Mystery Box #2 – Contents Revealed

As I have mentioned in a few recent posts, I am getting more and more addicted to the autograph portion of baseball card collecting.  This probably stems from my youth as I did TTM requests as a teenager and had some great successes back then as well.

Onto, the mystery box.  If you recall, I sent this box out a few weeks ago and it is finally back home with me.  I tested something new this time – I sent a baseball out without receiving prior approval.  With the Fergie Jenkins and Jim Abbott balls, I had made arrangements with the people hosting the events that these guys were attending.  This time, nada.  I was just shooting for some luck to come my way.

I think I scored big, what about you??? 

Mark Grace signed my Rawlings official game baseball in just 3 weeks.  Obviously, a lot more went into getting this ball to ‘Gracey’ as I couldn’t just stuff it in an envelope, but I am so happy he signed this for me.  I have literally been a Mark Grace fan since his debut with the Cubs and I cannot wait to add this ball to my collection!!!

And just when I thought it was over, I found my plastic case with a card inside – SIGNED!!!!  Sweet, and it’s his 1988 Donruss Rated Rookie too!!!  When I sent this baseball to Grace, I included 9 or 10 baseball cards and offered them to him to use for himself or to give to kids that asked for his signature but had nothing to get signed.  I thought it was a nice gesture since he probably gets hounded for his autograph quite a bit.  I certainly didn’t ask for, or expect, anything back besides the ball but I am not going to complain about it either.

What’s really funny about this is that the card he signed for me is the same 1 he sent me a few months ago that came back pretty damaged.  Now I can finally add this perfect autograph to my collection and feel a sense of it being complete!!

Thanks Gracey!!!

Chicago Cubs Greats Of The Game – Andre Dawson

What can I say, I LOVE THIS CARD!!!!

 You can’t go wrong with a card showing ‘The Hawk’ taking a mean cut during batting practice!  The design of this card and the Chicago Cubs’ color scheme work perfectly.

Happy Birthday Bobby Bonilla!!!

Happy 46th Birthday Bobby Bonilla!!

One of my favorite Marlins from the 1997 championship team, ‘Bobby Bo’ was a fan-friendly, and very funny member of the team.  I remember Bobby coming into the local sporting goods store that I was working at.  It was 1997, but it was very early in the season before any of us thought that we had a chance to win the title.  He joked and kidded with several of us, and was genuinely a nice guy.  He signed a few autographs and had a few conversations with us prior to leaving.

It was a thrill for all of us to meet ‘Bobby Bo’ on that day 11-12 years ago, so today I want to again say ‘THANKS!!!!’ to the man that helped the Florida Marlins win the World Series in 1997 and helped make a few fans extra happy on that day when he stopped by and hung out for a few minutes!!! 

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980’s – Card #37

‘The 40/40 Club’ – 1980’s – Card #37

Bret Saberhagen – 1984 Topps Traded

Bret Saberhagen put together a nice 16-season career for himself.  If it were not for his playing for so many losing teams, who knows what he could have accomplished.  The individual accomplishments that Bret achieved rival those of some of the greatest pitchers from the 1980’s and 90’s.  A 2-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series MVP, many would love to have his resume.

Saberhagen’s career record of  167-117 doesn’t do justice for some of the finest single seasons by any pitcher in the 80’s.  As a member of the Kansas City Royals in 1985, Bret won his first Cy Young award as he finished the season with a 20-6 record while striking out 158 batters andwalking just 38.  The dominance continued into the post-season in ’85 as his Royals went on to win the World Series behind Bret’s MVP performance.  In the ’85 match-up he pitched 2 complete games, earning the win in each, while allowing just 1 run in 18 innings.  A few seasons later in 1989, Saberhagen again had a monstrous year as he went 23-6, with a 2.16 ERA and he struck out 193 batters while allowing just 43 walks.  These amazing stats earned Bret his 2nd Cy Young  Award in 5 seasons.

After 8 amazing seasons with the Royals, Bret went on to play for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox.  Although he did compile 3 more 10+ win seasons during his last 8 years in the big leagues, he was unable to recapture his amazing from from his days in Kansas City.

It should be noted that Saberhagen has an incredible K:walk ratio.  For his career, he has 1,715 strikeouts while giving up just 471 walks – good for a 3.64:1 K:walk ratio which ranks him at #10 in major league history.