Appreciations And Other Randomness

 

Everybody have a good Thanksgiving? I hope so. In the spirit of being thankful, today seemed like a good day for another post of random thank you's, thoughts and whatnot. 

 

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I'm going to start things off with a much-overdue thank you. Way back in May, I did a Time Travel Trade with the wonderful Mark Z. He included a bonus card with that trade, and it was fully my intent to properly showcase that act of generosity, I just kept putting it off until now. This Tim Wakefield was the last Red Sox card I needed from the 2006 base set. Thanks Mark!

 

 

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The day after Thanksgiving is when my family and I traditionally decorate for Christmas. I'll be putting up the tree today, and oddly enough that has inspired a future blog post for me. Stay tuned! 

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As much as I want Luis Tiant to get the necessary votes on the "Classic Era" ballot, I fear he'll once again fall short. I'm hoping Dick Allen finally gets in after falling a single vote short his last time up. Plus from what I've read, Negro League player/manager Vic Harris sounds like someone who should have been inducted a long time ago. I can't see the committee voting in more than two guys, so I fear Tiant will have to wait again. (Although, he's stated that if he didn't get elected while he lived, he didn't want to get in post-posthumously.) As for the main ballot, I usually do a post in January about that, and I've already begun doing my research.

 

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I'm also thankful for these bonus cards from Chris (formerly of The Collector blog). Since he abruptly closed the blog, I feel bad for not thanking him sooner for these awesome cards. Wherever you are, Chris, I hope you and your family are well.

 

 (Love that Varitek card!)

 

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The Red Sox have been heavily mentioned in a lot of big names, both for free agents and trade targets. After these past few years, that's encouraging, and I hope they get one big acquisition this season. Soto would obviously be the Christmas wish list player, but an ace or two would be just fine with me.

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One last thank you, this one for a TCDB member named Peter, who included a bonus 2024 Topps Red Sox need in our trade from earlier this year.

 

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Speaking of 2024 Topps, awhile back I mentioned in a post how I was trying to complete the set, but hadn't gotten around to putting up a want list. I got a lot of messages from people willing to help with that endeavor. As of today, I'm still 180 cards short from the set being completed, and it looks like I won't be finding any more packs at my local retail outlets, so if anybody has some extras to trade, here's what I have left to track down:

9, 33, 76, 85, 98, 102, 115, 122, 136, 141, 142, 143, 161, 162, 164, 166, 175, 180, 183, 185, 208, 221, 225, 227, 231, 237, 242, 245, 253, 259, 277, 281, 289, 290, 297, 303, 307, 308, 309, 310, 319, 321, 323, 326, 332, 333, 335, 338, 341, 345, 348, 349, 352, 355, 362, 366, 368, 379, 387, 390, 391, 393, 396, 404, 405, 411, 415, 417, 418, 420, 422, 425, 427, 434, 437, 438, 439, 447, 448, 450, 453, 454, 455, 456, 458, 459, 460, 467, 468, 469, 473, 475, 479, 480, 483, 486, 487, 489, 490, 491, 492, 494,     498, 501, 506, 510, 512, 515, 519, 521, 528, 530, 532, 534, 535, 538, 540, 543, 546, 548, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 565, 569, 570, 571, 578, 579, 581, 582, 583, 584, 585, 588, 589, 590, 591, 595, 596, 600, 602, 608, 609, 610, 611, 614, 616, 621, 624, 626, 628, 633, 635, 637, 638, 639, 640, 641, 643, 645, 651, 655, 657, 668, 669, 674, 675, 677, 684, 686, 688, 689, 690, 691, 692, 694, 697 (Whew, that was a lot to type out! Hope I didn't make any mistakes!)

 

It's mostly Series 2, which I haven't seen out in wild around here. 

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Going back to the lack of success from finding baseball cards at my local Wally World. It's been a struggle, and now in their wisdom the store by where I work has started putting there collectable cardboard product in locked cases. That's going to be a big nope from me, even if they do start putting baseball cards back out. I'm not looking to spend an extra half hour to track down an employee to unlock a case just so I can get a pack or two. Oddly enough, the Wal-Mart closest to my house hasn't done this yet, so I may start perusing there more often.

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I am hoping get lucky once at Wal-Mart and be able to nab a box of the Topps Holiday set. I like how they incorporated the neon design this year, making it the best holiday set since 2019's garland theme.

 

 

These are so much better than those holiday-themed parallels they throw in the base and update packs!

