Gibby and Straw

I put a lot of effort into collecting the current players on the Cardinals and Durham Bulls.  Sometimes it is nice to stray a little from the norm and find some cards of players who have retired.  Whether they are on vintage cards, or modern releases, I am happy with either.  I usually have two different types of players I look for when I go after these types of cards: former Cardinals players, occasionally some older Durham Bulls players, and players I watched in person growing up.

I managed to add a pair really nice cards recently, one from each of the aforementioned categories.  

Let's start off with the non-Cardinals player first.

I have really enjoyed finding some of the cards of players from the 1980s and 1990s that Topps has put into some of their products over the past few years.  The selection of players is obviously limited to some degree, but it's still nice to see the players who were important to the baseball card sets from the 1980s pop up in current sets.  Strawberry definitely fits that description.

Strawberry was also in the greatest softball related prime time television episode ever....

This Strawberry card actually was being sold with the other card in this post and I love combined shipping costs.  It also helps that this card, which is from a box/pack of cards that sells for more than $100, cost right around $5.  I love Five Star cards, as long as someone else is spending the money to open the box.  I know, it's not serial numbered and does not have some fancy coloring.  Great looking card of the former Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees star.

On to the really important card.

This card was not around $5.  However, it is the first Gibson card that I have picked up in awhile.  I have two dozen or so different Gibson autographs, and at times I really think about whether or not I should really have another one of his cards in my collection.  Inevitably, at some point point every year, I give in and add another autograph.  Gibby is now over 80 years old and his autograph has remained sharp over the years.

I try to make sure that whatever card I find is somehow unique, or possesses something that sets it apart from the other Gibson cards in my collection.  Not sure exactly how this fits in with the other Gibson cards already hanging out in my card room, but I am not sure I really care in the case of this card.  It simply looks great.

The picture on this card is pretty amazing too.  Topps can be repetitive on pictures, or they tend to stick with the same era, but I feel like there are a lot more 1970s Gibson photos than 1960s.  This is clearly a 1960s card.  Add in a nice design with a big empty space for the player's signature, great baseball card.

Stack Of Stadium Clubs

Stadium Club came out awhile ago, there are a lot of repeat signers for the Cardinals and Rays who are in multiple 2018 products, so I took my time trying to add a few cards.  I really like the Stadium Club cards.  Topps has done a great job of bringing this product back over the past few years and reviving it's 1990s branding of being a high quality set with high photography. 

I have done some posts in the past just to showcase some of the base cards from the recent Stadium Club sets.  They are fun sets to sit down with and just flip through the cards.  So many great photographs. 

In keeping with putting together fewer sets this year, I have actually decided to add single cards of the Cardinals and former Durham Bulls players, along with a few other cards that I thought looked really nice.  Obviously, I am going to showcase my autographs for my post this evening. 

I managed to land a pair of Cardinals cards and a former Durham Bulls player.  However, I am going to start out with a different card.  I participated in a charity break awhile ago.  It was for a good cause, I was given two spots in a case and got whatever autographs were pulled. 

One of them was one of the Cardinals players, the other was a 1980s nemesis of my favorite team.  Pretty sweet looking card.....

If you ever saw a Darryl Strawberry at bat, this is a pretty cool moment in the whole process of how he swings a bat.  He always had a leg kick when the ball was being thrown and his bat was angled forward.  You can tell this is a second before he swings, or maybe he took the pitch.  Either way, it's a cool moment in time.  

Here is a look at the swing on a pretty crazy looking home run.  Apologies for the announcers.  McCarver is on this video and he's the better of the two.  

On to the Cardinals.  

Flaherty has been a priority of sorts for my Cardinals collection.  The was my second autograph out of the charity break.  I am a believer in the abilities of Jack Flaherty.  I like the red Spring Training jersey with the green grass in the background.  Nice contrast.  I also like that you can see his grip on the ball.  I'd guess some sort of changeup.  

Next. 

