I bring you the second of six packs of 1991 Upper Deck baseball cards that I ripped through this morning…
Notable – BJ Surhoff, David Wells, Bret Saberhagen – Team Checklist, Jamie Moyer
Pick Of The Pack – Darryl Strawberry. Just Look at that smile - Straw must have just signed his contract with the Dodgers!!!
I bring you the first of six packs of 1991 Upper Deck baseball cards that I ripped through this morning…
Notable – Todd Hundley, Mark Lemke, Todd Benzinger, Gary Gaetti – Twins Checklist, Dennis Martinez.
Pick Of The Pack – This was a toss-up between Cecil Fielder and Tony Gwynn. The vote has to go to Gwynn for his HOF resume, but ‘Big Daddy’ was awesome in the early 90′s!!
You may recall that at the baseball card show I attended almost two weeks ago I walked away with a box of 1991 Upper Deck baseball cards for just $5.00. If not, you can re-live that glorious purchase here.
That box sat on the desk in my home office in its original seal until this morning when I got the urge to rip open a few packs.
I have to say that 18 years later Upper Deck is still impressive. I remember as a kid when I collected these that the cards were the best quality I had seen. And now 18 years after their release, the quality of the cardboard and photography still holds up very well.
As a vintage collector, I do enjoy the wax pack versus UD’s foil wrapper. But other than that, the 1991 Upper Deck product is superb.
I have to say that there are some cards in these packs that would look great signed – I may have to use a bunch of these for some TTM request…
And wait until you see what pack #3 unveils – this is easily the best pack of cards I have busted in 15 years(Ok, so I was out of the hobby for 14 years)!!!! Still, it’s awesome by today’s standards so I imagine that in 1991 it was like winning the lottery!!!
Stay tuned to ’30-YOC’ all day today as I will bring you the results of each and every pack I tore through. And if you see something you like, ask for it!! You may just get it!!!
Posted in Pack / Box Breaks
Tagged 1991 upper deck, baseball, baseball cards, box break, collecting, collection, hobbies, hobby, pack break, upper deck
… Dave R from the blog ‘Dinks And Dunks’!!!!
Here is how the scoring broke down:
Tim - Andrew Bailey, Andrew McCutchen, Zack Greinke, Chris Carpenter, Joe Mauer, Derek Jeter(2nd), Albert Pujols, Chase Utley(2nd) 8
WickedOrtega - Matt Wieters, Chris Coghlan, Zack Greinke, Chris Carpenter, Joe Mauer, Ben Zobrist(2nd), Albert Pujols, Hanley Ramirez(2nd) 9
Jordan - Matt Wieters, JA Happ, Zack Grienke, Chris Carpenter, Joe Mauer, Derek Jeter(2nd), Albert Pujols, Raul Ibanez(2nd) 6
Dan - Andrew Bailey, JA Happ, Zack Greinke, Adam Wainwright, Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira(2nd), Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard(2nd) 9
Charles Beatley - Andrew Bailey, Chris Coghlan, Felix Hernandez, Adam Wainright, Derek Jeter, Joe Mauer(2nd), Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard(2nd) 6
unclemoe - Andrew Bailey, Chris Coghlan, Felix Hernandez, Tim Lincecum, Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira(2nd), Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard(2nd) 11
Dave R - Andrew Bailey, Chris Coghlan, Zack Greinke, Tim Lincecum, Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira(2nd), Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard(2nd) 13
BroadStreetBully - Gordon Beckham, JA Happ, Zack Greinke, Chris Carpenter, Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira(2nd), Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder(2nd) 7
Congratulations Dave!!! With a score of 13 out of a possible 14 points you aced this years ‘Pick the Award Winners’ contest!!!
Please send me your mailing address so I can get your prize out to you.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, I did very well predicting the Award winners too. A perfect 14 our of 14 for ’30-YOC’!!!! Too Sweet!!!!
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged albert pujols, american league, Andrew Bailey, autographed baseball cards, Autographs, baseball, baseball cards, blog, blog contest, chris coghlan, cy young, cy young award, free prizes, joe mauer, mark teixeira, most valuable player, MVP, National League, Rookie of the Year, ROY, tim lincecum, win autographs, Zack Greinke
‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #19
1970 Topps - Card #189 – AKA – ‘The Thurman Munson Rookie Card’
Thurman Munson - An 11-year veteran and 7-time All-star, Munson’s life and career were tragically cut short when he passed away at the age of just 32. A Rookie of the Year and MVP Award winner, Munson was a fan favorite for the New York Yankees. He was a solid all-around player that had a knack for making key defensive plays while also driving in runs and hitting home runs. Munson was a member of the Yankees championship teams of 1977 and 1978.
