Rod Carew is the only American League player ever to win a batting title without hitting a single home run. He accomplished this in 1972 with a .318 batting average.
**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’
My take - A true artist at the plate. ‘Nuff said!!
Posted in Did You Know....
Tagged all-star, angels, baseball, baseball cards, batting champ, batting champion, california angels, Hall Of Fame, HOF, minnesota twins, rod carew, twins
Happy Father’s Day!!!
If you’re a dad or a son or a daughter, take some time today to sit back and relax. If you’re able to spend a little more quality time with your dad today then let him know just how valued of a man he is in your life.
And if you get the chance, take in a ballgame with him too.
Kind of like these guys did…
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged baseball, baseball cards, dads, father's day, ken griffey jr, ken griffey sr, sons
Mariano Rivera’s Race To 500 Saves!!! Part 7
The Yankees haven’t needed the services of their closer for 3 straight games now. So Mariano Rivera sits and waits for his opportunity to collect save #498.
The only positive about this: He won’t be capturing save #500 against my Florida Marlins!!!
Regis and Kelly were in town last month to shoot a few episodes of their show from warm and sunny Miami.
While in town, Regis took in a Florida Marlins game and even made an appearance in the booth during the broadcast.
The highlight of the trip?? Playing catch with Marlins All-star shortstop Hanley Ramirez!! Watch and enjoy…
Kelly Ripa sure is cute, huh???
1986 Topps Kirby Puckett
While the design of the 1986 Topps set will not win any awards, I would say that the Kirby Puckett base card from this set should get some consideration…
The boldness(is boldness a word??) of the Twins name in a bright Red coupled with a Black background really stands out. And normally I don’t like graphics and titles to take away from the photo presented on the card, but in this case the strong headline Topps used really adds to the overall look of the card.
And then you have one of the brightest stars of the decade photographed doing what he did best. Kirby Puckett was a solid everday player with very few weaknesses. But his hitting skill is what made him a superstar. With a charming personality and dedication to winning displayed on a regular basis, it was very easy to cheer for Puckett. The photo is a classic. From the old-school Powder-Blue colors of the mid-80′s Minnesota Twins to the low top Adidas cleats to the Black stirrups, this card’s picture has it all. And it all screams 1980′s baseball.
1986 Topps Kirby Puckett - A CLASSIC!!!
Mariano Rivera’s Race To 500 Saves!!! Part 6
Stuck on save #497, Mariano Rivera and the New York Yankees bring their 2-game losing streak to Miami for a 3-game series against the Florida Marlins.
Will ‘Mo’ rack up a few more saves en route to #500 while the ‘Bronx Bombers’ spend Father’s Day weekend in South Florida? Stay tuned to ’30-Year Old Cardboard’ to find out….
It’s very rare that you get a lot of baseball chatter in South Florida during the month of June. And if you do, it usually revolves around the Miami Hurricanes and their attempt at winning the College World Series.
But talk about the Florida Marlins has increased tremendously in the last few days and there is 1 reason, and 1 reason alone…
‘The Yankees Are Coming, The Yankees Are Coming’!!!
That’s right, the most popular team in major league baseball is headed to South Florida for a 3-game series with my Marlins. The Marlins have done very well during this season’s Inter-league match-ups against the powerhouses of the American League East(they’tr 4-2) and I hope that trend continues throughout the weekend. As we all know the Yankee roster is stacked with baseball talent, and it will be nice to watch these guys play a few games, but I am counting on our boys from South Florida to pull out a few victories.
‘Go Fish’!!!
Posted in Florida/Miami Marlins, Random Baseball Thoughts
Tagged AJ Burnett, alex rodriguez, baseball, baseball cards, C.C. Sabathia, cody ross, Dan Uggla, derek jeter, Florida/Miami Marlins, hanley ramirez, hideki matsui, inter-league baseball, Joe Girardi, johnny damon, jorge cantu, jorge posada, josh johnson, Marlins, new york yankees, yankees
Nolan Ryan is the only pitcher to have his number retired on three different teams: the California Angels, the Houston Astros, and the Texas Rangers.
**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’
My take – This is an impressive fact. While I try to favor players that stay with 1 team for the duration of their careers, Ryan continued to prove that he was worthy of a roster spot and impressed us with his dedication throughout his career.
Posted in Did You Know....
Tagged 300 wins, 7 no-hitters, all-star, angels, astros, baseball, baseball cards, baseball jersey, california angels, Hall Of Fame, HOF, houston astros, jersey retirement, no hitter, nolan ryan, pitcher, rangers, retired jersey, starting pitcher, strikeout king, texas rangers
1984 Nestle Andre Dawson
Here is one of the many ‘oddball’ Andre Dawson cards that I picked up recently from www.sportslots.com. This card was produced by Topps in 1984 and features the same content and design on the back of the card that the base ’84 version contained.
This is a nice card – the Nestle chocolate-colored border works well with the bold yellow highlights. And the photographer caught ‘Hawk’ with a semi-smile as he posed for this picture – which is always a plus! My personal preference for cards of Dawson from his days with the Expos include the Sky Blue colored uniforms that the Expos made famous in the late 70′s and early 80′s. Still, it is a card of Andre and 1 that I needed for my player collection so I am happy to add it to my lot.
Stay tuned for more Andre Dawson ‘oddballs’…
Posted in Andre Dawson Collection, Chicago Cubs, Stars from the 80's
Tagged all-star, Andre Dawson, baseball, baseball card show, baseball cards, boston red sox, Chicago Cubs, collecting, collection, Cubs, dania beach, Expos, florida baseball card show, Florida/Miami Marlins, gold glove, hobby, Marlins, montreal expos, most valuable player, MVP, red sox, Rookie of the Year, ROY, silver slugger, sports card show, the hawk
This book is the 4th book in this new feature at ’30-Year Old Cardboard’.
Title – ‘Tales From The Trainer’s Table’
Synopsis – Athletic trainers from around the world of major league baseball share their stories of interaction with the sport’s stars.
Jacket Content – Someone has to keep these guys in tip-top shape, and that job goes to the athletic trainer. At any one time, the trainer is taking care of 20+ bodies and has the responsibility of keeping them all in playing condition.
This book goes right to the source and lets the trainer tell his story of working on these highly-tuned athletes. From funny to sad to awkward, these stories are real and the laughter, tears, and chills come with the job. These trainers spend hours upon hours with the team and get to see players in a light that very few do.
What players are tough?? Which ones are babies?? Which ones are afraid of needles??? Read on as this book answers all of those questions and so many more.
Over 200 professional baseball trainers were interviewed for this book spanning the years of 1970-2009. These are their stories – Enjoy!!!
Chapters
1 – Arizona Diamondbacks
2 – Atlanta Braves
3 – Baltimore Orioles
4 – Boston Red Sox
5 – Chicago Cubs
6 – Chicago White Sox
7 – Cincinnati Reds
8 – Cleveland Indians
9 – Colorado Rockies
10 – Detroit Tigers
11 – Florida Marlins
12 – Houston Astros
13 – Kansas City Royals
14 – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
15 – Los Angeles Dodgers
16 – Milwaukee Brewers
17 - Minnesota Twins
18 – New York Mets
19 – New York Yankees
20 – Oakland Athletics
21 – Philadelphia Phillies
22 – Pittsburgh Pirates
23 – San Diego Padres
24 – San Francisco Giants
25 – Seattle Mariners
26 – St. Louis Cardinals
27 – Tampa Bay Rays
28 – Texas Rangers
29 – Toronto Blue Jays
30 – Washington Nationals
