Baseball Card Blogs » Stats on the Back

Sketch Card #17 – Pony’d

dayf — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 04:10:00 +0000

I'm over 3 months behind on the sketch cards and I'm drawing like a fiend right now so I should probably get a postin'. A major theme in my pony-drawing portfolio is turning unsuspecting hapless schmoes into ponies again their will.

The Collective Troll got ponified back in September. I'm not sure at the moment but if he wasn't the first to get transmogrified by me into a man-horse he was dang close. Why would I do such a nefarious thing? I just think the "X is now pony. What do?" meme is friggin' hilarious. Seriously, I'm laughing at it right now and it's making it hard to tpye. Marck isn't the only Mark to become Pony.

Mark over at Stats on the Back also got a blast from the Pony Ray. I basically did a piss take on his blog header (an actual 1973 Topps cartoon) and turned him into a bubble blowing workhorse. Poor guy has a foal to feed and I've gone and made him a pony. Oh well, gotta expect disaster to hit when you're a Met fan. As usual, I did a little preliminary sketch to try to figure things out:

Glasses on ponies ain't easy. Their eyes are half of their dang head which makes things awkward. After doing this, I did it again on the actual card and ended up erasing way too much. This is important later. For some reason I'm obsessed with doing Sharpie Art on these glossy decoy cards people send me but I never quite like how it comes out. I'm not comfortable with my lines yet, I guess. Here's the black and white version:

Lettering is shaky as usual, I smudged up the bubble and the Sharpie decided it didn't want to cooperate on the bottom border and I had to dig up the Marks-a-Lot to get the bkack I wanted but the pony turned out pretty ok in my opinion. Even the glasses! I decided I wanted to color it with the '73 back ink colors but I wasn't entirely sure what color to use. After rummaging through my kids' marker box I found some candidates and did a test on a security decoy card:

I ended up using the color on the top right. The only problem is the color didn't really want to go down evenly so I ended up doing a couple of passes to try to smooth it out. Even then, drops of color globbed together whenever I picked up the marker so I tried to push them towards a border. This is why there's a dark spot at the tip of the hoof. Even worse, the parts where I erased had enough of the gloss removed so the ink soaked in through to the paper underneath when I took a second pass. This is why Pony Mark looks like he has acne on his chin. I couldn't figure out what the heck to put on the back so I found an old sports page in the basement and got some Mod Podge and...

Stats on the back, naturally. The Mets even won! That should take the sting of abruptly switching species away for a bit. (who am I kidding, everyone wants to be a pony) Oh, and Tom, it was about 11 hours before I posted a Met Pony, so the Under is a winner. What's the over/under of when someone posts the date of this box score?

Coolest Card Ever

mmosley — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

I was hoping that Wes Swackhamer would make it big in St.Louis. Not because I know him personally, I don't. Not because he went to the same college as me, he didn't. Not because I have a rare, shiny, autographed rookie card of his, I do not.

It's because his 2005 Topps Turkey Red Card is AWESOME.

He is on the top step, old school striped socks with his pant legs high, waiting to run out on the green grass of ball field. And what will he do once he gets there?

He'll SWACK homeruns with his

mighty hammer, of course!

He doesn't even need a nickname, he's "THE SWACKHAMER". He was almost a legend.

I like this card so much, I bought each of the variations that are readily available. (Must not have the RED!)

Need the red. Would like the suede too.

Happy 2012 from Mark at Stats-on-the-Back!

Any Mini:1-350

mmosley — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:10:00 +0000

I am building a mini set, numbered 1-350. The mini card can be from any set that offers a full set (or mostly full set) of mini cards (Allen & Ginter, Goodwin Champions, Obak, 206, Gypsy Queen, etc)

I don't have many because until recently, I traded away most minis. Hopefully this list will help people find stuff to trade me.

