Welcome Back Mark McGwire!?!?!?

Word on the street is that Mark McGwire will be making a return to major league baseball.

OK, actually nobody in South Florida is talking about this.  Around the rest of the country, I’m not so sure either…

But the people at Yahoo Sports are reporting that ‘Big Mac’ is set to return to the St. Louis Cardinals in some type of coaching capacity – most likely as a hitting coach or instructor.

While I am not thrilled with how McGwire left the sport and took an unofficial vow of silence about his possible steroid use, I do admit that he was at one time GREAT for the game.  Returning to the organization that he brought a ton of attention to during his home run hitting rampage in the late 1990′s is a wise move on his behalf because he brought the city of St. Louis and the Cardinals organization a lot of attention and money.

If this report becomes fact, I may have to pencil in another road trip to Jupiter so I can pay ‘Big Mac’ a visit at Spring Training next February… 

1988 Score’s Salute To Reggie Jackson – Card #1

1988 Score’s Salute To Reggie Jackson – Card #1

Oakland Athletics: 1968-1975

This card features a vintage photo of a young Reggie in his old-school Oakland Athletics uniform.  The card design is nice, and I like the flag pole border used to celebrate the years that Reggie played for this team.  I just wish they gave us a better picture of him from his days in Oakland.  There are some great action shots of Reggie available from the early years of his career - I have a hard time believing that this one ranks anywhere near the top of that list.

During this 9-year stint with the A’s, Reggie was a 6-time All-star.  During the 1973 season, he won the league Most Valuable Player award due to his amazing 32 home run, 117 RBI, and 99 runs scoring campaign.  While with the A’s, Reggie was a member of their 1973 & 1974 World Series championship teams.  In ’73 he was the series MVP as he hit .310 while collecting 6 RBI, 1 home run, and 9 hits in 7 games.

Starting My Andre Dawson ‘Tools Of The Trade’ Set

I LOVE these cards.  I know very little about them, but what I do know counts!!  I KNOW that they look amazing!!!

I have wanted to go after these for a while now, and I am happy to announce that I now have 4 of these beauties in my Dawson collection.  I also have 1 that contains game-used relics as well.

The card design is perfect, and is definitely one of my favorites from the modern-era.

Here is what I have picked up so far…

Red Chrome – 76/100

Red – 82/200

Blue Chrome – 20/50

Blue – 99/150

See, I told you they looked great!!!

I am not sure if it is because the color scheme works well with the Cubs uniform and logo – but I cannot get enough of these!!

So, if you have any of these and are willing to trade, please let me know.  I’m also looking for a little assistance in learning more about these cards.  How many more versions are there?  How rare are they?  Am I just chasing my tail in hopes of picking up more??

Any and all information provided is very appreciated!!  Thanks.

SportLots.com Has Been Very, Very Good To Me!!!!

Being a player collector is hard work.  Being a player collector of players that are no longer active may be ever harder.

Luckily, I enjoy the challenge!!!

When it comes to obtaining cards for my player collections, I have been able to secure cards in a vast number of ways.  Trades, baseball card shows, baseball card stores, and through Ebay auctions have been tools I have used to build my collections.

But the #1 way I have been able to build these up is through www.sportlots.com.  This website has offered me a very affordable, organized, and easy way to find the cards I crave.  While Ebay may be fancier with its hi-res images and powerful buying tools, I find most of the singles on Ebay to be over-priced.  Sportlots.com offers a different and somewhat tougher shopping experience but the result is saving quite a bit of money while also finding cards in a more organized manner.

Here is my latest purchase from 3 different sellers on the site.

In this stack of 51 cards, I have been able to take some big bites into my current player collections.  We have Eddies, Darryls, Palmers, Madduxs, and of course Dawsons!!

As a result of this purchase, I’ve got a bit of organizing to do as well as some player checklists to update.

If you haven’t checked out their site, I suggest logging onto www.sportlots.com to see the shopping experience that they offer.  It’s not for everyone, but it certainly works for this player collector!!!

