More Random Musings

Two rambling posts in one month...I must be struggling for content....

 

Topps recently released the design for next year's base set. 

 

 

My first thing I thought of was a wrench, so I think I'm going to refer this as "the wrench set". Feel free to use that term and help it catch on. ;)

 

 

 

Other than that, it's not horrible. Borders are always good, readable names are very good, and a baseball on a baseball card is just as the sports card gods intended.  It's not the best design they've done recently, but easily the best in a few years.

 

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If you aren't signed up to the Baseball Hall Of Fame mailing list, you're missing out on some cool stuff. Recently I learned of one the most improbable individual games in history. Who else but Rickey Henderson could score 4 runs and steal 5 bases in a game, all without getting an official at-bat? 

 

 

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As someone who roots for a team named after colorful footwear, I really can't have a strong opinion about what other teams want to call themselves. I'll admit I first thought Guardians was an odd choice for Cleveland's new name, but that was before I read about the landmarks the name is based on. I'm cool with it, but I can't help but think the team almost has to be built on pitching and defense now.

 

 

I also can't help but think Disney/Marvel had a hand in this. Besides the obvious Guardians Of The Galaxy tie-in (Applause to those who have suggested Rocket and Groot as team mascots by the way), that logo reminds me of Thor's helmet. Personally, I will be disappointed if they don't play this clip on the giant scoreboard every time someone makes a leaping grab:

 

 

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Blog Bat-A-Round idea: Rename every team. It's harder than you'd think. I tried and here's what I came up with:

AL EAST

Baltimore Chops

Boston Splinters

New York Babes

Tampa Bay Beaches

Toronto Buffaloes

AL CENTRAL

Chicago Deep Dish

Cleveland Rocks

Detroit Motors

Kansas City Ribs

Minnesota Pucketts

AL WEST

Houston Bangers (couldn't resist!)

Los Angeles Trouts

Oakland Redwoods

Seattle Frappachinos

Texas Texans

NL EAST

Atlanta Hammers

Miami Sound Machine

New York Cabbies

Philadelphia Cheesesteaks

Washington Monuments

 

NL CENTRAL

Chicago Banks

Cincinati Roses

Milwaukee Fonzies

Pittsburgh Yinzers

St Louis Arches

NL WEST

Arizona Cacti

Colorado Oysters

Los Angeles Jackies

San Diego Admirals

San Francisco Trolleys

Yeah, lots of bad puns and nicknames based off of team legends. Give it a go, if nothing else it should be good for some laughs. Honestly, I think if Atlanta ever feels like they have to change the Braves name, Hammers would be an awesome choice.

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Last minute edit! - Kyle Schwarber, welcome to the Red Sox! Not sure where he's going to play, but it's a good start and I hope there will be more deals before today's deadline!

Have a good weekend everyone! Mine will be busy. I have my parents coming in for my daughter's First Communion, and then I've taken next week off from work so I can do a bunch of maintenance projects around the house.

Repack Haiku #215 (Tim Jones)

 Citadel alum

Groomed as Ozzie's replacement 

That never happened

 

 

1989 Donruss The Rookies # 28 Tim Jones

Hall of Famer Smith's reign lasted well after Jones' career ended. It couldn't have been an easy time being a shortstop in the Cardinals system back in the 80's...

Insert Madness Haul

I had an opportunity to participate in a fun group break. Bill from Death Stare Cards had purchased a lot of 1700 insert cards, and was offering up teams for $15 each. I figured most of those inserts would be from before 2016, when I really started to get back into collecting. Therefore it was likely that I wouldn't have most of those cards in my collection already. Turns out I was right - out of the 59 cards I received, only 8 were cards I already had. Not a bad ratio!

 

 

This stack contains cards from 36 different insert sets. Rather than show off every card, I picked my 10 favorite insert sets and list them here.

10. 2012 Topps - Golden Moments

Simple in design and concept, this set seems like it was designed to be autographed. Lots of open space for a signature!

