2012 Topps ‘Career Day’ Subset – Card #9 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds

2012 Topps ‘Career Day’ Subset – Card #9 – Johnny Bench, Cincinnati Reds

I am working on this set because I find it to be the most appealing of the subsets issued by Topps in 2012.

The cards feature bold colors, great images, and a unique horizontal design.

I especially like the ‘Career Day’ theme as it pays homage to some of the greatest individual performances of baseball’s elite players.

Card #9 – Johnny Bench

Career Day – May 9, 1973.  On this day in 1973, Johnny Bench put his Reds team on his back and took it right to Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies.  On the day, Bench was 3-for-4 with a walk.  All three hits were home runs, and they all came against Phillies Hall Of Famer, Steve Carlton.  Bench amassed 7 RBI on the day en route to a Reds 9-7 win!

Progress – 9/25

Eric Davis 1989 Upper Deck

Eric Davis 1989 Upper Deck

The 1989 Upper Deck baseball card design was and is still fondly remembered by collectors as an innovative set that featured large color images, color images on the back of the card, and neat graphics.

The set was loved by all, even with the hefty price tag of $1.00 per pack.

Both vintage and modern collectors were awed by the design and the foil packs!!

You would never know if from looking at this card of Eric Davis from the Upper Deck debut, but you cannot win them all…

1972 Headline: ‘Roberto Clemente Dead At 38’

1972 Headline: ‘Roberto Clemente Dead At 38’

From Wikipedia:

Clemente spent much of his time during the off-season involved in charity work. When Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, was affected by a massive earthquake on December 23, 1972, Clemente (who had been visiting Managua three weeks before the quake) immediately set to work arranging emergency relief flights.  He soon learned, however, that the aid packages on the first three flights had been diverted by corrupt officials of the Somoza government, never reaching victims of the quake.

Clemente decided to accompany the fourth relief flight, hoping that his presence would ensure that the aid would be delivered to the survivors. The airplane he chartered for a New Year’s Eve flight, a Douglas DC-7, had a history of mechanical problems and sub-par flight personnel, and it was overloaded by 4,200 pounds.  It crashed into the ocean off the coast of Isla Verde, Puerto Rico immediately after takeoff on December 31, 1972. A few days after the crash, the body of the pilot and part of the fuselage of the plane were found. An empty flight case apparently belonging to Clemente was the only personal item recovered from the plane. Clemente’s teammate and close friend Manny Sanguillen was the only member of the Pirates not to attend Roberto’s memorial service. The catcher chose instead to dive into the waters where Clemente’s plane had crashed in an effort to find his teammate. Clemente’s body was never recovered.

At the time of his death, Clemente had established several records with the Pirates, including most triples in a game (three) and hits in two consecutive games (ten),. These include tying the record for most Gold Glove Awards won among outfielders with twelve, which he shares with Willie Mays.  He also became the only player to have ever hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam.  He accomplished this historic baseball-event on July 25, 1956 in a 9-8 Pittsburgh win against the Chicago Cubs, at Forbes Field. In addition, he was one of four players to have ten or more Gold Gloves and a lifetime batting average of .317.

Santa Delivered Two New Signed Baseballs For The ’30-YOC’ Collection On Christmas. Come See!!!

Santa Delivered Two New Signed Baseballs For The ’30-YOC’ Collection On Christmas.  Come See!!!

My birthday and Christmas are exactly two weeks apart; Christmas is the latter of the two events.

And as much as I don’t want those two days to be made into big deals for me, as I prefer to focus on the kids as much as possible, my wife has other plans.  So, typically in early November she starts asking.  And by the middle of November, she starts dropping major hints.  And as the end of the month approaches, she demands a list of ‘stuff’ that I would like for my birthday and Christmas.

Simply stated, I oblige her.  We have been married for close to ten years now, and together for more than 12.  I know she will not stop, so I oblige.

And I have to say that this year, it was a lot easier to oblige her requests.

Why?

Because she is now on Ebay.

And that means I can add stuff to my list from Ebay that I want.  Whereas in the past, she would say, ‘just get it’ or ‘we’ll just give you a gift card’.  Neither of those ideas excited her to say the least.  But this time around, I just forwarded a few Ebay auctions to her and left it at that.

And the results??

Two new signed baseballs for my collection.  And I am super excited about both!!!

Ball #1 – Lou Brock signed Rawlings game ball done in Blue, right on the sweet-spot!!

Ball #2 – Fergie Jenkins signed Black Rawlings game ball in Gold, with a HOF inscription!!

Both balls are awesome additions to my collection.  Brock has been someone who I have been after for some time.  I missed out on a signing more than a year ago that was deeply discounted.  I have kicked myself for not taking part in that signing, so I was really excited when this one was unwrapped.  As for Jenkins, this Black ball is a great addition to my collection that honors Fergie’s career.  I have a Black ball signed by Dawson so it makes a lot of sense for me to add one to my Jenkins collection too.

2 fantastic signed baseballs for my collection.  1 great wife.  2 unreal kids.

Life is Good!!!

