TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!! Y-E-S!!!

TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!!  Y-E-S!!!

I have been craving a few more signed baseballs for my Andre Dawson ‘Ultimate Dawson’ collection so I put a plan in place a few weeks ago to work towards that goal.

Ultimately, I am trying to seek out and find new inscriptions to ask for – and I have some really great ideas to request for future signing options.

This time around, I went with the request of a ’4X Sillver Slugger’ option.

And Andre did not disappoint (he never does).

Have a look:

As always, the ball is signed perfectly – and is so neat and clean!!!

Dawson won four Silver Slugger awards during his major league career and I find this to definitely be an inscription-worthy feat.  At the peak of his career, he had some major competition for the award so walking away with four of these honors is a great, great accomplishment.

This is the 11th Andre Dawson signed baseball in my collection and I am so very proud of how it all looks together.

And the next few I hope to go after will only help take ’Ultimate Dawson’ to the next level.

Thanks for reading!!!

Willie McCovey 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Base – Mehhhh….

Willie McCovey 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Base

Well, I have found my first card from the new 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen that does not thrill me.

Unfortunately, it features one of my favorite legends – Mr. Willie McCovey.

Have a look:

I like the setting of the card.  And I really like that vintage Giants uniform that McCovey is wearing too.

It’s the image that does this player and set no justice.  Did he hit a foul ball?  Did he pop one up behind first base?  The shot used leaves a little to the imagination, which is ok, but it is not a supremely positive question that other cards conjure up…

1985 Fleer Super Star Special – ‘NL Pitcher’s Nightmare’ – Starring Mike Schmidt & Ryne Sandberg

1985 Fleer Super Star Special – ‘NL Pitcher’s Nightmare’ – Starring Mike Schmidt & Ryne Sandberg

Fleer did a great job of pairing up players with their ‘Superstar Special’ sets from the mid-1980′s.

And this card from the 1985 Fleer set is no exception.

The card tagged as ‘NL Pitcher’s Nightmare’ features two future Hall of Famers, and two great sluggers – Mike Schmidt and Ryne Sandberg.

Of the pair, I would have to think that at the time this shot was snapped that Schmidt was the more feared hitter.  He was a veteran by the time the 1985 baseball season rolled around while Sandberg was still getting his feet wet.  Still, Ryno mashed a ton of homers early in his career and this is a magnificent pairing.

A great addition to my Mike Schmidt player collection!!!

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

1984 HEADLINE: Roger Clemens Wins First Major League Game

On this day back in 1984, Roger Clemens won his first major league baseball game.

With his team on the road in Minnesota, the Boston Red Sox were battling the Minnesota Twins. Clemens needed just 131 minutes to earn victory number 1 of his career.

Against a solid Twins team, Clemens pitched 7 strong innings in the 5-4 win. He allowed 7 hits and 4 runs during the contest. He also showed off his ability to dominate hitters with his powerful pitching and sharp control as he struck out 7 batters while walking just 1.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Clemens. Win #1 of your 354 career victories came on this day 26 years ago!!!

Contest Time – ‘Home Run Derby’

Contest Time – ‘Home Run Derby’

We’ve all see the ‘Home Run Derby’ before, but trust me this is not like ESPN’s version.

It is however the theme for this contest.

So, here is the deal – There are 15 major league baseball games being played on Wednesday, May 22nd. To win this contest, simply predict the total number of home runs hit on this day and win!!

Review the schedules now and make your selection.  Once a total home run tally is selected it is off the boards and cannot be chosen again.

Here is a peek at the games for Wednesday’s schedule; study it closely and submit your pick into the comments section of his post.

What’s up for grabs this time around???

How about a sweet lot of 2013 Topps Heritage baseball cards??

Have a look:

NICE!!!

I will keep the entry window for this contest open until 9:00 PM on Tuesday so I have enough time to put all of the info together and post a final list of the players and their picks on Wednesday morning before any of the action takes place?

Sound good?

Great.  Get going and make your pick now!!!

Frank Robinson 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘The Great Ones’

Frank Robinson 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen ‘The Great Ones’

It is so nice to see Robinson included in a set of this magnitude.  I find him to be one the most underrated players in the history of the sport, yet his accomplishments are on par with the elite legends of the game.

Here is the card of Mr. Robinson from ‘The Great Ones’ set:

Man, I wish that they used a better image of Robinson for this card.  I am not complaining about him wearing his Reds uniform, not by a longshot, but I am just way to used to seeing this specific shot used by Topps over and over.

For me, when tagging a set as ‘The Great Ones’ I would prefer something that just had an image to match such a great theme.

Maybe next time…

2010 Topps ‘Legendary Lineage’ With Bob Gibson & Tim Lincecum

2010 Topps ‘Legendary Lineage’ With Bob Gibson & Tim Lincecum

I really like cards like these and I am always eager to see who Topps pairs with some of the great players from our current era of baseball.  And while it would be impossible to reach a 100% consensus on a topic that can be so opinionated, I think that they do a pretty good job with their pairings.

This card features legendary Bob Gibson and a modern-day phenom, Tim Lincecum

A few years removed from the 2010 release, we have seen a sharp decline in the dominance of Lincecum over the last few baseball seasons.  Sure, he is still striking out a very respectable number of hitters, but his dominance on the mound is not what it once was – the wins are down and so is the overall effectiveness.

But, back in 201o, Tim Lincecum was the real-deal!!  His ability to cruise through innings as he mowed down batter after batter was unparalleled – and it all led to wins.

I’d love to see him bounce back to his original form!!!

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #4 – 1957 Topps Design

Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Set – Card #4 – 1957 Topps Design

This is the third card that I have obtained for this set since officially declaring that I wanted to build the full set as one of my 2013 collecting goals.

This is the 4th card in the set, a re-print of Aaron’s 1957 Topps baseball card:

Hank Aaron’s greatest individual season came in 1957.  He captured the league MVP Award in 1957 as well as his lone World Series championship.

Some of Aaron’s amazing numbers from that 1957 baseball season include: 198 hits, 27 doubles, 44 home runs, 118 runs scored, 132 RBI, 369 total bases and just 58 strikeouts in 675 plate appearances.

And he did all of this at the age of just 23 – WOW!!!

Jim Rice 1980 Topps

Jim Rice 1980 Topps

Jim Rice’s card from the 1980 Topps set is a nice one.

And as you can se, it looks like Mr. Rice is prepped to unleash a fierce swing.

Check it out:

By most measures, Jim Rice has a nice season in 1980.  But by the standards he had set in prior seasons, it was a down year for him in 1980.  Still, the numbers are far from poor – .294 batting average, 148 hits, 81 runs scored, 86 RBI, 18 doubles, 17 home runs, and 254 total bases in 124 games played.

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

On this day in 1977, Andre Dawson of the Montreal Expos connected for the first home run of his major league career.

On the road and facing the Atlanta Braves in front of a crowd of less than 10,000 fans, Dawson and the Expos played in a high scoring affair ultimately won by the Braves by a score of 10-8.

In the top of the 8th inning, and trailing 9-5, Andre Dawson hit the first home run of his career off of Braves’ pitcher Buzz Capra to get the Expos a bit closer.

This home run would be the first of 19 that Dawson would hit in 1977 and the first of 438 that he would hit in his career.

Happy Anniversary ‘Hawk’!!!!