Baseball Cards

Jason Hammel caught a nasty virus from his kid, and it's thrown the Orioles' starting rotation all out of whack for this week's series in Detroit. Last night, the O's took the path of least resistance and handed the ball to the confoundingly hittable Jake Arrieta, on the basis that he 1) was rested; b) had minor league options; and iii) was already on the 40-man roster. That's how far Jake has fallen. After he predictably failed (5 R, 10 H in 4.2 IP), he was on a plane back to Norfolk before most of the team was done showering. No fuss, no muss.Tonight, the team's second consecutive spot start goes to another wayward young pitcher, Zach Britton. Though healthier than he was in 2012, when he made only 12 appearances for the Birds with a 5.07 ERA, Zach has spent all of the current season (other than one rocky start in Seattle) in AAA. The prospect of the 25-year-old lefty facing the likes of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder in hostile territory isn't nearly as terrifying to me as the thought of Arrieta doing the same. Britton has a 3.28 ERA with the Tides this year, and has allowed only a pair of home runs in 60.1 innings. He's been even better as of late. Still, with Justin Verlander starting for the Tigers, the odds are lopsided. For my part, I'd just like some sign that the Orioles have legitimate pitching depth, instead of "plenty of guys who suck and a few who are usually okay".UPDATE: Zach pitched into the sixth inning and left with a 5-1 lead thanks to home runs from J. J. Hardy and Adam Jones. That'll play.

Million Dollar Question – ‘Who Is The One That Got Away’??? For the last two weeks we have discussed rookie baseball cards that were issued during the 1970′s.  And we will get back to that next week for another episode of ‘Million Dollar Question’.  But today, being that it is Lou Brock’s birthday, I have something to ask that is a bit more timely to today’s celebration. As many of you know, Lou Brock started his major league baseball career as a member of the Chicago Cubs.  This fact may be one that the casual baseball fan does not know, but I guarantee you that every Cubs fan knows this.  And hates it too! In Chicago, Lou Brock is commonly known as ‘The One That Got Away’. So, that is what tonight’s ‘Million Dollar Question’ is all about - ‘Who Is The One That Got Away’??? And for me, this one is very easy.  As a Marlins fan for 20+ seasons, I have seen the team dump talent often.  And while some moves were positive moves for the club in efforts to either move poorly performing players or dump salary, there is one move that still burns. The player??   Miguel Cabrera!! One of the most talented players of the last quarter century, and the most talented hitter in today’s game, this move crippled the franchise and is one that the team still suffers from making six seasons ago and the team has still not recovered.  The worst part of the trade??  None of the pieces that the Marlins received (Maybin, Miller, Badenhop) in return for Cabrera did anything memorable for ‘The Fish’. So, now I pose the question to you – ‘Who Is The One That Got Away’??? This is going to be good…

Originally posted Dec. 27, 2012 It took Gil Valencia a while, but he finally signed.After being taken by the Phillies as the 65th pick in the 1988 draft, Valencia first declined and went off to college. Then, the next May, Valencia signed, choosing to try his hand with Philadelphia and the team's rookie camp in Florida, according to The Los Angeles Times."I'm dying to go down there, see the talent and take my shot," Valencia told The Times that May. "It was an offer that really appealed to me."Valencia did take his shot, but it didn't end up as he hoped. His shot ended up lasting just two seasons, getting to single-A, but no higher.Valencia's pro career began that May, when he signed with the Phillies out of Oxnard College. He'd been drafted by Philadelphia out of Camarillo High in California.Soon, Valencia was playing professionally at rookie Martinsville. In 47 games, he hit .287 with 13 RBI.Down the stretch, though, Valencia showed some spark, riding an 18-game hitting streak to season's end, and posting an August batting average of .364, according to The Philadelphia Daily News. It was enough for Valencia to win organization minor league Player of the Month honors.For 1990, Valencia moved to single-A Spartanburg, playing 37 games there and another 26 at short-season Batavia. Between the two, though, he hit just .164. In early April, though, Valencia started a late Spartanburg rally with a single.But it was Valencia's final year as a pro, his shot not working out.Back in college, though, in 1988, Valencia's father, also Gil Valencia, told The Times of his son's desire to eventually try his hand at the pros."Baseball," the father told The Times, "is what he wants to do."Los Angeles Times, July 24, 1988: Valencia Gets Big Kick Out of Odd Shrine Duty Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1989: Oxnard's Valencia Decides to Cast Lot With PhilliesPhiladelphia Daily News, Sept. 12, 1989: Mets Address Frustrations In Pregame Meeting1990 CMC-Pro Cards TallyPlayers/Coaches Featured:1,179Made the Majors: 677 - 57.4%Never Made Majors: 502-42.6%5+ Seasons in the Majors: 29210+ Seasons in the Minors: 174

