Trade from across the sea

I haven't made a trade with John from England for awhile but I got an email from him last June proposing our usual trade, Red Sox cards for Astros cards. We finally got it pulled off. John writes a card blog "The Pursuit of 80's (ness)" but hasn't posted since earlier in the year. Come on John, let's see something new.

I always get a pretty varied collection of stuff from John and I always wonder where he finds this stuff in Kent.

Let's have a look and some of what he sent.

1965 Milkana Astrodome

This is a real oddball. Milkana is a German cheese company which apparently sold from a location in London. In searching for something about it the only substantial information came from a post John did in 2010. We both are guessing that the card dates from around when the Astrodome opened in 1965. The painting was done by someone who probably didn't know anything about baseball. Milkana is still around. They have a cartoon blue heart with hands as their mascot that goes by the name of Mr. Doo Dhu.

1976 Topps #171 Greg Gross

I don't actually collect Astros from before 1995, but 1976 cards are always welcome as I only have a few and most of them are Phillies. Future Phillie Greg Gross shows off the colorful Astros uniform in full splendor. The Astros have incorporated some of this rainbow goodness in their current unis but not like this. I assume that the '40' on the shoulder was a tribute to someone. His uniform number is on his pants.

1997 Score Reserve Collection #487 Chris Holt

1997 Score wasn't a very attractive set but they made up for it with a series of confusingly named parallel cards. This featured a silver foil background with raised silver foil rays behind the player.

Score Hobby Reserve #370 Brad Ausmus

This one featured an embossed gold shield conveniently placed for Ausmus to sit on.

2002 Donruss Fan Club #160 Lance Berkman

Donruss also issued in 2002 "Best of Donruss Fan Club" which had exactly the same cards as above but were printed on foil board.

2003 Upper Deck 40-Man #369 Octavio Dotel

From 2002 through 2005, Topps issued their Topps Total set which contained every player on each team's 40-man roster. Not to be outdone, Upper Deck did the same thing in 2002 and 2003. These sets were huge, with about 1,000 cards each.

2003 Upper Deck MVP #17 Lance Berkman

This was an inexpensive set which I never cared much for so didn't buy much of. This is now the only Astro from the set that I have. I only had one Phillie as well. This drove me to eBay where I was able to pick up the Astros and Phillies team sets for a couple of bucks apiece.

2008 Upper Deck Goudey Autographs J. R. Towles

As named by the Night Owl, the "Ken Griffey says" set. Pretty forgettable but still an autographed card and much appreciated. Towles (pronounced tolls) hit .375 in 14 games in his 2007 debut year and looked like the next big thing. In 5 total years with the Astros (155 games) he only hit .187.

2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Blue Framed Paper #256 Nolan Ryan

Another much appreciated card from the 2nd year of Gypsy Queen. I didn't get any variation of the Ryan card from that set. This is numbered 147/599.

2013 Triple Play #32 Matt Dominguez

If I were Matt Dominguez, I'd sue over this card.

2015 Donruss Studio #7 Jose Altuve

Panini's not entirely successful attempt to revive Donruss Studio.

2012 Summer Clearance Trade Results 3 (for Braves)

James over at the Chipp 'n' Dale site (as in Chipper Jones and Dale Murphy) took my excess Braves cards for a nice selection of Phillies and Astros. He wrote up the cards I sent him here.

1989 Upper Deck #135 Gerald Young

I'm not too interested in Astros cards prior to 1995 but I am trying to fill out the 1989 Upper Deck set. Did he catch the ball or not?

1990 Leaf #346 Danny Darwin

 1990 was the inaugural year for Leaf and I don't mind getting these as well.

1992 Classic Best #76 Kevin Stocker

James sent me 3 cards from this minor league set. Stocker is the only one of the three to make it to the majors.

1994 Leaf #431 Mitch Williams

After the debacle of the 1993 Phillies World Series, the Phillies traded Williams to the Astros for Doug Jones and Jeff Juden. Mitch pitched into 1997 but his career was basically over after 1993.

