Another Baseball Card Show This Weekend!!!

That’s right, the first weekend of the month is upon us which means that there is another baseball card show in South Florida.  And I’m going!!!

This time, I won’t waste any time wondering around aimlessly from table to table to check out the new vendors.  I’ve got a specific list of objectives and I am going to do my best to follow them to a ‘T’.

What are these goals you ask??  Well, here they are(in random order):

1 – Cody Ross cards.  Cody is doing an autograph appearance in the city I live in 2 weeks from now.  I don’t have a single card of his so I want to stock up.  It shouldn’t be too hard since he is a local player, but I want to get a nice handful so I can get a few signed and I have another idea for the rest of them.  My goal is to get between 20-25 Ross cards.

2 – If that $0.10 Bargain Bin guy is there again, I am going to give myself 1 hour to go through as much of his stuff as I can.  60 minutes of blitzing through as many of his 3,200 count card boxes as I can get through.  And my goal is simple – Gather up as many of his 1980’s superstars as I can find!!!

3 – I hew a renewed energy about TTM and want to give it another shot in the next few weeks.  My supply of cards for a project like this is terribly low so I plan on picking up some cards of the guys that I know will sign for me.  I’m going to stick to Marlins players and retired players for now.  I’ll hit the active guys again next Spring!!

4 – Wax.  Yep, you heard me Wax!!  I have a very strong urge to bust open some vintage wax packs.  As I have been surfing through all of the great blogs out there, I see so many people ripping open packs of cards at a record pace and I want to get in on the action.  But I want nothing to do with the new stuff.  If any dealers have wax packs or boxes from the 1980’s I will be doing what I can to secure some packs to bust open.

So there you have it.  A very short but specific list of goals for this card show.  The last one was overwhelming to me with it’s new found customer base and vendors.  This time I mean business and I cannot wait to get there.

Stay tuned to ’30-YOC’ on Monday as I will proudly display for you each and every card I pick up at the show!!!  Oh, and don’t be surprised if a few new Andre Dawson cards make it into my collection too..  😉

1978 Topps Dale Murphy & Lance Parrish Rookie Card

1978 Topps Dale Murphy & Lance Parrish Rookie Card

 I had been hunting down this card for some time so I quickly scooped it up when I saw the $1.99 ‘Buy It Now’ price tag while doing a little Ebay shopping.

As a kid, one of my teams of choice was the Atlanta Braves.  When I lived in Florida, the first time around, there was no major league team but we got WTBS at the house so I learned a ton about the game by watching the Braves telecasts.  And of course during that time, the team’s biggest star was Dale Murphy so it was only natural to be drawn to him.

I guess this counts as his second rookie card since he is featured on a 1977 quad-image card also claiming him as a rookie too.  Don’t worry that one is in my sights as well and I will be sure to post about it when added to my collection. 

This ’78 is in really nice condition and for the low price I was very happy to see how well this card has been cared for over the last 30+ years!!!

And Lance Parrish ain’t too shabby either…

Celebrity First Pitch – Darryl Strawberry

Here’s Darryl, one of the biggest stars in baseball during the 1980’s, getting a chance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of a minor league baseball game in Buffalo.

Of all of the guys who had their careers sidetracked by either injuries, on-the-field issues, or off-the-field issues, I would have loved to have seen Darryl get in a full and healthy 20 year career.  The sky was his limit and I think he could have easily been a part of the very exclusive 400/400 club!!!

My Rickey Henderson ‘Fab 5′ – Card #1

Now that my Rickey Henderson player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #1 – 1985 Fleer

Finally, the #1 card in my Rickey Henderson collection can be revealed!!!

This card from the 1985 Fleer set is perfect.  Starting with the picture, I am not sure that any other image could capture the essence of Rickey as a player the way that this one has.  From his lead off of first base to his crouching stance as he prepares to dig in and race towards second to his amazing concentration as he watches the interaction between the pitcher, catcher, and hitter as he makes his plan to swipe yet another base.  This photo does it all!!!

The ’85 design is rather plain, but it’s team themed borders bring it all together.  And while the grey outer-border is rather dull, it allows for the bold features of the card to pop beautifully!!!

1985 Fleer – My favorite Rickey Henderson baseball card. 

Paul Molitor Autograph TTM Success!!!

149 days is not a terribly long time to wait for an autograph from a Hall of Fame baseball player.  Unless you’re standing on line of course…

I just got this Paul Molitor card in the mail and am thrilled with the results.   For some reason cards from the 1985 Fleer set look great signed and this one is no exception!!!

Molitor had an amazing 21-year career but seemed to remain under the radar due to playing for small market clubs.  Still, the Hall of Fame noticed, and rightfully so.  In 21 seasons as a major leaguer, Molitor collected 3319 hits, scored 1782 runs, smacked 234 homers, stole 504 bases, and compiled a .306 batting average.

Thank you for the great autograph Mr. Molitor.  This one easily ranks in my ‘Top 5’!!!!

New Subset To Collect – 1985 Topps #1 Draft Picks!!!

The set builder in you never dies!!!

Let me be clear, I have NO intent on ever putting together a 792 card set from Topps or a 660 card set from either Fleer or Donruss.  While these 3 brands remain my flavors of choice for their issues during the 1980’s, I don’t find the thought of searching for commons from that era to be that much fun.