I need the following #'s:
2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24,
29. 30, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 49,
51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71,
77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 93, 95, 96, 97, 100,
101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, 126, 127, 129, 130, 131, 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150,
151, 153, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 161, 162, 165, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 175,
177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 197, 199, 201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 224, 225,
226, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 238, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246. 247, 248,
252, 254, 255, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275,
276, 277, 278, 280, 281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 287, 288, 291, 292, 293, 295, 298,
300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325,
326, 328, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 336. 337, 338. 339, 340, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346

NC State Basketball Want List

mmosley — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:41:00 +0000

Name (Years in NBA)
JJ Hickson (09-11)
Cedric Simmons (07-09)
Josh Powell (06-11)
Anthony Grundy (2006)
Todd Fuller (97-01)
Kevin Thompson (1994)
Chris Corchiani (92-94)
Brian Howard (92-93)
Rodney Monroe (1992)
Chucky Brown (90-02)
Charles Shackleford (89-99)
Chris Washburn
Cozell McQueen (1987)
Lorenzo Charles (1986)
Chuck Nevitt (83-94)
Hawkeye Whitney (81-82)
Kenny Carr (78-87)
Monte Towe (76-77)
Tom Burleson (75-81)
Vann Williford (1971)
Ed Biedenbach (1969)
Ken Rohloff (1964)
Whitney Bell (60-61)
John Richter (1960)
Ron Shavlik (57-58)
Sam Ranzino (1952)
Dick Dickey (1952)
Ed Bartels (50-51)
Robert Hahn (1950)
Leo Katkaveck (49-50)

NC State Baseball Want List

mmosley — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:32:00 +0000

Name (Years in MLB)
Aaron Bates (2009)
Colt Morton (07-09)
Joey Devine (05-11)
Chad Orvella (05-07)
Adam Everett (01-11)
Corey Lee (1999)
Jeff Pierce (1995)
Brian Bark (1995)
Jim McNamara (1992)
Doug Davis (88-92)
Tommy Smith (73-77)
Roger Craig (52-66)
Jimmy Brown (37-46)
Johnny Lanning (36-47)
Jake Wade (36-46)
Kemp Wicker (36-41)
Stu Flythe (1936)
Chink Outen (1933)
Dutch Holland (32-34)
Buck Redfern (28-29)
Fred Johnston (1924)
George Murray (22-33)
Joe DeBerry (20-21)
Dick Burruss (19-28)
Bill Evans (16-19)
Dave Robertson (12-22)

Dave Robertson (

My Collection III: One of Every Met

mmosley — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:59:00 +0000

Here's part three of the increasingly unpopular and slow to be posted survey of my collection. Here is a few pages from my 1-of-Every-Met collection.

Page 1:

Several thoughts on the first page:

1. Yes, Richie Ashburn played for the Mets

2. 40-120, yet lovable.

3. Two Autographs, neither obtained by me.

4. Bottom middle = 1991 Mets Wiz card. A great set for us Met completionist types.

Here is the 1969 Met newbies (cards are sorted by first year of Met servitude).

1969 Mets thoughts:

1. Only 9 new face in 1969. Consistency means better results. Same held true in 1986.
2. 3 of 9 new Mets not in Mets uniforms. I would rather have all my Mets look like Mets but I take what I can get.
3. Rick Folkers (from the 1970 section) is missing. I started (and haven't gotten back to in months) creating stat backs for each players Mets years. Stats included are basic and include how the player came to be a Met. (Yes, I need a Rick Folkers card.)

One last page:

1. I have yet to really go after these early team cards. This page is missing 1963, 1964, 1965, 1971, and 1972. (No team cards in 1962 or 1969)
2. This part of the collection has random other Met cards like playoff, mascots, stickers, etc.

My Met want list is updated except for this and last year's new crop of Metropolitans.

My Collection II: All-Time Teams

mmosley — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Here is post #2 about my current collection. Only a week later, not too bad!

The next two binders in my collection are my All-Time Team binders. I researched each Major League franchise. I chose the 27 best players for each team. I chose a starting nine, then 18 extra players. I didn't try to put together a complete bench but I usually chose 2 relief pitchers to fill out the roster. I only used stats for that team. (For example, Reggie Jackson had a great career and shows up for several teams, but not the Orioles. Same for Randy Johnson, he's no all-time Yankee) In most cases, my best card of a player goes here, unless they are a hall of famer. Also, I am a stickler for players wearing the uniform for the team they are representing.

Once again, sweet, tiny baseball labels for these two.