1994 Topps #692 Mickey Morandini

1994 Topps is one of my favorite sets from the 1990s and this was the last Phillie card from the set I needed.

2005 Topps Heritage #72 Phillies Team Card

I didn't buy much 2005 Topps Heritage so I was happy to get this.

2010 Upper Deck Tape Measure Shots #18 Lance Berkman

Is this Berkman actually hitting the home run celebrated on the card? Probably not but at least it looks like a game in Wrigley Field.

2011 Topps Lineage Stickers #15 Mike Schmidt

2011 Topps Lineage was not my favorite set from last year but, hey, it's Mike Schmidt.

2005 Astros - Where Are They Now

I try to follow both the Phillies (my birth city) and the Astros (where I live now). The past few years my two teams have gone in the opposite direction. In 2005, the Astros were in the World Series but it's been all downhill since then. The Phillies finished 2nd in the NL East in 2005 and, except for this disappointing season, have been a great team.

The last player from the 2005 team remaining with the Astros this year was Wandy Rodriguez. Wandy was 10-10 with the Astros that year. There were no major league cards of Wandy from 2005. He was traded to the Pirates in July.

 I thought it would be fun to look at that 2005 Astros team and see where they are today.

2005 Donruss #201 Brad Ausmus

Brad was an 18-year player who retired in 2010. He spent 10 years with the Astros, in two stints. He won 3 Gold Gloves as the Astros catcher. Although 2005 was not a Gold Glove year but one of his best years offensively with a .258 batting average.

2005 Origins Old Judge Materials Jeff Bagwell

Jeff missed most of the 2005 season after shoulder surgery before the season. He returned to the club late in the season but had limited playing time in the post season. He attempted to come back for the 2006 season but retired during spring training.

2005 Leaf Century Material Fabric Position #117 Lance Berkman

 

 Lance hit .293 for the 2005 season with 24 home runs. He had a great postseason. His best days seemingly behind him, the Astros unloaded him to the Yankees in 2010. He's been with the Cardinals the past two years. He was the NL Come Back Player of the year in 2011.

2005 Leather and Lumber #30 Craig Biggio

 Craig was in his 18th year with the Astros in 2005. He had a pretty typical year for him, batting .264 with 26 home runs and 98 runs scored. After 2 years of playing the outfield, the Astros moved him back to second base in 2005.  He retired after the 2007 season.

2005 Topps Total #66 Eric Bruntlett

One of the Astros part time players in 2005, Bruntlett appeared in 91 games mostly as a pitch hitter or late game replacement. He was traded to the Phillies after the 2007 series and got back to the World Series with them in 2008 and 2009. He retired after the 2009 season.

2005 Donruss Team Heroes #137 Chris Burke

 Burke mostly played outfield and sometimes spelled Biggio at second. He hit .248 for the season. Chris was in the running to be the baseball coach at his alma mater University of Tennessee last year but didn't get the job.

2005 Flair Row 2 #29 Roger Clemens

Roger started 32 games for the Astros in 2005 with a record of 13-8 and an ERA of 1.87. He played again for the Astros in 2006 (after teasing them for months about whether or not he'd come back). He signed with the Yankees in 2007. He is currently trying to rebuild his reputation after being cleared of contempt of Congress charges from drug hearings.

This card is a 1/1 that I pulled from a blaster box.

2005 Topps Heritage #138 Morgan Ensberg

Ensberg had a career year in 2005, hitting .283 with 36 home runs, 101 rbis and an All-Star berth. He was a big part of why the Astros made it to the post season in 2005. He was never able to repeat anything like that in future years. He was traded to the Padres in 2007 and then bounced around from there to the Yankees, the Indians and Rays, who released him before spring training in 2009.

2005 Topps #242 Adam Everett

Everett was a first round draft pick of the Red Sox in 1998, who never really lived up to his potential. He'd been with the Astros since 2001. He was a free agent after the 2007 season and played for the Twins, Tigers and Indians. He was released by the Indians in June last year. He's currently working in the Indians front office.

