tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36237541390252419922024-03-12T21:57:59.486-07:00First BallotAn examination of Hall of Fame players through their baseball cards.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-7641653586439790812013-06-04T18:04:00.000-07:002013-06-04T18:04:21.789-07:00Chipper Jones could hit!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--TGUoanuz0k/Ua6GECAUHhI/AAAAAAAAAb0/u8XCBAKfrro/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-06-04+at+5.24.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--TGUoanuz0k/Ua6GECAUHhI/AAAAAAAAAb0/u8XCBAKfrro/s640/Screen+shot+2013-06-04+at+5.24.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
Upon <a href="https://twitter.com/RealCJ10">Chipper Jones</a>' retirement Elias Sports Bureau brought us this gem of a list. These five players are the only ones to accumulate a .300/.400/.500 slash line with 500 doubles<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">,</span> 450 Home Runs & 1500 walks.<br />
<br />
I love the inference that <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jonesch06.shtml">Chipper Jones</a> belongs in this group of players. As you can see the<br />
slash line had to be dramatically lowered to accommodate Chipper's inclusion. This is not to say Chipper isn't a Hall of Famer in his own right but we are talking about players whom are at the extreme elite hitter level. The average slash of these four players are .339/.455/.628 over a career<br />
that spans 20 seasons!<br />
<br />
In Chipper's defense he played in an era with an international talent pool with specialized pitcher's throwing in the mid-90s.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0pi5kuTslbE/Ua6MDVMYkMI/AAAAAAAAAcI/CPgY85WFJBE/s1600/chipper94ultra.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="408" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0pi5kuTslbE/Ua6MDVMYkMI/AAAAAAAAAcI/CPgY85WFJBE/s640/chipper94ultra.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I love the 1994 Ultra set design but when it came to the horizontal cards they really screwed up by not putting the player's name across the bottom. A very lazy artistic choice. With the strike looming and then taking place during 1994<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">,</span> baseball cards became a secondary thought. 1994 marks the end of the high water mark in baseball cards. With the pack prices inflated and literally hundreds of products to chose from the market crushed under its own weight.<br />
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<br />First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-68942634835028986602013-01-30T01:07:00.003-08:002013-01-30T13:58:24.927-08:001997 Leaf. Drugs for Suckcess<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vbA9-4cQGps/UQjiVtgjkCI/AAAAAAAAAa0/8TBqn1BwLHg/s1600/alexleafdressfor+suck.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vbA9-4cQGps/UQjiVtgjkCI/AAAAAAAAAa0/8TBqn1BwLHg/s400/alexleafdressfor+suck.png" width="256" /></a>Today<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 17px;">, </span>MLB kept reminding everyone that they have the toughest drug
policy in North America. However<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt;">,</span>
tabloid journalists brought the latest debacle to us - not failed drug tests. Perhaps
these new events will have MLB institute lifetime bans for offenders. Would
baseball suffer if <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1274&position=3B/SS">Alex Rodriguez</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt;">, </span><a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2434&position=OF">Nelson Cruz</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/GioGonzalez47">Gio Gonzalez</a> were no longer playing?</div>
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Anyhow<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt;">,</span>
Leaf in 1997 decided to make a gimmick card out of Nylon material. A little
known fact - Nylon is not a chemical name for the material made. It is a
compound name made up of the corporate offices of DuPont, which were located in
New York and London. </div>
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Dress for Success was an 18-card insert set of the who’s who
of baseball. Actually Leaf went out on a limb with card #14 <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jordabr01.shtml">Brian Jordan</a>. Each card was serial numbered to 3500. I don’t know
how many came pre Series 1 box but I’d guess 2 per box. The cards have a nice feel to them. By the late 1990s there were literally hundreds of insert sets and these cool cards lost in the shuffle.</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-2845703863975678812013-01-25T00:22:00.001-08:002013-01-25T00:22:20.831-08:00To Peel or Not to Peel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N7-CpfQ_dmE/UQJAeZSr_jI/AAAAAAAAAak/GO45Z2y3zHw/s1600/calpeel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N7-CpfQ_dmE/UQJAeZSr_jI/AAAAAAAAAak/GO45Z2y3zHw/s640/calpeel.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;">Starting
with 1995 Finest<span style="color: #262626;">,</span> Topps decided to put a
protective coating sticker over the front surface of the card. What reason you
ask? For no reason I answer. The Ultra Violet coating that had been applied to
premium cards when not fully dried had tended to make the card stick together.
Instead of drying the cards properly Topps decided to apply a sticker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;">Now the
purist will tell you that the sticker is now part of the card but the practical
collector will tell you that the sticker is nothing more than part of the pack
– an individual wrapper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;">When it
comes to grading it is best to remove the sticker because BGS and PSA will
consider the sticker part of the surface. The problem with that is that the
stickers then to be filled with minor air bubbles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;">The other
reason to remove is in terms of value. The (eBay) market has not put any
premium on cards with peel intact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><u>About The
Card</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier; font-size: 14.0pt;">This 1995
Finest Cal Ripken is the same card with the peel and without. I will be subbing
this in the future. It appears to be in Gem Mint Condition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-17692298150594427602013-01-19T23:50:00.000-08:002013-01-19T23:50:19.699-08:00Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tvk-L-TEgVo/UPuhaAsFZ1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/ANeAM1gGiJs/s1600/772px-Amiga500_system1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tvk-L-TEgVo/UPuhaAsFZ1I/AAAAAAAAAaU/ANeAM1gGiJs/s640/772px-Amiga500_system1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-10279709367338551412013-01-15T15:51:00.002-08:002013-01-15T20:42:51.313-08:00But there is no joy in Mudville.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdOEzZOgU_k/UPXqubu8uRI/AAAAAAAAAaA/dSSv-oH7HgY/s1600/bonds1991.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZdOEzZOgU_k/UPXqubu8uRI/AAAAAAAAAaA/dSSv-oH7HgY/s400/bonds1991.png" width="254" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Written
plainly in Exodus 23:2 it states<span style="color: #000e13;">,</span> “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">By all
accounts <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bondsba01.shtml">Barry Bonds</a> stayed away from performance-enhancing drug usage until
1999. He followed lockstep with the rest of the juiced crowd and threw
away his reputation and legacy by destroying the record book for wads and
wads of cash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was
fortunate to have followed <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml">Donnie Baseball</a> in his prime daily.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And
Barry Bonds was <i>still</i> the best player I ever watched play the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I
look back on Bonds there is nothing that you can point to that makes you happy
anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mattingly
on the other hand has his stature intact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When
<a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgwima01.shtml">McGwire</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sosasa01.shtml">Sosa </a>where chasing Maris I remember people telling me “Thank God
it’s not Bonds.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That's
because his lifelong mercurial angry black man persona made it impossible to
root for him outside of Pittsburgh and San Francisco.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At the
time, Bonds was still playing the game on his natural ability, which were still
light years ahead of everyone not named <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/griffke02.shtml">Junior Griffey</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But
even Griffey didn’t take his plate appearances as deadly serious as Bonds.
