Turn The Page: Beckett Baseball (8/91)

Sorry Seger fans.  This post won't be focusing on his classic song... which happens to be one of my all-time favorites.  It will however showcase a periodical that arrived from east of Omaha.

Sometime last year, Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders sent me three issues of Beckett Baseball, two issues of Baseball Weekly, and a copy of Sports Collectors Digest with one thing in common.  They all featured Mr. Padre on the cover.

Today's rainy day forecast cancelled my trip to the De Anza Flea Market and opened up my schedule, so I figured today would be perfect to show them off.  Unfortunately... after writing for about thirty minutes, I came to the conclusion that summarizing all of these would take an entire afternoon.

My solution?  Let's start a new series on this blog.  In addition to what Dennis sent me, I have tons of other periodicals laying around with interesting stuff waiting to be unveiled.

Today's subject is Tony Gwynn's first Beckett Baseball Card Monthly cover appearance:

Beckett Baseball August 1991

By the time this issue was published, Gwynn was a 6x NL All-Star, 4x Silver Slugger Award winner, 3x Gold Glove Award winner and had won four NL batting titles.  It's kind of a shame he wasn't given the honor by Beckett a little sooner.

2000 Topps Finest Finest Moments #FM3

The article about him covered everything from his rookie cards to his brother Chris.  Gwynn also talked about 3,000 hits being attainable (he was about halfway there at this point in his career) as long as he maintained his consistency.

But the one thing that really stood out was Jack Clark and Mike Pagliarulo accusing him of not being a team player:

This took me by surprise.  I also learned a little about Babe Ruth in separate article:

It's hard to believe it took the New York Yankees twelve years after his retirement to honor arguably the greatest to ever play the game.

2002 Fleer Fall Classic HOF Plaque #1

A year later (on June 13th, 1948) the he returned to Yankee Stadium and was honored again by having his jersey number retired.  It was his last trip there.  Three months after that (on August 16th) he passed away in his sleep.

2020 Topps Chrome Update A Numbers Game #NGC-15

Gwynn would eventually have his jersey number retired in 2004 almost three years after playing his final MLB game.

Getting back to the issue, here's a quick peek at Beckett's Hot & Cold lists from the summer of 1991:

It's no surprise that Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas were at the top of the hot list and Pete Rose was on top of the cold list.

2002 Upper Deck #734

I was surprised that Gwynn was nowhere to be found on either of these lists.  At least my other favorite player made it on the list.  Rickey Henderson had just broken Lou Brock's all-time stolen base record a few months before this issue came out, so his cards were pretty hot.

By the way... if you're wondering why I'm not featuring one of the cards highlighting this record, that's because all of the cards featured in this post were part of a Christmas care package from Dennis (not to be confused with the package containing the periodicals).

Yup.  He sent me that Babe Ruth insert (above)... which completes my 2002 Fleer Fall Classic HOF Plaque set build (which I seem to have misplaced).

When I write another Turn The Page post, I will do my best to include cards from the periodical's era to help make things more relatable.

I'll go ahead and wrap up this issue and post with the inside back cover art:

Chris Modarelli is responsible for this beautiful artwork, but Beckett might have misidentified the card.

Not sure if they were just stating a fact about Cobb's T-206 card or referring to the card in Modarelli's piece which features his T-205 card.

And yes... here's a card relating to the Georgia Peach:

1997 Upper Deck UD3 #35

Upper Deck pointed out that the only players to have more batting titles than Gwynn were Honus Wagner and Ty Cobb.  However Gwynn would capture his 8th batting title at the end of the 1997 season... tying Wagner... and leaving Cobb as the only player with more batting titles.

Thank you Dennis for providing this issue of Beckett and all of the cards featured in this post.

And here you go Seger fans...

#hopethisworks

Hopefully Blogger and/or YouTube allows me to include the song.  If not... click here.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Gwynn Giveaway

Over the years… I’ve been sent hundreds of Tony Gwynn cards and a percentage of them are duplicates.  It’s not very surprising.  I don’t have a want list published nor do I have my collection on TCDB, which means people have no idea what I can use or what I already have.

Maybe one day I’ll get around to uploading my Gwynn PC.  We will see.  It’s not very high on my priority list right now.

My #1 hobby goal is to clear up care packages that I've accumulated over the months.  But before I continue with them, I’d like to thank my readers by giving away some of these extra Mr. Padre cards.

