This baseball card comes to you courtesy of the 1979 Topps baseball card set.  The card proudly celebrates the RBI League Leaders from both the American League and National League from the 1978 baseball season.

The 2 leaders?? 

How about George Foster and Jim Rice – two true run producing machines!!!

Here is the card:

As for the numbers, Jim Rice led all of baseball with 139 RBI.  Foster was the NL leader with 120. 

Go Get ‘Em Boys!!!

Ever since meeting Wade Boggs back in April of this year, I have wanted to add a signed ball to my collection.

And while I want to the event fully prepared to have him sign a ball (and bat) for me, that did not work out as I anticipated.

Still, I have the memories.  And Boggs was one of my favorites as a kid, so it was a thrill that will last a long time for this fan!!

Anyway, I have been shopping for Boggs stuff for a while now.  And I even want as far as searching his future signing events in hope of finding a cheap enough event to send stuff in for.  Sadly, as with most former Yankees players, they can charge a bunch and sell out tickets quickly so that avenue was closed to me.

But Ebay?  Yes, Ebay is a collector’s friend.

And if you are patient enough, you too can bring home an item like this for a very, very affordable rate.

So, I did.  And I could not be more pleased!!!

A fantastic addition to my signed baseball collection.

I ‘completed’ my Dwight Gooden player collection back in April of this year.

My checklist consisted of each and every major brand release of Gooden wearing his Mets’ uniform that was issued during his playing days.

I started that collection in 2011, and I was very happy with how it came together by the time I was done.

However, I did stop one card short.  I had searched and shopped for Gooden’s famous 1984 Fleer Update rookie card for over a year when I called it ‘Quits’.  The card is more rare than other early-year Gooden cards, and I was simply not wanting to fork over the kind of dough that was needed to bring one home.

So, I called my Gooden collection ‘complete’ even though I was one card short.

About six weeks ago, I decided to try again.  So, I searched and shopped some more.  I bid on a few, and lost them all.

And then I scored!!!

And now, I am the very proud owner of a baseball card that has eluded me for close to 30 years.  Yes, I said 30!!!

My friends, I am now the owner of a 1984 Fleer Update Dwight Gooden rookie card.

Here it is:

Former New York Mets star and self-styled financial guru Lenny Dykstra, already sentenced to three years in state prison for a car scam, has agreed to a plea deal on federal bankruptcy fraud charges after looting his mansion of valuables as he struggled to battle numerous creditors.

Dykstra who helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series and later became a
celebrity stock picker before his finances dissolved in chaos in 2009, has racked up a score of charges in recent years.

His fall from grace during the last two years has resulted in conviction for a car finance scam and a separate charge of lewd conduct with a deadly weapon.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles entered under seal a plea agreement with Dykstra in connection with his embezzlement from the bankruptcy estate case.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said the filing is under seal and the office cannot discuss the contents until it is unsealed.

Christopher Dybwad, a federal public defender representing Dykstra, did not return a call to his office and a staffer said he was unlikely to comment.

This card is just another of many recent examples that I have shown in which the border color may not look great, but it allows for other colors to really shine as a result.

And in the case of this card of Gary Carter, it is the Orange and Blue pinstriping of his Mets uniform that really stands out.

Check it out:

A very solid addition to my collection that honors ‘Kid’ Carter.

We miss you Gary!!!

They had the choice between this play or “The Music City Miracle”….They chose Buckner’s play.

You may or may not recall that I scooped up this same card of Dave Winfield back in August of 2011.  If you don’t remember that, I cannot blame you.  If you do recall that post, I say ‘Thank You’.

Either way, here is the post about the Winfield card.

I was hardly complimentary of the card, and for good reason.  I like the theme, juts not too excited with the execution…

Anyways, the Carter card is MUCH better.  The card has color – lots and lots of color.  And all of that color really brings the card to life in my opinion – especially that bright and bold Orange that is used throughout.

Have a look:

NICE!!!

The Mets trailed the Boston Red Sox three games to two and were behind 5-3 in the bottom of the tenth inning with two outs. The Amazins’ rallied to win the game 6-5, thanks to some timely hitting and a crucial error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner.

In case your memory is still a little hazy, you can watch these students from Kenya reenact it the final moments (replacing bats with tennis rackets).

The students wanted to recreate a famous American sporting event and chose this iconic moment in New York sports history over the “Music City Miracle.”

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The Mets trailed the Boston Red Sox three games to two and were behind 5-3 in the bottom of the tenth inning with two outs. The Amazins’ rallied to win the game 6-5, thanks to some timely hitting and a crucial error by Boston first baseman Bill Buckner.

