Random inserts

On my way home from work one day last week, I stopped in at the baseball card shop and picked up these gems from the half-price boxes.

1997 Ex 2000 Hall or Nothing #13

In 1997, Juan Gonzales was in the middle of a heck of a career. In 9 years in the majors he had 256 home runs and seemed a sure bet for the Hall of Fame. At least that's what this card says on the back. He ended up with 424. Nothing to sneeze at but the last 4 years of his career were plagued with injuries. It seems unlikely now that he'll get much consideration for the Hall. This card is made of clear plastic with copper and gold foil stamping on the front. And it's die cut. Quite a nice card.

1997 Ultra Top 30 Golden Medallion #10

Another die cut card from 1997 Fleer Ultra.

2003 Fleer Platinum Heart of the Order #12
The card features Shawn Green, Paul LoDuca and Andrian Beltre of the Dodgers. Seems these three had a pretty good 2002.

2001 Fleer Tradition Lumber Company #10
In 2000, Darin Erstad had 240 hits, double his career average. He also hit .355, 56 points better than his second best season. So Fleer put him in their Lumber Company insert set in 2001.

1997 Pinnacle Mint #12
Pinnacle Mint was a 30-card set which came 2 cards and 2 brass coins to a pack. The cards have die cut holes in them for the coins to fit in. I had 2 cards and 2 coins so I guess I must have bought one pack. Of course the coins and the cards didn't match. Now I've got the matching pair of Nomo card and coin, with the coin already stuck in the card.

Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia PA

One of the things Christmas does for all of us is make us nostalgic for earlier times. We live in Texas but we grew up in Philadelphia and all our relatives are in that area. From 1961 to 1978 I lived in the Northeast section of the city. We lived in various houses but always within walking distance of Frankford Avenue, generally called "The Avenue" by locals. Frankford Avenue has a long history. It was once an Indian trail and in colonial times, it was the main highway to New York City. In August 2007 I was in Philly and took a walk along The Avenue. Here are some of my photos.This may just look like a tree but it isn't just any tree. In 1963 or so, my Boy Scout troop, with the help of local merchants, planted trees for several miles along Frankford Avenue. Many of them still survive. This is one of the survivors.
When we first moved into the area, this was the Pennypack Movie Theater. It closed soon after we moved there and I never actually saw a movie there. It was a furniture store for many years and is now a dollar store. It still has the original marquee.
This building dates back to colonial times. Located at Rhawn and Frankford it is at the center of what was the town of Holmesburg before it was incorporated into Philadelphia many years ago. When I was a kid, this was a drugstore. When my mother was a kid it was a drugstore. As a teenager she hung out at the soda fountain there.
In the late 1960s this was a Jack-in-the-Box fast food place. It was the first fast food restaurant in the neighborhood. As I remember you could get hamburgers for a dime. We used to spend a lot of time there.
This is a portion of The Avenue where real retail district starts. Although Frankford Avenue for most of it's length has many retail stores, from here and for the next 10 blocks or so it is all retail. It really doesn't look much different now than it did then. Except I don't remember there being chain fences in front of the windows. Times do change.
Moe's. A fine Philadelphia delicatessen. One thing you don't see too much in my part of Texas. Great lunch meat (cold cuts to the rest of you) and great bread. One of my old Philly friends moved to New England in the early 1980s. Every time we visited him we had to bring him rye bread from Moes.
The Mayfair Diner. A dying breed, the railroad car diner. This has been the Mayfair diner since about 1920. The current place was built in the 1940s. It's a classic and seems to still do a good business. Barak Obama visited there in October 2008 while running for president. My sister-in-law was there for the occasion.



This is the corner of Frankfort and Cottman Avenue. The heart of the retail district. This furniture store used to be a classy woman's dress store called The York Shop where my Mom used to buy clothes.
Also at Frankford and Cottman, this used to be the Mayfair Movie Theater. The taller structure in the back was the actual theater. The part in the front, which is now a bank, was the lobby. It was a drug store for a long time before the bank moved in. I didn't go in so I don't know what they are using the old auditorium for these days.
This Family Dollar store was a Woolworth's when I lived there. My Mom used to work there, dressing the windows, in the 1940s. It had wooden floors and a soda fountain, even in the 1960s.

