My Greg Maddux ‘Fab 5′ – Card #1

My Greg Maddux ‘Fab 5′ – Card #1

Now that my Greg Maddux player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #1 – 1991 Score

What can I say?  I am a sucker for Black-bordered baseball cards!

Score did a great job with this release.  They issued a very sharp and well-centered product that still looks great almost 20 years later.  And while the 1971 Topps set is my favorite Black-bordered issue, the centering problems that they had that year stand out on almost every card that you see from that set…

Back to this card, again we have Wrigley Field in the background, and this time we even get to see some of the brick wall that hides behind the famous Ivy.  And having the photographer give us such a sharp image of Maddux with an out-of-focus backdrop really makes him and his wind-up jump off of this card!!

Haul #5 From “The Andre Dawson Firesale”

Haul #5 From “The Andre Dawson Firesale”

The fire sale marches on and so does my collection of Andre Dawson baseball cards.

In this round I picked up just 4 cards, my lowest total to date.  So, I went with rarity over volume.  I added 2 more autographs and 2 more game-used relic cards to my collection.

On to the goodies:

1984 Topps autograph

1989 Donruss National League All-star

2005 Topps Celebrity All-Star Game – ‘Legendary Sacks’ Game-Used Jersey – Numbered 216/300

2004 Donruss Throwback Threads Game-Used Pants – Numbered 6/10

I told you it was quality over quantity this time.  In fact the above card that is numbered 6/10 is the lowest serial-numbered in my collection now!!!

Awesome stuff!!!

Ernie Banks 2008 Upper Deck Heroes – Red

Ernie Banks 2008 Upper Deck Heroes – Red

Finally, I inject a little(actually, a lot) of color into this rainbow…

Possibly the most vibrant of the Heroes color variations, I am so happy to finally add the Red card to my collection.

Numbered 171/249, this card’s color alone makes this rainbow all of a sudden come to life…

Here it is:

Pete Rose 1981 Topps

Pete Rose 1981 Topps

I know, I know… a rather bland card I’ve got here.  But during a recent vintage bulk buy on Ebay last week, I threw this one in for 1 simple reason – It’s Pete ‘Frickin’ Rose!!!

The all-time hits king had a solid season in ’81.  And while only appearing in 107 games for the Phillies. Rose put up a stat line that could easily be mistaken for a 162-game season.  Batting .325, Rose collected 140 hits.  In 484 plate appearances, he amassed a .391 on-base percentage and struck out just 26 times!!  Rose was an All-star for the 15th time in 1981 while also winning his only Silver Slugger award as the National League’s best hitting first baseman that year.

With a tremendous background like that, this card doesn’t look too bad all of a sudden…

Did You Know…

Detroit Tiger Harry Heilmann won American League batting titles in four consecutive odd-numbered years.  Heilmann led the AL in 1921, 1923, 1025, and 1927, with averages of .394, .403, .393, and .398.

*factoid courtesy of ‘Big League Trivia’

My take – It is amazing how much history this game has.  Prior to this factoid, I had never heard of Heilmann, and now I am intrigued to learn more…

My Greg Maddux ‘Fab 5′ – Card #2

My Greg Maddux ‘Fab 5′ – Card #2

Now that my Greg Maddux player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #2 – 1991 Topps

Another great card that features Wrigley Field in the background, this card has life injected onto its surface.

With graphic elements tha make Maddux look like he is coming right at you, the depth of this card makes it stand out.

1991 marked the 40th anniversary of Topps.   And the logo they created to honor that milestone, along with the other Red, White, and Blue elements that they added all work very well together!!

TTM Success: Hall of Famer, Mr. Duke Snider!!!

TTM Success:  Hall of Famer, Mr. Duke Snider!!!

This is a lesson in patience.  This is a reminder of a lesson that I was taught at a very early age – ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again’.  And you know what, that lesson has paid off again for me…

In the mail today, and 1 day after showing off my 28-piece signed baseball collection, #29 is now home safely.

Hall of Famer Duke Snider signed my baseball and returned if back to me in under two weeks!!!

I am thrilled to add this beauty to my collection, and I am even more thrilled that after my most recent failures with Snider that he is back to signing again through the mail.

Here is the ball:

Looks great, huh? 

And I am so excited to add this autographed baseball to my collection, that I don’t even care that he did not add a Hall of Fame inscription and that he apparently signed the ball in a marker-type pen.  The Blue ink looks great and reminds me of Dodger-Blue, heck Brooklyn Dodger-Blue for that matter!!

Thank you Mr. Snider – I will cherish this one!!

And thanks again ‘Q’ for the heads-up!!!

Joe Morgan 2002 Fleer ‘October Legends’ Game-Used Bat Card

Joe Morgan 2002 Fleer ‘October Legends’ Game-Used Bat Card

By now, all of you know that I have become a bit obsessed with ‘The Big Red Machine’.  The fact that they dominated the sport in the year of my birth makes me feel connected to them – Hell, 1975 was a great year!!

And now I have another great baseball card to commemorate that year, that baseball season, and ‘The Machine’.

Issued in 2002 by Fleer, this game-used bat relic card of Joe Morgan was part of their ‘Fall Classic – October Legends’ set.  And what better way to honor their 2-time MVP, and Hall of Famer than by buying and now showing off this great looking card…

See for yourself:

AWESOME!!!

Paul Molitor 1991 Fleer Ultra

Paul Molitor 1991 Fleer Ultra

Not bad, and not great, Fleer was just getting their feet wet with their new ‘Ultra’ brand that a few short years later would be one of the best quality issues in the marketplace.

Still, this 1991 Fleer Ultra card is a nice one.  And compared to the base 1991 Fleer card, this is a huge upgrade.  While still lacking the high-gloss shine and picture-perfect images that eventually made Ultra a ‘high-end’ product, this was a great start by Fleer…

And not a bad addition to my Paul Molitor collection too!!!

1979 Headline – ‘Rickey Henderson Debuts For The A’s’

It all started on this day 31 years ago…

Rickey Henderson’s debut with the Oakland A’s on June 24, 1979 is when it all began.  In the game, Henderson’s A’s team took on the Texas Rangers in Oakland, CA.  The A’s lost the game 5-1, but Rickey gave us a glimpse of what was to come..

In the game Henderson batted lead-off and went 2-for-4 with a single and a double.  He also picked up the first stolen base of his career, which as we all know was just the start of his amazing run as the game’s greatest lead-off hitter!!

Happy Anniversary Rickey!!!