Bonds had the superior baseball intellect along with the superior talent base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In
2004, Barry Bonds was walked 232 times. Officially he was intentionally walked
120 timesand with guys pitching to him carefully he still managed to hit .362
with 45 home runs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Even if
an extremely conservative 25% of the league was using PEDs no one comes close
to Bonds accomplishments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It
can't possibly be all attributed to a drug but that is the narrative history
will repeat, as it should be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Poor
Barry Bonds. He followed the wrong crowd.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>About the Card.</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the entire Barry Bonds baseball collection this one stands because he allowed himself to be photographed. Others have described that scenario as pulling teeth. I love the photo but I don't understand the composition. Why did topps leave some much negative space above his head?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-37388640716746534312013-01-09T22:27:00.001-08:002013-01-10T15:55:04.785-08:00The Hall of Fame. Preserving Revisionist History.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Courier;">Well I guess I wasn't watching legendary players the past
twenty years. When <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgwima01.shtml">Mark McGwire</a> revealed his usage of androstenedione he had
already hit 53 home runs. For a quick refresher andro was banned by the NFL, NCAA
and the IOC but was allowed by MLB. At this point all the suspicions were
confirmed - Mark McGwire was a steroid user. But did anyone care? He went on to
blast 17 more home runs to put America into a baseball frenzy. He wasn't
breaking any rules so everyone enjoyed the spectacular displays of absolute
freakish hitting. It wasn't until six years later when <a href="https://twitter.com/JoseCanseco">Jose Canseco</a> pulled back
the curtain to reveal his own self as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Juiced-Times-Rampant-Roids-Baseball/dp/0060746416/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357799123&sr=8-1&keywords=Juiced%3A+Wild+Times%2C+Rampant+%27Roids%2C+Smash+Hits%2C+and+How+Baseball+Got+Big">'The Great and Powerful Wizard of Steroids</a>' that people decided that the ride wasn't all that fun because we've
been duped! But where is the same outrage concerning the corrupt political and
financial systems? With that being said the Hall of Fame has lost its sense of
humor today. Isn't this the same museum that houses <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rizzuph01.shtml">Phil Rizzuto</a>? The Hall of
Fame is a museum dedicated to...a game. It's not a place of judgment. Steroids
warped the record books but not the wins and losses. Babe Ruth warped the
record books just as much by refusing to play against the very best black ball
players. So today we discovered there is a group of men who write about baseball
for a living that have decided to right a wrong by trying to cover up their own
error of not taking a stand against these drugs in the first place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Courier;">
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<span style="color: #353535;">Here is a link to a <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1021905/index.htm">sports illustrated article by Tom Verducci.</a> It's the absolute epitome of turning a
blind eye to steroid use. It directly celebrates it and shows it being the
cause of the greatness. Mr. Verducci never once mentions there is something odd
about these circumstances. It comes complete with the classic and laughable
cover up of "protein shakes".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-89168809741670002742012-09-15T01:07:00.000-07:002012-09-15T01:07:04.997-07:00Hank & Beer Barrel Man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cajrvsC2r5U/UFLan3GsDYI/AAAAAAAAAZs/HCWk5T6DM7s/s1600/76hank.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="401" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cajrvsC2r5U/UFLan3GsDYI/AAAAAAAAAZs/HCWk5T6DM7s/s640/76hank.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<!--StartFragment--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">1976 Topps #550 is Hank
Aaron’s last base card from his </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">playing days</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">. Hank made it known he was retiring so Topps didn't make him a base card in 1977. Topps wanted to be topical more than a year in review but Hank should have had a tribute card in 1977.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Beer Barrel Man was the first logo used by the Milwaukee Brewers. Originally used by</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"> the defunct Brewers </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">minor league team. This gem was brought back by Bud Selig when he purchased the Seattle Pilots and moved the team into Milwaukee. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">This slab sold for $192.60 on an eBay auction. I'm assuming the person is going to crack it out & sub it to PSA but chances are this card was already housed in a PSA 9 slab hoping to get 9.5 from BGS. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b>About the card</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">A very simple design that incorporated one aspect of the teams color. It also featured a sketch of a player representing the position. This idea was borrowed from the 1973 set.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">A great improvement to this set would have been to use another photo instead of the drawing and the team Wordmark logo.</span></span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-87582256662700534212012-03-07T16:14:00.003-08:002012-06-08T01:06:25.704-07:001986 Sportflics & Steve Carlton: Briefing for a Descent into Hell.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fenkpMJ1P4/T9GyYC7a4oI/AAAAAAAAAY0/8VgSjrkXD_M/s1600/86sportu.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fenkpMJ1P4/T9GyYC7a4oI/AAAAAAAAAY0/8VgSjrkXD_M/s400/86sportu.png" width="261" /></a></div>
In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Four-Jim-Bouton/dp/0020306652/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331163935&sr=8-1">Ball Four</a>, Jim Bouton wrote, “You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time."</div>
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This observation made in 1970 was clearly on display in 1986.</div>
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At the age of 41<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545; font-family: Cousine; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545; font-family: Cousine; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> </span><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carltst01.shtml">Steve Carlton</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545; font-family: Cousine; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"> refused to hang them up and began the most disastrous endings to a legendary career.</span></div>
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It truly was a descent into sports hell.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">On June 24</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">th</span><span class="Apple-style-span">, 1986 the Phillies unconditionally released Steve Carlton after first asking him to retire. He refused. He felt he could still pitch. This despite the fact that he was getting rocked off the mound every start.</span></div>
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On July 4<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">th</span>, 1986 the Giants signed Carlton. The reason the Giants signed him was because Steve, while getting rocked by the rest of the NL, somehow dominated the Giants.</div>
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Versus Giants 15.1 innings, 12 hits, no walks, 12 strike outs and a 1.19 era. In his other 14 starts: 68 innings, 90 hits, 45 walks, 50 strikeouts 5.05 era. Ouch.</div>
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So the Giants actually thought he had gas left in the tank.</div>