It’s a way of paying it forward after inheriting a huge Gwynn collection from Rod over at Padrographs.  He has sent me hundreds of Gwynns over the years.  I’ve added the ones I needed into my binders and now that his extras have been merged and organized with my duplicates, it’s time for me to pay it forward and share them with any of you who enjoy or collect Tony Gwynn.

I wasn’t sure what the level of interest would be, so I started off with 19 stacks of 19 cards:

I actually have hundreds of duplicates still sitting in my box, so if more than 19 people are interested I can make more lots.  But for now... I'll go ahead and reserve a stack for the first 19 people who comment.

If more people are interested... I'll figure out what to do then.

Unfortunately... there aren't any autographs or rookie cards included in these lots.  The oldest cards are 1985 Topps and Donruss cards... and the newest are from around 2013.  But if you are a collector who appreciates one of the purest hitters of all-time... each bundle will find a good variety of his cards.

I even have a stack of duplicate inserts... so I'll try to make sure everyone gets a bonus tossed into their bundle.

What's the catch?

All you need to do is comment down below that you're interested in one of these PWE's.  If you know or think I don't have an updated shipping address, shoot me an email too.

Thanks again to all of you for taking the time to support the blog... and a special thanks to anyone who has contributed to my Gwynn collection over the years.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

By the way... I recently picked up the current issue of Beckett Vintage Collector, because Mr. Padre himself is featured on the cover:

I've gotta say I was super impressed with the entire issue.  In regards to the articles, I actually read it cover to cover... which is something I rarely do.  Part of it has to do with the content, because I'm a huge fan of the 1983 Topps baseball and the 1909-11 T51 Murad sets.  Plus there was a very interesting article about the Seattle Pilots and their collectibles.

But the coolest thing of all is that this issue has an article on Topps All-Star cards that was written by The Blogfather... Night Owl Cards.  Great job Greg!  Loved your article... and the entire issue was well worth the cover price.

If I Could Turn Back Time

A large percentage of my life has been spent sitting around collecting and organizing cards.  That's why it is thoroughly embedded into my personal history.  It also explains my preference to read card blogs and watch videos about collectors building 70's baseball card sets, reminiscing about 80's rookie cards, and discussing 90's inserts they once pulled.

So it shouldn't shock anyone that I also enjoy flipping through old issues of sports card magazines.  In fact, I've been thinking about starting a blog series where I take a trip back in time and take a quick peek into some of these issues.

My collection of old Beckett Baseball Monthly consists of twenty to thirty issues, but only two were June issues.  I decided to go with the older of the two for this post.  Let's go back to 1993...

Beckett Baseball Monthly

June 1993 

Twenty-nine years ago, Beckett decided to put Jim Abbott on the cover of their price guide.  I figured they were capitalizing off of his amazing no-hitter, but that didn't take place until several months after the publication of this issue.

I'm guessing this issue was produced in April or May and the editors wanted to capitalize on Abbott's arrival in New York.  Bo Jackson was featured on the back cover:

He was returning from a hip replacement surgery and collectors were eager to see him back in the batter's box.  On April 9th, 1993 he returned to the diamond and in the bottom of the 6th against the New York Yankees, he pinch hit for Dan Pasqua.  The second pitch he saw, he launched over the right field wall.

Let's take a peek in between the covers.  Instead of walking you through it page by page (sorry, I don't have the time or patience to scan 132 pages), I decided to feature specific things that caught my eye and organize them by topic.

First up... a pair of advertisements:

I don't remember buying or eating Hostess Baseballs, but I've managed to add a few of these oddballs to my collection.  Here's a closer look at the Rickey:

1993 Hostess #23

The front design is kind of boring, but the back of the card isn't too shabby.

1993 Upper Deck is one of my favorite sets of the decade...

It's kind of a shame that they focused so much attention on the Mays Heroes inserts, instead of the set's greatest strength: photography.

Back in the late 80's to mid 90's, I picked up the current issue on a regular basis.  One of the first things I'd flip to was their Hot and Cold lists:

According to the readers, Frank Thomas was the hottest name in the hobby and Jose Canseco was the coldest.  In 1993, I was on a break from the hobby... so I avoided hoarding cards of David Nied and Cal Eldred.  Sadly this break also kept me from purchasing any 1992 Bowman either.  Which leads me to the price guide portion of the issue...

Just look at all of those "up" arrows.  And if you look a little closer, you can see that the iconic Mariano Rivera rookie card once booked for only "25¢".  Twenty-nine years later, I still don't own that card.

On the opposite end of the spectrum...

Oh man... I'm sure glad I wasn't one of those collectors who dished out that kind of cash for a Brien Taylor autograph.

