(Fred) Valentine’s day with the Orioles

With Valentine’s Day fresh past and Spring Training hard upon us, who better to revisit than former Orioles outfielder Fred Valentine?

A star shortstop at Memphis’ Booker T. Washington High School, Valentine was signed by the Orioles out of Tennessee State University in 1956. After three seasons in the minors, Valentine earned a call-up in the last month of the1959 season.

He made an impression almost immedi- ately — although perhaps not the greatest impression ever.

In an early game, looking to show off the speed that attracted the Orioles in the first place — “It is his talents as a base stealer that have intrigued Baltimore club officials almost as much as his power-hitting potential,” The Sun’s Lou Hatter wrote — Valentine took off after crushing a ball to the right-centerfield wall. Running for all he was worth, the rookie outfielder slid into third base with his first major-league triple.

Only problem was, as Valentine told Pete Kerzel of masnsports.com in 2012, lumbering catcher Gus Triandos had been on first base. WhenValentine got up off the ground and looked back, Triandos was standing on second base. Valentine was called out and credited with only a single.

“I learned something today,” manager Paul Richards told Valentine. “As long as you play for me, I’ll never put you behind Gus Triandos in the lineup.”

Valentine, 84 and living in Washington, D.C., laughs heartily at the memory, “Gus, you know, he wasn’t a speed demon.”