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The first thing Carlton does is break his 8- year ban on giving interviews. Right off the bat the Giants should have realized that not having Silent Steve wasn’t a good sign.</div>
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He stated the he was mechanically sound and his arm wasn’t sore. The Giants believed this lie because somehow he dominated them. But then again that what happens when your line up showcases <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownch02.shtml">Chris Brown</a> as your three hole hitter and even more telling was that Chris Brown hit a home run off Carlton in the second game. Talk about a red flag.</div>
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So what we got is a talking and delusional Steve Carlton pitching for the Giants and he promptly stinks up Candlestick.</div>
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On August 5<sup>th</sup>, 1986 vs. the Cincinnati Reds Carlton strikes out Eric Davis for his 4,000<sup>th</sup> career strike out.</div>
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After the game Steve Carlton announced his retirement.</div>
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5 days later Steve signed with the Chicago White Sox. Surely he could fool those AL hitters who never saw him. Sure enough he threw six quality starts in his last ten starts of the year.</div>
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As I said before this was just the start of the decent into hell. </div>
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<u><b>About The Card</b></u></div>
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I happen to think that 1986 Sportflics is the best set produced for the year. But it was also the most expensive and even if you bought an entire box you'd only end up with half the set. That's if the coloration was good which it isn't - it's really bad which made things much worse. It didn't feature Jose Canseco,Wally Joyner or Cory Snyder which gave you no reason to spend the extra money. But as a card it was different in a good way. It wasn't cardboard and it had great bios on the back.<br />
It was the first card pack to use tamper proof tin foil.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sqNab_TBVQA/T1htoLXNvdI/AAAAAAAAAMc/XgT74ge4xJg/s1600/86sportflics.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sqNab_TBVQA/T1htoLXNvdI/AAAAAAAAAMc/XgT74ge4xJg/s400/86sportflics.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-59533568101616666652012-02-23T23:16:00.004-08:002012-03-01T16:54:06.428-08:00BGS Multipliers. Gem Mint versus Pristine. What’s the jump in value?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QV0IyVgKjho/T0c0oiv4DhI/AAAAAAAAAMM/fVCB9qgICL4/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-23+at+10.37.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QV0IyVgKjho/T0c0oiv4DhI/AAAAAAAAAMM/fVCB9qgICL4/s400/Screen+shot+2012-02-23+at+10.37.44+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>The inevitable question when collecting anything particularly baseball cards is “How much are they worth?” Now without going into economic theories and methods let’s just look at realized prices albeit a very small sample size.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This is hard to track because rarely is there a GEM MINT 9.5 & PRISTINE 10 copy listed at same time to compare. The other problem is the aforementioned sample size. It’s too small to make a true judgment. However it could be said that this works in favor of the perceived scarcity of the item. But let’s work with what I have.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now in my estimation the upgrade in quality from a Gem Mint 9.5 to a Pristine 10 isn’t as big from a Mint 9 to a Gem Mint 9.5. But nevertheless it’s still noticeable. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Again it’s worth repeating that this is just a couple of slabs selling during a certain winter. This is by no means a gauge that can be set in stone. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carewro01.shtml">Rod Carew</a> 1982 Fleer #455 BGS 9.5</b> sells at auction for $8.74 – That’s the very definition of a steal in a buyer’s market. That’s basically the cost of grading to own a gem mint copy of one of the great quirky cards of the 1980s. In case you didn’t know 1982 Topps has used the same photo for their “In Action” subset.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Rod Carew 1982 Fleer #455 BGS 10</b> sold at auction for $36.19! Whoa that’s just 4.2 times as much. In context that's another steal!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcgwima01.shtml">Mark McGwire </a>1987 Donruss #45 BGS 9.5</b> sells at auction for $16.00. For one of the great-overproduced sets this is still a solid price in 2012. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Is it worth it to run out and grade 10 copies? Perhaps not but what if you landed a pristine…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Mark McGwire 1987 Donruss #45 BGS 10</b> sold at auction for $229.79! Wow that’s a multiplier of 14.4! The steroid junkie superstar still has major hobby pop. Now of course this same card would have gotten $2000 in 1999 but $229.79 is tremendous value for a card that readily available raw at less than a buck.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml">Don Mattingly</a> 1984 Topps #8 BGS 9.5</b> sold at auction for $86.85</div><div class="MsoNormal">Another over produced set holding tremendous value. Donnie Baseball is the man responsible for fueling the baseball card boom of the mid 1980s. His three rookie cards are still in demand especially in high-grade condition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Don Mattingly 1984 Topps #8 BGS 10</b> sells at auction for $512.34!</div><div class="MsoNormal">That’s a 5.9 times a much. That’s a serious jump.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/larkiba01.shtml">Barry Larkin </a>1987 Topps #648 BGS 9.5</b> sold at auction for $34.33<br />
One thing you have to say about this over produced sets is that they are still popular. $34.33<br />
is tremendous value for a readily available card<br />
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<b>Barry Larkin 1987 Topps #648 BGS 10</b> sold at auction for $141.48<br />
That's a multiplier of 4.1 - right in line with what you'd expect.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s silly to extrapolate any information but we can see that Pristine slabs get anywhere between 4.1 and 14.4 times as much as their Gem Mint counterpart.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><u>About The Card</u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The 1982 Fleer set was as simple design and as time has passed it looks more cheap than it did then. But this is before Fleer is taking the business of selling cards seriously. The cards at this point were just a delivery system for their team stickers. You can say with conviction that zero effort went into making these cards. Fleer just trying to grab a piece of the market pie.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-15914307820313264062012-02-16T22:54:00.000-08:002012-02-16T23:26:50.846-08:00Cat on a tin roof, dogs in a pile. Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C1acy9L_oRQ/Tz35I5DeaiI/AAAAAAAAAME/67CjQDkh7kc/s1600/kid.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C1acy9L_oRQ/Tz35I5DeaiI/AAAAAAAAAME/67CjQDkh7kc/s400/kid.png" width="287" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #001320; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"></span></div><table border="0" cellpadding="22" cellspacing="0" class="mainbk" style="background-color: #b9e3ff; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr valign="top"><td class="bluebk3" style="background-color: #f9fdff; background-image: url(http://bible.cc/lline.gif); background-repeat: no-repeat repeat;" width="98%"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="btext" colspan="2" height="20" style="color: #001320; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1st Corinthians 15:52</span></td></tr>
