The Papers,The Papers!

I don't know about you but as a kid ,the sound of  Baseball Tonight bumper music playing In the distance meant It was time for me to plant my butt in front of  our living room television set to get filled In  on whatever It was that took place In baseball that day.Of course ,without the internet and the never ending stream of instant sports news and media,there was always that void.That space between the morning edition of Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight .Both shows gave you ample  information on the goings on In baseball that day ,but none of It was tangible.One had to rely solely on memory to run back last nights episode to   anyone who may have missed It.

So what did an 80's kid living In an internet-less world  do to get the 411 on his favorite team? I present to you ....the newspaper!

Prior to this copy ,I hadn't read the sports section of a newspaper In over 20 years!I've yet to pick up another paper ,since.Which begs the question.Do kids still read the sports section?Does anybody?I highly doubt It.

When was the last time you picked up the newspaper to check out the sports section?

My Childhood Sandlot Park!

I got to reminiscing the other day about my childhood sandlot park.I got an idea to swing back by for old times sake and snap a few pics for the blog,but decided not to.The neighborhood isn't as nice as It used to be and I'm streetwise enough  NOT to  be out there, carelessly snapping pics .Fortunately Google has no qualms about It!I took to Google Maps and from the safety of my desk and PC , took screenshots of  my old stomping grounds!Is this even legal?Not sure but for nostalgia's sake, here goes nothing!I present to you...Bay St. Park!


Here's the side view along the Left Field line .

Here's the front view,behind homeplate. That makeshift garden  Is new and was non existent  back when we played there as kids.Those gates on the far right side were always locked .We'd have to squeeze In between the master-locked chains In order to gain access.Most of us lived right on this street.

 Here's an overhead view. Isn't that beautiful?!?There really weren't any foul lines or even a diamond for that matter .That fence is about 15 ft. tall surrounding the entire park.It was our version of The Green Monster.We just decided how far apart the bases would be and placed them accordingly.

I diagrammed It out so you could see how we set up the playing field.As we got a little older ,we actually started hitting balls over the 15 ft. fence If you can believe It ,lol!Damn,good times!  

Poor Royal Cleaners :(  They got the worst of It.Not only did we manage to shatter their windows but also cars driving by would get the unsuspecting drive by balling LOL!Most of the time they'd just keep driving but there were times when we'd get chased off the field by angry drivers.So much fun ,though!I still get a little choked up every time I happen to drive by It.I'll tell you this,Bay St. Park will forever be a part of me.Thank you!   

Recent Pick Ups

I still get a kick out of collecting rookie cards.But why?What's the psychology behind It?I could tell you why I did It as a kid.In price guides ,rookie cards were always worth the most.So naturally,rookie cards were what I looked forward to pulling when opening packs upon packs of 1989 Topps. I couldn't get enough of those Future Stars cards.Even though  I sometimes hoped my  more prominent rookie cards  would accrue value over time,I lived In the present ,concentrating more on what kinds of immediate returns I could get via trades with friends and other collectors.

As I got older I became more of a prospector.I'd pick up lesser valued rookies In hopes of them making an impact In the majors.That only worked once for me.I picked up a 1990 Topps Major League Debut Sammy Sosa card for  fifty cents ,years before the home-run barrages.Note to self-Find my 1990 Topps Major League Debut  Sammy Sosa card.I'm sure It's still floating around somewhere In my dilapidated collection.

Today ,the RC  Is still my favorite kind of card to collect.That's a good thing  seeing as how Topps has decided to slap the RC logo on EVERYTHING!It's whatever ,I guess. I don't prospect anymore.I'm kind of a front runner waiting to see If a player develops into something good  his first couple of MLB seasons before  snatching up their rookie cards.My most recent pick ups will attest to that.

I'm way late to the Ohtani party.That's cool,though,because showing up to the party late means smaller crowds and less raucous. Juuust how I like it ;)

What Is It with Philly and their influx of stud first baseman?I knew Hoskins would be something special  early In his career.Ironically ,I have him paired up with division rival and newly acquired Met Marcus Stroman. 

