A Wise Owl Who Gives a Hoot

 I don't trade often with Strigiformes but when I do, it's Night Owl. Most owls are nocturnal raptors. Our writer/collector friend is likely not descended from a feathered family but I haven't seen him. My guess is no.  If he were, I wouldn't cast judgement.  I loved the movie "Ladyhawke" as a teen.  Mr. Owl sent a fine cardboard assortment this summer, clearing cards off my wantlist. Set help, vintage and wax cartoons; all are equally appreciated!

Chipping away at 2010 History of the World Series:

This could be blasphemy to some hardcore A&G collectors -  I am not a Ginter fan. Collective gasp. I haven't purchased more than a few blasters ever, never a hobby box and nothing in the past three years. There is however, an insert set most every year that appeals to me and I always enjoy player minis. These were all on my list: 2010 Cobb gold mini, 2017 What-a-Days and 2019 Ginter Greats.

Hey kiddos! Which one doesn't belong? Not that he wasn't great in his day, Orel was needed to fill a binder spot in my 1995 SP Championship October Legends subset.  Greats has bats which sucked me right in.  The WADs checklist is broad and design uber colorful. I likes 'em!  I like vintage too - hoot doesn't?

1967, 1975 and 1956.  The team card is outstanding!! Mickey and A-Rod are clean and colorful! Purple and pink are my fave color combo from 75 Topps.

1979 Cartoons! Is it any wonder LeFlore stole 68 bases? Ron's led a difficult life. It would appear his struggles continue.  When I read the first cartoon, the horrible person in me said "the ball is dead and so is Rusty."  Rusty owned a couple of Manhattan restaurants later in life. The 73rd Street location held an annual rib-eating contest won in 1980 by this young actress.

I was a shy, naive young teen in 79. Collecting then would have soothed my troubled soul. Introverted and afraid of the world, I had no idea baseball cards existed. This may be difficult for any lifetime collector to believe. It's never too late to have fun so here I am! 

Thanks Night Owl! Oooo, you DO have feathers!

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ROUND FOUR VOTING BEGINS NOW!

Who among you loves 80s nostalgia? Who among you ever said their favorite sets of 1989 were Topps and Score? WHO?  I'm honestly not sure where these sets land in popular majority. 

Candidate A is a shared ticket. Each suffers poor self-esteem, all these years later. Together, running mates Topps and Score hope to win your vote. They bring you warm memories of the Bash Brothers and Nolan Ryan. Topps' checklist is 792 cards long.  Score 660 cards!  Who wouldn't want to own a Nelson Santovenia rookie card?

CANDIDATE A  two boxes of wax pack glory:

TOPPS BOX BOTTOM

                 

Before you allow thoughts of sweet-smelling Topps gum to take over your senses and sweep you back to 1989, you may want to stop in 1993 for a look around. Donruss came to the game with white borders and sweet inserts. As years passed, base cards were buried in nickel boxes and inserts forgotten; replaced with shiny, prizm-y, refractory, fancy colored foils. Well people, 1993 is back.  If the simply designed base cards don't tickle you in the right places, maybe a  look at the inserts will. Diamond Kings, Spirit of the Game and Elites are all possibilities. 

CANDIDATE B needs no running mate.  Series One:

One tough card! I no longer own Alomar but it took a full case to pull!

Diamond Kings need no introduction:

Spirit of the Game themed front/back:

Traditional rules recap:

Review the rules, make your choice and vote!

1977 - Video Cheese

BOX TOPS

It had been at least ten years since I'd boxed up the remainder of my collection.  When the first lid came off, I could smell the trouble. Baseball cards do have an aroma all their own, much like books.  I love the scent of both.  (A baseball card Scentsy...there's a brilliant idea!)  Sharing my cards, trading - that's what made it fun in the first place.  Times change, friends move away, drift or sometimes die.  My trading partners were gone. (I'm the one who moved actually, and another passed.)  The Ump wanted to see my cards.  I'm much too polite to say no.  I'm also much too generous.  I started a stack for her, which turned into a 500 count box...  Perhaps an exaggeration, perhaps.  Then I found the Cabrera rookies I never knew I had.  I'd saved all the rookies I'd ever pulled.  Fortunately, I had two and kept one for myself.   I'd sold all my Jeter rookies, wishing now I'd kept just one.  

Off comes the second lid. What the Heckler?  Is that a 93 SP set?  Sleeved and nestled in the top of the set box was Jeter, so young with a long career ahead.  What do you mean he's retiring??  But he wasn't even thirty years old when I boxed him up!   Well thanks a lot Derek.  Now I have to go through everything. 

Another bug

The 90 Leaf set. Too many sets from 1994.  Several years of Topps factory sets, unopened.  Hmm, unopened boxes of cards too.  Nothing special there, unless you're into the 94 Fun Pack, or Triple Play. Yeah, that was worth putting away for a few years.

SLUs: nice Ripkens,  FPs for Jeter, Chipper, Javy Lopez, Manny Ramirez, Cooperstown SLUs and an overly large Mickey Mantle doll. That's a bit overkill - and a bit ugly.

 Box three - lid be gone!  AH yes, the vintage cards. Vintage.  What a funny word. Most often used in place of old.  I've seen listings on eBay describing cards from the 80s/90s as vintage. NOT. Not of a particularly attractive design. Not some of the best issues.  If they're old at all, they're old junk. Junk cards.  What did I consider vintage?  Let's take a peek inside.  Miscellaneous old Topps, picked up cheaply, but beautiful to me:


1956 TOPPS

1956 TOPPS

1953 TOPPS

Grim (d. 1996)  played with the Yanks, KC As, Indians, Cards.  W/L record 61/41 with 3.61 career ERA. He won 20 games for the Yankees his
rookie year. Arm troubles sent him to the bullpen and through several trades.
Groat (b. 1930) played for the Pirates 1952-1962, Cards, Phils and Giants.  Career BA .286 with 2138 hits. 1960 MVP and batting title for .325 average.
 Williams (d. 2011) played with the Dodgers, O's (three different times,)  Indians, KC As, BoSox.  Career BA .260; 70 HRs.   He spent many more years as a manager for several teams with a career W/L record 1571-1451 winning three AL and one NL pennant.

 Oh those beautiful Bowmans!  Here are a few I picked up somewhere along the way.

1951 BOWMAN

1951 BOWMAN

1951 BOWMAN

 
 
 
 








Baker (d. 2004) played for several teams, most notably the White Sox. Batted left, threw right.  Career BA of .251, RBI total of 196.  Great looking card anyway!
Barney (d. 1997) played a handful of years for the Dodgers with a W/L of 35-31 and 4.31 ERA.
He suffered a leg injury which contributed to an early retirement.  He walked 48 batters in 33 innings and thus ended his MLB career.
Eddie Kazak (d. 1999) third base for the Cards and Reds from 1948 - 1952. He enlisted and suffered injuries during the Invasion of Normandy. A bayonet wound in his left arm and a shrapnel shattered right elbow didn't keep  Eddie out of the game.  Career BA of .273 with 165 hits.  A player in the minors til 1960, he left us with this gorgeous Bowman!

I have many more cards from 50s and 60s.  Older, yes.  Vintage??  Not sure. It's a PO - personal opinion.  When looking at my own pictures from the early 60s, I certainly don't think vintage, just youthful!