Great stuff Schmuckster. Man, I love not having to read jack or his alter ego here.

Call me a spoil sport, and it's not like I'm not excited to see the guy come up, but I think it would have made way more sense to send him off on the West Coast swing first. Let him settle in, get the first couple of errors and "ofers" behind him, then have a more comfortable and natural first night at the Yard. All of tonight is going to be wonderful and exciting, right up until he strikes out for the third time or sails one over Robert's head trying to stop a runner. I think it would have been much better for his psyche to get a few games under his belt without the hometown pressure. I'll be rooting for him no matter what-- let's just hope a stadium full do the same.

I remember the fuss was with McDonald's unknown agent, Scott Boras, who made his name in those negotiations, which included the following:

1. Holding Ben out to sign with a new baseball major league that was rumored to be in the formative stages led by Donald Trump.

2. The deal Boras wanted, which earned him his hardass reputation, was a three year deal for $100,000. That's one hundred grand for three seasons. Compare that to the six million dollars Boras got Matt Wieters just to sign on the dotted line.

Still, McDonald was a workhorse until he got injured and, if he didn't turn out to be great, he certainly turned out to be pretty good.

Plus he wrestled alligators and Wieters does not. So there.

What's Big Ben up to these days?

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Pete's reply: He's coaching his kids and helping out at LSU once in awhile.

If today's overwhelming coverage of Wieters is any indication of how the media will treat Matt before and after the game...then I already feel sorry for the kid. For Matt's sake, I really do hope the media gives the guy some room and doesn't lose sight of the actual game tonight. Remember, there are 8 other guys playing along side him...

Great read. I always liked Ben McDonald. I'm sorry things didn't pan out the way we anticipated. Not only for the Orioles but for him as well. Could have been great. What a talent coming out of LSU.

The chances of a position player coming thru quicker is better than a starting pitcher. With a Starting pitcher you prolly have to wait thru a month (5-6) starts just to start getting a sense of where he's at. With a position guy, That's 30 games (130-170 ABs). A position player can have several 0-fers in a week but come back with a couple strong games and it evens out. If a rookie hits a couple HRs in a month, people will be happy. If he hits 3 or more HRs in the month he's everyone's favorite nephew. If a starting pitcher has a bad game, he has to wait and think about it for 5 days to redeem himself. A position player goes back out the next day.

Peter- i was at McDonalds debut, and I remember the hype around it. It was big, but this is amazing. Maybe its because there are so many more outlets competing for a story, but I think its because, then it was 5 years since the WS and now its 26 years since, Who would have thought we would have not won another WS in all this time. Or only make the playoffs twice. Ouch,
Now we just have to wait for Tillman.

Good post and article today. What are the chances we Baltimore sports fans, who have lived with poor to mediocre sports teams (except Ravens 2008 season), will have another rookie turn one of our teams around? Seems our luck has been really bad lately, but lets hope the sports gods will shine on our town once again. Hopefully this young man's shoulders will be broad enough to bear the weight of Baltimore and its fans. Realize he will need help and time as did the other rookie...and as you said ...room to breath!

I actually went to my first game when Ben McDonald made his major league debut, even though I was too young to remember. He relieved Curt Schilling in the 3rd inning, pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up his first major league run on a balk. How often does that happen? The Orioles lost to Cleveland 9-0 as Bud Black pitched a shutout. Interestingly enough, Ben got his last win beating the Orioles in 1997 while pitching for Milwaukee.

The Orioles are the first team since the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. You ask what do we know about that team. Well, they finished with a 23-113 record. However, they had quite an eventful offseason. They renamed themselves the Pirates after the Philadelphia A's of the America Association felt they "pirated" away Lou Bierbauer from them. Ah, those two cities became such bitter rivals after that. Bierbauer must have been some prize, he hit .206 that first year and was only a .268 career hitter. So, Lou Bierbauer and Ben McDonald never did live up to hype. Will Matt Wieters?

Pete,
I was hoping your would have mentioned what Ben is doing these days. I just hope Matt can deal with the pressure. Although I think the team has turned a corner and if Reimold can play like he is showing we will have the best outfield in baseball. Look forward to seeing how this all plays out.

