Happy Birthday Chipper Jones!!!

Chipper Jones turns 38 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.

17 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.

Chipper is on pace to join some relatively elite baseball groups if he can maintain his offensive output for a few more seasons.  He will easily eclipse the 2,500 hits plateau this year – 3,000 is still within reach.  And he needs roughly 80 home runs to join the ’500 HR Club’.  Both goals are obtainable, we’ll just have to see how much longer Chipper wants to play the game that he has dominated for 17 years.

Happy Birthday Chipper!!!

My Fergie Jenkins Collection Is Now Complete!!!

I am thrilled to announce that my Fergie Jenkins player collection is now complete.

After obtaining this 1969 Topps card last week, I have each and every card issued by a major brand from Fergie’s playing days.

It took me more than a year and a half to get to the finish line, and I have to say that it was worth every minute.  Fergie Jenkins is my favorite pitcher of all-time, and I feel that I did him and his amazing career justice by honoring him in this manner.

Back when I chose Mr. Jenkins as a player I wanted to go after, I was very ‘green’ to the hobby after taking a 15-year absence.  I started with 0 cards of Fergie, and now I can show tremendous pride in my collection.

Take a look:

So now that this collection is complete, I hope you don’t think for a minute that I am done collecting Mr. Jenkins.  Oh no, not by a long shot.  There are way too many modern cards to go after.  I just get a little more wiggle room now that all of the cards from my ‘Needs’ list have been secured.  There are a ton of certified autographs, game-used relics, and base cards I want to obtain – stay tuned as I will continue to honor Fergie!!

And as I do with all of my finished player collections, next week I will choose my ‘Top 5′ cards from the set and show them off to you one at a time!!!

Thanks.

‘On The Road With psugator02′ – April, 22

6-6:15 p.m.
Florida Christian School
Miami, Fla.

Was getting a little antsy considering it had been three weeks since I last graphed. I knew tonight would be decent ‘cuz I was graphing a high school kid. I love graphing high school kids because:

1. you usually don’t have to put in a lot of time
2. they are usually very polite
3. they usually do everything you have

Arrived at 6 p.m. and didn’t even have to pay to get in, as I told the woman at the gate that I was simply getting an autograph and would be leaving before the game started. Saw the team stretching in left field and thought that I might have to wait around, which I really detest. Was planning my strategy when I decided to ask the batboy, who must have been 12, if he knew Bryan Radziewski‘s number. Rather than look at a roster or ask a coach, he simply shouted to Bryan, who was in the dugout. “Hey Bryan, what’s your number?” Since Bryan was tonight’s starting pitcher, he was the only player not stretching. I found the whole scenario funny, considering Bryan was only a few feet away the entire time I was talking to the batboy.

The batboy had Bryan come over to me and he promptly signed everything I had. He wasn’t that engaging, but he answered my every question with “Yes, sir” and “No, sir.” I doubt he could’ve been more polite.

I still had time to graph another high-school kid, but the school’s website had the game’s location wrong. So I instead made it to a great sports bar — Rickey’s in Hollywood — in time for the start of the NFL Draft, with Dodgers at Reds on the opposing TV. On a related note, Rickey’s is owned by Billy Mitchell, who has a 2008 Allen and Ginter for setting the Donkey Kong world record. I’ve been in there probably a dozen times but still have yet to see him.

If you would like to contact Mark, he can be reached at psugator02@yahoo.com.

Did You Know…

Dave Winfield and Harold Baines are the only players to knock in 100 runs in a season after they turned 40 years old.  Winfield drove in 108 runs for the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays.  Baines knocked in 103 runs in 1999, getting 81 RBI in 107 games with Baltimore and 22 more in 28 games after being traded to Cleveland.  Paul Molitor(1996) and Barry Bonds(2004) each drove in 100 runs during the season in which they turned 40.

**factoid courtesy of ‘Big League Trivia’

My Take - Pretty astounding when you start to think of all of the players that played into their 40′s…

Orel Hershiser 1989 Upper Deck – Three-Headed Monster!!

Orel Hershiser 1989 Upper Deck – Three-Headed Monster!!

While certainly not the best looking cards from the 1989 Upper Deck set, these cards are very indicative of who was on everybody’s mind during the 1989 baseball season.

In 1988, Orel Hershiser had one of the greatest single-season performances for a pitcher in my lifetime.

Dominant during the regular season, which culminated with him winning the 1988 National League Cy Young Award, Orel took his dominance into the post-season.  And once there, he continued to flourish.  He led his Dodgers past the Mets in the NCLS and in the process won the MVP award for that series.  And when facing the talented A’s in the World Series, Hershiser continued to shine.  He and his Dodger teammates swept the stacked A’s team and Orel landed the World Series MVP trophy.