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Award season ended last week, and the big awards (MVP and Cy Young) were anticlimactic, weren't they?  It seems like those players had those awards locked up before September even started. I disagree with the ROY awards though. In the AL, I'm puzzled how Wilyer Abreu didn't at least make Top 3. He was a Gold Glover, among the leaders in most offensive categories, and finished with a higher WAR than Gil, Cowser, or Wells. In the NL, it was much tighter, but Jackson Merrill should have won. Kid skipped AAA to the big leagues, and was put in a position he had never played before (center field). I don't think he got enough credit for that. I don't vote, so those that did obviously thought otherwise!

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I must be getting forgetful in my old age, because I made a TCDB trade and never posted about it! It was just a single card for single card trade, but Richard (from Hamilton, NJ) helped me get the last 1982 Topps Red Sox card I needed!

 

Thanks Richard!

 

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I am officially challenging my fellow bloggers to Whamageddon - Essentially, starting December 1st, you see how long you can go without hearing the Wham version of "Last Christmas". Once you hear it, you're out and you put the tag #whamageddon on your blog. FYI - It's not a Christmas song! It's a sappy song about someone getting dumped on that particular holiday, and nothing in the lyrics evokes anything Christmasy. Rant over....

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One last thank you - to you, for reading this humble little blog. I appreciate the support and friendships you've brought to my little corner of the world!

A Small But Ruthian Set

On one of my recent trips to my local card shop, I was leafing through the Red Sox cards when I came upon this cool oddball:

 

 

Babe Ruth, pitcher for the Boston Red Sox! I love these high quality black and white photos, and it was an easy choice to add it to my stack.

As I was entering it into my collection on the TCDB, I learned a little more about the set. The card is from the 1994 Megacards Ruthian Shots set, and it's a small set consisting of only 5 cards. According to Beckett, the set was given away at card shows when the collector purchased a 1994 Conlon Collection wax box. Looking at the set, I couldn't help but notice that despite it being about Babe Ruth, none of the cards feature him in a Yankee uniform. I don't know why one shows him in Boston, maybe the Yankees organization denied them permission.

I figured that despite this, if my LCS had any more of these cards, they would be among the stack of Yankee cards. Sure enough, when I went back and checked, I found the remaining 4 cards.

 

 

I now have the complete set! I must be slacking, because this little group represents the first set I've completed this year. 

The backs are very informative, and mention Ruth's Yankee years heavily. (You'll notice that Ruth's fishing buddy is Lou Gehrig too - bonus Hall of Fame content!)

Sometimes you'll never know what you'll find!

A Mysterious Gift Of Sabres

The NHL hockey season officially winds down this week, with the last games of the regular season set to be played on the 18th. The playoff will begin a few days after, and for the 13th straight year, my Buffalo Sabres will not be among the playoff teams. Despite this extended futility, there are a lot of positives on the team that I remain hopeful that next year things will break in their favor and the streak will end.

Speaking of positive things, I received a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) last week. Someone sent me an envelope of cards. The return address merely said TCDB, so obviously this is another member of that site. The postmark was stamped from Hartford, CT. I have no clue who sent these, but they made my day!

 

Favorite Card: That is such an awesome shot of Tage Thompson stretched out!

My sincerest thanks to whoever sent these. It makes me feel good knowing someone thought of me in such a manner! I hope your hockey team is one of the playoff bound ones, and I hope you get to enjoy some exciting playoff hockey because of them.

An Unexpected Find, A Novelty Purchase

The Wally World near my workplace used to be my go-to source for cards. Ever since the pandemic, it's been increasingly sparse. I had pretty much given up checking the card isle altogether on the few occasions I went there.

Last week however, I found myself having to go there, and what the heck let's take a look. As usual, there were the same things I had seen time and again over the last few months: Soccer cards, a few basketball, hockey cards from the 2021-22 season. I did manage to spot a small number of Series 1 Topps jumbo packs, but what really caught my eye was this:

 

 

What a minute...Japanese League baseball cards? How random is that? Of course, there were no prices listed, but to be honest I still wanted one just for the sake of novelty. If nothing else, I get a blog post out of it right? Who knows, maybe I'll luck out and get a pre-MLB card of Red Sox "rookie" Masataka Yoshida.

So we get 5 random cards in addition to the pack. I lucked out there, with 4 of the 5 being Red Sox cards!

 

 

All of these cards are from the team sets Topps pushes out, so that's cool. In the vein of Schrödinger's cat, I technically have these cards already in a still sealed team set pack, but I can also argue I don't know if those cards are actually in the pack. Either way, they are keepers (except for that renegade Cardinal).

