2009 Topps U & H

I just started working on these a couple weeks ago. Since then I have bought a couple blasters as well as some 50 card packs. Have some good stuff here too. I've added this set to my want list as well. Please help where you can.

Thought I would start with the patch cards. One for each of the 3 blasters boxes I bought. I'm not sure how to feel about these. On one hand, I like the way they look and I like that they are older players. But they're not real. They are just remakes of patches. It's not like these were actually on Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks and Stan Musial's jerseys at any point. So I'm torn. I appreciate them for what they are though. Remakes of patches for another time, I guess.

Next we have the propaganda series. I absolutely love these. I have to get this whole set. It doesn't help that the first one I got was David Wright. These cards have a great look and its a different type of subset. Definitely have to get all of these. Wait did I say that already? Don't care, I want them. (In case you couldn't tell) Interesting that the Mets one says Victory is Imminent.

Alright anyone who reads this blog or even just this post for that matter, knows that I am a Met fan. And as a Met fan I obviously hate the Yankees. However, I think this is one of my favorite cards that I own. The New York Rockers? This is awesome. Swisher and Damon devil horns!!! This is better than an electron card or even the Milky Way! (PS this is called sarcasm) I do love the card though.

Pulled this one out of one of the Blasters as well. This one definitely put a smile on my face. Always great to get a short print. Speaker made it into the Hall of Fame in its second year. Finishing his career with a .345 batting average, 3514 hits and 3 World Series Championships under his belt. He ranks first in career doubles, first in outfield assists, fifth in lifetime batting average, fifth in hits, sixth in triples and eighth in career runs. One hell of an all-around player.

Got this beauty in a 50 pack. The local card shop had 3 left so i bought all 3. I didn't know that Sandberg was originally with the F'n Phils. (As I like to call them) Not that I'm bitter or anything. He looks much better in a Cubs uniform. He probably burned that Philly uniform first chance he got. Last card is another one from a 50 pack and was the best of the haul.

Tim Lincecum Black. 45 of 58. This one really made me happy. Opened it right in the card shop with Steve, formally of The Easy Life. I got one Black last year but it was Manny Acta. Why the hell would they even make a Manny Acta black? Seriously, that was like a big F.U. from topps. This on the other hand is much better. 2 time Cy Young winner, who's star is on the rise. Hey when does he become a free agent? The Mets really need pitching. HA! Lincecum is the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen to win the Cy-Young in his second year in the league. Gooden with the Mets and Saberhagen later becoming a Met, think about it. Its your destiny Lince.

TTM - Mark Williamson

Today I have a new TTM for my list, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Mark Williamson. Thanks Mark.

Mark was born July 21st, 1959 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 12th round of the 1981 amateur draft. He did not sign with the club. He was drafted again the following year in the 1982 draft by the San Diego Padres in the 4th round.

He played in the Padres minor league system before being traded to the Baltimore Orioles with Terry Kennedy for Storm Davis in October, 1986. Mark was called up to the majors the following year at the age of 27. He played in his first major league game on April 8, 1987 taking the loss 6-4 against the Texas Rangers. Williamson pitched 1.2 innings giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks with no strike outs. He went on to finish the year with a record of 8-9 with a 4.03 ERA.

Mark had his best MLB run from 1989 to 1990. In 1989 he finished the season with a 10-5 record and a 2.93 ERA. In 1990 he came back and ended the season with a 8-2 record with a 2.21 ERA.

Mark played his entire MLB career with the Orioles from 1987 - 1994, finishing his career with a record of 46 - 35, an ERA of 3.86, and 397 strike outs and 21 saves. The highlight of his career occured on July 13, 1991 when he pitched a combined no hitter with Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, and Gregg Olson against the Oakland A's.

2004 Topps Crack Jack

Let me start off by saying I love this set. About a year ago I bought a 5,000 count box from my local card shop. It had a bunch of commons from this set and that was my introduction to it. As much as I like it I have never purchased any additional cards for the set. However, I decided as a personal Christmas present to myself I deserved a box of these. So onto E-bay I went and won an auction. After I was done with the box I am now 62 cards away from finishing this set. I will post the remaining cards on here and I have updated my want list. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please help me finish this one off.

Thought I'd start first here with a man who ended his career with the Mets. Mr. Alou. Was very happy to see Alou in Mets uniform. Alou was a big presence in the locker room and I hope we can find someone to take his place. As much as I love Reyes and Wright at their age they just can't seem to take control and become the leader the Mets Locker room needs. Have a good retirement Alou.

Ahh Cliffy. I always loved Cliff Floyd as a Met. I was lucky enough to actually see the Mets play on my birthday, sorry cant remember who they were playing, but Floyd won the game himself 2-1 with 2 solo home runs in the game. Another good locker room guy.

