Sunday, October 6, 2024

Hits A Little Differently

As a collector who entered the sports card collecting hobby in the early 80's... I'm getting to the age where guys I pulled out of packs of cards are starting to get up there in age.  Unfortunately... it means that every now and then I hear the sad news about an athlete from my childhood passing away.

Last week was a rough one as two guys I admire for the contributions they made on the field/court died on the same day.

Monday afternoon I saw the news about Pete Rose pop up on ESPN.  Although I really only got a chance to see him play towards the end of his playing career, it was when he was chasing and breaking Cobb's all-time hits record.

1986 Leaf #260

He wasn't only the MLB Hit King... he was also one of the most popular athletes in our hobby.  I didn't really have my fingers on the hobby pulse back then, but the card collecting kids in my neighborhood sought his cards.

When he broke the Cobb's record at the end of the 1985 season, I only owned a handful of his cards.  Most notably... this one:

1982 Fleer #640

This card has stood out to me since 1982.  Back then, I just thought it was a cool father-son photo.  Later on this card took on a different vibe as there was a chance that Pete Jr. might end up having an MLB career himself.

Here's another 80's card of Rose that I really like:

1986 Fleer Future Hall of Famer #1

I never pulled a copy myself from a pack, but I did eventually add the complete set of six cards to my collection.  Out of the six guys on the checklist, five of them were first ballot hall of famers.  Part of this card's allure is Fleer all but guaranteeing collectors that Rose would be inducted one day.

I'll wrap up the Charlie Hustle portion of this post with five cool cards of him sitting in the collection:

Let's start off with an oldie, but goodie...

1970 Kellogg's #2

Outside of the cards sitting in my Topps sets, I only own a handful of vintage Pete Rose cards.  This one is my favorite.  I absolutely love the 1970 Kellogg's design.

Pete Rose's signature will never be considered rare.  He's right up there with Bob Feller in regards to baseball players with the most autographs floating around out there.  But that's not a bad thing.  It means you add his signature to your collection without breaking the bank.

Five years ago, I added this card to my collection for $21 ($17.50 + $3.50 shipping):

1982 Donruss #1

A few months earlier, I added this autograph to my collection:

1969 Topps #424

This card has some sentimental value to me, because it was purchased right after my mom passed away.  

Not sure how deep I covered it, but I was devastated emotionally at the time.  She was one of my best friends and was the main person who got me into the hobby.  Ironically... the hobby helped me deal with her death.

I know most of you aren't fans of slabbed cards, so let's wrap things up and transition back to 80's oddballs...

1986 Meadow Gold Milk Carton

I don't remember seeing these back in the 80's, but I did find this milk carton at a card show a few years ago for two bucks:


I'm such a sucker for food issue cards.  By the way... does anyone else kinda see Tom Brady in the Rose caricature on that milk carton?

Rounding out the Roses is this color matched box bottom:

1986 Topps Box Bottom #N

It's not quite as cool as Night Owl's O-Pee-Chee version, but it's pretty darn cool.

Rest in peace Mr. Rose!  I'll always admire how you played the game.  You remind me of my father... who always believed in giving his employers his best effort.  And like my mother, you definitely played a role in me becoming a card collectorThank you for that.

Eight hours before I heard about Pete, I heard about Dikembe Mutombo.  This one hit me a little differently, because he's only six years older than me. 

1991-92 Upper Deck #3

When he was a twenty-five year old rookie for the Denver Nuggets, I was a nineteen year old college student opening packs of 1991-92 Upper Deck basketball in hopes of pulling his slick looking rookie card.  Not having any prior knowledge of his brain tumor, the news of him passing away wasn't only sad... it was shocking

Rest in peace Mr. Mutombo!  I'm so happy that you played during the peak of my NBA fandom.  You will forever be remembered for blocking shots... and wagging your finger.

