Cards That Never Were #57

1976 Topps - Bill Greif

Bill was traded from the San Diego Padres to the St. Louis Cardinals early in the 1976 season. Once the opening day starter for the Friars, Greif was regulated to bullpen duty at this point in his career. While only appearing in five games with the Padres in 1976, Bill would pitch in forty-seven with the Cards. Greif didn't have his best year in St. Louis but he was one of his better years.

Greif appeared in the 1976 Topps set as a Padre. After the 1976 season, on November 6th, Bill was traded to the new expansion team, the Montreal Expos. Greif never pitched for Montreal, having been released on March 30, 1977, but he has a card with the team in the 1977 Topps set. Bill sat out the '77 season and tried again in 1978, but only pitched in a handful of games with a Mets minor league affiliate before retiring.

2013 Allen & Ginter

Hey, kids! What time is it? That's right! It's Allen & Ginter time!

Yes, it's that time of year again, where everyone goes crazy for this release, and why not? It's one of the most gorgeous vintage mocking sets out there today. It manages to change drastically without changing much at all.

An intricate lined frame and a "painted" picture on thin, sturdy card stock. I'm not sure why, but this set always strikes the right balance with me. Vintage looking sets that ape actual vintage sets have been the rage for over a decade now, but Allen & Ginter keeps chugging along producing a quality product that is both fun to collect and admire. There are so many distinct bells and whistles exclusive to this set that it always manages to surprise and please.

There are the usual array of mini parallels and some short prints. There are also the relics and the autos. There are the subsets that range from the sublime to the weird and everything in between. The yearly code contest and the extras may draw collectors in initially, but the quality of the product keeps them coming back.

The White Sox have seven cards in the base set.

47 - Robin Ventura 

69 - Jake Peavy 

214 - Alexei Ramirez

237 - Chris Sale 

251 - Frank Thomas 

264 - Adam Dunn 

308 - Alex Rios (short print) 

A manager, a retired franchise player and two players with huge contracts that were traded away this summer. Not too shabby. That leaves one player that won't last past 2014, if not sooner, one player who is likely trade bait and a pitcher that the White Sox want to build around. I have a feeling that the selection for the 2014 Allen & Ginter White Sox team will be drastically different.

ATY-CS - Chris Sale 

ATY-FT - Frank Thomas 

New to Allen & Ginter this year is the subset Across The Years. It mentions events and other celebrities and athletes who were born on the subjects birthday.

Another solid Allen & Ginter set from Topps. This is definitely one set I look forward to all year.

WSC Birth Years: Casper Wells

Card #134 - Casper Wells

Born: November 23, 1984

Casper was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2005 draft, 420th overall. He made his MLB debut on May 15, 2010 against the Boston Red Sox and went 0 for 4. On July 30, 2011, Wells was part of a trade to the Seattle Mariners that sent Doug Fister to the Tigers. Casper started to come into his own with Seattle. On August 13th, he started a streak of four games in which he homered. That streak was halted on August 17th by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Brandon Morrow, when a pitch hit Wells in the nose in the bottom of the sixth inning. Casper never continued on his hot streak and was eventually selected off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays on April 10, 2013.

2013 would be a well traveled year for Wells. On April 22, 2013, without appearing in a game with the Jays, Casper was sold to the Oakland Athletics. He played three games with the A's when on April 29th, Wells was sold to the Chicago White Sox. Casper appeared in thirty-eight games for the White Sox, batting a measly .167 during that stretch. Wells was mostly used in a late inning defensive role with the Pale Hose. On August 8, 2013, the Philadelphia Philles selected Casper off of waivers, becoming his fifth team in the 2013 season.

Cards That Never Were #56

1984 Topps - Jim Kaat

The history of baseball cards is littered with players who appear on cards with teams which they never played for in a major league game. Some of these phantom players only appeared in spring training games. Some sat for a brief time on the bench, but never made it into a game. Some were traded away before they ever appeared in a game. There are thousands of stories for thousands of players.

Jim Kaat was released by the St. Louis Cardinals on July 6, 1983, almost a week after his last MLB game. Since he didn't catch on with another team during the 1983 season, this effectively ended a brilliant and long twenty-five year career that started back in 1959 with the Washington Senators.

Fast forward to 1984. Jim Kaat gets an invitation to spring training by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ultimately, Kaat did not make the team out of spring training, but this seems like the kind of story that would eventually lead to a phantom player card. There were photos of Jim from that spring training, but it wasn't until the last year or two that these decent photographs started to leak out. Nearly thirty years in the making... here's what the 1984 Topps Jim Kaat card most likely would have looked like.

