1969 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Connects For Career Home Run #600!!!

1969 HEADLINE:  Willie Mays Connects For Career Home Run #600!!!

On this day in 1969, Willie Mays connected for home run number 600 of his major league career.

On the road and taking on their divisional rivals, the San Diego Padres, Mays and his Giants teammates were getting close to wrapping up their 1969 baseball season.

With the Giants leading the division by 20 and with the Padres in the cellar in 6th, the crowd of 4,779 was understandable.

Unless you were a fan of Willie Mays!!

In the top of the 7th inning, Mays entered the game as a pinch-hitter and delivered the 600th home run of his career.  It was a blast that accounted for two runs, and it came at the expense of Mike Corkins.

The Giants won the game 4-2, largely in part to Mays’ heroics!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Mays!!!

1990 HEADLINE: Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. Are First Father-Son Combo To Hit Back-To-Back Home Runs

1990 HEADLINE:  Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. Are First Father-Son Combo To Hit Back-To-Back Home Runs

On this day back in 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. became the first ever Father & Son duo to hit back-to-back home runs in the major leagues.

An event that must have been extremely memorable and enjoyable for the duo, the Griffey men certainly had a great evening.

Ken Sr. went 2-for-5 on the day with a home run and 3 RBI.  The younger Griffey went 1-for-4 with his solo home run.  Their combined offensive output was not enough to hold of the Angels as the Mariners lost 7-5.

Still, a very memorable and historic night in Anaheim!!!

Congratulations to 2 class acts!!!

1965 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Joins The ‘500 Home Runs Club’

1965 HEADLINE:  Willie Mays Joins The ‘500 Home Runs Club’

On this day in 1965, Willie Mays connected for the 500th home run of his baseball career!!!

On the road in Houston to take on the Astros at the Astrodome, Mays and his Giants teammates played in front of a relatively small crowd of just under 20,000.  I wonder how many people had tickets to the game but decided to stay home since the lowly Astros were so far behind(24 games) in the pennant chase…  In today’s world of sports and the Internet, this game would have had a sold-out crowd with the anticipation of seeing history made!!

And for the 19,827 fans in attendance, they were in for a treat…

Leading off the 4th inning for the Giants, Mays blasted the 500th home run of his baseball career.  He joined the 500 HR club with a solo shot to right field.  The homer came off of Don Nottebart and it helped the Giants win the game 5-1 and extend their win streak to 11 consecutive games!!

Happy Anniversary Mr. Mays!!!

1973 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Connects For Final Home Run Of His Career, #660!!!

1973 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Connects For Final Home Run Of His Career, #660!!!

On this day in 1973, Willie Mays hit the final home run of his career – #660!!

At Shea Stadium, in front of a crowd of more than 36,000 fans, the New York Mets hosted the Cincinnati Reds.  And in the bottom of the 4th inning, Willie Mays connected for the final home run of his amazing Hall of Fame career.  It was a solo shot off of Reds’ pitcher Don Gullett.  The Mets went on to lose the game 2-1.

Willie Mays had an amazing baseball career.  As one of the game’s most well-rounded players of all-time, smashing home run #660 was just another in the very long list of amazing accomplishments by the ‘Say Hey Kid’!!!

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Mays!

1970 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Joins The ‘3,000 Hits Club’

1970 HEADLINE: Willie Mays Joins The ‘3,000 Hits Club’

On this day in 1970, Willie Mays collected the 3,000th hit of his baseball career.

At Candlestick Park battling against the Montreal Expos, Mays entered the game with 2,999 career hits and was looking to make history in front of his home crowd. In his first at-bat in the first inning Mays drew a walk. But then in the bottom of the second Mays connected for a single and made history as he joined the 3,000 hits club. The hit came off of Expos’ pitcher Mike Wegener, whose career lasted just 2 seasons. For the game, Mays went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.

This is just one of the many milestones that Willie Mays conquered during the course of his amazing Hall of Fame career. One of the sport’s most decorated players, Mays’ all around skills led him into many elite groups in baseball history – and the 3,000 hits club is certainly near the top of that list!!!

Congratulations Willie Mays!!

Ken Griffey, Jr. 2014 Topps Archives – Base

Ken Griffey, Jr. 2014 Topps Archives – Base

Well, my shipment of singles from the new 2014 Topps Archives release has arrived and I am ready to start showing off some of the spoils from that shipment.

