Going with a later Ray Lankford card today, one of his last with the Cardinals. Ray was traded in the middle of the 2001 season to the Padres for pitcher Woody Williams. It was ultimately a good trade for the Cardinals. Woody Williams was a good pitcher for several years in the early 2000s, even made an All-Star team. Ray's knees were shot, while serviceable for the Padres, he was clearly declining offensively.
The trade was disappointing, but you could see it coming a long way out. To summarize the lead-up, Lankford's knees were giving him trouble and he needed to have one of them "cleaned up". The Cardinals medical staff has a rather dubious reputation, so Ray found his own orthopedic surgeon. The Cardinals weren't happy, Lankford was not happy the Cardinals weren't happy. Ray's play declined, the Cardinals weren't happy. Ray was traded.
It's essentially the same story as Scott Rolen getting traded, but substitute shoulder for knee.
Anyway, here is the card.
The Stadium Club brand has always been all about photography and this card does not disappoint. Love the angle of the picture on the card from the side-back of the player. I also love the background on the photo too with the standing room area of Pac-Bell Park in the background. Cards that capture the surroundings of the ballpark are always a plus in my book. I am not a Giants fan, maybe I do not pay enough attention, but I cannot think of many baseball cards that utilize the background of the Giants ballpark.
I wasn't sure who the Giants catcher was in the photo. If I had to name a Giants catcher from the early 2000s, I would go with Benito Santiago or Bobby Estalella. It's actually Doug Mirabelli. Always think of him as a Red Sox, but was also a back-up with the Giants for a long time. I don't remember that.
All that focus on the ballpark and I didn't even talk about Ray. First, we have the blue Cardinals road hats again this week. I am still not sure why they don't wear those more often. They are much better than the gray uniforms with the red hats. Second, without looking for a specific game, I am guessing that this is a groundout. The pitch is high and the ball looks like it's on a downward angle.
Mirabelli was a backup and this is clearly a day game. He and Lankford did not cross paths often in 2000, so it was not hard to track down a game on May 10th in 2000. Lankford pinch-hit in the 9th inning and grounded out to firstbase. The Cardinals lost the game on a home run hit by Barry Bonds in the 8th inning off of Heathcliff Slocumb. It pains me to even type that sentence.
Back of the card.
You can see the decline in the numbers here, not terrible, but definitely down. The 26 home runs are actually not bad, but only 16 doubles and 5 stolen bases are really low for Ray Lankford. Even in his later years when he was hitting in the middle of the lineup, Ray was stealing 15 to 20 bases. I would also guess that the reduced number of doubles could be knee-related.
The "smooth outfielder, able to play all three positions" is completely erroneous. Ray Lankford was almost always a centerfielder and played left-field the last year and half he was a Cardinals after the team traded for Jim Edmonds. Ray played 2 games in right-field during his career, which was more than 1,500 games. Both were with the Padres at the end of 2001. While Ray was a good defensive player, I would not say that throwing was a strength.
When you think of Bowman sets from the early 2000s, what comes to mind? Black borders were a must. Tons of hype for a bunch of prospects that may or may not (ding, ding, ding) have made a significant impact in the Major Leagues. This post is about the 2002 Bowman set, but it could really be about all the Bowman sets between 2002 and 2006.
There is a theme for this post. Let's try this meme.
Base Set
The set has a black border because it is a Bowman set from the early 2000s. You were expecting something different. Tisk, tisk. I usually use the first card in the set, but it appears that I am missing my Adam Dunn card. I have this set marked complete, so I did a little investigating to see where the card went.
The story of where the card was is more interesting than the second card in the set. I scanned this one when I started writing the post, just in case Adam Dunn was gone.
The veteran cards in the set all have a red border to distinguish them from the prospect cards which have a blue border. The pictures on the card are mundane. The Roger Clemens card has him batting, otherwise, they are not interesting.
