I've always been a cold weather guy, but after seeing the amount of snow that was dumped on parts of the East Coast... I started having flashbacks of being stuck in a snow storm inside of my car with my brother last December. Although it was a great bonding experience... it made me look at snow in a completely different light.
Up until then... Tahoe and my childhood were the first things that popped into my head when I thought of snow. My family would take the four hour trek into the Sierra Nevadas a few times each year to ski and sled.
That's why my mother wanted to have her ashes scattered there. Just look at that view. Can you blame her?
Anyways... I hope all of you who were hit by the snow storm earlier in the week are safe and warm.
Okay... let's move along to another edition of This Week in Blogging...
#1: In the Right Direction
2005 Bowman Heritage Pieces of Greatness #PG-JG
On Thursday, I woke up to the great news that Major League Baseball had reclassified the Negro Leagues as a major league. That can't change what happened in the past, but is a huge step in the right direction. A huge shoutout to CinciCuse Bill for bringing this news to my attention. Johnny's Trading Spot also celebrated his 2000th post by writing about this special occasion. Congratulations John!
It will be interesting to see how the inclusion of the Negro Leagues statistics impacts the MLB record books. I'm also hoping to see more cardboard featuring Negro League players.
#2: The Best of 2020
2020 Stadium Club #115
In addition to the holiday season, it's that time of the year where people start choosing their annual favorites. Jeremy over at Topps Cards That Never Were got the ball rolling with his picks.
2020 Stadium Club #178
I'm not motivated enough to sit down and create a list of favorites... but this year's Stadium Club was hands down my favorite set of the year. I really like the design with the colored boxes, but the photography is obviously the thing that sealed the deal for me.
#3: To Mark or Not to Mark
Nick Vossbrink wrote an excellent post for SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee about marked checklists and whether or not the fit into your standards.
1969 Topps #22
I personally would rather track down unmarked checklists for my set builds, but I'm not afraid to add cards that have a little ink on them. On Monday I wrote about a care package John sent me and forgot to showcase one of the most unique cards he included.
This card is the newest addition to my Damaged Card PC. Thanks again Johnny!
#4: Let's Talk About Threads, Baby
1986 Sportflics #19
Anyways... a closer look at the baseball used on the back of their inaugural set reveals that Sportflics dropped the ball... just like Fleer did with their 1981 set.
#5: Magazine Cards Rule
If you enjoy collecting cards originally found in magazines, then you and I have something in common. Earlier in the week, Wrigley Wax showed off some cards from a 1992 issue of Ballstreet Journal.
I don't have any copies of that magazine in my collection, but I do have several early 90's issues of Baseball Cards. One of them contained this cool Ken Griffey Jr. card that utilizes the 1980 Topps design.
#6: Pogs & CCG's
1999 Pokemon Base Set #004
Are you a fan of collectibles outside the realm of sports cards? If so, I encourage you to head over to A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts. Jon wrote a post involving his friend, Pogs, and his first exposure to Magic: The Gathering gaming cards. I really enjoyed the read, because it reminded me of my days working at the Fun Stuff Comics & Cards.
Back then I taught fifth grade during the day... and worked at the card shop at night. They had an an entire section of the shop dedicated to gaming. I remember MTG being pretty popular... but I focused most of my attention on Pokemon... because that's what half of my students played.
I never bothered learning how to play the game, but I did enjoy collecting the cards and building sets. These days I only have a handful of them left... with this Charizard being the pièce de résistance.
Oh dang. It's already past four and I usually publish these posts at three o'clock, so I'm going to wrap things up here.
Feel free to comment on the weather, your favorite Negro League players or 2020 products, or your thoughts on cards with writing on them down below.
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
Just posted late last night about "Turkey Stearnes" and the Detroit Stars.. Stearnes was a great ballplayer, and has inducted into the HOF.
ReplyDeleteThe record book is gonna look a lot different, for sure, and it's a well deserved recognition for those players.
As for the weather, I'm a rate person that actually moved back to cold weather...and I absolutely love it...having a "White Christmas" w/ snow is, well, magical, as it was when I was a kid.