My Favorite 9 Right Now - Updated

To quote one of my favorite M.C. 's ,and probably the best that ever did it, Rakim "It's been a long time..." The fact of the matter Is that I'm not really collecting cards anymore.At least ,not the way I used to.I don't buy packs anymore and It's only once In a blue moon that a particular player will strike my fancy enough for me to go online and pick up his cards.I will,however,pick up any Mets players ,especially homegrown guys,that make  MLB impact.Hence the reason for this quick update.As you can see Peter Alonso ,Jeff McNeil and Keith Hernandez have all made their way into my Favorite 9 card sheet  ,while the elusive Cespedes ,injury prone Bryant and Ultra Pro Canseco have been voted off the island.

Also ,quoting another one of my all time favorite M.C's ,Big Pun ,even though "I'm Not A Player" anymore ,I still appreciate the game.I still love looking at baseball cards and look forward to seeing new card designs every year.There is just so much out there - online exclusives, parallels ,variations- that I just can't keep up with  anymore. I'll never stop being interested In baseball cards,but I refuse to let It drive me batty either.Ironic how the "overproduction" era of baseball cards , was a much simpler time. 

Starting Lineup Figure Of The Day

Mark McGwire

Arms Like Benito Santiago ,Check!

I remember looking at this 1988 Topps San Diego Padres Leaders card with my friends as a kid and being awestruck by the way Benito Santiago's veins popped out of his arms!I remember telling  my friends "When I get older,I'm gonna have arms just like that!Just like Benito Santiago!"

And so today ,while washing the dishes,I realized something!I have arms just like Benito Santiago!I know ,this looks more like an Anthony Wiener skin pic  but It's not.This Is my arm, I can assure you.

But ,yeah!Childhood wish fulfilled!Unfortunately,I do not own this card.I had to snatch this image  up off Google for this post.Which reminds me,I need more 1988 Topps baseball In my life.Especially this card. 

Captain Caveman

I've already come to grips with the strong possibility of  another failed Mets season. Syndergaard Is one poor outing away from being placed on the IL. Matz and Vargas have been decommissioned leaving  Degrom,Wheeler and whatever minor league pitcher gets called up to fend for themselves.Someone forgot to tell Mets newly appointed GM Van Wagenen that he was getting 60 year old Cano and not 23 year old Cano and Mickey  Callaway is one losing streak away from being told to go thataway.Not all Is lost ,though.Young guns like Jeff McNeil and Peter Alonso have been a blast to watch.Speaking of "blasts".Have you gotten the chance to catch a Peter Alonso bomb?If not,ya should.Even If your not a Mets fan.I liken Alonso to a neanderthal swinging one of those giant Captain Caveman clubs.In fact,that should be his new nickname.

Jump ahead to the 1:00 mark to watch Captain Caveman's hitting display!

It's crazy how this Is Alonso's first year In the bigs and already he has  ,like, a gazillion cards !I figured why not start his PC  with this Bowman trio ,starting with his first year 2016 card followed by his 2017 and 2018 cards. 

Recent Pick Ups

I know.It's way too early.With my luck he'll go 0 for the rest of the season and these cards won't be worth the paper they're printed on.That said,right now their Is very little not to like about the Mets young utility man turned everyday player  Jeff McNeil.Or should I refer to  him as "The Squirrel" ,his newly appointed nickname.Which is probably the only thing I hate about McNeil these days.The kid can hit.He proved It towards the end of  last season and It's carried over into spring training and this  season.There was a point  this year where he got a little homer happy but he's gone back to slashing and hitting line drives which Is really his bread and butter.He was  a .300 plus hitter pretty much his entire career In the minors.I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do throughout the course of a whole season In the majors.

Next we have a PSA 8 1986 Fleer  Update Canseco. I would have preferred an 86 Donruss graded but for now this will do.It's certainly In better shape than the current 86 Fleer Update Canseco I have now,so It's an upgrade.

And last but not least,an impulse buy. I've taken a liking to PSA 8 cards. They are super cheap and  In great condition. I think I paid like 3 bucks for this Gonzalez ,and why not?The guy was a stud and I thought it'd be cool to have something graded. HOF?Maybe not but It could be close.