The backs of the Bowman cards have changed little over the years. These write-ups aren't exactly 1988 Score and the descriptions of the players are generous. I threw up in my mouth a little bit when I read that "fluid shortstop" part.
Remember that time Jeter dove into the stands at Yankee Stadium and smashed some old women and his face into one of the seats?
There is nothing fluid about this catch.
Derek Jeter getting an overly generous biography from a baseball card writer.
A Lengthy Side Story About The Adam Dunn Card
Over the pandemic, my 10-year-old spent a lot of time reading about baseball. As a two-teacher household, it was hard to work with him while we were teaching our classes online. My wife and I frequently told him to find a book to read for a short time when he got stuck. He also dabbled in baseball videos on YouTube.
He is one of those people who can read a book and can recite every fact back to you that he read. While he generally sticks to topics like stadiums, Hall of Famers, Cardinals, and Durham Bulls players, we went through a phase last summer when he got really into reading and watching videos about players with odd careers.
If you have never read anything about Adam Dunn, he's a weird player. There is a Dorktown video about the weirdness of his career. This is the preview screen for the video on YouTube.
I could see where the video has appeal to the average 10-year-old.
Anyway, he also killed time during the pandemic by looking through my old scorecards, ticket stubs, and baseball cards. He'd ask me frequently about taking cards from my collection, most of which I was indifferent about.
Apparently, the 2002 Bowman Adam Dunn card was one of them.
"You can scan my card" is the line I got when I asked him about the card. I tried trading back for the card, but he is currently demanding a Ji-Man Choi autograph. That's a little steep for an Adam Dunn base card.
Luckily, I am on vacation, so writing an extra side story in this post doesn't really matter.
The World's Most Smudged Autographs
In the early days of this blog, I actually worked on finishing off a set of 2002 Bowman autographs. I had pulled several out of packs back in the day, decided it would be an easy project. There are very few cards on the checklist, no real big names.
It would have been really easy, but 90% of the 2002 Bowman autographed cards are smudged.
One-time Durham Bull and drug test failer, Wilson Betemit with smudges.
Art Howe's favorite first baseman who would not take a walk, Carlos Pena.
My favorite card in the set belongs to former Cardinal outfielder Ryan Ludick.
I spent some time, that I am never getting back, trying to find these autographs in good condition. There are several of these cards that I have multiple copies of due to trying to upgrade. No matter how hard you look, they are all smudged.
Big mistake.
Topps having quality control issues......
Best Non-Cardinal/Non-Durham Bull Card
I like looking through old Bowman sets to see the prospects that did not make it almost as much as those who became something in the Majors. This Ronald Acuna card makes me feel old. He was a career Minor Leaguer with the Mets who got a baseball card in the 2002 Bowman set. Little bit different player than his son, Ronald Acuna Jr.
Ronald Sr. had a career-high of 8 home runs playing for the Mets two A-Ball teams in the Florida State League and South Atlantic League. While he lacked power, Ronald stole 20 bases almost every season he played in the Minors and had several years where he crossed 30. Ronald Sr. also has a card in the 2002 Bowman's Best set.
I cannot find anything about what happened to Ronald Sr. after he stopped playing baseball outside of a ton of photos of him at Braves games (New Balance sweatshirt).
Best Cardinal Card
This was such an easy pick for me. The second I picked out this box from the stack, I knew the Cardinals card that I was going to pick for this post.
So Taguchi was the first Japanese player signed by the Cardinals. He was initially somewhat of a disappointment and ended up spending parts of his first seasons in the U.S. playing with the Cardinals Triple-A team. In the end, he was a fourth outfielder for the Cardinals, but he was one of those lovable bench players.
The back of his card was actually fairly accurate. He was a spray hitter and superb defensive player. The Cardinals ended up pairing him up with outfielders like Chris Duncan and Reggie Sanders, who could hit but had limitations on defense. Frequently Duncan or Sanders would start the game, Taguchi would come in late as a defensive sub.