The last Mets game I went to was Glavine's first game after he won his 300th game. One heck of a standing ovation for him when he took the mound. I have to say I was very selfish. I had the tickets about a week in advance and knew Glavine would be pitching so the day he won his 300th I was rooting against him so I could see it in person. Does that make me a bad fan?

I had to put this one up because Luis Castillo was considered the Mets MVP last year for one reason and one reason only, he was the only opening day position player who didn't go on the d/l. How sad is that? And what's even funnier is we're trying to trade him. The best player for the 2009 Mets and we throw him on the trading block? Don't get me wrong, would I rather have Orlando Hudson playing 2nd base for us, maybe, but last year he actually looked like he deserved the contract we gave him. With the current issues the team has, I think trading Castillo should be the least of our concerns.

Alright, lastly we have Gary Sheffield. The Doctor's nephew. Gary Sheffield has wanted to be a Met his entire career thanks to Dwight Gooden. It was nice seeing him in a Mets uniform and I think he did a much better job in the field then most people thought he would. Sorry you wont be back next year, good luck elsewhere Gary.

Here's a list of the remaining cards I need:

1, 3 (Albert Pujol's swinging), 13, 20, 30, 34, 49, 51, 57, 60, 80 (Sammy Sosa), 80 (Felix Pie), 86 (Burt ShottEn), 95 (Gary Sheffield, Yankees), 98, 100, 104 (Edwin Jackson), 108, 109, 124, 126, 127, 140 (Curt Schilling, Red Sox), 145, 150, 151, 163, 166, 167, 173, 179, 182, 184, 185, 186, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 196, 198, 200, 203, 204, 206, 209, 214, 216, 217, 218, 220, 222, 224 (Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers), 225, 228, 229 (Jason Giambi fielding) 231, 232, 233, 236 (Jorge Posada)

Again, any help you can give is greatly appreciated. Help me finish this one off and knock it off my list.

Ryota Igarashi

Just thought I would do a quick post today on the newest NY Met, Ryota Igarashi.

Ryota was born May 28, 1979 in Chiba, Chiba, Japan. He was drafted by the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball in the 2nd round of the 1998 draft. He pitched for the Swallows from 1999-2009 when he became a free agent and signed with the Mets.

I have to say I'm interested to see what Igarashi can do in MLB. I worry a little with him having had Tommy John surgery and missing the entire 2007 season. But he came back in 2008 and pitched well in his return. Plus for a 2 year, $3 million deal, you really cant complain. There's a lot of upside there.

His stats through 10 years in Japan consisted of a 44-27 record, 3.26 ERA, with 51 saves. He has a fastball that has been clocked at 98 mph and some very nasty off-speed stuff. Check out the video below to see him strike out the side. Wish I could translate for you all but I'm still in the process of trying to learn Japanese.

TTM- Ron Darling

First things first, I am sorry for my absence from the blog for so long, but I am back and hopefully better than ever. Hope I can still have some readers. As my welcome back post I want to speak about one of my favorite autographs that I have ever received back. Mr. Ron Darling!!!



Ronald Maurice Darling was born August 19, 1960 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the first round (9th pick) of the 1981 MLB Draft. In his first year with the Rangers Minor League organization he put up mediocre numbers which led to a very ill advised trade in which both Darling and Walt Terrell were traded to the Mets for Lee Mazzilli. For the Mets, Darling and Terrell combined for seven double-digit win seasons. They traded Terrell three seasons later for Howard Johnson. Which by the way, when I was a kid playing baseball with friends, oddly enough, if I was pitching I would scream I'm Ron Darling, and if I was playing the field (no matter where I played) I screamed, I'm Howard Johnson. Wow, that was a run-on sentence. ANYWAY....

Darling was called up to the majors in late 1983. The Mets had the worst record in the National League and second-worst in the majors when Darling debuted on September 6, 1983. He was impressive in that start but left the game down 1–0 and the Mets lost 2–0. The Mets were also last in offense in the N.L. (Boo) Darling's 0–3 start were all in decent pitching performances that season. He finished his season with a complete game victory and was in the majors for good. Ron Darling threw five pitches, a slider, "drop" curve, circle change, splitter, and four seam fastball.

As a Mets fan, I would have to mention his performance in 1986. In 1986, everything came together for the Mets and Darling was no exception. He finished with a 15–6 record and posted his career-best 2.81 ERA which was third-best in the N.L. He also received the only Cy Young Award votes of his career, finishing fifth behind Mike Scott who had his best season. (Ball Scuffer!!!) The Mets led the way most of the season and their top four starters all received Cy Young votes. On May 27, Darling tied his career-high with 12 strikeouts in a five-hit complete game victory which, despite a poor April, raised his record to 6–0. He was good on the road but even better at home with a 10–2 record at Shea. His worst blemish was off the field when, on July 19, he and teammates Bob Ojeda, Rick Aguilera, and Tim Teufel were arrested outside a bar in Houston, Texas for fighting with security guards (who were also off-duty police officers). All four were released in time for the following game and the worst results were $200 fines but the incident fed into the Mets' reputation as a rowdy crew that season. Despite the run-in, Darling was featured on the cover of the August 25 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. If you would like to read more about this incident, as well as more about the 1986 NY Mets, I highly recommend the book, The Bad Guys Won by Jeff Pearlman. An awesome book about the 1986 Mets. After reading it I can't believe my mother let me root for them at 6 years of age!

