Randy Milligan

What an incredible honor to be considered one of the top 10 stockbrokers in the country. And what's even better is that the honor goes to Legg Mason's investment executive Harry Ford Jr., who has been with that company for 27 years.Ford, who lives in Lutherville, is one of the stockbrokers featured in "The Winner's Circle: How Ten Stockbrokers Became the Best in the Business," written by R. J. Shook and Robert L. Shook. The chapter on Ford begins with an anecdote about a day in October 1987 when the stock market took its worst tumble in recent years.

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.

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.

SEATTLE -- The Orioles can only wonder how good the club might be with an everyday Glenn Davis, but for now they must settle for an occasional flash of his substantial talent.Davis hit a pair of two-run home runs in Tuesday night's 13-8 victory over the Seattle Mariners, raising hope that he was about to re-assert himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. But he was not in the lineup yesterday."He was a little stiff this morning, so I wanted to get him a day off after the night game," manager Johnny Oates said.

They let Randy Milligan out of the hospital yesterday. He was finally blessed with the right kind of luck.Everyone knows what happened to him Wednesday night in Kansas City. It was a terrifying sight. He chased after a ground ball hit between first and second and collided head-on with Bill Ripken.It was a moment that just got worse and worse and worse.Your first instinct was that it wasn't that bad. Couldn't be that bad. This was baseball, not football: Mike Utley does not happen here. Moose's collision with Ripken was violent, but no less violent than those that make you laugh on blooper reels.

MIAMI -- Just when the departure of minor-league outfielder Darrell Sherman appeared to streamline the leadoff competition, manager John Oates threw a new name into the hat.First baseman Randy Milligan has been mentioned in passing as a possible leadoff man before, but Oates said yesterday that he is seriously considering using him in that role on occasion this season."

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Contrary, that's the word that best describes Phil Bradley. When his team is winning, he questions it. When his situation is settled, he unsettles it.Bradley, 33, isn't a harmful presence, he's just different. But the Montreal Expos are his sixth team in six seasons, if you count the Yomiuri Giants, his employer last year in Japan."I'm one of those guys that people aren't sure they want around," Bradley says. "But after I'm gone, they say, 'He wasn't such a bad guy.' I always hear, 'Wish you were still here.

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.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Even yesterday, there was the familiar electricity, the sheer thrill of seeing Vincent Edward Jackson perform. But he limped so slowly to home plate, hobbled so gingerly to first base, he would have been better off using his bat as a cane.Don't remember him that way. Remember him scaling the Memorial Stadium wall like he was riding a skateboard. Crushing a monstrous home run to lead off the 1989 All-Star Game. Starring in another hilarious Nike commercial. Flattening Brian Bosworth for the good of all mankind.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- They had forecast rain for the Orioles' spring opener yesterday, but no one, save the groundskeeper, took it seriously.As you know, the tourist industry runs Florida, and that's all they needed in a recession year: pictures of puddles where ballplayers are supposed to be.As it turned out, it was the kind of day -- I'm not making this up -- when concessionaires roam the stands selling sun block.Under bright sunshine on a perfectly lovely afternoon, Bob Milacki was perfect for three innings, and Cal Ripken was perfect for two at-bats, and the Orioles beat the Cardinals.