But the subsets issued during those times are amazing to me.  Those little jewels buried in all of that heavy cardboard is what I am after.

One of those new jewels I am going to go after is the 1985 Topps #1 Draft Pick set.  It’s a relatively small 12-card set that features all of the players on a major league roster in 1985 that were the #1 pick in their year’s professional baseball draft.  While some of these guys went on to star in the sport for years on end, some quietly fizzled away and did not reach the lofty goals that are often too burdensome for a kid chosen with the first pick.

So, here is the checklist.  I already own the Darryl Strawberry card but I may decide to pick up another one so I can leave this one with his 1984 Topps rookie and 1985 Topps base card.  We’ll see…

Card #	Player
271	Tim Foley
272	Jeff Burroughs
273	Bill Almon
274	Floyd Bannister
275	Harold Baines
276	Bob Horner
277	Al Chambers
278	Darryl Strawberry
279	Mike Moore
280	Shawon Dunston
281	Tim Belcher
282	Shane Abner

 

Stay tuned as I will present this subset to you as I obtain each and every card!!! 

Celebrity First Pitch – Homer Simpson

Doh!!  Homer Simpson recently took the family to Dodger Stadium and he was given the opportunity to throw out the game’s first pitch. 

While I am not a fan of ‘The Simpsons’ it is impossible to question their immense popularity and ranking in the pop culture world.  I remember this show debuting when I was in middle school and I am pretty confident that it still has a similar appeal with people some 20 years later.  Amazingly, the Simpson gang and their humor has been able to remain relevant and funny after being on television over the last three decades.

Did You Know…

The first major league player to be paid $100,000 was Hank Greenberg in 1947.  The first to be paid $10 million was Albert Belle in 1997.

**factoid courtesy of ‘Armchair Reader – Grand Slam Baseball’

My take – What a difference 50 years makes, huh?  If anyone wants to make me an offer to play for $100,000 I am accepting all offers…  🙂

My Rickey Henderson ‘Fab 5′ – Card #2

Now that my Rickey Henderson player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #2 – 1983 Topps

Now this card right here is a classic!!

The picture used on this 1983 Topps card shows Rickey’s swing as he launches a baseball to the outfield.  Is it a home run??  I cannot say for sure that it is, but based on  the look in Rickey’s eyes he has hit the ball a pretty good distance.

Just like with the 1982 set, Topps used the color Pink to accompany this card of an Oakland A’s player.  And again, it worked!!  While Pink is not a traditional color used on a baseball card, it adds just the right amount of bold accent color to the card’s look while not effecting or taking anything away from the overall design.

Cooperstown : Looking Ahead To 2010

With thoughts of Cooperstown fresh on my brain, I thought it would be worth examining who is up for potential election into the Hall of Fame in 2010.  Per the HOF website, here is that list.

2010:Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin, Robin Ventura, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff, Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Ray Lankford, Pat Hentgen, Todd Zeile, Eric Karros, Mark McLemore, Andres Galarraga, Fernando Vina, Mike Jackson, Shane Reynolds, Dave Burba, David Segui, Andy Ashby

Of this group of guys there are 6 guys worthy of consideration, with 4 that should get some serious attention.  Those 6 players are: Alomar, Larkin, Ventura, Martinez, McGriff, and Galarraga.  And with no disrespect meant towards the outstanding careers of Robin Ventura and Edgar Martinez, their career achievements are not on par with players enshrined into the Hall of Fame.

So that leaves us with 4 guys.  4 guys that had remarkable careers.  4 guys that should get some major vote counts thrown their way.

Here is a Breakdown:

Roberto Alomar – 2,724 hits, 1,508 runs scored, 210 home runs, 1,134 RBI, 474 stolen bases, .300 batting average, 12 time all-star, 10 Gold Glove awards, 4 Silver Slugger trophies, 2 World Series championships

Barry Larkin – 2,340 hits, 1,329 runs scored, 198 home runs, 960 RBI, 379 stolen bases, .295 batting average, 12 time all-star, 3 Gold Glove awards, 9 Silver Slugger trophies, 1 MVP award, 1 World Series championship

Fred McGriff – 2,490 hits, 1,349 runs scored, 493 home runs, 1,550 RBI, 72 stolen bases, .284 batting average, 5 time all-star, 3 Silver Slugger trophies, 1 World Series championship

Andres Galarraga – 2,333 hits, 1,195 runs scored, 399 home runs, 1,425 RBI, 128 stolen bases, .288 batting average, 5 time all-star, 2 Gold Glove awards, 2 Silver Slugger trophies

In summary, I think that 3 of these 4 guys will get in.  Sadly I don’t think that Galarraga will be in that group.  My guess is that Barry Larkin will get the most votes of this rookie class of 2010, but I don’t see him as a first ballot kind of player.  Alomar on the other hand is a first ballot kind of guy, but his on and off the field problems are what people remember first about his career so I think he may have to wait a few years before he gets in.  And McGriff is worthy of a spot too, I just don’t see him getting un until a few other key guys go before him, notably Andre Dawson, Barry Larkin, Bert Blyleven, Tim Raines, and Roberto Alomar.

Your thoughts???