2005 Topps Cracker Jack #133 Phil Garner

Scrap Iron managed the Astros from 2004 to 2007. He led the Astros to an 89-73 record and a wild card spot in the playoffs only to lose 4 straight to the White Sox in the World Series. The Astros were 82 and 80 in 2006, missing the wild card spot by several games. The Astros replaced him in late 2007 with Cecil Cooper. They had a 58-73 record under Garner. He's currently a Special Adviser to the A's.

2005 Fleer Tradition #266 Mike Lamb

Mike mainly played first base for ailing Jeff Bagwell in 2005. A .236 average and 12 home runs were not exactly Bagwellian. He was a free agent after the 2007 season and is currently playing for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees.

2005 Studio #133 Jason Lane

Jason, in his 4th year with the Astros was a pretty popular player in town. He also had a career year, hitting .267 with 26 home runs and playing in 145 games. He was traded to the Padres in 2007 and has been with 6 other teams since then but has not played in the majors since 2007. He last signed a major league contract with the D-Backs and made one spring training appearance in 2011 as a pitcher. He later signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters, a non-aligned minor league team playing in the Houston area.

2005 Zenith Brad Lidge

Lidge had an "up" year in 2005. He was third in saves with 42 and an ERA of 2.29. Lidge has had 2 great years in his career, 2005 and 2008 when he helped the Phillies win the World Series. He signed with the Nationals for 2012 but was released in June.


2005 Reflections #35 Roy Oswalt

Roy O was a 20 game winner for the Astros in 2005 after winning 20 games in 2004. He won 3 games in the playoffs and was the NLCS MVP. The Astros traded him to the Phillies in 2010 where he went 7-1 and helped the Phillies into post season play again. In recent years he has suffered from injuries. The Phillies did not sign him after the 2011 season. He recently signed with the Rangers. After going 4-2, the Rangers have apparently assigned him to the bullpen.

2005 Ultimate Collection #8 Andy Pettitte

Andy was 17-9 in his second of 3 years with the Astros. He was another big factor in the Astros reaching the World Series. He went back to the Yankees in 2007. After retiring after the 2010 season, he's back with the Yankees in 2012.

2005 Topps Update #83 Willie Taveras

Willie had a cup of coffee with the Astros in 2004 but played a full season in 2005. He hit .291, scored 82 runs and had 34 steals. He was runner-up to Ryan Howard for Rookie of the Year. The Astros traded him to the Rockies in December 2006 for pitcher Jason Jennings, who was a total bust for the Astros in 2007. Taveras stole 68 bases for the Rockies in 2008. Willie seems to have burned out early and hasn't played in the majors since 2010.

Random Cards From My Collection #13

Card #2007
2003 Fleer Double Header Double Keg Griffey/Barry Larkin

This was a weird set. The top of the card folded up to reveal Barry Larkin.

Card #26894
1989 Upper Deck #139 Tony Fernandez

Young collectors today, I think, can't imagine how revolutionary this set was in 1989.

Card #28328
2001 Upper Deck #369 Lance Berkman

This card features the basic design for every year of Upper Deck for the next decade.

Card #4886
2005 Fleer Authentix Hot Ticket Die Cuts #7 Mike Piazza

Before they went under, Fleer had so many different releases in the 2000s with so many different inserts it was hard to keep up with them.

Card #21295
1995 Ultra #210 Heathcliff Slocumb

One of the hallmarks of early Ultra was multiple photos on the back. This was an interesting variation on the theme.

Card #23538
1996 Topps #268 Brian L. Hunter

Topps had some interesting card back designs in the 1990s.

Card #5777
2000 Fleer Focus Future Vision #3 Ruben Mateo

 Another crazy Fleer insert set.

Card #15193
2010 Topps #239 Juan Uribe

How many baseball cards do you have with this Yahoo! ad on it?

Card #29608
1998 Ultra #407 Bobby Estalella

According to Wikipedia, Estalella holds the distinction of having hit the most career home runs in MLB history by a player who also had fewer than 200 career hits. That would be 48 home runs in 195 career hits.

Card #17967
2010 Bowman #175 Tim Lincecum

2010 was a big year for Lincecum. He was an All-Star, he won 2 games in the World Series, leading the Giants to the championship and he won the 2010 NL Babe Ruth Award.