Randy Milligan

Milligan, the throwbackStrange guy, this Randy Milligan. Here's a man who said he was willing to take less pay and get less playing time just to help Baltimore on or off the field in any way he could.Why? Because he liked it here! This sounds like the kind of guy I want on my team.Remember the good old days, when teams were full of players like Randy Milligan who were just happy to get to the big leagues. Before the multimillion-dollar contracts. Before ESPN. Before pumps.Greg NassBaltimoreLeave the line outI want to applaud The Sun's coverage of high schools.

When designated hitter Chris Davis walked up to home plate in Friday's eighth inning after homering in his initial three at-bats - the first Oriole to do that in six years and the second time it has happened in a game involving the club this week - he had just one thought in his mind. “I was thinking about trying to work a walk,” Davis deadpanned. “I really wanted to see some pitches.” Yes, he was kidding. In the Orioles' 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, Davis became just the 19th player in franchise history to homer three times in a game.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Randy Milligan emerged from the clubhouse tucking his uniform jersey into his pants. It was 8:35 on a Sunday morning, a time he'd rather be in pajamas. But he was late for class, and his instructors were waiting.The class is Leftfield 101, and for Milligan it's not an elective, but a requirement. In fact, the Orioles consider the subject matter so urgent, they again asked Milligan to be the first player on the field yesterday -- even with a tornado watch in effect.The wind was so strong, hitting coach Tom McCraw said, "I thought the door was going to come off my motel room."

Orioles designated hitter Chris Davis became the 19th player in club history to hit three home runs in a single game tonight against the Blue Jays. Davis hit a pair of solo homers in the second and fourth innings off Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva, the first homer hitting Eutaw Street.  Davis then crushed a two-run homer in the sixth off reliever Steve Delabar to give the Orioles a 5-1 lead, igniting the announced crowd of 25,754 at Camden Yards. Davis, who now has 23 homers on the season, came out for a curtain call after his third homer.

Orioles designated hitter Chris Davis became the 19th player in club history to hit three home runs in a single game tonight against the Blue Jays. Davis hit a pair of solo homers in the second and fourth innings off Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva, the first homer hitting Eutaw Street.  Davis then crushed a two-run homer in the sixth off reliever Steve Delabar to give the Orioles a 5-1 lead, igniting the announced crowd of 25,754 at Camden Yards. Davis, who now has 23 homers on the season, came out for a curtain call after his third homer.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Think Randy Milligan is in a bad spot? How about David Segui?Two years ago, Segui started for the same championship club in Rochester as Leo Gomez and Chris Hoiles. Now Gomez is the Orioles' third baseman, and Hoiles is the No. 1 catcher. Segui, meanwhile, is third on the depth chart at first base."If the bus wrecks," he joked, "I've got a pretty good chance to play."Actually, he might be pressed to even make the club. Segui, 25, is so lost in the first base-DH shuffle, he's considered an outfielder now. Barring a trade, it appears he must beat out one of three players -- Dwight Evans, Chito Martinez or Brady Anderson -- to win a spot.

For the first time this year the Orioles have returned home with a winning record on a road trip that took them to more than one city."It's a start," said manager John Oates, who won't admit to any expectations he might have about what his team can accomplish. "Sometimes it does creep into my thoughts, but we dug such a big hole for ourselves that we just have to concentrate on going out every day and earning some respect by showing we can win."Shortstop Cal Ripken, whose three hits last night gave him a major league-leading 35 multi-hit games and increased his American League-leading average to .355, expressed the same feeling in a slightly different way."

Oates apologizes for remark he made to MilliganOrioles manager Johnny Oates apologized to Randy Milligan yesterday for coming down harshly on the first baseman for a remark he made after Monday's 14-inning marathon.Milligan said if the Orioles had lost Monday to Chicago, "We could have packed the season up."When told of Milligan's comments, Oates said, "If he's going to quit that easy, I'll remember that."Yesterday the manager said he apologized for misinterpreting what Milligan had said.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Attention, Randy Milligan: Don't start learning French. Don't start crooning, "I Love L.A." The Orioles aren't trading you to Montreal or Los Angeles. The way things are going, they aren't trading you anywhere just yet.In what is becoming an annual ritual at the winter meetings, rival clubs are mocking the Orioles with low-ball trade offers. It happens when you lose 95 games. And it happens when everyone knows you're desperate to deal a Randy Milligan.Manager John Oates understands all this, but midway through a second day of fruitless talks, he could not contain his frustration.

Where have you gone, Randy Milligan?It's not too early to start asking. At the moment, the Orioles' first baseman is vacationing in Virginia. He doesn't want to talk about Glenn Davis. He doesn't want to concede his days in Baltimore are numbered.The Moose as Garbo is as bizarre a notion as Eddie Murray on "Geraldo," but in this case it's understood. Milligan, who turns 30 on Nov. 27, might be the most popular Oriole after Cal Ripken. Sadly, he no longer fits on this team.His silence reflects his dignity, but that won't help him remain an Oriole.

