Baseball Card Blogs

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The hair! My God, the hair!

Oscar certainly wins the prize for largest major league afro in 1975. His airbrushed cap can barely hold on to Oscar’s head. Does that hair come with it’s own gravitational pull?

Oscar almost looks like he’s getting a migraine from all that hair sitting on top of his head. I do believe that the Yankees had to take an insurance policy out on those locks. Maybe he secretly wanted to be a backup singer for the Commodores.

Oscar Gamble may have been the modern day equivalent of Samson. Once the hair was gone, so was Oscar’s strength. His statistics seemed to mirror his afro length.

This has to be one of the most recognizable cards of the seventies. The sheer volume of the hair made it an instant favorite with kids and adults alike. It would take two different stints with the White Sox before I realized the existence of this card.

Now, like the Doobie Brothers episode of What’s Happening, I must bow down to the awesomeness of this card. I wonder what would happen if a player came out with a card like this today? I doubt that a player would sport this kind of hairstyle today. The current philosophy seems to be either shaved or some hairdo worthy of the Predator. This is truly a snapshot of the mid-seventies.

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Well, yesterday it was my birthday. I hung one more year on the line…

Wait.

Okay, yesterday was really my birthday and all week I was looking forward to getting up nice n’ early (something I rarely do on Sundays) to head out to the old flea market and then off to my parents for a nice home-cooked birthday meal.

Well, neither of these planned activities disappointed in the least.

While at the flea, I picked up a few cards that I will be writing about very soon and also a box of cards that I got far cheaper than I would have expected.

While at my parents, I managed to pick up all the issues from the first year of Baseball Cards magazine that I will be doing articles on (1989), picked up my 89 Score box so I can finally let Jason know what I have to help him with his set, and also got to sort through a good chunk of my collection looking for cool cards to put in my soon-to-be-better-than-ever baseball album.

Now here’s the question I have for all you experts out there:

What is the best way to mail about 400 cards to someone? My only concern is that the cards get to their destination safely.

Stay tuned.

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1981 Topps Traded
No. 786 Rafael Landestoy

Dat’s A Sexy! And the ’stache. How did Riverfront not have a record amount of swooning ladies?

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Why this card is awesome: Like Freddie Toliver, here’s another depressed looking Phillie. But with that bat in his hands, this looks to me more like a nice, classic baseball card. Of course, it’s also another shot with a shadow right across the player’s face. Tsk tsk.

Cool stat: For three straight years, 1988 to 1990, Thompson had exactly 39 walks. That’s a statistical oddity–it’s rare to see a player get any one stat (except perhaps games played, or zeroes, in cases like Cal Ripken) exactly the same for a few years running. It reminds me a bit of how Vinnie Castilla had the same HR, RBI, and BA in both 1996 and 1997.

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‘Ode to Opening Day
by Mark H. Young

Opening day tickets were gone in a flash,
SOLD OUT, said the sign even if you had cash.
It’s time to gander at them fields so green
To watch those replays on the diamond screen.
The crack of the bat and roar of the crowd,
The home team’s gonna make those cheering fans proud.

Goin’ to the ballpark on opening day,
Just need a day off to come out and play.
Sittin’ in the bleachers to soak up the sun,
Keeping a scorecard makes it more fun.
Kids bring their gloves to catch souvenirs,
Adults reach for foul balls while spilling their beers.

Youngsters are pushy when standing in line
Waiting for autographs of their favorite nine.
Oh Mr. usher the kids are just great
So please have a heart, don’t show them the gate.
We stand up and stretch in the bottom of seven,
Like in “Field of Dreams”, me thinks this is heaven?

With a chance to see our favorite stars
We follow them closely on baseball cards.
Sosa, Bonds, Junior, and Thome,
Kerry Wood, Mussina, Schilling, El Duque,
Jim Morris at 35, the Oldest Rookie.
Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux and Andruw,
The Rocket, The Cat, A-Rod, Moises Alou.
Piazza, The Alomars, and Will The Thrill,
Olerud, The Big Hurt, bring back the twin bill.
Bagwell, Chipper, Pudge and Pedro,
Mo Vaughn, Boomer, Jose Canseco.
Nomar, The Big Unit, Jeter and Biggio,
Rey Ordonez, Rafael Palmeiro.
ammy, Wrigley’s ivy, HRs on Waveland Ave.,
Barry gets them wet in McCovey Cove.
Ripken, Coney and Tony Gwynn,
McGwire goin’ yard, caused such a din!
Fans came early to watch his BP,
Big Mac — Tape Measure, synonymously!

Tongue in cheek schtick from a Yankee fan,
Who’s rooting, parts of five decades do span.
I’ve taken the time to create and refine
This ditty you’re reading which IS all of mine.
Been workin’ real hard to jot down these words,
If you are from Baltimore, you root for the Birds!
To the owners, “Stop crying and counting your beans,
Baseball in Washington, by any means!!!”

Every boy’s dream is to play in the Show
Very few make it, don’t you know.
The season will start, all teams as equals
The crowning achievement is The World Series.
It won’t be till fall when its all over,
There may be a sighting of Mr October.