I am posting a Tommy Pham card on the day he was traded.  It's got a nice photograph.  I will miss Tommy, but I understand why the Cardinals traded him.  I made my peace with it about thirty seconds after I saw the news of the trade.  

Let's share a good Tommy Pham moment and move onto the last card.  

Last one is a former Durham Bulls card.  

Tim Beckham has been in a few different sets this year as an autographed card after having a good half season in Baltimore.  It seemed like a change of scenery really helped, but he's not having a very good year at the moment.  The Orioles have cleaned house the last week, so I am pretty sure that Beckham and Chris Davis will now be covering the entire infield.  

Quick By My Standards

I have let some of the different set projects that I have posted in this space linger for a long time, either because I did not complete them quickly, or I just never updated the project to show my progress.  Back at the beginning of February, I made a post about putting together a set of the 1983 style cards in that are included in packs of this year's Topps base set.

I started with 8 of the 100 cards, last check in I was down to just 27 cards.  Last week that number was all the way down to 2 cards.  A few days ago in the mail I got a bubble mailer with......

the two cards that I was still missing.  I am crossing this card set off after just two and a half months.  Really pretty good considering that I did not open a box, or significant number of packs.  Almost all 92 cards that I was missing when I started were picked up in trades, or from buying small lots, no singles, off of EBay.

Yes, the set is finished, but I am also going to leave the door open to find more of these cards when Topps releases Series 2 at some point this summer.  There were some things that I really enjoyed about this project.  First, the 1983 sets were the first cards in my collection.  I started opening packs of cards at some point that summer.  I have always loved these cards.  Second, there were plenty of players that I enjoy collecting on the checklist.....

a few Cardinals, a few former Durham Bulls, and also a few players I saw while they were in college.  The Carlos Martinez card is probably my favorite Cardinal.   Also plenty of older players in the set too, which is my lone, small criticism of this set.  It would be nice if the cards of the retired players included on the checklist had a connection to the actual year of the card design.  Might have said this in another post.  My three favorite older cards in the set.....

probably have to be the three shown above since they were actually around and playing in 1983. 

All three were younger players at this point, but they still were pretty impactful that season.  Especially Ripken, considering the final play of the 1983 season was a soft line out to him, which ended the World Series.  

 There were plenty of good players who were active during the 1983 season, eager to see what Topps comes up with in the next batch of cards in Series 2.  I'd be excited to see a Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, or a Willie McGee.  Doubtful I will see a McGee, but a Gwynn in some brown, orange, and yellow Padres digs would be sweet.  

That Didn't Last Long and A Set Update

I went into work at the end of last week and one of my students brought me a pack of 2018 Topps cards.  You know, the set that I am not collecting.  Hard to hand a pack of baseball cards back to an eleven year old and say, "Sorry, but I do not collect these".

I opened the pack of cards.....

First card of the year goes to Diamondbacks infielder Brandon Drury.  

First Cardinals card was Dexter Fowler.  I like the action shot.  

First former Durham Bulls player was Wil Myers.  

A few thoughts on the base cards.  First, the wave on the front of the card isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to look.  I am still not rushing out to buy a bunch of packs, but definitely better in person than online.  I will still always refer to these cards as the "Aqua Fresh" set.  

The card backs are a huge letdown.  

For the second year in a row we've lost the player's stat line in favor of some box with the player's Twitter and Instagram handle?  If someone was going to follow C.C. Sabathia on social media, I am pretty certain that they don't need a baseball card to prompt them to do it.  He has an Old English Sheepdog (+1), but he named it after an NFL team (-1).  

I know I have advocated for sets being more kid friendly, social media connections are definitely more kid friendly, but as a young collector the stats on the back were helpful with matching up players who appeared old and washed up on television versus someone my dad and older brother told me was a good baseball card.  

Fergie Jenkins comes to mind.  

Old guy pitching for the Cubs.   

Hall of Famer.  

Two more quick items.  First, I never posted the best card I pulled out of the pack with the scans above.  I was rather surprised, in a good way.  

Would love to have seen a Cardinals Postseason card, but the players have had a hard time overcoming Mike Matheny lately.  Maybe next year.  

