The newest member of the Hall of Fame, I cannot think of a player more deserving of enshrinement at Cooperstown than Rickey Henderson.

The greatest lead-off hitter of all-time, Henderson turned base stealing into an art and was the barometer by which all future runners were held to – and nobody compared!!

Rickey Henderson had amazing baseball talent, and a personality to match.  While at times his interviews were more entertaining than his play, there is no doubt that Rickey is a baseball legend and several of his amazing accomplishments will not be matched by many players.

A true player, with an undying love for the game, Rickey Henderson is a Hall of Famer!!!

Unlike many of the game’s stars from the 1980’s, Rickey Henderson made it to the World Series and he took home 2 championship titles. 

In his 25-year career, Rickey played in 3 World Series match-ups.  Winning 2 of the 3 is pretty solid and Henderson was a key contributor both times.

In 1989, Henderson’s Oakland team beat the Giants in 4 games.  In that stretch, Rickey hit .474 while going 9 for 19.  He also collected 2 triples, a home run, 3 steals, scored 4 times and had 3 RBI.

And in 1993, Rickey’s Toronto Blue Jays teammates beat the Phillies in 6 games.  And while he was not as dominant as he had been during the 1989 Fall Classic, Henderson still managed to collect 6 hits, score 5 runs, and finish the series with a .393 on-base percentage. 

Rickey Henderson offered the baseball card companies something different.  They didn’t have to rely solely on posed photography or shots of Rickey in his batting stance at the plate.

Instead he gave the card companies beauties like these:

The anticipation of the next pitch…

Head-first slides…

Base stealing dominance….

Pictures where you can almost see the gears in his head spinning…

Rickey gave all of us handfuls of unique collectibles!!!  Thanks Rickey!!

Rickey Henderson is the kind of player that can challenge for the MVP crown during each season that he plays.  His ability to separate himself from the rest of the league gave him constant respect from the voters.

It was no surprise that Rickey won the American League MVP award in 1990 – it’s just kind of surprising that it was his only one!!

In 1990, Henderson was the key that ignited the mighty Oakland A’s offense.  During that year, Rickey batted .325 and had an on-base percentage of .439.  He collected 159 hits, scored 119 runs, stole 65 bases ans smacked 28 home runs.  And in 594 plate appearances, Rickey struck out just 60 times.

Henderson’s 1990 campaign also included an All-star selection, a Silver Slugger award, and a trip to the World Series!!

Ask any collector to give you their ‘Top 5′ rookie cards to own from the 1980’s and the odds are pretty good that the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card makes the list more often than not.

A classic design and great photo have kept this iconic card as a collecting goal for many almost 30 years after it’s release to the hobby.

Topps did a great job with this one…  Perfect photo choice.  Perfect colors used on the banners to compliment Rickey’s uniform.  And a perfect facsimile signature of one of the game’s brightest stars!! 

The 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card – I’ve got mine, do you have yours??

Rickey Henderson started a game with a home run 81 times – another major league record!!

Leading this category but quite a large margin, the lead-off home run is just another way to separate Rickey from his peers.  Always physically ready and mentally prepared to take over, Rickey crushed 81 pitchers dreams before they were able to record a single out!!!

Truly remarkable!!

Scoring runs is what you want your lead-off hitter to do.  So why not do it better than anyone ever has before you?

For 25 major league seasons, Rickey Henderson batted lead-off.  He got on base in record numbers, which led to scoring a ton of runs.

While leading the league in runs scored just 5 times, it was Rickey’s consistency that landed him as the game’s all-time leader for runs scored.  Henderson accumulated 13 seasons in which he scored 100 or more runs.  And in total, he scored 2,295 times which is slightly above Ty Cobb who sits in second place. 

Bottom Line – When Rickey got on base he was a threat to score each and every time!!

Henderson tallied 10 All-Star team selections during his 25-year career.

All of his appearances on the All-star team came during his first 13 years in the league.  6 of his selections came from his playing days in Oakland while the other 4 were from his seasons with the Yankees.

All-star nominations and selections for Henderson were natural.  He was a dominant player that had the rare ability to change the game in many ways.  Whether it was with his bat, or his feet, or his glove, Rickey Henderson was one of the greatest players during the 1980’s and his appearance on 8 of the 10 All-star teams in that decade confirms his status as an elite player!

