What A Week

Was this week crazy or what?  After MLB released the list of punishments for the Astros and Red Sox... things have gotten more intense with each passing day.

2019 Archives Signature Series

I wonder if Mike Fiers had any idea that he was opening up Pandora's Box.  Things don't look good for my boy Jose Altuve... but at least he's taking some of the attention off of the PED guys as we approach the announcement of the remaining inductees of Baseball Hall of Fame's Class of 2020.

Speaking of hall of fame announcements...

Congratulations to The Doobie Brothers, Notorious BIG, Whitney Houston, Depeche Mode,  and the rest of this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees!

2020 SI for Kids #898

And congratulations to LSU fans for taking down Clemson earlier in the week.  I didn't watch the game, but I saw highlights and Joe Burrow was pretty darn impressive.

I'm in the process of cleaning up my office and pulling more cards out for care packages... which I hope will be shipped out this week.  And I have nine minutes to try and edit/publish this post before my 3pm deadline.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Board Games and Being Observed

As my school begins to wrap up the first semester... the stress level intensifies for both students and teachers.  Today my students are turning in their final projects, which make up a large percentage of their 2nd quarter grade.  Their task was to design a board game that covers elements of my classes' curriculum.  In other words, they could create a game on bullying, drug awareness, team building, character education, goal setting, and other items we covered in my class.

I've been doing this project for almost ten years now and the kids get a kick out of playing each others games.  They started planning out their games before the holiday break and had eight full periods to work on them with their groups, so I don't feel guilty about assigning this project.  That being said, you could see the stress on some of their faces as the days passed by.

Hopefully by the time this post is published... the majority of the groups have turned in their projects, so I'm not forced to hand out any late penalties.  In the spirit of their projects, I figured I'd share a pair of cards that were part of games from back in the day...

1970 Milton Bradley #NNO

1984 Topps Milton Bradley Championship Baseball #NNO

The students aren't the only ones dealing with stress.  Tomorrow my principal will be observing me for my formal evaluation.  Normally, I don't have any issues with my administrators strolling through my classroom checking out my instruction and student participation.  But there's something about the formal evaluation process where they carry a clipboard and take notes that gives me anxiety.

It's part of the job description though, so I just need to go with it.  After tomorrow, I can breathe easy knowing that I won't have another one until 2022.

Teachers and students aren't the only ones who are constantly being evaluated.  Sports cards are too.  Here's my Nolan Arenado rookie card that received high grades from PSA:

2013 Topps Chrome #78

Just like the card grades handed out by PSA, BGS, SGC, and other grading companies... my evaluation will be subjective.  It's a good thing I'm on my principal's good side.  Well... at least I hope I am.

Well that's all I have for you today.  It's your turn to talk...

What's your favorite board or card game?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Okay Boomer

A month or two ago, I heard the phrase "okay Boomer" on local radio and started asking my students if they used it.  A lot of them replied "yes".  From what I've heard, this saying seems to be a dig at baby boomers by millennials after being the butt of jokes and complaints over the years.

However after surveying my students, the vast majority said they don't really use it against their parents, grandparents, teachers, and other adults in their life.  They tend to use it against each other when their friends say something overly critical or mature.

I can totally see where some people are offended by the saying.  That being said, I can see where millennials and Gen Z'ers are tired of being harassed and are standing up for themselves.  As a Gen X'er... I find it sort of humorous and will leave it at that.

Downshifting a little, I thought it would be cool to show some love for MLB baby boomers.  Obviously the list could be obnoxiously long, so I've narrowed things down to the thirty-five players born from 1946 to 1964 (baby boomer range according to Wikipedia) who have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame based on their careers as a player.

I spent almost two hours sifting through my vintage and 80's binders finding and scanning cards, so grab your popcorn, sit back, and enjoy...

Catfish Hunter (April 8, 1946)

Reggie Jackson (May 18, 1946)

Dave Winfield (October 3, 1951)

Rich Gossage (July 5, 1951)

Rollie Fingers (August 25, 1946)

Nolan Ryan (January 31, 1947)

Johnny Bench (December 7, 1947)

Carlton Fisk (December 26, 1947)

Ted Simmons (August 9, 1949)

Mike Schmidt (September 27, 1949)

Eddie Murray (February 24, 1956)

Bert Blyleven (April 6, 1951)

Bruce Sutter (January 8, 1953)

Jim Rice (March 8, 1953)

George Brett (May 15, 1953)

Gary Carter (April 8, 1954)

Andre Dawson (July 10, 1954)

Dennis Eckersley (October 3, 1954)

Ozzie Smith (December 26, 1954)

Jack Morris (May 16, 1955)

Robin Yount (September 16, 1955)

Paul Molitor (August 22, 1956)

Lee Smith (December 4, 1957)

Alan Trammell (February 21, 1958)

Wade Boggs (June 15, 1958)

Rickey Henderson (December 25, 1958)

Tim Raines (September 16, 1959)

Harold Baines (March 15, 1959)

Ryne Sandberg (September 18, 1959)

Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960)

Tony Gwynn (May 9, 1960)

Cal Ripken Jr. (August 24, 1960)

Edgar Martinez (January 2, 1963)

Randy Johnson (September 10, 1963)

Barry Larkin (April 28, 1964)  Youngest

Out of the thirty-five players, Catfish Hunter was the first boomer born on this list.  Sadly he passed away in 1999.  Gary Carter, Kirby Puckett, and Tony Gwynn are the three other players who were taken from us (baseball fans) and their families way too early.

