I agree.

And Mora got here when he was traded for Mike Bordick and then in the off-season, the Orioles resigned Bordick. Kinda sounds like what happened with Tejada and might happen with Bedard.

Sorry Pete - on more than one occaision ole Melvin showed his TRUE colors when he put himself completely ahead of the team and openly and unfairly threw his manager under the bus. He was "too good" to volunteer to help in any way he could - (team player) when we needed help in the outfield etc. Now of course when nobody wants him - he is more than happy to be s uper sub. Had he had THAT attitude here last year maybe he would both still be here and be loved as a good team member and player. He got or rather SHOWED his selfish side and thus EARNED the scorn of his teamates, Manager, ANDY & many of his former fans. Shut up, play hard and remember it's what's best for the team!!

Does anybody know if the Rockies play here (or us there) this season in interleague play? If so, I fear we may have awakened a sleeping giant...

Hi Pete,
maybe you know him in person, and he's a nice fella....but i hated the drama last season, along with his poor baseball instincts.

Happy to see him in Colorado now. Regards.

I may not have always liked him on the field, but I always did think it said a lot about his character when he was the only player @ Elrod's funeral.

Mora again Pete?

You mean no moves from the O's again today?

Shocker!

..............................................................................................
Pete's reply: I honestly pray every day that they trade for Adrian Gonzalez, both because it would be great and because I can't wait to see how you find a way to rip them for it.

Pete,
nice write up, and he was worthy of it, I think you summed Mora up nicely.

My lasting memory of him was when he was elected to his first all star game. He was excited and honored and said something like "I will play hard and I am honored to be here as a Baltimore Oriole and representing Baltimore." That's when the O's were stinking up the joint and I thought that said a lot about him.

Brian

Beside the quints, I think Mora's most impressive feat was how quickly he developed into a quality third baseman. Somehow, I have the feeling that Miggy's transition won't go as smoothly. Hope he didn't leave his cup in Houston.

Well said, Pete. I enjoyed the column, and you can count me amongst the fans who wish Mora the best of luck, and look forward to him entering the O's hall of fame.

I think clearly we've run out of things to talk about regarding the Orioles.

Pete,

Let's get over Mora and go back and talk about the Oriole announcers some more. How can we get Angelos to lure Jon Miller and John Lowenstein back home to Baltimore? Those guys were truly good at their work and loved by the fans.

Do you have any knowledge as to whom MASN is considering to take Buck's place? Please, please don't say Flannigan!

Mora Who?

I didn't have any major problems with Mora, but he did have horrible baseball insticts at times...his best line (and I'm paraphrasing here) is when he talked about all of his playoff experience and the Sun listed his 6 game blurb below the quote.

The shoreman is right, Melvin is a selfish player who puts himself ahead of the team. He may be a nice guy off the field but as Leo Durocher said, nice guys finsh last. Glad the O's are rid of this overpaid malingerer.

Jim - The Shoreman sucks a fat one (end of the bat that is)

Not sure what more the guy could have done to win over the fans. Sure he had his outbursts now and then, but who hasn't had a few at the office over the past decade? Overall the guy was a stand up guy who gave his all during a tough decade for the franchise and got involved with the community (during the season and offseason).

Markakis is starting to show that type of Mora spirit (tough, plays hard, involved in the community), hopefully 7 years from now people aren't saying some of the bad things when Markakis leaves the O's that I hear being said of Mora this past week.

Pete- I like your story on Mora , well done .
Mora and his wife could have chosen anywhere to reside yet they picked Baltimore as their residence , during his playing career and afterwards. From July 2000 to last Sept 2009 , Mora has been steady , dependable player for the O's . Both offensely and defensely. Yes , Mora had few bad days ( tantrums over not being informed on taken out of line ups , and being benched from his slump last season ) . Should we let his few negatives outweigh his 10 years service to O's ? Granted , I was pissed off at him as many of you were when his tantrums erupted . But how about all those clutch hits he made ? or the double plays he assisted ? Mora has shown me more of his character by his charitable work here in Baltimore and his lone representation at Elrod's funeral ( Now I was really pissed at O's for that one ! ) .
Good bye Mora , thank you for representing us for past 10 years , and good luck in your Rockies debut .

Mora was the starting 3B-man. Suddenly one day, he comes to the park and isn't in the lineup.
This happens for a couple of games in a row.
Then he's put back in the starting lineup, but further back in the batting order.
Then he's held out of the lineup altogether.
The manager did not forwarn him before making either move.

Mora feels as though the manager has disrespected him by treating him like a rookie instead of the veteran starter he is.

All the while freely admitting that he deserved to be benched and moved back in the order because of his below-standards play, he spoke out only against the methods used by the manager who he felt should have let him know ahead of time...... and he spoke out only when descended upon by inquiring media people.

I see nothing indicative of Melvin having mis-handled this situation or any other situation.
He was questioned and he gave an honest answer.

As I pointed out on another thread, Davey Johnson did the exact same thing to Cal Ripken, Jr. in 1996 when Cal came to the park one day only to discover that he was going to start at 3B both that day and as Johnson said, "for ten games or so".
Of course when asked by surprised reporters what he thought of the move, Cal replied, "He's (Johnson's) the manager. But it might have been nice to have had some time to prepare."

Yep.
You know that Cal....... same old malcontented malingerer who earned the scorn of his teammates and threw his manager under the bus.

ROTFLMAO ! ! ! ! !

Mora was a sure thing in our lineup for years. We were lucky that he developed into the player that he became for us while taking over the hot spot.. One of the few constant bright spots during the hard times.

So, Pete, according to many comments here, its apparently ok for the "fans" to bitch and complain about 12 yrs of losing but as soon as a player lets the frustration of years of being on a losing team get to him, then he is a traitor?! Ha! A player who says nothing about the losing is the one who doesnt care or is simply numb to the situation and accepts the losing.

Give me Mora anyday in his prime and you have one of the top 3rd basemen in O's history! Thanks for the memories and effort Melvin and good luck in your remaining year in baseball.

Maybe come back as a coach?

I want to take the opportunity given to me by your title to honor and remember one of the forgotten treasures of the State of Maryland.

Adopted Marylander Gordon Prange authored "Tora, Tora, Tora" Professor Prange served as official historian under McArthur during WWII, and taught history at the University of Maryland for years. I believe his donated papers are kept in the graduate library.

I met up with Professor Prange some time in the late 70's or early 80's. He was the most interesting lecturer I had ever heard, especially on the origins of WWII. Because of his influence, I chose to go to graduate school in American History at the University of Maryland when I had the chance to study in America. By then Professor Prange had passed on, so I missed the opportunity to study under him. One of my greatest regrets in life.

As you might guess, I am particularly partial to professors, and I wanted to remember one of the most wonderful men I had ever met.

In re: Mora... I think that he will be remembered fondly here. Thanks to free agency, we will probably never connect with players the way we did with Brooks, Frank, Boog, etc. One thing is for sure, the deal in which we got him from the Mets has to go down among the biggest steals since the Dutch got Manhattan Island from the original owners.