Tettleton

Scott Erickson's ability to induce ground balls is what made him so appealing to the Orioles. The thinking was getting him off the artificial turf in the Metrodome would transform the right-hander into a more consistent performer.That thinking has been sound thus far, as his 3.51 ERA and the Orioles' 3-1 record in games he has started attests. But Erickson also brings an added dimension to the mound -- the ability to get a needed strikeout. And that's what enabled him to survive six innings in the Orioles' 4-3 win over Texas on Tuesday.

Mickey Tettleton sits in front of his locker in a corner of the visitors clubhouse at Camden Yards, takes a sip of coffee, pulls out a cigarette and talks breakfast cereal.Where have we seen this before?Some things never change with Tettleton, the former Orioles catcher and folk hero who did more to sell Froot Loops in this city than any advertising campaign. The sleeveless shirt still reveals biceps the size of a small town. And the bat still produces enough power to keep him in the majors, even in the most trying of economic times.

Using his All-Star manager's prerogative, Cito Gaston loaded the American League roster with Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. Then he braced for the backlash that is almost certain to come."

Detroit Tigers catcher Mickey Tettleton can drive a basebal far into the night, but a lawsuit filed yesterday raises questions about the former Oriole's ability to drive a pickup truck safely out of a stadium parking lot."Little League Day" festivities three years ago at Memorial Stadium ended with Tettleton running over a young ballplayer's foot, according to the suit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court.Tettleton was among several players who signed autographs while remaining in their vehicles in the stadium parking lot as part of the May 20, 1990, event, according to the suit.

It's natural to suppose that Mickey Tettleton has a point to prove each time he comes to the plate against the Orioles.After all, the Orioles dealt him to the Detroit Tigers for next to nothing -- since-departed pitcher Jeff Robinson -- after the 1990 season, just one year removed from his breakthrough, 25-homer 1989 campaign.But Tettleton said his ninth-inning triple yesterday -- which gave Detroit a 6-5 win in the second game of a doubleheader and ended the Orioles' division title quest -- was nothing personal.

John Tate pointed to the wet spot on the concrete terrace behind the right-field bleachers, a dozen steps from the B&O warehouse."That's where the ball hit, right there," he said. "You can tell because everyone was grabbing for it and somebody spilled a beer. Spilled it right on a cop, in fact."Tate works the parking lots at the new ballpark. He was on a break, sitting at a picnic table on the terrace, when Mickey Tettleton hit the first Almost last night in the third inning.That was Almost as in: the first home run to come close to hitting the warehouse.

With Brady Anderson excelling at the top of the lineup, Mike Devereaux had batted fifth in every game he had started this season to take advantage of his power.Until last night.With Eric King on the mound for the Detroit Tigers, Orioles manager Johnny Oates shifted Devereaux to the No. 2 spot."We haven't had a lot of success against [King], and I put Devo up there just because of the personnel we have out there. This is the best lineup under the circumstances," Oates said.The move paid off. Devereaux went 3-for-5, including a triple and a home run.Oates wanted Sam Horn and Chito Martinez in the game against King and did not want Randy Milligan hitting second.

With Brady Anderson excelling at the top of the lineup, Mike Devereaux had batted fifth in every game he had started this season to take advantage of his power.Until last night.With Eric King on the mound for the Detroit Tigers, Orioles manager Johnny Oates shifted Devereaux to the No. 2 spot."We haven't had a lot of success against [King], and I put Devo up there just because of the personnel we have out there. This is the best lineup under the circumstances," Oates said.The move paid off. Devereaux went 3-for-5, including a triple and a home run.Oates wanted Sam Horn and Chito Martinez in the game against King and did not want Randy Milligan hitting second.

DETROIT -- Cal Ripken has managed to maintain his distance from contractual controversy that surrounds him. He said from the beginning that he would not allow his negotiations to become a distraction, and he has succeeded.Take it from someone who didn't.Catcher Mickey Tettleton played out the option year of his Orioles contract under the same kind of uncertainty in 1990, and says now that he let it affect his performance on the field."Yeah, I think I thought about it too much," he said. "It was the first time I'd been in that kind of situation.

Yo, Sam Horn!It's me again, the warehouse.Are you going to hit me, or what?I admired that home run you crushed into the centerfield bleachers last night. But I trembled when Detroit's Mickey Tettleton missed me by only 26 feet, and all those crazies on Eutaw Street pointed to the spot as if a UFO had landed.Competition!We're getting serious now, Sam.We're seeing the first documented cases of warehouse fever."I don't want to say too much," you warned reporters last night after the Orioles' 12-4 victory over Detroit.