Dave McDonald – McDonald played in just 33 games between 1969-1971. McDonald has 6 career hits, 1 of which is a home run. He also drove in 6 runs while scoring 3 himself.
1981 Fleer Jim Palmer
Not a great, but not a terrible card for Fleer’s debut set.
While the photography lacks detail, it is a decent posed photo of Palmer. Judging by the background of the picture, I think it would be safe to guess that this picture was taken during Spring Training.
1981 was Palmer’s 16th season in the majors. For the year he 7-8 while starting just 22 games for ‘The Birds’.
Another card to scratch off of my needs list – YES!!!
With the acquisition of this card I am now just 2 cards away from completing my Fergie Jenkins player collection.
When I set out to collect every card issued by a major card company from Fergie’s playing days, I never knew how enjoyable this goal would be. Starting with zero cards, it was fun to shop for my ‘needs’ and along the way my appreciation for Fergie and his stellar pitching career sky rocketed. This collection has taken longer to complete due to the age and condition of the cards I needed, but this extra time has allowed me more opportunities to learn about and enjoy stories focusing on Fergie.
Today I can proudly say that Ferguson Jenkins is my favorite pitcher of all-time!!!
And these are the final 2 cards I need to complete my player collection that honors his legendary career:
1966 Topps - Rookie card
1969 Topps
I have every intention of completing this collection by the end of the year. It won’t be easy, but it will be fun!!!
Posted in Chicago Cubs, Fergie Jenkins Collection, Stars from the 80's
Tagged 1966 topps, 1969 topps, all-star, baseball, baseball cards, Chicago Cubs, Cubs, cy young, cy young award, Fergie Jenkins, Fergie Jenkins Collection, Hall Of Fame, HOF, pitcher, rangers, rookie, rookie card, texas rangers, topps
Finally!!!
It took a little longer than I had expected, but I have completed my 1985 Topps #1 Draft Pick subset. I posted each card individually for you with some insight as to how these guys and their professional careers panned out. Some were impressive while others did not get the job done…
And even though the ranking of #1 pick connotes greatness, it is very obvious that it takes a very rare player to meet or exceed the expectations of this title. Of this group of players, only 2 met the expectations – Darryl Strawberry and Harold Baines. Each had very impressive careers, and were multiple time All-stars. Of the remaining guys, Shawon Dunston, Bob Horner, and Mike Moore also fared pretty well in the majors yet fell short of what is expected of a player selected first in their draft class. The rest of the guys may have shown flashes of greatness from time to time, but were definitely not able to achieve what was expected of them.
Here is the complete set:
And now that this subset is complete, I am ready to take on the next one!! I have a few ideas…. Stay tuned!!!
Posted in 1985 Topps 1st Draft Pick Subset
Tagged #1 draft pick, #1 draft pick subset, 1985 Topps, al chambers, baseball, baseball cards, bill almon, bob horner, collecting, collection, darryl strawberry, floyd bannister, harold baines, hobby, jeff burroughs, mike moore, shane abner, Shawon Dunston, tim belcher, tim foley, topps
The only pitcher to win Rookie of the Year, the Cy Young Award, and MVP was Don Newcombe of the Dodgers.
**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’
My take - At first when I read this, I thought it was in the same year – and my jaw literally dropped. Even though this is a career accomplishment, and not a single-season one, it is still incredibly impressive.
‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #18
1975 Topps - Card #616 – AKA – ‘The Jim Rice Rookie Card’
Dave Augustine – Augustine appeared in just 29 games in the big leagues. As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he has a career batting average of .207 with 6 hits and 4 runs scored while getting just 29 plate appearances.
Pepe Mangual - A 6-year veteran that played in both Montreal and New York, Mangual was a utility outfielder with a knack for stealing bases. For his career, Mangual amassed 235 hits, scored 155 runs, and stole 64 bases.
Jim Rice – The newest member of the Hall of Fame was a 8-time All-star and 1-time winner of the MVP award. Rice enjoyed a 16-year career as a member of the Boston Red Sox. His career numbers include 2,452 hits, 1,249 runs scored, 1,451 RBI, and 382 home runs. In his MVP season of 1978, Rice collected 213 hits with a .315 batting average. He also smacked 46 home runs, 25 doubles, scored 121 runs, and drove in 139. Rice played in the 1986 World Series but lost to the eventual champion New York Mets.
John Scott – Scott’s brief career spanned three years but he only appeared in 118 games. After two terrible seasons with the Padres, Scott played his final, and best, season with the Blue Jays. Scott is a career .222 hitter. His resume includes 56 hits, 26 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 15 RBI, and 2 home runs.