2,591 Hits

354 Homeruns

.283 Average

.360 OBP

5X All Star

Does Gonzalez make the hall?Sound off In the comment section. I mean, your at my pub .What better place to chop It up  about baseball :)

   

My Favorite Starting Lineup Card Design (1992 Starting Lineup)

I wish I could wax poetic about the reasons why this particular card design tickles my fancy ,but I kind of suck at that,so I won't.In fact I'm not entirely sure why I like these so much.Maybe It's the 80's Trapper Keeper borders.Pardon my french but It's fucking mesmerizing! They also give off that little league ,friendly, baseball card vibe.It's like the camera man said "Hey ,smile!These cards are for kids Starting Lineup action figures!" And the players responded "Oh,Starting Lineups? Cool,CHEEEEZE!"

The backs of most Starting Lineup cards have pretty much remained a constant over the years.Full career stats followed by a facsimile autograph.If anything these were great references when/if determining whether  a players auto was real or fake. Nolan Ryan's career was so lengthy they barely had space for his autograph.  

What do you guys think?What's your favorite Starting Lineup card design?And will you be voting for creepy Joe Biden If he runs In 2020?

Starting Lineup Figure Of The Day

Andres Galarraga

More Mets Vintage

Forgive my lengthy breaks between posts .Being that I'm also a toy and game enthusiast ,baseball cards sometimes take a back seat.That said,I try to make time for all three hobbies ,although, these days gaming hasn't been as fun as It used to be. As far as baseball cards go,I haven't bought a pack In about three years.I definitely gotta get back on my game.Anyways ,these vintage Mets cards have been In my possession for months now,just haven't gotten around to scanning them.I'm most excited about the Grote card but not sold on it's authenticity.The back looks super bright and clean.The seller said It was legit and the fact that It cost me a buck pretty much makes It a moot point.Real or not real ,It's a Jerry Grote card.A card that my dad would be pretty excited to see one day.

Starting Lineup Figure Of The Day

Dave Stewart

The 69 Mets

I'm a Mets fan.That said,I have to come clean and admit  to not knowing much about NY Mets baseball pre 1986.I know the basics.In 69 we pulled off a World Series win with pitching and defense.But as far as who the major contributors were that year...<crickets>   .I hear a lot of names being tossed around by Gary,Keith and Ron during live broadcasts along with the sporadic in game interviews ,but I never did the leg work to research any of these players.Save for guys like Seaver and Ryan, I'm pretty clueless when It comes to the Miracle Mets. My dad was the main reason for this post.  Every so often we'll be In the middle of a Syndergaard or McNeil conversation and he'll start digressing,bringing up a bunch of 60's Mets players.We used to be able to stay on topic but now more than ever it seems as though his heart is with the NY Mets of 2019 ,but his mind is stuck on  that famed,1969 team.He did It again the other day .We were talking about our catcher situation this year and somehow the name Grote came up.Other random names like Kranepool,Harrelson and some guy named Tommy Aigee also got brought up. It was then that I thought to myself "This 77 year old  man  has memories of one of the most historical time periods in baseball.Intangible ,priceless and personal mementos that Beckett could only hope to slab and grade.I should be paying attention!"I quickly took to the internet to look up the 69 Mets!

Quick side-notes. In 1969, The Beatles performed live for the last time up on the rooftop  of their multimedia corporation Apple Corps at 4 Savile Row.

Did you know that 1969 marked the first time man set foot on the moon?It took place on July 20th.Little did Met fans know ,this would pale In comparison to the feat their beloved team would accomplish just a few months later.  

 And..Was Bryan Adams a Mets fan?

              I did some research , looked up some of the main guys on that roster In 1969 .Again,I knew who the players were ,just not their stat lines and numbers.It turns out most of those guys on that team had good numbers but not great. They weren't really big time all stars ,just a solid ,cohesive bunch that delivered when It mattered.Hence the miraculous comeback during the season of 1969 to overtake the Cubs In the N.L. East ,ultimately heading to the World Series and winning with a solid show of  pitching ,fielding and clutch hitting.After soaking In some highlight videos on YouTube ,I think Swoboda would have been my favorite player back then. He was In the middle of a lot of pivotal plays and made a ton of great catches.