Last item.  I have also started working on the 1983 Topps inserts.  I have picked up 8 of the cards so far.  I won't repost the whole checklist, but I have 92 more cards to find.  

I like the idea of mixing vintage and modern players in the 1983 set.  I wish the retired players matched up a little bit better with the players who actually appeared/played around that time.  Of the retired players in this group of cards only Darryl Strawberry seems to fit.  

I understand that Topps has to make as many Derek Jeter cards as possible, but he did not play in 1983.  Same with Canseco.  Can't we sub out Canseco for Rickey Henderson?  Seems like a better choice for an A's outfielder from the early 1980s.  Maybe a Don Mattingly in place of Jeter?  

2014 Topps Series 2- A Few More Thoughts

I opened a jumbo box of 2014 Topps Series 2 a week or so ago at my favorite local card shop Big D's Cards in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I really enjoyed the box and had a few favorite cards that I pulled from the box.  I posted a video, but no scans.  Here's my run down with the scans along with a little something extra:

First off my jumbo box was very Joe Morgan heavy.  Two of my big hits featured the Hall of Fame second baseman.  I pulled this awesome Gold Label insert out of the box.  The card is a duplicate design of the old Gold Label sets from the late 90s, early 2000s.  The card has a metal frame and is numbered out of just 99.  Really cool pull.

My second Morgan card was a copy of his ring card.  I picked up a few of these from Series 1 and was happy to see Topps put them back into Series 2.  There are some really good names in this set that I am going to have to add to my collection.  The biggest two would have to be Mark McGwire and Ozzie Smith.  Although, the Morgan will have to stay considering he was one of the best players in the history of the Durham Bulls.

I was also happy to see Topps continue the 1989 minis set.  I pulled a few of these out of my box including an Albert Pujols and Mark McGwire.  I have the first set in Series 1 almost put together, so the new group of cards will be a good challenge.  Topps also continued over a few other cards from Series 1 with a cool twist:

This Chris Sale card is a Series 1 card that I pulled out of my Series 2 box.  The card was inserted into the packs of Series 2 as a variation with the Sabermetrics stats on the back.  Like this:

I think this is a pretty good variation and they have been pretty popular amongst collectors.  They are pretty affordable too and a little bit easier to spot than the sparkle card variations Topps has been using the last few years.  My other two hit cards from the box:

and this one.....

Which leads me to my bonus item.  There have been a few cards from the Series 2 set which I have been trying really hard to track down.  My biggest challenge has been trying to find some of the jumbo jersey and patch pieces in the set.  Really cool looking cards.  There are jumbo jersey and patch cards of Mark McGwire, Shelby Miller, and a few other Cardinals.  This was my first one I landed.

A few more are going to show up here in the next few weeks.....

1990s Yankees: The Best of the Rest

I have put up two posts about the Championship teams the Yankees put together in the late 90s.  The first day I started out with a few of the mainstays like Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, and Jorge Posada.  Yesterday, I posted a second group of Yankees who were some of my favorite veteran additions to the team.  Players like Tim Raines, Wade Boggs, and Mike Mussina were not necessarily the stars of the Yankees teams they played on, but they were key contributors who filled a role an important role for the Yankees. 

There were plenty of other cool names that popped up on the Yankees while they were putting together a string of four World Series titles over a five year period.  Here's a few of my other cool Yankees to look out for on cardboard. 

1982 Topps Chili Davis

Chili Davis
There are not many Jamaicans in the Majors, but Chili was one of the few to make the show.  I first ran into Chili Davis as a Giant when he dubbed St Louis a "Cow Town" which prompted 50,000 people to show up at Busch Stadium with cow bells for the 1987 National League Championship Series.  Jeffrey Leonard took most of the heat for the comment for some reason, but I was not a huge fan of Chili to start.  He moved to the American League later in his career where he hit a lot.  During the 1991 and 1992, playing for the Twins, Chili posted an OPS+ of 141 and 130 helping the Twins to the World Series crown over the Braves in 1991.  During the seven game series Chili hit 2 home runs and drove in 4 runs.  He filled a role with the Yankees, but definitely had some good moments.  His rookie card is pretty inexpensive, but he has signed almost nothing.  A hard autograph to find.   

