Card #24 - Yolmer Sanchez
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
Card Spotlight: 3-29-19
If you've read this blog before, you know that I am a fan of oddball sets. Generally anything that is a little bit different than the normal flagship stuff. Those flagship releases are great, but nothing beats the feeling where you pause even for a brief second because your brain is processing where this card falls into the collection. It's not a feeling I get too often, but it happens.
The Topps Super cards usually throw me for a split second, just because I don't see them often enough and they are larger than the standard size. When you are sorting through cards and seeing the same designs over and over again, an oddball card can be a fantastic wake up call. It jolts you out of your auto-pilot mode and forces you to pay attention.
A lot of Topps oddball products are over the standard size, which makes it a bit difficult to store. They will rarely get mixed in with regular cards because of the size difference. In reality though, about the only Topps Super releases I don't have to take a second look at are the three from the eighties. It's only because they use the same design and picture as their flagship counterpart.
The late sixties/early seventies Topps Super sets looked remarkably similar. Sometimes I can tell by a player or a uniform, but other times it's not easy. The card will get a second look. I wish I had the time to give every card a second look. You can notice all the small details that go unnoticed. Until recently, I hadn't noticed that there was tiny printing differences in the 1991 Topps cards. When they are actually pointed out, it's almost like I was blind before. How did I not notice that before now?
As this 2019 season gets underway, take time to notice the little details. They will make the memory that much more enjoyable.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
WSC All-Stars: Wally Moses
For the first time since the inaugural All-Star game in 1933, the All-Star game was cancelled. Due to wartime travel restrictions for World War II, the 1945 All-Star game was cancelled on April 24, 1945.
No players were ever "officially" selected to the All-Star rosters, but the Associated Press and The Sporting News selected their own roster, so fans could dream about the All-Star game that never was.
Wally was selected to the All-Star team by the Associated Press as a reserve outfielder. Moses led the American League in doubles in 1945. Wally was also selected for the 1937 All-Star game as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Is eTopps Still A Thing Or Am I Out Cards?
While trying to get my collection streamlined and organized these past few months, I had a moment of clarity. I had eTopps cards that I hadn't shipped. This little epiphany started this frustrating path down the Topps rabbit hole.
So, is there anything I can do at this point? I feel like I've already invested too much time in this endeavor and the Topps Company has not invested any. At least that's the way it appears. Perhaps there is a dedicated team working around the clock on my login problem and I have exposed a previously undetected issue that threatens to bring down the very infrastructure of the Topps Company and all that will be left in its wake is Panini America and I will be burned in effigy for the destruction of the trading card industry, cancelling the National this year and beyond, and bringing the world to the brink of devastation. Perhaps not.
Closer to the truth is that Topps probably does give two bleeps about eTopps and most likely hasn't since before 2012. Truthfully, I haven't cared about eTopps in a long time either. The cards are still in limbo because I balked at the shipping rates years ago. I thought it might be time to get my cards out of limbo, but it's proving difficult to do so.
If anyone has any serious suggestions as how to get some actual help from Topps on this issue, I'm all ears. I don't see this ending well. I have a feeling that my account was deleted and I am out the cards I have stockpiled. I hope I'm wrong and a nice solution presents itself.
***UPDATE 4-1-19***
Apparently, I chose the absolute worst time to remember I had cards on eTopps. "System issues" was the explanation I was given. I am back into my account, but I seem to remember more cards in my account than I actually have. My memory could be faulty or cards could have disappeared. Nonetheless, I am back in and can formulate a plan from here.
Monday, March 25, 2019
1949 Leaf Premiums
These cards measure 5 5/8 inches by 7 1/4 inches. They are quite large even by today's standards. They came at the bottom of boxes of Leaf gum cards. Most kids didn't know about them considering these cards were underneath twenty-four packs of gum and cards at a nickel a pack. Kids probably were even less likely to read the advertisement on the back of their Leaf cards. One would have to turn in ten wrappers to get the premium cards. Some kids were probably tenacious about it, most kids probably couldn't be bothered.
These cards are sepia colored and feature a facsimile autograph and a short biography on the front. The backs are blank.
The checklist was only ten cards, but had eight different players.
The White Sox had one card in the premium set.
Ed Walsh
The other unnumbered players were, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Mickey Cochrane, Lou Gehrig, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, John McGraw and three different Babe Ruth variations. The cards are rare today, but they can be found if you're really looking to own them. The toughest to obtain are the Babe Ruth variations (especially a blue background without text) and the Lou Gehrig.
These definitely flew under the radar in 1949. It's really cool to to see such an odd set released at a time where baseball cards were just starting to gain traction again after World War II. I probably appreciate the players checklist now more than most kids back then did. I have an appreciation and admiration for the game in all eras. I have since I was a kid. Most kids are just looking for the current superstars of the game.
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Cards That Never Were #65
From 1987 until 1991, Classic made quite a splash onto the hobby. The company got around the whole license issue by making a board game. The backs of the cards had trivia questions and even a place for the player's autograph.
Some collectors loved these cards and others hated them. I personally don't know anyone who actually played the game attached to these cards. I was always disappointed when my team did not get any cards in a release. Classic made two sets of fifty cards each in 1988. Two teams were absent from both releases. The Dodgers and the White Sox.
I can almost see the absence of the White Sox. The team was spiraling towards mediocrity. The Dodgers, on the other hand, won the World Series in 1988. It's harder to explain the lack of Dodgers cards in a 1988 release than the White Sox.
This entry and the previous will try to rectify that issue.
The fact that there are no Dodgers represented in a year where they won the World Series is atrocious. So, I asked myself who would I like to see from the 1988 Dodgers team on a card? The answer was obvious... Alfredo Griffin.
I've been a fan of Alfredo Griffin since he was in the first pack I opened in 1983. I always smiled when I pulled Alfredo Griffin, so this choice is purely selfish. It would have to be selfish reasons because Griffin had one of the worst seasons in his career in 1988, but he still came out a World Series champion in the end.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
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