Earl Weaver

In his prime, Earl Weaver could be loud, profane and abusive. And that was around his friends. To umpires, he was the manager they loved to hate. To Jim Palmer, he was Napoleon, only shorter. And tomorrow, they put him in the baseball Hall of Fame as one of the winningest managers of all time.Well, there have been lots of good managers, but only one who could come up with this exchange. Outfielder Pat Kelly wanted to lead a chapel meeting in the clubhouse, but Weaver objected. Said Kelly: "Earl, don't you want me to walk with the Lord?"

IN A SENSE, we are all Jim Palmer.During his playing days with the Baltimore Orioles, the Hall of Fame pitcher's arguments with Earl Weaver were legend. Mr. Weaver described them as occasionally bordering on "violent." But when ample time elapsed to consider Mr. Weaver himself as a candidate for induction to the baseball shrine in upstate New York, Mr. Palmer penned a hearty endorsement for his former boss. Like an adult who comes to value his parents' guidance in ways he couldn't appreciate as an adolescent, so had Mr. Palmer come to understand the fiery brillance of Earl Weaver.

Aug. 14, 1998: Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles hits two home runs with the bases loaded in a 15-3 romp over the Indians in Cleveland. "My biggest asset is when I have a stick in my hands," says Hoiles, only the ninth player [and first catcher] to slug two grand slams in one game. Aug. 13 , 1988: After learning of the death of team owner Edward Bennett Williams, 68, from cancer, the Orioles blank the host Milwaukee Brewers, 5-0. Jeff Ballard pitches a three-hitter and left fielder Joe Orsulak makes two nifty defensive plays as the Birds (38-77)

How cold will it be Saturday night, when the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants meet in the Motor City for Game 3 of the World Series? Forty-three degrees, with temperatures dipping into the upper 30s by game's end, predicts meteorologist Jim Madaus, of CBS 62 in Detroit. "The [football] Lions have it better," Madaus said. "They play indoors. " The 1979 Orioles had it worse. It was a wintry 41 degrees at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 10 as they played host to the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of the World Series - and downright frosty some 3 hours and 18 minutes later, after what was then the longest night game in the history of the Fall Classic.

Paul Blair remembers Dave May, who broke into baseball with the Orioles and spent 3-1/2 seasons here, as a skilled outfielder who was in the right place, but at the wrong time. "Unfortunately, when he got here (in 1967), there wasn't any room for him to play. He just couldn't break into our lineup," said Blair, the Orioles standout center fielder who was flanked by Frank Robinson and Don Buford. May died Saturday of cancer. The New Castle, Del., native was 68. A reserve with the Orioles, he hit .216 before being dealt to Milwaukee in mid-1970.

Autographs are part of induction weekend, and yesterday so was gridlock a block away from the museum. A group of 39 former players -- including 32 Hall of Famers -- was scheduled to sign autographs inside the Tunnicliff Inn throughout the weekend. If yesterday was any indication, it will be bedlam until tomorrow morning. Late yesterday afternoon, fans were 10 deep outside the inn's quaint restaurant, and another group was crammed across Pioneer Street while police were sternly requesting that passers-by get off the road.

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Earl Weaver stood there for just an instant before he felt like he was home.He felt it when the gang from Baltimore roared their "O" during the anthem. He felt it when the guy bellowed, "We love you, Earl," and he heard the accents out of Highlandtown and Pigtown and Brooklyn, and it sounded like the voices out of Section 34 at Memorial Stadium and it looked like the faces of the guys who did shift work at Sparrows Point or nursed a late beer on Greenmount Avenue and made his Orioles the heart of their lives.

Eddie Murray will be the 11th modern Oriole in the Hall of Fame, joining Luis Aparicio, Reggie Jackson, George Kell, Lee MacPhail, Jim Palmer, Robin Roberts, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Earl Weaver and Hoyt Wilhelm. A capsule look at the four who made their biggest impact as Orioles: Brooks Robinson Robinson spent 23 seasons with the Orioles. He won the AL Most Valuable Player Award in 1964 and shares the record (with former pitcher Jim Kaat) for most Gold Gloves with 16. His election to baseball's Hall of Fame was cemented with his performance against the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series, when he was named MVP and earned the nickname "Hoover" (as in vacuum cleaners)

Ripken night just a way to divert fans' attention I notice that there's another Ripken night coming up! ["Ripken's `Iron Man' record to be celebrated Sept. 5, 6," July 6]. Oh boy, one can hardly wait as Ripken waves to the crowd and slowly, ever so slowly, runs around the field throwing kisses to the crowd. This reenactment of the record-breaking day will cause the fans to forget that another team with a meager payroll, less than an hour away (Washington), is in first place; managed by Frank Robinson, one of the great Orioles who refused to play a flunky role to Angelos.

For $20, the Baltimore Orioles let fans wear an official jersey of a favorite player and have their pictures taken on the field yesterday. But to many of the 100 or so people who turned out for the charity fund-raiser, it was worth $20 just to walk out on the field at Memorial Stadium."