Well, that's it. I hope I didn't bore you too much. Or, if you're an old Philadelphian far from home, I hope you enjoyed this little trip down the Avenue of memories.

Thursday Night at the Movies - Sherlock Holmes

A special Sunday morning edition of Thursday Night at the Movies.

We had originally planned to see this on Christmas day, when it opened, but we're pretty tradition bound here at Capewood Manor and going to the movies would upset our routine too much. So we decided to go on Saturday, but my daughter Maggie woke up with a terrible pain in her gut on Saturday morning. Turns out she was passing a kidney stone, of all things. She's fine. So we went this morning.

We've been seeing trailers for this for months and my wife, daughter and I all wanted to see it. The review in the Houston Chronicle was not encouraging. On the one hand they said it was the best movie the director, Guy Ritchie, ever made. On the other hand they said that Guy Ritchie is the worst director in the world. I haven't seen any of his previous movies so didn't have an opinion.

If you've seen the trailers, you know that this is not your grandfather's Sherlock Holmes, as played by Basil Rathbone. It also isn't really Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes either as this is not based on one of his stories. There is a lot more fisticuffs in the movie than sleuthing. But we all enjoyed it immensely. There is actually a coherent plot, the interplay between Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Watson was well done, and the recreation of late 1800's London was spectacular. As an action movie and a period piece there are lots of CG special effects, which are also done well. Counterbalancing all the male bonding going is the lovely Rachael McAdams (The Time Traveler's Wife) as master criminal and former Holmes squeeze.

I wouldn't hesitate taking younger kids to see this. The language is mild and there is virtually no sex.

Although the movie has a plot, it doesn't stand up to close scrutiny. A secret society is taken over by a madman and plots to take over England and then the world. Holmes and Watson save the day. And, of course, the studio is hoping to make a franchise of this. The grounds are laid for a sequel, which according to imdb.com, is already in the works.

Song of the Week - Santa Claus is Coming To Town by Bruce Springsteen

I know I just featured a Bruce song last Sunday but it's Christmas and this is a great piece.

Merry Christmas to my readers.

2009 Upper Deck Icons Legendary Icons Jerseys

I bought a blaster box of 2009 Upper Deck Icons way back in August and wasn't real impressed. I wrote about it here. I didn't expect I'd be getting anything else from this set. But a couple of weeks ago as I was idly looking for 2009 Mike Schmidt cards on eBay I found this:There was about 10 minutes left in the bidding and nobody had made a bid. And if that wasn't enough, the deal was a two-fer with this card as well:
Two Hall of Famers jersey cards. Ok, they're from a set I don't like much but I'll bite on a Mike Schmidt jersey card anytime I can get it for a reasonable price. And this looked pretty reasonable with an opening bid of $1.50 and shipping of $3.50. That's more than I usually like to pay for shipping but getting both of these cards for $5.00 would be a good deal. I placed my bid and won it with no other bidders.

There were several other jersey cards from this set on eBay as I was putting together this post. Most were going for a low price. I bought the Tony Gwynn and the Reggie Jackson cards for less than $10 total.

Song of the Week - Growin' Up by Bruce Springsteen

I have 8,310 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.

Last week, Stan, an old friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen or even heard of since Christmas 1975 (that's almost 34 years ago for those of you keeping score), make contact with me over FaceBook. In his note, he reminded me of the Bruce Springsteen concert we had seen in August 1973 at Al's Earlton Lounge, a bar in Earlton NJ. Apparently I called him up and said $1 cover and $1 beers, want to go? Stan claims I introduced him to Bruce (musically, not personally), and the rest was history.

It's maybe hard to imagine but in August 1973, hardly anyone had heard of Bruce. His Greetings From Asbury Park LP had come out in January 1973. It got airplay on the local (at the time) alternative rock station WMMR, which is where I heard it. His second LP, The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle came out in September 1973. It would be two more years until his break-out record, Born To Run, was released.

It was a great show we saw that night, Bruce and the yet to be named E-Street Band. I was looking for a video of a song from that 1st album and found this. According to the notes on YouTube, this was recorded at Max's Kansas City in New York, in August of 1972. The recording quality isn't good, but marvel at a young Bruce Springsteen. In 1972, even I was young.



