My favorite White Sox card

This is for Steve who writes the White Sox Cards blog. I told him I'd post my favorite White Sox card. And this was before I knew he was a fan of John Kruk.

John Kruk - 1996 Collector's Choice

John Kruk, of course, was one of the powerhouses of the Phillies incredible run to the World Series in 1993. In spring training of 1994, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, had surgery and missed more than half of the season. He was 33 years old. But he did come back that season playing 75 games and managed to hit 0.302.

He became a free agent at the end of 1994.

In 1995 he signed with the White Sox and played 45 games. But with bad knees, even playing at DH was tough. On July 30, in a game in Baltimore, he hit a single, took himself out of the game and retired. He finished his career with a 0.300 batting average and 100 home runs.

According to my big Beckett alphabetical book of cards, this (and the gold and silver parallels) was the only 1996 card to feature Kruk. So I consider this his last true baseball card.

Weird Card file

Upper Deck Ultimate Victory (Japanese version)


Upper Deck Ultimate Victory was a baseball card set first published by Upper Deck in 1999. One of the insert sets was called STATure. The set featured players with outstanding statistical achievements. This card looks like that insert set but I don't know if the Japanese card is a standalone card or what.

I know that baseball is very popular in Japan but I know nothing about baseball card collecting in Japan. A quick search on eBay brings up 3 pages. Some of these are cards are American cards featuring Japanese players but a fair number of them were published in Japan. The only other Japanese card I have is a single card from the Japanese version of the 2002 Topps set.

I don't know anything about the player. His name is Shinji Sasaoka. He's clearly a pitcher and pitched for the Carp. The stat on the front of the card is and earned run average of 3.20. Is this an exceptional ERA in Japan?

Note that the front of the card is mostly in English while the back is mostly Japanese. My favorite thing on the card is the Carp logo on the
back. Click on the card to get an enlarged picture and a better view of the logo.

1993 Phillies World Series Team - Duncan to Dykstra

Mariano Duncan (SS-2B) - 1993 Score

Mariano Duncan was drafted by the Dodgers as a free agent in 1982. He made his major league debut in 1985 with the Dodgers. The Phillies signed him as a free agent on 12/10/91 to a 3-year contract worth $6.250 million. In 1993 he hit 0.282 with 11 home runs and 78 rbis. He hit 0.318 in the 1993 playoffs. Even though he was an All Star in 1994, Duncan's playing time decreased significantly in 1994 (he only appeared in 88 games). He was a free agent at the end of the 1994 season. The Phillies offered him $500,000 and he accepted. The Reds picked him off waivers in 1995. He also played briefly for the Yankees and Blue Jays before retiring in 1987. He made $10.275 million in his career, most of it with the Phillies. In 1998 he played in Japan. Duncan appeared in two other World Series, winning with the Reds in 1990 and Yankees in 1996.

Lenny Dykstra (Outfield) - 1993 BowmanDykstra was the Mets 13th round draft pick in 1981 and made his major league debut with the Mets in 1985. Before coming to the Phillies, Dykstra's big moment was a walk-off home run in the third game of the 1986 World Series which propelled the Mets to win the series over the Red Sox. The Phillies traded Juan Samuel to the Mets on 6/18/89, getting Dykstra and Roger McDowell in return. Dykstra had a great 1990 season with the Phillies appearing in the All Star game. He was batting at a 0.400 clip into June, finishing the season at 0.325. His playing time was limited in 1991 and 1992 by injuries. In 1991 he crashed his car into a tree (while driving drunk) breaking his collarbone and injuring teammate Darrin Daulton. In 1992 he was hit by a pitch on opening day which broke his hand. But in 1993 it all came together. As the Phillies lead-off batter, he batted 0.305 and had 129 walks. He led the National League in plate appearances (773), at-bats (637), runs (143), hits (194) and walks. He also stole 37 bases. He hit 4 home runs and hit 0.348 in the World Series but it wasn't enough. Dykstra's playing time in 1994 to 1996 was again limited due to injuries. In 1996 he was forced to retire due to back problems which make it too painful for him to play. He made $36.525 million in his career.

Apparently, Dykstra has been a successful business man since retiring. The following is quoted from his Wikipedia entry. "Today, Dykstra is a columnist for The Street.com, manages his own stock portfolio, and serves as president of several of his privately held companies, including car washes; a partnership with Castrol in "Team Dykstra" Quick Lube Centers; a ConocoPhillips fueling facility; a real estate development company; and a new venture to develop several "I Sold It on eBay" stores throughout high-demographic areas of Southern California. Dykstra has helped bring to the forefront an investment strategy called "Deep in the Money Calls". He has also appeared on Fox News Channel's The Cost of Freedom business shows. With money received in these ventures he was able to purchase Wayne Gretzky's multimillion dollar estate."

Dykstra was accused by several sources in the Mitchell Report of using anabolic steriods during his career. Dykstra did not talk to the investigators who prepared the Mitchell report.