While he was really known for his defense, I think his best moment in the Majors was his go-ahead home run off of Billy Wagner in Game 2 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. The Cardinals lost the first game of the NLCS and were tied with the Mets late in Game 2. I am sure that if the Mets win the game, go up 2-0, the series turns out differently.
This is the home run.
Taguchi ended up on the Phillies after his contract ran out with the Cardinals and he managed to pick up a second World Series ring with the team in 2008.
Best Durham Bulls Card
I chose a former Durham Bulls player pictured as a Blue Jays prospect. Rich Thompson was a decade away from playing with the Bulls when this card was produced. However, if you followed Triple-A baseball a while back, it was pretty hard not to know the name Rich Thompson. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2000 out of James Madison University and was in Triple-A by the next season. Such a quick riser would surely make it to the Majors, right?
Here is his well-earned 2002 Bowman card that was likely made due to his rapid climb through the Minors. Topps also put him in their base set as a prospect and in T-206.
He disappeared from major baseball card products after 2002, but he continued to play in Triple-A.
Right up on the back of the card seems fair.
So, here is what happened to Rich Thompson:
+He played a total of 13 years in the Minors, he appeared for a Triple-A team in 12 of those seasons.
+He played for the Triple-A teams of the Blue Jays, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Phillies, and Rays.
+He twice made the Majors. Once in 2004 with the Royals where he played in 6 games, but only got 1 at-bat. He did not have a hit. The Rays called him up in 2012 where he had 2 hits in 22 at-bats. His career batting average is under .100 and he has more stolen bases (7) than hits (2). Rich Thompson still made it, that counts for something.
+His final two seasons in professional baseball were spent with the Durham Bulls. He was excellent on the 2012 team, hence the call-up to the Rays. Thompson had a rough year in 2013 and retired after breaking his foot while fielding a ball.
Some years Rich Thompson was on your team, some years Rich Thompson was not on your team. He was a scrappy player who was easy to support. Further, while the Minor League records can be a little sketchy at times, I would have to think that his 300 career steals at the Triple-A level would have to be pretty far up the list. Overall, he has almost 500 steals in the Minors. Again, that has to be far up the all-time leader's list.
Thompson is still loved around the Minors almost a decade after he retired. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Phillies Triple-A team, has given away multiple bobbleheads of Thompson and I have also heard there are pictures of him hanging in the front office of the team.
How Does It Compare?
This set is not really all that interesting, so it has to rank in the bottom half of the list. This is post #14, so I will start at 2017 Topps Minor League Heritage and work down the list.
-Both 2017 Topps Heritage Minors and 2002 Bowman are prospect-driven sets. While I am not a huge fan of the 1968 Topps design, a boring border with interesting cards is better than a boring border and uninteresting cards.
-1995 Emotion XL is at least interesting and has good photography, even if some of the labels slapped on the players are really stupid. Better than over glossed Derek Jeter bios.
-1988 Donruss, while I don't love the borders, it's still more interesting than the 2002 Bowman set. Plus, that set has a Tom Glavine rookie, which is better than any prospect card in the 2002 Bowman set. Let's go down another spot.
-2000 UD Ionix. Now, we are talking about the right neighborhood. Predictable short checklist with the same 2 or 3 players on each team getting cards. Ionix has better autographs and some nicer high-end touches, but there is something nice about having the larger checklist of 2002 Bowman where you get cards of the players I put into this post.
Listen, friends. I have had this post drafted for a while and really like the cards that I share at the end of the post. I am well aware of what happened to the NC State baseball team last week. More than happy to discuss the team itself, their play during the regular and postseason, but I am not getting into a debate about COVID or vaccines.
I have always enjoyed collecting cards of players on the NC State baseball team. It still amazes me that there are baseball cards of kids in college and high school. In the past, I have dabbled with cards of Trea Turner....
Carlos Rodon
and Will Wilson, just to name a few.