2004 Upper Deck Yankees Classics Jimmy Key

 

Jimmy Key 

Jimmy Key was not a great pitcher, but was a good pitcher for a long time.  He had a few great seasons along the way, specifically the 1987 campaign with the Blue Jays where he posted a 17-8 mark, but led the American League in ERA, WHIP, H/9, and ERA+.  He also posted a 7.8 WAR that season.  Key came over to the Yankees from the Blue Jays in 1993 and was one of the team's bright spots in the mid 90s.  During the strike shortened season of 1994, Key led the American League in wins and came in second during Cy Young voting.  Key appeared on the 1996 World Championship Yankees team as a starter.  The regular season was so-so for Key, but he started and won the clincher for the team in the 6th game of the World Series.  Key's rookie card is one of the better cards in the 1985 Topps set and he has signed a lot of cards since retiring.  Many are on card.  He signed in the 1997 Donruss Signature Series cards while he was still playing, but the card features him as an Oriole which was brief stop at the end of his career.  

2013 Topps Archives Darryl Strawberry 1983 All-Star

Darryl Strawberry

A big name, but he was past his prime by the time he joined the Yankees for his second stint during the 1996 season.  He was a part-time player for the 1996, 1998, and 1999 World Series Championship teams.  His bat added some nice pop in 1996 adding 11 home runs in 200 at-bats and again in 1998 when he posted 24 home runs in about 250 at-bats.  Straw had his hot streaks and was a nice player after the bench for the pinstripes.  He has a pretty big following with cards.  Popular rookie cards in the 1983 Topps Traded set and 1984 Topps sets.  The Straw man has signed a lot, but his autograph is still pretty valuable and still highly sought after.  

2013 Topps Update Ruben Sierra Autograph

Ruben Sierra
He had a couple of nice seasons early in his career playing for the Rangers, was traded for Jose Canseco, flopped, and then ended up playing for almost (it seems that way) every Major League Baseball team under the sun.  Tony LaRussa once dubbed him "the village idiot" while he was playing for the A's.  Sierra played for the 1996 Yankees where he swung hard and hit home runs.  One of the bigger names to sit on the pine for the 1990s Yankees.  His cards are really affordable and he has a really nice looking autograph. 

1987 Topps Mini Mariano Duncan

Mariano Duncan
You're thinking why?  You remember when October rolled around and Mark Lemke popped up and did something.  Mariano Duncan was a the Dodgers and in the playoffs, the 1990 Reds World Champions, the 1993 Phillies, back to the Reds in 1995 for another playoff run, and then somehow ended up playing second base for the Yankees in 1996 along side Derek Jeter during his first full season in the bigs.  I know you are thinking he was just filling the hole next to Jeter on the infield, but Duncan had an out of nowhere season that year which really boosted the 1996 World Series Champions.  During the regular season Duncan posted a .340 batting average which is pretty spectular when you consider he was a .267 career hitter.  He also managed to bat .313 in the divisional round of the 1996 playoffs against the Rangers before remembering he was Mariano Duncan.  Cards are cheap, autograph is spectacular.  I don't own one, but I have seen several.  High quality. 

1998 Fleer Orlando "El Duque" Hernadez RC

Orlando Hernandez
I always thought of El Duque as a really good version of Dontrelle Willis.  Crazy windup and the guy would throw all kinds of pitches.  I am not sure that he always knew what he was throwing.  It some ways it was like watching a backyard wiffleball game.  He'd throw something up and sometimes it got hit and other times not.  El Duque played for the 1998, 1999, and 2000 World Champions before playing for a lot of other teams.  Here is throwing an eephus pitch to ARod: 

Orlando Hernandez has some pretty nice cards out there.  Nothing expensive, but also not many certified autographs.  Like Mariano Duncan, not much out there, but he's got a nice signature. 

