Wade Boggs 1990 Score

Wade Boggs 1990 Score

What a great look at one of the finest swings in baseball!

Wade Boggs was a master at the plate – and here he demonstrates how a batter should focus on keeping his head down and eye on the ball throughout his swing.

In fact, during the 1990 baseball season Boggs collected 187 hits and amassed a .302 batting average!  Like I said, a true master!! 

As for the card, the Red & Yellow that Score used for this one looks great with the Boston Red Sox team colors.

A great addition to my Wade Boggs collection.

Hanging Out With All-Star Cliff Floyd!!!

Hanging Out With All-Star Cliff Floyd!!!

Cliff Floyd, former NL All-Star and member of the 1997 World Series champion Florida Marlins, hosts a radio show on one of the local sports radio channels.  And today they were doing a meet and great just 20 minutes from my house.  I had to go since this was their first time coming North to Broward. 

So, since my wife and I already had plans with our kids in the area, we made a quick detour so I could meet Cliff and grab a couple of autographs in the process to.

First, I had him sign the Marlins helmet I have been working on for almost two years.

Cliff’s signature on the helmet brings this baby up to 32 autographs now!!!

When I found out about the signing, I tore through my cards and couldn’t find a single card of Cliff.  So on the way we detoured so I could run into the only card shop in the area.  The owner of the shop had a 5,000-ct. box full of Marlins.  But with limited time, I only rescued 5 cards of Floyd.  And they were all the same issue…

Still, Cliff had no problem signing them, and when he obliged I offered one to him to keep – and he said he would give it to his son.

Here are the cards:

All in all, it was a pretty quick and easy event, and I got to see my son high-five a World Series champion!!!

Good times!!!

Brooks Robinson 1970 Topps

Brooks Robinson 1970 Topps

In 1970, and at 33 years of age, Brooks Robinson was on top of his game as a professional baseball player.  A constant All-star and Gold Glove Award winner, Brooks was as solid of a big leaguer as there was.

In 1970, Brooks had another well-rounded year.  He hit .276 while collecting 168 hits, 31 doubles, and 18 home runs.   He also scored 84 runs while driving in an additional 94.

Brooks was a machine in the playoffs that year too – leading his team to the World Series title.  In 5 games, he hit .429 while going 9-for-21.  He smashed 2 home runs, scored 5 times, and drove in 6 to help his team with the title 4 games to 1.  His amazing efforts led to his being named the 1970 World Series MVP.

And now I have a great card in my collection to commemorate that amazing year for Brooks!

Take a look… 

Ozzie Smith 2001 Topps Stadium Club – POP QUIZ TIME!!!!

Ozzie Smith 2001 Topps Stadium Club

Such a funny picture to feature on a baseball card.  And since I enjoy these kinds of fun-loving moments, I thought it would be fun to try to guess what ‘The Wizard’ is laughing at.

Here we go:

1. Terry Pendleton trying to un-stick the donut from his bat
2. Willie McGee impersonating Whitey Herzog
3. Jose Oquendo lighting Tommy Herr’s shoelaces on fire
4. Bruce Sutter grooming his beard like a chimpanzee
5. Tom Brunansky running around the dugout with his pants pulled up to his chest

Your thoughts?  What do you think could be making Ozzie laugh this hard!!!

Did You Know…

Lefty Grove is the only pitcher to win 30 games in a season and have more wins than games started.  Grove started 30 games and worked relief in 11 others for the 1931 Philadelphia A’s, compiling a record of 31-4 with a 2.06 ERA.

 

**factoid courtesy of ‘Big League Trivia’

My take – Man, they don’t make them like that anymore!!!

2006 Fleer ‘Greats of the Game’ – REDS – SET COMPLETE!!!!

2006 Fleer ‘Greats of the Game’ – REDS – SET COMPLETE!!!!

What can I say?  Collecting this set was a great trip down memory lane for me.

Putting this 10-card set together really invigorated and motivated me to continue my pursuit of paying tribute to one of baseball’s greatest dynasties – ‘The Big Red Machine’.

It started with collecting the 1975 Topps Reds team set.  And from there I went after this subset from the 2006 Fleer ‘Greats Of The Game’ set.  I am very excited to see where this journey may take me next!!!

Here is the set.  And while there is one glaring and obvious omission from this group of Reds legends – I LOVE IT!!!

Enjoy.

Andre Dawson 2010 Obak – Base

Andre Dawson 2010 Obak – Base

I don’t know what an ‘Obak’ is. 

I have never owned an ‘Obak’ before.

But when these cards started appearing in a few of my saved searches in Ebay I was happy to see that my buddy had a few more 2010 releases for me to go after.

This card is the base version from the set.  And from what I can tell there are a few more variations to nab too.  I have seen or read about there being circle, square, and triangle back versions.  There are also ‘Obak’ colored logo versions.  I believe that there are autographs in the set too, and I have even seen a larger box-topper that looked pretty sweet….

Again, this is the base version.  And as I hunt down and bring home new ones I will show them off to you.

Obak?  Oh Yeah!!

Joe Morgan 1983 Fleer

Joe Morgan 1983 Fleer

Nothing against Joe Morgan, he is one of my favorite players of all-time, but doesn’t this photo look like it could be found on a celebrity mug-shot website??

I’m just saying…

A Pair of 2007 Bowman Ryan Braun Rookie Cards – Base & Gold!!!

A Pair of 2007 Bowman Ryan Braun Rookie Cards – Base & Gold!!!

Shhhhhhh….. 

I stole these from someone on Ebay!!!!

And I am so happy to have them in my collection. 

Happy Birthday Rafael Palmeiro!!!

Rafael Palmeiro turns 46 years old today.

Rafael Palmeiro quietly put together an amazing career as he reached several baseball milestones that define greatness as an offensive player.  While never considered to be the best player in the league, and even on his team at times, Palmerio’s numbers are rare.

No batting titles.  Only 1 season of 200 or more hits.  But, consistency was Palmeiro’s game.  In his 20-season career, Palmerio collected 3,020 hits.  Hitting between 140-170 hits a year is all it took for Palmeiro to become one of the game’s most consistent offensive players.  His career batting average is .288, and he has 6 seasons of hitting .300 or better. 

Palmeiro also had a power game that was rare for such a disciplined contact hitter.  ‘Raffy’ has 569 career home runs which places him in 10th place in baseball history.  Off to a relatively slow start in the beginning of his career, Palmeiro’s power numbers began to take off during the 1991 season.  From 1999-2004, Palmeiro hit at least 22 homers per season with his maximum output being 47 in both the 1999 and 2001 seasons. 

‘Raffy’ has also collected 1,835 RBI and has scored 1,663 runs during his playing days.

Palmeiro has finished in the Top 19 for the MVP award 10 times.  He is a 4-time All-star, a 3-time Gold Glove award winner, and a 2-time Silver Slugger winner.

Happy Birthday Raffy!!!