That's it for today.  Gonna try and hammer out a post highlighting my past three trips to the flea market before following the Seahawks, Packers, and Padres a little later in the afternoon.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Thursday, October 3, 2024

Till Death Do Us Part

A week after the final A's game at the Oakland Coliseum... it's time to reveal my final wallet card.  But before I do... let's take a final look at the previous card that has resided in my wallet the past twenty months:

1992 Topps Kids #53

Normally I wouldn't swap out my wallet card after such a short time span, but I wanted to preserve the card I had stamped last Thursday's game:


The replacement is a copy of the card I originally wanted to get stamped:

2019 Topps #126


How cool would this card be with the addition of the date stamp?  Ugh.  I dropped the card (literally) in the worst way.

Anyways... in honor of the last A's game at the Coliseum... I figured this would be the perfect time to reveal my final wallet card.  This is the card that I will carry around the rest of my life... or God forbid... until my wallet gets lost or stolen.

I'm excited to see how long it takes for the Coliseum to fall apart like Bo's Mattingly over at Baseball Cards Come to Life!.

Happy
Thursday and sayonora!


Extra Innings

Walk-up songs might not be too meaningful for some fans, but I gotta admit it played a pretty important role in the overall vibe of last week's game at the Coliseum.  I had originally planned on writing about it in last week's post, but forgot.

Here's a quick rundown of my favorite walk-up songs from the game and the players who chose them:

#3Ride Wit Me by Nelly


This song came out back in 2001 and peaked at #3 on Billboard Hot 100.  I remember it being very popular with my 5th graders, which meant it received a lot of airtime in my classroom.

2024 Topps Trading Card Day Oakland SGA #OAK-1

Love it or not... it was blast from the past and pretty cool to hear the crowd shout "must be the money" in unison.

#2Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks

Maybe it's because I've been a fan of Stevie since puberty... but I recognized this song within a couple of seconds of it blasting on the stadium speakers.

2024 Topps Trading Card Day Oakland SGA #OAK-5

I wonder why Rooker chose this for his walk-up song... since Nicks released it twelve years before he was born.

#193 'Til Infinity by Souls of Mischief


This is one of my favorite hip-hop songs from the 90's... so I was pumped to hear it come on each time this guy walked up to the plate:

2024 Topps Trading Card Day Oakland SGA #OAK-2

Gelof used Toosie Slide by Drake the entire 2024 season leading up to the final homestand, but changed it up to honor the city of Oakland where Souls of Mischief originated.

Honestly... as a current Oakland A's fan... it's not easy picking favorite players.  Because as soon as you do... they're typically traded for minor league prospects.  But if I were going to choose one, two, or three favorites today... these three would be a great place to start.


By the way... a special thanks to my co-worker who hooked me up with this pack of 2024 Topps Trading Card Day cards.  Her kids received two packs back in August at one of the home games and generously hooked me up with one of them.

Each pack contained five players and one advertisement card.  Here are the other two players:

2024 Topps Trading Card Day Oakland SGA #OAK-3
2024 Topps Trading Card Day Oakland SGA #OAK-4

Kudos to Topps for producing a special stadium giveaway involving cards.  And kudos to the Oakland A's for actually holding onto all five of these players for the entire 2024 season.

Okay.  Now this post is over.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Hope I'm Wrong!

The MLB Postseason schedule is set and it's time to see how the dust will settle and which team will be left standing a month from now to hoist up the Commissioner's Trophy.  Let the games begin.


The San Diego Padres made it... so you know I'll be rooting for them.  The question is whether or not I actually think they can pull it off and make it to the World Series.  But before I answer that... I poaching the Card Board Junkie's idea and want to rank the playoff teams in regards to who I will be rooting for this postseason.

However since you already know the Padres will be the #1 team, let's go in reverse order...

2024 MLB Playoff Fanfare Rankings


#12New York Yankees

2024 Topps #99

It's pretty simple.  They are my least favorite team in baseball and I can't think of a situation during these playoffs where I'll be rooting for them.


#11Los Angeles Dodgers

2024 Topps #500

The Dodgers have been to the playoffs thirteen straight seasons.  They've gone to the World Series three times in the past seven seasons... and won one.  Although there are a few guys on the roster I enjoy watching and collecting, the only way I'll root for them is if they're playing against the Yankees in the World Series.