                Of course ,now I needed some baseball cards!After doing a little perusing on eBay ,I was able to find some really cheap Met  cards from that era.Not In the best condition but what the heck.To say that I'm In love with these vintage beauties would be an understatement.I'm still waiting on a Clendenon and Grote but for now this Is what I've snagged up for the old Mets binder!

Starting Lineup Figure Of The Day

George Brett

Breaking The Seal On A 2005 Ryan Howard Etopps Card!

I'm not quite sure what happened with etopps. The site allowed you to collect cards and store them  In a virtual portfolio or  have a physical copy of the card delivered to you for a small shipping fee.I loved the service and actually still have a card In my portfolio waiting to be shipped.I currently have about 15 In-hand etopps cards In my collection ,stashed  In a small section of  our linen closet  designated for  cards and other baseball related ephemera. The other day,while grabbing a new set of clean sheets ,I accidentally dropped a couple of them on the floor.One of them was this 2005 Ryan Howard .I've broken the seal on these once before, just never documented it.This time I've got the pics to prove It ;)

This Is what the card looks like ,encased.Just a nice,all around solid product.Not pictured  Is the separate card  with the print run and serial number,an added touch that softened the blow of  dropping 14 bucks on the card after shipping. Still.ya gotta love the presentation!

This ,my friends ,Is the infamous etopps seal of authenticity!Dun,dun,dunnnn!

I was hoping for It to peel right off,as It does on most etopps cards,so I could put the card back in the case but as you can see I made a little bit  of a mess.

 Once the seal Is removed ,you'll have to slightly pry the lower part of It open by unsnapping It.

                                                                          And VOILA!

 The protective case Is totally reusable.A little bit of alcohol should help In removing the access gunk left behind by the problematic etopps seal .

As for the card?Aesthetically ,the picture quality could have been a little better.It doesn't come across In the pics but  Howard's looking a little  blurry. Although,It might have been what they were going for  seeing as how they went with television esque scan lines for the background.The card Is  thicker than your average base cards  , with a  plastic feel to it.It's hard to describe . 

            I was surprised to see that the etopps logo wasn't embossed like they are  on other releases.

The serial number Is on an etopps sticker which Is located on the backs of the cards. Not a lot to show stat wise as Howard had yet to break Into the majors.

Did any of you guys collect etopps?If so,What's your take on them and the service In general?

Starting Lineup Figure Of The Day

Dave Parker

Collecting Cards Of Keith As A Card

Looking through my Mets binder the other day,I came to the realization that I was gonna need more Keith Hernandez In my collection.And then I came to another realization .Keith only played 7 years with the Mets ,spending the bulk of his 17 year career with the Cardinals.After scouring the net for Keith Hernandez cards ,I found myself liking his Cardinals cards more than his Mets cards.Hard to believe that he started his career way back In 1975.In his 1976 Topps  card ,you wouldn't even know It was Hernandez If It wasn't for his name tag on the bottom of the card.This has catapulted way up to my top 5 favorite cards list.

 Safe to say,I am now collecting cards of Keith as  a Card.

The Can Stash!

Ya Know What I Miss..?

1984 Topps Andy Van Slyke

Those of you who collected baseball cards post 1980's will never know about the investigatory process that took place every time a new wax pack got ripped. Take today's rookie cards for instance.You know when you pull a rookie card because of  the "rc" label ,right?Such was not the case back In our days.No siree !Most 80's Topps rookie cards looked just like the base card of a 12 year veteran.Occasionally you'd get a future stars card depicting three of the teams/leagues brightest rookies ,but that didn't stop Topps from giving first year players their own ,individual cards.And that's when the profiler In all of us kicked In. Hmmmm?Who Is this guy?I've never heard of him.He's not an established star.He looks rather young.I need answers.I'd better flip the card around.And that ,my friends,was how we would ultimately come to the realization that the card we held In our hand was ,indeed ,a rookie card.The backs of our baseball cards told the story.The list of minor league seasons followed by that solitary major league season  was all the evidence we needed.If his career numbers matched that one major league season on the card back stat roll  then BINGO,we had ourselves a rookie card!Assuming you knew the difference between minor and major league teams (you don't know how many kids got shafted that way).That ,to me,was always a fun part of the hobby.The digging.Investigating.I miss that.