Starting Line-Up Figurine Commercial From The 1980′s

Back in the 1980′s baseball fans were thrilled to have action figures of their favorite sports stars!

Ladies & Gentlemen – Starting Line-up.

1986 Headline – Fingers’ Career Ends Because Of His Mustache…

You read that right.  In 1986 Rollie Fingers had a chance to extend his career to an 18th season as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.  The problem was that Cincinnati had a strict player policy that read ‘No Facial Hair’.  As most baseball fans know, Fingers’ mustache is more of a trademark than his pitching arm.  His refusal to part with his handle-bar facial hair ended his opportunity with the Reds and ultimately his career in baseball.

I find this story very entertaining.  In today’s game, and overall in sports,  the players are known to display their personalities with their personal grooming and style.  Tattoos, piercings, and clothing have helped define this generation’s athletes and it’s kind of cool that 20+ years ago Fingers would not allow his style to be altered by a silly team policy.

Today, with the money being much higher than it was back in 1986, the players are more likely to change their physical traits if it means not getting that extra-large paycheck.  Just ask Johnny Damon about that one….

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980′s – Card #39

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980′s – Card #39

David Cone – 1987 Topps Traded

Immensely talented, Cone was a dominant force over the course of his 17-season career.  With a lifetime record of 194-126, along with 2,668 strikeouts, Cone was often the leader of the rotation and set the pace for some of baseball’s greatest teams in the 1990′s.  In his best season as a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1994, David Cone won the Cy Young award.  With a 16-5 record alongside a 2.94 ERA and 2.44 K:walk ratio, Cone dominated the American League.  During his 17-year career, Cone finished in the top 6 for the Cy Young award a total of 5 times.

The individual highlight of Cone’s career is the perfect game he pitched in 1999 against the Expos.  As incredible as the no-hitter is, the perfect game is outstanding.  Cone dominated the Expos for 9 innings as he struck out 10 batters while not allowing any player for the Expos to reach first base.

David Cone may be the best example of a player being ‘in the right place at the right time’.  Cone has 5 World Series Championship rings. Simply Amazing.  Cone won 1 title with the Toronto Blue Jays and 4 more as a member of the New York Yankees.  In 15 post-season match-ups, Cone has a record of 8-3 with over 100 innings pitched.

Just 3 Andre Dawson Cards To Go….

3.  That’s all.  3 more cards is all I need to add to my Andre Dawson collection and then I have obtained my goal to get all of Andre’s major brand cards from his rookie season of 1977 through 1989.

In 6 months I have gathered up 46 of the 49 cards in this set and now I have my sights set on the final 3.  I have had a harder time tracking these 3 down than some of the others.  I can go onto ebay at any time and buy all 3 of these cards from 3 different sellers and get this player collection completed for somewhere between $8-$10.  But that is not my goal.  I like to shop for these cards.  I like for readers of the blog to join me on my quest to find these cards.  My pockets are not particularly deep, and I have no intention of investing $10 in 3 cards that I may be able to find in a bargain bin over time.  And to be perfectly honest, I don’t want this to end right now.  I’ve got too much emotion wrapped up in this dedication to Andre and I am not sure how it will feel once the set is complete.

So the quest continues.  Here are the final 3 cards I need to secure and then my Andre Dawson player collection will be complete!!!!

1987 Fleer Update

1988 Fleer All-Star

1989 Bowman

Happy Birthday Livan Hernandez!!!

Happy 34th Birthday to Livan Hernandez!!!

Livan was the primary reason that the Florida Marlins won the World Series title in 1997.  If it wasn’t for his amazing pitching in the NLCS and World Series who knows if the Marlins would have been able to prevail.  I can still remember Livan screaming ‘I Love You Miami’ as he but the team on his back on the way to the title.

For Livan’s birthday I am going to give him a treat.  This is certainly not something you should give a professional athlete that is tuning up his body for another season, but I want Livan to enjoy himself.  I’m going to get him a $25 gift card to McDonalds.  Silly you say?  NO!!!  Livan loves fast food.  Hell, in the months after winning the World Series in 1997, it was rumored that Livan gained up to 43 pounds from his constant trips to the drive-thru window at McD’s!!!

 

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980′s – Card #40

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980′s – Card #40

Jim Abbott – 1988 Topps

Jim Abbott makes the list for being one of the most inspirational players in baseball history – and clearly has the most inspiring story of any player that debuted during the 1980′s. 

