Tag Archives: red sox

Jim Rice 1989 Bowman

Jim Rice 1989 Bowman

Every once in a while, I get a nice surprise from the 1989 Bowman baseball card set.

And by surprise, I mean a card that features a non-posed portrait.  Like the newest addition to my Jim Rice player collection…

Have a look:

RICE 11

As many of you know, Bowman was famous for offering up tons of posed portrait-style images for their 1989 set.

It is nice to see that a few surprises are found in the set…

My Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown ‘Rainbow’ Is Complete!!!

My Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown ‘Rainbow’ Is Complete!!!

I know, I know – It is just a 4-card set, but when I have struggled to complete other, larger set-based rainbows, I need to celebrate the little victories to keep me motivated to go after more.

This set comes from the 2012 Panini Cooperstown issue – which has been pretty well received since its debut roughly seven months back.

And with a checklist that celebrates the greatest talents in the history of the game, there is no wonder why many collectors, myself included, are on board with Panini.

The set featured one card of Andre Dawson, and I was able to grab it pretty quickly.  From there, it was all about the colored parallel cards and I was able to peck them off as well.

Here are the cards:

Base:

dawson-panini-cooperstown

Crystal:

dawson-panini-crystal

Red Crystal:

dawson-panini-red

Blue Crystal:

dawson-panini-blue

Not bad at all.  And the fact that the picture used of Dawson for this set shows him in a Cubs uniform makes the Red & Blue versions just a tad more special than cards of players that did not suit up for the Cubbies.

I am very pleased with how this came out, and I am eager to see what Panini does with their 2013 Cooperstown release.

Here is one more look, this time the full set!!!

dawson panini rainbow

Have a great night, everyone!!

Happy Birthday Wade Boggs!!!

Happy Birthday Wade Boggs!!!

Wade Boggs turns 55 years old today!!

As a kid growing up in South Florida I had no ‘home’ team to cheer for. So I adopted several players, one of them being Wade Boggs. I was a third baseman and I batted third for a few years during my Little League career. Choosing Boggs as someone to emulate was an easy choice as he was one of the greatest hitters of the 1980′s.

Boggs’ career has been punctuated by achieving several baseball milestones – All-star appearances, Silver slugger awards, batting championships, Gold Gloves, a World Series title, 3,010 career hits, a lifetime .328 hitting average. Wade Boggs has done it all, and most of the time he did it the best!!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Boggs!!!

Carlton Fisk 1982 Donruss – ZOOM IN!!!

Carlton Fisk 1982 Donruss

Wow, if this is not an example of how to not present a picture on a baseball card than I don’t know what would be…

This card does not let you imagine anything – period.

Because the shot is so zoomed in, you cannot tell if Fisk in simply posing for a picture or in the batting cage.  He could be in a Spring Training facility or at a MLB ballpark.

We’ll just never know…

FISK 4

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

2003 HEADLINE: ‘Rocket’ Roger Clemens Wins 300th Game Of Major League Career

On this day in 2003, Roger Clemens recorded the 300th win of his major league baseball career.

At home and hosting the St. Louis Cardinals as part of baseball’s inter-league play, Clemens took the hill for the New York Yankees in hopes of picking up win #300 in front of his home crowd. And 55,000+ fans witnessed baseball history!!

In the contest, Clemens went 6 2/3 inning and picked up the win. While on the mound, he allowed 6 hits and 2 runs while striking out 10 and walking just 2 batters. Vintage Clemens was on display and this win put him in another class of ‘elite pitching greats’.

Congratulations ‘Rocket’!!!

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Red Crystal Parallel

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Red Crystal Parallel

Finally!!  Finally!!  Finally!!!

It took me a lot longer than what I would have expected, but I have finally hauled in the ‘Red Crystal’ version of Andre Dawson’s baseball card from the 2012 Panini Cooperstown set.

This card is serial numbered as 384/399.

Check it out:

DAWSON PANINI RED

While Panini is not authorized to show the logos and team names of MLB, it is pretty obvious that this card features Andre while wearing a Cubs uniform.

That fact makes the Red work even better as it is a matching color to the Cubs’ uniform.

Very cool!!

Jim Rice 1981 Donruss – FAIL!!!

Jim Rice 1981 Donruss

Another awful card from the 1980′s…

RICE 1

A posed portrait card is bad enough.

But, when you give me one that features an image in which the player is not even looking in the direction of the camera and you have an immediate recipe for failure…

The photo editor at Donruss should have been fired for this one!!

Carlton Fisk 1985 Donruss – Another Posed Portrait, NO!!!!

Carlton Fisk 1985 Donruss

I get it for a player that has yet to stake his claim in the sport.

I get it for a player that is a rookie and it is unknown if he will make the team.

I get it for a player that is not solidified at a single defensive position.

But I do not get why a card company would issue a card of a player that is a veteran and one of the best defensive catchers in the sport at the time.

Surely, there was a handful of images of Fisk available with him in full gear at the plate.

Instead, we got this!!

FISK 8

YIPPEE!!!

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Green mini

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – Green mini

I’m on a roll scoring the mini cards of Andre Dawson from the 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen set.

Just the other day, I showed off the Black mini that I was able to snag at a bargain price.

Well, just a few days later the Green mini card is mine as well.  This one cost me a bit more than the Black version, but that is what you get when the card is serial numbered to just 99 copies.  Mine is 60/99.

Have a look:

DAWSON GQ MINI GREEN

And I have to say that the Green border color is sharp!!!  Not only does the Image of Dawson pop due to the Dark Green border, but all of the Golden filigree and nameplate stand out nicely as well.

Just one more card to go – The hunt for the Sepia mini begins now!!

And Finally, The Date Is Set!!!

And Finally, The Date Is Set!!!

This kind of headline is most commonly used for the announcement of a wedding date, but since that date passed for me and my wife more than ten years ago, I think that I can use it again…

I am very happy to announce that after more than a month of back and forth, a date for the ‘Andre Dawson VIP Experience’ that I will be attending has been set.

The event takes place June 29 when the Marlins host the Padres at Marlins Park.

I cannot wait for this game – and now that the scheduling is complete, there is nothing left to do but try to stifle my excitement for the next four weeks until the big day arrives.

Stay tuned to ’30-YOC’ – this is going to be spectacular!!!

Dawson VIP Experience