9. 2009 Topps Updates & Highlights - Legends Of The Game

I was ready to have this set listed higher up on the list, but then I looked at the set as a whole - a 25 cards set featuring legends of the game, and multiple people are listed twice. You can't come up with 25 Legends? The final straw was seeing Wade Boggs listed twice, but neither as a Red Sox player! I like the look of the card, but the checklist is weak.

8. 2010 Topps - Peak Performance

I'm not a fan of the generic background, but red ribbons work well. I like the write up on the back more.

7. 2013 Topps Opening Day - Ballpark Fun

I always enjoy cards that show the fun of the game outside of the game itself. 

6. 2003 Fleer Tradition - Milestones

 Career milestones are always cool, and how could I not appreciate another Rickey with the Red Sox?

5. 2008 Topps - Dick Perez Wal-Mart

I'm pretty sure this is what Topps Gallery wishes it was. Who would have thought Dick Perez's Donruss Diamond Kings would have such a lasting impact on the hobby?

4. 2009 Topps - Ring Of Honor

Any set focused on the World Series is going to be Yankee-heavy, but this insert set at least spreads the wealth a little. It could have focused more on more than just 18 franchises, but with 15 Red Sox cards in the set, I can't complain.

3. 2006 Topps - Trading Places

This is a fun and interesting way to show players who have switched teams.

2. 2014 Topps Opening Day - Fired Up

You want your team to have guys who are passionate about the game and not afraid to display emotion on the field. This insert set thankfully doesn't overdo it on the fire graphics (although I completely missed the words in the flames upon first viewing).

1. 1991 Fleer - Pro-Visions

I've always loved these Fleer inserts, and this Greenwell card in particular is one of my all-time favorites. I have a few copies of it, and yet I don't mind at all getting one more. They are fun and artistic - basically Topps70 without the variety of artists. Nothing makes opposing left fielders run quite like the Green Monster!

Thanks for the cards, Bill!

Not To Brag, But I Also Won The Home Run Derby

The Polar Bear ain't got nothing on me!

Sure, it was an impressive display of power as Pete Alonso went on to win this year's Home Run Derby. I guess I have to tip my hat in appreciation of his back-to-back wins. I'm not saying he didn't do great things, because he did.

But could Alonso have predicted that he would win? (Probably, those athletes are a rather confident lot.)

OK, but could he have guessed the exact number of home runs he would hit during the event? (Yeah, neither could I. But I came close!)

So close in fact that I was named the winner of a small little game played over at the TCDB. One of the members, Chris (aka Speks) gave away some cards to whoever came closest to predicting the winner and number of home runs hit. I was one of a few to correctly state Alonso would win, and my guess of 65 taters was just 9 off of his actual total of 74. 

My prize was a set of cards depicting each of this year's Derby participants:

 

 

Favorite Card: Ironically, most of these cards show the player post-swing tracking a ball! It's a tough call, but I'll go with Ohtani and Stadium Club's photographic excellence.

Thanks for the cards and the fun contest Chris!

Repack Haiku #214 (Bill Madlock)

Only guy to win

Multiple batting titles

With more than one team

 

1987 Topps Traded #71T Bill Madlock

 

He led the league in batting average twice with the Cubs and another two times with the Pirates.

Time Travel Trading Update #55

2021 has bee a good year so far for the Time Travel Trading Project. Since January's update, I've made 24 trades, an average of 4.8 trades a month. This past month was no different - I have 7 more trades to show off today. That's a lot of trades, and a lot of cards! Let's see what new additions have joined us:

 

Batting lead-off, we have our monthly Time Travel Trade from  Bo (Baseball Cards Come To Life).  He snagged a few nice cards, and in return a got a trio of Canadian goodies plus a vintage All-Star!

Next up comes Ben, who became my 100th trade on the TCDB! He found some cards he liked, and sent some awesome cards in return, including a few cards from one of the greatest TV shows from the 80s! (Extra kudos for including a time travel themed card - I'm not that far from 1885 either!)

