Chris Hoiles goesinto the Orioles? Hall of Fame this weekend. Hoiles, a catcher whose name is on a very short list of players with lengthy careers who only played for the Orioles, hit 151 home runs in a Baltimore uniform ? an average of 27 homers every 162 games ? and retired at the young age of 33 in 1998.
Chris was acquired from Detroit in the Fred Lynn trade on Aug. 31, 1988. He was a minor leaguer at the time, and while his entry in the baseball record book shows his major league debut came on April 25, 1989, in an 8-1 Orioles victory over the Angels in Anaheim, his first stop in Baltimore came three weeks earlier, though it wasn?t the batter?s box at Memorial Stadium. It was my driveway.
You may recall that the Orioles? regular catcher back then was Mickey Tettleton, and Bob Melvin was his backup. My memory is a little foggy on this part of it, but due to either an injury or some kind of infection, there was a possibility that the Mick would start the season on the DL.
To protect themselves, the Orioles sent catching prospect Hoiles to Baltimore to stand by, just in case.
For whatever reason, Hoiles did not fly into town with the club. Instead, he was put on a commercial flight that my wife, Diane, and I were on, coming back to Baltimore at the end of spring training. I had arranged for a friend, Gali Sanchez, a local musician who had played Latin percussion with Carlos Santana, among others, to pick us up at BWI and drive us home.
While we awaited our luggage, Gali spied a young man with an Orioles? suitcase looking somewhat forlorn.
He strode over, introduced himself and the next thing you knew, Chris Hoiles was joining us in Gali?s Honda Prelude for the ride home.
It was a small car with a teeny trunk, to be certain, and each of us with a fairly major suitcase. Chris and Diane sat in the backseat with luggage on their laps, and I sat in the front, also underneath baggage.
Chris was headed for Cross Keys, where the ballclub had reserved him a room, so my house would be the first stop.
When we arrived, we all got out to stretch and unload. We exchanged a few pleasantries with Chris, wished him luck and went inside. Chris ended up not actually being added to the roster until a few weeks later.
He only played six games for the Orioles that season, and just 23 in 1990, but arrived to stay in 1991.
Some years later, Diane and I ended up at a banquet where we were seated at a table with Chris and his wife. Chris introduced us, saying, “Phil?s house was my first stop in Baltimore.”
Always nice to be remembered, Chris. Congratulations. Come back when you can stay a while.
Phil Wood has covered sports in the Washington-Baltimore market for more than 30 years. You can reach him at [email protected].