Song of the Week - Moody Blues "Dear Diary"

This Moody Blues song was released in April 1969 on their "On The Threshold of a Dream" LP. The video is a short film using the song as the theme music. It gets off to a weird start until the credits for the movie pass. Stick with it, its a good song and the little film is nice too. Unfortunately, the video stops a bit before the actual end of the music. In the lyrics below, the last stanza is missing. For those of you who don't know the song, these words are spoken as the music fades out. I always like the line "Somebody exploded an H-bomb today, but it wasn't anyone I knew".



Dear diary, what a day it's been.
Dear diary, it's been just like a dream.
Woke up late. Wasn't where I should have been.
For goodness sake what's happening to me.
Write lightly, yours truly, dear diary.

It was cold outside my door.
So many people by the score.
Rushing around so senselessly.
They don't notice there's people like me.
Write lightly, yours truly, dear diary.

They don't know what they're playing.
They've no way of knowing what the game is.
Still they carry on doing what they can.
Outside me, politely, dear diary.

It's over. Will tomorrow be the same?
I know that they're really not to blame.
If they wern't so blind then surely they'd see.
There's a much better way for them to be.
Inside me, yours truly, dear diary.
...
Dear Diary it was cold today but the sun came out later
So I went out and strolled about looking at the shops
Didn't really see anything I liked so I didn't buy anything
On the way home I posted a letter
Been quite a nice day
Somebody exploded an H-bomb today.
But it wasn't anyone I knew.

Nice Card File

Larry Walker - 1998 Circa Thunder Thunder Boomer insert


Fleer/Skybox produced the Circa brand of cards from 1996 through 1998 (they were renamed Circa Thunder in 1998). This is an insert from the 1998 set. The Circa cards base sets featured unconventional backgrounds with very colorful abstract designs. The inserts were also unconventional often featuring materials not common in baseball cards. This card is a composite with white card stock on the front and clear acetate on the back. The card stock is cut away around the player allowing the blue clouds on the acetate to show through. All of the text on the front is in red foil. The card commemorates Walker's 1997 season when his slugging percentage was 0.700 and he hit an NL leading 49 home runs. I purchased this on eBay for $1.50 in December 2007. Beckett lists the card at $6.00.

And Now For Something Completely Different - Bonsai

I first got into bonsai when my wife got me a bonsai umbrella tree for Christmas in 2004. I started reading up on the subject and thought it would be fun to try growing my own. The silver cloud ficus is one of my first attempts. I currently have 13 bonsai, 3 of which were store bought. The rest I started from material I've bought at places like Home Depot, WalMart and garden centers.

This started as a small pot with 7 individual plants which I bought a Home Depot in the Spring of 2005. I transplanted 4 of the plants in a very small plastic bowl. This photo was taken in November of 2007, about 2 and a half years after I planted it. I learned several years too late that for a multi-trunked bonsai it's considered bad luck to have an even number of trunks. I still have the other 3 plants but I've allowed them to grow in a bigger pot and they really wouldn't match too well. In the meanwhile, my luck doesn't seem to have taken a turn for the worse.

In the Spring of 2006, the plant dropped all its leaves. When they grew back, the new leaves were smaller and had much more white in them. The plant is about 10 inches tall.



This is what it looked like in August 2005. You can see that the leaves are much greener. They are also bigger but you're going to have to take my word for that. The plant was about 10 inches high then as well. A bonsai requires a lot of trimming or it will outgrow the pot. Sometimes you want to transplant to a bigger pot, but I like it size it is now.

1993 Phillies World Series Team - Daulton

Darren Daulton (Catcher) - 1993 Topps Black Gold


Daulton was the Phillies 25th round draft pick in 1980, the year the Phillies won their only World Series. He made his major league debut on 9/25/83. He didn't take on the starting catcher's role until 1989, playing behind Bo Diaz, Ozzie Virgil, John Russell, and Lance Parrish until then. He was one of the leaders of the 1993 squad, coming off his best season in 1992 (27 HR, hitting 0.270 with a league leading 109 rbis). 1993 was almost as good a year with 24 HR and hitting 0.257 with 105 rbis. He did not hit particularly well in playoffs. He went 5 for 19 with one HR and 3 rbi in the NLDS and 5 for 23 with 1 HR and 4 rbi in the World Series.

Dalton was a 3-time All Star with the Phillies ('92, '93 and '95). After 1993 his career began to decline due to injuries. He played in only 172 games in the next 3 years (only 5 in 1996). In 1997, the Phillies traded Daulton to the Florida Marlins for Billy McMillon (another Phorgotten Phillie). Playing 1st base, Daulton helped the Marlins win the 1997 World Series, batting 0.389 in the Series.While he was with the Phillies, Daulton was married to former Playboy Bunny and Official Hooters Spokesperson, Lynne Austin. I came upon this card quite by accident.
Daulton made close to $26,000,000 playing baseball. According to baseball expert Bill James Daulton is the 25th best catcher of all time. He's divorced from Austin and remarried and divorced again. He's been in and out of jail a few times since he retired in 1997. And, based on a 2006 interview in Sports Illustrated, he sounds a bit like a nut case. According to the Wikipedia article on Daulton, he plans to go back in time and break Mitch Williams' legs after the 4th game of the the 1993 World Series. I think I can speak for many of us that I hope he is successful in that plan. I came on this link on some baseball card blog.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/franz_lidz/02/16/darren/