In his career he pitched for The New York Mets (1983-1991), The Montreal Expos (1991) and The Oakland A's (1991-1995). He finished his career with a 136-116 record, a 3.87 ERA and 1,590 strike outs. He was selected for the 1985 All-Star Game and was a Gold Glove winner in 1989. His last MLB effort was on my 15th birthday, August 15, 1995.

Since his retirement he has been a broadcaster for the Oakland A's, had a FOX show called Baseball Today and has appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, as well as providing baseball analysis for the YES Network (EVIL) and Fox Sports Net. He currently works as a color commentator for the New York Mets on SNY with Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez.

Because of their popularity, Darling along with Cohen and Hernandez have created a website, Pitch in For A Good Cause, where the net profit from the merchandise sold by the website goes to charity; specifically, the Cobble Hill Health Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Center, and The Danbury Women's Center. Please check out the website.

I have to say I was absolutely shocked to receive these autos back in the mail. Sure I mailed them, but I didn't really expect them back. This was one of, if not the, biggest surprise I've ever received in the mail. I even gave Steve, formally of The Easy Life, one of them (not pictured here).

Mr. Darling, thank you so much. I am honored to add you to my collection.

TTM - Bob Shirley

I was very happy to get this card back in the mail. It is the oldest card I now have signed. It's not in the best condition but thats ok. Today's sig is Bob Shirley.

Bob Shirley was born on June 25, 1954 in Cushing, OK. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 1st Round (8th pick) on the 1976 Amateur Draft. He made his MLB debut the following year on April 10, 1977. He pitched 8 2/3 innings in his debut, getting the win against one of his future clubs, the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 11 and walked 4 in the game.

He has played in both the American and National League. Over his 10 year career he played for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees. He was never a dominant pitcher, having his best full season in 1980 going 11-12 with a 3.55 ERA.

Shirley finished his career with a 67-94 record and an ERA of 3.82 when he retired in 1987. He never made a big impact in the game but it's still nice to add another card to my collection. And I know most of us would give up just about anything to even spend half the time in the majors that he had. Thank you Mr. Shirley.

TTM - Fernando Valenzuela

I'm back today with one of my more shocking TTM autographs. A man who took the country by storm and had everyone swept up in Fernandomania, Fernando Valenzuela. I sent this one out just hoping to get it back. Like most of my doubles that I send for sigs if I didn't, no big deal, but when you can add a name like this to your collection it's always good.

Fernando Valenzuela is billed as born on November 1, 1960 in Etchohuaquila, Sonora, Mexico. Like many of today's Latin American stars that date is questionable though as even in his remarkable rookie season many observers guessed him much older than 20. Many teams scouted him in the Mexican Leagues but it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who eventually signed him.

After acquiring Fernando Valenzuela in the summer of 1979, the Dodgers assigned him to the Lodi Dodgers (now the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) of the High A Level California League, where he posted a 1-2 record and a 1.13 ERA in limited action. In 1980 Valenzuela was promoted to the Double A Level San Antonio Missions. There Valenzuela led the Texas League with 162 strikeouts, and ranked third in ERA. Valenzuela was called up to the Los Angeles Dodger bullpen in September 1980. In the last month of the season, Valenzuela helped the Dodgers to a Western Division tie with the Houston Astros, pitching 17 2/3 shutout innings of relief over the course of ten games, during which he earned two wins and a save.

Valenzuela's efforts made him the odds-on favorite to be the league's top rookie in 1981, and he didn't disappoint, starting the season 8-0 with five shutouts and an ERA of 0.50. Punctuating this dominance on the mound, Valenzuela had an extremely unusual but flamboyant wind-up (looking skyward just at the apex of every pitch), which drew attention of its own. He became an instant media icon, drawing huge crowds from the Los Angeles Hispanic community every time he pitched and triggering high demand across the country for his rookie baseball cards. The craze surrounding Valenzuela came to be known as "Fernandomania."

