Showing posts with label score. Show all posts
Showing posts with label score. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

This Bud's for You!

Today is National Drink Beer Day, so I figured I'd show off a few Tony Gwynn collectibles that are related to the world's most popular alcoholic beverage.  So grab yourself some suds, sit back, and check these out...


#11996 Pinnacle Summit Ballparks #18


I feel like beer advertisements are fairly common on trading cards, but I only found found a handful of Gwynns featuring them in my binders.


If you look right above Gwynn's butt and to the right, you'll see a Budweiser ad within the Jack Murphy Stadium scoreboard.


#21997 Score #535


I'm not 100% sure what beer company is featured on the outfield wall behind Gwynn, but it's some kind of light beerAnyone recognize this beer logo?


#31984 Miller Lite #NNO


I've featured this oversized Gwynn a few times on this blog over the years.


You guys like beer.  I like oversized Tony Gwynn oddball cards.


#41984 Smokey San Diego Padres #NNO


Another Budweiser ad embedded in a scoreboard.  This time Gwynn has a drinking buddySmokey the Bear.

The last item isn't a trading card...


#5Ale Smith .394 Pale Ale Bottle & Carrier


Two years ago, Mr. Haverkamp hooked me up with this bottle and carrier for my Tony Gwynn PC.  I'm not sure about the shelf life of beer, but this unopened bottle is still sitting on my book shelf, while the carrier has been stored flat underneath it.

Even though I'm not really a beer drinker, I actually regret not opening this up and giving it a try.  But the next time I'm down in San Diego, I'll make sure to buy a bottle for consumption.

As for National Drink Beer Day... I'll have to celebrate it with a swig of Smartwater... since I don't have any root beer on hand.  What about you?

Did you celebrate the special day with a malt beverage?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Monday, September 27, 2021

The 70/70 Club

If you were following baseball or collecting baseball cards back in the late 80's... then you are probably aware of Jose Canseco becoming the first member of the 40/40 Club.

1989 Fleer #628

1989 Score #655

Donruss, Fleer, and Score knew Canseco was one of the hottest players in the hobby and each company capitalized on the historic event by producing tribute cards the following year.

1989 Topps #500
1989 Upper Deck #659

Topps and Upper Deck didn't honor him with tribute cards, but they did mention the accomplishments on card backs in 1989.

Card shops in my area had 50ct. lots of each of these singles sitting on the Jose Canseco shelves in their display cases and even casual fans were looking for something to commemorate the feat.  Since then... only three other MLB players have joined the clubBarry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998), and Alfonso Soriano (2006).  It'll be interesting to see who the next member will be.  Ronald Acuña Jr. came close in 2019 (41HR/37SB) and definitely has the speed and power to make the club.  I also think guys like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Shohei Ohtani are potential candidates as well.

On the other hand, I doubt anyone will be joining the 70/70 Club anytime soon.  What's that you ask?  It's when a player steals 70 bases and drives in 70 runs.  Over the past century, only three guys have accomplished the feat.

1983 Topps #595

Today is the 38th anniversary of Tim Raines becoming a member of this very exclusive club.  On September 27th, 1983... he cranked a three run home run in top of the 1st inning off of John Stuper which drove in his 68th, 69th, and 70th runs of the season.  The home run made him the first MLB player since Ty Cobb to have 70 RBI's and 70 stolen bases in the same season.  He stole his 70th base a few weeks earlier on September 11th against the New York Mets and finished the season with 71 runs batted in and 90 stolen bases.

1985 Topps #115
1986 Topps #500

Two years later, Rickey Henderson joined the club when he drove in 72 runs and stole 80 bases for the New York Yankees.  He repeated the feat again in 1986 with 74 RBI's and 87 stolen bases.

1986 Topps #28

1986 was quite the season for 70/70 Club members, because Eric Davis also became a member when he swiped 80 bases and drove in 71 runs.

In the 90's... Marquis Grissom (66RBI/78SB in 1992) and Kenny Lofton (67RBI/75SB in 1996) came close, but there hasn't really been any serious contenders since then.  In fact there have only been four guys to drive in sixty runs and steal sixty bases in the same season since 2001: Jose Reyes (81RBI/64SB in 2006), Carl Crawford (68RBI/60SB in 2009), Jacoby Ellsbury (60RBI/70SB in 2009), and Jonathan Villar (63RBI/62SB in 2016).

