Social Distancing Diary with Baseball Cards #7

Aloha, everybody,

Today we check out non-Dodgers rookie cards and game-used relics.

Enjoy and aloha!

Ripping Some Sunday Packs from the BFG

Aloha, everybody, 

As you may remember, good ol' Wes sent over a big ol' box of assorted goodies to me from his Big Fun Game. 

There was sooo much good stuff in there, I still haven't finished ripping all the packs that he sent me. I've been holding them on the side just for an occasion like this. 

Let's rip a couple, shall we...

Let's lead off with 1988 Score - because these cards are "photo quality"!

These will work. A nice Molitor with a dirtied up uniform and a member of the Big Red Machine with big red stirrups. 

Here's a 3-D card that is spposed to commemorate Yaz's role as a hero in the 1967 pennant race.  

It turns out this card's claim to fame is to be an error card. Note the sentence on the back that has the Tigers playing in two stadiums at the same time (it should read, "the Twins were at Fenway"). 

I always love to pull a World Series hero, Joe Carter card...

The blue overtones and shadows make this a very attractive card...

Now the DonRuss pack...

We get a sentimental favorite and a Dodgers cuppa coffee man...

Yount is always a good pull...

We close with this simple puzzle piece. There's not much here but a fragment, just a bat and the top of a cap...but it's the perfect design. It would make a great wall painting. Doncha think? 

Thanks Wes, this is a prize that is still giving! 

Aloha and happy Sunday! 

1997 UD Jewels Part 2

Aloha, everybody, 

In the last post I said we would be taking a look at the inserts from this set, but I over-spoke, because I don't really have many inserts from the set. Certainly not the big-time inserts. 

Back then - just as now - it was hard as heck for me to pull the huge names and the big money inserts out of packs. 

What I do have to show are some of the base subsets and a few inserts. So those will have to do for our purposes. Let's get started with some of the tribute cards from the base set.

Subsets from this era, like Defensive Gems, rock because the checklists are full of HOFers.  

The drawback for our blogpost is the mirrored finishes that were popular back in the day don't reproduce very well on our scanners. 

On the other hand, those reflective and shiny cards still look beautiful in my hands 20 years later. 

For fans of the Wizard of Oz, here's one more. This one is from the Final Tribute subset...

The caption says this is 6/19/96, when Ozzie announced his retirement. 

Here comes more shiny in real life, but dark on the blog. This is from the Star Rookies inserts. Back then foil was used by almost every set. The foil shield here reads Major League Debut. 

Here's the back. How about Nomah with a single line of stats? They're his rookie year totals. 

Another Major League Debut card. I like Erstad, and dig this photo contrasted against the mirror finish, so he makes it into the post. 

Highlights was another subset filled with HOFers...

It's dark, but the caption reads " Paul Molitor joins the 3,000 hit club on 9/16/96". 

Here's the back of the Highlights cards. Kenny Lofton was very popular back then. The card honors the day he stole his 300th base... 

We'll close this out quick today because the Dodgers are playing the Yankees now. Time to focus on that. 

Speaking of Dodgers vs Yankees, today's final card will go to one of the biggest figures from the old LAD-NYY rivalry...

 Tommy's sayin', "I'll bet my '35 Seasons of Dodger Stadium' sleeve patch that damn Reggie threw his damn hip into the path of the damned ball!" 

Next time: More subsets

Aloha! 

Cardboard Countdown to Opening Day - Four Days to Go!

Aloha, everybody, 

Folks on Twitter are having fun counting down to Opening Day by showing photos of player's uniform numbers that match the number of days to go. 

 I figured I would take a crack at something like that and run an ATBATT countdown, showing cardboard that features the appropriate numbers.

 My criteria was the same as Twitter's; the number itself had to be visible. Little did I know how hard it would be to find a lot of cardboard in my collection that clearly showed the numbers I needed. I had to get creative on occasion.  

Lucky for me, I've got a few cards from the Duke of Flatbush...

See you all for Number 3. Aloha! 

B.P. Heroes Rookie Cards (Not) Part 2

Hey everybody,

Happy Sunday!  I'm jazzed this morning because I watched the Rolling Stones' concert last night, broadcast live from N.J.  The highlights for me were ex-Stones guitarist, Mick Taylor joining in for a scorching version of 'Midnight Rambler', and a super-impressive Lady Gaga joining Mick on 'Gimme Shelter'.  I'm not a lady Gaga fan - I can't even name one song of hers - but dang, she turned it up to 11 on that number.  Bravo, Gaga.

On to baseball cards and Part 2.  When I first started posting this edition of B.P.Heroes, I named it with my heart, rather than reality.  As the post has continued on, I have come to realize I have far fewer true RC's than I originally thought. 

This blogging about our hobby certainly allows us to view our collections deeper in depth, and to get a clearer perspective of what we really have.  So, I'm altering the name of the post to Rookie Cards (Not).  LoL.  Bear with me, and let's have some fun anyways.

 First up is the Kid's second year fleer card...

I'm a big fan of cards with batting cages and stadiums in the background. 

Sure, baseball action shots are great on cards, but another huge part of the game is that pre-game prep period.  The players are warming up on the field and getting into a game mindset, but there is also a laid back, aint it grand to get paid for playing a game, kind of feeling as well.  Some guys are stretching alone, others are running side by side sprints, and others are joking while waiting for a turn in the cage.  That easy lull before the contest is a type of feeling that only baseball seems to capture.

I mentioned in Part 1 that I prefer a second-year card where the player is alone, over one of those multi-player mug shot cards.  (Scott Sawyer agrees with me on this one.  Thanks for the comment, Scott.)  I suppose those multi-player cards are great for the purists and the investors, but I collect based on the visuals of the card.  I love Molitor's scuffed helmet and easy smile in this second-year issue.

Because he is who he is, Molitor also gets his third-year card in this binder page...

 THANKS for reading, everybody!

Next Post: B.P. Heroes (Not)  Part 3

Saturday Batters Up !

Hey everybody,

Here comes an easy saturday post of some players who let thier bats do the talking back in the day...

Donruss was my favorite card maker in the 90's.  They had the best batting action shots and I thought they designed the best inserts. 

Even if you're not a yankees fan, you gotta have one Donnie Baseball in the PC.

Speaking of well -designed cards, '94 Flair here is one of my favorite sets.  This was one of the first 'premium sets', and I think one of the best.  Almost 20 years have passed and these cards still hold up through the test of time. 

Here's great vintage with 2 batting legends who I was lucky enough to see play. 

Here's Carew again with a young Reggie Smith on my nomination for the dullest Topps set ever.

Finishing up with another one of the great set designs.  Furillo was an iron man out in right field and was a clutch WS batter, winning titles with both Brooklyn and L.A. 

  
 THANKS for reading!