Jim Palmer

The pose was pure Jim Palmer. The ceremony to unveil his sculpture, as you might expect, was pitch perfect. Palmer became the third Orioles great to be immortalized in bronze and put on display in the Garden of Greats behind center field at Camden Yards on Saturday afternoon, joining Frank Robinson and Earl Weaver and awaiting the arrival of Eddie Murray , Cal Ripken and  Brooks Robinson later this season. It was a special day made even more special by the surprise appearance of Brooks, who has been in ill health and had to postpone his own statue unveiling until late September while he continues to regain his strength.

The Orioles clinching a division title had been inevitable for weeks. But for fans who'd waited 17 years to reclaim bragging rights in the American League East, witnessing the actual moment at Camden Yards Tuesday night seemed essential. A sweet moment it was, with orange and white confetti raining from the upper deck as the Orioles formed an exultant mob on the field after beating the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-2, to seize their first divisional title since 1997. “This was awesome.

Spending summer evenings with Orioles announcers Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer is a pleasure only afforded to us locals, but a new poll shows that few teams have the kind of respect and love for their broadcasters that Orioles fans do. The good folks at Awful Announcing polled their readership , and determined that the MASN broadcast team of Thorne and Palmer, along with fill-ins Jim Hunter and Mike Bordick, are the third-best local announce...

Paul Blair doesn't have a statue behind center field at Camden Yards, and he wasn't honored by the Orioles with a uniform patch this season after he passed away last December. But he does have a legion of fans in Baltimore who plan to honor him with signs and cheers when the Orioles and the New York Yankees play a doubleheader at Camden Yards on Friday. The grassroots tribute to a guy who was arguably the greatest defensive center fielder in club history began earlier in the week when Baltimore City Council Chairman Bernard C. “Jack” Young introduced a resolution honoring Blair, who made his major league debut with the Orioles 50 years ago this past Tuesday.

Nostalgia is a big part of baseball. The two newest stadiums, the one opening in Chicago this year and the one being built in Baltimore, mimic old ball parks. The Orioles wear new hats and uniforms which resemble their old (mid-1950s) caps and uniforms -- belts and shirt buttons are back. Memorabilia (old baseball cards, bats and so on) command prices so high it would seem only a $700,000-a-year utility infielder could afford them.All too briefly, Jim Palmer gave us living nostalgia. Attempting a comeback seven years after his retirement, he pitched two innings in a spring training exhibition game, got hit hard and said his sore hamstrings would not allow him to continue.

The major league call-up of Orioles 19-year-old phenom Dylan Bundy to help replenish the club's bullpen after an 18-inning game Tuesday night is a surprise. But it's being made for the right reasons, according to franchise's most heralded and successful pitcher. “It's a prudent move, it's not a knee jerk reaction,” says Jim Palmer, MASN color analyst and the Orioles' Hall of Fame pitcher. “Because of the condition of the bullpen there is a need. It makes sense to me.” Bundy, the club's fourth overall pick in last year's draft, was in the organization's instructional league in Sarasota, Fla., after a season in which he was 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 starts at three levels.

I'M PROBABLY the only person who has Jim Palmer's autograph on the inside cover of "The Feminine Mystique." "To Lucy -- Best Regards, Jim Palmer -- 1984," it reads. I'm also probably the only person who didn't know who he was that December morning he boarded the flight in Baltimore.My husband, two daughters, and I were en route from Roanoke, Va., to New York to see the Big Apple in its Christmas splendor. The plane touched down in Baltimore to let on a few passengers.While we waited, I walked up the aisle to talk to a woman from home.

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was found in contempt of court and ordered to pay $13,500 in legal fees yesterday for failing to live up to the terms of his divorce in May. Baltimore Circuit Judge James T. Smith, Jr. cited Palmer for contempt for failing to transfer $175,000 from his pension fund to his ex-wife, Joan H. Palmer. Smith also ordered Palmer, a former Oriole pitcher, to pay Joan Palmer's legal fees within 30 days. The couple were divorced in May after a 10-year marriage. Under terms of a settlement agreement reached in May, the couple's condominium in Juno Beach, Fla., and their house in the Brooklandville section of Baltimore County will be put up for sale.

This is worth writing about, even though in Jamie Moyer's last game as an Oriole I was still single. I got married a week after Moyer last pitched for Baltimore, back in 1995, his third and final season here. That was before three kids and 16 years of wedded bliss for me. That's how we mark Moyer's career these days, in our own timeline: where we were when he did what. His first win, June 16, 1986 with the Chicago Cubs, came as I had just finished my junior year in high school.

