I received 1 pack of 1989 Donruss in the contest I won on the Autographed Cards blog.
Here are the results from the pack:
Jack McDowell, Ray Hayward, Tom Gordon, Johnny Paredes, Todd Burns, Jose DeJesus, Tim Leary, Hensley Meulens, Wes Gardner, Willie Frasier, Bill Long, Bobby Bonilla(DK), Oswald Perez, Juan Castillo, and Eric King.
In my opinion, if it wasn’t for ‘Bobby-Bo’ this pack would have been a complete Dud!!!
Posted in Pack / Box Breaks
Tagged 1989 donruss, baseball cards, Bill Long, bobby bonilla, collecting, collection, donruss, Eric King, Hensley Meulens, hobby, Jack McDowell, Johnny Paredes, Jose DeJesus, Juan Castillo, Oswald Perez, Ray Hayward, Tim Leary, Todd Burns, Tom Gordon, Wes Gardner, Willie Frasier
“31 in 31″ – The 1970′s – Card #11
Gary Carter – 1975 Topps – #620
Had it not been for a player named Johnny Bench, Gary Carter may be considered the best catcher in baseball history. In this case, 2nd place is not too bad of a spot to be in when you’re behind one the greatest players in major league history.
Gary Carter brought a level of offensive and defensive consistency to the catching position for 19 seasons. An 11-time All-star, Carter was the team leader during his days with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. His solid offensive play, highlighted by winning 5 Silver Slugger awards, and his dominant defense in which he won 3 Gold Gloves established him as one of the most complete players during the 1970′s and into the 1980′s. With a career batting average of .262, Carter captured 2,092 hits during his playing days. And with 324 homers, 1,225 RBI, and 1,025 runs scored, Carter provided punch to the offense that was rare from the catcher’s position during those times. Due to the rarity of this kind of production by a catcher, Gary Carter finished in the Top 17 for the MVP award 7 times during his career.
Gary Carter played in 1 World Series match-up in 1986 and his New York Mets won the title in 7 games. During that series, Carter batted .276 while hitting 2 home runs and knocking in an amazing 9 runs.
Posted in '31 in 31' - The 1970's
Tagged 1986 world series, all-star, baseball, catcher, Expos, gary carter, gold glove, Hall Of Fame, HOF, Mets, montreal expos, most valuable player, MVP, New york mets, silver slugger, world series
I received 4 packs of 1990 Fleer in the contest I won on the Autographed Cards blog.
Here are the results from Pack #2
Dan Gladden, R.J. Reynolds, Pat Borders, Von Hayes, Ron Hassey, Fred McGriff, Devon White, Glenn Wilson, Dave Winfield, Sandy Alomar Jr, Danny Tartabull, Andres Galaraga, Scott Coolbaugh, Rick Dempsey, and Scott Hemond/Mark Gardner.
Of the cards, the Winfield, McGriff, and Galaraga cards stand out. In this pack, there weare a few doubles from this pack that I got in pack 1.
Posted in Pack / Box Breaks
Tagged 1990 fleer, Andres Galaraga, baseball cards, collecting, collection, Dan Gladden, danny tartabull, dave winfield, devon white, fleer, fred mcgriff, Glenn Wilson, hobbies, hobby, Mark Gardner, Pat Borders, R.J. Reynolds, Rick Dempsey, Ron Hassey, Sandy Alomar Jr, Scott Coolbaugh, Scott Hemond, Von Hayes
At this point, Chris and I have an unspoken pact. If I find any Ryne Sandberg cards that are on his ‘Want List’ I grab them for him. And if he finds anything that I am searching for he picks it up on my behalf. We’re not talking rookie cards or cards that cost a fortune. We’re talking about 1 player collector and Cubs fan swapping cards with another player collector and Cubs fan. If you haven’t already visited his site, please check out ‘Project ’62′.
I’ve been kicking myself for not jumping on the ‘Pete Rose 1985 set w/Autographed card’ for the last few weeks and based on the reviews I have been reading I have definitely made a big mistake by not getting one of these. Oh well, it’s not my first collecting mistake and it won’t be my last(although I wish it was).
Anyways, I got this package in the mail last night and wanted to share it with everyone. Here are the cards:
2 1983 Topps Super Veteran cards for my set
2 Andre Dawson Sportflics & an Andre Dawson/Ryne Sandberg combo card
A few Ryno cards that must have been doubles from Chris’ collection
And a nice handful of Cubs cards from various years and brands
Thanks Chris!!!
I received 4 packs of 2007 Topps Series 2 in the contest I won on the Autographed Cards blog.
Here are the results from Pack #1
Matt Morris, Jim Thome, Mickey Mantle, Kip Wells, David Eckstein, and Josh Beckett
You can’t go wrong with a Mickey Mantle card, and the Thome and Beckett are pretty sweet too!