In addition to his skills on the mound, Valenzuela also made a name for himself at the plate. During his rookie season, Valenzuela batted .250 and struck out just nine times in 64 at bats. That season, and again in 1983, Valenzuela was the recipient of the National League's Silver Slugger Award for pitchers. In 1990, his last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Valenzuela hit .304 in 69 at-bats, with one home run, five doubles, and eleven runs batted in. In 936 career at-bats - roughly two full seasons worth of at-bats for a full-time position player - Valenzuela had ten home runs and 84 runs batted in. On at least two occasions with the Dodgers, Valenzuela was called upon to play outfield and first base in marathon extra-inning games in which he did not pitch.

Valenzuela was considered an exceptionally good hitter for a pitcher. His best year at the plate was 1990. when he hit .304 with five doubles and 11 RBI in 69 at-bats. His career batting average was .200, with 10 homers, 26 doubles, and 84 RBI in 936 at-bats. Valenzuela was even used on a number of occasions as a pinch hitter, batting .368 (7-for-19) in such situations.

In addition to his 10 years with the Dodgers, Fernando also played for the California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals before retiring in 1997. The Dodgers invited him to Spring Training in 1999, but he respectfully declined. Fernando was also a 6X All-Star, Gold Glove winner (1986) and 2X Silver Slugger award winner (1981, 1983)

Since his playing days ended Fernando has done Spanish-language radio color commentator for the Dodgers and was also a coach for Team Mexico in both the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic's, and now his biggest honor ever.......being added to my collection. Thank you Mr. Valenzuela!

Trade With Thoughts And Sox

Sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately. I have been working on my horror collection quite a bit. Between watching, recording, buying and dvr-ing. I am glad to say I am now up to 280 horror movies in my collection.

A couple weeks ago I got a great package from Thoughts and Sox. Knocked a bunch of stuff from my want lists and a big thank you goes out for that. I chose the following cards to show on here for a specific reason so lets get right to it.



Adam knows that I am a New York Mets fan (pity me please) and sent me a nice chunk of Mets cards in addition to cards for my sets. So out of all the cards sent, why did I choose these three you ask? Well the story starts like I have mentioned numerous times already so I'll try and make it brief.

As a kid I collected cards. I loved it. Collect em, trade em it was a blast. However when I hit my teen years I stopped. Last year I started again after a very long time. In my "Inaugural Season" I collected Topps, Topps U&H, Topps heritage, Topps A&G, and Goudey. Needless to say I have not finished any of them yet. Because of this I decided, being the Topps man that I am, this year I would only collect Topps, Heritage and A&G. See where this is going?

I was doing really good until I saw what the Goodwins were going to look like and then I decided, well whats one more set. Mind you I haven't bought my first box of these yet but payday is right around the corner. Now thanks to Adam I have to work on O-Pee Chee and Goudey too. I can't just have these great cards from those sets. Thanks Adam for bleeding my bank account dry. HA! :)

A little bit of this, A little bit of that

Got a little bit of everything here today in this post. First I want to start by thanking the following people, Matt from A Giant Blog, Kerry from Cards on Cards, Greg from Night Owl Cards, Steve from A Baseball State of Mind, Jeff from Card Junkie and of course Steve from the Easy Life and anyone else whose package I may have missed. Unfortunately I got so many and they got all mixed up so other than the posts I already put up I am so scrambled on who gave me what but they are all appreciated very much. I also, as I've said in the past, don't have a scanner so its hard for me to get stuff on when I get it. Since I could only do a few individual posts I wanted to do a big group thanks to you all.

I also want to send another thank you to Card Cache for running his 2009 Allen and Ginter contest. I was one of the 9 winners chosen, well 8 really, damn you Beardy. That was a really cool thing to do and really appreciated. Thanks to Card Cache I am the new owner of, Prize E: Lot of 46 Mini's, both base and SP.

You'd think I won an award or something with all the thank you's. While I'm at it I may as well also thank the Academy. "You like me, you really like me!"

Moving on. August 15 was my birthday and I was finally able to get a copy of this so even though it more than two weeks later I gotta post it. My mother made me this cake for my birthday.


Starry Night is my favorite painting. I have a huge print over my bed in my bedroom. I could not believe when my mom showed me this. It blew my mind. And those are all cupcakes. I think its insane.



Here's another pic with the border she used to make it look framed. Amazing! If ya can't tell, yes I am a Momma's boy. And in honor of Starry Night, one of my favorite cards.


He likes hanging out with the yo-yo champ and the electron in the Milky Way. Damn, I love Allen & Ginter!

Finally today I want to leave you with a trailer you may or may not have seen. Unfortunately Youtube has disabled the embed funtion for it but please follow the link below to view iti On February 12, 2010, I will be in the movie theater for the first showing. Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro in the remake of The Wolfman. I have a problem with sequels. Mostly just because they usually suck in comparison to the original but there are some which I have enjoyed, 13 Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill (Though the original was much better), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Again, original better but remake good as well) and Quarantine just to name a few. But this movie looks amazing and with the all-star cast that it has I can not wait to see this film! The countdown begins.