Another new trade partner, blog reader Alan, is working on the 1974 set and picked up some cards he needed. These 70's cards are what he sent back:

Batting clean-up, we have another great trade from Brendan (The View From The Third Floor). He took a couple of Hall of Fame pitchers, and sent back three times as many cards:

(Unless someone takes these basketball cards off my hands, I'm convinced Brendan will eventually send me half of the set...)

 

My next trade comes courtesy of Jim (Cards As I See Them). It's a rare 50's card for 50's card swap! Gotta love that cartoon, even if the quiz question is pretty easy!

 

Daniel (It's Like Having My Own Card Shop) recently celebrated his 12th anniversary of blogging, and mentioned how close he was to completing the 1971 Topps set. I noticed that one of the remaining cards he needed was in the trade stack, and let him know that it was available. Daniel sent a fantastic card in return:

Finally, we have the esteemed Greg (Night Owl Cards), who found a few cards to his liking.  (Greg, did you notice even more 80's O-Pee-Chee in this post? Just thought I'd mention...) Here are the cards Greg sent back:

27 new cards for your trading pleasure! As always, any card in the stack is available for an older card. Just comment below or contact me on the TCDB (Member ID: Kep75) 

Thanks for the trade, guys!

 

 

The Time Travel Trade Stack:

 

2020 Sage Hit - Rookie Autographs Black (football)
#A17 Harrison Bryant (AU)

2017-1018 Pocket Schedule
Carolina Hurricanes

2017 Bowman
#12 Trea Turner

 

2010 Bowman - Prospects Black
#BP51 Chase D'Arnaud
#BP56 Rolando Gomez

2010 Bowman Chrome
#13 Brian Roberts
#122 Hanley Ramirez

2010 Bowman Chrome - Prospects
#BCP178 Nathan Adcock
#BCP186 Jhan Marinez

 

2009-10 Panini Season Update - Christmas Cards Materials
#22 Jeff Pendergraph (MEM, SN499)

1998 Score
#68 Scott Rolen

1993 Leaf
#271 Jay Buhner

1993 Classic Draft Picks (basketball)
#33 Will Flemons
#67 Bennie Seltzer

1991 Leaf
#174 Roger Clemens (CL)

 

1991 Stadium Club

#327 Terry Pendleton

#332 Dennis Eckersley 

1991 Upper Deck
#778 Dave Righetti

 

1991 Pacific (football)
#97 Michael Irvin
#166 Sterling Sharpe 

 

1990 Donruss
#712 Wade Boggs (AS, COR, VAR)

1990 Fleer
#271 Roger Clemens

#629 Jose Canseco (POD)

1990 Upper Deck
#626 Frank Viola

1990 Pro Set - Theme Art (football)
#10 Super Bowl X Pittsburgh Steelers / Dallas Cowboys

 

1989 Score
#495 Larry Parrish

 

1989 Topps Back to the Future Part II (non-sport)
#79 Next Stop ... 1885! 

 

1988 Score
#657 Mike Schmidt (HL) 

 

1988 Topps (football)
#233 Eagles Team Leaders - Randall Cunningham (TL)

1987 Topps
#313 Roberto Clemente (TBTC)

 

1986 Topps
#5 Rose Special '75-'78

#5 Rose Special '75-'78
#6 Rose Special '79-'82

#159 Orel Hershiser 
#401 Fernando Valenzuela (Turn Back The Clock)

 

1986 Topps - Glossy All-Stars

#9 Carlton Fisk

#13 Steve Garvey

#21 LaMarr Hoyt 

1986 Topps Major League Leaders Minis
#65 Tony Gwynn

 

1986 Topps (football)
#229 1985 NFL Interception Leaders (Daniel/Lewis/Walls)

 

1985 O-Pee-Chee
#105 Ron Kittle
#176 Buddy Bell
#366 Ron Cey 

1985 Topps
#694 Joe Carter

 

1984 Donruss

#376 Charlie Lea

1984 Fleer

#482 Bill Scherrer (RC)

 

1984 O-Pee-Chee
#83 Richie Zisk
#312 Jorge Orta
#342 Tim Foli  

 

