Baseball Cards

Willie McCovey 2011 Topps Triple Threads – Sepia – NICE!!!! Of the many new aspects that modern collecting brings to hobby, one of my favorites is the colored parallel version of the base card. For me, it is about enjoying the same card with a twist – and sometimes the twist works and well, sometimes it does not. In the case of Willie McCovey’s sepia-tones card from the 2011 Topps Triple Threads set, IT WORKS!!! The card is serial numbered as 532/625 and it looks great. Take a peek:

Help me finish out my 1991 Upper Deck set and win a prize in the process.I finally decided to accumulate all the 1991 Upper Deck cards I had strewn about after I got a box for five bucks at my LCS recently. A day of the joyous ripping of packs later, I have close to a complete set.Here's where you fit in. Send me the highest point total of the cards below and I'll send you a rack pack of something current of your choice (up to 10 dollars).The rules:1. Pull the cards I need shown below (doubles do not count).2. Add up the points.3. Post a comment listing the cards pulled and the total points.4. If someone comments after you with a higher total, you can re-comment if you have a new higher total to send (you found a few more cards maybe to beat that last commenter?).5. Get 3 extra points for posting this contest on your blog.6. I'll leave this open for a week or so.Now, get pulling those 1991 Upper Decks you've had packed away in a box for 20 years!Base: 1 point each20 Geronimo Pena81 Glenn Davis TC82 Ron Gant TC83 Cecil Fielders Feat85 Domingo Ramos134 Mark Grace184 Jody Reed185 Wally Backman195 Jeff Huson198 Ron Darling210 Rafael Ramirez214 Wes Gardner224 Dwight Gooden225 Travis Fryman244 Cecil Fielder248 Lance Johnson251 Derek Lilliquist297 Luis Sojo298 Jose Rijo314 Dave Clark328 Bob Milacki391 Chuck Crim460 Charlie Leibrandt501 Gene Larkin516 Mike Fitzgerald546 Wade Boggs599 Dave Bergman743 Deion Sanders744 Bo Jackson763 Roberto Alomar764 Albert Belle773 Tim RainesTeam Logo Holograms: 2 points eachASTROSBLUE JAYSBRAVESBREWERSCARDINALSEXPOSINDIANSORIOLESREDSSilver Sluggers: 2 points eachSS1, SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5, SS6, SS7, SS8, SS9, SS10, SS11, SS12, SS13, SS14, SS15, SS16, SS17, SS18.Errors: 5 points each309 Luis Salazar circled i311 Milt Thompson bullseye354 Don Mattingly missing stats636 Brock/Henderson with date (I have the undated one)SS-11 Lance Parish slanted numberHeroes of Baseball: 3 points eachH1 KillebrewH2 PerryH3 JenkinsH4 Killebrew/Perry/JenkinsAutographs: 8 points eachH1 KillebrewH2 PerryH3 FergusonAU2 RyanAU3 Aaron

Tomorrow is the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.  Throughout the month of May, all kinds of activities have been going on at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  For those die hard race fans that got to attend, this pin was probably your best friend.  For a cost of around $100.00 this pin would get you access to all of the events (except the actual race), plus garage access.  Over the decades these pins have become quite collectible.  Some of the old ones can sell for well in the hundreds of dollars.  Dubbed The Greatest Spectacle In Racing, the Indianapolis 500 has come a long way since Ray Harroun won the first race back in 1911.  Its funny to look at the lineup that day because everyone that raced was a rookie.  Harroun won $14,250 for coming in first that day.  Last year, Dario Franchitti snagged first place and won $2,474,280. Filed under: "Pin-Up" of the Week

Hey everyone! I should have known better than to try and rush a draft yesterday. As many of you discovered, a whole slew of players (namely those from the 2013 box break) were left off the draft. Well, I have a plan to make it up to you. I have updated the draft list and I am expanding the draft to include TWENTY picks. That's right, you can choose up to 20 players to try and draft. Managers, you have a choice: 1. Leave your current draft picks as they are and call it good. *OR* 2. Fill out the NEW, UPDATED draft form and have those picks override your previous selections. The old form is now closed. If you filled out the old 8th Draft Form, your selections will be used in the upcoming draft unless you fill out the new form. If you fill out the new form, your old entries are automatically replaced with your new ones. My apologies for the mix-up. Here is the UPDATED Draft Form with 20 picks: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BJzydLgnM_aXKTx2buxHK2kbD0W0fb7MDC0GjROvcnM/viewform

