On this day in 1988, Bruce Sutter recorded the 300th and final save of his career.

With a career that spanned just 12 big league seasons, Sutter was the master of the ‘close’ for the majority of that time.  He recorded double-digit saves in 11 of his 12 seasons while eclipsing 27 saves in a season 6 different times.  He also amassed a win-loss record of 68-71 during that time.

Sutter’s Hall of Fame career lands him in 21st place on the all-time list for career saves.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Sutter!!!!

On this day in 1977, both Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell made their debuts for the Detroit Tigers. 

Nearing the end of the 1977 baseball season, and well out of contention for a playoff chance, the Tigers brought up these two rookies to see what they could do at the big league level.

And how did they fare??

Well, let’s just say that for the next 19 baseball seasons, the Detroit Tigers management and front office did not have to worry about their middle infield.  Lou Whitaker and Alan Trammell transformed how double-play tandems were viewed due to their ability to play as a cohesive unit.

And the results of their work together? 

Whitaker was the Rookie of the Year in 1978.  He also made the All-star team 5 times while winning 3 Gold Gloves.  Trammell was a 6-time All-star and earned 4 Gold Glove awards.  And most importantly, this duo helped lead the Tigers to the World Series championship in 1984.

Happy Anniversary to Mr. Whitaker & Mr. Trammell!!!

Now that my Tim Raines player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #2 – 1991 Upper Deck

I love that this baseball card’s picture captured what Tim Raines was best known for – running the bases!  In full stride and heading for home, Raines was one of the best at what he did – generate offense!

In fact, Raines is one of the greatest base runners of all-time.  And if it were not for a man named Rickey Henderson, it is very possible that Tim Raines could be adding the inscription ‘Hall of Fame’ to his autograph.

In total, Raines scored 1,571 runs(50th all-time), he walked 1,330 times(34th all-time), and he stole 808 bases(5th all-time).

The 16th round of the ‘Andre Dawson Firesale’ netted me 4 more additions to my Dawson collection. 

Was #16 Sweet?  Let’s get right into it so you can be the judge.

2004 Donruss Classics ‘Legendary Jackets’ – Numbered 43/50

2004 Leaf Certified Cuts – Game Used Jersey Card – Numbered 16/100

1994 Leaf base card – Autographed

2008 Vintage Sports Cards featuring 1985 Donruss and Game-Used patch

Pretty nice, huh?  And while the haul was relatively small in comparison to prior purchases, the quality and rarity of these cards definitely make up for that!!!

Orel Hershiser was coming off of such a strong campaign during the 1988 baseball season that I find it very hard to believe that he would not have been an All-star during the 1989 season.

Still, Orel continued to impress and dominate!!

Appearing in 35 games in ’89, Hershiser went 15-15 while putting in another solid season of 250+ innings of work.  And while he may not have been able to replicate the historical season that he had in 1988, very few pitchers in the history of the sport ever could!!!

Here is a quick look at Fergie’s amazing 6-year run:

Not a bad run at all!!! 

I was trying to find out how many 1-run games Fergie lost during that time.  I know that I have heard the number before, but I don’t want to mis-quote it.  I have searched around a bit but have not come up with an easy way to find that number.  If I recall correctly, it was somewhere in the neighborhood if 15 or so…

Happy Anniversary to my favorite pitcher of all-time, Mr. Ferguson Arthur Jenkins!!!

On this day in 1998, Mark McGwire broke one of the records in baseball that most fans thought would never fall.

At home, and playing in the historic Busch Stadium, ‘Big Mac’ hit the 62nd home runs of his 1998 baseball season, eclipsing the 61 round-trippers that Roger Maris hit during the 1961 season.

One of the game’s greatest sluggers, it was this home run that catapulted McGwire into the main-stream of America and made his name known in every household.  And while some were not too happy that Maris’ record had been snapped, it is very clear that McGwire did quite a bit in 1998 to rekindle life into a sport that needed it desperately!

Thank You and Happy Anniversary Mark McGwire!!!

Now that my Tim Raines player collection is complete I wanted to take the time to show off my favorite 5 cards from this set.

Card #3 – 1988 Donruss MVPs

It’s nice to see a player like Raines get acknowledged for his MVP talents and put in the same class as the other greats in the sport.  It’s tough when a player plays for a team that doesn’t get the exposure that other, more big-market teams get, but when a player like Raines, who had enormous talent, emerges most baseball fans will take notice.

Tim Raines was able to mix the blend of contact hitting, base running, and intelligent play very well.  So well in fact that he was awarded with 7 All-star team selections and 3 Top 10 finishes for the MVP award!!

The other day a buddy of mine(former nieghbor) told me that he had something for me.  This guy works full-time during the day and goes to school at night so it is tough to get time to hang out like we used to.  But, we’re card-playing pals with a love for baseball.

Anyway, his cousin has a contact with the Marlins and we have all scored tickets through him over the years.  So, when he tells me that he has something for me, that usually means tickets are heading my way.

Well, on the way home from work today he texted me and told me that he left my gift in my mailbox.  I drove home a bit quicker than normal to see what game we would be going to and then I found this box in my mailbox:

A bit puzzled, the box threw me for a surprise.  It is roughly 6×4 and is not the typical package that holds tickets to a sporting event.  And after grabbing it, the weight was wayyyy too heavy for a pair or even quartet of tickets.

I quickly tore it open, after getting inside of my house, and this is what I found inside:

How AWESOME is that???  A mini-replica of Andre Dawson’s Hall of Fame plaque!!!

I had seen these during a few Marlins telecasts, and a few found their way to Ebay, but I never thought that I would get a chance to own one…

Limited to just 3,000 copies, I knew that my chances of grabbing one of these was pretty slim.

I am so happy and proud to add this to my collection.  It will remain with the rest of my Dawson-related memorabilia as it takes center-stage of my Dawson collection!

Thanks Darren, I owe you one.  Big Time!!!

I have to say that I a very happy with how my Ron Santo player collection is coming along!  With so many vintage issues to go after, this one has been easier to put together than I expected.  And while I still have a way to go to complete this set of cards, I am still excited to add each new one to my collection as I scoop them up.

This one, from the 1963 Topps set, is Santo’s third year card.

1963 was the year that it call came together for Ron Santo.  He became a perennial All-star during that year, and also solidified himself as a MVP candidate.  In ’63, Santo hit .297 while collecting 187 hits, 29 doubles, and 25 home runs while scoring 79 runs and driving in another 99.

This one is a classic!!!