Happy Birthday Barry Bonds!!!

Happy Birthday Barry Bonds!!!

Barry Bonds turns 47 years old today.

Where, oh where has Barry Bonds been?  I can honestly say that I am not very pleased with how Bonds left the game.  I kind of feel unfulfilled with his exit from the sport.

We are all entitled to our opinions, and I know that we all have them when it comes to Bonds.  But, of all of the guys that have exited the game during the course of the last 4+ years and are headed to Cooperstown, we saw sharp declines in their output – except for Barry’s.  We saw it from Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey Jr. and John Smoltz and Randy Johnson and even my beloved Greg Maddux.

But Bonds is the guy that I feel like he could have given us more to watch.  3,000 hits was very close.  As was 800 home runs.  I would have like to have seen him reach both milestones prior to his retirement from the game.

Happy Birthday Mr. Bonds – you are missed by this fan!!!

Fergie Jenkins 2010 Panini Century Collection Certified Autograph #d To 35

Fergie Jenkins 2010 Panini Century Collection Certified Autograph #d To 35

I’ve discussed my likes and dislikes about the 2010 Panini set a few times on this blog.

And while I don’t rate the set very highly, as a player collector with a preference for the guys from prior eras, I am happy that both of ‘my guys’ were included in this release as it gave me a few more cards to go after.

So, instead of dwelling on the negative, I thought I would highlight my 3 favorite things about this card:

1. The use of the color Green is outstanding.  And against a stark white back-drop, the same effect of Black, Grey, and White is achieved with the multi-tones of Green used.
2. Certified autographs are always good – even if they are stickers!
3. Limited to just 35 issues, this is 23/35.

And there you have it.

Dale Murphy 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants

Dale Murphy 2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants

Now that is the swing that I remember very fondly from my youth!!

As a kid growing up in South Florida, I watched a TON os Atlanta Braves games on WTBS.  And at that time, the star of the team and the guy everyone was drawn to was Dale Murphy.  ‘Murph’ could do it all; and he did it by example on a regular basis.

Check out the great photo of Murphy that Upper Deck used for this card:

Man, he was pretty thin to be launching all of those home runs, huh?

A very physically unimposing player, Dale Murphy was raw talent.  And in today’s game of shortstops and second baseman looking like line backers, I got to thinking about which player in the game today has a build similar to Murphy that can do what he did on the baseball field.  The closest comparison I came up with is Carlos Beltran.

Any other options?

 

Dennis Eckersley 1980 Topps

Dennis Eckersley 1980 Topps

I like 1980 Topps; one of my favorite cards of all-time came out of that set.  You probably know it is the Rickey Henderson rookie card.

What I really find interesting about that set is the random colors that Topps’ design team used for the two banners on the card.  Some of the colors match perfectly to the team’s color scheme, while others stand out due to having no real connection to the player or team.

The card of Dennis Eckersley from that set gets you half-way there.  The top banner, featuring the player’s position is Purple.  And the bottom banner, boldly displaying the team name is Red.

See below:

See what I am talking about.  While Purple makes no sense for this specific card, Red is a logical choice, especially for a player that is playing for the Boston Red Sox.

Can someone please help me crack the code on this one?  Please?

Happy Birthday Nomar Garciaparra!!!

Happy Birthday Nomar Garciaparra!!!

Nomar Garciaparra turns 38 years old today!!

I have been racking my brain for the last few days trying to remember a rookie that has impressed me as much as Nomar Garciaparra did during his rookie campaign in 1997.  And to be honest, if it wasn’t for Jerome Walton’s amazing year in 1989, I would say that Nomar’s rookie year is the most impressive one I have ever been witness to.

In the ’97 season, Nomar took the baseball world by storm.  He collected 209 hits while ending the year with a .306 average.  He belted 30 home runs, collected 98 RBI, and scored 122 times.  He was also able to amass 44 doubles, steal 22 bases, and amazingly show enough patience as a hot-hitting rookie to strike out just 92 times.  That season was certainly Nomar’s most highly decorated one too.  He was an American League All-star and he won the Silver Slugger award, finished in 8th place for the MVP, and was the league’s Rookie Of The Year award winner.

The sky was the limit for Nomar and over the next 6 seaons, he finished in the Top 7 for the MVP award five times.

Happy Birthday Nomar!!!

Happy Birthday Don Drysdale!!!

Happy Birthday Don Drysdale!!!

Don Drysdale had a very stellar 14-year baseball career that ultimately landed him among the greatest pitchers from his era.

Starting 465 games during that span, Drysdale earned a record of 209-166, while throwing 167 complete games including 49 shutouts.

His dominance continued into the post-season as he helped lead the Dodgers into 5 World Series championship match-ups, and 3 titles.

Drysdale was a 8-time All-Star and winner of the 1962 National League Cy Young Award.  He is a member of the 1984 Hall of Fame class.

Happy Birthday Mr. Drysdale, the don’t make them like you anymore!!!

A John Elway Baseball Card?? Yes, A John Elway Baseball Card!!!

A John Elway Baseball Card??  Yes, A John Elway Baseball Card!!!

John Elway was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1981 amateur draft.  A talented athlete, Elway was known for his speed on the bases as well as solid contact hitting.  He was the New York Yankees #1 prospect until the NFL and Denver Broncos came calling.

And as they say, the rest was history.  And while I would never second-guess the decision Elway made to quit baseball and play professional football, I am intrigued by the idea of would he had been as famous and celebrated of an athlete had he remained a baseball player.

Ultimately, his decision worked out well, Very Well!!!

This card comes from the 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set, and it becomes an instant classic for my collection.

Thanks.

 

 

Andre Dawson 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings – BLUE – #d to 100

Andre Dawson 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings – BLUE – #d to 100

This is the 16th version of the 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings Andre Dawson baseball card that I have added to my collection.

16?

Yes, 16!!!

I have base cards, colored parallel cards, Black & White cards, relic cards, autographed cards, and now I have the ‘Blue’ version of the base card!!!

Here it is:

Serial numbered as 94/100, card 16 of this collection is a nice one to add to the set.  Of the colored versions of the base card, I have the Silver, Gold, Red, Green, and now Blue!!

How many more are out there??  Who knows, but I would have to guess that there are even some more rare versions floating around out there.  And if so, I will do my best to hunt them down and bring them home!!

Wish me luck!

Greg Maddux 2006 Topps Turkey Red – FAIL!!!

Greg Maddux 2006 Topps Turkey Red – FAIL!!!

I have my share of beautiful cards from the Topps Turkey brand of baseball cards.  From Frank Robinson to Joe Morgan to Brooks Robinson to Ernie Banks to Jim Palmer – this set includes to great looking cards.

Unfortunately, this card of Greg Maddux just doesn’t do anything for me.

In fact, if this card were not of Maddux, my second favorite Cubs’ pitcher of all-time, I probably wouldn’t even keep it in my collection…

Come see why:

Pretty bad, huh?

You can’t win them all.  YUCK!

 

Kirby Puckett 1994 Donruss

Kirby Puckett 1994 Donruss

WHOA!!!  What a picture!!

Donruss gave us a beauty of Puckett in 1994, huh???  Man, oh Man, what a sweet baseball card.

The picture is so crisp and clear, and it captures Kirby perfectly at the tail end of his backswing.  A backswing that produced great baseball for more than a decade!!

When I look at this card, it reminds me of a brand new dollar bill – Crisp and Clean!!!  YES!!!