In case your memory is still a little hazy, you can watch these students from Kenya reenact it the final moments (replacing bats with tennis rackets).

The students wanted to recreate a famous American sporting event and chose this iconic moment in New York sports history over the “Music City Miracle.”

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• Despite No New Music, One Direction Aims To Rule Summer With Book, 3-D Film & Tour
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As a Red Sox fan, this does not bother me one bit. It may however bother some of the old timers, but me nahhhhhhhh. Since then the Red Sox have gone on to win two World Series while these kids in Kenya will not do anything with their lives, unless they win the Boston Marathon. Oh ya, you’re welcome for all those t-shirts we send you of the losing teams in the Super Bowl. Stay hot.

Okay, here’s my theory: After Obama’s drunk driving, illegal alien uncle made national headlines, he wasn’t too happy with all the media attention. Having lived in the Boston area for awhile, I’m sure he must have experienced at least one Marathon Monday. Like t-shirts that suggest the left half of the Yankee infield engages in coitus off the playing field pop up around around Fenway Park, jokes about Kenyans winning the Marathon fly on Patriots’ Day. Obama’s uncle no doubt heard a couple of off-color comments, gets on the blower to the one guy in Kenya with a phone, and says “Guess what the red-faced drunks are saying about you?”. What were they do but release a video of their children acting out Boston’s greatest sports heartbreak and hope it goes viral? Well played, Kenya. My only question is this: The kids playing the Red Sox are wearing orange and blue, the colors of the New York Mets. It’s that inattention to detail that’s keeping you in the Third World, guys. Let’s shape up.

George Foster was mashing home runs at a crazy pace in the late 1970′s.  In today’s era, fans and media would speculate foul play, but back in the ’70s Foster was on a mission and the end result was a lot of longballs!!!

During the 1978 baseball season, George Foster paced the National League with 40 home runs.  And his counterpart in the American League, Jim Rice, led the AL with 46.

This is not the first time that these two players would be featured together on a League Leaders card…

Stay tuned for more!

I am a Wade Boggs fan, no doubt about that.  And most of my great memories of Boggs are from his days with the Boston Red Sox.

Still, he collected his only Gold Glove Award and World Series ring as a member of the New York Yankees.  And with the Tampa Bay Rays, he collected hit number 3,000 of his career.

So, as it relates to collecting, my preference is of Boggs wearing his Sox uniform.

But every once in a while, I find a card of him sporting either his Yankees or Rays uniform and I have to pounce.

This is one of those times.

This card is SUPER!!!

Told Ya.

This is the fourth card from the 2002 Upper Deck World Series Heroes set that I have picked up.

And it is the first one that does not offer a supreme image of the featured player.

Have a look:

See what I mean??

The other cards I have from this set bring great images of Joe Morgan, Brooks Robinson, and Wade Boggs.

This one just does not deliver…  Surely there are much better images of Gary Carter out there – I have seen them!!!

Still, this set is becoming a favorite at ’30-YOC’.  I am going to have to investigate what it would take to put together…

Stay tuned.

But who was the man (or woman) behind the acquisition of this prized piece of jewelry?

Nobody knew — and they still don’t for sure — but now there are some clues as to who made the purchase.

And here’s a hint: he’s still winning!

According to FoxSports.com’s Jay Glazer, Taylor and Mark Lepselter, his agent, were notified on Wednesday night that the winning bidder for the 10-time Pro Bowler’s ring was — yep, you guessed it — Charlie Sheen!

Lepselter confirmed to Glazer that he was told that the controversial actor was the winning bidder, but the agent is still trying to confirm it with Sheen’s representatives.

The former “Major League” and “Two and a Half Men” star was famously known for once owning the ball that went through Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

The ring’s estimated value was initially believed to be $75,000-$100,000.

Is there anything that Sheen doesn’t do? If this is true, you have to at least appreciate his sports fandom. Sound off with your thoughts and comments below…

We all know how the 1986 World Series ended.  And we all saw the effect that the result of that series had on Wade Boggs as he sat in the dugout in Shea Stadium and watched the Mets celebrate their championship.

I am really happy to see Boggs as a part of this ‘World Series Heroes’ set issued by Upper Deck in 2002.  And while he will not be as infamously linked to that 1986 series as say Mookie Wilson, Bill Buckner, and Ray Knight, he was still a key component.

In the 7-game match-up, Boggs hit .290 while collecting 9 hits in 31 at-bats.  Of his 9 hits, including 3 doubles.  He also scored three runs and drove in three more.