Obviously finding guys who drive in 70+ runs isn't the problem.  It's finding guys who will swipe 70 bases.  There hasn't been anyone with more than 47 stolen bases since 2017Starling Marte has a shot at topping this number with six games remaining on the schedule, but that's still far from 70 (and as of today he only has 54 RBI's).

1984 Fleer #631 & #632

Anyways... getting back to Raines and the anniversary of his accomplishment.  I was happy to discover that Fleer sort of gave him a tribute card.  He was included in their Super Star Special subset... which mentioned the feat on the back.

1984 Donruss #299

Donruss also mentioned his accomplishment on the back of his 1984 base card.

1982 Topps #164

Happy anniversary Mr. Raines!  You, Rickey, and Eric are in a very elite club.  One that hasn't had any new members in thirty-five years and probably won't have any in the very near future.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Saturday, January 30, 2021

TWiB: Underrated Junk Wax, Sunsets and Criminals, Two-Sport Athletes, and a Love Child

Time continues to mess with my mind.  On one hand this school year seems to be taking forever.  On the other hand... we are already into the 5th Saturday of 2021 which means another This Week in Blogging post.

#1An Underrated Set

1991 Score #317

A couple weeks ago, I started writing a post where I ranked the 1991 flagship baseball card designs and Score was near the bottom of the list.  After reading Night Owl's post which showcased his favorite 1991 Score card from every team... my rankings haven't changed.  But I do have a higher level of appreciation than before.

His post opened my eyes to the vast variety of action shots featured in the set... which is something I value in a trading card.  


#2A Treasured Traded Set

One more Night Owl Cards post... then I promise to feature other blogs.  I realize that if you're reading this post, then you've probably already read Greg's posts... but I'm documenting card blogs and he happens to write posts that capture my attention.  So blame him, not me.

1987 Topps Traded #70T

Last weekend, Night Owl Cards wrote about his 1987 Topps Traded set build.  I'm always excited to read a blog post featuring Topps Traded sets from the 80's, because from the mid 80's on... I made sure to track them down for my collection.  I'm pretty sure the 1985 boxed set was the first I ever purchased, but the 1986 was the first I treasured.

1986 Topps Traded #11T
1986 Topps Traded #20T

It's one of the most star stacked Topps Traded sets of all-time.  Just look at the list of young stars included:  Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Jose Canseco, Will Clark, Andres Galarraga, Bo Jackson, Wally Joyner, John Kruk, Kevin Mitchell, and tons of other guys who had solid MLB careers.  Plus don't forget the stars and hall of famers that make up the "traded" players: Don Baylor, Ken Griffey, Phil Niekro, Lou Piniella, Darrell Porter, Tom Seaver, Ted Simmons, Chuck Tanner, and Dick Williams.

I'm not sure when these sets started selling in the $25 to $40 range, but I could have sworn dealers were selling these sets for $5 to $10 just a year or two ago.


#3Sunsets and Criminals

On Saturday, Chris showed off some Larry Bird and Lawrence Taylor cards on his blog: The 1993.  He also asked his readers if they collect "sunset" cards and whether or not they avoid collecting athletes who have committed crimes or other objectionable acts.

2002 Topps #99

Although I don't actively chase "sunset" cards, I do enjoy having them in my collection.  There is just something cool about a card company producing a final card with full career statistics for an athlete after they've retired.

As for guys who have committed crimes...

1985 Topps #620
1994 Ted Williams Roger Staubach's NFL Football #S32
1989 Donruss #542

Athletes have never been my heroes... so I have no problem separating the accomplishments they've made on the field from the crimes they've committed off of them.  And ultimately... I collect trading cards that represent history... and that includes the good and the bad.


#4A Star is Born

Wrigley Field Roster Jenga returned to his keyboard about a month ago and last weekend he wrote a really cool post about the night his son was born.  I think it's something the little guy will be happy to read one day when he's old enough.

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-JRU

Blogs weren't around back when I was born, but I have tried to document some of the things that happened in the sports world the day I was born.  Most notably the 1972 Olympics were in full swing... and the Oakland A's beat the Detroit Tigers behind a three run homer by Joe Rudi.