I admire the passion / commitment of the Weathermen / Weather Underground, though we're pretty far apart politically. Though maybe my views would have been different if I was their age. Who knows?
ReplyDeleteI was at KC Royals game when I was a kid in ' 71 or '72. It was a day to honor KC Monarchs. I was able get Satchel Paige's autograph while he was watching the game. Its my favorite piece of memorabilia. Satchel is an icon in Kansas City.
ReplyDeleteJim Zapp is my favorite Negro League player. The forgotten side of integration is that, when the Negro Leagues closed for good, hundreds of black players not at Jackie's level were suddenly without a team to play for. Zapp came to my hometown of Paris IL to play for the Single-A Paris Lakers, and set a Midwest League RBI record that still stands in the record books, even though Paris hasn't had a pro team since the 1950s.
ReplyDeleteWow. So much to cover. 4-6” of snow here in syracuse but 41” one hour drive south in Binghamton. The Sierra Nevadas look beautiful. I can relate as I have family ashes in the St. Lawrence River.
ReplyDeleteDamaged cards - I have some confessions to make in a future post about those when I was a stupid kid.
I’ll go with Cool Papa Bell for my favorite Negro League player.
Peace!
There are tons of formerly negro league players, see I already switched. :) that I collect. Okay, maybe not a ton, but many for sure. No snow here, but freezing rain instead. Glad you liked the inked up card.
ReplyDeleteI'm long past the years where I'd ever write on my own cards, but I do enjoy picking up stray cards with writing and/or doodles on them if I see them cheap somewhere. Wrote a post on that recently as well.
ReplyDeleteWe had a good snow storm here last week. About 7 or so inches. Stuck around too as it remained cold; Saturday it was 10 degrees! Nice. Lovely weather. I'm working on my favorite cards of 2020 blog post; and was wondering if anyone else was doing that. Be well.
ReplyDeleteI am totally a cold weather guy. Bring on the cold.
ReplyDeleteThese 2020 Topps On Demand Star Wars 3D might be my favorite set soon. Will have to see how they look in hand.
Hahaha! That Alou card used to be mine, I must have traded it to John at some point! Here it is: https://borosny.blogspot.com/2018/04/a-teaser.html
ReplyDeleteNegro League Legend & Pioneer John Donaldson, pitcher & Outfielder for the Kansas City Monarchs & Team of Nations is the most Glaring omission from the Current Hall of Fame enshrines.
ReplyDeletejohn sharp - hadn't heard of turkey stearnes until your post. i'm hoping we'll be seeing more negro league players on trading cards in the future which will open our eyes to more of their history
ReplyDeleteelliptical man - had to look up weather underground. never heard of the organization until today.
unknown - that is awesome. i remember reading a book that mentioned him when i was a kid and he's been a baseball legend to me ever since. the fact that you met him is very, very cool.
david switzer - thank you for that history lesson. you're absolutely right... the stars continued to shine. but it'd be interesting to see a documentary on what a lot of the other players ended up doing with their lives after the negro leagues closed. totally unfamiliar with zapp, but appreciate the information.
cincicuse bill - whoa... 41"? that's so crazy. by the way, i read your post today. it was awesome. at least you kept them around.
johnnys trading spot - that inked up card is a classic. it's sitting next to the bristol you sent me last year
nick - if i had any artistic ability... i'd mess around and make customs of my own with some of the cards that i end up donating to goodwill each year
peter k steinberg - i like the cold, but 10 degrees is a bit extreme for me. can't wait to see which cards you nominate for 2020. i'm still not sure if i'm going to do it.
sumo menko man - have you received your star wars 3d cards yet? if so, how do they look?
bo - glad to see that it's making the rounds. although it's found a permanent home in my damaged card binder
xavier higgins - thanks for sharing his name. hopefully him and other negro league players will benefit from mlb's decision by gaining national exposure for their accomplishments.
I did not know that about the stitches on baseballs. wow. magazine cards are fun. and tougher to find. love those oddballs.
ReplyDelete