‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #20

1975 Topps - Card #623 – AKA – ‘The Keith Hernandez Rookie Card’

Phil Garner – Garner enjoyed a full, 16-year career as he played for 5 different teams.  A 3-time All-star, and member of the 1979 World Champion Orioles, Garner tallied 1,594 career hits including 109 home runs, 738 RBI, and 225 stolen bases.

Keith Hernandez – One of the most underrated players from his era, Keith Hernandez enjoyed a wonderful major league career.  Climaxing with the 1979 MVP Award, Hernandez was a 5-time All-star, 11-time Gold Glove Award winner, 2-time Silver Slugger winner, and a 2-time World Series champion.  Hernandez finished his stellar career with 2,182 hits, 162 home runs, 1,070 RBI, and 1,124 runs scored.  

Bob Sheldon – Sheldon’s career spanned 3 seasons and just 94 games.  Primarily used as a designated hitter, Sheldon failed to impress his managers with his offensive skills and was quickly out of baseball.  In 94 games, Sheldon managed to amass 67 career hits with 17 RBI, 30 runs scored, and a .256 batting average.

Tom Veryzer - Veryzer played shortstop for 4 big league clubs over the span of 12 years.  A fair hitter without a glaring offensive skill, Veryzer became a nice, serviceable player that remained in the big leagues due to his solid play on defense.

When I learned that Topps was bringing back its popular T206 brand that they made back in 2002, I was excited to see what unique relic cards they planned to include.  So far I haven’t seen anything too exciting.  They have Ruth, Foxx, Mantle and A-rod.  But I really enjoy the different relic cards that they included with the 2002 version like Jimmy Collins, Buck Herzog, and Johnny Evers.  The ‘09 version just seems like it has the same old people.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to pull a a bat card of Ruth or Cobb, but I think the ‘02 product has more of a selection of old players that you don’t see very often.

Picked these up today while at Wal-Mart….. Trust me they have already been ripped and nothing really big came out of them… Will post pictures later on….. If any one is collecting any one of these set and needs base help please feel free to hit me up…. i have lots of both!

G0nna make this short and sweet. A few weeks back Mario broke a pack of Triple Threads baseball supplied by Topps and out of it he pulled this sweet Jon Lester auto-relic. I immediately inquired about it and he said I could have it for nothing more than my postage-paid bubble mailer. When the card arrived, it also came with a little container of other goodies including about a dozen random Red Sox cards, a UFC Michael Bisping Auto redemption (Topps estimates it’ll be ready in March) and this Derek Jeter Upper Deck short print card commemorating his achievement as the all-time Yankee hits leader. If there is one thing I have learned in my 18 months as a blogger it’s that there are a lot of generous people in our hobby.

As you gear up for this weekend’s upcoming games by realigning your fantasy rosters to optimize matchups, let’s take a quick look back at last week’s studs. (Note: Points listed are directly from the First and Goal Fantasy League and may not represent point totals in your individual leagues)

*Fantasy Stud of the Week*
QB: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions — Detroit and Cleveland in a shoot out?!? Detroit and Cleveland giving us one of the best games of the season?!? Holy crap! In a surprising game of breakouts for highly touted college QBs Matthew Stafford and Brady Quinn, Stafford ended the day on top. His 422 passing yards and rookie record-tying 5 TDs (something that hadn’t been done since 1937) helped lead the Lions to an exciting last minute victory. Despite his 2 interceptions, Stafford amassed 34 fantasy points, a dominate performance for any player, let alone a rookie quarterback. The most impressive part of his outing? Staying on the field and throwing the game winning touchdown with a separated shoulder. The kid’s got guts, that’s all I’m saying.

RB: Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins — When the Dolphins announced Ronnie Brown was out for the season, many thought the whole team was out for the season. Ricky Williams set out to prove them wrong. Rushing for 119 and 2 touchdowns, as well as picking up 19 receiving yards and another touchdown, Williams accumulated 30 fantasy points, best in the league amongst running backs in Week 11.

WR: Terrell Owens, Buffalo Bills — Trying to quiet some of his critics, Owens had a respectable performance in Week 11. Hauling in 9 receptions for 197 yards, including a team-record setting 98-yard touchdown, Owens picked up 25 fantasy points. While he may have helped some fantasy teams to victory, he still cannot find a way to lead Buffalo to a win. The Bills have now lost 3 straight and 6 of their last 8 games. Hopefully Owens will shut up and put up for a little while longer.

TE: Kevin Boss, New York Giants — A relative unknown in many circles, Boss has now been the league’s top fantasy tight end twice this season. By pulling in a personal-best 5 passing for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns, Boss scored 19 fantasy points in Week 11. He still may not be a consistent threat, but he is proving that he certainly deserves more attention moving forward.

K: Billy Cundiff, Baltimore Ravens — In his first game as a Raven, Cundiff did what none of his teammates were able to do in Week 11: score points. In the 17-15 loss to the Colts, Cundiff’s 5 field goals amounted to all of Baltimore’s offense. In fantasy leagues, he actually put up 17 points. Too bad the NFL doesn’t award bonus points for 40+ yard field goals like fantasy leagues do.