A tip of his authentic Babe Ruth hat to 1998 Yankee starting pitcher David Wells....

30 year Top 50: 1987 Topps

#25-The sledding is all downhill from this point forward on my countdown.  I sat down this morning before typing this post, looked over the sets that will be popping up on my countdown during the next few weeks, and have some more really cool cards to share in my blog space.  Very excited about some of the sets coming up.  I am glad that so many of you have enjoyed reliving some of these sets and have taken time to comment or email.  Thank you.

1987 Topps Barry Larkin 

One of the iconic card designs of the past 30 years belongs to the 1987 Topps set.  As a kid, I really thought that these cards were ugly.  The wood grain wasn't at all appealing to the ten year old version of me, but this set grew on me as I grew older.  I love the fact that Topps copied the design and used it for a miniature insert in the 2012 Topps set.  I made sure that I ended up with a complete set across the three series of cards in the Topps base set this year.

The design of the 1987 Topps set is really the closest that Topps has come to replicating some of it's design magic of the 50s, 60s, and 70s since I've been collecting.  Sure, the early eighties cards sets all have their unique designs, but this set is the most recognizable 80s Topps set.  The sets since haven't all been bad or anything, but the more modern designs can be uninspired and drab.  They change little from year to year at times and I that in another 30 years I will have a difficult time telling the difference between the 2004 and 2005 Topps cards.  

1987 Topps Rafael Palmeiro

A lot of people think of the rookie cards in the 1987 Topps set before they think of the wood background.  The rookie cards were one of the big original draws of this set before the steroids era took care of most of their reputations.  Barry Larkin is of course already a Hall of Famer, but there were also rookie cards of Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro.  I love the cool Future Stars logo on some the rookie cards in this set.  That graphic screams 80s Topps.  

1987 Topps Mike Laga

My favorite card in this set is this awesome Mike Laga card.  I complain about the airbrushing on cards often, but this card should be in the airbrushing Hall of Fame for many reasons.  First, I'd love to know how a pink jersey got past the editors office at Topps.  Second, Laga was originally on the Tigers and was traded to the Cardinals.  Over Laga's right should there is a Tigers player wearing a grey Tigers road uniform.  The Cardinals wear grey road uniforms.  How is that a blue Tigers hat can turn red, but a grey uniform being airbrushed over for another grey uniform turns pink?  Hmmm.  Mike Laga is also famous for being the only player to ever hit a ball out of Busch Stadium II.  It was foul, but quite a feat at one of the big 70s concrete cookie cutter stadiums.  

Like the 1987 Topps set?  Not in my Top 50 countdown is the 1986 Topps set.  While the design isn't quite as cool, and the set lacks an important rookie card,  the 1986 Topps set can be condition sensitive.  I am not saying it's the 1971 Topps set, but anything before the advent of the Upper Deck sets with a black border can be tricky to find centered with good edges and corners.  

1986 Topps Darryl Strawberry 

While there aren't many great rookie cards in this set, apologies to all Darren Daulton and Lenny Dykstra fans, there are some good looking cards of many of the great players of the 1980s.  Cal Ripken wearing the cartoon bird uniform, Nolan Ryan in an Astros jersey, and Tony Gwynn in a brown Padres uniform are some of my highlights.  

1986 Topps Glenn Brummer 

The set also has some great photography with a good mix of portrait style cards and action shots.  One of my favorite action shots is this Glenn Brummer card with him holding up the ball and the running, Bobby Meacham ?, sliding into home.  Really cool card.  

  

   

30 Year Top 50: 1986 Donruss

#42- The 1986 Donruss set was an incredible set at the time of it's release and a few years in the early to mid 90s.  The set featured one of the hottest rookie cards of the 1980's and several other rookie cards that were above average.  For awhile, the Jose Canseco rookie in the set could sell or trade for upwards of $100.  However, with the demise of Jose Canseco the value of his rookie cards also crashed hurting the overall value of this set.