Nice card!!!

Associated Press – Dallas, TX

The baseball that rolled through the legs of Boston Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series has been sold at auction for $418,250.

Heritage Auctions says the ball was sold Friday in Dallas to a buyer who wants to remain anonymous. The sale price includes the buyer’s premium.

The ball was the centerpiece of an auction featuring the collection of Los Angeles songwriter Seth Swirsky.

Buckner’s error in Game 6 allowed the New York Mets to rally with two outs in the 10th inning. The Mets went on to win the series.

An umpire gave the ball to Mets executive Arthur Richman. Charlie Sheen bought it for more than $93,000 in 1992. Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000.

Heritage Auctions says the ball was sold Friday inDallasto a buyer who wants to remain anonymous. The sale price includes the buyer’s premium.

The ball was the centerpiece of an auction featuring the collection ofLos Angelessongwriter Seth Swirsky.

Roche: Sad Day For Baseball

Buckner’s error in Game 6 allowed the New York Mets to rally with two outs in the 10th inning. The Mets went on to win the series.

Read: Babe Ruth’s Sudbury Home Hits The Market

An umpire gave the ball to Mets executive Arthur Richman. Charlie Sheen bought it for more than $93,000 in 1992. Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

The ball that rolled through Buckner’s legs in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between Boston and the New York Mets will part of an auction Friday in Dallas. Heritage Auctions said the ball is expected to bring in more than $100,000 as the centerpiece of an auction featuring the baseball memorabilia collection of Los Angeles songwriter Seth Swirsky.

“That one ball kind of encapsulates the highest and lowest you can feel in sports at any given moment,” Swirsky said.

Buckner hit .289 with 2,715 hits in 22 years and had more than 100 RBIs in two of his three full seasons with the Red Sox. All of that was overshadowed by his error at Shea Stadium that night when Mookie Wilson’s grounder rolled through Buckner’s legs, allowing the Mets to cap a two-out rally with a victory in the 10th inning. The Mets went on to win the series and Boston’s championship drought — dating to 1918 — continued until 2004.

“I think everybody remembers where they were, even if they were a sports fan or not. Everybody seems to remember that. It’s not just a baseball moment. It’s not just a piece of Mets history or Red Sox history but it seems like it was a cultural moment of the ’80s,” said Swirsky, who co-wrote the hit “Tell It To My Heart” by Taylor Dayne, and has multiple hits with Celine Dion, Olivia Newton-John and Al Green.

After the ball rolled through Buckner’s legs, it was picked up by right field umpire Ed Montague, who put a tiny “x” near a seam to mark it. Montague then gave the ball to Mets executive Arthur Richman. Wilson signed it to Richman, writing: “To Arthur, the ball won it for us, Mookie Wilson, 10/25/86.” As the ball made its way around the clubhouse, someone kissed it, leaving a tobacco stain.

Charlie Sheen bought the famous ball for more than $93,000 in 1992. Swirsky purchased it for nearly $64,000 in 2000.

Swirsky offered the ball up on eBay last October for $1 million but got no takers. He said though that the eBay offering — done on a whim after he realized he could close the bidding on Oct. 25, 2011, of the 25th anniversary of Buckner’s famous error — made him realize he would be OK with selling his entire collection.

Other offerings from Swirsky in the auction include: Reggie Jackson’s third home run ball from Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, which earned him the title “Mr. October,” expected to sell for more than $20,000; Babe Ruth’s 136th career home run baseball from 1921, estimated to sell for more than $50,000; and a 1923 letter signed by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis denying reinstatement of “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, expected to garner more than $20,000.

Also on the block is the Texas Rangers cap Jose Canseco was wearing in 1993 when a ball hit by Cleveland Indian Carlos Martinez bounced off Canseco’s head and then over the outfield wall for an assisted homer. That’s expected to sell for more than $4,000.

Buckner was traded to the Red Sox by the Chicago Cubs in May 1984 and released in July 1987. He rejoined them in 1990 then retired after 22 games. Four years ago, Buckner returned to Fenway Park for the first time since 1997 when he was batting coach with the Chicago White Sox and was cheered for more than four minutes.

Swirsky, who while growing up on Long Island developed a love for the Mets and New York Yankees, said that he remembers watching the 1986 Game 6 with his father. Since buying the ball, he said, he has also made it his mission to stress that Buckner shouldn’t just be remembered for the Game 6 error, reminding people that Buckner had almost as many hits as Lou Gehrig.

“Buckner was a fantastic player and I will only say good things about him,” he said.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)