Posted in Pack / Box Breaks
Tagged 2007 topps, baseball, baseball cards, collecting, collection, David Eckstein, hobby, jim thome, Josh Beckett, Kip Wells, Matt Morris, mickey mantle, topps
“31 in 31″ – The 1970′s – Card #12
Dennis Eckersley – 1976 Topps – #98
The man simply known as ‘The Eck’ was one of baseball’s brightest stars in the 1970′s and carried his success through 24 seasons as a big league player. Dennis Eckersley began his career as a starting pitcher. In fact, one of the game’s greatest relief pitchers in the history of baseball was a starter during his first 12 seasons. As a starter, ‘Eck’ did well as he had (9) 10+ win seasons in 12 years. That all changed in 1987 when Eckersley was traded to the Oakland A’s and was converted into a closer for the Athletics. ‘Eck’ began to dominate. And in 12 seasons after that trade, he piled up 387 saves. Eckersley’s best season came in 1992 when he won the league’s MVP and Cy Young awards. In ’92 he pitched 80 innings and saved 51 games. With an ERA of just 1.91 and the control to strikeout 93 batters while walking just 11 and it is easy to see why ‘Eck’ was tagged as one of the best closers in baseball history. Dennis Eckersley finished in the top 7 for the Cy Young award 6 times in his career – 4 of which came as a closer.
Eckersley has played in 11 post season match-up and 3 World Series championships. He won the title with the Oakland A’s in 1989 and finished his career with 1 championship ring and 15 saves in post season play.
Posted in '31 in 31' - The 1970's, Dennis Eckersley Collection
Tagged 'the eck', 1988 world series, 1989 world series, 1990 world series, 50 saves, all-star, basebal history, baseball, boston red sox, cleveland indians, closer, cy young, cy young award, dennis eckersley, most valuable player, MVP, oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, pitcher, relief pithcer, world series
Mike Cameron TTM Success – 9 days!!!
Mike Cameron is known around the hobby of autograph collecting as being a friend to the collector. He certainly didn’t disappoint either, as he signed 2 cards for me in just 9 days. With an extremely fast turnaround and a great looking signature, I am thrilled to add Cameron’s autograph to my growing collection.
Cameron has been a consistent contributor for 14 major league seasons. Cam’s power numbers have always been a consistent factor in his offensive game. With numbers like 30/20/80 for his doubles, HR’s, and RBI, Cameron adds a great ‘PoP’ to the line-up. Then you throw in the fact that he is good for 15-20 steals per seasons, and you have a nice, well-rounded offensive star on your roster.
Thanks for the great autographs Mike!!!
Sparky Anderson TTM Success – 9 days!!!
George ‘Sparky’ Anderson played just 1 season in the big leagues – 1959 with the Phillies. In that year he batted .218 while accumulating 104 hits, 9 doubles, 0 home runs, and 34 RBI. Not very impressive stats…
But, ‘Sparky’ is one the most popular managers in baseball history. The winner of 3 World Series titles, Anderson was extremely popular with players and fans. With the ‘Big Red Machine’ in 1975 & 1976, Anderson won back-to-back titles. And then, in 1984 he won his 3rd championship with the Detroit Tigers. With a career win-loss record of 2,194-1,834, Anderson was voted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Thanks for the great autograph ‘Sparky’!!!
“31 in 31″ – The 1970′s – Card #13
Bert Blyleven – 1971 Topps – #26
Bert Blyleven can best be described as an unsung baseball hero that fell victim to always playing for ‘small market’ teams. Over the course of his 22-year career, Blyleven played for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, and California Angels. Bert still managed to put together an incredible career full of pitching stats that equal some of the best by any pitcher that debuted in the 1970′s. With a 287-250 win-loss record, and an ERA of 3.31 it’s easy to see that Blyleven was a solid performer that offered consistency to the teams he pitched for. With 242 complete games to his credit, including 60 shut outs, Blyleven’s effort was solid no matter what team he suited up to play for. Bert has amassed 3,701 strikeouts over the course of his 22-seasons in the big leagues while giving up just 1,322 walks – good for a 2.8 K:walk ratio.
Blyleven played in 2 World Series match-ups – in 1979 as a member of the Pirates and then in 1987 with the Twins. Winning both championship titles and having a record of 5-1 in the post season, Bert Blyleven out-played his opponents on baseball’s biggest stage. And when dominance mattered most, Bert struck out 36 batters while just walking 13.
Sit back and enjoy as Frank Thomas does what he does best – CRUSH THAT LITTLE BALL!!!!
I’m really surprised that Major League Baseball didn’t try harder to market the game using Frank Thomas. He appears to be a very likeable guy, and he escaped the entire ‘steroid era’ unscathed while continuing to put up incredible numbers while playing at a consistently higher level than his peers.
