Everyone wanted Ryan Hendricks to be a catcher, just like his old man, but Ryan didn't want to catch so he quit baseball and took up football. It didn't take him long to return to his first love, but he wasn't about to return as a catcher.

Ryan, son of longtime Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, is a left-handed-hitting first baseman now, talented enough for the Orioles to choose him in the 39th round of baseball's free-agent draft.

The Orioles drafted him out of St. Andrews, a North Carolina college he graduated from in May.

Elrod attended the May 6 graduation, expecting to miss a game for the first time in his 26 years with the Orioles, but the Orioles were rained out that day, preserving his streak.

Ryan's favorite player?

"Eddie Murray," Ryan said. "He's my mentor, my best friend, my favorite player. He's always been there for me and we still talk all the time."