The city of York, Pennsylvania is home to two things which were enticing enough that I decided to take a road trip up I-83 this past August. The first is the Orioles’ official team store, located in the York Galleria Mall. The second is an Atlantic League baseball team called the York Revolution.
Former Orioles starting pitcher Brad Bergesen now plays for the Revolution, but my adventure to Santander Stadium was not to watch another failed member of The Cavalry. Instead, I wanted to see a member of the visiting Somerset Patriots.
His name is Robert Andino. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
“Swagdino” was a fan favorite in Baltimore, mostly thanks to a certain walk-off RBI single that I’m sure you all remember quite well. I’ll get into that later.
Three years ago today, the Orioles traded Andino to the Seattle Mariners for outfielder Trayvon Robinson, who some regarded as “Xavier Avery with power.” Robinson was designated for assignment before the following season started.
Woof.
Andino never put up huge statistics and, quite honestly, he wasn’t that great of a ballplayer, which explains why he’s now in an independent league. He hit .239 with 16 HR (eight of those against NYY/BOS) over his four seasons in Baltimore, accounting for a total of 2.9 WAR. But he was one of those guys everybody just enjoyed having on their team.
Since there isn’t much to talk about in the offseason other than Hot Stove speculation and “How Many More Days Until Spring Training?” chatter, I decided I want to look back at Andino’s time in Baltimore and highlight my favorite Robert Andino moments.
10. Andino starts game-ending double play.
I know, I know, not the most exciting highlight. This, however, was not just any game-ending double play. It came in a September game against the Yankees in which the Orioles had an opportunity to tie the Evil Empire for first place in the American League East. The Yankees had the tying run on third with one out and Mark Teixeira pulled a grounder to Andino:
Okay, yeah, Teixeira was safe. The game shouldn’t have ended – and it wouldn’t have in the replay era – but it made the list of my favorite Andino moments because it ended like this:
9. Andino catches A-Rod liner, doubles up Derek Jeter.
This play came in the first inning of Game 2 of the 2012 ALDS. With runners on first and second with nobody out, Alex Rodriguez hit a sinking line drive up the middle. Andino lunged to his right to make a nice catch and, while lying on his belly, flipped the ball to Hardy at second base to retire Jeter, who thought the ball hit the ground and ran to third base. The play in and of itself was nothing spectacular but any play where both A-Rod and Jeter are put out is a good play in my book:
8. Andino and Adam Jones put birds on things.
In this video filmed by the MLB Fan Cave (miss ya, old friend), Andino and Jones show their all-too-familiar funny side. They walk around New York City and literally put birds on things:
7. Andino makes barehanded catch on foul pop up.
Here, Andino appears to overrun a Justin Morneau pop up but is still able to make the catch as he sticks out his bare hand to reel in the out. Odd and impressive play:
6. Andino homers into O’s bullpen to extend lead. On a magical night in Birdland in which the team immortalized Cal Ripken with his very own statue, Andino extended the Orioles’ lead over the Yankees with this solo shot:
5. Andino does his best Manny Machado impression.
In a scoreless game in the 8th inning, the Rays’ Elliot Johnson tried to start things off with a bunt single. Mr. Andino had a different idea:
4. Andino homers in the 9th to break a tie.
After Pedro Strop blew a three-run lead in the bottom of the 8th, Robert Andino came to the rescue in the next half inning and put the Orioles back on top for good:
3. Andino hits an inside-the-park 3-run homer with his father in attendance.
September 26, 2011 was a special night for Robert Andino because it was the first time his father saw him play a professional baseball game. It became even more special in the 6th inning, when Andino became the first Oriole to hit an inside-the-park HR at Camden Yards. The play proved to be the difference in the O’s 6-3 win:
2. Andino clears the bases with a double off Papelbon.
The first big blow that launched the Curse of the Andino came a week before the end of the 2011 season when Andino’s bases-clearing double put the Orioles ahead of the Red Sox, 7-5 in the 8th inning. Andino laced Jonathan Papelbon’s 3-2 delivery down the first base line, much to the dismay of the 37,000 fans at Fenway Park:
1. No introduction necessary:
Well, there you have it. That’s it for my stroll down Memory Lane. Swagdino will always hold a special place in my heart.
When I saw him in August, I had the chance to chat with him for a few minutes. I told him that I needed some swag back in my life and he got a good chuckle out of that. He was nice enough to sign a few autographs for me and snap a couple pictures.
I told him that Baltimore missed him. He cracked a grin and said, “I miss it, too, man. I miss it, too.”