WSC Vintage: Charlie Berry

Card #46 - Charlie Berry

Charlie Francis Berry's father, Charlie Joseph Berry, played one season in the minor leagues (Union Association) in 1884, with the Altoona Mountain City, the Kansas City Cowboys and the Chicago Browns which disbanded and moved to Pittsburgh to become the Stogies, which also disbanded. While he was with the Chicago Browns, Charlie's father played in the first site of South Side Park. By the third site of South Side Park, the residents were the Chicago White Sox, who abandoned the site for the newly built Comiskey Park in 1910. South Side Park lived on as a home site for the Chicago American Giants of the Negro Leagues.

Charlie Francis Berry was the epitome of a two sport athlete. In 1925, he led the NFL in scoring with seventy-four points. That year Berry kicked a thirty yard field goal to upset the best college football team, a group of All-Stars from Notre Dame. The game cemented the NFL as a legitimate alternative to college football, but the game led to the NFL stripping the Pottsville Maroons of their championship title in 1925. That year also saw Charlie's first games in the MLB, as a Philadelphia Athletic.

Berry put his MLB career on hold until his NFL career was over. In 1928, he caught games for the Boston Red Sox. In 1931, Berry would rack up a career high one hundred one hits. He started the 1932 season in a slump and was traded with Jack Rothrock to the White Sox on April 29, 1932. The Pale Hose gave up Smead Jolley, Bennie Tate, Johnny Watwood and $7,500 to Boston.

Charlie spent the rest of 1932 and 1933 with the South Siders, playing in one hundred fifty-eight games and sporting a .278 average to go along with one hundred thirty-eight hits and fifty-nine RBI. Berry did amass nine errors behind the plate with Chicago.

On December 12, 1933, Charlie was traded back where he began his career, to the Philadelphia Athletics, with $20,000 for George Earnshaw and Johnny Pasek. Berry's MLB career would end with his only appearance in a game in 1938, on September 8th.

After his playing career, Charlie managed in the minor leagues and coached college football. His best career took off after that detour though. Berry was an official in the NFL, an umpire in MLB and was an official for college games. In 1958, Charlie became the only man to officiate the World Series, the NFL Championship and the College All-Star Game in the same year. Charlie was also elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980.

WSC Birth Years: Ramon Troncoso

Card #133 - Ramon Troncoso

Born: February 16, 1983

Ramon was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 20, 2002, where he was quickly placed on the Dodgers' Dominican Summer League team. He spent three seasons there before being transferred to the Pioneer League rookie class Ogden Raptors in 2005. He led that team with thirteen saves. Troncoso made his MLB debut with the Dodgers replacing Joe Beimel in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants. Ramon got Rich Aurilia to ground into a double play to end the top of the inning.

Troncoso spent four seasons with the Dodgers before being granted free agency in 2012. On November 12, 2012, Ramon signed with the White Sox. He made his ChiSox debut on June 7, 2013 against the Oakland Athletics, relieving Matt Lindstrom in the top of the ninth inning. Troncoso struck out two and gave up a line drive single to Josh Reddick before getting catcher Derek Norris to ground out to second baseman Gordon Beckham. Ramon has mostly been used for mop up duty when the Sox are losing.

Cards That Never Were #55

2013 Topps - Ryne Sandberg

The announcement of Ryne Sandberg as the new Phillies (interim) manager was less than an hour ago, and I'm sure that Topps will eventually put one out, but I'll be the one to present it before Topps.

Sandberg started his career with the Phillies, but came to prominence with the Chicago Cubs. He started his coaching career in the Cubs organization, but was shunned away from his dream position as manager of the Chicago Cubs, so he bolted to the Philadelphia minor league system, with the understanding that one day, the top job will be his for the taking. This day has come and I hope it's everything that Ryno expects it to be.

Good luck, Ryno!

WSC Birth Years: Blake Tekotte

Card #132 - Blake Tekotte

Born: May 24, 1987

Blake was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in the third round of the 2008 draft. He rose through the Friars minor league system and made his MLB debut on May 25, 2011 against the St. Louis Cardinals.His first hit, a double, would come three days later, in Washington D.C., against the Nationals' Jordan Zimmerman.

Tekotte was traded to the White Sox on November 7, 2012 for a minor league pitcher Brandon Kloess. Blake made his White Sox debut on April 20, 2013 against the Minnesota Twins, pinch running for Tyler Flowers in the bottom of the tenth inning. Tekotte would get his first hit with Chicago on July 5th, against the Rays in Tampa Bay, a single to second.