The three cards below honor Orel Hershiser’s amazing accomplishments from that magical season.  Since these cards were from Upper Deck’s premier issue, I will let their photography choices pass…

1954 Headline: Henry Aaron Hits First Big League Homer!!

1954 Headline: Henry Aaron Hits First Big League Homer!!

On this day in 1954, Henry ‘Hank’ Aaron crushed the first home run of his major league career.

On the road, and playing against the St. Louis Cardinals, Hank Aaron and the Milwaukee Braves battled the Cards in a 4-hour marathon.  In total, the game consisted of 25 hits and 12 runs.

And for Aaron, this game was where his historic start as one of the game’s greatest power hitters took off.  In the top of the 6th inning, Aaron belted a solo homer off of Cardinals’ pitcher Vic Raschi.  On the day, Aaron went 3-for-7, while collecting 2 RBI, scoring 2 runs, and connecting for his first home run as a major league player.

And as they say, the rest was history…

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Aaron!!!

Contest Time – Win TWO Boxes Of 2007 Tristar ‘Prospects Plus’

Contest Time – Win TWO Boxes Of 2007 Tristar ‘Prospects Plus’

This contest is sponsored by Atlanta Sports Cards.  I encourage every one to check out their website, found here.  Not only does Atlanta Sports Cards offer incredible prices on boxes and cases of sports cards, they also have a price match program where they will meet and quite possibly beat any and all competitor pricing – Check them out!!!

Onto the contest…

Keeping with the Atlanta theme, the Braves will be on  the road taking on the high-powered offense of the St. Louis Cardinals for a 4-game series starting Monday, the 26th.  To win this contest, all you have to do is submit the total number of runs that you think will be scored during this 4-game series.  Will pitching dominate?  Will the hitters rule?  Voice your opinion and make your selection now.  The closest person to the total number of runs scored, without going over, will win these:

The prize - 2 boxes of 2007 Tristar Prospects Plus

Nice stuff, huh?  The team over at Atlanta Sports Cards was kind enough to offer these two boxes of 2007 Tristar Prospects Plus to the winner.  And in case you don’t already know, here are the contents: Each box contains 7 packs of cards; each with 6 cards inside.  The set is a 100-card set, but there are special parallel versions serial numbered to 1, 5, 25, and 50.  And how about autographs?  Yes, of course there are autographs inside.  Each box guarantees at least 1 autograph per box.  And we’re not just talking about non-roster players – these boxes offer up opportunities to obtain autographs of rookie sensations like:  Madison Bumgarner, Ross Detwiler, Jason Heyward, Tommy Hanson, Matt LaPorta, Mike Moustakas, David Price, Josh Vitters, Matt Wieters and Jordan Zimmerman.

So, what are you waiting for??  Submit your pick and let the games begin!!!  All picks must be submit into the comments field of thos post no later than Sunday at midnight.

And another huge round of applause for the sponsors of this contest – Atlanta Sports Cards!!!

Thanks Guys!!

Reggie Jackson 2008 Donruss Threads Game-Used Bat Card

Reggie Jackson 2008 Donruss Threads Game-Used Bat Card

Of course I would love to add a few Game-Used relic cards of Mr. October to my collection.  And when the price tag is just $2.00,  I am very likely to pounce!!

So that is exactly what I did when I found this bad boy.

Numbered 241/500, this relic card features a piece of bat used by Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.  One of the game’s greatest sluggers, Jackson is one of the most charismatic and charming personalities that the sport has ever seen.  A guy that everyone would rather have as a teammate versus being a foe, Reggie Jackson’s career was built around game-winning, highlight worthy home runs!

I am very excited to have found this card in a ‘vitrual bargain bin’!!!

Darryl Strawberry 1988 Score

Darryl Strawberry 1988 Score

Just me being a little critical on this Thursday morning…

As I look at this 1988 Score baseball card of Mets’ superstar Darryl Strawberry, I have the desire to tweak it a bit – and solely for the purpose of making it better!!

If I could, I would zoom out so Darryl’s image would be inside of the white box Score added to the card’s design.  And then I would change the border color to Mets’ Orange!

And if I were able to do those 2 things, this could very well be the perfect Darryl Strawberry baseball card!!!

Agreed?

New Subset To Show Off – 1981 Topps ‘Record Breakers’

New Subset To Show Off – 1981 Topps ‘Record Breakers’

Hey, it’s another 1980′s subset to show off!!  We do it right at ’30-YOC’!!  As soon as we complete one subset we jump right into the next.

So now, we jump from 1985 back into 1981 for an 8-card doozie!

The 1981 Topps ‘Record Breakers’ subset memorializes 8 incredible highlights from the 1980 baseball season.  Each week, on Mondays, I will present them to you.  And as always, I will let you know how this specific record stands almost 30 major league seasons later.

Stay tuned, the fun starts this upcoming Monday!!