Good move keeping McLemoreThree cheers for Peter Angelos for caring about Baltimore and for reportedly making sure that Mark McLemore was signed.As a 56-year-old board-certified internist who has never made six figures, I never thought I would consider a process that led to a million-dollar baseball contract unfair but relatively speaking, this one was.No one (except for Randy Milligan) has gotten less respect for what he has done for the Orioles and for the community.When Bill Ripken was here, McLemore took a back seat in coverage despite putting up as good or better numbers and establishing himself as a clutch player.

Milligan, the throwbackStrange guy, this Randy Milligan. Here's a man who said he was willing to take less pay and get less playing time just to help Baltimore on or off the field in any way he could.Why? Because he liked it here! This sounds like the kind of guy I want on my team.Remember the good old days, when teams were full of players like Randy Milligan who were just happy to get to the big leagues. Before the multimillion-dollar contracts. Before ESPN. Before pumps.Greg NassBaltimoreLeave the line outI want to applaud The Sun's coverage of high schools.

He ain't heavy . . .Had Eli Jacobs waited until the end of the season, he would have found that there were no teams in either league that would have traded for a mediocre, slow and awkward player as Cal Ripken Jr.By waiting, Jacobs would have gotten rid of all three Ripkens and saved himself a barrel of money. He also would have found that tradition doesn't win ballgames.Bob WeisWhite MarshHe's my brotherI think the Orioles did the right thing. It was time to get rid of all that dead weight (Joe Orsulak, Bob Milacki, Sam Horn, Randy Milligan, Bill Ripken, Mike Flanagan, Rick Dempsey, Storm Davis and Cal Ripken Sr.)

Now that it's over, Roland Hemond considers the National League expansion draft a positive experience.Not because of the $190 million that was dumped into thbaseball economy ($95 million from each of the two new teams). And not just because the Orioles survived with out heavy losses -- under the circumstances that was expected.With the flexibility gained by Glenn Davis' waiving his no-tradclause and the advance knowledge that neither of the new clubs was inclined to take veteran players, the Orioles didn't figure to sustain a serious casualty.

CLEVELAND -- The 1992 season went much better than expected for the Orioles, but their third-place finish does not leave them much room to sit back and revel in past glory.Third place does not provide enough laurels for even a day's rest, so club officials will be back at work today formulating their plans for the winter and beyond."The off-season is going to be about 12 hours long," Orioles president Larry Lucchino said recently, and he apparently meant every word of it.He has scheduled extensive organizational meetings for today and tomorrow, no doubt hoping to get an early jump on the club's off-season improvement program.

CLEVELAND -- The 1992 season went much better than expected for the Orioles, but their third-place finish does not leave them much room to sit back and revel in past glory.Third place does not provide enough laurels for even a day's rest, so club officials will be back at work today formulating their plans for the winter and beyond."The off-season is going to be about 12 hours long," Orioles president Larry Lucchino said recently, and he apparently meant every word of it.He has scheduled extensive organizational meetings for today and tomorrow, no doubt hoping to get an early jump on the club's off-season improvement program.

This was during lunch one day last off-season. The way Randy Milligan figured it, he was either headed for salary arbitration, or headed for another team. Frustrated and confused, he told his agent how desperately he wanted to stay in Baltimore, "to give something back."Today, Milligan remains in a tenuous position with the Orioles, but his plans to help inner-city youth can no longer wait. He and his wife ReNee established the Randy Milligan Charitable Fund, and starting tomorrow Baltimore becomes a better place.

Randy Milligan watches TV news and reads the newspapers.He is aware that "kids are getting shot in the street by drug dealers, and 14-year-olds are staying out until 4 in the morning because they have nothing to do. I figured there has to be something I can do about it."So, Milligan and his wife, Renee, -- in conjunction with the Baltimore Community Foundation -- announced yesterday the establishment of the Randy Milligan Charitable Fund to benefit inner-city youth."I thought about when we were kids and some of the activities we had to grow up with, the help we had from a lot of organizations around the inner city," he said.

Well, Johnny Oates finally succumbed last night. All this talk-show heat and second-guessing finally got to the Orioles' manager. He switched his lineup to try to get Randy Milligan out of this gosh-darn slump everyone is talking about.Just kidding, people, just kidding. Hey, lighten up already. We are not talking about anything important here, like family values.We are talking about that vaguest, most inconclusive of baseball creatures: the lineup change, to which either nothing or everything can be attributed, depending on your point of view, sort of.Starting to get the point?

This was during lunch one day last off-season. The way Randy Milligan figured it, he was either headed for salary arbitration, or headed for another team. Frustrated and confused, he told his agent how desperately he wanted to stay in Baltimore, "to give something back."Today, Milligan remains in a tenuous position with the Orioles, but his plans to help inner-city youth can no longer wait. He and his wife ReNee established the Randy Milligan Charitable Fund, and starting tomorrow Baltimore becomes a better place.