The Wolfman 2009

TTM - Lee Smith

Today's autograph is a man who deserves to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, hands down, no questions asked. The fact that he is not in the Hall in my eyes is an absolute travesty. I am speaking of the former saves record holder Lee Smith.



Lee Smith was born on December 4, 1957 in Shreveport Louisiana. He pitched for 8 teams over an 18 year career in Major League Baseball. He was scouted by great Negro League Player, Buck O'Neil, and drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the second round as the 28th overall pick in the 1975 Major League Draft. Smith started his career as a starting pitcher but struggled in the minors and was moved to the bullpen in 1978. Smith was not happy with the move and tried his hand at college basketball instead at Northwestern State University. In 1979 at the request of former Cubs outfielder, Billy Williams, Smith returned to the AA Midland Cubs as a reliever and played so well he was promoted to AAA in 1980. With the Cubs struggling in last place that year he was given a September call-up.

Smith made his Major League debut on September 1, 1980 against the Atlanta Braves. Smith pitched one inning, giving up no hits, striking out one and walking two. He finished the season with the Cubs and was invited back in 1981 mostly as a middle reliever. A poor pitching year was broken up by the 1981 Baseball Strike. He finished that year with a 3.51 ERA.

The 1981 Cubs closer, Dick Tidrow, had a horrible year and in 1982 Smith, Willie Hernandez, and Bill Campbell all shared closing duties. Smith pitched so well he even started 5 games in 1982. He credits returning Cubs star, Ferguson Jenkins with helping him simplify his delivery and teaching him the forkball and the slider. In 1982, in what would be his last career start, he picked up his first Major League hit, a homerun, against Hall of Famer Phil Niekro. He only managed 2 singles for the rest of his career. He saved 17 games in 1982.

In 1983 he was chosen for his first All-Star appearance though he did not fare well surrendering 2 runs. Although the Cubs continued to lose Smith was pitching great finishing the year with career best 1.65 ERA and 29 saves. He received 1 point in the Cy Young balloting and 8 points in the MVP ballots. He spent his longest tenure with the Cubs pitching for them from 1980 - 1987.

Smith also played for the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, and Montreal Expos before retiring in 1997. He finished his career with, at the time, a Major League Record 478 saves and a 3.03 ERA. In 1991, Smith set a National League record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young award; it was the second of three times he led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League, once while with the Baltimore Orioles in 1994. He also set the major league career record for games finished (802), and his 1,022 career games pitched were the third most in history when he retired; he still holds the team records for career saves for the Cubs (180), and he also held the Cardinals record (160) until 2006. He is a 7-time All Star, 3-time Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, once in the AL and twice in the NL.

Give me one good reason why this man shouldn't be in the Hall!!!

A Trip to the Card Shop

Last weekend I went to the local card shop looking to eliminate some cards from my want lists. They have tons of 10 cent commons so Steve, from The Easy Life, and I spent 5 hours going through boxes of cards. I left with just under 800 cards from my lists. Got a lot closer on a lot of sets. I am now only a few away on the 2006 & 2007 Topps sets. I'm so close I can taste it. Anyway, as I was going through the boxes I came across a set that I fell in love with. 1995 Studio. Here's a front and back view for those of you who are not familiar with the set.



I love the look. I love the way they look just like credit cards right down to the last detail. I was able to find 30 cards from this 200 card set. After very little deliberation I knew I had to have them. It went something like this.

(Joe) Wow. I really like these cards. Maybe I should grab them. I don't know, I'm just trying to buy cards I need right now.

(Steve) Oh just get them, you know you want to.

(Joe) OK

And that was that. However after getting them home and looking online it is very hard to locate boxes of these cards. Thats where you all come in. (Hopefully) I've added a new want list for this set up and I'm asking for your help to finish it.

I don't know what it is with me. I seem to have a thing for weird cards. I love this set because of their interesting look. I love the A & G sets for their non-baseball cards. I mean c'mon who doesn't want a baseball card thats an electron ala 09 A & G. That just makes me laugh. And for some reason I have to have them.

This has given me an idea. All of the blogs I read on here have their own quirk when it comes to cards they collect. Whether it be their favorite team ala White Sox Cards, A Giant Blog, or Thoughts & Sox or Night Owl who loves collecting great cards taken at night. Well I have a request. I want to start collecting weird cards. Cards that have a unique look, have players doing weird or funny things or baseball cards that have absolutely nothing to do with baseball.

If you know any full sets I should check out let me know. Or if you have some cards that you think I would appreciate please let me know. Your assistance is always appreciated.

Random Pack of the Day - 1992 Donruss

This was a fat pack. 27 cards. Only got one off my want list though. I have a ton of doubles on this set so if anyone need any just let me know. Another set that's definitely not one of my favorites but there have been worse sets.


