For the last several years, when the Orioles are leading in the late innings, we fans have felt pretty good. The bullpen has, for the most part, been rock-solid, and done their part to secure an O’s W more often than not. I got to know some of those guys in the bullpen during my days on the Tarp Crew. As I said previously, the bullpen job was my favorite, and that was because of all of the fun and laughs that I had during my time there.
I remember back in 2011, the first day I walked into the bullpen and got to see all the relievers walk up the stairs and past me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit star-struck: I got to see Koji Uehara, Jim Johnson, and vintage Kevin Gregg with his glasses. It was weird seeing these same guys every night on MASN, but they were right there in walking distance as we sat close by for four and half innings.
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However, during my time I developed a special relationship with the bullpen. It was around May of 2011 when the bullpen guys called me over to talk to them. I was nervous just walking over, but I stood there and remember reliever Jeremy Accardo talking to me and noticing how tall I was.
“You should be our joke man,” he said. “We need to change the mood around here.” And that role stuck, as each day I would be sure to make my way to the pen, bringing coffee if I needed an excuse. I told the players jokes, and even got into a bit of trouble for it, but I loved making MLB baseball players laugh over a simple adult joke.
The other thing I enjoyed about it was how friendly they were to the Tarp Crew in general. They talked to each of us, and wanted to know who we were. They would walk by us near our Grounds Crew area to go to the bullpen, and fist bump us all as they walked up. We also got involved in their special chant if someone scored a run, and they wanted everyone involved. If anyone on the Tarp Crew ran those vintage jacket runs, they always cheered for us when we came back. It was that special bond with them that reminds me of those great days working in the bullpen.
Back to Accardo for a moment – he is still one of my favorite Orioles players from my first year on the Tarp Crew. He would always talk to me about various things, check on how school was going for me, etc. I even helped with a prank on former pitching coach Rick Adair, as Accardo told me to poke holes in a small coffee cup so it would surprise that person that went for a drink and Adair was the unlucky recipient. Adair would eventually give me a bad look, but he laughed it off. Accardo was a very cool guy, and I remember my next season when he returned to Baltimore with the Cleveland Indians and I got to see him again and he still remembered who I was. Accardo was a class act, and I wish him the best.
Jim Johnson, the former Orioles closer, was another person that I remember fondly from my days. It was a small world, as he had known my great-uncle and aunt in New York, so we had that connection. He was the leader of the bullpen, and he even encouraged me to tell jokes to get a rally for the O’s when they were at the plate. On my last day of working at OPACY, he told me to run as hard as I could and got the entire bullpen to clap for me as he walked up the stairs to the bullpen. JJ is a great man, and I was saddened to hear of his trade last season, because when the song “The Pretender” played, I loved watching him leave the bullpen.
Two other people who I would like to mention are Rudy Arias, one of the bullpen coaches, and Ronnie Deck, the former bullpen catcher. Every day I would work in the bullpen, they would always talk to us about the weather or random things, and they were really cool. Rudy was hilarious; he would always joke around and try to get me to laugh. Ronnie would always joke with us about his beloved Dallas Cowboys. They were great guys, and I just remember Ronnie always telling me to look out for the girls on campus when I went back to school.
I could recount hundreds of stories of these great guys in the bullpen. From Tommy Hunter, the most outgoing guy in the bullpen, to Pedro Strop to Dylan Bundy (for a month) to Francisco Rodriguez to the great Darren O’Day, I have had the pleasure of meeting these athletes and not only getting to see them throw straight fastballs in the bullpen, but befriending them in a small way. These guys were always so great, and I’ll never forget them.
Why do I write about some random relievers that go into a game for an inning or two? They really opened my eyes to a new definition of what a professional athlete is. You regularly hear bad stories about athletes that paint them in a negative light, but I say these Orioles can be really friendly people. They aren’t the shutdown athletes that won’t talk to you or not acknowledge your existence; they truly care about the fans of the Orioles and the city of Baltimore. They are the guys that you can trust when the game is in their hands.