#5Cry for Help

Two days ago, Hackenbush showed off his Alan Alda silk cachet over on his blog: Can't Have Too Many Cards.  I know I've seen these pop up on a few blogs in the past.  My question is... what's the story behind them?  Were they originally sold at the post office?


I've picked up a few over the years.  The first one highlights Ichiro and the 2001 All-Star Game.  I picked this up off of my buddy at a flea market for a buckWere these sold at the game?

The next two were a little more expensive:



I bought them from a different friend at a card show back in 2015.  Each features a Ron Ferdinand signature and sketches of Dennis the Menace, but who knows if they're authentic or not.

If any of you have any information on silk cachets... feel free to leave it down below in the comments.


#6A New #1

2021 Topps #1

On Thursday Topps announced that Fernando Tatis Jr. would be honored with being card #1 in the 2021 Topps flagship set.  Personally... I heard about it over on John Sharp's blog: John's Big League Baseball Blog.

2020 Topps Fire #169
2020 Bowman #11

The jury is still out on this particular design.  It's definitely not going to be a favorite of mine, but I'm not ready to lump it in with the 1988, 1998, or 1999 flagship designs either.  Personally... I think this year's design looks like the love child of 2020 Topps Fire and 2020 Bowman.


#7Two-Sport Athletes

When I was in middle school, I really started getting into watching the WWF.  Most of my friends were too.  Guys like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and the Iron Shiek were a new source of entertainment for this teenager and I enjoyed watching it whenever I had the opportunity.

On Monday, my buddy Ryan showed off a pair of 70's sumo wrestling cards featuring WWF star King Haku over on his blog: Japanese Sumo Wrestling Cards and Menko.  It's cool because it features an athlete famous for one sport being featured on trading cards of another sport.  This isn't exactly a new theme in trading cards.  I've written about Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, and Danny Ainge before on this blog.

1963 Topps #54

But today... I wanted to show off my latest two sport athlete purchase.  This is a rookie card of Dave DeBusschere.  The same year he was drafted by the Detroit Pistons, he also signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox.


Although he is more famous for being a basketball hall of famer, he did pitch a complete game shutout versus the Cleveland Indians on August 13th, 1963.  I picked this card up two weeks ago for $9.41 ($4.49 bid + $4.50 shipping & $.42 tax).


#8Basketball Bonanza

By the way... if you like vintage basketball cards... then head over to Can't Have Too Many Cards again.  Hackenbush showed off some really nice 70's basketball cards on Monday including a Dr. J. rookie card.
1971-72 Topps #70

Unfortunately... most of my basketball cards are from the 80's, 90's, and 2000's.  But I have about 100 different cards sitting in my vintage basketball binder including this Chamberlain.


I like how the cartoon on the back references his 100 point game versus the New York Knicks back on March 2, 1962.


#9Wrapping Things Up

It looks like Chris is starting to wrap up his All-Time Hockey Teams series.  Last weekend, he showed of his all-time Pittsburgh Penguins team which featured a lot of guys I remember playing with on those early 90's NHL games on the Sega Genesis.

1990-91 OPC Premier # 50

One of those guys was Jaromir Jagr who went on to have a stellar career Chris's post inspired me to see how much his 1990-91 OPC  Premier rookie card was selling for.  I was blown away that raw copies are selling in the $30 to $40 range... while PSA 10 copies are fetching over $600.

Back in August of 2018, I picked up my copy for $75 (+ $5 shipping).  At the time, I was second guessing the best offer price I sent to the seller... but now I'm sure glad he accepted.

Chris also showed off his all-time San Jose Sharks team which featured these six guys:



Thanks Chris for taking the time to write this series.  It brought back a lot of good memories... and more importantly opened my eyes to current players and guys who played before the 90's.

Well that wraps up another This Week in Blogging.  Here are some conversation starters for you...

What's your favorite 1991 flagship baseball card design?

What is a Junk Wax Era set you think deserves more hobby love?

What's your favorite "sunset" card?

Is there room for a criminal in your collection?

What's the story behind silk cachets?

What's your favorite card #1 from a Topps flagship baseball set?

Do you collect vintage basketball cards?

Have you noticed any specific cards that are selling for outrageous prices lately?

That should get the conversations flowing... however even if you don't like these questions... feel free to leave any thoughts down below and I look forward to responding to them.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!