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</div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-30615316443084532152012-02-06T18:15:00.000-08:002012-02-06T19:16:31.838-08:00Crackin' Wax with Crackin' Wax<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">This is the first in a series of interviews where we delve into what makes the hobby turn…<o:p></o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545;"><b id="yui_3_2_0_5_1328583410002538">The Collectors</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Christopher Lawson writes at Crackin Wax. <a href="http://crackinwax.wordpress.com/">http://crackinwax.wordpress.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The great thing about his posts is his detailed examination of card designs.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So I asked him what is his favorite set? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">“<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">I will always have a place in my cardboard heart for 1986 Topps Baseball. The first pack of cards my mom bought for me was from that set. I remember the ride home in the backseat, cracking open my first wax pack. The first card that I pulled was of my all-time favorite baseball player, Kirby Puckett. <i><a href="http://varsitytradingcards.com/">Being a trading card designer</a>, </i></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">the aesthetics of this set go against all of my training and beliefs. It’s quite possibly one of the least visually appealing professional trading card sets ever produced.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ifWJ7sTwAQ/TzCHNPaB2nI/AAAAAAAAALs/ftKHQSvA8Nc/s1600/bonds86topps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ifWJ7sTwAQ/TzCHNPaB2nI/AAAAAAAAALs/ftKHQSvA8Nc/s400/bonds86topps.png" width="253" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><b>FirstBallot</b></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">: </span><span style="color: #141414;">I have to agree with you. A quarter length black border highlighting bulky and awkward team lettering was a disaster. Nothing about it says baseball. Not to mention they missed out on over a dozen prospects.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="color: #141414;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="color: #141414;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">“On the other hand, my creative intuition always feels justified when looking at the brilliant 1991 installation of Topps. From the simple and effective inner double-frame border to the clean readability of the text, and from the excellent use of team logos to the amazing photography, there is very little to dislike about this set.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><b>FirstBallot:</b></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> </span><span style="color: #141414;">I’ve written about <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2011/07/1991-topps-some-come-to-laugh-their.html">this set before.</a> For the most part I agree with your assessment and it’s most likely the best flagship set of the year but it doesn’t hold a proverbial candle next to its premium counterpart, the landmark 1991 Stadium Club set.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><b>“</b></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">As enamored as I was with the 1991 Topps flagship set, the debut of Stadium Club was pretty exciting, especially for a teenager with his own hard-earned income. The price tag it carried on its packs suggested the cards within were something special, and at first rip they were. At the time, it seemed clear that they were an answer to Upper Deck's base cards. It was a thrill to crack my first few packs. All of that gloss, the full-color backs and the crisp full-bleed photos on the front seemed so different and fresh. While the '91 flagship set was the cute girl next door, Stadium Club was the hot cheerleader from the suburbs--nice to look at, but too expensive for my tastes. Hindsight being 20/20, it seems a bit more obvious that Stadium Club was an important step in Topps' market diversification. Topps was able to open a new door to reclaim collectors that had grown beyond the old pieces of cardboard stuck in the spokes of their sons' bicycles. The 1991 Stadium Club set would eventually give relevance to the words "high-end" in the trading card hobby. Had Stadium Club failed in 1991, the hobby may never have seen the advent of on-card autographs, embedded game-worn uniform swatches, and authentic vintage bat knob cards. Without high-end products, I feel that the trading card hobby may have folded completely by the turn of the century. In that sense, I feel that Stadium Club was an effective and important catalyst to the hobby as we know it today.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #141414;"><b>Firstballot:</b></span><span style="color: #141414;"> It really did recapture people's imaginations about collecting cards again. At the time, I remember people wanting these cards ahead of Frank Thomas' & Griffey Jr's real rookie cards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #141414;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WlYclHGGsWI/TzCI7uOxynI/AAAAAAAAAL8/UcgyM8lqW1w/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-06+at+6.12.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WlYclHGGsWI/TzCI7uOxynI/AAAAAAAAAL8/UcgyM8lqW1w/s400/Screen+shot+2012-02-06+at+6.12.04+PM.png" width="248" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #141414;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><b>How do you feel that Topps owns a monopoly on baseball card making? </b></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Competition helps drive innovation and quality of work. Competition gives the target market more options and helps further spread their dollars. Without competition, perhaps Topps would have never felt the need to produce Stadium Club in 1991. Without Stadium Club, perhaps no trading card company would have ventured into the high-end market. Without the high-end market, perhaps the trading card industry would have completely folded. It's hard to say. What is certain, however, is, monopoly or not, Topps will likely remain the most recognized MLB trading card brand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><b>FirstBallot:</b></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> Amen</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #1a1a1a;"><br />
</span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-10131291532786404922012-02-05T00:53:00.000-08:002012-02-05T01:37:04.559-08:00Black Refractor History Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yvzpEMpQSjU/Ty42CqquRII/AAAAAAAAALc/k1VYjlUR220/s1600/topdogs.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="301" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yvzpEMpQSjU/Ty42CqquRII/AAAAAAAAALc/k1VYjlUR220/s400/topdogs.png" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #000689;">These two men set out to make things right. And they succeeded. And although both didn’t live long enough to see the magnitude of their work that ended up moving mountains - these men are now mountains of humanity themselves. First Ballot pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/pl/player_search.cgi?search=Jackie+Robinson">Jackie Robinson</a> in Black Refractor History Month. <o:p></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000689;">And frankly, for everyone who is for oppression of any kind –<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE5rvXn9Wkc"> you can all go fuck yourselves.</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The refractor first made its appearance in the debut of the landmark set 1993 Finest. The cards were not denoted in any way other than they looked like a disco ball reflecting light. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well a lot happened in between that moment and when Topps unveiled the black refractor but lets just focus on the black refractor!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #000689;">In 1996, Topps debuted Topps Chrome. Another instrumental moment in marketing gone awry but let’s fast-forward to 2002. Topps decided it’s time for a black version of the chrome because, why not?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #000689;">Here is an example of the 2006 Topps Chrome Black Refractor. As far as I’m concerned it’s just an exercise in redundancy. <span class="Apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-895C55vpLtA/Ty5DIUJmZlI/AAAAAAAAALk/g1M8z5F3iSA/s1600/rj.