Metal Meets MLB

The majority of my readers are here for baseball cards.  Don't worry... this post has them.  However there's a little music incorporated as well.  If you're familiar with Night Owl's Match the Song Title posts... this is a copycat version.  So if you just want to see baseball cards, then scroll down a little.  Otherwise, let's talk music...

Metallica was my favorite band in high school.  One of my friends bought Master of Puppets and we rocked out to it on a daily basis.  We worked our way backward to Ride the Lightning and Kill 'Em All.

Life was good.

I continued listening to their music all the way through their ...And Justice for All and the Black Album, but never really got into their stuff after that.

These days, they're still a big part of my life.  I routinely listen to a Spotify playlist I made for my classroom and long car drives.  And if I were to rank them among my all-time favorite bands, they would be up there with Fleetwood Mac, The Beastie Boys, The Police, Journey, and A Tribe Called Quest.

That's why I was excited to hear that back in 2021... December 16th was declared as Metallica Day in San Francisco by Mayor London Breed.  In honor of their special day, I figured show off a special sheet of cards I purchased awhile back:

The sheet was inserted into the 2011 September/October issue of Revolver:

The front and back of the cards utilize the 1986 Topps baseball design... which is perfect, because that's the year I started listening to the band.

The magazine included another sheet of cards featuring two more "thrash metal" bands:

Slayer, Megadeath, and Anthrax are the three other bands that make up what is considered the Big 4 of U.S. thrash metal.  Personally... Metallica was reason I bought the issue.  I have a couple of Anthrax albums and remember listening to Slayer back in high school, but labeling me anything more than a casual fan of either of these bands would be considered a stretch.

In an effort to entertain those who came here to read about baseball cards, here are nine baseball cards that are related to nine Metallica songs...

#1:  Enter Sandman

2011 Topps Chrome Refractor #42

When most of you hear this song, I'm guessing Mo is the first person you think of.

#2:  Fade to Black

1971 Topps #118

This is my favorite Metallica song paired with one of my favorite black bordered cards.

#3:  Master of Puppets

1986 Donruss #647

Beane was a master of puppets orchestrating some major changes to the way the Oakland A's approached the game we love.  It never paid off with a World Series title... but it entertained diehard fans until it didn't.

#4:  The Unforgiven

1987 Classic #1

Pete Rose was gambling right about the same time Classic released their first board game containing baseball cards and they honored him with the first card in the set.

Unfortunately... betting on games is considered the cardinal sin of baseball.  Although there were plenty of fans willing to forgive him... many have not... so I dub thee unforgiven.

#5:  For Whom the Bell Tolls 

2015 Topps Tier One New Guard Autographs #NGA-SDO (#'d 302/349)

Some people think of Jonathan Papelbon when they hear this song.  I think of Mr. Doolittle and the right field rockers at the Oakland Coliseum.

#5:  Seek & Destroy

1994 Kenner SLU #NNO

When I picked this song for this post, I knew I'd be featuring an intimidating pitcher.  Two came to mind.  Bob Gibson is arguably the most intimidating pitcher to stand on the bump.  Unfortunately... he was a little before my time.  So I'm gonna go with the Big Unit. 

#6:  Harvester of Sorrow

1989 Fleer World Series #5

Baseball cards bring joy to my life.  At least most of them do.  This card reminds me of the 1988 World Series... which conjures up feelings of sadness.  But it's still a part of my collection... which is why I spent over thirty minutes digging through boxes searching for this set.

#7:  The Shortest Straw

1984 Topps Traded Bronze Premium #NNO

Standing at 1.75"... this is the shortest Straw in my collection.  Actually... that's a lie.  I own all of Darryl's Topps Micro cards which measure only an inch in height... but they're sitting inside factory sealed sets.  So this is the shortest Straw that's been pulled for you.

#8:  Am I Evil?

1988 Kenner SLU #NNO

Great song.  Terrible human being.  I'd like to believe that people can turn their lives around and learn from their mistakes... but what this guy did is unforgivable. 

#9:  One

2017 Topps 30th Anniversary #87-11

I should have put this song at the top of the list, but that's too obvious.

As for the card... I went with the first guy that came to mind when I thought of players wearing #1.  Ozzie Smith wore that number his entire hall of fame career with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.

It was a lot of fun putting together this list of songs.  Honestly... Metallica has so many classics, I could have easily put together two starting nines.  Maybe next December 16th. I'll create a list of B sides.

Until then...

Are you a fan of Metallica?  Do you have a favorite song?

Happy Metallica Day and sayonara!