Given the choice of attending a bachelor's party or meeting his Orioles hero, Bryan Erdman didn't blink. "I bailed on the party," Erdman, 28, of Parkville said. Instead, he stood in line Friday night at Camden Yards with several hundred fans to get autographs of four players from the 1989 Orioles, the "Why Not" club that nearly won a pennant. For an hour before the Orioles game, fans hobnobbed with outfielder Mike Devereaux, catcher Mickey Tettleton and pitchers Dave Schmidt and Dave Johnson, reminisced about that glorious summer and gathered autographs.

Scott Erickson's ability to induce ground balls is what made him so appealing to the Orioles. The thinking was getting him off the artificial turf in the Metrodome would transform the right-hander into a more consistent performer.That thinking has been sound thus far, as his 3.51 ERA and the Orioles' 3-1 record in games he has started attests. But Erickson also brings an added dimension to the mound -- the ability to get a needed strikeout. And that's what enabled him to survive six innings in the Orioles' 4-3 win over Texas on Tuesday.

Mickey Tettleton sits in front of his locker in a corner of the visitors clubhouse at Camden Yards, takes a sip of coffee, pulls out a cigarette and talks breakfast cereal.Where have we seen this before?Some things never change with Tettleton, the former Orioles catcher and folk hero who did more to sell Froot Loops in this city than any advertising campaign. The sleeveless shirt still reveals biceps the size of a small town. And the bat still produces enough power to keep him in the majors, even in the most trying of economic times.

It's natural to suppose that Mickey Tettleton has a point to prove each time he comes to the plate against the Orioles.After all, the Orioles dealt him to the Detroit Tigers for next to nothing -- since-departed pitcher Jeff Robinson -- after the 1990 season, just one year removed from his breakthrough, 25-homer 1989 campaign.But Tettleton said his ninth-inning triple yesterday -- which gave Detroit a 6-5 win in the second game of a doubleheader and ended the Orioles' division title quest -- was nothing personal.

Using his All-Star manager's prerogative, Cito Gaston loaded the American League roster with Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. Then he braced for the backlash that is almost certain to come."

Detroit Tigers catcher Mickey Tettleton can drive a basebal far into the night, but a lawsuit filed yesterday raises questions about the former Oriole's ability to drive a pickup truck safely out of a stadium parking lot."Little League Day" festivities three years ago at Memorial Stadium ended with Tettleton running over a young ballplayer's foot, according to the suit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court.Tettleton was among several players who signed autographs while remaining in their vehicles in the stadium parking lot as part of the May 20, 1990, event, according to the suit.

DETROIT -- Cal Ripken has managed to maintain his distance from contractual controversy that surrounds him. He said from the beginning that he would not allow his negotiations to become a distraction, and he has succeeded.Take it from someone who didn't.Catcher Mickey Tettleton played out the option year of his Orioles contract under the same kind of uncertainty in 1990, and says now that he let it affect his performance on the field."Yeah, I think I thought about it too much," he said. "It was the first time I'd been in that kind of situation.

Amazing how general manager Roland Hemond suddenly looks a lot smarter with the Orioles winning. Not only is Brady Anderson finally evening out the Mike Boddicker trade, Chris Hoiles is making the Fred Lynn deal look like an absolute theft.It's rare when a club can acquire a promising everyday catcher for a fading veteran, but that's exactly what the Orioles did on Aug. 31, 1988, the day they sent Lynn to Detroit for Hoiles and pitchers Cesar Mejia and Robinson Garces.Hoiles, 27, is the only player still active from the trade.

John Tate pointed to the wet spot on the concrete terrace behind the right-field bleachers, a dozen steps from the B&O warehouse."That's where the ball hit, right there," he said. "You can tell because everyone was grabbing for it and somebody spilled a beer. Spilled it right on a cop, in fact."Tate works the parking lots at the new ballpark. He was on a break, sitting at a picnic table on the terrace, when Mickey Tettleton hit the first Almost last night in the third inning.That was Almost as in: the first home run to come close to hitting the warehouse.

With Brady Anderson excelling at the top of the lineup, Mike Devereaux had batted fifth in every game he had started this season to take advantage of his power.Until last night.With Eric King on the mound for the Detroit Tigers, Orioles manager Johnny Oates shifted Devereaux to the No. 2 spot."We haven't had a lot of success against [King], and I put Devo up there just because of the personnel we have out there. This is the best lineup under the circumstances," Oates said.The move paid off. Devereaux went 3-for-5, including a triple and a home run.Oates wanted Sam Horn and Chito Martinez in the game against King and did not want Randy Milligan hitting second.