Binder Page Heroes The Garv Edition

The Infield, the same guys that GCRL honors with his blogger name, the very infield that played together the longest in MLB history, was the same infield that i grew up watching out at Chavez Ravine. They were the Dodger infield of my youth, and Steve Garvey was the first baseman....

Garvey holds the NL record for most consecutive games played: 1207

Garvey once made the all-star team as a write-in.  he was a 10 time all-star and MVP of the game twice. (old time catcher's mask alert)

we used to call Garvey 'popeye' because of his massive forearms.

'73 topps is full of great baseball photography.  Garvey is credited as playing 3rd in this card.  Parker was the Dodgers first baseman here.

this card notes Garvey's marriage. we all thought he had the hottest wife. atta boy, Steve!

Dodger uniforms look great with those old time stirrups.

Mr. Clean

this card is an embossed and glossy beaut.

THANKS for reading everybody !

Binder Page Heroes Number 42 Edition

i've got about 3 binder pages of Jackie Robinson, arranged in no particular order, other than being cards of Jackie, one of the greatest players ever. 

 Jackie doesn't have a laundry list of incredible stats built over a 18-20 year career like some HOFers, but he did revolutionize the game.  He wasn't a huge home run masher like mickey mantle, or a flashy player that showed a new way to play the game like ozzie smith, but he was a steady, intelligent player, a hard competitor, and a bona fide team leader.

99% of the time, when players are breaking records and changing the way the game is played, they are cheered on by the fans and encouraged by their teammates, but Jackie had to accomplish everything with outright racism coming at him from every direction - from people in the stands, from players on other teams, and even from his fellow Dodger teammates. he had to endure it silently, on a huge stage.  i can't imagine how tough that must have been. 

Jackie and i have the same birthday :)

remember how cool it was when we first saw these diamond anniversary cards?

 Jackie had to overcome hurdles that people kept tossing in front of him, but he was only able to succeed because others stood with him and backed him up when it was needed. when some Dodgers said they would not play alongside Jackie, manager Leo Durocher said, "I don't care if the guy is yellow or black, or if he has stripes like a fuckin' zebra. I'm the manager of this team, and I say he plays."  

 Pee Wee Reese famously put his arm around Robinson's shoulder in a sign of solidarity for racist fans to see. 

When the cardinals (and players on other teams) threatened to strike rather than share a field with Robinson, baseball commissioner happy chandler said he would suspend any player who went on strike.  can you see that kind of courage from bud selig? 

much has been said about topps recycling the same Jackie photos over and over again.  i'm not going to rehash that valid arguement, but i do appreciate when they design a great looking card despite using the same photo.

Jackie certainly put up some good numbers.  he was a 6 time all-star and played in 6 world series. twice he led the league in stolen bases and was a career .311 hitter.

three pages of Jackie Robinson cards, and not one original from his playing days. *sigh*

the man who inspired my blogger name, Jackie Robinson.

THANKS for reading!

Binder Page Heroes 11 Mike Schmidt Edition

hey everybody,

today's binder page features ol' schmidtty, mr. mike schmidt, the long-time phillie who was bad-ass enough to actually sob at his retirement announcment, and nobody snickered or questioned it.  i think we all felt it with him.  heck, it still chokes me up when i watch this clip...

 it also took some brass to wear that tie, schmiddy.  check it out at the 30 second mark.


most of my schmidt cards came to me through trades, so this binder page is definitely a bit of a tribute to my fellow blogger-reader-trader buddies out there.  mike schmidt is always welcome in an offer or package here at ATBATT. 

here's the man who patrolled the hot corner for the phillies for his  entire career...

schmidt looks a bit like he's fighting the flu in this shot

schmidt was a 12 time all-star.  according to this card, mike likes electric trains.  can't you see him in one of those striped engineer hats?

the blue of his uniform absolutely rocks with the blue photo border.  it's one of my favorites.

picked this up in a trade. THANKS !

this card is great because it's rare for me to find a card with schmidt playing defense.  anybody have an original out there for trade?

THANKS for reading !

Binder Page Heroes 9 Big Hurt Edition

hey everybody,

happy friday.  baseball continues onward for some of you, and my team managed to ultimately squander and ruin their 'almost incredible' season.

upon reflection, although the season felt like such a let down at its conclusion, it really was pretty good, all things considered.  coming off the unspeakable disaster that was the final season of the mccourt ownership, this Dodger season gave us some great moments, and we really did feel genuine hope from time to time.

in spite of the fiascoes that were loney/uribe,  injured/re-injured kemp, and superstars that can't string together 3 base hits in a row, we had the emergence of luis cruz, a quality season from the starting pitchers, and the announcement that Vin Scully will be back to be the Dodger's voice for one more season.  i take silver linings any time i can get 'em.

back when i started getting into collecting, as far as contemporary players went, the big boys to catch on cardboard were ken griffey jr. and frank thomas. as a result, thomas occupies 3 binder pages.  the big hurt was picture-perfect for the sets that were released through these times.  i didn't pull many inserts of thomas, but often, his base cards were beautiful on their own.

i'm gonna take a page from Vin Scully's book, and let the pictures speak for themselves...

really? thomas played 17 years?  i feel kinda old....

dang !

THANKS for reading...