1996 Fleer Ultra #303 Mike Devereaux (Trading Card Database)
It’s March 19, 1996, and it’s a quiet day at O’s camp without an exhibition game. With Opening Day rapidly approaching, most of the Orioles’ starting lineup is settling into place. The outfield — specifically left field — is the only place where there is any intrigue. Brady Anderson is locked into centerfield, and Bobby Bonilla will start in right, but left field could be a mix between former top prospect Jeffrey Hammonds, newly acquired Tony Tarasco, and Mike Devereaux. Devo is a longtime Orioles’ fan favorite who is back after leaving in free agency before the 1995 season. In his year away from the team, all he did was become the MVP of the National League Championship Series and win a World Series. Ho hum.
Mike Devereaux was born in April of 1963 in Casper, Wyo. The youngest of four children, Mike and his two older brothers loved baseball. “When I was 13, 14, and 15, I was in Babe Ruth and I realized that I loved the game more than anything else,” he remembered. “I couldn’t wait to go to school and play afterwards.”
While he loved baseball more than anything, his high school in Casper loved not fielding a team more. But this didn’t stop Devereaux. He played on the local American Legion team in the summers, and after graduation, joined his older brother Ron at Mesa Community College in Arizona. After two years there, he got a scholarship with college baseball power Arizona State University, where he spent two years playing in the same outfield as Barry Bonds.
His Sun Devils career got off to an inauspicious start on an eventful flight to Hawaii. ASU pitcher Randy Rector — bearing the name and the demeanor of someone who would have harassed civil rights marchers a generation earlier — set his sights on his new teammate. As Jeff Pearlman described in a book about Bonds:
On the seven-hour flight an ugly exchange took place when Rector -- who earlier in the season had made an ill-advised comment about placing bombs in the lockers of black teammates -- referred to black outfielder Mike Devereaux as a "n-----." The mild-mannered Devereaux barked back at Rector, and shoves were exchanged. "That was a total misunderstanding," says Rector. "Mike and I were friends. I was just joking around. I liked almost all of the colored guys on the team."
Despite the toxicity of the clubhouse, Devereaux played well in his two years at ASU and was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 5th round of the 1985 draft. He made his debut in LA two years later and struggled in parts of two seasons with the Dodgers.
Just before the 1989 season, the Orioles acquired Devo in exchange for pitcher Mike Morgan. For the next six seasons, he was a regular presence in the O’s outfield, earning a reputation for timely hits and spectacular plays in centerfield.
He peaked in 1991 and 1992, slugging 43 homers across the two seasons and finishing 7th in American League MVP voting in 1992. But he declined quickly after that, and had a horrendous year in the strike-shortened 1994 season, hitting just .203 with a woeful .256 on base percentage.
After that season, he signed with the White Sox and bounced back in a big way. He hit .306 with 10 homers and was shipped to Atlanta at the trade deadline to bolster their chase for the pennant. In the playoffs that year, he showed the world his clutch hitting. In Game 1 against Cincinnati — managed by new O’s manager Davey Johnson — Devereaux hit what would be a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning. He followed that up in Game 4 with the biggest swing of his career:
That three-run home run would earn him NLCS MVP. Atlanta would go on to win the World Series.
After the playoffs, he became a free agent again, and decided he wanted to help take the Orioles to similar heights.
“I feel great,” he said when he signed. “I’ve always liked Baltimore and they’ve got a great ballclub. They definitely have the ability to go all the way, so I'm very happy to be on the team.”
It’s great to have Devo back. He was one of my favorite players growing up. He won’t be an everyday player, but having his clutch bat, steady defense, and veteran presence alongside the youth of Hammonds and Tarasco should make for a solid group at the bottom of the order.
Devo knows what it feels like to win it all. He came to Baltimore because he thinks he can get another ring here. Here’s hoping he’s right.
Top of the Charts
The top song on the charts the week of March 19, 1996, is Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me.” It’s the theme song from the movie “Up Close & Personal” which came out a couple weeks ago and topped the box office for a week. It is to this point Dion’s top song attached to a movie. After such success, do you think she’ll do another song for a movie one day?
Fun in the Sun
Welcome to a recurring segment where I find fun things in today’s (in 1996) Baltimore Sun!
I thought this ad was helpful, because anyone interested in the iconic Matt LeBlanc joint, “Ed,” about a monkey playing baseball, would also want to know where and when to watch the Academy Awards.
The Baltimore Sun, p. 2E, March 19, 1996