WSC Birth Years: Matt Lindstrom

Card #131 - Matt Lindstrom

Born: February 11, 1980

A few months after Matt's option was declined by the Arizona Diamondbacks, the White Sox signed Lindstrom to a one year deal with an option for 2014. Matt started his big league career with the Florida Marlins in 2007. By 2010, he was with the Houston Astros, where he posted a career high twenty-three saves. Lindstrom spent 2011 with the Colorado Rockies and 2012 was split between the Baltimore Orioles and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Matt has mostly been out in the late innings, in non-save situations for the White Sox in 2013. He has racked up over forty innings and has not given up a home run in the first fifty-five games. Depending on what way the Sox go in 2014, Lindstrom may be part of the plans to mop up those late innings.

2013 Bowman Inception

 These cards look sharp. Let me get that out of the way first. That will be the redeeming factor involved because this is another release with high risk/ high reward potential, but in all likelihood, you'll be looking at pretty cardboard that is only worth a small fraction of what you paid for the box.

This is an autograph release. There are autographs alone. Autographs with relics. Autographs with patches. Autographs with logos. Autographs with autographs. Let's just say if you find a card without an autograph, it's not from this set.

The White Sox have two cards in this set, but it's a little complicated.

In the Prospect Autographs, the White Sox have one card.

PA-CH - Courtney Hawkins

This card has nine parallels. A gold parallel numbered to 99. A blue parallel numbered to 75.  An orange parallel numbered to 50. A green parallel numbered to 25. A red parallel numbered to 10. A purple parallel numbered to 5. An inception parallel numbered to 1. Framed printing plates, all numbered to 1. An inscription autograph numbered to 10.

So... yeah.

In the Autograph Relic cards, the White Sox have one card.

This card has three parallels. A red parallel numbered to 50. A blue parallel numbered to 25. An inception parallel numbered to 1.

One box has five cards, which consists of four autograph cards and a relic card. All this can be yours for around $125. Essentially, if you are looking to make a profit from this purchase, you are probably not, but that's what makes this type of a release a gamble. If you're looking for nice looking cards, this may be the release for you. As for me, I'll stick to the secondary market for single cards.

2013 Triple Play

Panini continues to come up with creative and sensible solutions to get around their lack of licensing. Triple Play was a Donruss brand in the early nineties which was geared towards children. Being a kid at heart, I enjoyed those sets for what they were. Cheap cards that taught the fundamentals of baseball, while showing some great action shots and a good smattering of current players.

The kid aspect has stayed true to the heart of the set, but instead of action shots of today's hottest stars and rookies, those players are now made into cartoons. It's not the most inventive release out there, but it's one that I'm glad was brought back. This set has the potential to hook some kids into collecting and that is something that the hobby has needed for quite some time. I appreciate that there isn't shiny distractions on the cards, like on other companies cards. I have been foiled and sparkled to death by other card companies and this is a good palate cleanser.

The White Sox have two cards in the set.

17 - Chris Sale
18 - Alex Rios

While there is a limited amount of players in Triple Play, the selection for the Sox is refreshing. Instead of Jake Peavy and Paul Konerko taking the two slots, a hot, young pitcher and a forgotten star make it into the mix. Sure, these players have their fair share of cards already, but it is a bit unusual seeing them as the only options in a set. Kudos, Panini.

Triple Play may not be the same set I remember collecting back in the nineties, but I do appreciate what it has turned into. There should always be a few cheap, fun options out there for kids and this fits the bill nicely.

2013 Panini Golden Age

Golden Age reminds me of a cross between Donruss Americana and Topps Allen & Ginter. That isn't surprising considering Panini bought Donruss a few years ago. Panini has brought the Donruss brand out of the doldrums and turned it into a legitimate card company again, even if the Donruss label is nowhere to be found. Panini is even recreating its image in North America. At one time, when I thought of Panini, I thought of only stickers. I have had to rethink that comfortable standby, in the past few years.

The White Sox have one player in the regular set. If you want an extra collecting challenge, include Johnny Evers as a second player for the White Sox. Since Panini isn't allowed to use logos, they have chosen to identify players by city. Evers is best remembered for playing with the Cubs between 1902 and 1913, but Johnny played a single game for the White Sox in 1922, making him an interesting collecting alternative for White Sox collectors in this set.

8 - Johnny Evers
134 - Tommy John

The White Sox players in the subsets are...

