Livan Hernandez 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes

Livan Hernandez 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes

If you were a baseball fan back in 1997 and you were watching the playoffs, it was hard to escape the effect that Livan Hernandez was having on the sport.

Simply stated, Livan was dominating all comers!!

I have often said that watching Livan Hernandez pitch while living in the South Florida area is the closest thing to ‘Fernando-Mania’ that Dodgers fans experienced in the very early 1980’s.

I picked up this card of Livan from the 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes set.  And it instantly becomes one of my favorites so thus far.

Have a look:

George Foster 1975 Topps

George Foster 1975 Topps

George Foster played 11 years for the Reds.  And from 1976-78, he may have been their most potent offensive threat.  Foster crushed 121 home runs in that 3-year span while driving in 290 runs.  Winner of the 1977 MVP award, Foster was the runner-up in 1976 and finished in 6th place in 1978.

During Foster’s 11-year stay in Cincy, he was a 5-time All-star.  He hit .286 during that span, along with 244 home runs, 1,276 hits, scoring 680 runs, and driving in an additional 861.  Foster was a key part of the Reds’ success and was a big reason that the ‘Big Red Machine’ was so dominant.

Foster was a member of both the 1975 and 1976 World Series championship teams.

Lee Smith ‘Fab Five’ – Card #5 – 1986 Fleer

Lee Smith ‘Fab Five’ – Card #5 – 1986 Fleer

Now that my Lee Smith collection is complete, it is time to show of my favorite five cards from the set.

Card #5 – 1986 Fleer

The 1986 Fleer baseball card design offers up one of the more bland designs of the decade.

But, the border color works well with the Chicago Cubs team colors, and especially well with this card of Lee Smith.

I also really like cards that feature the Ivy wall of Wrigley Field, and it is very prominent on this card.

Happy Birthday To The Canseco Brothers!!!

Happy Birthday To The Canseco Brothers!!!

Jose and Ozzie Canseco turn 48 years old today.

While one brother reached the pinnacle of baseball success and the other barely made a dent as a professional player, the Canseco brothers have left a mark on the sport that will never be forgotten.  Namely due to Jose’s actions regarding steroids and bringing light to its influence in baseball, Canseco will always be remembered and linked to performance enhancing drugs and their effect on the game.

But too often, it is forgotten how dominant Jose was during his playing days.  Even at the end of his career, Jose was able to fill the stands with fans wanting to watch him play and he continued to deliver the long ball for them.

What I would like to give Jose is a ‘Re-do’.  He says that if he could take back the books he wrote that he would.  He says he never would put someone through what he has been through.  I’d like to test that theory.  But more than that, I would like to see how good and strong of a contribution to the game Jose could have made had he been the ideal teammate with a ‘team first’ mentality.

Happy Birthday Jose!!!

Robinson Cano Wins ‘MVP For A Day’

Robinson Cano Wins ‘MVP For A Day’

Another contest is in the books.  And another winner has been crowned.

Robinson Cano has won the ’30-YOC’ contest ‘MVP For A Day’.

And that means that ‘The Lost Collector’ has captured the top prize in this edition of ‘MVP For A Day’.

Here is one more look at the prize:

And here is the full results of the contest:

Player	Pick	Points
The Lost   Collector	Robinson Cano	33
commishbob	Adam Jones	28
Zach	Mike Trout	26
Hackenbush	Anthony Rizzo	15
Travis   Rowe	Melky Cabrera	15
Danny	Jose Reyes	11
cardjunk	Jason Heyward	10
Charlie	Jose Bautista	10
Matt   Wilson	Albert Pujols	10
Fisghlegboots	Miguel Cabrera	8
Jason   Seidman	Bryce Harper	8
Anthony   Hughes	Ian Kinsler	5
Ron   Churchwell	Joey Votto	0
victor   dascanio	Andrew McCutchen	0
cbeatley	Carlos Gonzalez	0
Q	Josh Hamilton	0
Play at   the Plate	Adrian Beltre	-5
Chris	Ryan Braun	-5
Matt D	Michael Bourn	-15

Thank again to all that played.  And stay tuned as my next contest is just a few days away!!