Well I stood stone-like at midnight suspended in my masquerade
And I combed my hair till it looked just right and commanded the night brigade
I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch
I strolled all alone through a fallout zone and came out with my soul untouched
I hid in the clouded wrath of the crowd, when they said "sit down" I stood up
Ooooh, growin' up

Well the flag of piracy flew from my mast, my sails were set wing to wing
I had a jukebox graduate for first mate, she couldn't sail but she sure could sing
I pushed B-52 and bombed 'em with the blues with my gear set stubborn on standing
I broke all the rules, strafed my old high school, I never once gave thought to landing
I hid in the clouded warmth of the crowd, but when they said "come down" I threw up
Ooooh, growin' up

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, and you know it's really hard to hold your breath
Swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, was the cosmic kid in full costume dress
But my feet they finally took root in the earth though I got me a nice little place in the stars
And I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car
Whoa I hid in the mother breast of the crowd, but when they said "pull down" I pulled up
Ooooh, growin' up
Ooooh, growin' up
Alright, growin' up

Cole Hamels vs Photoshop

More Topps recycling of photoshoped images. Here's Cole Hamels on his 2009 Topps 206 Bronze card.Here he is on his 2007 Topps Turkey Red card.
Cropped differently, colored a bit differently and a different background for sure, but otherwise, I think they are the same image.

I was going to do a big post on the 206 set, but, you know, I'm really kind of disappointed. There's been talk of the back of card smudges on other blogs. Let me list what I like and don't like about Topps 206 and leave it be at that:

What I don't like:

1. Many of the cards look washed out. This set is supposed to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the original T206 set. I own one of those original cards and even though its's 100 years old, it is not washed out.

2. The smudges. It was a good idea for Topps 2004 Cracker Jack but it's poorly done here since every smudge is the same. Were some people really fooled by this thinking they had smudged the cards. That's what I'm reading on other blogs.

3. The Bronze cards are just a total waste of space and cardboard.

4. The horizontal cards. These are not working for me, especially on the mini cards

5. Sticker autos. Really.

6. The short prints. At least they feature a different picture. I'm glad I'm not a set collector.

7. Six Mickey Mantle checklist cards but only two poses. What, they couldn't find any more photos of Mantle?


What do I like about the set:

1. The framed mini autos. On-card autos they are.

2. The framed mini relics.

3. All of the cards feature baseball players (at least all of the one's I have).

4. The mini cards. Except the horizontal ones.

Dan Uggla vs. PhotoShop

I just bought a mess of Topps 206. I like them pretty much, but I think I've had it with retro cards. Let's see something new. I plan to get a more comprehensive post together but as I was sorting, cataloging and scanning, I noticed this.

Here's Dan Uggla's Topps 206 Mini Piedmont card.And here's his 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini
Sure looks like the same picture to me except for the choice of PhotoShop filter. They couldn't find another picture of Uggla anywhere?

Song of the Week - A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request by Steve Goodman

By the shore's of old Lake Michigan
Where the "hawk wind" blows so cold
An old Cub fan lay dying
In his midnight hour that tolled
Round his bed, his friends had all gathered
They knew his time was short
And on his head they put this bright blue cap
From his all-time favorite sport
He told them, "Its late and its getting dark in here"
And I know its time to go
But before I leave the line-up
Boys, there's just one thing I'd like to know

Do they still play the blues in Chicago
When baseball season rolls around
When the snow melts away,
Do the Cubbies still play
In their ivy-covered burial ground
When I was a boy they were my pride and joy
But now they only bring fatigue
To the home of the brave
The land of the free
And the doormat of the National League

Told his friends "You know the law of averages says:
Anything will happen that can"
That's what it says
"But the last time the Cubs won a National League pennant
Was the year we dropped the bomb on Japan"
The Cubs made me a criminal
Sent me down a wayward path
They stole my youth from me
(that's the truth)
I'd forsake my teachers
To go sit in the bleachers
In flagrant truancy

and then one thing led to another
and soon I'd discovered alcohol, gambling, dope
football, hockey, lacrosse, tennis
But what do you expect,
When you raise up a young boy's hopes
And then just crush 'em like so many paper beer cups.