While I normally try to stick to only nabbing cards that feature the legendary and modern players I actively collect, I let that rule loosen up when it comes to Topps’ Archives brand as I am a sucker for the designs.

Among the cards that I hauled in was this card of ‘The Kid’, Ken Griffey, Jr.

Pretty sweet – gotta love 1980 Topps.

And while the image is far from the best one I have seen used of Griffey in modern releases, I will say that I am happy that he was featured as a Seattle Mariner.

Though I would have really liked to see an image of a very young ‘Kid’.

Maybe next time.

1987 HEADLINE: Ken Griffey Jr. Is 1st Pick In Amateur Draft

1987 HEADLINE: Ken Griffey Jr. Is 1st Pick In Amateur Draft

On this day back in 1987, Ken Griffey Jr. was selected as the 1st pick in baseball’s professional draft. At just 17 years of age, the sky was the limit for ‘The Kid’ that was born to play professional baseball.

Having grown up around big league players and ball parks during his entire youth, Griffey had the rare advantage of knowing what the daily life of a big leaguer was about well before he suited up for one. And even with all eyes on him, Griffey excelled and certainly lived up to the hype of being the first pick in the draft as well as the son of one of the game’s former stars.

Did Griffey accomplished everything that was expected of him? Probably not. But I don’t think anyone can live up to some of the tags thrown at him from such a young age. Still, Griffey Jr. had a brilliant career and should be named amongst the sport’s greatest players of all-time, and certainly of his generation.

Happy Anniversary Ken!!!! See you in Cooperstown.

Happy Birthday Willie Mays!!!

Happy Birthday Willie Mays!!!

The ‘Say Hey Kid’ turns 83 years old today.

Possibly the greatest all-around player in baseball history, the name Willie mays carries some major weight in the sport of professional baseball.

The resume: Career .302 batting average. 3,283 hits. 660 home runs. 2,062 runs scored. 1,903 RBI. 338 stolen bases.

The accolades: 1951 Rookie of the Year. 2-Time MVP Winner(1954 & 1965). 20-Time All-star. 12 Consecutive Gold Gloves. 1 World Series Championship.

Happy Birthday Mr. Mays!!!

2014 Topps Series 1 “Topps All Rookie Cup Team” – Ken Griffey Jr.

2014 Topps Series 1 “Topps All Rookie Cup Team” – Ken Griffey Jr.

Topps’ All-Rookie Team means a lot of different things to a lot of different collectors.  But, one thing is for certain – If your card is tagged with the All-Rookie Team logo, you did something during your first season in the big leagues to make yourself stand out from the rest.

And for that reason alone, I can totally support a set of cards that picks ‘The Best Of The Best’ from these teams.

In 2014, Topps issued a subset in their Series 1 release that took one player at each position, naming them to the ‘Topps All Rookie Cup Team’.

Representing the catcher is Ken Griffey:

 

Ken Griffey Jr. has a lot of lofty expectations placed on him prior to his first at-bat as a major league player.

And during his debut season, he did not disappoint.  He played in 127 games for the Mariners during his rookie campaign.

The numbers:  120 hits, .264 batting average, .329 on-base percentage, 23 doubles, 16 home runs, 16 stolen bases, 61 runs scored, 61 RBI.

A very solid debut for Junior!

1989 HEADLINE: Ken Griffey Jr. Hits First Big League Home Run!!!

1989 HEADLINE: Ken Griffey Jr. Hits First Big League Home Run!!!

During the collecting days of my youth, I cannot recall a rookie that received more attention from the hobby than Ken Griffey Jr.  And it all started before he suited up for one game.  Now I saw my share of rookie phenoms – Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens, Jerome Walton…  But none of these guys carried the hobby prior to making their major league debuts.

But Griffey did!!!

So when Junior stepped to the plate in just the 7th game of his big league career and belted a home run to deep left field, collectors around the world sighed.   At home, and in front of close to 34,000 fans, Griffey launched home run #1 off of White Sox pitcher Eric King.  And as they say, the rest was history…

Today, Griffey sits in 5th place on the all-time home run list with 630.  Exactly 30 homers behind one of his baseball idols, Willie Mays.

Happy Anniversary to ‘The Kid’!!!