Tippy Martinez

It didn't matter if it were cards, pingpong, tape ball or clubhouse wrestling, Cal Ripken liked to win. So did the handful of holdovers from the team's glory years - Eddie Murray, Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor, Mike Boddicker and Tippy Martinez. As long as they had been playing baseball, they were winners.2 * Leads Orioles in eight offensive categories.

Against anyone else, it would have seemed preposterous when the 12-year-old boy's hand reached into the field of play to change the course of the Orioles' 1996 playoff run. Against the New York Yankees? Jeffrey Maier was just another chapter in a long story. The Yankees have almost always been the measuring stick for their divisional rivals 200 miles down Interstate 95. And pardon Orioles fans if they've always felt the game was a little bit rigged, whether by baseball economics or by the dark magic of an adolescent fan. The Bronx Bombers of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were still the big boys on the block when the Orioles first got good in the early 1960s.

As expected, it's all Michael all the time around here these days. With so much bling around his neck, the Incredible Phelps looms now as the most accomplished - if not the greatest - athlete to ever come out of Maryland, and if medals are the measure, he's the greatest Olympian ever. Someday, in Baltimore, there will be a new aquatic center named for him - hopefully in the lower level of the new downtown arena - with a magnificent, life-size bronze of MP in Speedo at the entrance. We should all savor this for as long as possible.

Aug. 23, 2001: The NFL champion Ravens blow a 17-0 lead and drop their second straight preseason game, 20-17 to the Carolina Panthers at PSINet Stadium. New quarterback Elvis Grbac passes for a touchdown and All Pro linebacker Ray Lewis returns an interception 42 yards for a score. Aug. 21, 1998: Before a packed house at Camden Yards, Cal Ripken Jr. rips a single to right field for his 2,849th career hit, breaking the Orioles' record held by Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson . Still, the Birds lose to the Cleveland Indians, 6-3. "Tonight was a personal moment," Ripken says, "but it's hard to get happy when you don't win. " Aug. 24 , 1983: In a game that punctuates the Orioles' championship season, Tippy Martinez enters in the top of the 10th inning against Toronto and disposes of three Blue Jays runners, one whom he caught stealing, then two on pickoffs.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- It seemed only fitting that when Gregg Olson broke the Orioles' club record for saves, he did it the hard way."If I have to get one of these kind of saves to get records, I don't know if I want to do anymore," said Olson. Minutes before, he had retired Jose Canseco on a called third strike with a runner on first base to preserve a 7-6 win for the Orioles over the Oakland Athletics.It was the 106th career save for Olson, who knocked Tippy Martinez (105) out of the top spot.

Another former Oriole is getting into the food-service business at a Baltimore stadium.The minor-league Baysox announced yesterday that their concessions for the 1993 season at Memorial Stadium will feature "Tippy's Taco Stand" containing a collection of home-style Mexican recipes from the kitchen of Eva Martinez, mother of the Orioles' all-time left-handed saves leader, Tippy Martinez.Last year, former Orioles first baseman Boog Powell opened a barbecue stand that became one of the most popular concessions at Oriole Park.

Bring back Ken Singleton. Bring back Tippy Martinez. Bring back Al Bumbry. Tim Stoddard? Love ya babe. Lenn Sakata? Come on down!Since the Orioles are working so diligently to reassemble their 1983 world championship team, why not just get the whole gang together again?Bring back Todd Cruz, Joe Nolan, Leo Hernandez. John Shelby? OK, one more shot. John Lowenstein? Forget TV, brother, this is for real!A year ago the Orioles had only one player left from the 1983 team -- Cal Ripken. But now, with Rick Dempsey coming to spring training, they might start next season with four.

Steam and gas enginesTravel backward in time this weekend at the 24th annual Tuckahoe Steam and Gas Engine Show, where you can see colonial crafts, gas and steam engines, sawmills, a Civil War encampment and a parade of antique cars. Witness the antique tractor pull, a horse pull competition and yes, wheat threshing. Visitors can also check out the rural life museum, blacksmithing and a variety of tractors and equipment. For the shoppers, there will be an auction sale and a large flea market, while children can enjoy train rides from yester-year.

Ranked No. 24 in the most recent USA Today Top 25 list, No. 2 in the area and riding a 16-game winning streak, Loch Raven's defending 2A state champion girls soccer team is under increasing pressure.But you wouldn't know it considering the poise with which the Raiders continue to dismantle their opponents, having outscored them, 45-2.Yesterday, Loch Raven (8-0) visited No. 10 Mercy, its toughest foe to date, and again the Raiders dominated, hammering an injury-riddled squad by a 25-5 shots-on-goal margin en route to a 2-0 nonleague victory and their sixth shutout.

