Hello Fatpickled!

Fatpickle's note: Please welcome JT as a regular contributor to Fatpickled.

Hello, my name is Jason Anton and I am an Orioles fan, Redskins fan, Terps fan....and Miami Heat fan...and I am the newest contributor to the Fatpickled blog! Now before you notice my Miami Heat comment and ostracize me, cast me aside, and mail me the severed head of a random animal please hear me out and understand where I'm coming from.

I grew up in Ocean City, Maryland. A place familiar to many mid-Atlantic regionals as an easy vacation spot and middle ground for 'Skins, Steelers, Eagles, 76er's, Wizards, Phillies, and Orioles fans considering it's pretty close to Philly, DC, and Baltimore (and for some reason there are Steelers fans in EVERY city on the planet...and they always come complete with their own bar of some kind. In OC it's the Salty Dog Saloon). This alone gives me the right to be an Orioles fan and Redskins fan (the Heat justification will come) but that's not all that ties me to these teams and vindicates my fandom! See I was born in 1983. Not only did the Redskins win the Super Bowl in '83 (for the '82 season) with a heroic performance from Riggins, but the Orioles won the World Series AND Cal Ripken Jr. won the AL MVP award that year.

Speaking of the 'Skins '82 season Super Bowl victory, I was there! Now I didn't have great seats, and I couldn't actually see the game because my eye sockets hadn't fully developed yet, but I did eat the nachos...if you follow me. I was born in June. My parents got me a pin to commemorate my attendance that I still have.

Now, my geographic justification and my chronological justification should be enough to qualify me as a blogger on the subject of 'Skins and O's. I have been a fan, since birth, of both teams. One of my earliest memories is meeting Boog Powell and it inspired me to be a sub-par 1st baseman throughout my little league career until it was discovered that I threw a wicked side-armed fastball (and then I became a sub-par pitcher). Thanksgiving for my family has always consisted of 2 traditions outside of the food: 1-We watch the original Star Wars trilogy 2-We root for whomever isn't the Cowboys in the Thanksgiving Day game no matter who it is. I am a diehard lifelong fan and that's all I bring to the table.

I plan on delivering to you, the loyal Fatpickled RSS subscribers, my insights into all things O's and 'Skins. Everything from the great potential of the Orioles outfielders, to how comfortable my wife finds the sweatpants she bought off of Chris Cooley's website. I don't do "investigative reporting" because I'm not a fan of "facts." It's a lot easier to just make everything up and I think everyone will have a lot more fun that way...just kidding.

Alright this post is getting long so I'll wrap up. I lived in Florida for a couple of years and that's where I became a Heat fan. They won the Championship while I was down there and I got swept up in the fever of it all. Also, all anyone ever talks about in Florida is the Gators and 'Nols. To which I could ever say is: FEAR THE TURTLE! and HAIL!

Here is a picture of my daughter in a LaRon Landry jersey:

Favorite All-Time Baseball Card: Bill Ripken 89 Fleer

This is one in a series of posts that I am writing about my favorite things. What’s your favorite things? Tell me in the comments section or email me from the main page of the site.

I was 14 years old when I heard about the Bill Ripken error card. Was it real, was it an urban legend? Word on the street was there was a Bill Ripken card out there that had a vulgar word written on it. There was no Internet back then to "google" it. There was no EBay back then to purchase it. All you could do was try to find the card in your local card shop (no chance,) or try to find a picture of it in Beckett magazine (if you could find one.)

I opened many Fleer packs that summer, even got a couple Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards...but no B Rip F&*k Face cards. None to be found at Pete's Card Shop, none at Grandpaw's Attic (the 2 card shops in my hometown in 89.) But, what would I do if I found one anyway? I could only look... at it's height the card was going for $500 bucks.

I eventually purchased the card in 2006 for $7 dollars. It's a mint condition card that I had Billy sign. Eventually, Fleer put out 12 different 1989 Bill Ripken cards, but 1 stood out the most. The mystery surrounding the card and how F&%k Face got on the handle was divulged in this interview with Bill. Yes, on the 20th anniversary of this card, it's still the best out there. It's the error card of all error cards. You can have your cards with pieces of uniforms, bats, and bases...give me F&*k Face.

Apologies to Cal's rookie card, Eddie Murray's rookie card, and all my signed Nick Markakis cards.

Cheers and Hail

Six Degrees, A Vacation, And A Website

This is will be the last post for a little while, as my lovely bride and I cruise on down to the Bahamas! A few days in the sun, eating too much, drinking too much, and gambling too much. Sounds like it's just what the doctor ordered. In the meantime, I'm leaving you with some reading material that I've enjoyed this week.

I also want to invite everyone to check out http://www.fatpickled.com/. It's still a work in progress, but you can follow the blog there, so please bookmark it. It's a hell of a lot easier to find than the whole budlightthoughts thing. I don't even want to get into the whole email conversation I had with my mom today, but I'll just say it started with her saying she couldn't find my fatpickle. (it's probably in my wife's purse, headed for the Bahamas)

It looks like LT and the Chargers are headed for a divorce. One things for sure, he won't be any one's #1 fantasy pick next season.

