Baseball Cards

2013 Topps Opening Day Miami Marlins Team Set The 2013 collecting year has allowed for me to go after some great looking, and rather small, Marlins team sets for my collection. One of my non-published goals was to stay on top of the new releases as they came out so I didn’t have to chase them down years later. This set is from the 2013 Topps Opening Day set.  Have a peek: I was lucky enough to pull the base cards of the Marlins from some of the rack packs that I scooped up when the set launched a few months ago. The hardest card for me to nab was the ‘Superstar Celebration’ card that commemorates Giancarlo Stanton.  There are a handful always available on Ebay, but I did not want to overpay.  So, I patiently waited and finally nailed one for $1.00. I’m glad that I waited to this 4-card set did not cost me that much extra money.  And I’m really happy to add another set to my album too!

When does he get here? Wow and those other guys with new teams! Heavy trading day yesterday.

Upper Deck’s Athlete Relations team has been busy conducting signings with football stars this off-season for the company’s highly anticipated 2012 Exquisite Collection Football product set slated to arrive in hobby shops at the end of June. The hard work has been paying off as more and more high-end autograph content has been coming in [...]

23 Runs scored in game 4 of the 1999 ALDSThe Power of Pedro.You all remember the scenario. In 1999, Pedro Martinez was the best pitcher the world had ever seen. A five game series in which Pedro got to pitch twice was almost unfair. All the Sox needed was to win one of the other three games to take the series. All the better, in this case, was that the Indians had their own ace in Bartolo Colon. So, not only would the Sox be able to win Pedro’s two starts, they would, by default, beat Colon twice since he would match up against Pedro. It was almost too easy. But, then things went wacky. Pedro got hurt in game one, and the Sox ended up losing the game. And game two. They won game three, leaving them down 2-1 in the series. Pedro was a huge question mark. Nobody was even sure if he would pitch in the series. If he did, how effective would he be? It wasn’t looking good. It also meant that Mike Hargrove had a decision to make. Who to pitch in Game four. Bartolo Colon wasn’t scheduled to pitch until game five. But, what if Pedro was Pedro again by then? It would be a waste of Colon. What about pitching Colon on short rest, and removing Pedro from the equation? That’s what Cleveland decided to do. Think about that. Hargrove didn’t trust his ace to win a game at home against (at best) a wounded Martinez. He didn’t want any part of game five if Pedro was able to sniff the mound. It’s not like Colon was the Cleveland ace by default. He was a top pitcher. In any other match-up, he’d probably be favored. But, Pedro was that scary. Hargrove couldn’t risk it. He made Colon pitch on the road, on short rest.Colon didn’t go two innings. The Red Sox scored 23 runs. As it turned out, Pedro wasn’t able to start game five. While he certainly pitched true to form once he got in there, he didn’t take the mound until the fourth inning. By then, the Indians had scored eight runs. Would a rested Bartolo Colon have been able to hold the Sox to less than eight? He had certainly done it in game one. But, he didn’t get the chance.If any other pitcher in baseball was scheduled to pitch game five for the Sox, I bet Hargrove holds his ace. Not with a wounded Pedro though. He was forced to roll the dice.And the Red Sox scored 23 runs.23 is for the 23 runs the Sox scored in game four of the 1999 ALDS

