Collective Troll's Card of the Day-2009 Topps T206 David Hernandez

Okay, this isn’t a Brian Roberts card, but it is Baltimore Orioles related and very awesome, so I thought I would post it up on the Brian Roberts Leading Off blog, but I decided to make it a Troll post instead. As new as the BR blog is, I want to keep it just Roberts for at least its first week. I know this doesn’t fit into the standard selection of cards that I post here, but it is a pretty special card and yes, it has a story… Last month I entered a contest on the Cobb and Halladay blog. It involved guessing the final score of a postseason football. The prizes were great and you can guess a number without knowing anything about football, SO I gave it a try and made my guess. I ended up winning 3rd place in the contest, BUT the two people who finished ahead of me never claimed their prize, so I was the grand prize winner by default. I ended up with two sweet cards. A Bob Gibson jersey relic which I have already posted HERE and this 2009 Topps T206 framed autograph of Orioles pitcher David Hernandez. He was a 16th round pick out of high school in 2005 and spent almost the entire 2009 season with the Orioles, starting 19 games for them. His record wasn’t good at 4-10 with a 5.42 ERA, but at 24 years of age, the upside is still there for the young righhander. In 2008 he was 10-4 with a 2.68 ERA in 27 starts for the AA Bowie BaySox. He had a 3.30 ERA in 11 starts in AAA in ’09 prior to his call-up to the Orioles. Some believe that he was rushed along and wasn’t quite ready for the big leagues. He features a 93-MPH fastball with a slider and a changeup. In 101 innings last year he struck out 68 batters. In the minors he showed serious promise as a strikeout pitcher whiffing 166 in 141 innings at Bowie in 2008. Over 534 innings in the minors he struck out 601 batters. I think that Chris Tillman is the most exciting young starter on the Orioles, but I am excited to see how Hernandez does in 2010 over a full big league season with a little experience under his belt. For those curious, Hernandez’ major league stats can be viewed here and his minor league stats can be found here. Speaking of curious… I wouldn’t recommend typing his name into a Google image search. Just saying. Thanks so much to Joe L from the Cobb and Halladay blog for this great card! I guess I should also thank the other winners for not claiming their prizes... For more exciting Orioles related posting, check out my other blog, Leading Off. If 1965 Topps Traded is more your style, check out the Nitty Gritty Card of the Day. Go Rays! Troll out.