A Few Cards From The Writer's Journey

 J.T., of The Writer's Journey fame, is one of the kindest card bloggers out there. We don't set up trades anymore. Sometimes cards just show up at my door, as in the case of this package.

I opened the plain white envelope to find a big Harold Baines Donruss card and a clear bag with a note written on a Carlton Fisk calendar page!

 Inside the calendar page were three baseball cards. One of Adam Eaton, one of Fred Howard and one of Richard Dotson. All in all, a pretty neat little package.

Wait! There's one more surprise.

These cards.

J.T. sent a bunch of them in an earlier package and I went gaga over them. Thanks for sending over a few more and thanks for the White Sox cards. I will be sending a little package out to you shortly.

WSC Legends: Pedroia - Doerr

Card #6 - Dustin Pedroia/Bobby Doerr

Draft Years: 1965

 Drafting amateur players can be tricky. Hindsight is usually 20/20. Mistakes are made, bets are lost, but the risk can be worth the reward in rare cases.

The MLB amateur draft began in 1965. Since then, the process has essentially been a lottery for young talent. Most players drafted will never sniff the majors. The ones who do make it have a better shot at having a cup of coffee in the big show than to be a household name.

Big hype can fizzle quickly. Some players won't sign. There are all sorts of obstacles in the way of a successful pick, let alone a successful career. There are other factors to think about as well. Teams sometimes draft to fill holes in their roster. Sometimes the best candidate just won't be what a team is looking for. Other times, sure-fire picks end up going nowhere. Some decisions are based on money, some on agents. There are too many factors to get a crystal clear picture, but we can speculate pretty close.

This series will focus on the first pick of each draft for the White Sox.

It's easy to see on the surface why the White Sox chose catcher Ken Plesha with the seventeenth pick of the 1965 draft. He was a local prospect from McCook, Illinois, who went to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. It had all the makings of a great story; local boy does good, becomes star player with local team.

I have no idea how the selections were made in 1965, but my gut tells me that the selection process wasn't as in depth as it is now. If the White Sox did their homework a little better in 1965, they may have selected another catcher in the same draft...

Johnny Bench.

Four other catchers were selected between Ken Plesha and Johnny Bench. Only Ken Rudolph, selected by the Chicago Cubs at number twenty-six, made the majors, for parts of nine seasons.

Ken Plesha would spend three seasons in the White Sox minor league system before dropping out of baseball. He never rose above A ball.

Johnny Bench would play for seventeen seasons in the majors, win Rookie of the Year, two MVPs, win two World Series, win World Series MVP, make several All-Star appearances and make the Hall of Fame. Bench slipped all the way down to the thirty-sixth player selected in 1965.

While it's easier to play "what if" several decades later, it just goes to show you that even with all of today's information about prospects, nothing is a given, but it is fun to wonder how history could have played out differently.

WSC Birth Years: Taylor Thompson

Card #171 - Taylor Thompson

Born: June 18, 1987

Taylor was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 25th round of the 2008 amateur draft, but chose not to sign. He was again chosen by Chicago in the 44th round of the 2009 draft. There he spent parts of six seasons in the White Sox minor league system. slowly working his way through, until his MLB debut with the Pale Hose on July 20, 2014 against the Houston Astros.

From July 20th until August 3rd, Thompson appeared in five games, giving up nine hits and six runs, culminating in a 10.13 ERA. Each appearance seemed to get progressively worse. Taylor's first two appearances went extremely well. A hit and two strikeouts in his first outing and only a walk and a hit in his second. Then Thompson appeared to derail and his ERA climbed higher in each successive outing. On November 4, 2014, Taylor was claimed off of waivers by the Oakland Athletics.

The First White Sox Card Of 2015 Is....

 Hey Tony LaRussa... do you know what time it is???

I can't hear you!!!

It's Pack Opening Day!!!

It is the first day for the first baseball card set of the new year. It's something I look forward to every year. Not only do I get to open a brand new pack for a brand new year, but after I open the first new pack of the year, it's that much closer to spring training, which in turn is that much closer to the new baseball season.

I had a 6 am start at work this morning, and with the snow that fell, it was a 4 am wake up just to get out of the driveway. A 2:30 pm end time at work guaranteed that I would not potentially have a new pack until 3 pm at the earliest. Since payday isn't until Friday, if Target didn't have the new release out on time (like last year), I wouldn't see any until next year. To fully understand that logic, it might help you to know that I had a Target gift card leftover from Christmas.

Luckily, Target had the hanging boxes in stock, but sadly nothing else. I grabbed two of the five boxes and headed to checkout. I get home and opened the packages.

The first White Sox card of 2015 is...

 177 - Paul Konerko

A tribute card to start of the year. There will be little looking back in 2015 for the White Sox. Not when the team has a shot to hit the postseason, but a look back to Konerko is always nice.

The second card is..

 65 - Alexei Ramirez

I had to wait until the second 72 card pack to find this card, but it was well worth it.

I had to wait until the last card in the second of two packs to find this gem.

A card commemorating the first home run of Jose Abreu's MLB career.

At Target today, the cashier was a Braves fan and didn't think much of his team's chances this year. I told him that I was a White Sox fan, and he could not name any of the offseason moves, except "those couple of guys from Oakland, right?" He then proceeded to tell me that Chicago is not a sports town and they have terrible teams. He cited that the White Sox would not be good this season and the Bears were bad. I reminded him of the Blackhawks, which he conceded, and the Bulls.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I think the White Sox will turn some heads this year, if only to prove the cashier wrong.

This Reminds Me Of Some Things...

