http://baseballcardblogs.org Posts from the Best Baseball Card Blogs on the Net Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:36:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/frank-tanana-ttm-autograph.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/frank-tanana-ttm-autograph.html#comments Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:51:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-5592264953929250831 This 1985 Donruss card came in the mail for me today. I had sent it and a 1985 Topps card out to Frank Tanana earlier this month and asked him to sign them. He did so and returned both. He also included an autographed Gospel tract.

I really appreciate the players who take time to answer their mail. I would assume that most often the letters are requests for autographs. To sign and return the enclosed materials takes time and impresses me. It is easy to see who cares about the fans and who does not. A late return is understandable. A return with a letter saying the athlete is too busy to sign is acceptable. No return is not cool. Failure to even acknowledge the fans really bothers me.

In other news it looks like Mike Mussina is going to retire. I remember the hype the surrounded his debut and have watched from afar as he amassed his 270 career victories. After a 20 win season last this year it looks like he will be going out at the top of his game. Good luck with retirement Moose.

After a successful and enjoyable trade with John from England I am adding his blog to the links list. Take a look at The Pursuit of 80's(ness) and tell him Spiff sent ya.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/frank-tanana-ttm-autograph.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/trading-cards-with-card.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/trading-cards-with-card.html#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:32:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-2591850139112066423 A while back I contacted Kerry at Cards on Cards about a possible team lot trade. After some back and forth we agreed on a 220 card trade. I shipped off Kerry's Cardinals cards and he sent some Rangers my way.

Approximately 290 Rangers cards arrived in the mail today and it was a pretty nice lot. Only one or two doubles in the entire thing. I needed about 45 of the cards and was able to complete four team sets. One of the cards that I needed to complete a team set was this 2006 Bazooka Hank Blalock, number 54.

I was also able to complete my 1979 Topps, 2008 Upper Deck, and 2006 Fleer Tradition team sets. Possibly the largest number of team sets knocked out by any one trade to date. Thanks for the great trade Kerry!]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/trading-cards-with-card.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1972-topps-larry-biittner.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1972-topps-larry-biittner.html#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:54:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-7485089512864289043 Today's card is another in the airbrushed beauty that is 1972 Topps. Just about every Rangers card in this set was airbrushed due to the company not having pictures of the players in their new Rangers duds. As a result the team looks for all the world like they are appearing on cereal box cards.

Larry Biittner may not have been airbrushed on card number 122 but he has no logo in site. Larry seems a bit pensive, almost as if he is unsure about the move to Texas. He must have liked it though. After two seasons with the Rangers he was traded to Montreal. He then played nine more seasons before re-signing with Texas for his final campaign in 1983.

Don't worry Larry, you aren't the only one moving. It would appear that as soon as the logjam gets broken in the free agent market there will be a lot of players with new homes this next season.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1972-topps-larry-biittner.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-18.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-18.html#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:23:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-5773401306111597639 Looks like there is still not a lot of movement on the free agent front. Not a lot of movement on my front either so let's see what we have for Pudge today.

1994 Leaf Limited #74
1994 Leaf Limited Gold All-Stars #15
1994 O-Pee-Chee #87
1994 Pacific #627
1994 Pacific All-Latino #13
1994 Panini Stickers #132
1994 Pinnacle #349
Empty Pocket
1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection #349

The empty pocket is waiting for the 1994 Pinnacle Artist's Proofs #349. Seems like by this point in the book an empty pocket or two is about par for a page. That will change as the parallels pick up later in the 1990's and the gaps become more frequent.

On this page we see a numbered card in the Leaf Limited Gold All-Stars. On the back of the card it is numbered 1815/10,000. Not exactly low numbered but I think this is the first numbered card of Pudge we have seen.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-18.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1987-classic-pete-incaviglia.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1987-classic-pete-incaviglia.html#comments Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:26:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-4177729150659878528 Nothing much happening on the free agent front today so I decided to fall back on Classic trivia. Today's questions come from card number 16 in Classic's 1987 offering.

I picked this card up off Sportlots awhile back as I started trying to fill some holes in my collection. I must say, I like the card. I knew that Inky was strong but it takes real power to vaporize the ball. Looks like Pete has done just that. Wonder what the umpire's call was?

Ok, on to the questions.
1. (T-F) Ty Cobb holds the single season record for the highest batting average?
2. Who was nicknamed "The Iron Horse"?
3. Who tied Mike Schmidt for the N.L. home run crown in 1984?
4. Who was the first third baseman to hit over 500 career home runs?
5. What is the nickname of the Cincinnati N.L. team?
Got some pretty easy ones this time. Feel free to post your answers or thoughts on Inky's powder power.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1987-classic-pete-incaviglia.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/start-talking.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/start-talking.html#comments Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:10:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-3880167650177770882 It's free agent time. Time for players' agents to try and talk up their clients for the big time contract. Got to like O-Pee-Chee's acknowledgment of the process on card number 201 of their 1985 offering. Burt Hooton is still pictured in his Dodger duds but there is a notation that he had signed with the Rangers since the picture was taken.