Got some good players here, even though they were all doubles. Here are just a few of them.


Always nice to have a good rookie. Kenny Lofton.....check!



You would think I was an Astro fan or something. I can assure you I am not. Don't even get me started about Scott scuffing balls.


Not a Yankee fan either. As a matter of fact I despise the Yankees. I bleed orange and blue but you can't deny the career that Mattingly had, that's for sure.

Also included in this pack was:

Dennis Eckersley
David Cone (would've put a pic up but couldn't find a photo)
Lenny Dykstra (Nails was playing for the evil Phillies at the time)
Tommy Greene Highlights card (no hitter) I actually have two of these autographed by Mr. Greene already
John Olerud (The boy in the helmet)
Roberto Alomar (Waste of a lot of NY money)
Joel Skinner
Rick Aguilera (should've held onto him for a couple more years)
Checklist 160 (WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO)
Chris James (I'm CHRIS James, Bitch)
Pat Combs
Walt Weiss
Ken Caminiti
Mike Pagliarulo
Joey Cora
Chuck Crim
Steve Olin
Eric Yelding
B.J. Surhoff (who names there son BJ?)
Kelly Gruber
Jay Buhner
Bud Black (Budweiser's new Stout)
Dan Pasqua
Robby Thompson

Random Pack of the Day - 1990 Topps Big

I recently purchased a box with a bunch of random packs in it so I figured I would do a series of posts on each pack. Let me know your thoughts on the sets.

We'll start first today with 1990 Topps Big. Definitely not my favorite set but I have seen much worse.


There are 8 cards to a pack and I made ok in this one. We'll start out first with one that Kerry from Cards on Cards will appreciate. Mr. Backflip himself, Ozzie Smith


He was Mr. Charisma as well. As a kid I couldn't believe the way he played the game. He was just an all-around great player. Wouldn't have minded having him on the Mets in the late 80's/early 90's. I also love that the stat on the back is that one of Ozzie's favorite activities is playing Backgammon. Well, I can rest in peace now that I know that.

Also got one of my favorite NY Mets of all time. Too bad his career was cut short due to some personal demons. Darryl Strawberry



Unfortunately I do not have a scanner so I am relying on the pictures I can find on the web and I was unable to find this card but I was able to find this classic picture from The Simpsons.

DARRYL.........DARRYL........DARRYL!

Also included in this pack was George Bell, Craig Worthington, Mark Lemke, Bob Geren, Jody Reed, and Carlos Martinez. Well I guess this is another set I'll have to start working on now. I won't put a want list up though until I get a few more. "8 isn't enough" (boy, I'm dating myself) to start a list. The list is big enough already.

TTM - Gerald Young

Today we have another TTM autograph. I just love getting these back. It's always nice to come home to a gift in the mail. Today it's Gerald Young.



Gerald Young was born on October 22, 1964 in Tela, Honduras. He was a major league outfielder known for his long strides and blazing speed. He was however considered somewhat of a "hot dog" because of what appeared to be a lackadaisical style (including unnecessary basket catches) He was the first person born in the Honduras to play Major League Baseball.

Young was drafted in the 5th round of the 1982 MLB amateur draft by the New York Mets along with Rafael Palmeiro and Dwight Gooden as part of a draft class that set a major league record for a single team when 12 of those players reached the major leagues. Boy, if only we kept him and Palmeiro, both right from the start.

Young was traded to the Houston Astros, and made his Major League Baseball debut with them on July 8, 1987. He showed promise by hitting .321 and stealing 26 bases for the Astros, finishing 5th in National League Rookie of the Year voting despite playing less than half a season with the major league club. Young's best season in the major leagues would come the following year, 1988, when he finished 2nd in the NL with 65 steals. 1989 was disappointment for Young offensively, although he did manage to finish 8th in the league in steals (34) and accomplish a rare defensive feat by recording 412 putouts with only one error and adding 15 outfield assists.

Young would spend the next three seasons splitting time between the Astros, their Triple A affiliate the Tucson Toros, and the disabled list (with an assortment of injuries). Although he was successful at the minor league level, always hitting over .300, his batting statistics for the Astros never replicated his earlier success.

At the end of the 1992 season, the Astros granted Young free agency and he signed with, and became an inaugural member of the expansion Colorado Rockies team that began play in Major League Baseball in 1993.

Young appeared in his final game on August 11, 1994, playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was released that October by the Cardinals. In January 1995, Young was charged with cocaine possession when Houston Police Department officers found a crack pipe with cocaine residue in the vehicle that he was driving. He would never play major league baseball again.

He currently participates in youth baseball camps throughout the country.

He finished his career batting .246 with 446 hits and 155 stolen bases.

Thank you Mr. Young.

