He likes to say he was the Orioles’ number 8 before Cal Ripken.  Like Cal, he wore the number with pride and served the Orioles’ organization well for many years.

But the news came out a little over a week ago.  The Orioles would not bring Andy Etchebarren back to manage in their minor leagues.  He was an O’s player or coach for 27 seasons.  He wanted to retire an Oriole, but the club was moving in another direction, as they say.

During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, I was the Aberdeen IronBirds play-by-play broadcaster.  I have had many fun times in my broadcasting career, but those two seasons rank right up there.  One of the biggest reasons for that was working with our manager - Andy Etchebarren.

Even though he is a man in his 60’s, he could easily relate to the young IronBirds.  He had every players’ respect.  I can remember him working hard to improve a talented young OF named Nolan Reimold and telling me how excited I would be when I saw this young lefty we had take the mound, in Garrett Olson.

For three seasons at Aberdeen, the Orioles trusted Etch to work with some of their best young prospects.  He could work them hard, but also knew when to back off.  He took pride in helping any player improve, even those that he knew had no shot at the majors.

I would meet with him every day during those seasons and I looked forward to those meetings.   We would talk mostly baseball, but not always, Etch could talk on many topics.  I think he grew to enjoy our daily visits as much as I did.  He was perfect for a radio guy.  He gave you great insight to the players and his strategy but would never violate his bosses’ confidence and give you info that was confidential.

He loved the O’s and had a good memory of games from his days as an O’s catcher.  One time in the dugout we were talking about the 1969 World Series.  With each word, he became more agitated.   I finally said, “your still ticked off over that Series” and he said “damn right I am.”

Some media members have mentioned to me that maybe the O’s need to induct Etch into the club’s Hall of Fame.  I think that honor is long overdue.  He was a catcher on four pennant-winning teams as a player and his contributions as a coach are too numerous to calculate.

Etch never sought the limelight or any attention.  He just worked hard every day and night for the team he loved.  I respect the O’s decision.  But I will miss not seeing Etch in an O’s uniform.

Etch, thanks for everything, you wore that number 8 very, very well.

Posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 12:58 pm.
Categories: Orioles, MLB.
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