Giancarlo Stanton 2014 Topps Sticker

Giancarlo Stanton 2014 Topps Sticker

I’ve mentioned before that both of my boys are piecing together the 2014 Topps sticker sets.

Each one is doing very well with their albums and I imagine that they are both down to needing less than 20 stickers to complete the full set.

We’ve gone through a ton of packs of these stickers.  and we have even started buying singles from Sportlots.com.

As for the extras, I have been selling them on Ebay in larger bulk lots.  And I also kept a few for myself.

Like this one of my favorite current major league player…

 

Hey, I can have a few too, can’t I….

Rickey Henderson 1987 O-Pee-Chee

Rickey Henderson 1987 O-Pee-Chee

A few weeks ago I showed off my Wade Boggs card from the 1987 O-Pee-Chee baseball card set.

Well, I have scored another card from that same set for another PC that I am working on.

This time around, the featured payer is Rickey Henderson of the New York Yankees.

 

And just like that Boggs card from a few weeks ago, the lone difference on the front of the card is that the Topps logo in the lower-left corner has been replaced by the logo of O-Pee-Chee.

Great action image of Rickey here.  He definitely connected on this one!

Wade Boggs 2005 Topps Turkey Red

Wade Boggs 2005 Topps Turkey Red

Another card of Wade Boggs playing defense…

But, with the vintage Topps Turkey design, I think that I would have preferred he be hitting.  For me, this style of card is better suited for a player holding a bat in a posed position rather than in an action, defensive spot.

 

Still, another nice card for my collection.  I really like the attention to detail on this card, from the shoe brand to the lacing on Boggs’ glove – VERY NICELY DONE!!!

1975 Topps Set Card 318/660 – #489 – Cecil Cooper, Red Sox

1975 Topps Set Card 318/660 – #489 – Cecil Cooper, Red Sox

Progress: 318/660

Card Number:  489

Player Name:  Cecil Cooper

Team:  Boston Red Sox

Position:  First Base

Image Style:  Posed Portrait

Years In The Major Leagues: 17 seasons, 1971-87

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Cooper hit .311 for the Red Sox in 1975 as he connected for 95 hits in 305 at-bats.  Of his 95 hits, Cooper collected 17 doubles, 6 triples, and 14 home runs.  He drove in 49 runs during the season while also scoring 44 times.

Notes From Career:  Cecil Cooper is a career .298 hitter with 5 All-Star selections, 3 Silver Slugger Awards, and 2 Gold Gloves on his resume.  Copper connected for 2,192 hits in 1,896 games played.  He is a 2-time league leader in doubles and RBI and also a former MVP candidate.

1975 Topps Set Card 317/660 – #208 – 1970 Most Valuable Players

1975 Topps Set Card 317/660 – #208 – 1970 Most Valuable Players

Progress: 317/660

Player Name:  Boog Powell, Johnny Bench

Card Number:  208

Team:  Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds

Image Style: reprint baseball cards

How they got there:

Boog Powell hit .297 during the 1970 baseball season.  He connected for 156 hits that year including 28 doubles and 35 home runs.  Boog drove in 114 runs for the Orioles during the year while also scoring 82 times.

Johnny Bench hit .293 for the Reds in 1970.  He collected 177 hits in 158 games including 35 doubles and a league-leading 45 home runs.  Bench also paced the NL in RBI with 148 while scoring 98 runs.  He also won the Gold Glove in the NL for catchers.

1981 HEADLINE: Fernando Valenzuela Becomes 1st Rookie To Capture Cy Young and ROY Awards!!!

1981 HEADLINE: Fernando Valenzuela Becomes 1st Rookie To Capture Cy Young and ROY Awards!!!

On this day in 1981, Fernando Valenzuela won the National League’s Cy Young Award.

The week prior, he was named as the Rookie Of The Year, becoming the first player in major league history to earn both the ROY and the Cy Young Award in the same season.

The numbers?  Let’s take a closer look, shall we??

13-7 record with 11 complete games and 8 shutouts.  180 strikeouts with just 61 walks and an ERA of 2.48.

Not too bad for a 20-year old hurler, huh??

Happy Anniversary Mr. Valenzuela!!!

Bryce Harper 2014 Bowman – Orange Border Parallel

Bryce Harper 2014 Bowman – Orange Border Parallel

I’ve already got the base and the state version of this card, so it was very, very nice to be able to add another one – especially one that is serial numbered to just 250 copies.

This is the Orange border parallel version of the card.  Mine is serial numbered as 199/250.

 

I’m digging the Orange border, but it does not really work well with the Washington Nationals color scheme.

But, I bet it looks great with a Marlins card.  I’m gonna have to see if I can seek any of them out…  Wish me luck.

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Donruss Triple Play

Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Donruss Triple Play

I’m not a huge fan of the Donruss Triple Play brand.  Personally, I did not find that the cards were very exciting.  And I also thought that the large, shifted frame that held the player’s picture took up too much space and limited the effectiveness of a nice, larger image.

But, this Cal Ripken card from the 1992 set escapes that criticism.  This card is sweet!

Have a look:

 

I love the image that was used of Cal for this set.  Not only is the card action packed, but you get a good idea of what is happening.  It appears that Rickey Henderson (#24) was either picked off or an attempt to pick him off occurred.  Cal’s got the ball in his hand and based on the direction that Henderson slid, he looks like he is headed back to 2B.  Either that, or Cal snagged a liner off the hitter’s bat and tried to chase Rickey back to second…

A fine addition to my Cal Ripken Jr. player collection.

Eddie Murray 1994 Bazooka Baseball Card

Eddie Murray 1994 Bazooka Baseball Card

I never collected the Bazooka brand of baseball cards when they were first issued, but I am making up for that 20 years later.

These cards are pretty nice.

And they definitely do not have a lot of the gaudy and over-crowded design elements that many cards of the 1990’s featured.

Instead, this set is sharp and clean.  It features a border-less design and a nice nameplate that runs horizontally along the bottom of the card.

This is the Eddie Murray card from the 1994 set:

 

 

Pretty nice, huh?

I really like the column of player positions that runs vertically down the right-side of the card.  The highlighted position of the player being featured is a very nice touch.  I’m going to try to do a quick web search for an NL player to see if his card was missing the ‘DH’ position…

1975 Topps Set Card 316/660 – #519 – Jim Todd, Cubs

1975 Topps Set Card 316/660 – #519 – Jim Todd, Cubs

Progress: 316/660

Card Number:  519

Player Name:  Jim Todd

Team:  Chicago Cubs

Position:  Pitcher

Image Style:  Posed Pitching

Years In The Major Leagues: 6 seasons, 1974-79

Notes From His 1975 Season:  Jim Todd pitched in 58 games for the Oakland Athletics in 1975.  By the end of the season, he sported a record of 8-13 with 12 saves.  Todd worked 122 innings in ’75, allowing 104 hits and 40 runs en route to an ERA of 2.29.  In that span, he struck out 50 batters while walking 33.

Notes From Career:  Jim Todd pitched for three different teams during his 6-year major league career.  Primarily used as a relief pitcher, Todd appeared in 270 games over that time.  He has a career record of 25-23 with 24 saves.  In 511 innings, Todd allowed 541 hits and 283 runs.