One of the perks of covering the Orioles is that we have easy access to Jim Palmer, a Hall of Fame pitcher who, unlike some other great players, has no problem speaking his mind. I talked to Palmer on Wednesday after he deplaned in Southern California - he will be presented with the Professional Baseball Scouts' Foundation's lifetime achievement award on Saturday in Los Angeles - about the Baseball Writers' of America Association failing to induct anyone into this year's Hall of Fame class, including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

Winning a series against the division rival Boston Red Sox, especially at home and when the defending World Series champions are struggling, has to be considered somewhat significant for the Orioles -- even in June. What adds to the accomplishment, though, is how these searching-for-an-identity Orioles did it: With excellent starting pitching. It's nutty, but true. In the Orioles' 6-0 victory Wednesday night, Wei-Yin Chen became the third consecutive Orioles starter to go at least six innings and allow one run or fewer.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Chris Tillman's four-seam fastball was in the 87-to-91-mph range Friday night, certainly not what it can be or what it has been in the past. In some instances, it would be a cause for alarm. But he commanded it on both sides of the plate and also threw his curveball and changeup over for strikes. And that was really the difference Friday as he pitched the first shutout of his career. Tillman said afterward that he didn't have early command of the curveball, but catcher Steve Clevenger kept calling for it. Tillman found it, and he was practically unhittable.

The Orioles' scheduled day off and the evening rain was a good opportunity to catch up on chores, spend quality time with your family, or do other things that don't involve watching sports. That's why blogger Jon Meoli restarted the Coffee Companion - where every morning, Monday through Friday, he'll run back the local sports headlines from the previous day. - The Orioles were off last night, so this will be a brief and Ravens-centric Coffee Companion. There's a lot of running back talk, with Jeff Zrebiec's position-by-position overview featuring the position Tuesday.

Spending summer evenings with Orioles announcers Gary Thorne and Jim Palmer is a pleasure only afforded to us locals, but a new poll shows that few teams have the kind of respect and love for their broadcasters that Orioles fans do. The good folks at Awful Announcing polled their readership , and determined that the MASN broadcast team of Thorne and Palmer, along with fill-ins Jim Hunter and Mike Bordick, are the third-best local announce...

1980 Record: 100-62 Place: Second in American League East Manager: Earl Weaver Most Valuable Oriole: Al Bumbry Batting leader: Al Bumbry (.318) Home run leader: Eddie Murray (32) RBI leader: Eddie Murray (116) Wins leader: Steve Stone (25) ERA leader: Steve Stone (3.23) Notable: The Orioles reached the 100-win milestone for the second straight year and the fifth time in club history, but they finished second in the American League East behind the New York Yankees.

Weeks before he unexpectedly collapsed and died at a Pikesville bowling alley on Dec. 26, former Orioles great Paul Blair spent Thanksgiving with his mother in Southern California. During that time, Blair, according to his niece Anjanette Preston, told his mother, "Mom, I've really had a great life. I am truly blessed. My dream was to grow up and be a baseball star. I got to fulfill my dream, and I am still living my dream. I am happy and content with my life and what I've become.

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was found in contempt of court and ordered to pay $13,500 in legal fees yesterday for failing to live up to the terms of his divorce in May. Baltimore Circuit Judge James T. Smith, Jr. cited Palmer for contempt for failing to transfer $175,000 from his pension fund to his ex-wife, Joan H. Palmer. Smith also ordered the former Orioles pitcher to pay Joan Palmer's legal fees within 30 days. The couple were divorced in May after a 10-year marriage. Under terms of a settlement reached in May, the couple's condominium in Juno Beach, Fla., and their house in the Brooklandville section of Baltimore County will be put up for sale.

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer was granted a divorce yesterday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, ending his 10-year marriage but not the legal disputes with his ex-wife. Palmer, who filed for divorce in 1998, sat stone-faced as Joan H. Palmer's lawyer read a settlement agreement in court that allows him to keep his three World Championship rings from his career with the Orioles, three Cy Young Awards and his mother's desk. Joan Palmer will be allowed to keep her jewelry collection, china set, cameras and camera equipment and an Andy Warhol silk-screen, "Lifesavers."

While gathering reactions from former Orioles players on the death of Paul Blair, Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer shared an interesting story with me. Palmer was quick to say how much Blair, who died Thursday at the age of 69, deserved a great deal of credit for the Orioles' success during the 1960s and '70s. He was especially important to Palmer, who said he wouldn't have been a Hall of Famer and wouldn't have won three Cy Young Awards without Blair patrolling center field.

Few players could maneuver their way around center field at old Memorial Stadium like former Orioles outfielder Paul Blair. The eight Gold Gloves that Blair - who died on Thursday at the age of 69 - won during his time with the great Orioles teams of the 1960s and 1970s are a testament to that, but his former teammates remembered him Friday not only as an exceptional defender but also as a cherished teammate with a loquacious personality. In an era before web gems and defensive highlights aired on television, Blair was a showman and center field was his stage.