I thought I would highlight the opposite ends of the All-Time team spectrum: The Yankees and the Diamondbacks. Yankees first:

Starters

SP: Whitey Ford
C: Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig
2B: Tony Lazzeri (Cano might take this spot one day)
3B: Alex Rodriguez ( I'm sure people will hate that choice)
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Charlie Keller
CF: Mickey Mantle
RF: Babe Ruth

6 HOFers, 1 certian 1st Ballot guy, 1 hated HGHer, and a lowly 5-time All-Star Left Fielder

Bench Bats

Joe Dimaggio (probably the best non-starter on any team)
Joe Gordon
Reggie Jackson
Bill Dickey
Don Mattingly (he was very good for a short time)
Thurmon Munson
Earle Combs
Bernie Williams (he was very good for a long time)
Jorge Posada (he is not good anymore)

No Dave Winfield? He didn't make the cut. It's no wonder the Yanks have won all those titles.

Bench Arms

Mel Stottlemyre
Lefty Gomez
Ron Guidry
Andy Pettitte
Red Ruffing
Bob Shawkey
Mariano Rivera (Best ever?)
Goose Gossage
Ed Lopat

And now for the not so equally star-studded Diamondbacks:

Starters

SP: Randy Johnson (good start, matches up well with Whitey Ford)
C: Damion Miller (ouch)
1B: Connor Jackson (ouch again)
2B: Jay Bell (tri-ouch)
3B: Mark Reynolds
SS:Stephen Drew
LF: Luis Gonzalez (nice Championship RBI single)
CF: Steve Finley
RF: Justin Upton (getting better every day)

Bench Bats

Matt Williams (past his time but still better than most D-Backs)
Orlando Hudson (O-DOG!)
Eric Byrnes
Chris Young
Chris Snyder
Kelly Johnson
Erubiel Durazo
Craig Counsell
JUNIOR "MIA" SPIVEY (I either need a Junior Spivey in a Arizona Uni OR I need a current D-Back to man up and be better than Junior Spivey!!!!)

Bench Arms

Curt Schilling
Brandon Webb (Is he done?)
Miguel Batista
Doug Davis
Brian Anderson
Omar Daal
Dan Haren (essentially given to the Angels)
Byung-Hyun Kim
Jose Valverde

There you have it. I update these binders every 2 years or so. The expansion teams have the most changes, as their history is the shortest. At some point, I will share all the teams and ask for your feedback. Would you make any changes to these two teams?

I have an all-time teams want list here. It also includes players who have won a Cy Young or MVP and are not on an all-time team.

My Collection I: One of Every Hall of Famer

mmosley — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:37:00 +0000

Here is the beginning of a few posts about my collection today, partly so that others can see what and how I collect and partly to see it for myself in some organized way:

One thing that I have discovered recently is that I love baseball cards only because I love baseball. So the majority of my collection should probably celebrate the game and the dudes who play it rather than the cardboard itself (just typing this makes me want to downsize more.)

Nothing says Baseball like the Hall of Fame and it's enshrined members. Here is my One of Every Hall of Famer binder:

That tiny sticker with HOF written on it sure does make this most special binder stand out, doesn't it. I have organized it by induction year and then alphabetically within each year. Here is page 1, which includes the Hall's first class of the Georgia Peach, Big Train, Big Six, Sultan of Swat, and Flying Dutchman. A nice class with some great nicknames:

I usually put my best or favorite card of each player in this binder since the Hall of Fame only takes the best. I would rather have a card from each member's playing days, but that just isn't possible for many of these early inductees. Page 1 does include my T206 Christy Mathewson card as well a 2009 Topps Turkey Red Insert of Babe Ruth.

Here is a newer page, honoring the 2003-2005 inductees:

Boggs and Sandberg highlight the page. That powder blue pin-stripped uni on Sandberg is SWEET. And not 1, but 2 Hostess cards make the Hall of Fame cut. I do have 1976 Topps cards of Eck and Kid, but they live in the 1976 Topps binder. As you can see, my Eddie Murray and Paul Molitor card selection is not the best, although I do love the 2008 Goudey set!

I am currently missing 42 of the 295 Hall of Famers. Therefore this collection is 86% complete! I am missing some random early players, some Negro League greats, and many executives and umpires.

Current HOF needs list can be found here.