1984 Topps
#728 Tug McGraw

1983 Topps
#70 Steve Carlton

 

1983 Topps (football)

#11 1982 AFC Championship (CCG)

#82 Mark Lee

#109 George Rogers (TL)

#186 John Riggins (TL)

#337 Mark Van Eeghen

1983 Topps The A-Team (non-sport)
#20 Pretty as a Picture!
#49 Heavy Traffic!
#50 Crashing the Gates!
#54 Mad Man!

1982 Donruss
#NNO Checklist 545-653

1982 O-Pee-Chee E.T. The Extraterrestrial (non-sport)
#15 Among Elliott's Toys

1982 Topps
#125 Danny Ainge

#303 Bill Caudill
#399 Pat Zachry  
#462 Dave Chalk
#480 Steve Carlton  
#754 Joe Morgan

 

1982 Topps (football) 

#82 Craig Morton (IA) 

1981 Donruss 
#374 John Candelaria
#383 Jose Cruz

#386 Doc Medich 
#409 Carney Lansford
#420 Tommy Lasorda (MGR)
#421 Charlie Leibrandt (RC)
#427 Leon Durham (RC)
#496 Mickey Rivers
#531 Jerry Koosman
#565 Ken Landreaux

1981 Topps
#65 Scott McGregor

#82 Astros Future Stars (RC)
#98 Clint Hurdle
#121 Larry Harlow
#151 Claudell Washington
#182 Bob Grich
#194 Rod Scurry 

#202 Steve Carlton (RB) 
#250 Ron Guidry
#259 Mets Future Stars
#277 Alfredo Griffin (RC)
#350 J.R. Richard

#354 Mario Soto 
#363 Geoff Zahn
#365 Graig Nettles

#374 Tom Hutton 
#402 NL Championships
#414 John Pacella  
#465 Bill Russell
#477 Luis Gomez
#494 Bob Walk 
#569 Al Williams
#632 Alan Bannister

#645 Rick Reuschel 
#650 Buccky Dent (AS)
#695 Kent Tekulve
#726 Rick Monday

 

1980 Topps 
#90 Manny Trillo
#143 Bruce Bochte
#145 Darrell Evans
#157 Willie Wilson
#325 Dan Driessen  
#406 Paul Molitor

#516 Hector Cruz 
#572 Jerry Morales

#595 Don Money 
#642 Ken Forsch
#655 Tug McGraw

#690 Tommy John

1979 Topps
#25 Steve Carlton
#130 Bob Watson
#214 Boston Red Sox (TC)
#388 Jack Billingham
#465 Reggie Smith

 

1979 Topps (football)

#168 Super Bowl XIII 

1978-79 Topps (basketball)
#21 Steve Hawes

#37 Mike Gale
#46 John Shumate

#52 Aaron James 

#53 John Mengelt

#54 Garfield Heard  
#55 George Johnson
#62 Anthony Roberts

#64 Leon Douglas (RC) 
#66 Lonnie Shelton
#76 Brian Winters

#105 Jim Chones 

#118 Kevin Porter 
#129 Ray Williams (RC)

1978 Topps
#148 Andre Thorton
#373 Jim Willoughby
#385 Tito Fuentes
#424 Boston Red Sox (TC)
#482 Rick Miller
#706 Rookie 1st Baseman (Cage/Cox/Putnam/Revering)

 

1977 Topps

#607 Larry Demery

 

1976 Funky Sales Corp Funky Facts Baseball
#2 In A Trance
#3 Fans Vs Players
#5 Baseballeese

1976 Topps
#70 Roy Smalley/Roy Smalley Jr. (FS)

#101 Pete LaCock 
#196 1975 AL RBI Leaders (Scott/Mayberry/Lynn)

#567 George Stone 

1975 Topps
#41 Cesar Geronimo

#66 Willie Horton
#310 '74 Victory Leaders
#378 Derrel Thomas
#402 Bob Tolan

#445 Felix Milan 

 