After much searching, I have found that there is only one player on this year's team that has a baseball card. I was a little surprised that none of them appeared in the USA Baseball U-18 sets, or more didn't make it into a Perfect Game set, which is where I found the card for this post.
This is the team's catcher, Luca Tresh. He led the team in home runs this season and is currently listed as the 84th best prospect who can enter the MLB Draft this year. I am sure he will get selected, but there are a ton of college catchers in this year's draft. I did a quick count, but there are at least 3 other catchers from just ACC schools rated ahead of him. NC State has had a good run of catchers in the Draft lately with Andrew Knizner (Cardinals) and Patrick Bailey (Giants).
Hopefully, he lands somewhere good and gets a few baseball cards.
On to the Yankees connection. Luca Tresh's cousin was a player on the 1960s Yankees teams, Tom Tresh. The first time I heard this fact, I had to go dig through my 1960s commons. I knew the name but knew nothing about him as a player.
Here is my 1968 Topps Tom Tresh card.
Not the best condition even with a generous crop job on the corners, but he's actually a pretty interesting player and person. He's a much better player than I realized. Here is my quick rundown on Tom Tresh in the form of a bulleted list.
+Tresh won the 1962 American League Rookie of the Year
+Played almost 1,200 games, almost all with the Yankees hit more than 20 home runs 4 times during his career.
+Tom Tresh and Derek Jeter were the only 2 modern shortstops to start as rookies for the Yankees on Opening Day.
+Hit a go-ahead home run against the Giants in Game 5 of the 1962 World Series.
+Tresh made the American League All-Star teams in 1962 and 1963
+He won a Gold Glove in 1965
Tresh retired before the 1970 season. He ended up working an administrative job at Central Michigan University where he also made an important invention to help out the school's baseball and softball teams. Tresh called it the "Slide-Rite".
You've seen these before.
This is the second baseball player/inventor I have posted this year.
Anyway, I was happy to add a card of a current NC State player and I enjoyed learning about Tom Tresh for this post.
I am a big fan of this card. Well, the front of the card.
First, I love the Cardinals road uniforms with the blue hats/helmets. The team has abandoned this look in recent years, which is really a shame. It's one of the better road uniforms in baseball when combined with that blue hat. The red hats just don't cut it for me. I am also fairly certain the Cardinals have lightened the gray used on the road uniforms, I like this darker hue better.
The picture on this card was taken during the 1994 season. You should be able to assume that a 1995 Topps card would have a picture from 1994, but we all know how Topps recycles old photographs. The giveaway is the patch on Lankford's right sleeve, which was to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Major League Baseball.
Here is a closer look at the patch.
Naturally, Major League Baseball rolls the Cincinnati Reds out in the Season Opener. They played the Cardinals in that game. Ray Lankford had a little less power at that point in his career and a little more speed. The Cardinals used him as their lead-off hitter.
Ray was the first batter of the 1994 season. What did he do?
Yard.
Back of the card.
The home run above gets a mention on the back of his 1995 Topps card. The design of the back has always been my lone fault with this card. Topps squished the stats to the left of the card in order to fit the color player pictures on the right side. All of the photos on the cards are the MLB stock photos that teams use for scoreboards and the whatnot. I am sure I saw this on the Busch Stadium scoreboard a few times during the summer of 1994. Not very exciting. I am more interested in the action photo below, but they made it so small.
I really wanted to make a post last weekend when Wander Franco got called up to the Rays, but I was sitting here typing up my report cards for the end of the school. The last day of school was Monday. Throw in a couple of workdays and a few more days to rest and recover, and I have a full month of vacation.
Better late than never.
I actually had a chance to see Wander a few weeks back while he was still with the Bulls.
Not the most competitive game.
Always fun to see a really good prospect though, regardless of the score.
In the last few weeks, I have picked up two new Wander Franco cards.
This is a Bowman Scouts Top 100 insert showing Franco's top prospect rating. Sort of wish he was in a Bulls uniform, but I understand they don't put those types of cards in Bowman sets. A really nice-looking card that didn't cost me an arm and a leg.