1992 Topps Gold #793

I picked up my copy in 2019 for $10 on COMC... which still seems a little overpriced.

Let's take a look at the values of the hottest and coldest player's key rookie card values...

I never would have guessed that Canseco's famous rookie card would still book for $60 by the time 1993 rolled around.

1986 Donruss #39

Then again... it trips me out to see current completed sales on eBay going for $10 to $20.  Pre-pandemic, I found a copy at the flea market for $2.  A year earlier, I picked up a copy for less than a buck at the Tristar Show.

The Big Hurt's key rookie also booked for $60:

This price makes much more sense as Thomas had become one of the hottest players in baseball.  In fact, he'd go on to win the AL MVP Award at the end of the season... and again in 1994.

1990 Leaf #300

These days, raw copies sell in the $10 to $20 range too which is a pretty steep discount from the mid 90's.  But there's one card of his that has soared in value over the past three decades...

Usually collectors shake their heads when they hear the words "collecting" and "Junk Wax Era", but if you were fortunate enough to target these No Name rookie cards (or Mariano rookies) back in 1993... then you hit the jackpot.

Let's switch gears and focus on a pair of articles.  These were the two I was most interested in:

When I took a break from the hobby after building a master set of 1992 Fleer Ultra baseball, Insert Mania was partially to blame.  The funny thing is... these days I enjoy collecting all of those 90's inserts.  Maybe thirty years from now I'll be collecting all of the silly inserts Topps and Panini produced these days.

My favorite article is about Dave Parker...

In a nutshell, this article highlights Parker's career while covering his "forced" retirement.  Although he had been working out and felt like he still had something to offer, no teams signed him.  As a result he failed to make the 3,000 Hit Club or eclipse 1,500 RBIs.

1974 Topps #252

And sadly, he's still waiting for his call from Cooperstown.

At least he has some company...

Not sure if the comic was a monthly thing, but this issue had one honoring Roger Clemens and his twenty strikeout campaign against the Seattle Mariners on April 29, 1986.

1986 Donruss #172

1986 Fleer #345

1986 Topps #98

It was the first time in MLB history that a pitcher struck out that many batters in a nine-inning game.  A decade later, Clemens would repeat the feat.  Since then Kerry Wood and Max Scherzer have also joined the club.  Randy Johnson also struck out twenty batters in nine innings, but depending on who you talk to... it may or may not count... since the game went eleven innings (Johnson didn't pitch in the 10th or 11th).

Another one of my favorite segments in Beckett Baseball Monthly was Readers Write.  Each month Beckett would publish a bunch of letters from readers and collectors.

Here's one that I found interesting:

The author has a pretty cool first name, but that's not what got my attention.

1986 Topps #690

I can't believe it took me thirty-six years to discover that Ryne Sandberg's 1986 Topps card is missing the Topps logo.

This issue of Beckett also opened my eyes to this little tidbit about Vida Blue:

According to the article, Blue had a lucky hat that he wore in 1974, 1975, and 1976.

1975 Topps #510

1976 Topps #140

1977 Topps #230

 

That means there's a chance his lucky hat is pictured on all three of his baseball cards from 1975 to 1977.  Sadly on April 16th, 1977...  he was forced to change hats due to discoloration.  Not sure if the hat had anything to do with it, but he did lead the American League in losses that season.

In the spirit of Father's Day, which is just around the corner, here's a cartoon that was included in the issue:

Seeing this inspired a special Father's Day post that I'll be publishing this weekend.

The main article in this issue was dedicated to the College World Series.  Unfortunately, I was too lazy to scan all nine pages.  However if you're interested, here's a list of MLB players (back in 1993) who were College World Series alumni:

I'll go ahead and wrap up this copy of Beckett with a pair of ads for two West Coast cards shows that took place that summer:

If I could turn back time, I'd definitely suffer the long lines for a chance to meet iconic legends like Y.A. Tittle, George Mikan, Muhammad Ali, Sandy Koufax, and Roy Campanella.

Here is today's question of the day:

Were you collecting back in 1993?

Any favorite memories from that year?

Like I mentioned earlier... I was on a hiatus from the hobby that year.  The card shop I had worked at in had closed down in 1992 and was a little burnt out after Fleer Ultra master set build.  Plus I had just transferred to San Jose State and was focusing on getting my degree.

Sadly... there aren't any specific memories that stand out from that year.  I did attend a Beastie Boys concert held at a small venue, but can't remember if it was that year.

Well that wraps up another post.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!