As for this year, the Rangers have reportedly showed some interest in Milton Bradley but the word is that he will probably end up with a new address. Burt's 1984 team has withdrawn their offer to Manny Ramirez but say they are still in the hunt. Thank goodness Texas learned their lesson with Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees are dangling big money in front of CC Sabathia and seem to be eying Derek Lowe and A.J. Burnett. Trying to buy another Championship? I guess some things never change.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/start-talking.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/ready-set.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/ready-set.html#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:52:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-8257292186871279909 Today's card is an unnumbered card from the 2002 Fleer Box Score World Piece set. The card features a piece of one of Chan Ho Park's Rangers jerseys.

Park is one of the many free agents that are still up in the air as we head into Friday and free agent open season. In the past day though there have been several teams that have not been idle.

Nick Swisher is on his way to the Yankees while the Cubs acquired Kevin Gregg from the Marlins and appear to be ready to deal Kerry Wood. The talks surrounding Jake Peavey seem to be stalled and Manny Ramirez looks like he is stalling as well.

Thus far Texas has not made any major moves with the exception of picking up Hank Blalock's option for next year. They have also resigned a minor leaguer or two. Jon Daniels has said that the club plans to focus on bolstering the bullpen but will most likely not be handing out any blockbuster deals.

The next week or two could be very interesting with some big names possibly changing teams or retiring. Any thoughts on who ends up where?]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/ready-set.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1973-kelloggs-pete-broberg.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1973-kelloggs-pete-broberg.html#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:18:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-7440856613022699136 Nothing much happening so far today on the hot stove front. I thought I would take a gander in one of my Rangers binders and see what random card I could come across. I got this one.

This Pete Broberg card is from the 1973 Kellogg's set and is number 41 in the 54 card set. Excepting my Matlack card from the same year this is the earliest Kellogg's card I have and I believe is from the first year that the cereal company offered cards. This and the Matlack are also the only Kellogg's cards I have that are not 3D.

The card has small bumps on the sides and bottom that seem to indicate that it was torn from a sheet. It is difficult to tell if an old Senators picture of Pete was used - his cap almost looks airbrushed.

Flipping the card over we can see two lines of stats, all that Pete had at the time. We also find that Broberg's middle name is Sven and that this is an "officially authorized card." Who officially authorized it I am not sure but there are logos for the Rangers, MLB, and the Players Association on the back as well. About half of the back is filled with information on Pete that talks about his Dartmouth days and compares him to Walter Johnson. It also talks about the jump he made from college ball to the Majors and refers to the Rangers as "his Texas employers."

I enjoy reading old card backs and this one is particularly entertaining. Whoever wrote this should be brought out of retirement to write card backs now.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/1973-kelloggs-pete-broberg.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/turning-on-heat.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/turning-on-heat.html#comments Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:49:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-4156412069814805591 Rangers president Nolan Ryan knows pitching. After all, as card number 34 in the 1994 Topps set indicates, he did it in the Bigs for 27 years.

That length of time is just phenomenal and Ryan claims that it was his conditioning regimen that allowed him to last that long. Who's gonna argue with the king of K's? Not me. Apparently not anyone in the Rangers organization.

Frustrated by the 14 pitchers placed on the disabled list last season, Ryan has decided to retool the Rangers' pitching philosophy. Time to crack down, work out, and push the pitching staff to go further and be tougher. One of the several conditioning camps scheduled for this year is already in full swing. The goal? Get pitchers who can perform and not end up with a sore this or that. Sounds good to me. Here's to hoping it works.

While Nolan holds the pitching staff's feet to the fire, the off-season has been heating up as well. Looks like Billy Beane is trying to make opposing teams sweat a little with the acquisition of Matt Holliday. Obviously Beane is a brilliant operator, I just wonder who will replace Huston Street in the A's pen. Haven't had the opportunity to check with my A's advisor (my brother) about this latest move.

Meanwhile enough pitching to satisfy anyone is about to hit the free agent market on Friday. Looks like the price tags for most of it will be enough to make a Steinbrenner blush. Texas has said they will be cautious with free agent pitching. After their luck with Jennings and McCarthy perhaps that is a wise move.]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/turning-on-heat.html/feed/ 0 http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-17.html http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-17.html#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:42:00 +0000 Spiff tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6061800788985767182.post-1042510300327299390 Monday again. Free agents and teams are preparing to start talking and here we are with our latest Pudge page. The eight cards we have today are:

1994 Finest Pre-Production #126P
Empty pocket
1994 Flair #346
1994 Fleer #319
1994 Fleer All-Stars #22
1994 Fun Pack #70
1994 Fun Pack #176
1994 Kenner Starting Lineup Cards #45
1994 Leaf #338

The empty pocket is left for the Finest Refractor which looks to be a pricey addition. Of these eight cards I think that I like the Flair the best. It just has a classy look to it.

One of the free agents that will soon be talking to various teams is none other than Ivan. The Tigers have already said that they don't feel he is a fit and the Rangers have too much depth at catcher to be interested. Apparently the Yankees only planned to rent him for the home stretch of last season. So, where will he end up? Is there a possibility that he won't catch on with anyone and end up retiring? What do you think?]]> http://rangerscards.blogspot.com/2008/11/book-1-page-17.html/feed/ 0