Obviously, Rickey Henderson was a very skilled baseball player.  But if there was one dominant trait that made Henderson stand head and shoulders above his teammates and peers, it was his base running.

Rickey ran the bases like no other.  Quite literally, he was the best base stealer and run scoring player of all-time.

In his 25-season big league career, Rickey stole 1,406 bases and scored 2,295 runs.  Each tally gives him sole possession of first place in baseball history. 

Personally, I don’t think either of these records will ever be contested.  Gone are the days of the 80 steals a year player, and if a player in today’s game could score 100 or more runs in 22 straight seasons, I would be shocked!

Rickey Henderson is one-of-a-kind!!

A majority of the world is celebrating a special holiday today.  And in the ‘30-YOC’ household we join in that celebration too!!

But I also save a few minutes of every Christmas to celebrate the birthday of one of my favorite baseball players from my youth – Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.

And following suit, I will dedicate a day’s worth of posts to the newest player to be enshrined at Cooperstown!

Happy Birthday Rickey!!!

Eddie Murray 1988 Topps Record Breaker 

The perfect card?  Quite possibly…

What this 1988 Topps card does for the collector, especially the young collector, is provide a glimpse of just how solid of a major league player Eddie Murray was.

You see, the card celebrates Murray and his ability to dominate the game offensively while batting both lefty and righty.  This card specifically recognizes Murray for belting home runs from each side of the plate in two consecutive games – an amazing accomplishment.

How rare you ask??  So rare, that is baseball’s incredible history Eddie Murray was the first player to ever do this.  And no-one has done it since!!

Eddie Murray is a true baseball talent – and he should be honored and treated as such!!!

‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #27

1963 Topps - Card #553 – AKA – ‘The Willie Stargell Rookie Card’

Brock Davis – Davis’ career lasted just 6 seasons.  In that time, he had some fair success but was never able to solidify a starting job on either of the 3 teams he played for.  A career .260 hitter, Davis’ best year came in 1971 when he was with the Cubs.  In 106 games, he hit .256 while collecting 77 hits, scoring 22 runs, and driving in 28.

Jim Gosger - Gosger had a lengthy 10-season career in the major leagues.  An outfielder with the ability to play all 3 spots, Gosger was primarily used as a utility guy.  In that role he compiled a .226 batting average.  His offensive stats include 67 doubles, 30 home runs, 177 RBI, and 197 runs scored.

John Herrnstein - A 5-year veteran, Herrnstein suited up for 3 teams.  While primarily playing for the Phillies, he finished his playing days with a .220 average alongside 8 home runs, 34 RBI, and 1 stolen base.  His biggest claim to fame is being part of the trade that sent Ferguson Jenkins to the Chicago Cubs in 1966.

Willie Stargell – Stargell was dominant during his playing days.  A 7-time All-star with 475 career home runs and 1,540 RBI, Stargell was the ‘go-to’ guy for the Pirates offense.  His 21-year career culminated with winning 1 MVP award, 2 World Series championships, and the 1979 World Series MVP award.  ‘Pops’ was one-of-a-kind!!!

Steve Carlton turns 65 years old today.

Steve Carlton is one of the game’s greatest pitchers of all-time.  And one of its most under-appreciated as well…

Carlton had a dominant 24-season major league baseball career.  A first ballot Hall of Famer, Carlton’s resume boasts some incredibly impressive accomplishments:

• 4 Cy Young awards
• 10-time All-star
• 329 career victories
• 4,136 strikeouts
• 1 Gold Glove award
• 1972 National League Triple Crown winner
• Member of the 1967 World Series champions

See what I mean??  Not too many men that have played this game can compare. 

Cheers to you, ‘Lefty’!!!  And Happy Birthday too!!!

The company that I work for held their annual Secret Santa gift exchange on Friday afternoon.  Being rather new to this workplace, I thought this would be a good opportunity to meet some of the people there that I had yet to be introduced to.  Prior to the actual gift exchange, we were asked to fill out a questionnaire that would help our ‘Secret Santa’ select a gift suited to our likes.

I won’t bore you with the answers to my questions, but what I will tell you is what I received – a $25 gift card to The Sports Authority!!

Not too shabby huh???

As soon as my gift was opened, I knew how I would blow use it.  $25 is just a little less than what it would cost me for 2 Rawlings Official baseballs.  Over the weekend, I kept the gift card with me and as soon as I had the opportunity I went shopping – 2 brand new baseballs are now mine!!