On to the pack itself:

 

 

It Topps. It's Chrome. I have no idea who any of these guys are or if they are any good, but it's cool to see cards I had never seen before. Oh, and I can only assume I did well with this pack, because I also ended up with a serial numbered parallel! Again, I have no idea who he is or if he is any good, but this orange refractor is limited to only 25 copies, so there's that. (Maybe someday this rookie will be the next big Japanese player to make the jump to the MLB!)

The pack ended up costing me as much as one of the jumbo packs would have, so cost-wise, not really worth it. The novelty of opening up cards of players from the NPB League however? Totally worth it just this once. 

Oh, and if anyone collects these, I'm more than willing to trade them!

The Fascinating Topps Card History Of John Scott

John Scott was a Major League outfielder in the late 70's. According to the TCDB, he only has 20 official cards. Only 3 of those are from Topps yearly base sets. Those three cards however, are perhaps the most amazingly unique trio of cards to ever capture one player's career.

 

Scott was the second overall draft pick in the 1970 January Draft, and made his debut for the Padres towards the end of the 1974 season. Because of this, his rookie card is one of the most sought after and expensive cards in the 1975 Topps set.

 

1975 Topps #616 Rookie Outfielders

 

Scott played sparingly for the Padres, only playing in 39 games from 1974 to 1975. In fact, he still retained his rookie status when his contract was purchased in 1976 by the new expansion team, the Toronto Blue Jays. After being skipped over by Topps for the 1976 set, Scott showed up again. Like his rookie card two years prior, he ends up on one of the most sought after and expensive cards in the 1977 Topps set.

 

1977 Topps #473 Rookie Outfielders

 

Two John Scott cards, two appearances on a multi-player card featuring the official rookie card of a Hall of Famer. Crazy right? Despite this fame by association, Scott earned his own place in baseball history. As the starting left fielder for Toronto, Scott became the first official batter in Blue Jays history when he led off the bottom of the first inning on April 7, 1977.  He would play 79 games for the Blue Jays, often as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. 

1977 would be the last time he played in the Major Leagues. Next year, the Topps company would finally give Scott his own card in a base set, making his lone standalone card a sunset card.

 

1978 Topps #547 John Scott

 

Can any other player boast such a fascinating trifecta of cards?

 

 

Random Thoughts And Musings For The Blog's 6th Anniversary

April has been the month for milestones on this blog. I wrote my 300th Haiku, as well as my 1,000th post. Now we've reached the 6th anniversary of Diamond Jesters! I didn't have anything really special planned for today, so I'm just going to throw out some randomness, mostly hobby related, although not all sports-related.

 

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I'm going to start off on a little bit of a downer, but I have an overall positive message stemming from it, so please bear with me. I've been working in the same small-town computer shop for 16 years. Back in February, my boss suddenly lost his 21 year old son. It was a shock to us all, especially me since I had been with the company so long I saw this individual grow from a kid riding his bike in our parking lot to the independent young man he was becoming. Anyways, at the funeral service a few of his friends spoke of him. The son was very much into online games, and one of his friends mentioned that for the longest time, they never knew what each other looked like, and that it didn't matter as they grew to be great friends virtually. The friendship and support was there, even if they didn't "see" each other. He ended on the point that he didn't need his friend to be physically there to feel his presence in his life, and that presence will always be with him. That struck a chord with me. In the 6 years I've written this blog, I've gotten to know so many of you. We've commented on each other's blogs, traded, and enriched each other lives. Yet, I couldn't pick any of you out of a lineup, and I know only about your lives outside of this hobby from what you've publicly shared on your blogs. Despite having not met any of you in person, know this: I consider each of you a friend, I care about you and your well-being, and I will support you on any path life may take you on. Thank you for your friendship in turn.

 

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On to more happy-happy-joy-joy stuff. Recently I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness from Greg over at Crocodile Sports. 

 

The Yaz is a thick card, and Trevor Story is even thicker than that. I'm not sure how I feel about these cards. Are they even still "cards"? How thick can you go and still have it be considered a card? The helmet is cool though, but I'm not as impressed with the 70th Anniversary piece. 

Anyways, Thanks a bunch Greg!

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Is anyone else having issues adding new blogs to your Blog List gadget under Blogger? I can click on Layout, select the gadget, scroll down and select Add A New Item. I can fill out the information and save it, but there's no way to close the pop-up window short of closing the browser tab. I go back in, and the new blog isn't there. Anyone else? Just me? Cool...