Year after year after year
after year, after year, after year, after year, after year
'Til those hopes are just so much popcorn
for the pigeons beneath the 'L' tracks to eat
He said, "You know I'll never see Wrigley Field, anymore before my eternal rest
So if you have your pencils and your score cards ready,
and I'll read you my last request
He said, "Give me a double header funeral in Wrigley Field
On some sunny weekend day (no lights)
Have the organ play the "National Anthem"
and then a little 'na, na, na, na, hey hey, hey, Goodbye'
Make six bullpen pitchers, carry my coffin
and six ground keepers clear my path
Have the umpires bark me out at every base
In all their holy wrath
Its a beautiful day for a funeral, Hey Ernie lets play two!
Somebody go get Jack Brickhouse to come back,
and conduct just one more interview
Have the Cubbies run right out into the middle of the field,
Have Keith Moreland drop a routine fly
Give everybody two bags of peanuts and a frosty malt
And I'll be ready to die

Build a big fire on home plate out of your Louisville Sluggers baseball bats,
And toss my coffin in
Let my ashes blow in a beautiful snow
From the prevailing 30 mile an hour southwest wind
When my last remains go flying over the left-field wall
Will bid the bleacher bums ad?eu
And I will come to my final resting place, out on Waveland Avenue

The dying man's friends told him to cut it out
They said stop it that's an awful shame
He whispered, "Don't Cry, we'll meet by and by near the Heavenly Hall of Fame
He said, "I've got season's tickets to watch the Angels now,
So its just what I'm going to do
He said, "but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs,
So its me that feels sorry for you!"

And he said, "Ahh Play, play that lonesome losers tune,
That's the one I like the best"
And he closed his eyes, and slipped away
What we got is the Dying Cub Fan's Last Request
And here it is

Do they still play the blues in Chicago
When baseball season rolls around
When the snow melts away,
Do the Cubbies still play
In their ivy-covered burial ground
When I was a boy they were my pride and joy
But now they only bring fatigue
To the home of the brave
The land of the free
And the doormat of the National League

Phorgotten Phillie Phile - Byron Browne

Byron Browne came to the Phillies in 1969, as part of the Curt Flood deal with the Cardinals. The Phillies also got Joe Hoerner, Tim McCarver and Willie Montanez in that deal so it wasn't a total bust.Prior to coming to the Phillies, Browne had played in 164 games in 5 years for the Cubs, Astros, and Cardinals. He played in 104 games for the Phillies in 1970 with a .248 BA. He was let go in June of 1972. I sure don't remember him.

I am often surprised to find that marginal players like Browne have listings in Wikipedia. His entry is particularly unkind. Here's an excerpt:

"From 1970 to 1972 he was a member of several Philadelphia Phillies teams that were among the worst ever to play professional baseball. Although a few teammates described Browne as having the best natural power on the team, he seldom delivered, particularly in the clutch. To some cynics, his chief contribution was the refreshing breeze on hot and humid South Philadelphia evenings which emanated from his regular swings and misses."

He does have a nice smile on the only card of his that I own.

1989 Baseball Card Sets

In that box of baseball card related stuff I got from the church bazaar, there was a box of 1989 Donruss, and the complete set of 1989 Topps. I thought I'd do a review of the main sets from 1989.

In my opinion, 1989 was the first year when collecting every card of your favorite players or team started to get difficult. Score cards were introduced in 1988, and Bowman and Upper Deck came out in 1989. So you had to chase 6 sets to satisfy your collecting jones. Of course, it would only get worse later and by 1991, it was getting almost impossible to get every card of a player you collected, much less every team card.

I only had three players who I had already scanned cards from each set, Bruce Ruffin, Mike Schmidt and Von Hayes. Schmidt I want to keep for their own post. I thought the Hayes cards were better than the Ruffin cards.