Bread For Energy
8 - Eddie Cicotte

Delong Gum
17 - Buck Weaver

Exhibits
12 - Johnny Evers
21 - Buck Weaver

Playing Cards
4 - Johnny Evers
5 - Lefty Williams
40 - Buck Weaver

Tip Top Bread
5 - Buck Weaver

The design is very complimentary to the set. These are some nice, but not great, looking cards. Panini has used the lack of player logos to elevate their product past the cheap looking airbrushed messes that plagued food issue sets over the past forty years. The aspect of celebrities mixed in with players of most sports gives this set somewhat of an uneven feel and pushes the set towards Allen & Ginter territory, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Mailbox Joys: The Joys And Horrors Of Card Collecting

 A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from JT of the excellent blog, The Writer's Journey. JT had a couple of cards he was wondering if I wanted. It just so happened to be two cards from 1989 Bowman. I had, long ago, completed the team set, but I still needed the Baines and Fisk cards for my player collections.

I sent JT my current address and a few days later, I found a little white envelope in the mailbox. I opened it up and found the two aforementioned cards and something else. Something strange. Something dangerous. Something, dare I say, fun.

There were more cards in the top loader.

I cannot begin to describe how my delight turned to curiosity, then horror, and finally mounted into a display of unbridled ecstasy.

These were no ordinary run of the mill cards.

These were...

Close, but not quite.

These were Cereal Killer cards!

Thanks, JT! Not only did the Bowman cards bring some joy, these Cereal Killer cards were an unexpected treat. I may have to seek out the rest of the set.

2013 Topps Archives

I've been a fan of the idea of Topps Archives, but the execution leaves something to be desired. I create my own custom cards using designs of the past, but there is always some connection in my design choosing. Either an important milestone, a missing card or using one design for every card. Seemingly, Topps picked four random years and decided to make a set.

The first fifty cards depict the 1972 set. It is bold and gaudy, but is highly recognizable. The next fifty cards use the 1982 design. The design is minimalist and remind some collectors of hockey sticks. The next fifty cards are culled from the 1985 set, which has large geometric shapes. The last fifty in the regular set use the 1990 design. Let's just say the design is... interesting, using fades and dots to accentuate two opposite photo corners that use the same color scheme. These aren't four set designs that would have obvious connections.

The White Sox have five cards in the set.

22 - Alex Rios
35 - Adam Dunn
65 - Paul Konerko
113 - Jake Peavy
197 - Chris Sale

There are forty-five "All-Time Fan Favorites", which take a player's "best" year in the majors and gives them a card with that year's set design. The White Sox do not have any players in that section of the set. Charlie Hough and Ellis Burks appear to be the only players with White Sox connections and they are featured on the Rangers and Red Sox respectively.

Chris Sale also gets an "error" variation card, based on the 1990 Frank Thomas no name on front error. The insertion ratio is one for every 1,717 packs to find one of the five variation cards, so good luck on that.

The Sox also have cards in the subsets.

1983 All-Stars
83-CF - Carton Fisk

1998 Stadium Club Triumvirate
T-2A - Albert Belle
T-2B - Robin Ventura
T-2C - Frank Thomas

Mini Tall Boys
MT-CS - Chris Sale

Retail Chase
RC-CS - Chris Sale

1960 Relics
60R-AD - Adam Dunn
60R-PK - Paul Konerko

Framed Autographed 1973 Minis
73M-CS - Chris Sale

1983 All-Stars Autographs
83A-CF - Carlton Fisk

Mini Tall Boys Autographs
MTA-CS - Chris Sale

Retail Chase Autographs
RCA-CS - Chris Sale

Topps Archives is fun, but not entirely harmless. The complete randomness of the set can be frustrating at times, but there appears to be some thought that went into the selection of the "All-Time Fan Favorites". There are gold parallels and orange glow parallels, which just adds to the strangeness. For Chris Sale fans, this set offers an abundance of treasure. For White Sox fans, there's enough in here to make it an interesting pickup.

WSC Hall Of Fame Class Of 2013

The votes have been tallied and here are the results.

There were two players elected this year and no one received too few votes to be on next year's ballot.

Congratulations to Harold Baines and Nellie Fox for being the two players inducted into the WSC Hall of Fame Class of 2013!

There will be new players at second base and outfield on next year's ballot.

Thank you to everyone who voted!

Here are the final totals.

Harold Baines - 53 votes (77%)
Nellie Fox - 52 votes (76%)
Hoyt Wilhelm - 35 votes (51%)
Robin Ventura - 34 votes (50%)
Al Lopez - 26 votes (38%)
Bobby Thigpen - 26 votes (38%)
Buck Weaver - 26 votes (38%)
Gary Peters - 18 votes (26%)
Jerry Hairston - 7 votes (10%)
Oscar Gamble - 6 votes (8%)
Fielder Jones - 6 votes (8%) 
George Dickey - 5 votes (7%)
Frank Isbell - 4 votes (5%)


Congratulations, once again, to Harold Baines and Nellie Fox for being inducted into the WSC Hall of Fame!

The voting for the Class of 2014 will begin some time after the World Series is concluded.