Semistars Need Love Too

Tony Gwynn.  Greg Maddux.  Rickey Henderson.  Frank Thomas.  Ichiro Suzuki.  Kobe Bryant.  Brett Favre.  Aaron Rodgers.  And Steve Largent.

All of these athletes are guys I collect... and all are either in their sports' respective hall of fames or will eventually be joining them.  I'm not alone.  There's a reason you see kids wearing jerseys of big names more often than bench players... and why autographs of superstars tend to sell for more money than scrubs.  It's fairly simple... they're more popular.

But thanks to Adam over at Cardboard Clubhouse, today I'm going to take a few moments to show some appreciation some of the other guys who shared the field with the guys you see listed above... because simply put... semistars need love too.

When Terry Steinbach became eligible for Cooperstown in 2005, he received less than 1% of the votes.  However... Oakland A's fans rewarded him in 2008 by selecting him to the their 40th Anniversary Team and rightfully so.  He played eleven seasons in Oakland, was a three time all-star, and caught more games in an Oakland A's uniform than any other catcher.

 

Carney Lansford is in the same league as Steinbach.  Never considered a HOF candidate... however he's very much appreciated by Oakland fans.  With the exception of 1991, Lansford held down the hot corner in Oakland from 1983 to 1992, while collecting over 1,300 hits.  He too is a member of Oakland's 40th Anniversary Team.

At the Oakland Coliseum, fans believe in Stephen Vogt:

Can you blame us?  Last season he led the team in game winning RBI's and was the lone positional player to represent the Athletics in the All-Star Game.  Future hall of famer?  Unlikely.  Current fan favorite?  Heck yeah.

The same thing applies to the gridiron...

What if Sterling Sharpe wasn't forced to retire due to injuries?  That's a question Packers fans have been asking themselves since 1994.  He played seven seasons for the Green Bay Packers and during that time he led the league in receptions three times and receiving touchdowns twice.

In 2002 he was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame... but he's still waiting for Canton to call.

If you watch football, then you've heard of The Lambeau Leap.  But do you know who invented it?  If you said Leroy Butler then I tip my cap to you.  Butler played twelve seasons for The Pack and was definitely a fan favorite.  He made Pro Football Hall of Fame's 1st Team All-1990's Team... but like Sharpe... he has yet to receive his gold jacket.

Last... but not least we have Brian Blades.

He only made one Pro Bowl.  He was never close to leading the league in receptions.  And he only caught 6 or more touchdown receptions in a season once.  But he's has the 2nd most receptions and receiving yards in Seattle Seahawks franchise history... and The Twelves love him for it.

Thank you Adam for this generous package of Oakland Athletics, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks trading cards.  It brought back a lot of good memories.  I've added you to my growing list of Super Traders care packages that I need to build and ship out.  Please stay tuned.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Stubborn and Frugal

The 80's rocked.  Metallica.  AC/DC.  Guns N' Roses.  And of course... Donruss puzzle inserts.

If you're reading this blog, then I'm sure you're familiar with the latter, but just in case you were a child of the 90's or 2000's and you're sitting down scratching your head... I'll try to fill you in one of our hobby's greatest secrets (sorry... sometimes I like to be dramatic).

Back in the 80's... all of the big name card companies utilized a gimmick to get kids to buy their trading cards.  Topps promoted cavities with their gum.  Fleer helped kids decorate Pee Chee folders and bedroom doors with their team stickers.  And Donruss challenged the minds of our hobby's youth by having them collect and build puzzles.

From 1982 to 1992, every pack of Donruss or Leaf baseball cards included three puzzle pieces out of a sixty-three piece puzzle.  Collect them all and you'd reveal one of Dick Perez's amazing works of art.

I'm pretty sure that the first puzzle I ever completed was the Roberto Clemente puzzle from 1987.  That was the year I dove head first into investing my money into baseball cards, which meant I actually bought enough packs to actually finish the puzzle.

Before then... I'd have a handful of puzzle pieces scattered throughout my collection and to be honest, I don't remember them being high on my priority list back then.  Rookie cards were king and puzzle pieces were most likely the last thing on my mind.

Fast forward a couple of decades when I reentered the hobby and decided to collect and build all sixteen puzzles produced by Donruss/Leaf back in the day.  It's taken me four years and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Recently, I picked up the two Rod Carew puzzles issued in 1992:

That leaves me just three puzzle pieces short of the entire sixteen puzzle collection.  Which three pieces do I need?  I'm looking for card #3 from the 1983 Action All-Stars Mickey Mantle puzzle, which consists of pieces 7, 8, and 9.

There's a vender on COMC that has one:

But... I'm too stubborn and cheap to pay the 95¢ the seller is asking.  I tried to make an offer, but that only brought it down to 88¢.  Considering that complete Mantle puzzles sell in the $6 to $7 range... I just can't get myself to pull the trigger.

What are your thoughts?

Anyone else as stubborn and frugal as I am?  Or do you think I'm insane for letting a buck stand between me and a finished project?

As usual... everyone has the right to their own opinion and I promise not to be offended if you disagree.  Heck let's make it a game.  If the majority think I'm crazy... I'll man up and spend my hard earned pennies on these final puzzle pieces.  But if the majority has my back... I'm sticking to my guns and will wait another four years if I have to.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

My Topps Totem Pole

After months of deliberation... I'm finally going wrap up my favorite Topps baseball base card design rankings.  It started out with me trying to rank everything from 1952 to 2015... but the task was way too overwhelming.  Either that or I'm just too lazy.  So I attempted to narrow things down to just the best of the best and ended up with sixteen designs.

