Showalter reflects on his time with Oates (O's down 5-1)

The celebration of the 25th anniversary of Camden Yards carries a sad note due to the absence of former manager Johnny Oates, who died on Christmas Eve 2004 at 58, more than three years after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. Doctors had given him about a year to live.

Various players have expressed their love and admiration for him.

"I owe my career to him," Anderson said. "I was struggling at Memorial Stadium the first four years and he was a great manager, a great man. I'm forever indebted to John. Without him, I wouldn't have had the career that I did."

"He was a players' manager and so it was great to have him around," said former infielder Tim Hulett. "For the Hulett family, Baltimore will always have a special place in our hearts and our lives."

Oates managed Buck Showalter in the minors and they became close over the years. Showalter wears No. 26 to honor his friend and mentor.

They would become managerial adversaries in later years. Their friendship never got in the way, but it withstood their competitive natures.

"You would have thought that he never thought anything of me," Showalter said with a smile.

"In 1982, John was my manager in Nashville and won the Southern League championship," Showalter said. "He said later, 'It's all relevant, whether you win a Little League championship or ... And I remember some of the things John said over the course of the year. I could stay here for hours talking about it.

"We had a night here where he thought our starting pitcher was doing something illegal to the ball and the confrontation we had, you'd never think we had any feelings for each other. And didn't at that time. I don't know what made John think ... I better stop. What's the statute of limitations?

"That might be in the book. That would be a whole chapter."

Catcher Chris Hoiles broke his right wrist that night, on June 21, 1992, after being hit by a Tim Leary pitch and the Orioles activated 42-year-old Rick Dempsey, who was serving as an unofficial coach/instructor after the club chose Jeff Tackett as the backup.

The Orioles lost to Showalter's Yankees 8-2 and Oates accused Leary of doctoring the baseball. The Orioles played the game under protest.

Hoiles noted how Leary's pitches seemed to be moving twice as much as normal, and Oates added, "In my opinion, he got hit by an illegal pitch, a pitch you can't control. That's why spitballs were outlawed, because of the excessive movement."

"Johnny was so competitive," Showalter said earlier today. "Internalized so many things. But what I remember was his funeral was like a celebration of Johnny's life. I remember saying, 'When my time comes I hope it's like that.' His kids got to see how many people John had impacted. It was an honor. I can't tell you how much looking back on it meant, playing for a guy like him. So ethical, moral. Competitive, but always wanted to do the right thing.

"He'd be the first to tell you he stepped on his tail a little bit along life's journey, like we all do, but John was good people. He didn't have to go back and apologize to many people."

Showalter remembers the day that Oates had to send him to Triple-A camp. It pained the manager more than the player.

"I was the first guy in the locker room and I knew he had to send me down and he kept walking around the locker room," Showalter recalled. "I said, 'John, do you want to get this over with?' I said, 'John, it's fine.'"

Oates also kept Showalter in camp an extra day one spring just so he could collect his $500 incentive bonus.

"That was big back then," Showalter said, who used the money to buy a microwave.

Anderson won the Home Run Derby tonight, defeating Sam Horn 5-4 in the finals.

A ball in the seats counted as three points and a ball beyond the orange rope 300 feet from home plate counted as one. Horn had eight points in the first round and Anderson had six.

Hoiles (four), Mike Deveraux (one) and Joe Orsulak (none) were eliminated. Hoiles put a ball into the left field seats with his final swing.

Horn drove one ball onto the flag court in right field and another ball beside it, but he still hasn't hit the warehouse.

Update: Mike Trout hit a 429-foot home run in the first inning to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Update II: The Orioles scored the tying run in the bottom of the first on Tim Beckham's leadoff double, Manny Machado's infield hit and a wild pitch from JC Ramirez.

Luis Valbuena led off the top of the second with a home run and the Angels reclaimed the lead.

Update II: Trout hit another long home run in the third inning to give the Angels a 3-1 lead.

Update III: Valbuena homered again in the fourth, his two-run shot giving the Angels a 5-1 lead. The Orioles rotation has allowed nine home runs in 13 innings.