Originally posted April 4, 2011, updated May 2013 Going into his third professional season in 1989, Craig Faulkner found himself invited to Orioles spring training, according to The Sarasota Herald-Tribune.He got the invitation in the form of a letter that off-season."It's nice," Faulker told The Herald-Tribune in late February. "I didn't really expect to go to big league camp, but I was pleased when I got the letter. Being near my home is all that much better, because I can sleep in my own bed, eat my own food."Despite the invitation to big league camp, Faulker didn't make the Orioles that year, or any year. He ultimately played eight seasons, making it up to AAA. Faulkner, though, is still close to home. But, instead of playing, he's coaching.Faulkner has served as the head baseball coach at Venice High School in Venice, Fla., since 1999, winning a state championship in the meantime. It's the same school that Faulkner attended as a youth.Signed by the Orioles in 1987 out of Louisiana State, Faulker played his first season at short-season Batavia. He hit .273 with 16 home runs. He moved up to single-A Hagerstown for 1988, hitting .283 with 12 home runs. He hit one of those home runs in a late June game.After that spring in 1989, Faulkner stayed at Hagerstown, but moved up with the club to AA. But his average dropped, to .204. The catcher did get a three-game look at AAA Rochester.But it was back to AA for 1990. He got off to a quick start, going 10 for 19 early on. His average eventually settled in at .249 on the year.Faulkner would stay in AA through 1993. He spent 1991 and 1992 with the Brewers at AA El Paso, then 1993 with the Cardinals at AA Arkansas.He got his first and only extended look at AAA in 1994, back with the Orioles at Rochester. He also got his first look at snow, on an April road trip to Ottawa, according to The Baltimore Sun. Faulkner played 36 games for Rochester that year, his last as a player.By 1995, Faulkner was coaching, named the first base coach for AA Bowie with the Orioles. Of his decision to move to coaching that year, Faulkner told The Herald-Tribune he simply "ran out of talent."My first pro manager always told us if you didn't make it to the big leagues make sure it was because you ran out of talent, not because you didn't work hard enough," Faulkner told The Herald-Tribune that May. "I feel that was my situation, so I'm not walking away with any bitterness or regrets."His first year back at Venice was in 1999. Faulkner took Venace to the 2007 state championship, as well as 2012 and 2013. After the 2013 win, The Herald-Tribune tried to compare Faulkner's teams with other great area teams. Few were comparable."I didn't get to see all those teams," Faulkner told The Herald-Tribune, "but I'm very proud of this team. There have been some good teams in our area, but they can't be much better than these guys."Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Feb. 20, 1989: Faulkner Catches On In Baltimore CampSarasota Herald-Tribune, May 16, 1995: Faulkner has no regretsSarasota Herald-Tribune, May 22, 1999: Faulkner steering good shipSarasota Herald-Tribune, May 18, 2013: Win puts Indians in elite category 1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally Players/Coaches Featured:1,144Made the Majors: 666 - 58.2%Never Made Majors: 478-41.8%5+ Seasons in the Majors: 28910+ Seasons in the Minors: 173

It took me a long time but I was finally able to secure the 2012 Bowman Chrome RC Auto of top Blue Crew prospect Corey Seager. I'm looking to SuperCollect the young shortstop/future third baseman and this particular card was a true necessity.How you get "Corey Seager" out of the above, I have no earthly idea. Regardless, it's a gorgeous piece of cardboard and is a most welcome addition to my Corey Collection. Seager has yet to light it up in 2013 and is currently battling a hamstring injury, but I'm not concerned, as he's very young for pro ball and will heal.

On this date in 1979, Billy Martin issues a public apology to Reno sportswriter, Ray Hagar with whom he brawled last November. Hagar had filed suit for assault, leading to an out-of-court settlement. "If you approach Billy Martin right, he's ok. I avoid him altogether." - Ron Guidry

Unique sports awards and Hall of Famers’ game-worn jerseys lead Grey Flannel’s June 5 Summer Games Auction, with highlights including: 1947 Mel Ott Giants jersey, Jim Brown Rookie of the Year Trophy and Larry Holmes Heavyweight World Championship Belt. Read More

Operation Bullpen author Kevin Nelson helped expose a major forgery ring with his published work on the FBI raid, but he knows the problem still exists. Here are his Top 10 list on what you can do to help stem the tide. Read More

I recently completed another epic trade with Scott Crawford. About 2,500 cards changed hands in this one, and I don't think it's even the biggest we've ever done. Here are just a few of the tons of awesome cards I got in this deal.Baby Johnny Damon. I wonder if he could even grow a beard at this point? Maybe the best use of shadow I've seen on a card. This picture makes me thirsty. Wouldn't you love to hear this conversation? Nice Yankee Stadium dugout shot. A great card of under-appreciated Yankee Matt Nokes. Super-shiny! A shiny purple Giambi! I've seen baseball cards that were supposed to look like credit cards before, but never one designed to look like a frequent-flyer card. The back even has a "magnetic strip". Nice father-son card. Here's weird, wacky card. The funniest part might be the dirt stain on Martinez's shorts.