Born with no right hand, Abbott did not let his limitations stop him from achieving his dream to play professional baseball.  As a star pitcher in college, he was drafted in the first round of the 1988 draft and debuted with the California Angels in 1989.  With a 87-108 record during his 10-year career, Abbott’s numbers certainly don’t indicate how immensely talented he was on the mound.  With (5)10-win seasons under his belt, and a 3rd place finish for the Cy Young award in 1991, Abbott became a baseball star for teams that were generally towards the bottom of the rankings year after year.

The highlight of Abbott’s professional career came as a member of the New York Yankees during the 1993 season when he threw a no-hitter.  To be able to achieve pitching greatness, even for just 1 night, Abbott stood heads and shoulders above his competition. 

Sadly, Abbott never made a post-season appearance in his 10 years as a major league pitcher.

Who Would You Love To See Suit Up For Your Team Again???

With the announcement that Ken Griffey, Jr. has signed a contract to play baseball again for the Seattle Mariners, it made me wonder who I would like to see suit up again for my home team? 

In Griffey’s case, his greatest team and individual success came from his playing days with the Mariners so seeing him go back to Seattle is a nice, fitting end to his amazing career…

Who else though???

Tom Glavine did it by going back to Atlanta last year.  Would you want to see Frank Thomas in a White Sox uniform one more time?  How about Manny Ramirez wearing an Indians uni?  Pudge Rodriguez suited up for the Texas Rangers?  What about Alfonso Soriano wearing pinstripes again for the Yankees?

So let me know.  If you could select one current player to come back to the team he established his career with who would it be??

For me, it’s Josh Beckett.  I would love to see him wearing the Teal and Black of the Marlins again.  He has built a solid career for himself with a ton of post season experience and I think he would be an incredible veteran leader for one of the youngest and most talented starting rotations in the major leagues.

Who knows?  It could happen…

Chicago Cubs Greats Of The Game – Ernie Banks

 If you’re going to have a set of cards called ‘Greats of the Game’ and feature the Chicago Cubs, then of course Ernie Banks is going to be present.  Like peanut butter and jelly, Ernie Banks and the Chicago Cubs go hand in hand.  And even with Banks’ retirement more than 30+ years in the past he is still without question the most popular and most highly decorated Cub of all-time.

Any questions as to why I had the desire to add this card to my collection???  I doubt it! 

New Feature – ‘The 40/40 Club’ – Starts Tomorrow!!!

You’ve read correctly.  I have a new feature hitting the site tomorrow…

Similar to my previous series ’31 in 31′ that honored the best rookies from the 1970′s, ‘The 40/40 Club’ will pay tribute to the top 40 rookies that debuted during the 1980′s.  The name has been taken from one of baseball’s greatest feats and represents the top 40 rookies that will be covered in 40 consecutive days.  Each day I will review a player that debuted during the 1980′s and I will rank them in regards to their importance in baseball and the hobby of baseball card collecting. 

This series will take us right up through the end of the month of March.

Player #40 debuts tomorrow morning as we count down to the most important players that debuted in the 1980′s…  Who will it be?  Stay tuned to find out.

The Evolution Of My Collection – Part 3

Here is part 3 in the series as my collection continues to take shape.  To see where I started from and how my collection has progressed, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

My collection has expanded quite a bit in the last few months.  Below is a picture of my collection as of this morning.  And below that is a description of what you are seeing.

From left to right:

Box 1, Row 1 = Dave Winfield collection.  Box 1, Row 2 = Rickey Henderson collection, followed by 1983 Topps Super Veteran set.  Box 1, Row 3 = Misc. players.  Center stack = all autographs obtained through the mail.  Center box = All cards to be used for future autograph TTM requests.  Box 2, Row 1 = PSA Fergie Jenkins autographed card, followed by Billy Williams collection, followed by Fergie Jenkins collection, followed by Greg Maddux collection, followed by Mark Grace collection, followed by 2006 Chicago Cubs Greats of the Game subset.  Box 2, Row 2 = Andre Dawson collection(years 1990-current), followed by empty top loaders, followed by random Chicago Cubs cards.  Box 2, Row 3 = Andre Dawson collection(years 1977-1989).

And there you have it.  In a little over 6 months my baseball card collection has gone from 1 small shoe box containing roughly 60 cards to this.  I have become an extremely detailed and organized collector and have decided to keep my collection very specific.  I have plenty of room to grow on within this collection and look forward to updating this as the days, weeks, and months go by.