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-895C55vpLtA/Ty5DIUJmZlI/AAAAAAAAALk/g1M8z5F3iSA/s400/rj.png" width="255" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000689; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=johnsra05&t=p&year=2006">2006 Randy Johnson</a> – Bad, very bad. From April 29 -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000689; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000689; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">May 24 in a span of 6 starts here are the numbers. Children please turn away now. 31.2 IP, 43 hits, 28 earned runs, 13 walks, 24 ks, 7 HR allowed, 8.07 era</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #000689;">Record? 3 -2. Of course, in the 3 wins the <a href="http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&tcid=mm_mlb_sitelist">Yankees</a> had to score 17, 10 & 8 to win. </span></span></span></div><span style="color: #000689;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></span></div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-32289062678687541782012-02-02T17:17:00.000-08:002012-02-02T23:35:51.947-08:001961 Topps Bob Gibson. Time Out of Mind.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uA706fodFPs/Tystq106L7I/AAAAAAAAALM/nRKZk_RlKiQ/s1600/1961t.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uA706fodFPs/Tystq106L7I/AAAAAAAAALM/nRKZk_RlKiQ/s400/1961t.png" width="248" /></a></div><a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN196105212.shtml">May 21, 1961 Cardinals at Cubs</a> Bob Gibson set a career high with 11 strikeouts. He threw a complete game shutout, the second of his career, allowing just 4 hits & 4 walks.<br />
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The Cubs featured four future Hall of Famers in the line up batting fourth through sixth was <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bankser01.shtml">Ernie Banks</a>, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santoro01.shtml">Ron Santo</a>, and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/willibi01.shtml">Billy Williams</a> & pinch hitting for Al Hiest was <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ashburi01.shtml">Richie Ashburn</a>. The four combined accounted for three of the four hits and three of the four walks. Billy Williams got the only extra base hit.<br />
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In the bottom of the sixth with the game tied at 0 and two outs, and Richie Ashburn on 3rd, Gibson intentionally walks Ernie Banks to face Ron Santo, whom strikes out looking.<br />
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It was an eventful game for Gibson who scored the tie breaking run and then tacked on a insurance run with an RBI double. He was also hit by a pitch.<br />
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In Gibby's final start of 1961, he again threw a complete game shutout this time versus the Phillies which served as a harbinger for the rest of his career.<br />
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<u>About the card.</u><br />
1961 Topps is really nice basic design. I wish the team name was bigger but other than that it tells you what you need to know. This particular slab sold for $420.78 on eBay on January 31st by <a href="http://myworld.ebay.com/prewarcardcollector/?_trksid=p4340.l2559">prewarcardcollector</a> whom have some really beautiful high grade cards. Truly remarkable that the card was found in this condition and now that it's in a slab we can be assured it will stay that way.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-34143432156934554792012-01-30T23:44:00.000-08:002012-01-30T23:44:29.172-08:002012 Tigers - If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F6XjrM8ZQY0/TyeRI4oqQWI/AAAAAAAAALE/fqtjdM3GOYQ/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+10.42.00+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F6XjrM8ZQY0/TyeRI4oqQWI/AAAAAAAAALE/fqtjdM3GOYQ/s400/Screen+shot+2012-01-30+at+10.42.00+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.esb.com/">Elias Sports Bureau</a> brings us this gem of a stat. <i>"The Tigers are the </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><i>second team ever to field two players under 30 years old with 200 career home runs. The other was the 1961 Milwaukee Braves, with <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aaronha01.shtml">Hank Aaron</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/matheed01.shtml">Eddie Mathews</a>."</i> The Braves also featured legendary ace <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spahnwa01.shtml">Warren Spahn</a> and revising that role is <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/verlaju01.shtml">Justin Verlander</a> for the Tigers. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">In 1961, Hank lead the league in Total Bases and Eddie lead the league in walks. Warren lead the league in Wins, ERA, CG, Shutouts and WHIP and finished SECOND in Cy Young...wait what?</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Anyhow, before I investigate that award voting it's a safe bet to think Miguel, Prince & Justin could replicate those accomplishments. And there is no reason to think that these three won't also make there way to Cooperstown. They all have the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4">eye of the tiger</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><u>About The Cards</u></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">On this blog I haven't delved into the history of Chrome or Refractor cards but I loved both concepts when they first appeared but have since become annoyingly over done.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #343434; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">In a future post we will examine both trends and what they've meant to the hobby.</span></span><br />
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</span></span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-51796881177065400642012-01-29T23:50:00.000-08:002012-01-29T23:51:51.964-08:001982 Topps Traded: A Change of Scenery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JWIxu07QL0s/TyWu6ZgxMkI/AAAAAAAAAK0/CPXuxaZAZYY/s1600/smith.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JWIxu07QL0s/TyWu6ZgxMkI/AAAAAAAAAK0/CPXuxaZAZYY/s400/smith.png" width="252" /></a></div>1982 Topps Traded is primarily known for the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ripkeca01.shtml">Cal Ripken, Jr. </a>card. But why was Cal in this set anyhow? He was already in the <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2011/05/1982-topps-cal-ripkens-rookie-card.html">1982 Regular Issue</a> and he wasn't traded. Cal was considered a "promising rookie" so why not double down a card for him.<br />
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<a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/smithoz01.shtml">Ozzie Smith</a> on the other hand was traded. A change of scenery and managers landed him in Cooperstown. That smile on Ozzie's face is legitimate. Ozzie had been in contract dispute with San Diego since he signed. The problem reached absurd heights when his agent, Ed Gottlieb, placed an ad in the San Diego Union, it read <i>"Padre Baseball Player wants part-time employment to supplement income. College education, willing to work, prefer PR-type employment. Needs hours tailored to baseball schedule, but would quit baseball for right opportunity."</i><br />
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The truly disturbing part is that apparently Ozzie had blown most his money and his wanting a raise had nothing to do feeling underpaid. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[1]</span><br />
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Anyway you look at it, he wasn't getting a raise. And regardless of his out of the world defense the way he hit he didn't deserve a raise. Ozzie Smith was the leadoff hitter for the Padres leading the league in plate appearances with a .294 OBA. The reason I think manager Frank Howard never noticed Ozzie was an out machine is because the entire team couldn't hit. Regardless, once Ozzie got to St. Louis he improved his hitting enough that you could live with it.<br />
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In 1982, major league baseball had two other Hall of Fame shortstops playing who could rake and play defense. <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/yountro01.shtml">Robin Yount</a> in Milwaukee & the aforementioned Cal Ripken. The very next year all three would be playing in the All-Star game.<br />
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<u>About the Card</u><br />
