seventh inning last night for his 2,849th career hit, breaking the Orioles' record previously held by Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson.Ripken fouled off the first pitch from Cleveland starter Jaret Wright before finding a hole on the right side. A crowd of 48,374, the largest ever for a regular-season game at Camden Yards, immediately rose for an ovation that lasted until the next batter, Willie Greene, had taken a pitch from Wright.

The Orioles paid homage to their other Iron Man yesterday, saluting Elrod Hendricks on the start of his 30th season with the club. Cal Ripken was in second grade in 1968 when Hendricks joined the Orioles. Talk about tenure: The catcher-turned-coach has seen a generation come and go, including eight managers, four general managers, three owners and a ballpark.Ripken has played in 2,479 straight contests, but Hendricks has suited up for nearly twice as many Orioles games."That's a lot of national anthems," said Hendricks, honored on rTC Opening Day for his three decades in Baltimore, a club record.

Ups and downke Mussina UPTwo weeks ago, everyone was talking about Mussina's elbow. Now they're raving about his past two starts. Thursday's 1-0, three-hit, eight-inning lockdown of the White Sox was vintage Mussina. He has allowed one runner past second base in his past 15 innings.Jimmy Key UPThis guy has more career victories than Greg Maddux and pitches like an American League version of Tom Glavine. A study in professionalism.Shawn Boskie DOWNThe supposed No. 4 starter given the 15-day absence of Rocky Coppinger, Boskie found himself in a no-win situation appearing on 10 days' rest Wednesday.

Citing personal reasons, former Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles is stepping down as manager of the York (Pa.) Revolution, a position he has held since before the club's inaugural 2007 season, team officials announced Wednesday. Hoiles, a member of the Orioles Hall of Fame who played in Baltimore from 1989 to 1998, guided York to the independent Atlantic League playoffs last season. "This is one of the toughest decisions I've had to make," Hoiles said in a statement. "I have appreciated the opportunity to join the York community and assist in building the Revolution from the ground up. My family has grown very fond of York and of Revolution fans who supported us during our three seasons here.

Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora wants to play baseball for four more years; he's just not sure what's going to happen in the next four days. In the final season of a guaranteed contract, Mora has not been asked by the club about potentially waiving his no-trade clause, meaning he almost certainly will remain with the Orioles after Friday's nonwaiver trade deadline passes. But he's taking nothing for granted. "In this business nobody knows," Mora said. "In this business, it's crazy."

We can't exactly blame ESPN, because the finalists were determined by a fan vote, but Maryland didn't make the cut in the network's Mt. Rushmore of sports top five. ... Maryland's Michael Phelps, Cal Ripken Jr., Brooks Robinson and John Unitas should have beaten out at least one of them. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/mediumwell)

The report on performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball tempts me to cynically say that given the inclusion of 19 present or former Orioles among the 87 players named, you would think that we would have witnessed a better on-field performance than we have had to endure for the last 10 seasons. But the findings of former Sen. George J. Mitchell strike me in a way that leads my mind back to Game Four of the 1970 World Series, when the trees visible beyond Memorial Stadium's open end were full of glorious fall color.

Good morning -- Brooks Robinson -- Hearing you were the top vote-getter on the all-time Gold Glove team stoked memories of the '70 World Series.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The ribbing began yesterday as soon as the bus carrying Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn rolled near the field where they would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. "Look at the people on those distant hills," the older Hall of Famers told the newest inductees. "Nobody's ever sat back here this far." "We thought they were just messing with us," Ripken said. But the elder stars were right. The estimated crowd of 75,000 that came to watch Ripken and Gwynn was by far the largest in Hall history.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Cal Ripken Jr.'s lifelong love affair with Baltimore and baseball, which began at the knee of his father and ran through 20 years of playing and one incredible streak, will reach another pinnacle today - the Hall of Fame. "It still feels a little like a fantasy," Ripken said yesterday morning. His accomplishments go well beyond the record of 2,632 consecutive games - a streak that spanned 17 years. His blend of size, power and sure-handed defense redefined the shortstop position and made him a perennial All-Star.

The Hall of Fame features one glass case devoted to the Orioles' powerhouses of the 1960s and 1970s, and it proved a favorite gathering spot for Baltimore fans yesterday as they streamed into town for the induction. It was hard to move 3 feet anywhere in the museum without bumping into a person in orange. But traffic was thicker at the case, where scores of fans stopped to gawk and point digital cameras at jerseys of Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Earl Weaver and Jim Palmer.

News item: When it became apparent the Orioles might have lost a chance to sweep the Yankees because of a communications breakdown in the stadium operations department, stadium ops director Roger Hayden deflected questions to Orioles communications director Gregory Bader, who declined to comment on the record. My take: Talk about a situation speaking for itself. News item: Orioles first baseman Aubrey Huff just became the third Orioles player to hit for the cycle, joining Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr. It was the first time an Orioles player has pulled off that feat in Baltimore.

Here they were, 30 of Maryland's finest, tracing the white chalk at Oriole Park before the start of the Orioles' game against the Colorado Rockies yesterday. They were there because they had earned it, because they were the best at what they did and Camden Yards, if only for a late afternoon, was all theirs. That's why the young men who participated in the Brooks Robinson All-Star High School Game didn't mind the 11-man lineups, didn't mind waiting for foul balls to be tossed back onto the field so play could resume, didn't mind starting a game and knowing that someone on the bench would finish it. And as the sun fell on the park, the South held on to beat the North, 5-4, in seven innings.