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My eldest daughter turned 16 earlier this month, so we drove up to Richmond, VA to see a performance of one of her favorite musicals, "Hamilton". It wasn't Broadway obviously, but it was an incredibly impressive and entertaining performance nonetheless. Even if musicals aren't your cup of tea, it's worth going to if you have a chance.

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We're a month into the baseball season, and my Red Sox are doing OK all things considered. They've been hovering around the .500 mark all season, although that still gets them last place in the talented AL East. They've been entertaining, and I think they have one good hot streak in them that'll put them into playoff conversation.

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Every now and then, I'll read about damaged envelopes. Usually the fault of the post office, with some occasional rain dampness or beloved pet shenanigans sprinkled in. I think I have a new one for you. I present to you the artistic 2-year-old:

 

 

Don't worry the cards inside were fine, even if my heart did skip a beat upon finding this on the dining room floor.

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My sincerest thanks to the guy in my fantasy baseball league who dropped Adolis Garcia and allowed me to benefit from his 5-5,3 home run,  8 RBI night. It was the difference maker in a close head-to-head matchup against the leading team in our league. Never drop a healthy Top-100 guy in April...

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I announced a contest during my 1000th post, so we'll end things by announcing our winner! I had a nice round 10 commenters on the post, so I went to random.org and selected a random number between 1 and 10. I did this 6 times (being my 6th anniversary and all) and determined a winner:

 

 

The 8th commenter is our winner! That would be:

 

Congrats Derek! I'll get in contact with you to confirm your address!

Mental Health Day

I have a confession to make. At least once a year, I take mental health day away from, well, everything. I pick a day ahead of time and take it off from work. I don't tell them why. I also don't tell my wife, or any other family and friends. I play it off like it's a normal day. I get up at my usual time, get dressed and ready for work, take the kids to school, all that jazz. But when it comes time to leave for work, I spend the next 9 hours doing something else, whatever I feel like. I come home at my regular time, feeling completely refreshed and ready to take on my day-to-day responsibilities.

Why am I telling you this? Well, I found cards on my last day off, leading me to the most I ever paid for a card in probably 30 years! Stay tuned!

The Monday I took off wasn't one of my typical mornings. My parents had come down from NY for a weekend visit, and were leaving that morning. They arrived before I had to take my two oldest daughters to school, and although it was to say goodbye, I was happy to start my day seeing their faces. Afterwards it was typical morning, and once my wife left to drop off the two youngest daughters to her mom's and head to work, I was free!

 

Well, not entirely free. There was one bit of adulting I had to do that morning. I had to go to the vet and pick up the cremated remains of our pet rabbit, Ginger, who passed away at the beginning of the month. That sucked, but thanks to my twisted sense of humor I decided Ginger would be my travel companion on my off day. 

First order of the day: breakfast. I'm just going to say it: Burger King's breakfast sandwiches are better than McDonalds. After hitting the drive through, I went to the local park, sat at an empty pavilion and enjoyed the scenery while I ate. It was a beautiful morning, the sound of the river was peaceful, and I even got to watch a new family of geese near by. A great start!

Now, the rest of the day called for brutal weather in the mid to high 80's, so I wanted to spend my day somewhere indoors. Ever since I moved to Virginia, there was one place I've always wanted to go, and today was the ideal day to finally do it. After breakfast, Ginger and I drove for 30 minutes until we reached the Factory Antique Mall in Verona, billed as the largest antique mall in America. (I don't know how true that is, but the place is huge!)

 

There was something for everyone, and I easily spent the whole day there just walking around looking at everything. I wasn't expecting to find cards, but I was hoping to find something sports related at least. To my surprise, there were a couple of booths dedicated to sports cards and collectables! It turns out the same guy owned both spots, but he didn't have a card shop locally. He just sold from the antique mall. I found some good cheap cards there.

He had an assortment of unopened packs. I was endlessly amused at finding O-Pee-Chee down this way, so I picked up four packs at $1.50 each, along with four $1 packs of Stadium Club. 

It wasn't until after I left that I realized the Stadium Club was hockey and not baseball. Oh well! I'll get a blog post out of them at least!

 

I also picked up a couple of small box sets and a book containing all the Red Sox cards from 1988 Donruss, including some updated ones that were never issued in packs! (According to the TCDB, these count as cards, so I guess this is another completed set!)

 

I did start to get a little excited when I saw a bunch of card boxes in one little discrete corner. But upon further inspection, I quickly passed. Cards with mildew? No thanks! 