Next Up: Part 2 - All-Time Team Binders

My Collecting History

mmosley — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:28:00 +0000

So now that my blog has withered in the blazing heat, along with my grass, I thought I would throw a post out there and see if it sticks. Here is a short history of me as a baseball card collector:

1984

I was given a big box of cards from a family friend. Mostly 1973 and 1974 Topps. My brother and I shared the cards. We sorted cards by team. Each team had two stacks, players whom we had heard of and those we had not. Rubber bands aplenty!

1885

We diligently collected the 1985 Donruss set, mostly through rack packs. I remember buying a whole pack because Bill Madlock was on the outside and was needed for the set. Also remember getting Razor Shines from a card shop to complete the set (Sad story - I sent the Shines card ttm a few years ago to the Mets spring training facility. Gone forever. It was my first and last ttm request.)

1986

Collection split with my brother. Began my years as a hoarder of cards. I wanted every card ever produced. I bought every base set, update set, drug store Fleer set, blister packed classic set, etc that I could find.

1991

Fleer Ultra and OPC Premiere arrived, ending my 6 year struggle for EVERYTHING that pictured a baseball player on it.

1992-1994

I bought a set or two, a pack here, a pack there.

1995-1998

The dark years or maybe the light years, depending on your perspective. I didn't think too much about cards, as I finished high school and started college.

1999

My brother reentered the baseball card world, buying up cheap sets and Jeff Bagwell singles. I set out to collect my birth year set, 1976 Topps.

2000 - 2004

Other than my 1976 Topps set, very little hobby activity.

2005

The pack ripping bug bites, retail style. I would buy a few packs a week at the local target. The thrill of the unopened pack was exciting again. I discovered shiny inserts, gamed-used bits, SP's, and parallels.

2006 - 2007

As my collection grew, a few packs at a time, I felt the need to organize. Most of my cards were in their respective set boxes and the others were in binders, toploaders, or boxes, in alpabetical order by last name, of course. The collection was overwhelming. I took up an entire bookshelf. There were probably 90,000 - 100,000 cards and I rarely looked at them. Something had to be done.

early 2007

The year I threw away baseball cards. I have admitted it more than once on this blog. I knew that I did not want every common card from the over-produced era of my childhood and I was sure, at the time, that no one else did either. I threw away roughly 20,000 cards.

mid 2007

I discovered A Pack a Day, and then discovered Cardboard Junkie, Thorzul Will Rule, White Sox Cards, and a few others. Maybe there were people who still wanted 1989 Donruss Lloyd Moseby

cards.

January 1, 2008

Stats on the Back was born.

2008

I created custom cards, gave away 30,000 cards, honored (or made fun) 1985 donruss, 1976 Topps, and 1981 Fleer, made lots of trades

2009

I shared my thoughts on the top three at each position.(I don't think I got around to RF. Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente are in the top three off the top of my head), had some contests, ridded my collection of "Lame Hits", and didn't post as much

2010

Lots more reducing of the collection. traded away stacks of stars and excess vintage, even less posting.

Today

I continue to reduce my collection every time I look at it. I am down to less than 10,000 cards, not counting the ones I will be trading/giving away this year. and almost no posting. Mostly I work and take care of my little boy (19 months).

Next Up: My collection now and the next great Trade/Giveaway from Stats-on-the-Back!!

Two 1954 cards I don’t get to keep

Play at the Plate — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Back in early January I finished up the MCG Tradeathon. I was able to trade a bunch of cards no one wanted for two nice vintage 1954 cards and then random them off to the participants. The Brooklyn Met from Clear Cut Cards got first choice.

He chose the 1954 Topps Ray Boone I acquired. This is the card Topps sent me. You can see it has some type of water (or other liquid) damage to the left side from top to bottom. The corners are a little rough, but it's not terrible. I know I'd be happy to have it in my collection.

The second "winner" was Mark from Stats on the Back. Mark hasn't posted recently (I can relate) so I hope all is well with him. He got the second card by default and it's another nice 1954 card.

It's in rougher condition than the Boone card, but this Jim Pendleton defines vintage. That left sleeve patch is awesome. It's rough around the corners and on the right edge and there are lots of creases on the upper right side. I'd be willing to keep it in my collection, but it will be going out to Mark soon. Thanks again to all the participants in the Tradeathon. Maybe I'll do it again toward the latter stages of the Diamond Giveaway with 2011 Topps.

I'll get to the MCG cards I get to keep sometime. Maybe even this week!