And what would I do with these 2 beauties?  Why turn them into TTM requests of course…

The first one is going to Duke Snider.  I’ve seen a ton of successes from Mr. Snider recently online(mine included) and I have become quite the fan after taking the time to research and learn about him and his amazing career.  I hope he comes through with another autograph for me – I would love to add another legendary Hall Of Famer to my collection!!!

This package was dropped into the mailbox this morning….

Thanks ‘Santa’.

I was able to pick up this subset for a very low price.  It’s a 6-card set and it highlights some amazing accomplishments that occurred during the 1979 baseball season.

1980 Topps – ‘1979 Highlights’ – Card #1

Headline – ‘Brock And Yaz Enter 3000-Hit Circle During The 1979 Campaign’

Text on the back - ‘Lou Brock of the St. Louis Cardinals and Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox attained their 3000th career hits in 1979.  The retiring Brock finished with 3,023 lifetime safeties while Yaz’ total stands at 3,009 hits when he enters the 1980 season.’

30 years later – At the time, Brock and Yaz were the 14th and 15th players to reach the 3,000 hits milestone.  Today, this group boasts 27 members with Brock ranking at 23rd place with 3,023 and Yaz quite a bit further ahead at 6th place with 3,419 career hits.

2 great players, 1 amazing card!!!

1972 Topps League Leaders Card Starring Jim Palmer

How about a nice vintage card celebrating 3 players and their ability to dominate the game of baseball?

This card comes from the 1972 Topps baseball set and honors Vida Blue, Wilbur Wood, and Jim Palmer for their outstanding pitching during the 1971 baseball season.

Specifically, this card celebrates their very low earned run averages.  During the ‘71 season Blue had just a 1.82 ERA, while Wood tallied a 1.91, and Palmer compiled a 2.68 ERA.

3 great pitchers, and 3 dominant performances!!!

Another great Jim Palmer card for my collection – SWEET!!!

1981 Fleer Eddie Murray 

While most of the cards from Fleer’s debut set are on the boring and drab side, I kind of like this card. 

The design is nothing spectacular, but the color Orange is used very well and works with the Baltimore Orioles team colors.  The border, team name, and splashes of Orange throughout Murray’s uniform create a cohesive look for the card.  And when you add a power color(non-color) to the card like Black, it makes the Orange POP even more vividly.  The Black outlining the Orange border coupled with the player name, position, and Black accents on Eddie’s uniform are the perfect finishing touches.  Lastly, I like a picture of a guy doing something on a card that you normally don’t get to see.  Most Eddie Murray cards feature him with a menacing look as he prepares to swing at the next pitch coming his way – it’s great to see him having fun and enjoying a friendly game of catch!!!

While no Andre Dawson cards were part of this great package, Charley, creator of the blog ‘Andre Dawson for the Baseball Hall of Fame’, sent me a large group of cards that are a perfect fit for me and my player collections.

Starting with a big handful of Eddie Murray wearing the team colors of the Baltimore Orioles, LA Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, and New York Mets.

From there he put together a nice collection of Greg Maddux cards from his playing days with the Atlanta Braves…

…as well as a nice stack of cards with Maddux wearing his ‘Cubbie Blue’.

And lastly, 2 cards to help me complete my Greg Maddux player collection!!

Thanks for the great cards Charlie.  This was a nice way to celebrate one Hall of Famer and another surefire Hall of Famer as well!!!

I hope you like the package of cards I put together for you…. 

The 1984 Topps ‘1983 Highlights’ 6-Card Subset – Card #6

Headline – ‘Superstars Bench, Perry, and Yastrzemski Retire’

Text on the back – Career stats from Bench’s 17, Perry’s 22, and Yaz’s 23-year careers

25 years later – 3 Hall of Famers honored on one card – SWEET!!!

The 1984 Topps ‘1983 Highlights’ 6-Card Subset – Card #4

Headline – ‘Ryan, Carlton, And Perry Surpass Walter Johnson’

Text on the back – Montreal, Quebec, April 2, 1983: Astros’ Nolan Ryan fanned his 3,509th batter breaking mark of 3,508 K’s by Walter Johnson, 1907-27.  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1983: Philles’ Steve Carlton’s 3,509th strikeout has exceeded lifetime total of Walter Johnson.  Boston, Massachusetts, August 13, 1983: Royals’ Gaylord Perry has recorded his 3,509th strikeout to surpass Walter Johnson’s 3,508.

