2 classic looks. 2 great cards.
These 2 cards are from the ‘Fan Favorites’ set that Topps put out in 2003 & 2004.
Card #1 is a re-make of the 1981 Topps set, featuring a brand new photo of ‘The Hawk’ in his old-school Montreal Expos uniform.
Card #2 is a re-make of the 1987 Topps set, a personal favorite of mine. 1987 was Andre’s first season with the Cubs and it’s fitting to feature him in a great pose on this classic design!!
Chipper Jones turns 37 years old today.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been able to enjoy watching Larry ‘Chipper’ Jones play for close to 2 decades. I remember getting his rookie cards in packs when I collected cards as a kid and being thrilled to pull the brightest star in the set.
16 years later, Chipper has been nothing short of spectacular. His offensive dominance has been as consistent as any player in the game. And his skills seem to sharpen season after season as he becomes a better hitter, a more powerful hitter, and a more disciplined hitter.
For his 37th birthday, I want to give Chipper Jones perfect health. He is on his way to some major baseball accomplishments(500 home runs and 3,000 hits) and if he can stay healthy he can continue to reach for the stars. I know I am pulling for him!!!
Happy Birthday Chipper!!!
Who Would Have Thought…. The Toronto Blue Jays Would Be The First To Win 12 Games…
… I guess nobody since they are 1 of the very few teams that did not get picked for this contest.
We march on… First to 12 still up in the air!!!!
For a recap of who has each team, click here.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 2009 baseball, 2009 baseball season, Autographs, baseball, baseball cards, contest
Darryl Strawberry’s autobiography is being released on April 28th. In ‘Straw: Finding My Way’ Darryl takes us on a journey through his career in the big leagues to his troubles off of the baseball diamond. The book promises to share tales from his early days with the New York Mets through his career as one of baseball’s biggest superstars and then through his rough times of legal troubles, addiction, and finally resurrecting his life.
As you know by now I enjoy sports biographies especially of players that I have felt a connection to during my youth. You can see my other successes here – Billy Williams, Andre Dawson, Fergie Jenkins, and Alonzo Mourning. Darryl Strawberry is no exception and I have already made plans to purchase this book and have it signed by one of my favorite New York Mets.
Details for the book signing can be found through this link:
Tour – http://www.harpercollins.com/Author/Tour.aspx?authorID=34700
If you happen to live in New York or California than maybe you can attend this event yourself. For the rest of us we need to rely on a little help from one of these bookstores. I have called all of them, and very few were willing to (1) take my order and (2) ensure that this book gets personalized ‘To Brian’.
I have chosen to purchase this book from a little shop in New York City called Hue-Man Bookstore. Why not support the little guys and tell the ‘Big’ chain stores that a little personal attention is a nice service to offer. The great team at Hue-Man took my order easily over the phone and said that it will ship immediately after the signing. If you too would like to place an order for this book and have it signed by the author, Darryl Strawberry, I suggest you call Hue-Man as they will happily take care of you.
You can contact them by calling – 212-665-7400.
I cannot wait to get this book in the mail!!!!
A week or so ago I posted that I had added another card to my Rickey Henderson collection – The 1983 Fleer ‘Speed’ card.
In that post I stated that although the second half of this 2-card set was not Rickey it was a player that I admired, Reggie Jackson, and I wanted to get that next. That’s where Greg, from the great blog – ‘Night Owl Cards’, stepped in. Within hours he told me that he had the card for me and today it arrived.
Neither one of these cards are going to win any awards for their design or photography, but this is a classic 2-card set featuring 2 of baseball’s biggest personalities.
Thanks Night Owl!!!
31 days was all that it took for Charlie Hough to return these great autographs to me. I’ve wanted to go after Mr. Hough for a while now but was waiting until I secured a card from his days with the Marlins before I tried.
Charlie Hough can be remembered for several things from his 25-year career. 216 wins/216 losses… 1986 All-star game… 3 World Series losses…
But for me, the name Charlie Hough represents Florida Marlins history. Hough was the starting pitcher on Opening Day in 1993, the first year of the Florida Marlins. No matter what the result was, a 6-3 win over Orel Hershiser and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hough is a baseball legend for Marlins fans.
I am thrilled to have this card in my collection! Thank you Mr. Hough!!
On this day in 1991, Frank Thomas hit the first home run in the new Comiskey Park.
This was an extremely fitting event as Thomas was the team’s biggest star and their greatest source for the long ball. ‘The Big Hurt’ sent a bomb into the outfield stands that set off an enormous fireworks display for the fans to enjoy.
I find this more fitting than ever in 2009, some 18 years later. With the grand openings of 2 beautiful ballparks in New York over the last few weeks, it’s kind of strange to say that the first home run hit at CitiField was hit by Jody Gerut of the San Diego Padres. At least Jorge Posada had the honor of hitting the first round-tripper at the new Yankee Stadium.
Happy Anniversary Frank. And thanks for making this a very special memory that I will never forget!!
9:01 PM – Cameron Maybin just hit his first home run as a member of the Florida Marlins.
Trailing 3-1 in the 8th inning, Maybin just launched a solo homer. FINALLY!!! Hopefully this will settle him down more at the plate. It would be nice to see that this starts a string of better hitting for Cameron!!
For more on Cameron and his 2009 season, don’t forget to check out ‘The Maybin-Meter’ which can be found exclusively at ’30-Year Old Cardboard’!!!
Posted in Florida/Miami Marlins
Tagged baseball, breaking news, cameron maybin, Florida/Miami Marlins, home run, Marlins, maybin
4. Yes, 4. I dropped these packages off at the Post Office this morning and am eager to see if any come back and who may return these to me first.
I won’t drop the names yet, but I will offer a few hints.
In these 4 packages, you have the following:
Any guesses? You’ll just have to sit back and wait. I promise to share the goods as soon as they are returned back to me.
Wish me luck!!!
Roughly 2 weeks ago I got an email from Steve from the blog ‘Wait ‘Til Next Year’. He sent me a link to an auction on Ebay in which a seller had a few of these 1970 Topps-esque baseball card panels featuring some of my favorite players.
A few months ago Steve got the Andre Dawson card as a single and I was immediately drawn to the design. I inquired about it but forgot to follow up and look for one myself. Luckily Steve came to my resuce.
I had to get one and I am thrilled with the end product. Check it out:
Where else are you going to find such a sweet display of baseball greats like this? On this panel, you’ve got 5 current Hall of Fame players, 1 player going into the HOF this summer, and 2 more guys that will surely end up in the Hall.
This is a great piece, and I will look for a way to display this group of baseball superstars proudly!!