Reggie Jackson is the oldest living boomer enshrined in Cooperstown, while Barry Larkin is currently the youngest.  Barry Bonds is three months younger than Larkin, so he'll probably capture the title eventually.

As for guys like Derek Jeter, Curt Schilling, and Larry Walker who look like they'll be part of the Cooperstown Class of 2020... they are all Generation X'ers like myself.  But that's according to Wikipedia.  There are some blurry lines when establishing the age ranges for these generational labels.

Okay it's your turn to chime in...

Do you have a favorite baseball boomer?  Favorite baby boomer in general?

I'm actually thinking about ranking my Top 5 baby boomers one day.  I'd narrow it down to only athletes, but open it up to all sports.  Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Jealous, Not Jealous

Whenever I see YouTubers or blogs receive free boxes of cards to review or give away, there's always a small part of me that wishes card companies would send me free stuff.  On the other hand, I lack the writing skills, free time, and motivation to create interesting and unbiased reviews.  So it's probably a good thing that I don't receive free products to review.

Luckily there are plenty of people out there who are talented enough to get the job done.  Back in the day, I loved reading Wax Heaven's reviews.  Nowadays, I head over to Sport Card Collectors when I want to see box breaks and read reviews.

In addition to writing reviews, Sport Card Collectors also hosts a bunch of contests where he gives away cards from his breaks... as well as supply prize packages from BCW.

Last month, I lucked out and won one of them.  As much as I enjoy winning free cards, I've gotta admit... receiving free supplies is just as cool.  BCW hooked it up with one of their trading card supplies combo packs, which includes the following items:

• two shoe boxes
• six packages of top loaders (a variety of sizes)
• six magnetic card holders
• three packs of penny sleeves

You can purchase these supply combo packs on BCW's website for $47.99.  They also sent me a 2019 Topps Archives Signature Series card of Ed Kranepool:

Outside of playing for the New York Mets and being a fan favorite among their fans, I didn't know much about him.  In my defense, I was only seven years old when he played his final game in 1979.  My brother would take me to Giants games back in the 70's, so there's always a chance I got to watch him play at Candlestick back in the day.

Thankfully a few Google searches revealed that he's one of the original 1962 Mets and he spent his entire 17 year playing career with the franchise.  I also discovered that once upon a time, he was the franchise leader in hits, singles, doubles, total bases, extra base hits, and runs batted in.  Guys like David Wright and Jose Reyes have passed him up over the years, but he still gets to brag about being the Mets' all-time leader in games played.

Before wrapping up this post, I want to show off the back of this autographed buyback.  Gum stain for the win!  Back in the day, gum stained cards were considered sub-par pieces of cardboard.  However... with each passing year, I've grown to appreciate them more and more.  

Thank you Sport Card Collectors for all of your great product reviews and contests!  And thank you BCW for offering up this very generous prize package!  I've been using your supplies for years and will definitely put this supply combo pack to good use.

Okay readers, here's your question of the day...

What's your stance on gum stained cards?  Do you consider them to be sub-par pieces of cardboard or cards with character?

Share your thoughts down below.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: A 90's Sleezeball

This Monday is a big day for college football fans when Clemson takes on LSU in the Battle of the Tigers.  If I can find the game online, I'll probably put it on in the background.  But I've gotta admit, I'm not a diehard college football fan.  In fact, when I heard these two teams were playing, the first thing I did was head over to Baseball Reference to see what MLB guys played baseball for either of these colleges.  And one of the biggest names I found was Albert Belle.

Now Belle will never win any popularity contests or humanitarian awards.  The guy chased down kids on Halloween in his car, stalked his ex-girlfriend, got busted for indecent exposure and driving under the influence, and never had a positive reputation with reporters.  But there was a time when he was considered one of the most dominant hitters in baseball.

Today, I wanted to show off five of my favorite Albert Belle cards in support of LSU where he attended and played baseball for them from 1985 to 1987.

2014 Topps Tribute Traditions Orange Autograph #TT-AB (#'d 22/40)

1990 Leaf #180

1999 SP Signature Edition Autograph #AB

1996 Flair Diamond Cuts #2

1998 Donruss Signature Series Millenium Marks #NNO

I realize some people are wondering how I could spotlight such a sleezeball on my blog.  It's pretty easy.

I'm able to take a few minutes to draw a line between the good and bad choices athletes have made during their lives.  Professional athletes aren't my role models or heroes.  That's something filled by my parents, siblings, friends, and other important people in my life like certain teachers, fire fighters, police officers, and individuals serving in the armed forces.

Plus the purpose of this post wasn't to have your children or my students choose Mr. Belle to become their role model.  I just wanted to show off some cool Belle cards, because back in the 90's, I would have been excited to pull anything with his name on it.  He's a part of my hobby history and turning a blind eye to that seems kind of silly.

What about you?

What are your thoughts on collecting guys like Albert Belle, Pete Rose, OJ Simpson, and other athletes who have made very poor choices during their lives?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses.  I believe people should collect what they want to collect, so whether or not you'd choose to collect any of these athletes is all good to me.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!