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette just introduced new starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada in a news conference at Camden Yards. Here's what Duquette had to say about Wada: "We are excited to have Tsuyoshi join our team, and we're honored to have him join our pitching staff. Tsuyoshi has been one of the top pitchers in baseball the past two years, having won 33 games in Japan. Last year he was the MVP, the Most Valuable Player, of the Japanese baseball league in 2010, which is an extraordinary accomplishment.

Et cetera Sports Legends Museum to honor ex-Oriole Murray In celebration of Saturday's statue unveiling of former Oriole Eddie Murray , Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards is showcasing a memorabilia display from Friday to Sept. 3. Items on display include Murray's road jersey from 1996, the year he hit his 500th home run in a home game at Oriole Park; a game-used bat; Murray's 1996 American League Championship Series locker nameplate; and a cachet issued for his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

As usual, it looks like the Orioles are celebrating this holiday season on the cheap. No big-name free agents under the tree to energize the fan base. No va-va-voom trades to get folks counting down the days until spring training. Instead, here's a sample of who the O's have acquired thus far to reverse 14 straight losing seasons: A light-hitting backup catcher. A soft-throwing lefty starter from Japan. A journeyman lefty starter who has kicked around six other major league teams.

Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette just introduced new starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada in a news conference at Camden Yards. Here's what Duquette had to say about Wada: "We are excited to have Tsuyoshi join our team, and we're honored to have him join our pitching staff. Tsuyoshi has been one of the top pitchers in baseball the past two years, having won 33 games in Japan. Last year he was the MVP, the Most Valuable Player, of the Japanese baseball league in 2010, which is an extraordinary accomplishment.

The Orioles' new starting pitcher, Tsuyoshi Wada, likely won't make his Camden Yards debut until the first full week of April, and it won't be known for several months how well he'll make the transition from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball to major league baseball. But the first impression of the 30-year-old, soft-tossing left-hander is that he'll work to assimilate - as evidenced by his opening statement Thursday at his introductory news conference at Camden Yards, which he delivered in English.

As expected, it's all Michael all the time around here these days. With so much bling around his neck, the Incredible Phelps looms now as the most accomplished - if not the greatest - athlete to ever come out of Maryland, and if medals are the measure, he's the greatest Olympian ever. Someday, in Baltimore, there will be a new aquatic center named for him - hopefully in the lower level of the new downtown arena - with a magnificent, life-size bronze of MP in Speedo at the entrance. We should all savor this for as long as possible.

NEW YORK -- When the Orioles signed Jamie Walker to a three-year, $12 million deal this offseason, several baseball pundits were astounded that a team would spend that much money on a left-handed relief specialist. But Walker has proved to be much more than that this season, going 1-2 with a 3.40 ERA and five saves, while being asked to fill just about every role possible. In the Orioles' 8-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, Walker made his 77th appearance. That not only leads the American League, but it also broke a franchise record previously held by B.J. Ryan (2003 and 2004)

Et cetera Sports Legends Museum to honor ex-Oriole Murray In celebration of Saturday's statue unveiling of former Oriole Eddie Murray , Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards is showcasing a memorabilia display from Friday to Sept. 3. Items on display include Murray's road jersey from 1996, the year he hit his 500th home run in a home game at Oriole Park; a game-used bat; Murray's 1996 American League Championship Series locker nameplate; and a cachet issued for his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

First he picked off Barry Bonnell. Then he picked off Dave Collins. To complete the inning, he picked off Willie Upshaw.Tippy Martinez had a solid 10-year career as a left-handed reliever for the Orioles, but that moment on Aug. 24, 1983, -- when he picked off three Toronto Blue Jays in one inning -- defined it."Seems like everybody was there that night," Martinez said. "I hear about it even today. That's how I'm remembered. Which is OK."Moments later, Lenn Sakata, in real life an infielder but who was, of all things, the catcher, hit a game-winning home run, capping a couple of the most bizarre innings in Orioles history.

Joe Orsulak has never been one to draw attention to himself.Many Orioles fans remember him as the workmanlike outfielder who dived after balls and the unheralded hitter who batted nearly .290 year after year, though he was often overlooked during his career.That's one of the reasons Orsulak, 36, relishes his new role as assistant coach at Loyola High School."I'm not in it for the accolades or the publicity," Orsulak said. "For me, the pleasure I gain out of it is to watch someone do something that I taught them, to watch them learn it and perform it and to watch them do well."

Steam and gas enginesTravel backward in time this weekend at the 24th annual Tuckahoe Steam and Gas Engine Show, where you can see colonial crafts, gas and steam engines, sawmills, a Civil War encampment and a parade of antique cars. Witness the antique tractor pull, a horse pull competition and yes, wheat threshing. Visitors can also check out the rural life museum, blacksmithing and a variety of tractors and equipment. For the shoppers, there will be an auction sale and a large flea market, while children can enjoy train rides from yester-year.