Mike Eberle took his swing, knocking the ball over the wall. Eberle was playing that summer in 1985 with the collegiate-league Nevada, Mo., Griffons. This home run, according to The Nevada Daily Mail, turned out to be the game-winner.It was also a home run that drew praise from Eberle's new manager Dave Jorn, according to The Daily Mail."I liked his swing on that stroke. He hit the ball good," Jorn told The Daily Mail of Eberle. "He didn't try to overswing."Eberle took that swing on to Indiana State, helping the team to the 1986 College World Series. He also took it to the pros, playing five seasons with the Orioles organization. Eberle, though, never could take that swing to the majors.Eberle's pro career began in 1987, taken by the Orioles in the 8th round, out of Indiana State.With Indiana State in 1986, Eberle helped the team make that trip to the College World Series. He singled and scored in Indiana State's debut, which ended up in a loss. In the school's second game, the catcher Eberle threw out a runner.During one summer in college, Eberle played collegiate ball with the Griffons. In summer 1985, Eberle had a total of 13 home runs by early August, taking his team to the Missouri National Baseball Congress Tournament. In all, he hit 16 home runs that year.With the Orioles, Eberle started at short-season Newark, hitting .325 in 24 games. He also hit one home run.Moving to single-A Hagerstown for 1988, Eberle's average dropped to .244 over 123 games. His five home runs on the year ended up being the most he'd hit in one campaign.Eberle moved up to AA for 1989, moving back to the new AA team in Hagerstown. In 88 games, he hit just .202. His 1990 campaign consisted of just 58 games played, but 19 of those were played at AAA Rochester. Between the levels, he hit .246.Eberle's final season as a pro came in 1991, with 42 games played at Rochester. He hit just .178, ending his career.Eberle has gone on to see his son play ball, son Michael Eberle following the father to Indiana State, playing there for 2013.In 2010, young young Michael Eberle played for the local Terre Haute American Legion team, just like his father did a quarter century earlier, according to The Terre Haute Tribune-Star.The son did so by hitting home runs. In comparison to his father, Michael Eberle told The Tribune-Star he wasn't sure who had more."He probably has more homers, because he's a pretty big guy," the younger Eberle told The Tribune-Star of his father. "Hopefully I'll get bigger and stronger too."Nevada Daily Mail, June 13, 1985: Griffons split two Terre Haute Tribune-Star, July 30, 2010: Eberle's power surge leads Wayne Newton into state finals1990 CMC-Pro Cards Tally Players/Coaches Featured:1,146Made the Majors: 667 - 58.2%-XNever Made Majors: 479-41.8%5+ Seasons in the Majors: 28910+ Seasons in the Minors: 173

On this date in 2011, Paul Splittorff passed away at age 64. "Some guys aren't real pleased to learn they're in the bathroom." - regarding his collection of hats signed by Hall of Famers

This little experiment Topps tried looked like something you would make in elementary school.  Inside each pack of 1983 Topps Baseball Foldouts you will find one set of 17 full color photos that are all connected together.  In all, there are only five sets to collect.  There are a total of 85 pictures that make up the entire set when you place all the foldouts together.  Each set has a theme – batting leaders, home run leaders, stolen base leaders, pitching leaders, and relief aces.  With the lack of any real chase cards, inserts, or rookies, it shouldn’t be a surprise that this product totally bombed.  Sure there are 85 cards in the set, but you only need five foldouts to complete it.  It really wasn’t any type of a challenge especially when the packs are see through and the label on top tells you what is inside.  Having 20 packs in a box could easily yield 4 complete sets.  Trying to figure out a proper and safe way to display them was a major problem too.  You’ll usually find them intact, but some collectors cut them apart.  Boxes can easily be found for under $15.00. Limited Edition my ass!  They made a box for everyone on the planet plus all their future grandchildren. Filed under: Flashback Product of the Week

George Brett 1990 Bowman – Batting Cage Card!!! While I normally would complain about a posed portrait on any baseball card that makes its way into my collection, I will give this one a pass. And you probably know why… There are some photography themes on baseball cards that I will never tire of – batting donut cards, on-deck circle cards, signing autograph cards, and of course – the batting cage card!! George Brett more than likely perfected his craft while working in the cages – it is nice to have a card like this in my collection that pays tribute to his fantastic career!

the dodgers announced on facebook yesterday the participants of the revived oldtimer's game in a very cool way. they used baseball cardsi am guessing that some of these guys will just be observers, and it appears that rickey will be wearing pinstripes (or yankee grays) along with graig nettles, bob watson, and some other former bronx bombers. and, if i recall correctly, sandy koufax indicated during spring training that the oldtimer's game on june 8 was one of the functions which the dodgers wanted him to participate in when he returned to the fold.i went to an oldtimer day back in the late 1970's. it was pretty cool. hank aaron played for the non-dodger oldtimers and we were sitting in right so we had a good view of the hammer. i recall jim campanis, only a few seasons removed from the majors as the offensive star of the game for the dodgers.anyway, there was something familiar but odd about the photo - the 1972 topps dave lopes card. that's a card that doesn't really exist except as a card that should have been. i'm guessing that whomever compiled this image did a google search for images and my lopes creation popped up. that's cool - i like the way it turned outoldtimer games are fun, and i wish i could be there to see the infield take their positions one more time.

Maybe what this lot needs is a retail-only insert to finally get sold. Probably not, but this one's a card that will really tie the whole lot together.2008 Topps Heritage Dick Perez #HDP5 Tim LincecumPull the trigger for $50, and the Timmy Boy and everything else here is yours.Lot of 46 1982 Topps CardsLot of 96 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights Cards1959 Topps #499 Johnny O'Brien1994 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes Lot of 10Three 1999 Topps Lance Berkman CardsLot of 10 Early-1980s Basketball CardsLot of 20 Random Hockey CardsLot of 56 2005 Topps Updates & Highlights Cards1977 Topps Darrell Evans, 1973 Topps John VukovichLot of 122 2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History Cards2008 Topps Triple Threads Curtis Granderson AUTO Bat x1, Jersey x2 (49/50)