I've gotten away from reading Bill Simmons, mainly because there's just to much New England sports. But, he's an awesome writer, and he shares his recent "Marley and me" situation in this story. You may need a hankie.

Another great writer, Rick Reilly, has a cool story about Larry Fitzgerald Jr and Sr, and their unique situation this Super Bowl week.

It's the 20 year anniversary of maybe the most famous error card of all-time. A card that I have, signed, and in mint condition.

Cooley gets high on football, and shares his Senior Bowl with us. And to think that Parcells thought he'd be a special teamer at best.

Finally, if you haven't seen this video, it's worth a look. And remember, this is a high school game!

Team USA Can't Lose

Not with Bill Ripken coaching. This spring Ripken will be where he was born to be, in a dugout surrounded by Major League ballplayers. Ripken was chosen by Manager Davey Johnson to be one of his assistant coaches for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Since retiring from a 12 year MLB career Bill has been the Co-Owner and Executive Vice President of Ripken Baseball. Along with his brother Cal, they have built a baseball empire in their hometown of Aberdeen, MD. So whether it's teaching a seven year old how to field a ground ball, designing baseball stadiums, or running baseball franchises, it's baseball 24/7 for the Ripkens. Along the way Bill has become one of the premier baseball instructors in the world. His enthusiasm for the game translates equally as well to an 8 year old, as it does a proven major league veteran. If you've ever had the pleasure of meeting Bill it's an experience I'm sure you haven't forgotten. He certainly brings a presence.

When I wrote that Russ Grimm is the picture and epitome of a football coach, the same is to be said for Cal Ripken Sr. And when I look at Bill, I see Cal Sr. What I'd like to see is Bill on the Orioles bench for the next dozen years or so, and Cal in the owner's box. But, I guess Peter Angelos isn't as smart as I am. I mean it's really easy to figure out, Ripken = Oriole. "The Oriole way" was lost long ago. Because the Oriole way is "The Ripken way," born over 30 years ago in the lower levels of the Oriole's minor leagues.

So for now, I'll root for the USA and Bill this March. I didn't follow the the Baseball Classic that closely 2 years ago. In fact, I was upset that it took a lot of the players away from the spring training games that I enjoy watching here in the Tampa area. However, this year I have a new found interest in our team and Bill succeeding.

Team USA will be training here in my backyard on March 1. I've noticed that a lot of players have been declining their invitations to play. I will tell you now Billy, that I will accept if you invite me to play. You know very well what I am capable of on the field. A career .550 hitter in the Ripken MLE, a figure that rises when facing Ripken pitching. I'm a little out of shape, but could still fill a Terry Crowley type of role (warning strong language) for Team USA!

Good luck Bill, and make sure you visit Lenny's they make the best meatballs, just like Mama used to make!

Cheers and Hail

O, The Rays are Good

So this year marked the 11th straight season the Orioles have finished below .500. During the previous 10 seasons, the O's finished in fourth place. They could always count on the Rays to finish in the cellar. Now that the Rays are playing in October, I'm afraid my Orioles have a firm grip on last place.

After living in Northern VA for the first 30 years of my life, the O's are a part of me. I was 9 years old in 1983, when the O's beat the Phillies in the I95 series. This came the year after the O's took the Brewers to the last game of the season in 82. Orioles Magic indeed. I thought at the time the O's would win countless World Series (I bet Cal did too!). It's hard to imagine that we are so far removed from the glory days. How did it slip away so fast?

Baseball was my #1 sport growing up, the one that I excelled at. If there wasn't a baseball around, then it was wiffleball. When a wiffleball wasn't available, then a wad of paper and a stick would do just fine. And in everyone of those backyard, driveway, or living room games, I was imitating my heroes. Eddie Murray's crouched stance, Cal's upright/closed stance with the bat horizontal to the ground. Pitching the wiffleball like Jim Palmer, sliding in the rain like Rick Dempsey. The list could go on and on. Those days are long gone, but I keep hanging onto the hope that one day, things will be special again.

And that brings me to the Rays. For the last 4 years, I have lived here in Tampa. I knew this Ray's team was close to breaking out the past 2 seasons. I'm surprised it did not happen last year. I will guarantee you this, they will not be going away any time soon. They are loaded with young talent, and they have more stockpiled in their farm system. I am amazed to watch the community in which I live in rally behind this team. Everyone has Ray's fever. We have 2 year old kids getting blue Mohawks, we have 60 year old politicians getting Mohawks. A new stadium is also on the horizon, a beautiful outdoor stadium, right on the Gulf of Mexico. It's a great time to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays.

But, you'll never see a blue Ray's hat on this head. Sure, I'll pull for them to go all the way. I surely will be pulling for them if they face the Red Sox. Its easy for a lot of people to jump on the bandwagon and root for a winner. I can't do that. I've got to much invested in my O's. So while a team headed to the World Series, loaded with young talent, getting an awesome new stadium, sounds enticing, I'll pass. Give me my MLB Extra Innings for $250 again next year, because the O's are 0-0 right now, and my O's mug is half full!

And besides that, when my son and I play wiffleball, I do a great imitation of Nick Markakis.