All of my purchases came to $19 - not a bad haul if I do say so!

Here's the beauty of antique malls - sometimes, if you look hard enough, you'll find the unexpected! As I was strolling down the aisles checking out the various booths, something caught my eye...

 

Are those cards? A closer look revealed a fantastic discovery!

 

Yes! Locked up in a case was an assortment of mostly vintage cards. Whoever owned the booth obviously didn't specialize in the hobby, but knew they had value. They provided a sheet listing each card and their price. There was one Red Sox card there, and it called to me:

 

A quick Google search showed me that the $20 asking price for this 1933 Goudey was good given the condition it was in. I freed Marty McManus from his locked cabinet, and he's home with me now. The twenty I spent was more than all the other cards I got that day, and the most I ever spent on one card since I was a card show regular in my teenage years.

The day about done, with cards in tow, Ginger and I headed home. (Well there was one more stop at the local Dairy Queen for a 'smores milkshake!) It was a good day, and everything I hoped a day off would be! 

One last photo to share before we go, not card related but very cool nonetheless. If I ever have a few hundred dollars floating around ready to be needlessly spent, I'm going back to the antique mall for this:

 

"Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere and leave you for dead?"

Take Five

I am small potatoes. 

 

At least compared to some of our more distinguished bloggers, I feel I am. The Diamond Jesters blog celebrated its 5 year anniversary yesterday, which is pretty cool. Not anywhere as cool as Nick's 10 year anniversary, or Greg's 5,000th post, but cool in a smaller sense nonetheless. I started out as your typical middle aged guy rediscovering his childhood, a lurker reading all the great blogs out there. Eventually I started commenting here and there, and eventually it reached a point where I started up my own blog so I could engage more and join a community of like-minded souls. 5 years later and I haven't run out of things to post or cards to share. I've written hundreds of haiku, and watched a small time-travel themed idea I had grow into the most anticipated posts I write every month. It's been a fun ride.

5 years wouldn't have happened if it weren't for all of you. The bloggers that welcomed me into this unique little circle. The readers who took the time to glance at these posts and encouraged me to write more. The trade partners who continue to feed my enjoyment of the hobby. Thank you all.

With that it mind, it's time to take five. 

 

No, I don't mean I'm taking a break. It's time for you to take five...of my cards!

Being small potatoes doesn't mean I can't celebrate this anniversary with a giveaway, so that's what I'm going to do! Five years = five pocket pages of cards, and I invite anyone who wants them to claim up to five cards (with some exceptions I'll explain along the way). If you claim cards and have never traded with me before, please email me (mattkeppel -at- yahoo -dot- com) and make sure I have your address. Otherwise, claim away!

 

 Page 1

Claimed: Watson, Sosa

 Fun fact: That Pedro Alvarez was the first Repack Haiku!

 Page 2

Claimed: Stewart, Grace, Hayden, Dolphins

Page 3

Claimed: Finley, Smith, Hernandez, Cogdill, Freddy Grahams

The Wacky Packages card is part of a set I won awhile back. If you pick this card, I'll send all 10 cards, and the extras don't count towards the 5 limit.

 

Page 4

Claimed: Jeter

 

Page 5

Claimed: Bream, Luke, Glavine, Carter, Alou, Pujols, Jordan

 

My daughter recently celebrated her 15th birthday, and my father-in-law was quick to point out to her that she wasn't 15 so much as she was starting her 16th year. In that regard, since I'm starting my 6th year of blogging, here's a bonus page:

 

Page 6

 

These cards came in a bag of mostly baseball cards I found at Goodwill a long time ago. I can't really tell you much about them. The middle Avatar card in the top row is shiny, and the last one is thick, with a pull-tab element to it. If you happen to claim something from this page, don't be surprised if I throw a few extra bonus cards with it. I don't want them! ;)

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Toppled

 It's hard to be a collector and not be absolutely shocked by the news coming out yesterday. As a collector and card blogger, I couldn't imagine not writing about this, so here's a few random thoughts on this industry shake-up.

- For years we've been saying it. We wished Topps didn't have exclusive rights to MLB cards. That just bit us on the butt a little. We wanted more fully licensed options, not this. This is worse, so much worse.

- This is worse because if Topps is done, we lose the one company that has been with us since the beginning, that has connected us through generations of card collecting. This is the card collecting equivalent of a franchise move. This is the Dodgers and Giants moving to the opposite coast. This is the Expos leaving Montreal and becoming the Nationals.