1982 Topps borrows a lot of its design style from Activision, an at the time, wildly popular video game maker. I like the design but it does resemble a hockey stick a little too much for my liking.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cQWjFIAnbc/TyZLscmraQI/AAAAAAAAAK8/GVz-RSRj6AE/s1600/2463977985_3b41c1c287_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cQWjFIAnbc/TyZLscmraQI/AAAAAAAAAK8/GVz-RSRj6AE/s320/2463977985_3b41c1c287_z.jpg" width="171" /></a></div><u>Notes</u><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">[1] <i>Scorecard</i>, Sports Illustrated, Kirshenbaum, Jerry, May 5, 1980</span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-15365273390027847762012-01-19T17:59:00.000-08:002012-01-19T19:28:34.585-08:001981 Topps The Wonderful Wizard of Oz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fz7bbfRYxu0/TxjIdhFsKZI/AAAAAAAAAKc/BktLOI_3m6U/s1600/ozzieback.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="411" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fz7bbfRYxu0/TxjIdhFsKZI/AAAAAAAAAKc/BktLOI_3m6U/s640/ozzieback.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">In 1981, on the back of the position player cards, Topps introduced three statistical categories - Slugging Percentage (SLG), Walks (BB), and Strikeouts (SO). 1981 also saw the return of Stolen Bases (SB) which has been absent since 1971.</div><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">For Ozzie Smith, the stolen bases and walks helped him look a little more valuable at the plate but oh goodness look at that slugging .276! Yikes that's awful. </div><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;">Although his reputation as a<a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1012186&position=SS#fielding"> defensive 'wizard'</a> is well entrenched Topps continued to show Ozzie batting or posing every season except the lone exception of 1987 Topps where he looks to be camped under a harmless pop up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I67Lo9a7RE0/TxjKKyrdQ0I/AAAAAAAAAKk/4jlmvn8NZXg/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I67Lo9a7RE0/TxjKKyrdQ0I/AAAAAAAAAKk/4jlmvn8NZXg/s400/Untitled.png" width="255" /></a></div><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.4em;"><br />
</div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-59218534041812330562011-12-20T19:49:00.000-08:002011-12-26T15:56:54.992-08:001978 Topps - Steady<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKbjPBbOgwE/TvFIhl0c3cI/AAAAAAAAAKU/6px5whLKRJo/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-12-20+at+6.35.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WKbjPBbOgwE/TvFIhl0c3cI/AAAAAAAAAKU/6px5whLKRJo/s400/Screen+shot+2011-12-20+at+6.35.04+PM.png" width="255" /></a></div>Eddie Murray falls into my category of under appreciated superstars. He was only one of eight men to play 3,000 or more games. The other seven are legendary players but Eddie is hardly mentioned with the likes of Cobb, Aaron, Rose, Musial, Henderson, Yastrzemski & his teammate for seven seasons Cal Ripken. Truly remarkable accomplishment.<br />
<br />
He was so under appreciated that he should have been on the 1977 Topps Rookie Infielders #477 card but the slugger lost out that assignment to slap hitting scrub <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gonzaor01.shtml">Orlando Gonzalez</a>.<br />
<br />
This oversight left him with his own rookie card for 1978. Which is a rarity unto itself for the era.<br />
<br />
In another moment of being under appreciated - even though he won the AL Rookie of The Year he had to make the Topps All-Star Rookie cup at DH (the first and only time that has happened) because <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/aultdo01.shtml">Doug Aul</a>t beat him out at first base.<br />
<br />
Eddie was primarily a DH in 1977 because Lee May took more games at first but in essence it was a 1B/DH platoon between the two & the both produced.<br />
<br />
1978 Topps is a simple design. Classic white borders with pennant script for the team name. The design has you focus on the photograph and steps out of the way.<br />
<br />
Pictured is a BVG 9 'mint' example. Very strong centering. It's at auction right now with a starting bid a $275. It's certainly worth that but I doubt it was get any bids with that starting point.<br />
If this was a .99 cent auction I think you could fetch $330 with most bidders looking to cross it over to a PSA 10.<br />
<br />
One of my crazy hobby side projects is to obtain a PSA 9 or BVG 9 or better copies of this set.<br />
This would be the most expensive card in terms of book value but when you get into PSA registry wars - prices for even the likes of Doug Ault can be outrageous.<br />
<br />
<u>Editor's Note</u><br />
As predicted the card did not sell at an opening bid of $275 - It has been re listed with starting bid of $225. I'll predict once again that this opening bid will garner no action whatsoever.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-66825715457311169452011-12-09T03:02:00.000-08:002011-12-09T03:06:53.960-08:00Ron Santo: "This Is My Hall of Fame!"<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GUH170t8j2M/TuHpn8tpkuI/AAAAAAAAAKM/4d25xL_IGI0/s1600/santo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GUH170t8j2M/TuHpn8tpkuI/AAAAAAAAAKM/4d25xL_IGI0/s400/santo.png" width="233" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ron Santo is now a Hall of Fame player. I've never seen him play but I always knew the name. In that regard he is famous but just looking at <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/santoro01.shtml">the stats</a> this is a dubious distinction bestowed upon a very solid ball player. What's wrong with being just a solid ball player? Perennial All-Star? Perennial MVP Candidate? Wasn't that part of his job - to produce? Why couldn't people be content with Ron having his uniform number retired? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, the Hall of Fame is a business and they constantly need two things to happen. They need players and they need controversial issues. Otherwise, why would you be discussing one person's merits over another. However, the Ron Santo enshrinement is bad timing. First of all, during his entire life he was denied induction, rightfully so, by the writer's AND the veterans committee! Now, in comes a third vote process the<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"> Golden Era Committee </span>and kaboom - instant Hall of Famer.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How horrible to think that Ron Santo's best career move was to die? How misguided that this group of 16 voters think that somehow Ron will get wind of this information? It's more insulting than honoring. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the greater problem it develops, is that it gives hope to players, that they too, may get a key to the kingdom from the Golden Era Committee somewhere down the line. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">According to Bill James' HOF test where a likely HOF scores 100/50. Ron Santo waltzes in with 88/41. Is that the worse election ever? No, it's not, but it's without a doubt lowering the bar....again. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let me put this another way. If you added the 15 votes he got from the Golden Era Committee members to the 1998 Ballot the year Ron got his most votes he still would have fell 136 votes <i>short</i> of election. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here at First Ballot we accept the reality that he is in and we will now rectify the "HOF Class of 1980" to reflect that's when Ron Santo got in along side Al Kaline & Orlando Cepeda. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><u>About the Card</u></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm not a fan of this design. Never have been. It hasn't held up over time.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-1657681823051843612011-10-29T00:20:00.000-07:002011-10-29T00:45:31.219-07:001987 Fleer - They Did The Right Thing.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-moGyZRHXzY0/Tqun9bnK36I/AAAAAAAAAJc/8tWNuSKE9xs/s1600/img085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-moGyZRHXzY0/Tqun9bnK36I/AAAAAAAAAJc/8tWNuSKE9xs/s400/img085.