🙂

 

Mid-Year Status – ’30-Year Old Cardboard’ 2012 Collecting Goals

Mid-Year Status – ’30-Year Old Cardboard’ 2012 Collecting Goals

With today being the official mid-way point of the 2012 calendar, I thought I would take the time to go back and review the collecting goals that I had laid out on January 1 and see how they are coming along thus far.

Below is the original post from January, and my newly added notes can be found in Red.

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1)  Andre Dawson collection.  Very simple here, I want to hit 1,000 unique Andre Dawson cards by the end of the year.  I am at 938 as of today, so I have some ground to cover.  But if Dawson is inserted in as many sets in 2012 as he was in 2011, this should be easily attainable.  GOAL ACCOMPLISHED

2)  Fergie Jenkins collection – I want to get to 284 unique cards this year.  Why 284?  Well, that is the number of wins that Fergie collected during his Hall of Fame career.  We both strive for 300 – something tells me that with the way that I collect, I will probably reach 300.  I am at 197 right now so expect to see a lot of Fergie Jenkins posts in the year ahead!!  I’m only at 219 right now; maybe the lack of 2012 cards of Fergie has stalled my progress a bit.  I am going to have to pick up steam, but 284 is a long-shot.

3)  Florida Marlins Team Sets.  Time to pay homage to the Marlins and their tenure as a team in major league baseball.  My goal is to collect every Topps team set that have been issued of the Marlins since their inception in 1993.  Sticking to Topps-only may be difficult, but I really look forward to taking this trip down memory lane with the team.  So far, so good.  I have added 14 Marlins team sets to my collection since January.  I’ve abandoned the ‘Topps Only’ rule – I want them all!!!   I’d love to double that number by the end of the year!

4)  Signed baseball collection.  My collection of signed balls exploded in 2011 – I sit comfortably with close to 70 signed balls on my desk.  From here, I would like to get to 82.  If I can add a ball a month to my collection I would be thrilled.  I already have a lot in the works, close to 1/2 dozen as we speak, so reaching that goal should be a breeze!!  I’ve pushed way past my original goal of 82.  90+ is looking very likely and I already have some stuff in the works to keep my numbers climbing.  🙂

5)  New Super-Collection Coming. I am not ready to unveil the player just yet, but that announcement should come in a couple of weeks.  But if you know anything about me and my collecting style, I know only one way to collect – FULL THROTTLE!!!  Stay tuned for that announcement later this month.  My Jim Palmer collection is off to a fine start.  After only working on this for six months, I already have 142 unique cards of Palmer in my collection.  200 is a bit of a stretch, but I think I can hit 175 by the end of the year.

6) 1968 Topps Game Set.  Taking a break from building subsets that excited me as a kid, I am going to go ‘old-school’ and try to put this 33-card set together in 2012.  The checklist is a bit ominous, but I am really looking forward to this challenge!  We’re getting close – I need just 7 more cards to call this set done!!!

7)  Vintage.  As always, I will be on the look out for cards of the players that helped build the history of our great sport.  In 2011, I was able to add cards of Willie Mays and Hank Aaron to my collection, and not the re-print kind.  We’re talking old cardboard here – and I love it.  I would be thrilled to find a few more gems during the year.  Hopefully I am able to come across a few new treats for my collection.  I’ve really slacked with this – maybe I have spread myself too thin, but I have picked up very little vintage stuff this year.  Time to re-focus a bit!!

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And there you have it – not too bad so far, huh???  I have added some great stuff to my collection this year, both things on my ‘Want List’ and some surprises as well.

If the second half of 2012 is as good as the first half, 30-Year Old Cardboard will be a happening place to visit!!!

Thanks for reading.