1974 Topps
#38 Don Kessinger
#67 Tommy Helms 
#107 Alex Johnson
#141 Pat Bourque
#158 Jack Billingham
#158 Jack Billingham
#227 Mike Lum
#248 Tom Hall

#305 Tito Fuentes 
#349 John Vukovich

#461 John Odom
#506 Ed Farmer

#512 Joe Lahoud
#519 Bill Sharp (RC) 
#534 Eddie Watt

#572 Enzo Hernandez

#583 Marty Pattin
#638 Ken Sanders
#660 Larry Dierker

1974 Topps - Team Checklists
#NNO Montreal Expos

1974 Topps - Traded
#270T Ron Santo
#458T Jim Ray
#496T Tom Murphy

 

1974 Topps (football)
#46 Gene Washington
#63 Gene Washington
#316 Thom Darden (RC, UER)
#513 Bill Lueck (RC)

 

1974 Visual Panographics US Presidents (non-sport)

#9 William Henry Harrison 

1973 Topps
#102 Rudy May

#322 Garry Maddox (RC)

#485 Norm Cash 

1972 Topps
#22 Rob Gardner

#33 Billy Martin (MGR)

#36 Jerry Johnson (IA) 
#43 Rick Wise

#44 Rick Wise (IA)

#54 Bud Harrelson (IA)

#58 Ernie McAnally

#83 Dalton Jones

#99 Ross Grimsley (ASR, RC)

#109 Jerry May

#113 Rogelio Moret 

#137 Dick Williams (MGR) 

#163 Tug McGraw

#174 Clay Kirby (IA)

#192 Chicago Cubs (TC)

#196 Mel Queen 
#197 Johnny Briggs
#225 World Series Game 3 - Manny Sanguillen
#231 Casey Cox
#239 Tom Timmermann

#262 San Diego Padres (TC)
#266 Bobby Bolin

#312 Clay Carroll (IA)

#334 Rangers Rookies - Bill Fahey / Jim Mason / Tom Ragland (RS, RC) 

#344 Dave McNally (BP)
#363 Ron Klimkowski
#373 John Mayberry
#438 Maury Wills (IA)

1971 Topps
#16 Ken Singleton (RC)
#63 AL 1970 RBI Leaders (Howard/Conigliaro/Powell)
#63 AL 1970 RBI Leaders (Howard/Conigliaro/Powell)
#69 AL 1970 Pitching Leaders (Cuellar/McNally/Perry)
#71 AL 1970 Strikeout Leaders (McDowell/Lolich/Johnson)
#80 Bill Melton
#90 Joe Pepitone
#95 Luis Tiant
#105 Tony Conigliaro
#123 2nd Series Checklist #133-263 (CL, VAR)
#146 Ralph Houk (MGR)
#195 AL Playoffs Game 1 - Powell Muscles Twins!

1970 Brooke Bond North American Wildlife In Danger (non-sport)
#32 Polar Bear

1970 Topps
#3 Darrell Chaney

#12 John Hiller 

#16 Charlie Metro (MGR)
#18 Carlos May
#18 Carlos May 
#38 Mack Jones

#39 Mike Nagy (ASR, RC)
#47 Bob Miller

#81 Dave May

#90 Tim McCarver

#115 Alex Johnson 

#123 Don Gutteridge (MGR)
#206 Clete Boyer
#238 Jose Laboy (ASR)

#257 Dennis Higgins
#390 Willie Davis

#457 Rico Petrocelli (AS)

1969 Topps
#66 Orioles Rookies
#75 Luis Aparicio
#80 Norm Cash  
#139 Andy Kosco
#182 Bill Rigney (MGR)
#484 Joe Gordon (MGR)

1969 Topps - Deckle Edge
#13 Mel Stottlemyer

 

1968 Topps
#4 1967 AL RBI Leaders (Yastrzemski/Killebrew/Robinson)
#7 1967 NL ERA Leaders (Niekro/Bunning/Short)  
#44 Frank Kostro
#181 Jerry Zimmerman