BowmanThis was the first year for Bowman and, in a way, was as big a deal as the Upper Deck set in that it changed the game somewhat. It was a second full release of cards from a single manufacturer, Topps. They went with oversized cards somewhat the same size as early 1950s Bowman cards. They wisely stopped that after one year. The cards are a pain in that they are too tall for regular 9-pocket sleeves. The design was relatively simple and there were no variations. Every card featured the thin red border. The backs, in another effort to be different, featured stats for the player against the other teams in his league. The cards are printed on non-white card stock. There were no subset cards in this set so if you were a player collector, you were only looking for one card. The key rookie card from this set, as for most releases in 1989, is Ken Griffey, Jr. There was also a hard to get full parallel set, Bowman Tiffany, so if you were a fanatic collector, you had a problem.

Donruss
By 1989, Donruss was an old favorite, in it's 9th year. For the past few years and on into 1990, Donruss offered off-beat designs. The design featured bizarre color combinations fading from one side of the card to the other. There were about 5 different color combos which varied randomly. The cards, unlike Topps, are printed on white card stock like past years of Donruss. The backs were identical to the previous few years, featuring the past 5 years of stats and some biographical info. There was the Diamond Kings subset, so if your favorite player was one of the top players, you may have needed two cards from the set. Griffey is the key rookie card in the set. There were insert cards to this set, the MVP Bonus and the Grand Slammers sets. And as they had done before, Donruss put out a Rookies set. Also this year they had a Baseball's Best set. This was a fairly large set (336 cards), only available in a factory set. Donruss also put out a Traded set in 1989.

Fleer
Also the 9th year for Fleer. This is often called the pin-striped set. Like Donruss, Fleer was experimenting with set design. There were color variations from card to card. The colored stripe above and below the photo varied, more or less, with team colors. Like Donruss, Fleer had always used white card stock. The backs were very similar to previous years with career stats and biographic information. Griffey is the key rookie card in the set. There were no real subsets in the set. There was a Fleer Glossy parallel available as a factory set and several insert sets. There was also an update set.

Score
This was the second year for Score. They pioneered the concept of a color player photo on the back of the card. There were 5 color variations on the front and the same color on the back. The colors are totally unrelated to the team colors as you can see on the Hayes card. The back contains career stats and biographical information. Score missed Griffey in the main set. The key rookie cards are Craig Biggio and Randy Johnson. The only subset which might cause you to need to look for more than one card for your favorite player are Season Highlight cards. Score had several short sets, like the 100 Hottest stars set and an update set in 1989 which includes the Griffey rookie card.

Topps
The Topps set had a more traditional design. The color border around the photo was coordinated to the team color while the team name and player name banner were sometimes coordinated and sometimes not. The back had carer stats and biographical information laid out like most prior years of Topps. The cards were printed on non-white card stock. Topps also missed Griffey so the key rookies are Biggio and Johnson. Topps had a parallel Tiffany set available as a set and an update set, also available as a set which included the Griffey rookie card.

Upper Deck
The real game changer in 1989 was Upper Deck. Printed on white card stock with crisp color photos on the front and back and holographic logos to prevent counterfeiting. This set also contains the hottest card of 1989, the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Beckett lists this card at $40 today which is 5-6 times what the card from the other sets list for. You can get the card graded an 8 on eBay right now for that. By contrast, an 8 Donruss card is going for less than $5.

So, if you were a big Von Hayes fan (and hey, who isn't?) how many 1989 cards would you have to chase. Here's the list:

Bowman #406
Bowman Tiffany #406
Donruss #160
Donruss Baseball's Best #47
Fleer #571
Fleer Glossy #571
O-Pee-Chee #385
Score #38
Sportsflics #181
Topps #385
Topps Big #302
Topps Tiffany #385
Upper Deck #246

That's 13 cards, not too bad. I left off the list stickers and SLU figures and cards. But Hayes isn't a good player to compare year to year. Barry Bonds was on 18 cards in 1989. In 1991, he was on 49 cards. In 1999, he was on 399 cards. In 2002, his peak year for cards, he appeared on 881 cards.

Song of the Week - Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf

I have 8,312 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.

Sex, Rock 'n' Roll and Baseball. Three great American pursuits.