#9tPhiladelphia Phillies & Houston Astros

2024 Topps #200
2024 Topps #273

Both of these teams are loaded with big names and are up there in regards to payrolls.  More importantly... both of these teams were in the World Series two years ago.  Although I don't hate either franchise... I'd prefer to see them give other teams a chance.


#8New York Mets

2024 Topps #650

I considered putting the Mets up there with the Phillies and Astros, because they have a lot of money invested into their roster.  But ultimately I'd rather see them in the World Series than either of those teams.


#5tKansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, & Cleveland Guardians

2024 Topps #254
2024 Topps #114

2024 Topps #450

This is the "meh" tier of my rankings.  Don't really hate or love any of these teams.  I'll definitely root for any of them over the five other teams already listed.  I just don't really have a strong opinion among them.  For example... the Orioles will host the Royals and although I have a prediction in mind... I don't really care who actually wins.


#4Atlanta Braves

2024 Topps #484

I watched a lot of Braves baseball on TBS back in the day... so I tend to root for them when they're not playing against the Padres or A's.  I actually feel bad that they've been stung in the hardest way by injuries.  If they take down the Padres, I'll be rooting for them against the mighty Dodgers.


#3Detroit Tigers

2024 Topps #294

Back on August 10, the Tigers lost to the Giants, had a 55-63 record, and were seven games outside of the final Wild Card spot.  The won 33 of their next 44 gamesHow awesome is that?  I don't think many people saw that coming.  That's why I'm super excited for them and their fans.  Plus I'd love to see a rematch of the 1984 World Series... with obviously a different outcome.


#2Milwaukee Brewers

2024 Topps #570

Out of the twelve playoff teams, only the Brewers and Padres have never won a World Series title.  If the Padres don't represent the National League in the World Series... I hope the Brewers do.

 
#1San Diego Padres

2024 Topps #23

After Juan Soto was shipped off to New York, I didn't expect much from my favorite National League team.  After the first 100 games, their record was 50-50... which was pretty much what I expected.  Then something clicked, they won 43 out of their final 62 games, and the season became much more interesting.  Let's go Padres!


2024 MLB Playoff Predictions

With my fanfare established... let's get back to the original questionDo I think the Padres will win the World Series this year?  Let's look at my playoff predictions to find out:

Wild Card Round Predictions

2024 Topps #378

Kansas City at Baltimore:  I'm picking the Orioles
Detroit at Houston:  I'm picking the Tigers
New York at Milwaukee:  I'm picking the Mets (Hope I'm wrong)
Atlanta at San Diego:  I'm picking the Padres


ALDS Predictions

2024 Topps #6

Detroit vs. Cleveland:  I'm picking the Tigers
Baltimore vs. New York:  I'm picking the Yankees (Hope I'm wrong)


NLDS Predictions

2024 Topps #428

New York vs. Philadelphia:  I'm picking the Phillies
San Diego vs. Los Angeles:  I'm picking the Dodgers (Hope I'm wrong)


ALCS Predictions

2024 Topps #301

Detroit vs New York:  I'm picking the Yankees (Hope I'm wrong)
Philadelphia vs. Los Angeles:  I'm picking the Dodgers (Hope I'm wrong)


World Series Prediction

2024 Topps #401

New York vs. Los Angeles:  I'm picking the Dodgers

Like I said... I can't picture a scenario where I'd be rooting for the Yankees, so if these two teams met in the World Series... I'll be pulling for Ohtani and company.

2024 Topps #2

However... like the title of this post says... I hope I'm wrong.  If it were up to me, the San Diego Padres would face off against the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of the 1984 World Series.  Only this time, the Padres would prevail.

What about you?

Who are you rooting for?

Who do you think will hoist the Commissioner's Trophy this postseason?

Guess there's nothing else left to do except sit back... and let the players do their jobs.

Happy postseason and sayonara!