That led me to a huge game of musical chairs where my rankings varied day to day depending on my mood.  I solved that problem by throwing my favorite designs into tiers and today... I reveal the crème de la crème:  The Sensation Six.

#6:  1960 Topps

This card has a little bit of everything in terms of what I enjoy seeing on trading cards:  dual images, team logos, and bright colors.

In a sense... this card is in a league of its own.  On one hand... it doesn't really belong in the same tier as my five favorite designs.  In fact, there's a pretty wide gap between this set and the #5 set.  On the other hand... I felt like I wasn't giving it enough credit by inserting it into the Tier Two group.


#5:  1975 Topps

I have loved this card design since I was a little kid.  Obviously the bright colors are the main attraction, but I also love the tiny baseball that houses the player's position.  This set really deserves to be higher on the list, because I love it so much... but unfortunately... I just couldn't bump anything out of the Top 4.


#4:  1972 Topps

This set will always be special to me, because it's my birth year set.  Unfortunately... this list isn't about sentimentality.  It's about the design... which happens to be awesome anyways.

While some look at this set and think of "tombstones", I immediately think of movie theaters from my childhood.  The font and design resembles the displays I'd see hanging outside of movie theaters and really pop off of the card.  Plus it features those same amazing colors found on the 1975 and 1976 designs.


#3:  1965 Topps

Are you ready for me to sound like a broken record?  I love the bright colors and the team logos... but let's be honest.  It's the pennant that makes this card design stand out.  They're a symbol of baseball and ever since I was a little kid, I've had at least one baseball pennant hanging on a wall somewhere in my place.


#2:  1983 Topps

Up until a few years ago, this card was my favorite card design of all-time.  It's literally perfect.  There's nothing I would change to this design.  Okay... so it's lacking team logos... but honestly I have no idea where they'd put it without jeopardizing the beauty of this design.  And the only reason it's no longer #1... is that perfection trumps perfection.


#1:  1956 Topps

When I think of the perfect baseball card design... this is what I envision.  Portrait?  Check.  Action shot?  Check.  Artwork?  Check.  This design deserves to be featured in its own museum, because every single card is a work of art.  My words don't do this design justice.  Just stare at the card and see for yourself.

Okay... it's your turn and the moment I've been waiting for.

What are your favorite Topps baseball card base card designs?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Opinions are like...

I believe we're all entitled to our own opinions... which is why earlier in the week I was entertained by Goose Gossage and his thoughts on Jose Bautista.  However... just because I have fond memories of Goose and tend to be a little old school myself... doesn't mean I agree with him.

2004 Topps Retired Signatures #GG

Fact:  Gossage is not amused with Mr. Bautista and his iconic bat flip.
Opinion:  Gossage got a little carried away with his rant.

Growing up... Gossage was always one of my favorite relief pitchers and had one of the most recognizable mustaches in baseball.  He also possessed a powerful arm that he used to strike out over 1,500 batters.  Plus there are only a handful of guys who played for both the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres during their hall of fame careers and he's one of them.

2013 Topps Five Star Autographs #JB

Fact:  On 10/14/15, Bautista hit a home run and flipped his bat.
Opinion:  On 10/14/15, Bautista hit the biggest home run of his career and produced one of the most iconic bat flips ever.

As a lifelong baseball fan... I'm a firm believer that players should respect the game and their opponents.  However... I also understand that the game is changing and evolving.  Instant replay is now part of the game.  And now there's this "slide" rule.

To expect every single player to act in the same "old school" manner is not realistic.  Players evolve... and so do their celebrations.  As long as a player isn't going out of their way to show up the opposing team, I don't seen anything wrong with it.  Pitchers are allowed to pump their fists and talk to themselves on the mound.  Batters should be allowed to flip their bats.

Collectors change and evolve too.  For the past few years, many of us have gotten used to Mr. Hoyle's epic vintage care packages.  But did you know that he also possesses modern cardboard as well?

Here's a look at a few cards I picked out of his care package for today's "fact vs. opinion" post.

1999 EX Century #116

Fact:  During the 1999 season, Chavez was only 21 years old.

Opinion:  1999 EX Century is one of the coolest looking sets from the 90's.

1987 Fleer #393

Fact:  On 4/12/78, Haas struck out 14 New York Yankees batters, including Reggie four straight times.

Opinion:  Moose is a sweet nickname.

2013 Allen and Ginter #60

Fact:  Cespedes purchased a Grand Champion hog last month.

Opinion:  Cespedes is awesome, but bacon is more awesome.

2001 Bowman's Best #95

Fact:  Zito was the only member of the "Big 3" to win a Cy Young Award.
Opinion:  Zito is cool, because he surfs and once jammed with Metallica.

2015 Stadium Club #83

Fact:  Doolittle enters the Coliseum rocking out to Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Opinion:  Doolittle has the best beard in baseball.

2015 Topps Opening Day #94

Fact:  The A's have announced that Gray will be their 2016 Opening Day starting pitcher.
Opinion:  Gray looks young enough to still be in high school.

1986 Donruss All-Stars #57

Fact:  Howell was selected to two MLB All-Star Games while with the Athletics.
Opinion:  Dave Stewart deserved to be on the 1987 AL All-Star Game roster more than Howell.

Well... there you have it.  A bunch of trivial pieces of information... and opinions you probably could care less about.  But don't worry... there's always a chance I'll evolve and change the direction of this blog.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one last fact and opinion:

Fact:  Mr. Hoyle sent a generous care package filled with Oakland Athletics.
Opinion:  Mr. Hoyle is needs to hurry up and start blogging.

Thanks Mr. Hoyle for the generous Super Traders package!  I should have some Red Sox for your collection in the mail in the next week or so.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!