We’ve waited all winter, withstood snow and cold
hru free agent signings for millions in gold.
“Play ball”, “Batter up”, the umpire will yell,
Peanuts and crackerjacks the vendors will sell.
Like Bogey has said with panache and glitz,
“A hot dog at the ballpark beats roast beef at the Ritz!”

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The Reds full caliber 2nd baseman.
Who denied starving students free tacos.No. 144 Josh Hamilton

Now with the Texas American League baseball team

No. 153 Adam Dunn
BAM! BAM!
I see 52 homers, 116 RBI, 100 runs and 182 strikeouts!

No. 176 Aaron Harang The Reds unsung hero.
The 200+K starter who does nothing but get people out.
I would like to thank Topps for finally finding a picture of Aaron that does not make him look pregnant or like Frankenstein. Here he is throwin dat stinkee chedduh.No. 218 Joey Votto RC
The Future!

Man it’s gonna be a good year. Hard hitting outfield. Smooth hitting and fielding infield. Good pitching. A true closer.

We win the division in a one game playoff. At Great American Ballpark. Against the Chicago National League semi-pro baseball team. 2 - 0 on a Dunn home run in the ninth driving in Phillips. Kerry Wood retires after Lou Pinella asks for his job back with the Reds.

Reds sweep the Phillies in the shocker of all shockers Division Series battles.

Reds 4 games to 3 over the Braves in the National League Championship Series. Chipper breaks down and pulls an Adam Morisson crying in the dirt between short and third.

The American League refuses to play in the World Series for fear of embarrassment.

Just sayin’.

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Why this card is awesome: Because of deceptive stats. In the “Cool stat” below, I’m going to demonstrate that Smith was actually a pretty good pitcher. But you wouldn’t know it from these stats. Aside from leading the league in Runs Allowed in 1987 (but not Earned Runs, which is very telling, re: crappy Braves defense), his K/BB ratios are simply awful.

Cool stat: Smith finished with a career ERA+ of 105, which is great considering the poor teams he played on for most of his career. But with that above-average ERA, he finished with just a 100-115 record. A basic neutralization of his stats on B-R.com changes his career ERA from 3.74 to 3.76, but also changes his record to 114-102, a .528 win percentage as compared to his actual value of .465. Smith was, in actuality, a pretty consistent, above average pitcher who had a bad reputation from being on the terrible late-80’s Braves. Also of note: he was traded twice in mid-season, and both times performed fantastically for his new team.

Link to the original site

Why this card is awesome: Because of deceptive stats. In the “Cool stat” below, I’m going to demonstrate that Smith was actually a pretty good pitcher. But you wouldn’t know it from these stats. Aside from leading the league in Runs Allowed in 1987 (but not Earned Runs, which is very telling, re: crappy Braves defense), his K/BB ratios are simply awful.

Cool stat: Smith finished with a career ERA+ of 105, which is great considering the poor teams he played on for most of his career. But with that above-average ERA, he finished with just a 100-115 record. A basic neutralization of his stats on B-R.com changes his career ERA from 3.74 to 3.76, but also changes his record to 114-102, a .528 win percentage as compared to his actual value of .465. Smith was, in actuality, a pretty consistent, above average pitcher who had a bad reputation from being on the terrible late-80’s Braves. Also of note: he was traded twice in mid-season, and both times performed fantastically for his new team.

Link to the original site

Why this card is awesome: Because of deceptive stats. In the “Cool stat” below, I’m going to demonstrate that Smith was actually a pretty good pitcher. But you wouldn’t know it from these stats. Aside from leading the league in Runs Allowed in 1987 (but not Earned Runs, which is very telling, re: crappy Braves defense), his K/BB ratios are simply awful.

Cool stat: Smith finished with a career ERA+ of 105, which is great considering the poor teams he played on for most of his career. But with that above-average ERA, he finished with just a 100-115 record. A basic neutralization of his stats on B-R.com changes his career ERA from 3.74 to 3.76, but also changes his record to 114-102, a .528 win percentage as compared to his actual value of .465. Smith was, in actuality, a pretty consistent, above average pitcher who had a bad reputation from being on the terrible late-80’s Braves. Also of note: he was traded twice in mid-season, and both times performed fantastically for his new team.

Link to the original site

Why this card is awesome: Because of deceptive stats. In the “Cool stat” below, I’m going to demonstrate that Smith was actually a pretty good pitcher. But you wouldn’t know it from these stats. Aside from leading the league in Runs Allowed in 1987 (but not Earned Runs, which is very telling, re: crappy Braves defense), his K/BB ratios are simply awful.

Cool stat: Smith finished with a career ERA+ of 105, which is great considering the poor teams he played on for most of his career. But with that above-average ERA, he finished with just a 100-115 record. A basic neutralization of his stats on B-R.com changes his career ERA from 3.74 to 3.76, but also changes his record to 114-102, a .528 win percentage as compared to his actual value of .465. Smith was, in actuality, a pretty consistent, above average pitcher who had a bad reputation from being on the terrible late-80’s Braves. Also of note: he was traded twice in mid-season, and both times performed fantastically for his new team.