Sugar Bear
It didn't get much attention among the baseball transactions, but former Orioles catcher/third baseman Floyd Rayford has joined the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings' coaching staff after serving as hitting coach last season at Double-A New Britain.
Rayford spent parts of six seasons with the Orioles, but they were the wrong ones. His major league debut came in 1980, one year after they won the AL pennant. And the Orioles traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1983, their last championship season.
Rayford, nicknamed "Sugar Bear" for the cereal character (he also was called "Honey Bear"), still made a contribution in '83. The Orioles obtained a player-to-be-named later from the Cardinals who turned out to be Tito Landrum, whose home run in the ALCS propelled them into the Series.
The Orioles purchased Rayford's contract from the Cardinals in 1984, but he never made it back to the majors after '87. They first acquired him from the California Angels in 1980 for outfielder Larry Harlow.
You're a real fan if you remember that trade.
One more note on Rayford: He was the last player to bump Cal Ripken from the lineup before the Iron Man began his consecutive-games streak in 1982. Rayford started at third base in the second game of a doubleheader.
Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg is making his second start today for the AFL's Phoenix Desert Dogs.
Brandon Snyder (.481) is the only Orioles farmhand in the Phoenix lineup, batting third and serving as the designated hitter. I guess he isn't too winded from circling the bases yesterday.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
I think it was Honey Bear. I was a big Sugar Smacks fan though... back in the day.
Either way, I wish Mr. Rayford great things (unless his team is playing an Orioles affiliate). He takes me back to the good old days.
Roch on.
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I've heard him referred as both. In a Sun interview with him earlier this year, he was referred to as Sugar Bear. - Roch
TMZ has obtained the frantic 911 call made by the wife of ESPN analyst/former Mets general manager Steve Phillips, when she discovered her husband's 22-year-old ex-mistress in the family's driveway
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911 Call in ESPN Analyst Case
According to police, Marni Phillips returned to her Connecticut home on August 19 and discovered Brooke Hundley -- an ESPN production assistant who worked with her husband -- dropping off a letter in which she confessed to having an affair with Steve.
In the call, Marni tells the dispatcher "I have a crazy woman who is involved with my husband and she's come to my house to harm me and my children."
Brooke Hundley, Marni later told police that Brooke freaked out when she saw Marni, and "got in her car, put it in reverse and smashed the rear end of her vehicle into the stone column ... cut across our grass, avoiding the driveway completely, driving erratically over rocks and mulch beds to maneuver her vehicle down our hill."
Phillips declined to press charges against Hundley -- but released a statement saying he was taking an "extended leave of absence."
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/page/2/#ixzz0UhDB8MLU
Isn't an affair the main reason Phillips lost his job as GM of the Mets? Also, check out the pics of this woman he is having the affair with ,ESPN must be so proud. Roch, my Redskins are searching for linemen, do you know how I could reach ESPN & see if she is still a FA?
And Larry Harlow was a guy who hit all of his Oriole career home runs in one season!
Man, first H. Reynolds now Phillips.... ESPN must be a real mess to work in if you are a woman. You would think Phillips would have learned his lesson, especially after what happened with Reynolds , but I guess this one was consensual... I can almost picture Peter Gammons chasing some overweight 23 yr old around the parking lot in their next commercial.
More like Brooke Hun-gry... I guess Phillips likes it fat and over the plate... Reached for comment, Harold Reynolds said, "Man, I wouldn't even hug that."... Marni Phillips said the worst part was the girl actually wanted to stay for dinner...
Roch,
For those overly critical fans, I wanted to point out that even top draft pick Strasburg can have a less than stellar outing.
Also; I finally looked up Grant Desme from the Phoenix roster. The guy is keeping pace with Bell and Snyder. Turns out he's 23 years old and has only reached A+. I seem to remember that several folks have been critical of Brandon Waring because he's "too old" for his professional level.
Some guys can be late bloomers. I'll bet the Orioles would like to have a particular late bloomer back in the fold. Hint...he's going to play in the World Series for Philadelphia.
Jim Carter
Floyd put together a nice season in 1985, hitting over .300 with 18 homers in under 400 ABs. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to follow up that season in the following years.
Stinky, Phillips apparently is what we used to call a chubby chaser...
Brian said:
Man, first H. Reynolds now Phillips.... ESPN must be a real mess to work in if you are a woman. You would think Phillips would have learned his lesson, especially after what happened with Reynolds , but I guess this one was consensual... I can almost picture Peter Gammons chasing some overweight 23 yr old around the parking lot in their next commercial.
October 22, 2009 4:01 PM
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Guess ESPN can hire Letterman if he gets canned. He'd fit right in.
Loved Floyd. As long as he was in the bigs, chubby beer-league softball guys still had a shot. Also heard him called "Fat Floyd".