D/ST: New England Patriots — As a team that usually embarasses its opponents on the offensive side, this week the Patriots turned out a solid defensive performance. While only allowing 14 points and racking up 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 touchdown, the Patriots D scored 19 fantasy points, best in the league amongst defensive units.

ROOKIE: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions — See Above. This is the first time this season that a rookie topped his class and position. But Staford didn’t stop there. He also topped all fantasy performers and earned best rookie, best QB, AND Fantasy Stud of the Week.

Check back next week for another edition of Fantasy Focus as we recognize the week’s best fantasy performers. Best of luck to you in your respective fantasy football leagues!

Note: To quickly view all of my Fantasy Focus posts, simply click the Fantasy Focus banner at the top of any such post!

To get things started, let’s take a look at the enigmatic, and Topps Heritage-esque, 1990 Bowman Baseball Set:

It took me almost 17 years to notice the approximately 100 different variations found in this set. Many longtime collector’s who own an annual price guide already know about the semi-rare, David Segui #251 with his bio information missing on back. This interesting error is the only one like it in the set and currently lists at $3.50, though I’ve seen them sell for much higher and and a little lower at times. But what many collectors don’t yet know of, is that Bowman issued 2 different versions of several of the subjects in this set. Like today’s Topps Heritage line, some of the players can be seen posed against night backgrounds and daytime backgrounds due to some expert airbrushing. Some players sport both gray and white jerseys on their cards and a handful of players had troublesome light posts and clouds airbrushed away in their backgrounds.

Robin Ventura #311 has had his background and jersey re-touched by Topps’ editors.

Pete O’Brien has seen his jersey go from gray to white in subsquent printings.

Now, these are just a couple examples of this type of variation found in the set. Many stars like Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson and Matt Williams for example, are all affected by Topps’ mysterious editing choices for this set. Almost all of the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins players have had their jerseys altered from gray to white, and in the case of some Twins, their pinstripes have even been removed from their jerseys!

Some other oddities to look for:

#29 Mark Grace: Bowman removed a black bar originally printed on his hand.

#34 Earl Cunningham: Originally had an asterisk after the word “in” on back, but was changed pretty late in the run.

#399 Dave Parker: Can be found with or without his copyright line on back.

#NNO Doc Gooden Art Insert: Can be found with the word “$100,000″ missing on back.

Since the discovery of these variations is relatively new, a true market value has yet to be established but a few mentioned above have already seen bid amounts that exceed the entire set’s book value. For the time being, aproximately 100 different variations have turned up with several more probably out there waiting to be discovered. Even if they weren’t produced in scarce quantities per se, a master set of this variation-laden issue would be a worthy accomplishment and a great addition to any collection.

If I had the choice of opening a box of Allen & Ginter or Mayo, I’d have to go with the Mayo.  I like the overall design better, and it doesn’t contain a lot of those gimmicks you find in A&G.  Congrats to Matthew Stafford on having a great game over the weekend.  His ‘09 Topps Mayo card is one of my favorite base rookies.

With the acquisition of this card I am now just 2 cards away from completing my Fergie Jenkins player collection.

When I set out to collect every card issued by a major card company from Fergie’s playing days, I never knew how enjoyable this goal would be.  Starting with zero cards, it was fun to shop for my ‘needs’ and along the way my appreciation for Fergie and his stellar pitching career sky rocketed.  This collection has taken longer to complete due to the age and condition of the cards I needed, but this extra time has allowed me more opportunities to learn about and enjoy stories focusing on Fergie.

Today I can proudly say that Ferguson Jenkins is my favorite pitcher of all-time!!!

And these are the final 2 cards I need to complete my player collection that honors his legendary career:

1966 Topps - Rookie card

1969 Topps

I have every intention of completing this collection by the end of the year.  It won’t be easy, but it will be fun!!!

I had a few bucks sitting in a paypal account from the sale of a couple issues of ESPN magazine. Apparently there was a bit of demand for the Gina Carano cover of “The Body Issue”, and I pawned mine off for $30 with the subscription label and all.  Who knew?  I guess they were regionally distributed across the country, and us San Diegans had all the luck!  Nice weather year-round, the most valuable magazine covers… life doesn’t get any better.  Even more luckily for me, there was some sort of glitch in the ESPN databases which resulted in me receiving two copies of the “body issue”, although my second copy was the far less appealing Serena Williams cover.  There’s a buyer for nearly everything on ebay, and a I managed to unload my second copy for a whopping $10.

The result: $40 (and change) in a paypal account!  Since it was money I never planned on having I immediately knew I’d use it to buy more baseball cards.  I’d initially planned on buying a tin of 2007 Sweet Spot baseball, but the thought of four crappy relics was less appealing after the luck I had with the relic bargain bin the week before (Steve Carlton, Josh Hamilton, Jose Tabata…).  Why spend $40 on garbage jerseys when I can get ‘em for $3 total at my shop?