- That being said, I can't imagine Topps going away. Maybe the company sells to Fanatics, or maybe they strike some sort of deal where Topps still produces the cards. Who knows? 

- There's a 3 year gap between when Topps' MLB license agreement ends and when the MLBPA agreement ends. How that going to work out? Is Fanatic going to pull a Panini for the first few years? Is Topps going to put out cards without players? I don't see MLB going that many years without a legit product, which makes me think Topps and Fanatics will end up in an unholy alliance of some sort.

- Fanatics seems to be putting together quite a monopoly, huh? I wonder how long that'll last. Maybe a certain court case from the late 70's will be revisited.

- My only hope is that Fanatics cares that most collectors aren't rookie or hit chasers/flippers. There has to be something for us that collect for the sheer joy of it. Otherwise, our money won't go to anything new. Most of us are perfectly comfortable spending our money on old cardboard.

- The industry is going to be weird these next few years. All we can do is wait and see what going to happen.

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.

Random Thoughts And Musings - All-Star Edition

I try to map out my posts well in advance. It helps keep me organized and I find I can finish posts and have them scheduled days and sometimes weeks in advance. Usually I'll plan on my Time Travel Trading posts for the 2nd or 3rd Monday of the month. When planning out some July posts, I created my Time Travel placeholder post set to go live on July 19th. Somewhere in the past week, my brain convinced myself that this post was suppose to air on the 12th, and it needed to get finished sooner rather than later. Even though I still had 2 trades open, I worked tirelessly to finish the latest Time Travel Trading Update. I figured those two last trades would just have to wait until August's update, and wrapped everything up Friday morning.

You're not getting a Time Travel Trading Update today.

Why? Lo and behold, both pending PWE came in over the weekend. I decided rather than try to squeeze these cards into the post during a busy weekend, I'd just push it back to its original 7/19 date and properly update the post. That left me with no post for today however. Fortunately, it's the All-Star break, so I have lots of thoughts in my head to share. 

Apologies in advance, since this post is more wordy and less about baseball cards. We'll return to our normally scheduled programming after the break.

- The Red Sox enter the All-Star break leading the AL East with an AL-best 55 wins. There is still a lot of baseball to play, but regardless on how the second half plays out, no Red Sox fan can view the season as anything other than a huge positive. 

 

- That being said, I like their chances to win the division. The Rays will always be scrappy, but without their ace Glasnow I think they're fighting for a wild card. The Yankees will always be the Yankees and can't be dismissed, but to see their lackluster performance so far brings me joy. The Blue Jays are the real wild card in all this. They can match anyone offensively and their pitching is going to be the reason they fail or succeed. 
 

- I've followed the draft more closely this year than any other year, mainly because the Red Sox have the highest pick they've ever had in my lifetime. There were a lot of good players at the top, and it looks like the Red Sox were going to get an impact player regardless. Most of the mock drafts by analysts had the Sox likely getting either C Henry Davis (who went first overall) or P Jack Leiter (who went 2nd). Nobody, and I mean nobody, had Marcelo Mayer falling down to the Red Sox. He was the topped ranked player on MLB, and almost unanimously pegged to go 1st or 2nd. I couldn't believe it when I looked at my phone and saw the notification that he landed with the Red Sox!
 

- Best comp I've read about our shortstop of the future: offensively Corey Seager, defensively Brandon Crawford. This is a potential franchise cornerstone here.

- I mentioned that I got the draft selection via a phone notification. Despite my increased interest in the draft, I didn't watch it on TV. I was busy watching a baseball game for the first time in 2 years. The Valley League (the local collegiate summer league) had their All-Star game, so I went with my newly retired father-in-law. It was a beautiful night for baseball, and other than abruptly ending in the middle of the 8th due to some weird issue with the pitcher's mound, it was enjoyable.

- The Valley Baseball League inducted new members into its Hall of Fame, including 5 who played in the Major Leagues - Erik Kratz, Tom Browning, Brett Gardner, Reggie Sanders, and Steve Findley. If I ever have time to properly research them, I think a series of posts on Valley League alumni would be fun.

- I also got to see the Black Widow movie this weekend with my oldest daughter. I really enjoyed it, and thought it was worth the wait. As far as Marvel movies go, it's one of their better action films, with enough of that light-hearted Marvel comedy to keep things fun.

- Tonight's Home Run Derby should be fun. In my official MLB bracket, I picked Pete Alonso to repeat. In my heart, I'm rooting for cancer-survivor Mancini. In my gut, I feel it'll be another highlight in the "Summer of Ohtani". 

