A Few Goodbyes and a Pair of Set Completions

I'm an A's and Padres fan.  You know that.  And there are times when the San Francisco Giants are my least favorite franchise in baseball.  This isn't one of those times, but they're definitely in the bottom five.

That being said... I wanted to kick off this post by honoring Mike Krukow with a proper sayonara salute as he officially retires from the Giants broadcasting booth after dedicating over four decades to the franchise.  

1983 Mother's Cookies Giants #12

1983 Mother's Cookies Giants #11

He's a Bay Area legend who will be remembered for being half of the Kruk & Kuip duo.  This week... Duane Kuiper announced to his fans that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer and started treatment.  Not sure what the future holds for him, but he assured fans that he would be there to support his close friend on his special day.

2013 Panini Hometown Heroes Signatures #HSMK

Enjoy retirement Mr. Krukow!  And here's to a speedy and full recovery Mr. Kuiper.

Now let's check out a pair of PWE's from John (@ Johnny's Trading Spot) and Bo (@ Baseball Cards Come to Life!).

I'll start with three cards for two set/project builds...

1984 Topps Glossy All-Stars #5

1986 Topps Glossy All-Stars #5

2023 Topps #330

John sent me the Robin Yount which gets me one step closer to completing the 1984 Topps Glossy All-Stars set.  The Ripken and Rodriguez cards were from Bo and complete both of those sets.

Here are a few bonus cards from John:

I'm guessing I won another Maddux Monday giveaway.  I'll have to see how many of these I need for my collection.

Bo included these:

I needed the Matsui in the middle!

Thank you John and Bo for helping me with my set builds!

Hope all of you are enjoying your final weekend of baseball.  I'm feeling much better today and should be back in the classroom tomorrow.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

Here are a pair of bonus sayonara salutes...

2014 Topps Chrome Refractor #140

I'm sure everyone watched Verlander being greeted by his daughter yesterday as he stepped off the mound for the final time in his MLB career.  What a touching moment.  Congratulations on your retirement Mr. Verlander!  See you in Cooperstown in a few years.

The sports world also lost a legend earlier in the week:

1994-95 Action Packed Basketball HOF Autographs #27

Bob Pettit played before my time, but I knew he was one of the NBA legends from the 50's and 60's.  However... Bulldog (@ Nothing If Not Random) wrote a nice tribute that truly opened my eyes to his greatness.

Rest in peace Mr. Pettit.