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Spike Lee’s must –see seminal classic on urban society “Do The Right Thing” (1989) features a scene, in which, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7UZ9g8wvFI">Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> are being discussed in terms of which pitcher is better.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><b><u>About the Card</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Dwight Gooden and Roger Clemens were on the fast track to the hall of fame. Unfortunately, Gooden was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQF8CILMt8c.">drivin’ that train high on cocaine </a>and he derailed for good in 1994. Clemens had his own drug addiction to steroids. But in 1987, these guys were the premium pitchers in their respective leagues playing in the largest markets on winning teams. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">They met for the first time in the <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NLS/NLS198607150.shtml">1986 All-Star Game.</a> Fleer recognized an organic moment to make an additional card for both players. It worked really well. 1987 Fleer is known for it’s sky blue background. Never has been this color been so prominently used before. However, you'd think they get a shot of them without people in the background messing up the composition. <o:p></o:p></span></div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-58779085176872546942011-10-27T21:45:00.000-07:002011-10-28T10:50:48.819-07:00What we've got here is a 1993 Flair-ure to communicate.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFsSadXj8Kg/TqoyC9r7zzI/AAAAAAAAAJU/7d9tZGBz92I/s1600/93flairboggs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cFsSadXj8Kg/TqoyC9r7zzI/AAAAAAAAAJU/7d9tZGBz92I/s400/93flairboggs.png" width="245" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">One of the moves that directly led to the Yankees resurrection was the December 15</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">, 1992 free agent signing of <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boggswa01.shtml">Wade Boggs</a>.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">The Yankees gambled and left the popular Charlie Hayes exposed to the 1993 Expansion Draft and he was chosen by the Colorado Rockies leaving an opening at third.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">But George Steinbrenner’s hunch that a supposedly broken down 34-year-old Wade Boggs, coming off a career worse year, would be an upgrade over <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hayesch01.shtml">Charlie Hayes</a> - paid off. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Headed into 1993, a lifetime Red Sox who doubled as a thorn in the side of Mattingly’s batting titles coming to join the Yankees to win a ring wasn’t as weird a proposition, as you would imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Boggs wouldn’t had been available had he had his regular year. It was a good bet that Boggs would bounce back.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">The Yankees upgraded the third base position from Charlie Hayes .297 OBA to Wade Boggs .378 OBA. Not only that, but Boggs’ presence on the team led to career high in OBA for <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/o'neipa01.shtml">Paul O’Niell</a>, <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stanlmi02.shtml">Mike Stanley</a> and he dramatically effected <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mattido01.shtml">Don Mattingly</a> and <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jamesdi01.shtml">Dion James</a>’ OBA as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><b><u>About the Card</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">In 1993 Fleer gambled as well. They entered the super-premium card market with Flair.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">What they got right was the card stock and the glare. The thickest and glossiest card ever made. They also came packaged in cool miniature cardboard boxes that had the cards wrapped inside cellophane as well. It was fun to open. What they got wrong was the design. First of all, we are presented with photos that appear to be taken at spring training the give away is the background. Secondly, we get an in game shot with a super imposed close up action shot but it’s uniformly really bad use of space. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Boggs nose is touching his elbow. Huh? Thirdly, can someone make sense of the first letter of the last name being emphasized in script and in larger front to correlate with the Flair logo? I can’t. Fourth point is there wasn’t a notable rookie to obtain or great chase card. All in all, Flair never rose to the heights of Finest or SP.</span></div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-90429603756714109542011-10-25T01:57:00.000-07:002011-10-25T16:32:20.647-07:001995 Zenith, Rookie Roll Call. A TOUGH INSERT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS7oumzLDwE/TqZwOn7FPQI/AAAAAAAAAJM/nwic-IAhPI8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-25+at+1.10.56+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JS7oumzLDwE/TqZwOn7FPQI/AAAAAAAAAJM/nwic-IAhPI8/s400/Screen+shot+2011-10-25+at+1.10.56+AM.png" width="250" /></a></div>In August 1995, Pinnacle rolled out their new brand Zenith. It was produced to compete with the likes of Flair, Select, SP and Finest. The name is conspicuously redundant because Zenith means the same thing as Pinnacle.<br />
<br />
It was the <i>28th different</i> brand released that year. To think, Topps was shitting their pants over <i>one </i>competitor twenty years earlier. Fuck you Topps for being anti-free market capitalists with your bogus monopoly now and then.<br />
<br />
If you count all insert sets from 1995 you get a grand total of 184 different sets.<br />
<br />
1995 Zenith had <i>three distinctive</i> insert sets and the Rookie Roll Call is considered the second toughest because it seeds at a 1:24 ratio which in turn was 1 per box. Because the set includes 18 players the odds of pulling any one particular player was 1:432<br />
<br />
That's a tough pull. But aside from the ratio, the fact of the matter is, cases of Zenith are still unopened. It's not like this was flying off the shelf. When the base card highlight was a Japanese-version of a Hideo Nomo card you're in trouble. Point is, this product is fairly uncirculated. <a href="http://www.checkoutmycards.com/Cards/Baseball,=1995+zenith+rookie+roll+call">Check Out My Cards </a>doesn't have any raw A-Rods available.<br />
<br />
I like this insert set a lot. The player selection at the time was right on the money. In hindsight the only players missed from this set were <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/anderga01.shtml">Garret Anderson</a> and <i>possible</i> future HOF player <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pettian01.shtml">Andy Pettitte</a>. Pinnacle used a double side Dufex process on these cards. They look and feel great. Pictured here is, remarkably, a GEM MINT 9.5 copy!! I would not classify 1995 Zenith as condition sensitive but the way they were packed in the box left the corners in a precarious position exposed for dings. This slab is currently on eBay for a Buy It Now of $199.99 which is absurd. That will not move at that price. I have it on my watch list and hopefully the seller will come to his senses and drop that price significantly or put it up for auction. I'd go as high as $35.00.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-64161490291174567142011-10-07T21:28:00.000-07:002011-10-09T16:46:46.361-07:00Johnny Damon limboing his way into Cooperstown.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FhbxC8zrsCQ/To_HZJ87MEI/AAAAAAAAAI4/txnJ4aLAvkg/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-09-27+at+8.59.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FhbxC8zrsCQ/To_HZJ87MEI/AAAAAAAAAI4/txnJ4aLAvkg/s640/Screen+shot+2011-09-27+at+8.59.32+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>On<a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL201109130.shtml"> September 13, 2011</a> Johnny Damon <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2011/06/1981-topps-and-johnny-damons-attempt-to.html">once again</a> finds himself on a list populated with immortal players. Damon became the ninth player in MLB history to hit 200 homers and steal 400 bags.<br />