The reflective surface did not do great in the scanner, but this is a knock-off of the 1991 Bowman set.
Beyond the Wander cards, I have also been working a little more on finding cards of Luis Patino. He was on the prospects that the Rays got back from the Padres in exchange for Blake Snell. He pitched at the Bulls game that I attend a few weeks back. Really nice pitcher, I think I will continue collecting his cards.
Both of these are from 2020 products.
Not sure about the Sod Poodles name, but I like the looks of the card. Love the dark border on the 1971 Topps design. Great looking set.
I also found a Bowman Chrome autograph of Patino. I am surprised that any of these are affordable these days with all of the "prospecting" that goes on, especially since Patino is a top 100 prospect. Nice first year autograph, love that he signed his Spring Training uniform number.
One last Durham Bulls card for the week.....
I also picked up a card of Ripken The Bat Dog. Ripken was supposed to start working for the Bulls last year, but did not with the season canceled. I still have not seen Ripken this year.
A few years back the Durham Bulls, really the Rays, had two players with the last name Lowe.
There was Nate Lowe.
Who is now on the Rangers.
There was also Brandon Lowe.
Who is now the Rays starting second baseman.
The Bulls did not field a team last year due to the pandemic, so they did not have a chance to put a player with the last name Lowe on the field. Naturally, when the 2021 season started the name Lowe reappeared on the roster. This time it's outfielder Jose Lowe.
He is leading the International League in slugging. I am not calling it Triple-A East, or whatever Rob Manfred renamed the league.
He's been a good player and is way more affordable than Wander Franco or Vidal Brujan.
So, here is the card.
This is one of those cards that Topps rushed to produce. Yes, it is clearly airbrushed, but the metal bleachers in the background are a clear giveaway that this is a picture from a high school baseball game of some sort. I think it would actually be cooler if the parents/spectators in the background were in lawn chairs.
Whoever is behind his left shoulder is not even watching the game.
There are not many Josh Lowe cards out there. Like many other prospects on the Rays, they get the first Bowman card and then they are ignored until they are suddenly playing well in the Majors. It's the same thing that happened to the two other Lowes, although Nate was not a serious prospect.
Yes, I know it's Tuesday, but it's one of those Monday-Tuesday types of weeks.
I have used Monday posts for random old cards.
I have used Monday posts for 1990s Cardinals cards.
I have used Monday posts for 1980s Cardinals cards.
In an attempt to get back into some more regular posts, I am going to post some random Ray Lankford cards that are in my collection. Nothing high-end, nothing serial numbered. Just base cards of my favorite 1990s Cardinals player. I have a giant 800 count box filled with duplicate Ray Lankford cards in my card closet. A few weekends back I found it and started flipping through the cards. Good times.
Here is the first card.
The Upper Deck base sets during the 1990s all had the same sort of vibe and feel. Photography was always the highlight of this brand. I like this action photo of Ray running and I also like that Upper Deck put a date and game on the picture.
Looking a little deeper, 1996 was the first year that Busch Stadium had grass since the early days of the stadium. It was unusual to see a home white Cardinals uniform with a grass playing field in the background. Also note the sleeve patch, which celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Cardinals move to Busch Stadium.
The back of the card has another action shot of Ray running to first base. I am guessing that this photo is also from the June 29th game against the Pirates. I found it interesting that the card was talking up a game against the Pirates at the end of June. While the Cardinals won the National League Central in 1996 and the Pirates finished last, they were actually within four games of each other when this game was played.
I usually like the card backs with Upper Deck, but in my opinion, this one has a few flaws. The highlights in the corner seem like a bit of an afterthought. Why not write more about the game against the Pirates rather than throwing out another highlight from a different game? It's also squeezed into the corner.
I am also not a huge fan of the gold background with the white print for the stats. It's not terrible, but why not use the black background with the gold print that was used on the side for the highlight? Seems to pop a little bit more.