1986 Donruss Rated Rookie Jose Canseco

I am not going to rehash the whole Jose Canseco saga, but he was incredible at the height of his career and fell really hard.  At the time of this set's release, the Donruss Jose Canseco rookie card was one of the most sought after cards.  Often a rookie card makes or breaks a set and in this case the fate of this set followed the Canseco card.  In the late 80's when the Canseco rookie was at it's height, the card also brought up the values of several other rookie cards in the set including Fred McGriff, Paul O'Neill, and Andres Galarraga.  

1986 Donruss Rated Rookie Paul O'Neill

1986 Donruss Rated Rookie Andres Galarraga

1986 Donruss Rate Rookie Fred McGriff

In the end, the "other rookies" in the Donruss set ended up being almost as important as the Jose Canseco.  All three players had careers that were probably better than Canseco's, especially Paul O'Neill who was a key player on four World Championship teams.  None of the four players are Hall of Famers and that has brought down the value of this set to around $20.  It's not the 1988 Donruss set, but it's also not nearly as good as the 1987 set.  

My reason for including this set in my countdown is the simple fact that for a few years in the late 80s this was a great set.  In 1989, Jose Canseco hit 42 home runs to lead the American League while stealing 40 bases and driving in more than 100 runs.  That same season, Fred McGriff enjoyed his second thirty plus home run season, when 30 home runs was a big deal, and draws comparisons on that season with Mark McGwire on Baseball Reference.  O'Neill and Galarraga enjoyed solid seasons, but would have more impact later in their careers.  

Despite it's loss in value the 1986 Donruss set can teach us two important lessons.  First, the 1980s cards all generally lack the kind of cardboard value that vintage cards enjoy.  No fault of the collector's, but its hard to value a card when there are thousands upon thousands of copies of a card.  For me, these sets are still great to take out and look at.  I love the polyester uniforms and seeing cards of players I loved watching as a kid.  Cardinals cards of Danny Cox and Mike Laga.  Yellow Pirates jerseys.  

Second, there are many in the card industry that try to say that the on field product has little effect on the price of a player's cardboard.  If that statement were true, than the Jose Canseco card would still retain some shred of value instead being able to find raw copies of the card for under $5. 

I had such as conversation with the Editor of Beckett Baseball Card Magazine Chris Olds on Twitter during the Cardinals and Nationals game last week.  Basically, I took the view point that Bryce Harper's regular season and postseason performance would have to greatly improve for him to maintain his current level of card values.  

For example, in the mid 90s collectors went crazy for Andruw Jones cards when he played well, as a teenager, in the 1996 playoffs.  Sixteen years later, Andruw Jones is a role player with a low batting average and no defensive skill.  Not to say that is what Harper is to become, but collector's eyeing a high end rookie should look at the cards of Canseco and Jones to better understand the high risk that comes with adding high end rookie cards to their collections.  

Like the 1986 Donruss set?  Not in my Top 50 is the 1984 Donruss set.  This set is very similar to the 1986 Donruss release.  For years, this set was a highly valuable and high sought after piece of cardboard.  There were three important rookie cards in the set, which like the 1986 Donruss, lost value and popularity with the demise of the players.  Most importantly was the Don Mattingly rookie card. 

1984 Donruss Don Mattingly 

Mattingly had a great start to his career, but it was derailed by injuries.  His cards had trouble maintaining their values over time.  Mattingly has moved on to become a successful manager with the Dodgers and still is popular with Yankees collectors.  The other two key rookie cards were the Joe Carter Rated Rookie card and the Darryl Strawberry rookie.

1984 Donruss Darryl Strawberry

1984 Donruss Joe Carter

Strawberry's career followed a similar path as Jose Canseco.  Again, not going to rehash the entire saga, but he was a really good player who turned out to be very average.  His cards are still sought after, but do not maintain much in terms of value.  Joe Carter was a highly thought of prospect who turned into a nice everyday player.  Above average, but not a Hall of Famer.  More importantly he hit a game winning, series ending home run in the 1993 World Series.