Earl Weaver

— For a couple minutes Friday afternoon, the front lobby of the Orioles' offices included the presence of two men who had combined to manage in 10 World Series and win six of them. Hall of Famer Earl Weaver and baseball's new executive vice president, Joe Torre , were in town for separate reasons, but both spent a little time talking with current Orioles skipper Buck Showalter . "The level of respect for them, I'm like a kid in a toy store," Showalter said.

One of the more remarkable traits of the Baltimore Oriole is its ability to make a home out of an odd collection of cast-offs and under-valued items — grass, bark, horsehair, wool, even cellophane and fishing line. And that's not the end of their cleverness. They are also acrobatic feeders who can snatch a meal from the most unlikely of sources. Perhaps it's only fitting that the Major League Baseball team of the same name has in the first month of the season demonstrated similar skills.

Had a chance today to speak to Earl Weaver, the Orioles' Hall of Fame manager who will be one of the club's six icons to be honored with a bronze statue this year at Camden Yards. Calling from South Florida, Weaver said he was overwhelmed by the gesture. “It's quite an honor and something you never expect to happen in anyone's life,” said Weaver, who won 1,480 games with the Orioles and led the club to one world championship (1970) and three other World Series appearances (1969, 1971, 1979)

Just another day at Camden Yards, right? Another ho-hum, garden-variety 5-2 win Sunday, this time over the Oakland Athletics? OK, maybe not. Say what you will about this team and where it'll end up at season's end. But right now, you can't deny this: The Orioles sure have been fun to watch. "It was fun there in the ninth inning," manager Buck Showalter said in his typically understated way. Fun in the ninth? Yeah, kind of. Let's play it back: With one out, Matt Wieters doubles off A's closer Grant Balfour, a shot to the base of the left-field wall to tie the game at 2. Two batters later, Wilson Betemit smacks a walk-off homer.

Former Oriole manager Earl Weaver has made the Veterans Committee short list of 15 candidates for nomination to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. This is first year of eligibility for Weaver, who never played in the majors but managed more than 14 years and has one of the best winning percentages. The committee and the Baseball Writers Association of America often have been reluctant to elect someone to the hall on his first year of eligibility. The writers vote on players retired at least five years and have elected Tom Seaver and Rollie Fingers; the committee votes on non-players and players no longer eligible for election by the writers.

WASHINGTON -- He's Baltimore's other Hall of Fame manager and even greater than Earl Weaver.Ned Hanlon was the manager of the historic Orioles team that won three straight National League pennants a century ago. He had none of Earl Weaver's flamboyance. He left tramping on the umpires' toes to his players.But he was an inventive strategist who left far more of an impact on the national game. No three-run homers for Hanlon. He was TC the father of ''scientific'' or ''inside'' baseball the bunt, the Baltimore chop, the hit-and-run.

The Atlanta Braves hadn't won a thing in seven years when they installed Bobby Cox as manager 65 games into the 1990 season. They haven't finished a full season out of first place since. So a manager must be pretty important to a baseball franchise, right? Well, consider an alternative example from Orioles history. Earl Weaver was a genius, pretty much any baseball person will tell you. He went through 15 seasons and three generations of talent without guiding a loser and retired after the 1982 Orioles won 94 games.

Urban myth? Or Orioles legend? In the end, I wish I had never sent the e-mail and never asked the question. Ignorance isn't so bad, is it? At least not as it concerns Earl Weaver and his linguistic skills, dirtier than the Preakness infield on a rainy day. "I watch the YouTube clip about once a week, just to remind myself about Alice and her tomatoes," I wrote in an e-mail. "But a part of me has always wondered if it's real. And if it is, what's the back story?" Tom Marr was still on the air, but he fired back an e-mail within minutes.