elias sosa got a final tribute from topps and fleer in 1984. no donruss, unfortunately. here is his 1984 topps card - frontand back, with complete career statshere's his fleer card - front and back - also with complete career statsincluding minor leagues, as fleer is wont to do. sosa did pitch in the independent california league in 1987, but we won't let a brief return to the minors deter us from enjoying these final tributes.sosa was the 11th member of the 1978 topps dodgers to retire (not counting tommy lasorda who will keep showing up on cardboard for awhile), and he went out a winner. sort of. the padres won the last game in which he pitched, although he did not figure in the decision. he did single in his final big league at bat, however, which is probably almost as good as being an answer to a trivia question in a major motion picture featuring clint eastwood and justin timberlake.here's to you elias sosa, even if you gave up one of reggie jackson's three home runs in game 6 of the 1977 world series.

His team's record in those 5 games? 5-0! Hey MLB, you gotta pitch to Chris Getz! Find a way to get him out!

This is what I've been doing lately instead of posting.These photos are just an indication of the very early development of my new room. The positioning of most of the items is totally random at this point and very subject to change.Pay no attention to the walls and ceiling, they still have unfinished drywall. Not sure what I want to do there yet. Getting my wife's room finished is a much higher priority ! This is the view from my chair. My desk is designed to be in a corner, but in this case it's not. Moving around to the right side, there are more boxes of cards that I'm trying to get sorted. As you look above the right side of the desk you can see a 3-door armoire which is being converted into a storage area for card boxes. The top serves as a home for my bobble heads. The ceiling fan will be swapped out for the Hunter baseball fan I have in my old room. The plastic HOF mug, and other misc. items, are sitting on top of a 7-shelf, glass front case my Father built for me about 50 years ago. I used it to store model cars I built as a kid. Still sitting in my chair, panning around to the right, you can see two of my bookcases and the tv, tuned into the Cleveland-Kansas City game. Just to the right of the short bookcase is the door to my son's room. Turning in my chair, just past the doorway, is another corner table with a small bookcase hutch on top. Hammerin' Hank looks down on me at all times. I picked up the pencil drawing at a flea market for $5 ! The other half of the table is a catch-all right now. I hope to use that area as a sorting table.There will plenty of storage area underneath as well. This view is a little misleading. The chair has turned and the back is facing my desk. So, sitting at my desk, all I have to do is swing around to my left to have full access to all my Tribe card binders. As you can see, I have a lot of work to do yet. That, coupled with all I have to do in my wife's room, will surely keep me busy throughout the summer. So that's all for now as I need to get back to work. I am surprised no one has had any input on this.There really is a difference in the shade of the foil on these cards.

Well once again BFF o'the Archive Jeff Shepherd has come through with some unique Topps pieces. In today's episode, we find two ballpoint pens, given out by the Topps salesmen no doubt, to help their customers (wholesalers and large retail accounts) fill out their order forms:I need to look at some reference scans to see if those Topps logos match up with salesman samples but I would peg these as mid to late 50's, maybe a little later on the top one. There are all sorts of Topps promo pieces but you just don lt see them too often. Thanks Shep!

