Monday, October 21, 2013

Just Another Maddux Monday

This probably sounds insane, but Turner Broadcasting System has actually had an influence on one of my personal collections.  You're probably wondering... what does a television station have to do with collecting baseball cards?

Well... back in the 90's I spent a better part of the decade watching baseball games on the boob tube.  And it seemed like whenever I turned on TBS... there was a Atlanta Braves' game on.  But the Braves of the 90's weren't your ordinary team.  They were loaded with talent and super fun to watch.

And it didn't take long for me to start cheering for their pitching ace... Mr. Gregory Alan Maddux.  In fact, he quickly became my favorite pitcher.  It was amazing how he could get some of the greatest hitters in the game to ground out... utilizing a complete arsenal of pitches instead of an overpowering fastball.

Over the years, I've slowly built a collection of Greg Maddux rookies, inserts, autographs, parallels, and memorabilia cards.  But there's one card that has sat atop my wantlist for nearly four years.  And earlier this month, I finally crossed it off.

1997 Pinnacle X-Press Metal Works #10

Anyone else familiar with these?  They're solid metal cards that Pinnacle inserted into hobby boxes of X-Press baseball (there's a football set too).  This particular card is the standard bronze version, which isn't serial number and theoretically should have been the easiest for me to acquire.  Over the years, I had no trouble finding it... but I refused to overpay and waited until I found one at a reasonable price.

Meanwhile... these two cards sat in my Maddux collection waiting for their bronze brother to join them:

1997 Pinnacle X-Press Metal Works Silver #10 (#'d 62/400)


1997 Pinnacle X-Press Metal Works Gold #10 (#'d 32/200)


Unfortunately... the bulk of my Maddux PC is sitting in my parent's house in Las Vegas.  But I'm planning on visiting them in the next few months, so eventually the Maddux family reunion will take place.

Did anyone else spend a portion of the 90's watching Atlanta Braves games on TBS?

Happy Monday and sayonara!

17 comments:

The Prowling Cat said...

For me it was the 80's. Where I grew up we had very limited channels to pick from. So few I was a Cubs fan for a few years.

buckstorecards said...

All I remember is the start of baseball season translated to one hour less of WCW Saturday Night. During the late 90s when all the other shows were stacked to the gills with the NWO angle, it was nice to just have a basic storyline free rasslin' show.

Brad's Blog said...

I remember the wonderful Phillies teams in the 90s (1993 excluded) getting mowed down by Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz with regularity.

night owl said...

I spent a good portion of the '80s watching the Braves on TBS. When they sucked. As it should be.

Anonymous said...

...Wish it were Sunday... 'Cause that's my fun day... my "I don't have to run" day...

I left metro New York in the mid 1990's, and after that I had to get my televised Mets games any which way I could... So I watched TBS when the Mets were playing the Braves.

JediJeff said...

I remember them always being on every time you hit that channel. I also recall that all the syndicated shows started 5 min after the hour or half hour - that was annoying.

Play at the Plate said...

Never never never, no no no, never no not ever!

Community Gum said...

I had WGN more than TBS, although I did root for the Braves in the playoffs in the 90s.
Those are some sweet Maddi there, haven't seen those before. one of these days I'll have to shovel off some of my dupes in your direction. I have a TON.
--Jon

Greg Zakwin said...

Congrats on the pickup! I probably saw a few games, but I don't remember a lot of the 90s.

Ana Lu said...

Back then USA and American sports were too far away =(
I've watched some games aired by TBS but through ESPNAmerica. Are they an Atlanta TV channel!? I know you have national channels and others that are regional.

Fuji said...

Lol... glad someone caught on to my Manic Monday reference :-)

Fuji said...

You're absolutely right... I totally forgot about that.

Fuji said...

Wish I had WGN. Always have had a soft spot for the Cubs.

Fuji said...

The 90's for you... are probably like the 70's for me.

Fuji said...

TBS is a cable channel. Haven't watched it in a few years... so I'm not sure if they're still showing Braves games. But during the 90's, it seemed like ever time I passed the channel... a Braves game was on.

Jafronius said...

I remember coming across several games in college during the mid-90's when I had cable. Got to see them during their prime. I think TBS has a handful of Braves games (like WGN does with the Cubs nowadays), and I think they have a game of the week on Sundays.

Fuji said...

It's good to hear they're still broadcasting Braves games. If I had cable, I'd definitely watch them every now and then.