Player Spotlight - Al Bumbry

Snippets from Al Bumbry's career, as presented on his baseball cards over the years:

- Born in 1947 in Fredericksburg, VA.

- Signed by the Orioles as their 11th round choice in June 1968 amateur draft

- Earned a Bronze Star as a platoon leader in Vietnam

- Won International League batting title in 1972, hitting .345 for Rochester

- Named AL Rookie of the Year in 1973 when he hit .337 in 110 games, tied for the league lead in triples with 11

- Had three triples in one game on September 22, 1973 to tie major league record

- Had tough year in 1974, with his batting average dropping to .233 and only appearing in 94 games

- Off-season between 1974 and 1975, he lights up the Venezuelan league, leading the league in batting and giving Orioles hope he will return to the production of his stellar rookie season. Some of the things that led to Bumbry's sophomore slump included the opposing outfielders playing him deeper to take away extra-base hits, the infielders playing shallower to take away the "leg" hits, pitchers no longer throwing him the pitches he got hits on to LF in his rookie season, and by his estimates of all the off-speed pitches thrown inside to him in '74, 80 percent were out of the strike zone and he still swung at them.

- Hit .317 in 133 games in 1977

- Missed nearly the entire 1978 season after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle on May 12

- Hit .285 with 37 stolen bases in 1979, playing pivotal role in Orioles' AL pennant season. Led ALCS with 5 runs and hit the ALCS's only triple.

- Led the Orioles in hitting in 1980, with .318 average. Set club records for hits (205), singles (158). Finished 5th in stolen bases in AL with 44. He reached career highs in RBI (53), runs (118), hits and SBs. (He was the first Oriole to have 200 hits ina season.

- Celebrated 35th birthday with four hits in Boston on April 21, 1982

- Alternated in CF in 1983, but showed he was fully recovered from leg problems that hampered him in 1982

- Orioles all-time stolen base leader (according to 1985 Donruss card), with 252.

- Released by the Orioles after the 1984 season. Bumbry played all but 68 games of his career with the Orioles. After signing with the Padres in 1985, Bumbry, along with Jim Palmer, were paid a tribute by the O's by being featured on the club's 1985 media guide.

- Elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame in 1987

Post-career Highlights

Bumbry one of the instructors at Orioles Youth Clinic (from MLB.com article on May 31, 2008)

Carroll Parka, little over a mile away from Oriole Park at Camden Yards, on Saturday morning for the Orioles Youth Clinic. Bynum, Ramon Hernandez and Luis Hernandez were joined by former Orioles Al Bumbry, Curt Motton, Bill Swaggerty and first-base coach John Shelby, each of whom spent time teaching the game to approximately 200 children from the Baltimore area.

Children from the Orioles-sponsored Reviving Baseball in the Inner City Program (RBI) and Baltimore City youth leagues, including those from the City's Department of Recreation and Parks, were among those at the clinic. They received instruction on four separate fields, where the young players were split into age groups and taught hitting, fielding, baserunning and pitching.

Don Salamone, who heads recreation baseball programs for the City's Department of Recreation and Parks, said there's definitely more meaning when an Orioles player says something to a child than a Little League coach.

Bumbry has always loved working with kids. He's a very good communicator and teacher who has little trouble establishing a rapport with children. The former American League Rookie of the Year said he knows that he can add to the things that coaches aren't able to show the children.

"I enjoy working with kids because I know there's a lot I can teach them," Bumbry said. "And they need instruction. So any time I get a chance to work with kids, I'm happy to do that."

Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com.