#202 Adolfo Phillips 
#208 Willie Davis
#309 Ken Henderson
#320 Frank Howard

#434 Ricardo Joseph (RC) 
#449 Gene Oliver
#519 Jerry Stephenson

1967 Topps
#1 The Champs (F. Robinson/Bauer/B. Robinson)

#18 Gene Oliver

#27 Bob Saverine

#60 Luis Aparicio

#116 Herman Franks (MGR)

#118 Bernie Allen 

#192 Fred Gladding

#206 Dennis Bennett

#266 Pitt Power (Stargell/Clendenon)

#272 Dick Lines (RC)

#281 Bob Rodgers 
#366 Andy Kosco

1966 Topps
#46 Howie Koplitz

#56 Sandy Valdespino 
#104 Alex Johnson
#154 Chuck Hiller

#189 John Roseboro 
#575 Earl Wilson

1965 Topps
#17 Johnny Romano
#27 Dick Bertell
#86 Les Narum
#87 Nelson Mathews
#108 Don Mincher
#111 Lee Thomas
#178 Dalton Jones
#307 Barry Latman
#352 Alex Johnson (RC)

1964 Topps
#18 Billy O'Dell
#45 Milt Pappas
#95 George Altman

 

1964 Topps - Coins
#7 Frank Malzone

 

1963 Topps

#174 Larry Burright 

1962 Topps

#19 Ray Washburn (RC, RS)

#79 Ed Hobaugh

#474 Frank Lary (AS) 

1961 Fleer Baseball Greats
#56 Dolf Luque

1961 Topps
#21 Zoilo Versalles (RC, RS, UER)

#38 Bob Lillis
#83 Bob Bruce
#96 Billy O'Dell
#98 2nd Series Checklist 89-176 (CL, VAR)
#111 Jack Meyer

#212 Haywood Sullivan

#258 Jack Sanford
#399 Cliff Cook (RC)

1959 Topps
#424 Ken Aspromonte

1958 Topps

#59 Dave Sisler

#65 Von McDaniel (RC)

#73 Pete Daley

#147 Don McMahon (RC)

#273 Hal Smith

#274 Rocky Bridges 

#290 Dick Donovan

#380 Charley Maxwell  

1958 Topps Zorro (non-sport)
#83 Rude Awakening

1957 Topps
#68 Ray Crone

#212 Rocky Colavito (RC)
#249 Dave Pope

1956 Topps
#80 Cincinati Redlegs (TC, VAR)
#103 Willie Miranda (white back)
#156 Johnny Antonelli
#211 Murray Dickson

#284 Ike Delock

1956 Topps Flags of the World (non-sport)
#70 Jordan

1955 Topps
#45 Hank Sauer

 

1954 Topps

#124 Marion Fricano  

1954 Bowman
#73 Don Mueller

1954 Bowman Power For Peace (non-sport)
#91 USS Coral Sea (CVB43)

1953 Topps

#101 Ted Wilks (VAR)

#213 Ray Scarborough

1952 Bowman
#57 Clyde Vollmer

1947-66 Exhibits W461 

#NNO Al Evans

#NNO Ferris Fain 

 

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Tenth Series (J9-6) (non-sport)
#2 Black-throated Green Warbler

1937-38  Diamond Matchbooks Tan 6 (hockey)
#NNO Glenn Brydson

1922 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America Third Series (J7) (non-sport)
#7 Prothonotary Warbler

1915 Church & Dwight Useful Birds Of America First Series(J5) (non-sport)
#1 Quail

 

1890 N245 Sweet Caporal Actors & Actresses (non-sport)

#NNO Frankie Raymond

The Time Travel Trading Project is simple in concept. I started out with a random pack of 2018 Topps Series 1 baseball cards. My aim was to trade every card in that pack for something older. Each card I receive in turn is then made available for trade, with the goal to get the oldest card I can get.

Number of trades completed: 108
Unique trading partners: 52

Number of cards mailed out: 411
Year of oldest card mailed out: 1910-11

Number of cards received: 661
Year of oldest card received: 1890