Not Perfect, But That's Okay

Starting a new unit with my students.  Dinner with an old buddy.  Lounging at a late night board meeting.  Chaperoning a school dance.  Bonding with my brother.  Last week was a little hectic.  

But I finally got a chance to scan some cards over the weekend.  So I can finally hammer out some posts I've been meaning to write.

Today's post features some quick stories involving cards, high school, and my interest in flawed cardboard.  It centers around the only notable MLB player to attend the high school I went to (albeit he was there over a decade before me).  I've written about him before, so some of you might already know who I'm referring to.

If you don't, here are a few hints...

#1:  He was a standout outfielder in high school and community college who transitioned into a pitcher while attending Southern Illinois University.

#2:  He led the MLB in WAR among pitchers in the 80's and had the second most wins behind Jack Morris.

#3:  He's the Blue Jays all-time leader in several pitching categories including: games started, wins, and strikeouts.

Yup.  You guessed it.  Dave Stieb.

Right around the same time he was turning into a perennial all-star, one of my Little League coaches mentioned that he played with him.  A few years later I discovered that he attended the same high school.  Both of these things stuck with me and molded me into being a fan of his.

Decades later, I have built a small collection of his cards that include a few autographs, a bunch of his base cards, and even a Topps rookie card that Night Owl pulled from a pack back in 1980.  However one card that has eluded my collection, but was high on my wantlist is his O-Pee-Chee rookie card.

Well Angus over at Dawg Day Cards generously took care of that when he sent me this:

1980 O-Pee-Chee #42

Technically he handed it off to Night Owl who shipped it to me as part of Angus' care package back in December.

Collectors understand that O-Pee-Chee baseball cards from the 80's and earlier tend to have issues in regards to condition and centering.  This card is no exception.  It's not perfect, but that's okay.  I absolutely love it and is now one of the cornerstones of my Dave Stieb PC.

Angus sent a few other O-Pee-Chee Stiebs...

1981 O-Pee-Chee #5

His second year card is really off-centered.  But holy moly... I love seeing O-Pee-Chee printed in the middle of that baseball on the front of this card.  

1986 O-Pee-Chee #353

This card is a little off-centered too... and suffers some minor edge issues (common O-Pee-Chee baseball issue).

Neither of these O-Pee-Chee Stiebs are perfect, but that's okay.  Check out that cool O-Pee-Chee logos on the backs, the French translation of text, and bright card backs.  Pure awesomeness.

The final Stieb from Angus is the cleanest of them all:

1988 O-Pee-Chee #153

It's actually shockingly clean for an 80's O-Pee-Chee card.  The card back even mentions hall of famer Pat Gillick signing Stieb to a contract back a few days after the Blue Jays selected him in the 1978 MLB Draft.

Switching gears, but staying in the same lane.  Here are a few other cards that Angus sent my way...

2020 Topps Rookie Card Retrospective Logo Medallion #RCR-CA

Back when I was in high school, Jose Canseco was one of the biggest names in baseball and a Bay Area fan favorite.  His 1986 Topps Traded was a key card in my collection at the time.

And check out this cool early 90's food issue:

1990 Wonder Bread Stars #14

I know I don't cherish logoless cards as much as some of you do, but oddball issues from my childhood get a pass.  In other words, this food issue isn't perfect, but that's okay.  It still cool to know that someone found this card sitting in a bag of Wonder Bread back in 1990.

Canseco may have had his share of struggles on and off the field and was obviously far from perfect, but that's okay.  This oddball is still cherished by A's fans and card collectors around the world.

Speaking of oddballs, let's check out the lone football card in this post:

2015 Panini Contenders Rookie Ticket Auto #151

You might be wondering why Angus sent me a card of former Cleveland Browns draft pick: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.  Well he happens to be married to my friend's cousin's daughter.  Back in 2014, he was considered one of the best cover corners in college football.  Unfortunately he suffered a knee injury that altered the path of his football career.

Angus also included these two Jordan Yamamoto autographs:

2020 Topps Gypsy Queen Auto B&W #GQA-JY (#'d 20/50)

2021 Donruss Optic Signature Series #SS-JY

Yamamoto fits into two of my PC's:  Japanese athletes and athletes born in Hawaii.

Like Ekpre-Olomu his career as a professional athlete might not have been perfect, but that's okay.  I still enjoy collecting their cards.

Finally a pair of miscuts that some collectors would discard with their kitchen scraps:

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee Album Stickers #115-129

At first glance, this sticker is a monstrosity of a miscut.  But check out who is featured on it. Two members of the Hall of Very Good and two of the greatest hockey players to play the sport.  How awesome is that?  I'd have to do some digging, but I'm guessing this is the single greatest miscut hockey sticker/card in my collection.

1991-92 Pro Set MusiCards #174

Can't say I was a big fan of Extreme, but I do remember listening to their acoustic ballad More Than Words which reached #1 in the summer of 1991.

Both of these stickers/cards are not perfect, but that's okay.  I'll make sure to provide a loving home for both of them.

Thank you Angus for sending me these awesome cards and stickers!  They might not fetch high grades from PSA or Beckett, but that's okay.  They're still awesome and I promise to cherish them in my collection.

As for the rest of you, here is your question of the day:

What's a favorite card or collectible in your collection that is far from perfect, yet you're perfectly happy to own it?

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments (hopefully sooner than later).  Until then...

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

Red Cardboard is back behind the keyboard and he's giving away a vintage Mickey Mantle!  So click the link, follow his blog, and enjoy his posts!

