Catcher

In his perfect world, Jake Fox would bat 500 times in a big league season. He would be an everyday force in the middle of a lineup. And, since this is his carefully painted picture, he would be with the Orioles, the club that rescued him from oblivion last June in a minor trade with the Oakland Athletics. Fox, though, is too busy for daydreaming right now. He's locked in a battle with Craig Tatum for the Orioles' backup catcher spot. He's taking grounders at first and third base and shagging fly balls in the outfield.

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters joked that he will receive no slack from his wife, Maria, if he ever has to catch another 18-inning game. That's because Maria was in labor for 23 hours, from Thursday morning into early Friday, before giving birth to the couple's first child, an 8-pound, 2-ounce, 23 1/4-inch boy named Maverick Luther Wieters. "No sympathy for me," Wieters said before playing Saturday's game against Boston. "Catching 18 innings was a lot easier than what she had to do. I'd probably have to catch three in a row, 18-inning games, to equal that.

Paul Bako, Orioles catcher What is the strangest thing you've seen on the baseball field? It was actually here in Cleveland with the Royals. Last year, I was sitting on the bench and Runelvys Hernandez and John Buck had just come off the field. Runelvys had just thrown a good inning and came in and Buck was taking his catcher gear off right next to me. Well, Runelvys took a swing at Buck, his catcher. They started swinging at each other during the game.

CHICAGO -- Chris Hoiles wouldn't be insulted if the Orioles acquired another catcher this off-season.He'd be relieved.Put him at first base, use him as a DH; Hoiles wouldn't care. He's physically worn down from catching, frustrated by his inability to throw out opposing base stealers. For his sake and for the team's, it's time for the Orioles to find a catcher with a better arm."It gets old after a while," Hoiles said of his throwing difficulties. "It's part of the job I've got to do. The last couple of years I haven't done it. Being a DH, just putting a bat in my hand, I feel I could probably do this team more good."

NEW YORK -- Mike Stanley never wanted to leave the New York Yankees for the Boston Red Sox after the 1995 season, never wanted to leave the baseball address where he turned from a journeyman catcher into an All-Star. So Stanley was elated about returning and dispensed high-fives to teammates while standing in front of his old locker yesterday at Yankee Stadium."At least I know where to go every day," he joked. "It's a great feeling to be back in this city and playing for this town, playing for New York."

Chris Hoiles doesn't do belly flops around the tarpaulin during rain delays or sing old-time rock and roll tunes. He probably doesn't even eat Froot Loops.Although he may not be as colorful as some Baltimore Orioles catchers of recent years, Hoiles quietly has become a stabilizing force behind the plate.His defense has been above average -- he has not committed an error -- and he has thrown out 19 of 51 runners attempting to steal (37 percent). The league success rate for base-stealing is 66 percent, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

During the same year Rich Spiegel swung his first Little League baseball bat, he took a big step toward adulthood.It began with the death of his mother, Honora Catherine, when he was 6. She had attendedevery one of her son's games, beginning with tee-ball when he was 4.But after her death from cancer, Spiegel was transplanted to Frederick with his father, Al, and older brother, Mike."

BOSTON -- As in horse racing, the victory does not always go to the swift. When he signed, Damon Berryhill trailed the field in the catching derby. Now he's the leader of the Boston Red Sox clubhouse.There's a simple reason -- manager Butch Hobson has determined that Berryhill, who a year ago was catching for the Atlanta Braves, is the best man for the job. Dave Valle, a high-priced free agent, is the odd man out.Berryhill has made the most of his opportunity while answering the two major questions the Red Sox faced all winter: (1)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The inflammation in Lenny Webster's right elbow will keep the Orioles catcher from throwing for at least three to four days and makes his availability for the season opener next Tuesday less certain.Webster, who is taking medication to reduce the inflammation, said the condition dates back to the final week of last season, during a series in Milwaukee that preceded the playoffs.He said the elbow felt pretty good when he arrived in camp, but when he sailed a ball into center field before a March 11 game in Fort Myers, Webster experienced a "shocking sensation" that caused him to back off and minimize his throwing.

You already know that Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina declined to allow Fox to use its "Catcher Cam" during Saturday's Orioles-Yankees telecast, but he wasn't the only one to firmly -- but wrongly -- thumb his nose at technology.Reliever Alan Mills let catcher Lenny Webster know before Sunday night's ESPN game that if Mills got in, he wanted Webster to remove the mask that held the camera.When Mills was inserted in the sixth, Webster continued to wear the camera-attached mask, and viewers got to see Chad Curtis' two-run homer through the camera.