1979 Topps Burger King Phillies

I recently acquired the 1979 Topps Burger King Phillies set. This was a 22-card set, plus a checklist card which was available from Philadelphia area Burger King stores. You got 3 cards with a purchase of french fries. I already had the 1980 Burger King set. The cards feature the same poses as on the regular Topps set and the backs are identical to the regular set with the exception of the numbering. What is interesting is, unlike the 1980 set which features the Burger King logo on the back and no Topps logo, the 1979 set has the Topps logo on the front and no Burger King reference at all. The checklist card is the only indication that the set is from Burger King. I'm not going to show the entire set, just the cards which are different from the regular Topps Set.
Danny Ozark #1 - In 1979, Topps didn't have manager cards. There was a very small head shot of the manager on the team checklist card. The back of this card features Danny's managerial stats all the way back to his minor league managing days in 1956!
Nino Espinosa #11. Nino was 14-12 for the 1979 Phillies. He was traded by the Mets to the Phillies in March of 1979. He is featured as a Met in the regular Topps set.
Doug Bird #12. Bird was acquired in a trade with the Royals in April 1979. This is his only Phillies card. He was 2-0 in 32 games for the Phillies in 1979 and the Phillies released him in April 1980. Bearded baseball players were pretty rare in 1979 and he's got a wild one.
Pete Rose #13. The Phillies signed Rose as a free agent in December 1978. He was supposed to lead the Phillies to the World Series after three straight years of being knocked out in the NLCS. The Phillies didn't even make the playoffs in 1979 but of course won the World Series in 1980, thanks in a large part to Rose's leadership and play. This is his only Phillies card from 1979 as he is shown with the Reds on his Topps card.
Manny Trillo #14. The Phillies got Manny in a trade with the Cubs in March of 1979. He was another key member of that 1980 World Series team. This is his only 1979 Phillies card.
Pete Mackanin #17. He is a curious choice for this set. The Phillies selected him off waivers from the Expos in early September 1978 and he played 5 games for the Phillies in 1978. He appeared in only 13 games in 1979 before being traded to the Twins in December. This is his only 1979 card. He would be one for my Phorgotten Phillie Phile.
Greg Gross #22. Gross was acquired by the Phillies in the Manny Trillo deal. This is his only 1979 Phillies card. He hit .333 as a regular player for the Phillies in 1979 but only hit .240 in 1980. He was 3-4 in the 1980 NLCS.

Book Club - Spent by Geoffrey Miller

Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychologist. In this book he examines conspicuous consumption in terms of the six personality traits: intelligence, openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and extroversion. According to the Miller, our purchases are powerful indicators of our personality and are used to lure in suitable mates and friends. It's a pretty good read and Miller has a good sense of humor which makes the reading much more enjoyable.He goes through the 6 personality traits one by one. The chapter on conscientiousness went through topics like "High-Maintenance Products", "Pets as Conscientiousness Indicators" and "Collecting". Uh-oh, Collecting. What does he have to say about collecting?

"High conscientiousness shades over into obsessive-compulsive behavior. Among consumers, this often takes the form of collecting - acquiring large numbers of products within a particular category, plus the expertise to discuss them intelligently with like-minded collectors."

OK, so what?

"A high, even toxic, level of conscientiousness is foremost in the resourceful acquisition, ordered display, and habitual care of one's collection. Runaway collecting is the apotheosis of runaway consumerism. With the eBay collectibles section, everyone can now participate in hoarding and fetishizing of objects across most imaginable categories: firefighting memorabilia, Desert Storm militaria, Disneyana, Pez dispensers, snow globes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer figurines, nautical decor, replica movie swords, vintage pet-food ads, vintage flue covers, and risque postcards".

Well, at least he didn't mention baseball cards.

"Yet one person's obsessive hoarding is another person's rational investment strategy, or his acquisition of tools and materials required for some enthusiasm. I contemplate the 2700 pairs of shoes that Imelda Marcos collected in the Malacanang Palace, and feel moral outrage for the poor of the Philippines. I contemplate the comparable number of used books that I have bought, and feel like a dutiful researcher. We can all rationalize our cabinets of curiosities."

Let the rationalizing begin.