An International Post

This was a pretty stressful week in the classroom, but the World Baseball Classic is off and running... so there's balance in the force.

2006 Upper Deck Inaugural Images #II-30

Figured I'd focus on the positive and use the WBC as an excuse to show off some international stuff.

International Item #1:  Japanese Magazine Cards

These uncut sheets of cards feature characters from a 70's Japanese television show called Kamen Rider.  I wasn't able to find a year or magazine title, but I'm guessing they're from the 80's.  They were part of Ryan's advent calendar, so maybe his haiku will provide a hint:

Unfortunately... no specific details on these cards.  That's okay.  I like a good mystery.

International Item #2:  Three Countries, One Card

2007-08 In The Game O Canada Autographs #A-VS

Vicky Sunohara is a former Canadian hockey player who has won a ton of gold medals including a pair of Olympic gold medals (2002 and 2006) with Team Canada.

Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of her.  However Ralph over at Divas Hockey Ink published a post featuring her.  As soon as I saw her last name, I looked her up and discovered she's part Japanese and part Ukrainian.

I commented on his post that I might look for a copy for my Japanese athlete PC.  He ended up having an extra copy which he generously sent my way.

International Item #3:  Italian Stickers, Japanese Skaters

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers

These forty-seven year old Panini stickers feature Japanese hockey players from possibly the 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships. were sent to me as part of Angus' (over at Dawg Day Cards) December care package.

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers

I tried to pair these puzzle stickers up and scan them, but they kept sliding around on the glass.  Ended up using these 1948 Bowman card sleeves and a 9-pocket page to keep them in place.

And if you're confused about the Italian ties, these stickers were printed in Italy:

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers #244

Angus made another contribution for this international post...

International Item #4:  Canadian Cardboard

I'm an O-Pee-Chee fanboy.  

1972 O-Pee-Chee #169

It wasn't always that way.

1972 O-Pee-Chee #170

Back in the 80's and 90's, I would have traded them for their Topps counterparts.

1978 O-Pee-Chee #177

These days, they're equals... companions... counterparts.

1981 O-Pee-Chee #261

Simply put.  They're both awesome and highly cherished pieces of cardboard.

1985 Leaf #28

The same thing applies to Donruss and Leaf.

I'm grateful that something clicked in my brain, encouraged me to openminded and give trading cards produced outside of our country a chance.

Thank you Angus, Ralph, and Ryan for all of these awesome additions to my collection!

And here is today's question of the day:

Are you watching or following the World Baseball classic?

If so...

Who do you think will win it all?

I've watched a few prediction videos and it seems like the vast majority are picking one of three teams:  USA, Dominican Republic, or Japan.  My brain is picking the loaded Team USA squad led by Judge, Witt, Skenes, and Skubal.  My heart bleeds Samurai Blue.  But my gut tells me the Dominican Republic's bats are going to power them to the 2026 title.

Whoever you pick... it's gonna be a fun and entertaining two weeks of baseball.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

The Inside the Park Home Run

Card blogs rule.  They've been a big part of my life for eighteen-plus years.  I'm constantly learning about new cards and discovering interesting sports trivia from people around the world who share a common interest.

Last month, Greg over at Night Owl Cards wrote a post about the 1980 Burger King Pitch, Hit & Run set which was the inspiration for this post.  He showed off the back Willie Wilson's card which happened to mention his five inside-the-park home runs in 1979.  That blew my mind and led me down this road of research into inside-the-park home run trivia.  If you're interested in this topic, my two primary resources were Baseball Almanac and Wikipedia.

Here are five facts that stood out to me...

1956 Topps #33

On July 25th, 1956 Roberto Clemente hit the only walk off inside-the-park grand slam in MLB history.

1975 Cramer Circle K Phoenix Giants #12

On September 2nd, 1975 Johnnie LeMaster hit an inside-the-park home run in his first MLB at-bat.  What's kinda cool is that he'd only hit 21 more home runs during his MLB career that spanned 12 seasons and consisted of over 3,000 at-bats.

1986 Topps #162

On October 4th, 1986 Greg Gagne hit two inside-the-park home runs in a single MLB game.  It's the last time anyone has accomplished that feat.

1992 Leaf Gold #435

On May 8th, 1992 Butch Henry hits the first and only home run of his MLB career.  It's the last time a pitcher hit an inside-the-park home run in a MLB game.

2007 Topps Update #UH222

On July 10th, 2007 Ichiro Suzuki hits the only inside-the-park home run in MLB All-Star Game history.  

It's the first and last inside-the-park home run of his career.  I was kind of surprised that Ichiro didn't hit more.  The same thing goes for Rickey Henderson.  Did you know he only hit one inside-the-park home run during his 25 seasons in the MLB?

1980 Topps #482

It happened on July 6th, 1980 in his sophomore season.  

Thanks Greg!  Not sure I ever would have spent so much time looking into inside-the-park home runs had I not learned read the back of Willie's card, but I'm glad I did.

I was also happy that I purchased the 1975 Cramer Circle K Phoenix Giants team set (for the Johnnie LeMaster), because it contains a card of Mike Cramer (founder of Pacific cards):

1975 Cramer Circle K Phoenix Giants #26

Speaking of LeMaster, I also discovered on When Topps Had Balls that he wrapped up his career in Oakland with the A's.  Thank you Gio!

That's why card blogs rule.  They continue to teach me interesting facts about sports and our hobby.

I'll wrap things up with today's question of the day:

Do you have any favorite inside-the-park home run trivia?

Do you ever purchase a card or cards to fit a post you are writing?

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments down below.

Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!