Ken Griffey Jr. 2010 Topps ‘Cards Your Mom Threw Out’ – 1991 Topps Design

Ken Griffey Jr. 2010 Topps ‘Cards Your Mom Threw Out’ – 1991 Topps Design

Ever since the December baseball card show that I attended, I have been wanting to add some more Ken Griffey Jr. cards to my collection.

Griffey’s career took place at the exact same time of the big boom of new brands, new sets, and new money hit the hobby.

The result?  Lots and lots of cards to choose from.

I am going to try to stick to my goal of only collecting ones that I find to be extremely appealing to look at.

Just like this card from the 2010 Topps ‘Cards Your Mom Threw Out’ set.

Enjoy.

2001 Topps Archives – 1962 NL Home Run Leaders w/Aaron, Mays, Robinson, Banks, and Cepeda!!!

2001 Topps Archives – 1962 NL Home Run Leaders w/Aaron, Mays, Robinson, Banks, and Cepeda!!!

Jeez, talk about a who’s, who of power hitters from the 1960’s.  This re-printed baseball card from the 2001 Topps Archives set celebrates the National League’s home run leaders from the 1962 design.

The card features 5 Hall of Famers, and 4 members of the ‘500 Home Runs Club’.

Now, let’s dig into the numbers.

Here is the leaderboard:
Willie Mays – 49
Hank Aaron – 45
Frank Robinson – 39
Ernie Banks – 37
Orlando Cepeda – 35

Not too shabby!!

The funny thing is that I have to now decide where to store this card.  And since I collect, and organize, my cards at the player level, I have three choices – Aaron, Banks, or Robinson…

Quite the pickle that I am in, huh??

I think that I am going to have to go with Aaron.  He is a focus of mine right now, and it is fitting to have a Home Run commemorative card going into his collection.  Sorry Ernie.  Sorry Frank.

Mike Schmidt 1981 Topps Record Breaker

Mike Schmidt 1981 Topps Record Breaker

I love cards like these – they encapsulate a specific moment is baseball history that is worth paying attention to.

Topps has always done a fantastic job of commemorating some of the great moments from the prior season with their ‘Record Breakers’ subset, and their cards in the 1981 set are no exception.

Have a look:

This card celebrates Mike Schmidt hitting more home runs in a single season than any other third baseman before him.  During his MVP year of 1980, Schmidt connected for 48 round-trippers!

Atta Boy Schmidt-y!!!

Happy Birthday Sandy Koufax!!!

Happy Birthday Sandy Koufax!!!

Today, Sandy Koufax turns 78 years old.

Koufax’s name is often mentioned in the same breath when people speak of the greatest pitchers of all-time.  Truth be told, during his 12-year career with the Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Koufax did not shine until the last 6 seasons he played.  But boy did he shine…  From 1961 to 1966, Koufax won 3 Cy Young awards and finished in 2nd place 1 time.  He also won an MVP award and finished 2nd twice for that honor.  It can be easily argued that Sandy Koufax was elected into baseball’s Hall Of Fame for this short, but incredible 6-year span.

So what do you get a guy that has so many accolades to his credit?  Sandy Koufax retired at the age of 31.  In today’s game there are players that have yet to hit their prime by 31…  I would love to see what Sandy could have done with 5 more seasons.  So that is my gift, 5 more healthy seasons as a pitcher for the Dodgers.

Happy Birthday Mr. Koufax!!!

2010 Baseball Hall Of Fame Program ‘Memories And Dreams’ With Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey

2010 Baseball Hall Of Fame Program ‘Memories And Dreams’ With Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey

With the exception of a few baseball books that I may call attention to at a later date, this is the final baseball-themed Christmas gift that I will be showing off on the blog.

This time around, I kind of fed the idea to my wife through Ebay’s “EMail to a friend” system.  I had seen that a seller had listed these for a very affordable price, and I had been waiting for one to present itself affordably.

Well, she took the bait (and the idea) and I am now the proud owner of the program that was sold at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony of Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog, and Doug Harvey.

Have a look:

This piece accompanies my 2010 Hall of Fame yearbook very well, and now there is just one commemorative program from that event that I am missing for my collection.  Hopefully, in time, I too can bring that home for a price that works for me.

You know what comes next, right?

Of course, you do!  Just a matter of time before I send this off to Mr. Dawson with the hopes if adding his autograph.

Thanks for reading.

Mickey Mantle 2007 Topps Turkey Red

Mickey Mantle 2007 Topps Turkey Red

I scooped up this card with the same purchase that I made on the prior post that featured Reggie Jackson.

And yes, I paid just $0.18 for this one too!!!

Have a look:

I have never actively sought out baseball cards of Mickey Mantle.  As a matter of fact, this is the first Mantle card that I have ever purchased for myself.

It’s not that I don’t like or care for ‘Mick’.  I just know that there is so many cards of him out there that it would be hard to build a collection of him that would stand out as being impressive.

But, if I were to have the desire to collect cards of Mantle, having this card from the 2007 Topps Turkey Red set would certainly be a nice starting point and centerpiece.

Enjoy.