25 years later – Sine 1984, Johnson’s mark has been passed by 5 more pitchers.

The 1984 Topps ‘1983 Highlights’ 6-Card Subset – Card #2

Headline – ‘Rickey Henderson Steals 100 Bases For Third Time’

Text on the back – Oakland, California, September 13, 1983: A’s outfielder Rickey Henderson tonight became the first player in major league history to reach the 100-stolen base milestone for the third time in his career.  Entering the game with 98 thefts, he swiped #’s 99 and 100 in the third inning.  Rickey recorded 100 stolen bases in 1980 and set the modern record with 130 thefts in 1982.

25 years later – Henderson ended his career with 1,406 stolen bases.  The player in second place, Lou Brock, is almost 500 swipes behind.

The 1984 Topps ‘1983 Highlights’ 6-Card Subset – Card #1

Headline – ‘Carlton Wins 300th, He’s All-Time Strikeout King’

Text on the back – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1983: Phillies’ southpaw Steve Carlton has finished the season with 3,709 strikeouts. a new all-time record.  Prior to 1983, the mark had been 3,508 whiffs by Walter Johnson.  Steve reached yet another milestone at St. louis, September 23rd, by becoming only the 16th pitcher ever to have achieved 300 career victories.

25 years later – Carlton ended his career with 329 victories(good for 11th all-time) and 4,136 strikeouts(4th).

 1984 Donruss Jim Palmer

‘84 Donruss – I don’t love it or hate it.  But I do have strong memories of this being one of the very first packs of cards I ever opened as a kid.  So for that reason, I like the set.

And it’s nice to pick up the Jim Palmer card from that set so I can check one more card off of my ‘Needs List’.

1984 was Palmer’s last year in the majors.  Only appearing in 5 games, and going 0-3, Palmer retired from the sport and the game he loved.  He finished his amazing 19-season career with the Orioles having a 268-152 record.  Palmer is the proud owner of 3 Cy Young Awards, 3 World Series titles, and was a member of the 1990 Hall of Fame class!!!

Some more went out today:

Billy Williams, HOF OF: Not an easy signer TTM, but the only signature I have of him in on a 8×10 stat sheet.  I threw in a $20 donation for luck.

Lee Thomas, retired OF/1B: Good TTM signer.  Decent player for most of the 60’s, but is most famous for taking over the last place Phillies front office  in 1988, and by 1993 the team made it to the World Series.

Felix Mantilla, retired OF: Mostly a utility guy for most of the 50’s and 60’s, was on the ‘57 Brave WS squad and roomed with Hank Aaron.  Though never hitting more than 11 HR in his career, was traded to Boston and somehow wacked 30 in ‘64, and 18 in ‘65.   Was an All-Star in ‘65.  Threw in a $5 donation.

Willie Horton, retired OF: Detroit fan favorite in the 60’s and 70’s.  Played for Cleveland briefly in ‘78, but made his name with the Tigers as a power hitting OF.  Named to 4 All-Star teams.  Sent c/o the Tigers.

Fred Whitfield, retired 1B: Played for the Indians from ‘63 to ‘67.  Not a bad player from ‘63 to ‘66, with decent average and power. After that, it went downhill fast.  Never an All-Star, despite having a pretty good ‘65 seaons.  I think he is a good signer…

Max Alvis, retired 3B: One of the Indians great 3B.  Only played from ‘62 to ‘70, and was a real masher for most of that time.  Named to two All-Star teams (1966,67).  Great signer.  Sucks he was on such bad Tribe teams.

No returns now in almost a week.  Bummer.

1987 Donruss Eddie Murray

Hardly worth showing off, but trying to stay true to my commitment of honoring Eddie and each of his cards from his days with the Orioles, cards like the 1987 Donruss issue make that task a little less enjoyable.

I like the ‘87 design.  It’s not my favorite, but it is definitely not their worst work either.  But the photo choice for this card is just terrible.  I mean, zoom out.  Seriously…

Here we have one of the game’s greatest hitters and Donruss chooses this close-up as their picture for a baseball card set people will be collecting all year-long.  I know that they may want to hold certain images for certain issues, but this is their flagship, their bread-and-butter if you will…  And they failed miserably.

The only great thing about adding this card to my collection is that I can add a ‘Y’ to my ‘Own It’ column on my Eddie Murray checklist!!!  Otherwise – YUCK!!!