How did he find a common ground this time with the legendary Rickey Henderson? Easy. All Damon had to do was not steal an extra 1,006 bases and hit 68 less home runs. How is it possible that Barry Bonds and Johnny Damon would be in a club that only has nine members? Simple. All you have to do is take away 533 home runs and 112 stolen bases from Bonds.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_jVRC2Z9eVM/To_O3k_h1wI/AAAAAAAAAJA/6sXcIeOunPc/s1600/img009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_jVRC2Z9eVM/To_O3k_h1wI/AAAAAAAAAJA/6sXcIeOunPc/s400/img009.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>It's still mind boggling that Rickey Henderson was not an unanimous selection into the Hall of Fame. In fact, 28 baseball writers felt he wasn't worthy of that distinction. What an embarrassment. <br />
<br />
Back in 1986, Rickey Henderson was one the premier players in all of baseball. Nothing like him before or since. 1986 Donruss decided to capture his all around greatness with a headshot as he's leaving a spring training game.<br />
<br />
A testament for his knack to scoring runs, he had a career low OBA of .358 but <i>still </i>led the league with 130 runs scored.<br />
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Growing up in Manhattan, I saw Rickey play in person many times. He was truly a force.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-65238647680344928442011-10-05T20:35:00.000-07:002011-10-06T16:02:06.703-07:001981 Topps: The Empire Strikes Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74tPPpHjTs0/To0guTej37I/AAAAAAAAAIw/pdiJtNeyons/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+6.12.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74tPPpHjTs0/To0guTej37I/AAAAAAAAAIw/pdiJtNeyons/s400/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+6.12.59+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Prior to in-depth statistical reference books, the back of a baseball card was where you found the raw stats from the year before.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">On top of his drinking problem, Eck pitched with a bad back the entire year of 1980. For the first time in his career (looking solely at the basic numbers) Eck had a bad season.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">Not found on the baseball card was that his ERA + had dropped from averaging 129 throughout his career to 99.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">And just 50% of his starts qualified as quality.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">It was a down year for Eck but Topps made it look spectacular by capturing his Darth Vader helmet hairdo!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">The 1980 Boston Red Sox featured four other future hall of famers: Carlton Fisk, Tony Perez, Jim Rice, & Carl Yastrzemski. I assume aside from Yaz, no one was thinking they were watching five future HOF's when watching this team play.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';"><u>About The Card</u></span><br />
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</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">1981 Topps was the first set I was truly serious about collecting. My dad even made room on his bookshelf so I can stack my cards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">I’ve written about this set <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2011/05/1981-topps-real-onenot-really.html">here</a>, <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2011/06/1981-topps-and-johnny-damons-attempt-to.html">here</a> & <a href="http://firstballot.blogspot.com/2010/11/1981the-dawn-of-new-era.html">here</a>. B</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande';">y virtue of my age, it’s one of my favorite Topps set. I missed out winning this slab on eBay but I didn’t go full bore for it because I rather submit my own copy. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-84322285086570231442011-07-21T02:39:00.000-07:002011-07-22T03:44:09.403-07:001974 Topps & The New All Time Home Run King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hWpRnppmZM/TifqO7Ox8BI/AAAAAAAAAIc/BmklQwi-1ZI/s1600/74toppshank.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_hWpRnppmZM/TifqO7Ox8BI/AAAAAAAAAIc/BmklQwi-1ZI/s400/74toppshank.png" width="248" /></a></div>Although the record books has the incomparable Barry Bonds atop the career Home Run list the majority of baseball fans ignore that bit of accounting. In the hearts and minds of the casual fan Hank Aaron is <i>still </i>the Home Run King. What's cool about this card is that it was printed and released PRIOR to Hank actually breaking the record. Topps wasn't going out on much of a limb. It was inevitable that Hank would break it but it's cool they acknowledged it as the first card and made it his base card too.<br />
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It's a great design. How come the whole set wasn't this graphic?<br />
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As far as the condition of this particular card it could be argued that you're looking at a minor miracle. Thankfully, it's now housed in a Beckett slab. Currently, there are 25 copies listed on <a href="http://checkoutmycards.com/">checkoutmycards.com</a> ranging from $9.00 - $40.00 with only 3 showing 50/50 centering. But even those are only good to excellent condition. Graders at PSA and Beckett both weigh centering the most because of how it effects the overall eye appeal of a card. However, centering is the one aspect that is completely out of the collector's hand. PSA's solution was to incorporate 'qualifiers' such as OC but Beckett didn't want to deviate from the notion that somewhere in this great big world there exists a perfect copy of any ole card. In this case, they were proven correct. It's hard to imagine how this card came to be. I would guess it was sitting in an unopened pack until recent history. Considering this was the way cards were handled (pic below) back in 1974 it's still a minor miracle that it ended up in this condition.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nOqjQfjDSI/TifzcWjK43I/AAAAAAAAAIg/krdr7rofqZk/s1600/1974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3nOqjQfjDSI/TifzcWjK43I/AAAAAAAAAIg/krdr7rofqZk/s320/1974.JPG" width="294" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In a bit of good timing a BVG 9 example of this card just went to auction at eBay from Superior Investments. I'll watch it to see where it ends up. My prediction is $375.85. The Gem Mint is owned by Pristine Paper and they are asking for $10,000.00 which I think is too high. But at least we can see a nice gauge of things. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3623754139025241992.post-21548752421919502102011-07-16T01:45:00.000-07:002011-07-16T01:51:26.642-07:001968 Topps. Reach for the Stargell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0NHBdQvbS30/TiFF_KSuU_I/AAAAAAAAAIU/zlZ7jY4ItUw/s1600/68tstargell.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0NHBdQvbS30/TiFF_KSuU_I/AAAAAAAAAIU/zlZ7jY4ItUw/s400/68tstargell.png" width="236" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;">1968 is one of the most volatile years in America history. The 1968 Topps design reflects absolutely no notion of change. It's tweed! The psychedelic counterculture in full bloom did not penetrate anyone at Topps. If you were to judge what was taking place in the country based on this design you would guess no better than everyone is comfortable at home eating TV dinners, right? The only thing subversive about this card is that Stargell plays for the "Pirates". I still don't get what this team nickname has to do with baseball. Anyhow, this copy is a stunning gem mint. How it stayed in this condition for over 40 years is an answer you would only get tripping on Lysergic acid diethylamide.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Even baseball itself got caught up in the winds of change. After the 1968 season baseball had to lower the mound by 4.5 inches to give the hitter's a chance. Apparently, most teams had raised their mounds past the regular height of 15 inches which in effect killed all the offense. After the mound was lowered and enforced to be a standard 10.5 inches modern day baseball was born. </div><br />
Stargell had the dismal yet relative OPS of .757 in 1968. The following year he posts the Hall Of Famish OPS of .938! Baseball had literally leveled the playing field.First Ballothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17373573367480413109noreply@blogger.com1