Posts Tagged ‘floyd rayford’

July 27: Old School Oriole Birthdays

On a daily basis, Fatpickled recognizes the birthdays of the men who have played, and currently play for, my favorite teams. The Redskins, Orioles, Wizards, and Terps.

Happy birthday Floyd Rayford. “Sugar Bear,” played 6 seasons for the Orioles from 1980-87. A fan favorite, he played every infield position (except shortstop…some guy was hogging that positionJ) and catcher. His best season came in 1985 when he batted .306 with 18HR’s and 48RBI’s. The Toy Dept recently caught up with Floyd and he has a unique take on why that season was so good for him as well as good stories of Cal and him rooming together in the minors. Floyd was traded to the Cardinals in 1983 for Tito Landrum, whom would hit the home run that sent the O’s to the World Series. Of course the O’s loved him so much that they actually purchased him back from the Cards that offseason. In retirement Floyd got into coaching and he currently serves as the batting coach for the New Britain Rock Cats. Happy 52nd Mr. Rayford.

Happy birthday Rich Dauer. Rich played all 10 seasons of his career with Orioles from 1976-85, appearing in 2 World Series and winning a ring in 83’. He ranks in the Orioles top 30 all time in games played (1,140) and hits (984.) Rich was a great contact hitter that ranked in the top 3 in the AL in at bats per strikeouts from 1980-1983, leading the league twice. Primarily a 2B he also played some 3B and had an excellent .985 fielding % for his career. He also holds the AL record for consecutive errorless games (86) and errorless chances (425) for a 2B. In retirement he has coached extensively at the major league level and was a candidate for several managerial openings, including the O’s in 2003. I hope he gets his chance one day. Rich currently is the third base coach for the Colorado Rockies. Happy 57th Mr. Dauer.

Cheers and Hail