Through the raindrops, the Orioles honored Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, unveiling a statue of the Orioles great beyond the left-center-field fence at Camden Yards, kicking off a season-long celebration honoring the club's six Hall of Famers. Those in attendance for the ceremony included Robinson and fellow Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver. Rick Dempsey, Brady Anderson, Boog Powell and Don Buford - all members of the Orioles Hall of Fame - were there, too, as were current Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, right fielder Nick Markakis, manager Buck Showalter, first base coach Wayne Kirby and Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, a former Oriole - all in uniform.

August 4, 1996: Earl Weaver is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Through the raindrops, the Orioles honored Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, unveiling a statue of the Orioles great beyond the left-center-field fence at Camden Yards, kicking off a season-long celebration honoring the club's six Hall of Famers. Those in attendance for the ceremony included Robinson and fellow Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver. Rick Dempsey, Brady Anderson, Boog Powell and Don Buford - all members of the Orioles Hall of Fame - were there, too, as were current Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, right fielder Nick Markakis, manager Buck Showalter, first base coach Wayne Kirby and Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin, a former Oriole - all in uniform.

As a player and manager, Frank Robinson represented seven major league organizations in eight cities. These days, he lives about 2,700 miles away in the Los Angeles area and makes it back to Baltimore only about two or three times a year. But when Robinson gets stopped in the street, wherever he is, there's one team people almost always ask him about. "People will say, 'I remember you, you played with the Orioles,'" Robinson said. "I'll say, 'Well, I played 10 years with Cincinnati first.' "'Oh, you did?

The mission was a lot easier to define than it was to carry out. The Orioles wanted six larger-than-life bronze likenesses of the six living legends who have had their numbers retired by the team, and they had to be perfect. The first one will be unveiled at Oriole Park on Saturday, when the team celebrates the life and career of Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. Brooks Robinson will be honored next, then Earl Weaver , Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. - one a month throughout the season.

It is difficult to fathom that 20 years ago the crown jewel of Major League Baseball opened its gates to the eager crowds of Baltimore. Camden Yards is the gold standard when it comes to baseball stadiums, offering the look and feel of days gone by while providing an up-to-date experience for today's fans. It is equally difficult to fathom that the Baltimore Orioles have been perennial losers for nearly as long. As a lifelong baseball and Orioles fan, I am continually amazed, sickened and depressed by the path the organization has taken.

Well, at least it's been a nice, quiet offseason for the Orioles. Let's see, all they've done is overhaul the roster, tinker with the notion of pursuing disgraced steroid-cheat Manny Ramirez, trade their most experienced starter in Jeremy Guthrie and nearly touch off an international incident with South Korea's professional baseball league. Other than that, yep, it's been pretty uneventful. The bottom line is this: pitchers and catchers report to spring training Sunday and we still don't know if the Orioles are any better than last year.

Had a chance today to speak to Earl Weaver, the Orioles' Hall of Fame manager who will be one of the club's six icons to be honored with a bronze statue this year at Camden Yards. Calling from South Florida, Weaver said he was overwhelmed by the gesture. “It's quite an honor and something you never expect to happen in anyone's life,” said Weaver, who won 1,480 games with the Orioles and led the club to one world championship (1970) and three other World Series appearances (1969, 1971, 1979)

The Orioles announced some improvements/changes to Camden Yards today. As previously reported, the Orioles will honor their six Hall of Famers with bronze statues in a picnic grove beyond the batter's eye wall in center field this year. The statues - in the likeness of Frank and Brooks Robinson, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr., - will range from seven to eight feet in scale and weigh between 600 and 1,500 pounds each. Maryland sculptor Antonio Tobias “Toby” Mendez created the statues and they'll be cast into bronze by Baltimore's New Arts Foundry, which did the same for the Babe Ruth and Johnny Unitas statues outside of Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium.

As part of their 20th anniversary at Camden Yards, the Orioles in 2012 will unveil six statues of the modern franchise's Hall of Famers in a revamped area beyond the bullpens in left-center field. Each of the six men who have gone into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as an Oriole — Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson , Earl Weaver , Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. — will be honored with his own free-standing bronze statue. All six have been involved in the process, which has been ongoing for more than a year.