TTM - Seth McClung

The A&G sets are perfect for autographs. I send off all the doubles I can. I have some doubles left though don't worry. They'll make my doubles list soon enough. Anyway, as of today here is my latest TTM.....Seth McClung.



Seth was born February 7, 1981. It still messes me up that people in the majors are older than me. Than again I will be 29 in 2 weeks so I should be used to it by now. Anyway back to Mr. McClung. He has pitched as both a starter and a reliever in his brief career.

Seth comes from a sporting family. His father, Mike, was an all-state high school football player. His brother, Marcus, is a former football player at Virginia Tech and the Canadian Football League, his brother Shawn played extreme sports, and his younger brother Sam was a lineman at Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee.

McClung began the 2006 season with the Tampa Bay Rays as a starting pitcher, was sent later that year to the minor leagues, and was converted to be a closer.

He started the 2007 season in Triple-A Durham of the International League, before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Late in the 2008 season, after impressive relief outings for the Brewers against the Chicago Cubs, his nickname 'Big Red' began to stick on account of his stature and pitching command and velocity.

Not much to say yet on this young man's career, but lets see where it takes him. Thank you Mr. McClung

2009 Allen & Ginter

I started collecting cards again last year. I hadn't even seen a baseball card before that since I was probably 12 or 13, so needless to say I didn't know anything about the sets that we're coming out. When I saw the A&G set last year I immediately wanted to collect them. I just love the old time look and I love the fact that they are great for signatures. In fact check back tomorrow for one I recently got back. This year though I had to limit myself. Last year I started collecting Topps, Heritage, A&G, and Goudey (none of which are finished, check out my want lists if you can help) and it really stretched my wallet. So I decided this year I would just do Topps, because I will always be a Topps guy, Heritage because I like the way they look and The Goodwin's when they come out because they look phenominal. As much as I love A&G, I figured the past two years they looked the same so they would this year too. But I was wrong. I loved the new set, but still, I said no, I had to limit myself.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) for me I went to my local card shop last week for another box of Heritage only to find out they didn't have any. At this point with cards on the brain what was I to do. You guessed it, I bought a box of A&G and of course just like last year I love them and I have to get not only the whole set but the whole set of mini's. I think one of the things I love most about the set are the non-baseball cards. I mean what other set can you say, "Damn-it, I just need that electron card and I'll have a complete set!" How classic is that?

Plus how can you go wrong buying a box with a guaranteed 3 inserts? Check out my pulls:



As great as the Phil Hughes card is (cough) Screw the Yankees (cough) my favorite is the Todd Helton. Because, believe it or not, it is actually my first game used with a stripe. I have plenty of game used but thats my first 2 color. But it doesn't stop there check out this great Matt Laporta mini.


Woo-hoo, hand numbered!!!! As of right now I have 0 doubles for this set because so far I have only bought one box and I am unfortunately very poor at the moment but in the (hopefully) near future I will have more and add them to my doubles list. Any help with this set will be greatly appreciated. I have been checking other want lists and found some stuff that I have for the rest of you so expect some emails soon. In the mean-time please check my lists which I continually update, I need all the help I can get.

TTM - Paul Molitor

**Update**

Well I've been working off and on for the past 10 hours but I have my entire want list done. Tomorrow I tackle the doubles list. From there I can finally start contacting you all about the double I have for you all.

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I was very excited to receive this one back in the mail. It's always nice when you can add a Hall of Famer to your collection. I give you....Paul Molitor.



Paul was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on August 22, 1956. He played 21 seasons in the majors with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, in 2004, with 85.2% of the vote.

Molitor was selected in the 28th round of the 1974 free agent draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, but instead opted to go to college at the University of Minnesota. He was a three year starter for the Golden Gophers, earning All American honors as a shortstop for his sophomore and junior years. After his junior year in college, he was selected third overall in the 1977 free agent draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He signed with the Brewers and began his professional career in Iowa, playing for the Class A Burlington Bees of the Midwest League.

He played numerous positions with the Brewers including 2nd base, shortstop, third base and what he was most known for, the DH. Molitor played 44% of his career games as a DH. In 1987 he had a 39 game hit streak which still stands as the fifth longest in modern day baseball and is the longest since Pete Rose's 44 game hit streak in 1978.

Molitor signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in December 1992. He was a key part of the Blue Jays winning their second World Championship as he batted .500 in the series and was named World Series MVP. He is also the only person in World Series history to have 2 doubles, 2 triples and 2 home runs in an individual series.

In 1993, with the Blue Jays, he led the league in plate appearances with 675 and hits with 211. In 1994 he lead the league in games played with 115 and singles with 107. He also stole 20 bases that season without ever being caught. That is just one behind "Misunderstood Met" Kevin McReynolds 1988 major league record of 21.