I'm sure the phrase "legends of cardboard" has been used previously. It probably came up in one of those nostalgia pieces that you see every once in awhile. Someone recalling the joys of his old collection, leafing through the cards in a bubble gum haze, writing those cliched words and ideas we longtime collectors have all read before.In these articles, "legends of cardboard" are always players like Mickey Mantle or Stan Musial. Roberto Clemente or Pete Rose. Tony Gywnn or Frank Thomas.But to me, those players aren't "legends of cardboard." They're "legends of the game." Their legendary status came on the ballfield, not on a piece of cardboard.I don't think players like Oscar Gamble or Mark Fidrych are legends of cardboard either. They made an impact on the field, too, no matter how brief or no matter how impressive their cardboard picture. I'd consider those players "Cult Figures of Cardboard."For me, "legends of cardboard" are players who would be totally forgotten by baseball fans -- if not for their baseball cards. But that's only a start, because you could say that about a lot of players. To reach true legendary cardboard status, your cardboard pictures must leave an impact and be as impressive as anything else in the cardboard realm.That is a true Legend of Cardboard.Tonight, I'd like to present the first player I think of when I consider a "legend of cardboard" (does this mean I have another series on this blog? I don't know. Ask me again when I'm bored and out of ideas).That player is Carlos Hernandez.Hernandez toiled for seven years as a backup catcher for the Dodgers. He had the misfortune of playing at the same time as Mike Piazza, and before that, Mike Scioscia. So he didn't see much time (he'd later become the primary catcher for the Padres during their World Series appearance in 1998, but that was by far his best year).Since Hernandez was a backup, known for his defense, and there was no way the Dodgers were going to sit Piazza so Hernandez could hit, there are a disproportionate number of cards featuring Hernandez on defense.Oh sure, there are a handful of Hernandez as a batter. Appearing very uncomfortable I might add.He practically looks freaked out standing there.Thankfully, the majority of Hernandez's cards are behind the plate, where he his cardboard legend grew.These make for very appealing cards, some of my favorite 1990s Dodger cards.Let's look at a trio of Hernandez cards from 1993, 94 and 95 Topps.Now that is a whole lot of baseball card excitement!If you're lucky enough as a player to always be featured in a "play at the plate" photo on your baseball card, chances are you rule, whether you get only 90 at-bats a season or not.I mean this is the fourth or fifth spectacular card of Hernandez I've shown already. The guy just dominates baseball cards.Hernandez was shown so often on defense that some of his cards start to look the same.But isn't that better than repeated viewings of a batter swinging at a pitch? Fielding action is so much more exciting than hitting action.Besides, you can do fun things like this:OK, so it's not the same game (Hernandez is in a home uniform in the bottom photo). But it's still a hoot.More sequencing:That's very likely the same series of photos, judging by the red-trimmed dugout and the fact it's two Fleer products issued in the same year.The best Hernandez card, however, is his 1993 Upper Deck card. No surprise there.This picture is so good that I think it's shown again on the back of his 1993 Donruss card.Still out!There are so many "Hernandez fielding" cards that you can list categories for them.Hernandez with the gray chest protector:Hernandez without a mustache:Hernandez with a mask but no chest protector:I could go on, but I think you get the point.Card companies could have chosen to feature Hernandez batting ('91 Fleer, '92 Donruss, '93 Score all dare to do so) or running the bases ('93 Stadium Club). But why?It's obvious Hernandez reached his legendary status on defen

Lou Brock & His 1962 Topps Rookie Baseball Card It is not his fault, not by any stretch, but Lou Brock’s rookie card is pretty bad. Have a look: As much as I like the 1962 Topps design, there is no escaping the horrible photo that accompanies Brock’s debut baseball card. It is awful!! Still, I would love to own one. And yes, I would even take one of the many reprints that have been issued over the last decade+.

This was probably the most anticipated game of the entire season, so naturally the Baseball gods decide to rain on our parade. It has just been announced that tonight's match-up between the Dodgers and Yankees has been postponed. Tonight's @Dodgers-@Yankees game has been postponed. It will be made up tomorrow as a split DH (1 pm, 7 pm ET). — MLB (@MLB) June 18, 2013 Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times provides more information regarding watching tomorrows split doubleheader on TV. First game tomorrow will be on KCAL. Second game will be on Prime Ticket. — Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) June 18, 2013 * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes * * Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook * * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *