If You Were To Name A New ‘Mr. October’ Who Would It Be??

No disrespect meant towards Reggie Jackson.  I am a big fan of his and feel that I have done a good job in honoring him this month in my posts.

But, he was tagged as ‘Mr. October’ way back in 1977.  So, I am sure that there are other players that played after him in the World Series that have excelled on baseball’s biggest stage too.  Have they surpassed what he accomplished back in 1977?  Maybe not.  But if you had to choose 1 player since Reggie’s incredible performance in the 1977 World Series to be tagged as the ‘New Mr. October’ who would you choose???

Let the games begin…

There are so many candidates to choose from: Orel Hershiser, Joe Carter, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Kirk Gibson, Kent Hrbek, and the list goes on and on….

My choice is:  Bernie Williams.  In 121 post season games, Williams has accumulated some very impressive stats.  A .275 batting average with 128 hits.  With 485 at-bats he has hit 22 home runs and driven in 80 runs while striking out just 85 times.

So if I were to choose a new ‘Mr. October’ my guy would remain with the same team as Reggie, but he starred with the New York Yankees 20 years later.

Great Baseball Playoff Commercial!!!

 One more really great basbeall playoff commercial to remember the season with…

1983 Topps Dave Winfield

1983 Topps Dave Winfield

I have been pretty open about my love for the 1983 Topps issue.  This set is by far my favorite issue from that decade.  The beautiful photography with the small cameo close-up really works well and Topps should be proud of their work on this product.

The Winfield card is no exception.  What I like most about this card is that you really get a sense as to how big Winfield is in this picture.  Way too often, I am seeing pictures of him with most of his body cut away or at the very least action shots that don’t include the full photo. 

This card is great, and Dave Winfield is great!!!

Happy Birthday Fred McGriff!!!

That’s right, the ‘Crime Dog’ turns 45 today!!!

Fred McGriff is possibly one of the most underrated baseball players from the last 20 years.  An extremely consistent hitter over the course of his 19-year career, McGriff added solid hitting and amazing power to the line-up.

For his 45th birthday, I give him 7 more home runs – giving him an even 500 for his amazing career.

Happy Birthday to the ‘Crime Dog’!!!

1981 Topps Fergie Jenkins

1981 Topps Fergie Jenkins

Yet another Fergie Jenkins card that I can add to my growing collection!!!  I am getting very close to owning all of Fergie’s cards from the 1980’s. 

This card design is fair.  In my opinion, if they had made the border either of the Rangers Blue or Red colors the card would work much better.  To me, the Green really detracts from the overall look of the design.

Ticket Stub #10 – Cardinals vs. Cubs – 10/05/1991

 Ticket Stub #10 – Cardinals vs. Cubs – 10/05/1991

Wrigley Field – Chicago, IL

Cubs 3, Cardinals 2

This was my first game at the legendary Wrigley Field.  I had wanted to go there ever since we moved to Chicago 2 years prior, but the Cubs were an extremely hot ticket.  Luckily I got my chance to visit and enjoy a game at one of the most legendary ballparks in all of the sports!!

The Cubs line-up was stacked with offensive superstars!!!  Players like Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, and Mark Grace stabilized an extremely talented offense.   I was thrilled to finally see these guys play in person after watching them on television religiously for the last few seasons.

The Cardinals roster was loaded with some pretty talented players too.  Led by perennial All-Star Ozzie Smith, this team included Pedro Guerrero, Todd Zeile, and Ray Lankford.

St. Louis Cardinals	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	NOTES
Lankford	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.249
Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.285
Alicea	2	0	1	0	1	1	0.200
Jose	4	0	1	0	0	0	0.306
Guerrero	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.274
Fraser	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
Zeile	3	1	2	0	1	0	0.280
Thompson	4	0	0	0	0	1	0.308
Pagnozzi	3	0	1	1	1	0	0.264
Jones	2	0	2	0	0	0	0.176
Wilson	2	1	0	0	0	0	0.171
Hill	2	0	0	0	0	1	0.100
Perry	1	0	1	1	0	0	0.238
Chicago Cubs	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	BA	NOTES
Walker	4	0	1	0	0	2	0.257
Grace	4	0	0	0	0	0	0.272
Sandberg	3	1	0	0	1	0	0.289
Dawson	3	0	1	0	1	1	0.270
Villanueava	4	0	1	1	0	0	0.275
May	4	1	2	0	0	0	0.250
Walton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.219
Salazar	4	0	1	1	0	0	0.258
Vizcaino	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.262
Dunston	3	1	1	0	0	0	0.260
Lancaster	1	0	0	0	0	1	0.179
Smith	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.232
Perez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000
Wilkins	1	0	1	1	0	0	0.224
McElroy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.300
Scanlan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.042

 Hall of Famers in this game – Ozzie Smith, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson(???)