In 1995 he left the Blue Jays to join his hometown Minnesota Twins. He acquired his 3,000th hit in Minnesota and is the only person to ever hit a triple for that milestone hit. In 1996, Molitor was the first 40-year old to have a 200 hit season. He led the league that year with 225 hits. Molitor also remains the last Major League player to drive in 100 or more runs in a season while hitting fewer than 10 home runs (9 HR, 113 RBIs).

Molitor's lifetime statistics include 2,683 games played, 1,782 runs scored, 3,319 hits, 234 homeruns, 1,307 RBI's, a .306 batting average, and 504 stolen bases. He batted .368 in 5 postseason series, and was an all-star seven times. Molitor recorded these statistics while missing nearly 500 games due to various injuries throughout his career.

Molitor is one of four players in major league history with at least 3,000 hits, a .300 lifetime batting average, and 500 stolen bases. The other three are Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Eddie Collins, none of whom played the game beyond 1930. Molitor is the only player ever to accomplish those feats and hit at least 200 home runs.

Words can't express how happy I am to add this card to my collection. It's not that I mind having a collection full of Gary Varsho's and Andy Benes', hell I'm just happy to get an autograph. I think we all are. We're all fans for a reason and getting that piece of cardboard with a sharpie squiggle means a lot to us no matter who it is. But adding a legend of the game like Paul Molitor means that much more. Thank you Mr. Molitor.

TTM: Bobby Valentine

I mail off a lot of my old doubles to try and get them signed. Some of you will remember this. Well I just got back one that I didn't believe I would. I'm very excited to add him to my collection. Mr fake glasses and mustache himself......Bobby Valentine.



Bobby was born May 13, 1950 in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended both USC and Arizona State University. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969. The very same year one of his future teams, both playing and managing, had their "Miracle" season. Over a 10 year playing career he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and the Seattle Mariners. In his first season with the Angels he immediately became an offensive star, hitting over .350 in his first month as a starter. Valentine was the Angels' shortstop, but in May temporarily shifted to center field. However, on May 17, 1973, Valentine was a victim of one of the most gruesome injuries during that era when he suffered a multiple compound leg fracture at Anaheim Stadium when his spikes got caught in the outfield's chain link fence while attempting to catch a home run ball hit by Dick Green. He missed the rest of the season and was never quite the same after that.

He began his managerial career in Texas with The Rangers. His most successful season with them was 1986 when they finished 2nd in the AL West. He was fired in 1992. In 1995 Valentine began his first stint as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines. The team surprised all of Japan by finishing 2nd that year. However due to a dispute with the teams General Manager, Valentine was fired at the end of the season. From here its was back to the states and joining the Mets organization. He started by managing the Norfolk Tides but was "called up" to manage the big club in 1996. In 1999 he lead the Mets to a wild card berth which saw them defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks but then lose the League Championship to division rivals, the Atlanta Braves. 1999 was also the year in which he was discovered to have sneaked back into the team dugout after being ejected, by wearing a disguise consisting of a change of clothes, sunglasses, and a "mustache" painted on his upper lip with eye black. One of the funniest moments in Mets history. Here's a video of Bobby telling the tale, along with a picture.





He was fired by the Mets in 2002 and began his 2nd stint with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2004 where he manages to this day. Thanks for the auto Bobby V, just wish it was a Mets card.

2008 Masterpiece vs. 2009 Goodwin

This may upset some people but I have never been a big fan of upper deck. I grew up a Topps kid and grew into a Topps man. Last year however I did like the Masterpiece set. I did not collect it though because I was already working on too many sets. I'm noticing however that a lot of sites are selling boxes of them for relatively cheap so I decided to start a little late.

Then Steve at the Easy Life told me about the upcoming 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin set. These are some of the most beautiful cards I have seen in my life. And I think they blow the Masterpiece's out of the water. Here is an example:




Look at the difference a year makes. These are better than the Masterpiece, better than the Goudey's and better than just about everything I've seen this year. I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on this set. What do you all think? I plan on doing a lot more posts on this set that's for sure.

Added some more to both wants and doubles check 'em out. i need all the help i can get

When exactly did we go back in time to 1962?

I cant believe I'm saying this but I just cant watch the Mets right now. I've been a Mets fan since birth. There are pictures of me in Mets bibs for gods sake. I have been a Met fan for near 29 years now and I just cant believe i'm saying this. Don't get me wrong I realize we are fielding what is essentially a AAA ballclub (some even AA) but enough is enough I cant watch the carnage.

Don't get me wrong, I am not giving up on my team. I just cant watch them make total fools of themselves night in and night out. Error after error, stupid call by Manuel after stupid call. I'm taking a breather. I'm gonna sit the bench for a couple days and hopefully after a few days rest I can come back better than ever. Hopefully the Amazin's can too.

I have posted some more to both my doubles page and want list. Its gonna take me a lot longer than I thought to get all that info up.