Baseball Cards

2013 Topps Heritage ‘Hitting Area’ With Chipper Jones & Bryce Harper Of all of the cards that I have seen in person that are part of the 2013 Topps Heritage set, this card is without a doubt my favorite. While not a true ‘Passing The Torch’ card, this one is the next best thing! Check it out: Featuring a great shot of a conversation between rookie phenom Bryce Harper and legendary veteran Chipper Jones, Topps gave us a great card with this one. The 2013 All-Star Game was Harper’s first and Jones’ last – this is a very nice way to celebrate the event for both. And it also makes me wonder if either player knows, and appreciates, that this card exists.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor Topps is hoping this one gets baseball collectors’ stamp of approval. The longest-running manufacturer of baseball cards introduced a new novelty item on Friday with 2013 Topps Qubi — collectable ink stampers that feature the likenesses and autographs of some of Major League Baseball’s greats. Each pack of Qubi will include one stamper and one collector sheet. There will be 18 packs per box when they arrive on July 22. The Qubi will include 75 different cubes to chase with 50 of those being Signature Qubi, while 15 will be Club Logo Quibi and the final 10 will be player portrtaits. Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Click here to view the embedded video. Check out what Beckett Football’s Susan Lulgjuraj got in a box 2013 Topps Archives football. You can win a sealed hobby box of 2013 Topps Archives football by entering the giveaway below. There are several ways to earn entries to the contest. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Click here to view the embedded video. Join Beckett Media’s Chris Olds as he checks out what he got in the mail from GibraltarTrade.com/store while exploring a perhaps-overlooked area of autograph collecting — buying via show promoters online. While it’s not uncommon, it’s one area collectors might not consider as often when seeking autographs. What will he find inside? Watch and find out …

Get a detailed look at all Jurickson Profar rookie cards as well as his key prospect cards. Includes a rookie card checklist, early prospect card highlights, analysis, shopping guide and more.

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