- I've often thought MLB should have a second home run derby featuring former players from the host city.  It might be fun to see Gallaraga, Castillo, Helton, Bichette, Holliday and Hall of Famer Walker take a few more swings in that Colorado air.

- I'll probably watch at least the beginning of the All-Star game. I admit I start losing interest once they start swapping out guys every inning to get as many people in as possible. I miss the days when the starters actually played for awhile. Give me at least one full turn though the lineup for the starting pitchers, and at least 2 at bats for the starting hitters.

- I predict the AL will win, and they'll give the MVP to Ohtani for no other reason than he'll both hit and pitch.

- If you're a baseball fan, Ronald Acuna Jr's injury is crushing. He's so much fun to watch, and here's hoping next year he's back to full health and better than ever!

- Just because I don't like the idea of this post being all text and no baseball card related content, here's a sneak preview of next Monday's post:

 

Have a good week!

A-Z Music Challenge

***WARNING!***

***NON-SPORTS CARD POST AHEAD!***

 

Chris (The Collector) had a recent post where he listed his favorite bands/musicians starting with every letter of the alphabet. He then challenged others to submit their picks, and I'm more than up for the challenge. In addition to picking an artist, for each letter I'm also going to pick lyrics of theirs that just sticks in my head, as well as list anyone I've heard perform live for each letter.

A - Audioslave 

 

Chris Cornell is one of my favorite lead singers, and when he teamed up with Tom Morello and other members of Rage Against The Machine, I was hooked. Each album is a solid work of rock and roll.

Lyric: "I am not your blowing wind, I am the lightning" - I Am The Highway

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Tori Amos

 

B - Barenaked Ladies

 

I've been a fan of BNL since their first album, and they've done nothing to dissuade my fandom. Their "Selfie Cam Jams" were some of the best Covid-related socially distancing music out there.

 

Lyric: "Like Kurosawa, I make mad films, 'kay, I don't make films, But if I did they'd have a Samurai" - One Week

Artists I've Heard Perform Live:  Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler

 

C - Jonathan Coulton

 

I'm betting most people haven't heard of him, but I heard him open up for another band listed later and have been a fan ever since. His songs are often catchy with a touch of dark humor.

 

 

Lyric: "All we want to do is eat your brains, we're not unreasonable, I mean no one's gonna eat your eyes" - RE: Your Brains

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Jonathan Coulton, Cheap Trick, Cavo, Jerry Cantrell

 

D - Deep Purple

 

One of my dad's favorite bands, they became one of mine as well.

Lyric: "She's got loving like quicksand, Only took one touch of her hand" - Hush

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Dave Matthews Band, Chris Daughtry, Days Of The New, Gavin DeGraw

E - Electric Light Orchestra

 

There wasn't a clear cut answer for me here, so I went with the musical genius of Jeff Lynne.

 

Lyrics: "Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why, You had to hide away for so long" - Mr. Blue Sky

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

F - Foo Fighters

 

Let's be honest people, did anyone really think the drummer would be the most talented member of Nirvana? This band has pumped out so much catchy rock anthems it was hard to pick a lyric.

 

Lyrics: "Send in your skeletons, Sing as their bones go marching in again" - The Pretender

Artists I've Heard Perform Live:  none 

 

G- Goo Goo Dolls

 

You may know The Goo Goo Dolls from their hits, but this Buffalo based group had more of a harder vibe before they hit it big. Don't let songs like "Iris" fool you, they can rock with the best of them.

 

Lyrics:  "We had a mountain, But took it for granted, We had a spaceship, But we couldn't land it" - Long Way Down 

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Goo Goo Dolls, Lee Greenwood, Grant Lee Buffalo

 

H - Harvey Danger

These one-hit wonders created one of my all-time favorite songs of the 90's.

 

Lyrics: "Hear the voices in my head, I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring" - Flagpole Sitta

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

I - Incubus

 

A very underrated band, I can't help but sing along to "Drive" when it comes on the radio.

 

Lyrics: "If I were your appendages, I'd hold open your eyes so you would see, That all of us are heaven-sent, And there was never meant to be only one" - Meglomaniac

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Indigo Girls, Billy Idol

 

J - Jet

 

Another underrated rock band.

 

Lyrics: "Well it's one, two, three, take my hand and come with me, Because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine" - Are You Gonna Be My Girl

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Tom Jones

 

K - B.B. King

 

I have an appreciation of blues music, and B.B. is a big reason why.

Lyrics: "I gave you seven children, And now you wanna give them back" - How Blue Can You Get

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Lenny Kravitz, King Crimson

 

L - Led Zeplin

 

There's an unofficial rule in our house: When Led Zeplin is on, you don't change the station.

 

Lyrics:  "It was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair, But Gollum, and the evil one, Crept up and slipped away with her" - Ramble On

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Letters to Cleo, Lisa Loeb

 

M - Metallica

 

I have a confession: I prefer the band's more polished work from the Black album onward to their early thrash days. 

Lyrics: "So close, no matter how far, It couldn't be much more from the heart, Forever trusting who we are, And nothing else matters" - Nothing Else Matters

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Metallica, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sarah McLaughlin

 

N - No Doubt

 

When I was in college, I played music at the college's local radio station. I remember playing No Doubt before they hit it big, and I always felt lucky to claim I was a fan before "Tragic Kingdom". 

 

Lyrics: "Now it's gone too deep, You wake me in my sleep, My dreams become nightmares,

'Cause you're ringing in my ears." - Spiderwebs

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

O - Oasis

 

"(What's The Story) Morning Glory"  is one of those albums I can play on repeat and listen to multiple times in succession.

 

Lyrics: "All your dreams are made, When you're chained to the mirror like the razor blade" - What's the Story Morning Glory

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

P - Tom Petty

 

From the Heartbreakers to his solo work and even including the Traveling Wilburys, Petty has been a constant source of great tracks.

 

Lyrics: "And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down, Gonna stand my ground" - Won't Back Down

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

Q - Queensryche

 

I was determined not to default to the super-group Queen for this one.

 

Lyrics:  "Wide awake you face the day, Your dream is over, Or has it just begun?" - Silent Lucidity

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

R - Rusted Root

 

This band had a huge following in Western NY during my college days, and I've seen them multiple times. 

 

 

Lyrics: "All I want is food and creative love." - Food And Creative Love

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Rusted Root

 

S - Stone Temple Pilots

 

This letter was the hardest to narrow down, as there were just too many great groups out there. In the end I went with the always enjoyable STP.

 

Lyrics: "Does anybody know how the story really goes? Or do we all just hum along?" - Big Bang Baby

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Smashing Pumpkins, Saigon Kick, Southern Culture On the Skids, Sponge

 

T - They Might be Giants

 

My favorite band, this was the easiest choice. I've seen them in concert 5 times.

 

Lyrics: "Everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful" - Don't Let's Start

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: They Might Be Giants, Theory of A Deadman

 

U - Ugly Kid Joe

 

I don't really care for U2 - they're ok, they just don't do it for me. That left me with another one hit wonder from back in the day.

 

Lyrics:  "Surprise, Surprise, I'm comin' at ya' live, I sure as hell ain't Mickey Mouse, I'm a killer in disguise" - Madman

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

V - Veruca Salt

 

Nina Gordon and Louise Post are rock goddesses, and hearing them sing in person was the closest I'll ever get to two hot women fighting over me. 

 

 

Lyrics: "Way to go, way to flip off everyone, I steal your thunder then I try to bolt" - Volcano Girls

Artist I've Heard Perform Live: Veruca Salt, Violent Femmes

 

W - Weezer

 

I'm excited to hear their latest album when it comes out next month.

 

Lyrics: "What's with these homies dissin' my girl? Why do they gotta front?" - Buddy Holly

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

X - XTC

 

Everyone seems to be having trouble with this one. I'll admit, I'm not familiar with the band. They only earn favorite status because  They Might Be Giants wrote a song called "XTC Vs. Adam Ant". If XTC is good enough for them, they're good enough for me.

 

Lyrics: "XTC versus Adam Ant, I can't tell you why, Even the singer from Bow Wow Wow, Can't make up her mind" - XTC Vs Adam Ant (They Might Be Giants)

Artists I've Heard Perform Live:  none

 

Y - Weird Al Yankovic

 

I remember staying up late as a kid hoping to catch "Eat It" on a show called Friday Night Videos. He was the last artist I got to see in concert before Covid-19 shut everything down.

 

Lyrics: "Mashed potatoes can be your friend" - Dare To Be Stupid

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: Weird Al Yankovic

 

Z - Frank Zappa

 

Another artist I can attribute my fandom from my father, Zappa is on his own level of musical genius.

 

Lyrics: "The beat goes on and I'm so wrong" - Dancing Fool

Artists I've Heard Perform Live: none

 

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed my choices, and we'll be back next time with our regularly scheduled sports card related content!