...but I'm not sure what. I'm baffled.

Trading With Baseball Card Man

Out of the blue, I received two messages from fellow card bloggers inquiring about my address because they had something to send me. The first message was from Bart, better known through Baseball Card Man. He asked me if I had a certain card, which I didn't, then he sent me an entire set that I wasn't aware existed.

The 1988 Little Sun Black Sox was unknown to me, until a week ago. It contains sixteen cards all about the 1919 World Series and the major players involved, from the members of the Black Sox to the gamblers to Judge Landis.

It's an interesting set of cards, sepia toned cutouts on a solid green background create quite a pop.

Thanks, Bart!! This is a great addition to my collection. I will send something your way shortly.

1928 Yuengling's Ice Cream (F50)

The late twenties were not kind to decent card releases, so it's astonishing to see a good quality set from 1928. The front has been seen over several releases from different companies, similar to the different backs of the various tobacco issues, just a decade or two prior.

The promotion on the back, from Yuengling's Ice Cream, gave a kid a free gallon of ice cream if they collected all the cards. This was suspected to be a near impossible task, since card number 48, Earl Smith, a catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the twilight of his career, is thought to have been severely short printed. In fact, the few examples that have surfaced of Smith is tinted green instead of black and white, like the rest of the set.

A full set, which is a rare treat, contains sixty cards. The White Sox have seven cards in the set.

4 - Red Faber
23 - Ray Schalk
24 - Johnny Mostil
37 - Earl Sheely
39 - Bibb Falk
40 - Willie Kamm
56 - Roger Peckinpaugh

A sharp set from a time that sorely lacked quality releases is a no brainer to collect. The White Sox have a few Hall of Fame players, a few not well known regulars and the injury plagued last season of a veteran in Peckinpaugh. It's a nice assortment of players from a time where many were not represented well on cardboard.

WSC Birth Years: Michael Taylor

Card #170 - Michael Taylor

Born: December 19, 1985

Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the amateur draft in 2007, he was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade, and seemingly within seconds of becoming a Jay, was traded to the Oakland Athletics on December 16, 2009. Michael made his MLB debut on September 2, 2011 with the Athletics against the Seattle Mariners in Oakland, achieving a walk and a strikeout in four plate appearances. Taylor spent limited time from 2011 through 2013 with the Athletics on the parent club; eleven games in 2011, six games in 2012 and nine games in 2013.

On June 14, 2014, Michael was traded to the White Sox for pitcher Jake Sanchez. Taylor made his White Sox debut on September 2, 2014 again the Twins in Minnesota. he played for ten innings, walking once and scoring a run. Michael could find himself in contention for a bench spot sometime in the 2015 season, if he has a solid season in AAA.

RIP Stuart Scott

WSC Birth Years: Andy Wilkins

Card #169 - Andy Wilkins

Born: September 13, 1988

Originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in 2007 in the 25th round of the amateur draft, Andy ultimately did not sign with them and chose to attend the University of Arkansas. In 2010, Wilkins got another chance, when the White Sox drafted him in the fifth round. Andy slowly progressed through the White Sox farm system and performed well during his spring training invites.

On August 31, 2014, Wilkins made his MLB debut against the Detroit Tigers, going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. He finished the 2014 season batting .140 with six hits, two runs, two RBI, two walks and twenty-two strikeouts in forty-five plate appearances. Andy may be the odd man out at first base in 2015 with Jose Abreau and Adam LaRoche platooning between first base and designated hitter. The only hope that Wilkins might have of making the roster is at third base, but that is a long shot. Hopefully, the small taste of the majors will make Andy hungry for more and he will force the Sox to consider him for the roster later in the season.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season.

WSC Birth Years: Carlos Sanchez

Card #168 - Carlos Sanchez

Born: June 29, 1992

The latest in a long line of White Sox Venezuelan infielders, Carlos signed with the Pale Hose in 2009 as an international free agent. He moved up slowly in the farm system until he was finally added to the forty man roster after the 2013 season, which saw him invited to spring training and play at AAA Charlotte the entire season.

Sanchez made his MLB debut with Chicago on July 13, 2014 in Cleveland against the Indians. He went 0-5 at the plate with two strikeouts and was sent back down after the game. After the Sox traded Gordon Beckham to the Angels, Carlos was brought back up and ended up batting .250 over twenty-eight games in 2014. Carlos looks to be the everyday second baseman in 2015, unless something drastically changes before Opening Day. He will need to work on his patience at the plate in the upcoming season, since he had twenty-five hits, twenty-five strikeouts and three walks for his 2014 MLB campaign.

WSC Legends: Freeman - Tenney

Card #5 - Freddie Freeman/Fred Tenney

WSC Birth Years: Scott Snodgress

Card #167 - Scott Snodgress

Born: September 20, 1989

Scott was drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox. Snodgress made his way to the number six prospect in the ChiSox farm system by the beginning of 2013. Bullpen woes from the parent team in 2014, forced the Pale Hose to promote a number of minor league pitchers to showcase their talents for consideration in 2015. Scott was one of those promoted and made his MLB debut on September 3, 2014 against the Minnesota Twins.

Snodgress' first two outings resulted in a sky high ERA, but after the jitters of the majors passed, he settled in nicely for his last two appearances. The Sox did not tender a contract to Scott after the 2014 season, but were hopeful that he would again be part of their plans in 2015. On December 10, 2014, Snodgress signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels that included an invitation to 2015 spring training. The Angels are the closest team to Scott's hometown, so the signing should have been an easy decision for him.