**Hat-tip tp Brad from Rickey Henderson Collectibles for advising me to check out this site as I was building my now completed Rickey Henderson collection.  Thanks Brad!!!

Did You Know…

During a double-header on May 2, 1954, Stan Musial became the first player to hit five home runs on the same day.

**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’

My take – Amazingly, Musial wasn’t really known as a true power guy…

Where Have All Of The A-Rod Haters Gone???

As I sit here and get ready for the start of Game 6 between the Yankees and Angels, I have to wonder where all of the A-Rod haters have gone…

Being the highest paid player in  the sport will come with a ton of expectations and criticism.  And while A-Rod has yet to be successful in the playoffs prior to this year, I see very little on the web about how he has carried the Yankee offense into this Game 6 showdown.

I don’t know why, but I expect the same levels of criticism and credit to be given by the media yet it rarely happens that way.  For years Alex Rodriguez has been tagged as a fraud or a choke artist.  He has had to carry that burden with him while still putting up amazing numbers during the regular season.  And this year, while he is batting close to .400 in the playoffs and driving in runs at a record pace he gets very little attention.

Listen, the Yankees line-up is full of stars.  Full of guys that can carry a team and an offense.  But A-Rod is the one doing it!!!  It’s time to give him some credit, pat him on the back, and thank him for making watching each and every at-bat he has had in the playoffs enjoyable!!!

Thank you Alex!!! 

1989 Upper Deck Greg Maddux – Front & Back

I like to share the new additions I pick up for my player collections.  But it is very rare that I would showcase the back of a card…

For the 1989 Upper Deck Greg Maddux card, I will make an exception!!!

In ’89 these cards overwhelmed collectors with its high quality, glossy cardboard and great photography.  And adding a large photo on the back sealed the deal as the hobby’s best looking brand.

The front of the card features Maddux in the beginning stages of his wind-up…. 

 … while the back of the card shows his follow-through as he delivers another pitch toward home plates…

During my collecting days as a kid, I had a few of the ’89 Upper Deck sets.  Today those days are just memories… 

I wonder if anyone ever put these cards in boxes or in plastic sleeves with the card backs being the feature.  Something tells me the set could still hold it’s weight…

Happy Anniversary Joe Carter!!!

On this day in 1993 Joe Carter hit one of the most recognizable home runs in World Series history.  On baseball’s biggest stage, he rose to the occasion and secured his spot as one of the game’s biggest heroes.

I remember watching this game and seeing the joy in Joe’s eyes, smile, and body language as he rounded the bases after blasting this huge World Series winning home run.  As kids, we all dream of this exact spot that Joe Carter was in on that night in October.  His boyhood dream became reality right in front of our eyes and it was an amazing sight to witness.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Carter!!

1985 Topps #1 Draft Pick Subset – 8 Cards Into It!!!

It’s official!!!  I now own 8 cards of this set and I’m 66% of the way to the finish line!!!

I probably could have completed this set by now, but my strategy while going after this set was a little different from others I have collected in the past. You see, I am collecting these in sequential order(imagine doing that with a base set, no thanks!!).  I could use the card numbers on the back of the card to do this, but for me it has been more fun to focus on the set and what it’s importance is.  On the upper-left hand side of the card along with the #1 Draft Pick logo is the year that the player was drafted.  So my goal when starting this little 12-card subset was to not only get them all and learn about the guys featured but to also get them in the order in which they were drafted.  So that’s what I’m doing…

And now onto the first 8:

Just 4 more to go…

1984 Topps Eddie Murray All-Star

1984 Topps Eddie Murray All-Star

 This is a great looking and perfect addition to my Eddie Murray player collection.  The 1984 Topps design is rather plain, but the overall look of the card works, and this All-star card does a good job in celebrating Eddie’s election to yet another All-star game.

Of the design elements, I like Topps’ color choices the best.  Their use of the colors Orange and Yellow work very well in the team name, All-star logo, and borders.  Additionally, using a close-up of Eddie allows the colors to tie to his uniform which in my opinion brings the entire card and it’s elements together.

Another great addition for my Eddie Murray collection!!!