Random Frank Thomas Cards

The Big Hurt

I took a half-day of vacation the day before Thanksgiving and decided to visit the card shop near where I work before heading home. I picked up these Frank Thomas cards, 4 of the 5 are retro cards.
2003 Upper Deck Play Ball #18. This is a nice set, based on a pre-World War II set of the same name.
2004 Donruss Kings #38. As I've probably mentioned before, this is one of my all-time favorite sets.
2007 Topps Turkey Red #26 regular back. All of the Turkey Red sets are good but the 2007 issue is probably my least favorite.
2007 Allen & Ginter #160. The 2007 set was virtually identical to the 2006 set but still a great set. Is it just me or does Frank Thomas look out of place in something other than a White Sox uniform?
2004 SP Authentic #59. I don't have many cards from this set, probably because I don't like it very much.

Song of the Week - Der Kommisar by After The Fire

I have 8,312 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.

Nothing says 1980s to me more than New Wave music videos. This was back in the days when MTV actually existed to play music videos. When I was looking for this song on YouTube I also found the Falco version in German. I was aware of this version of the song but am more familiar with the After The Fire version. So I decided to post them both for your enjoyment, or angst, whatever.

The After the Fire version catches the whole twilight of the Cold War thing while the Flaco version doesn't do anything for me. If you're late to New Wave, you might want to check out this post here for a list of the top 150 New Wave songs. Let the arguments begin.

1989 Donruss

I'm still working my way through the box of baseball related stuff I bought at the church bazaar a few weeks ago. One of the things in there was a box of 1989 Donruss cards. This box had 24 39-card packs. That's 936 cards. I already had about 325 cards of the 658-card set. So I thought I had a good shot at completing the set. Think again. I'm still about 150 cards short. Many, many duplicates. I'm not really interested in completing the set but more interested in getting the cards of the players I collect from the set. There I did pretty well. I already had all the Phillies from the set. Now I have nearly all of the players I collect. The key card in this set is the Griffey rookie card which I already had. Now I have 3 more. In each pack were two of the Warren Spahn puzzle cards. I was able to complete the puzzle. When and if I can get my act together it will be the focus of a later post. Here are the cards of the players that I picked up that I collect, in alphabetical order.Robert Alomar in his second season, bunting. You don't see a lot of cards with players bunting.
I may now have every 1980's George Bell card and I don't even know why.
One of my favorite players.
Joe Carter in his pre-Phillie killer days.
Coleman stole 65 bases in 1989. There is a regular card of him in the set which is one of the few cards I'm missing.

I picked up Cone's regular card and Diamond King card. In those days, the Diamond Kings were a subset of the regular set, the first 25 cards or so.
The Hawk.
In 1989, I wasn't much interested in Lenny Dykstra until he was traded to the Phillies in June. I think I have most of his cards as a Met now.
Evans was in his 18th season in 1989. He hit 20 home runs and knocked in 100 rbis.
Glavine was in his 3rd season. He was 14-8.
This was Doc's least productive season so far in his career. He was only 9-4 in 19 games. But he's rebound in 1990 with a 19-7 record.
Goose was in his 18th season and fading fast, his glory days long behind him.
Tony lead the league in hits and batting average in 1989.
Rickey was hitting .247 with only 25 steals when the Yankees traded him to the A's in June. He responded by hitting .294 with 55 steals for Oakland.

Orel finished the season with 59 consecutive scoreless innings, a new record. baseball-reference.com doesn't keep this stat so I don't know if he extended it in 1990 or if he still holds the record.
I wasn't a Pete Incaviglia fan in 1989 but he will eventually play for both the Phillies and the Astros so I started collecting his earlier cards.
Randy Johnson's rookie card.
Another player I wasn't too interested in back in 1989 until he was traded to the Phillies in June. In June of 1989, the Phillies made two key trades which got them to the World Series in 1993, Kruk and Dykstra.
I think I got interested in McGee in the 1987 World Series when he hit .370 in a losing cause against the Twins.
Mark McGwire when he still more or less looked like a normal human being.
I hardly ever saw him play because he was in the American career but I always like Molitor. And I guess with good reason. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004.
Tony was in his 3rd year with the Cardinals and thinks he looks really cool in red.
The Rock.
Another key pickup from this set.
Potential future HOFer. He retired in 2006 so too soon to know.
In his second season, Smoltz was 12-11.
In his 7th season, Strawberry was still a formidable force but 1989 was not his best year. His next two years will be good and then 1992 happens.
Another player I collect whose regular card from this set I do not have. And another future HOFer.