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Pete's reply: Ben is coaching his kids and helping out occasionally at their high school and at LSU. He's going to be the O's representative at the draft this year, which is the 20th anniversary of him being the No. 1 overall pick.

I really enjoyed reading this blog entry Peter, keep up the good work.

I COULDN'T BELIEVE MY EYES! When I saw the Matt Wieters puppet commercial on MASN. Its bad enough if the kid goes 0h-fer his first night up, but he'll have to take the blame for Nike contributing to the over-hype. Please PA, get those commercials pulled.

Nice post, Pete. Thinking about McDonald brings back bad memories of that last series in 1989 against the Blue Jays. The end of the Why Not? dream. I'd be curious for your recollections of that series and season.

Ben also possessed possibly the straightest fastball in the majors during his tenure with Baltimore.

That fact certainly didn't help him much, did it?

Wieters once led off an inning with a grand slam!

Pete, Where will Wieters bat tonight?

I live in Toledo now so don't know the hype around Weiters... but remember Ryan Minor? And what about the hype around Jim Fuller and the expectations surrounding Andres Mora (next 40 home run hitter Clay Dalyrymple said).

a lot of pressure is being put on Mat I hope he can live up to his pre-existence hype. I hope we all give him an opportunity to mke his mark on the majors. If we do i know he will be great!

Ben makes a good point about fitting in. One of the things I noticed watching Matt in Frederick was the way the other players on the team reacted to his success. The night of his pro debut he hits 2 HR's and every guy in the dugout was happy for him, congratulating him. It would have been easy for those guys to be jealous of the "bonus baby" but he seemed to be well liked. Hopefully it follows him throughout his career.

I was at McCurdy Field in Frederick for Bens debut and had the pleasure of meeting him and even hosting him at my house for a crab feed after several Friday night Keys games. What a great kid he was.I only wish his health would have held out, as he surely would have had a great career.

After McDonald was drafted by the O's, I took advantage of the first opportunity to see him. He pitched a stellar game for LSU in the final televised game of the College World Series. McDonald just mowed them down until late in the game. Then a man got on base, perhaps followed by a walk, and, before you could blink twice, McDonald fell to pieces. Unfortunately, McDonald could not handle pressure situations with aplomb. His difficulty in an important college game carried over into his MLB career. He was sort of an anti-Jim Palmer.

I don't believe Wieters has a problem dealing with pressure. We shall see if this belief holds true in the coming years. That is, assuming the O's will someday soon start playing in important games....

Nice the way he handled Bergensen. Just shows ya that he's the guy to bring the young pitching around. Can't underestimate his role in the debut.

McDonald said: "I came up in the middle of a pennant race. I was the first guy to sign a multiyear contract (out of the draft) and my contract guaranteed that I would get a September call-up... I had to deal with coming into a clubhouse where some guys probably weren't that happy to see me. I mean, I was a guy who hadn't pitched an inning in the major leagues and I was making more than some of the guys in there."

"There was some" (pressure), McDonald said. "We were under .500 in 1990 and I remember in 1991, Frank Robinson told me in spring training that I would have to win 20 games for us to have a chance to win. When you're a 22-year-old kid, that's a lot on your shoulders."

Peter, these comments beg follow-up questions, like: "Do you regret including the Sept. call-up clause in your contract? Do you think it would have helped your confidence and your standing in the clubhouse if you had clearly "earned" the call-up rather than having it written into the contract? What advice would you (Ben) give Stephen Strasburg? e.g., trust that your talent, not your agent, will put you in the majors in due time? Thinking about that 1st walk into the clubhouse: Would he tell Strasburg, "You're gonna get paid a ton of $ no matter what, so it's OK to leave a little money on the table."

That's what I'd like to hear from Ben.

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Pete's reply: Ben was never a greedy guy, but Boras was just starting out and was making a name for himself getting those big draft choice contracts. I did talk to Ben about Strasburg. He acknowledged that it's better to keep the guys down for awhile and not over extend them. His biggest problem was throwing 150 innings as a junior at LSU. His arm was never the same after that.