And since baby Joseph (still waiting on his arrival, by the way) now has the complete 2009 base Topps set, I figured it’d be fun to go after the recently released ‘09 Topps Updates and Highlights set just to top it off.  It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Updates and Highlights box will last a while since my card funds are in need of replenishing.  I’m told free time will be at a record low once the baby arrives, so it’ll be nice having a box of cards sitting in the baseball card closet that’ll be ready when I am.  The box will be waiting on my porch after work, courtesy of UPS and Blowout Cards.

Late nights ripping wax and bonding with my son – could life be any sweeter?

Finally!!!

It took a little longer than I had expected, but I have completed my 1985 Topps #1 Draft Pick subset.  I posted each card individually for you with some insight as to how these guys and their professional careers panned out.  Some were impressive while others did not get the job done…

And even though the ranking of #1 pick connotes greatness, it is very obvious that it takes a very rare player to meet or exceed the expectations of this title.  Of this group of players, only 2 met the expectations – Darryl Strawberry and Harold Baines.  Each had very impressive careers, and were multiple time All-stars.  Of the remaining guys, Shawon Dunston, Bob Horner, and Mike Moore also fared pretty well in the majors yet fell short of what is expected of a player selected first in their draft class.  The rest of the guys may have shown flashes of greatness from time to time, but were definitely not able to achieve what was expected of them.

Here is the complete set:

And now that this subset is complete, I am ready to take on the next one!!  I have a few ideas…. Stay tuned!!!

Im surprised I never made a post about this card on here yet. I pulled this bad boy out of a 2009 topps series 1 hobby box back in february or march. This card is just amazing, the picture speaks for itself!

The card is numbered 4/20, AWESOME!!! This card is not for trade, just wanted to share it with you guys! Thanks for reading!

Also, I recently joined Mario’s Wax Heaven page, you can check out my page on there by clicking on the link on my blogroll, or by clicking here (yes i know me and my friend look like idiots in that picture…but thats the whole point!)

‘Same Card, Different Paths’ – Card #18

1975 Topps - Card #616 – AKA – ‘The Jim Rice Rookie Card’

Dave Augustine – Augustine appeared in just 29 games in the big leagues.  As a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he has a career batting average of .207 with 6 hits and 4 runs scored while getting just 29 plate appearances.

Pepe Mangual - A 6-year veteran that played in both Montreal and New York, Mangual was a utility outfielder with a knack for stealing bases.  For his career, Mangual amassed 235 hits, scored 155 runs, and stole 64 bases. 

Jim Rice – The newest member of the Hall of Fame was a 8-time All-star and 1-time winner of the MVP award.  Rice enjoyed a 16-year career as a member of the Boston Red Sox.  His career numbers include 2,452 hits, 1,249 runs scored, 1,451 RBI, and 382 home runs.  In his MVP season of 1978, Rice collected 213 hits with a .315 batting average.  He also smacked 46 home runs, 25 doubles, scored 121 runs, and drove in 139.  Rice played in the 1986 World Series but lost to the eventual champion New York Mets.

John Scott – Scott’s brief career spanned three years but he only appeared in 118 games.  After two terrible seasons with the Padres, Scott played his final, and best, season with the Blue Jays.  Scott is a career .222 hitter.  His resume includes 56 hits, 26 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 15 RBI, and 2 home runs.

‘04 Topps Retired Signature Edition was a real hit or miss product.  Boxes only contained 5 packs with an uncirculated autograph within each pack.  I only opened one pack and pulled a Rollie Fingers auto while I was eating lunch at Burger King.  Some of the bigger autographs you could pull include Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Ernie Banks.  If you were really lucky you could pull one of the dual autographs limited to only 25 copies.  If your looking for a quick thrill without the worry of pulling some no name rookie, ‘04 Topps Retired SE might be right for you.  Boxes can still be found for between $150.00 – $200.00.  I’ve always liked the way the black refractors look.

Hey, the Knicks won back to back games. Still it is against the only winless team in the NBA and overall the Knicks season is pretty dismal. The fact is it all about 2010, the year of LeBron and here is what I think they Knicks should do.

A little awhile ago, I had a couple of bucks left over from lunch so I spent it at my local card store. Topps Signature Basketball was marked down to $12. A guarantee auto for only $12, yes please! I also got a pack of 2009-10 Topps Basketball with what’s left.

Topps Signature
Derrick Rose 128/2325
Baron Davis Facsimile Auto Parallel 110/289
Sam Perkins Auto 708/1189
Gerald Wallace 2039/2325

2009-10 Topps Basketball Pack
Mike Conley
Joakim Noah
LaMarcus Aldridge
Gerald Wallace
Dirk Nowitzki
Randy Foye
Jermaine O’Neal
Stephon Marbury- So glad he is no longer with the Knicks
Rodney Stuckey
Spencer Hawes Gold 1191/2009

I got nothing from the base set but the Derrick Rose rookie is pretty sweet. Sam Perkins sounds vaguely familiar but I don’t quite remember what he’s known for. From his Wikipedia page, he is in New York City Basketball Hall of Fame and his nicknames include Sleepy Sam and Big Smooth (which again sounds familiar). All in all, not bad but not great.

The CotG is the Sam Perkin auto because the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame has to count for something, right?