Insane Game Last Night!Mets Clinch!

Needless to say ,today was a good day.All because of last nights Mets victory over the Reds to clinch the NL East.I've been wrecking my brain a little ,trying to determine who the team MVP should be.And then It hit me.It's really a no brainer imo.Jeurys the Damaja!Jeurys Familia for those not hip to NY City 90's Hip Hop.With 42 saves on the season,there's no telling where this team would be right now had It not been for Familia stepping up big and taking over the closer spot when Mejia tested positive for PED's.If you were to take away just a quarter of the total amount of  saves from Familia this year, I'm not so sure we end up In first.He's the unsung hero that never got alot of headlines,and should have.A gentle giant on the mound,Familia shows minimal emotion out there after every save,but manages to get the job done whenever called upon .The truth Is,every Met gave It their all this year and this division win was truly a team effort. Now I can relax and stop checking my phone compulsively for score updates until playoff time :)

1975 TCMA Gehrig /DiMaggio Card Plus Panini Oddities

This TCMA Yankees World Champions card was given to me by a friend a while back.I don't know much about them ,but from what I've researched ,there were sets of these produced  starting as early as 1972. They're pretty odd actually and are about the size of your standard postcards.Maybe someone out there with a couple years on me remembers them,cuz I sure don't. Still a pretty cool piece to own.

These next couple of pics are of some Panini stickers that were given to my mom by our neighbor who shortly after ,passed away.They seem to be from the 60's era but I'm not so sure about It.Any help In identifying them would be mucho appreciated!

Singles Only

A few of my latest pick ups include  a couple of  catchers In Molina and Posey,a beast named  Bryce and monster closer ,Jeurys Familia.  

I've been trying to corrall  some of Molinas earlier cardboard.The other day on Evilbay ,I stumbled across this 2005 Donruss Studio beauty!I'm still on the look out for his  rookie.

I have developed an admiration  for any established star's rookie cup Topps card. Maybe It's more of an addiction as I've got a few others cued up on Ebay as I type.I still need rookies of both Harper and Posey.

Familia has been lights out with the Mets this season.I would have never thought that he'd emerge as one of the leagues most dominant closers . Glad I was able to snag up a Familia rookie of the chrome kind. 

Boring RC's

How did such big name stars end up with such bland looking rookie cards?Take this 84 Mattingly for instance.Pretty iconic now,but that doesn't negate the "meh" appeal.It's just a head shot.If the Donruss photographer would have panned down we might have seen him swinging three bats,shagging a pop fly or juggling grenades,but we'll never know exactly what feats of awesomeness the Hit Man was performing at the time of that pic.Then again,who knows,he was probably just scratching his butt.

Here's another great example.Hall of Famer Craig Biggio must have been coaching third base when Topps decided to snap this pic.It doesn't get anymore hum drum than this.

The supposed lure of the 2001 Fleer Tradition card was the blurred action shot to the right or sometimes left of the depicted players head shot.I have this whole set and Tex Is the only card In the bunch that Is missing that action shot.What happened?I think this would have been a nice RC of Teixeira but the pronounced omission makes It just another boring head shot.  

Will The Real "Bash Brothers" Please Stand Up!

If you were a fan of the A's back In the 80's ,or at least followed baseball,you know who the real "Bash Brothers" were . After Canseco was traded for Sierra ,the moniker should have been left alone.Ruben was ,at best, a second cousin.A "Bash Brother",not so much. Don't get me wrong,I like Ruben Sierra.He was a power switch hitting right fielder with a cannon for an arm,but Sierra had some really big shoes to fill and he wasn't about to supplant Canseco.To be honest ,I'm not sure what Upper Deck was thinking with this card. I'm not so sure Sierra wasn't well received In Oakland and anointed the new "Bash Brother".After the trade I cut the A's off and pretty much lost touch with  anything Oakland A's related.Back to the card.I like It,but It Is far from apropos.

                                   P.S. Sierra was totally photo shopped into this picture

FAIL!

PASS!

Catcher Collection Part 1

Through the years,I've learned to appreciate the many different aspects of Major League Baseball.As a kid I enjoyed watching  hulking corner outfielders blast pitch after pitch out of the stratosphere.I loved a good offensive match up between two teams that were stacked with power hitters.  Then,as I got older ,I began to appreciate small ball.The match ups within the match up.The lanky , almost goth like 7 footer throwing heat past the big bad bully with a bat who's sole intention Is to return that delivery back and preferably past the sender.The crafty "Rembrandt" who reminded us all that nothing buckles the knees of a 235 pound giant  better than a well placed curve-ball .But It wasn't until a Cardinal game I watched In 2013,where then rookie Shelby Miller, one hit  the Rockies,that I realized what a young pitcher could accomplish with a solid catcher at the helm.Of course It was none other than Yadier Molina behind the plate that night,and Shelby wasted no time In giving Yadi  credit- "I feel really good," Miller said. "It's definitely the best game I've thrown in my life. How it finished was unbelievable. It was a great experience. Yadi (catcher Yadier Molina) was calling a great game and they were making great plays for me. It was a start I'll remember the rest of my life." That's when I realized the beauty of a well called game!That's when I truly began to appreciate the catcher position In baseball. Now,Shelby gets most of the credit here,as he was executing pitch after pitch flawlessly and ultimately got credited with the win.But I saw this game In It's entirety.I watched Yadi move In and out and side to side on hitters like  a crouched square dancer.I saw him peak In on guys to make sure they weren't peaking,making snap throws all the  while keeping young Shelby Miller working,  and It was all so damn intriguing!Catchers,well most good ones, are  stoic leaders.They don't show much emotion and most of the time are the ones hurting the most on the field.Some beat you strategically while others choose to use their cannons to gun down the opposition.Some have both  capabilities...yikes!Long story short,I've decided to put together a small collection of  catcher cards.All cards must depict the catcher In his gear ,that's It.While I prefer the full body shots of them throwing,pretty much any geared up catcher card will make the cut.Also,the majority of the cards shown will be of back ups .Big named catchers will be featured In a special All-Star edition post.

Celebrating The Undervalued and Quite Often Underrated Second Year Card

While alot of  Topps second year cards featured the All -Star Rookie cup ,many,equally great,alternate brand second year cards didn't.The Davis '86 Donruss comes to mind. I'm still partial to the rookie cups , though.It ranks up there with the Donruss's Rated Rookie logo.I don't think Fleer ever came out with any kind of logo or design dedicated to rookies and /or second year players.At least none that I can remember off the top of my head.

What the hell happened to Wally Joyner?!?

The Force Is Strong With This One !

Don't Call It A Comeback! (Nightowl Inspired)

Andre Ethier was a beast.A quiet,unassuming talent who let his bat do all the talking.And he still Is,quiet,unassuming ,only this time around his bat hasn't been doing much talking.But as of late,things seem to be coming together again for the 2 time All-Star who placed 6th In the MVP voting back In '09.Last year,In 341  at  bats ,Ethier  hit all but  4 homers and drove In a scant 42  runs.This year ,however, Ethier has bounced back ,not all the way back,but back,nonetheless.He's already got 9 more homers than last year ,and he's done that in fewer at bats.The RBI total Is about the same but he's upped his OBP. from .322 last year to .373 In 2015.Not only that but he's helped his first place Dodgers stay afloat In the N.L. west  by hitting .329 with 3 HR and 9 RBI In his last 30 games.But don't call It a comeback,Ethier has been here for years!