KiKi Jones Delivers In Just 8 Days…

Wow, 3 straight days of great mail!!!  I can hardly wait to get home tonight to see what awaits me in my mailbox.  I hope it’s not the Visa bill….

As I mentioned last week in this post, I found ‘Kiki Jones’ through some searching on the Internet.  After a few rounds of email between one another I asked if I could send him a baseball card to get an autograph and he obliged.

Well, just 8 days later I found this in my mailbox!!!

I’ve blown up the size of the image to display the signature better.  I am not sure what type of pen was used to sign this, but it is not very clear.

Either way, I am really happy that Kiki agreed to sign this for me.  Kiki Jones was the first rookie that I ever obsessed over, way back in 1990, and although he did not make the type of impact in the sport that either he or I had wished for this autograph means quite a bit to me.

Thanks Kiki!!!

The 1989 Topps Design Is Really Starting To Grow On Me…

I’ve always liked the look of this card, but as I search through Ebay for player lots or cards to add to my player collections, the 1989 Topps issue looks better and better to me each time I pass one by.

As a kid, I probably had 2 or 3 complete sets of these.  And I probably had countless other rookie and star cards from the set in my albums.

But the impact of the overall design has not hit me until very recently.  I believe that the 1989 Topps set could pass as a vintage set from 20-30 before it’s release date.

Check out how well Topps incorporated the team colors of the player’s team with the trim and team logos on the card.

 

Now, here is an example of a close-up shot we would have expected to see back in the 60’s or 70’s.  A nice close-up shot of a player getting ready to take a practice swing.  Although the photo does not appear to be staged, it reminds me of the many images from the 60’s and 70’s of players mimicking what they do in a game.

Here is a great shot of the player at bat anticipating the pitch.  Although it is not an action shot since he is not swinging the bat, it reminds me of so many attempts Topps made in the 1970’s as they tried to provide real action shots when there was nothing really happening.

Lastly, the All-Star card.  This would have looked great as an issue from the 1960’s.  Imagine this card with a close-up of Frank Robinson or Hank Aaron.  This card’s design can withstand the test of time.

Is it just me, or does anyone else reading this have similar feelings about the 1989 Topps product?  As a player collector with no real interest in set building, I think that if I were to attempt a set it would be this one.  I love the look of the cards and being that this set is over 19 years old it could be considered vintage.  Hell, the look kind of gives it that feel too…

Let me know your thoughts?  Am I alone on this or do you agree as well??

1986 Topps Team Leader Andre Dawson

1986 Topps Team Leader Andre Dawson

Sometimes when I’m bored and have nothing to do I go outside and lay in my backyard looking up into the clouds.  It’s really amazing what you can see if you open your mind up and let your imagination take over…  I’ve seen dogs, owls, cars, and most recently I saw Andre Dawson…

Here, I took a picture… 

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!!

Gifts From ‘Project ’62’

I’ve experienced 2 great mail days in a row now, this one courtesy of Chris from ‘Project ’62’.  If you haven’t checked out his blog you should as his posts are pretty entertaining.  Chris is a Cubs fan and vintage baseball cards are what he craves… 

 I received 4 cards in total – 2 Billy Williams & 2 Fergie Jenkins

I didn’t have either, nor had I ever seen either of these Billy Williams cards prior.  I really enjoy the vintage photo thrown onto a modern design.  Of the 2, I have to say that card #2 really stands out to me as it has the look of a 40-year old card. 

I also got 2 more Fergie Jenkins cards to add to my player collection: The 1977 Topps card and the 1981 Fleer card.  I know that I have gone on and on about how unimpressive Fleer’s early baseball card releases are, but when the card features one of your favorite players you tend to let it slide.

Chris,  I truly appreciate your generosity as you have helped take my collection to the next level with these cards.  Thanks again!!!