Sunday, February 13, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Birthdays this past week - Hits
Well, sorry I missed this feature last week but it's back. I am probably going to just focus on a handful of stats and rotate them each week. Probably home runs, wins, strike outs, and hits. And, with rare exceptions, I'm going to focus only on players from the modern era, defined rather immodestly by me, as players who played during my lifetime. In other words, players I might have actually seen play. It will also be more likely I own a card of these players as well. I own all the cards pictured here today except Bob Oliver.
February 6
2010 Topps 206 #185 Babe Ruth
OK, I'm going to break from my plans on the first card for this week, because February 6 was The Babe's birthday. Maybe I should have planned ahead a bit better. There's not much I can add about Babe Ruth that hasn't already been said. Suffice it to say that he had 2,873 hits with a career BA of .342, easily eclipsing anyone else with a birthday this week.
February 7
1988 Topps #292 - Carney Lansford
Carney Ray Lansford was born in 1957 in San Jose CA. He was primarily a 3rd baseman who spent the last 10 years of his 15 year career with the A's. He had 2,074 hits with a .290 career BA. He was with those great A's teams of the late 1980s who went to the World Series in '88, '89 and '90. He was also an All-Star in 1988.
February 8
1972 Topps #57 Bob Oliver
I had to go all the way to fourth place on the February 8 list to come up with a player who played during my lifetime, and I never heard of him. Robert Lee Oliver was born in 1943 in Shreveport LA. In his 8 seasons he played for the Pirates, Royals, Angels, Orioles and ended his career in 1975 as a Yankee. He was signed by the White Sox in 1976 and then sold to the Phillies but didn't play for either team. His career total in hits was a modest 745 with a .256 batting average. His son, Darren, is in his 17th season as a pitcher, currently with the Rangers.
February 9
2004 Topps Cracker Jack # 81 - Vladimir Guerrero
Vlad the Impaler (what kind of a nickname is that?) was born in 1975 and is second to Babe Ruth for players born this week with 2,427 hits. In 15 years he has a .320 career batting average and has hit 436 home runs. He spent 7 seasons with the Expos, 6 with the Angels and is currently with the Rangers. He has appeared in 10 postseason series, including last year's World Series, his first, when the Rangers lost to the Giants. Vlad went 1 for 14 in the Series. He is an 8-time All-Star and the 2004 league MVP. I would think he's pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame.
Guerrero is only 446 hits behind Babe Ruth. Since he has averaged almost 200 hits per season for his career (he had 178 in 2010) it is at least conceivable that he will pass Ruth in hits.
February 10
2006 Bowman Heritage Pieces of Greatness Lance Berkman
Big Puma was born in 1976 in Waco Texas. He has 1,675 hits in his career beating out Lenny Dykstra for players born this date. Lenny had 1,298 hits. Lance played for the Astros for 12 years before being traded to the Yankees last season. Although his production has fallen off in recent years he still has a career .296 average, and 327 home runs. He was a 5-time All-Star for the Astros with one World Series appearance, when the White Sox knocked the Astros out in 4 straight in 2005. He is currently signed with the Cardinals.
February 11
1987 Fleer Record Setters #26 Ben Oglivie
Ben was born in 1949 in Panama. He was drafted in 1968 by the Red Sox in the 11th round. In his 16-year career he played for the Red Sox (3 years), the Tigers (4) years and 9 years for the Brewers. He had 1,615 hits in his career with a career batting average of .273. He made 3 All-Star Game appearances. In 1982, his Brewers lost the World Series to the Cardinals. His best year was 1980 when he hit for a .304 average and belted 41 home runs, well above his annual average. He is currently a hitting coach in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.
February 12
1989 Donruss #209 Chet Lemon
Chet "The Jet" was born in 1955. He was a 1st round draft pick by the A's in 1972. He played for 16 years and amassed 1,875 hits. He is a 3-time All-Star with a World Series ring as a member of the 1984 Tigers. He retired in 1990 and has suffered from a serious spleen disease, eventually having his spleen removed. He now coaches two successful AAU teams, Chet Lemon's Juice,(18 and under) and Chet Lemon's Juice II,(12 and under) in Eustis FL. Lemon's son Marcus was selected in the 4th round of the 2006 ML Draft by the Rangers.
February 6
2010 Topps 206 #185 Babe Ruth
OK, I'm going to break from my plans on the first card for this week, because February 6 was The Babe's birthday. Maybe I should have planned ahead a bit better. There's not much I can add about Babe Ruth that hasn't already been said. Suffice it to say that he had 2,873 hits with a career BA of .342, easily eclipsing anyone else with a birthday this week.February 7
1988 Topps #292 - Carney Lansford
Carney Ray Lansford was born in 1957 in San Jose CA. He was primarily a 3rd baseman who spent the last 10 years of his 15 year career with the A's. He had 2,074 hits with a .290 career BA. He was with those great A's teams of the late 1980s who went to the World Series in '88, '89 and '90. He was also an All-Star in 1988.February 8
1972 Topps #57 Bob Oliver
I had to go all the way to fourth place on the February 8 list to come up with a player who played during my lifetime, and I never heard of him. Robert Lee Oliver was born in 1943 in Shreveport LA. In his 8 seasons he played for the Pirates, Royals, Angels, Orioles and ended his career in 1975 as a Yankee. He was signed by the White Sox in 1976 and then sold to the Phillies but didn't play for either team. His career total in hits was a modest 745 with a .256 batting average. His son, Darren, is in his 17th season as a pitcher, currently with the Rangers.February 9
2004 Topps Cracker Jack # 81 - Vladimir Guerrero
Vlad the Impaler (what kind of a nickname is that?) was born in 1975 and is second to Babe Ruth for players born this week with 2,427 hits. In 15 years he has a .320 career batting average and has hit 436 home runs. He spent 7 seasons with the Expos, 6 with the Angels and is currently with the Rangers. He has appeared in 10 postseason series, including last year's World Series, his first, when the Rangers lost to the Giants. Vlad went 1 for 14 in the Series. He is an 8-time All-Star and the 2004 league MVP. I would think he's pretty much a lock for the Hall of Fame.Guerrero is only 446 hits behind Babe Ruth. Since he has averaged almost 200 hits per season for his career (he had 178 in 2010) it is at least conceivable that he will pass Ruth in hits.
February 10
2006 Bowman Heritage Pieces of Greatness Lance Berkman
Big Puma was born in 1976 in Waco Texas. He has 1,675 hits in his career beating out Lenny Dykstra for players born this date. Lenny had 1,298 hits. Lance played for the Astros for 12 years before being traded to the Yankees last season. Although his production has fallen off in recent years he still has a career .296 average, and 327 home runs. He was a 5-time All-Star for the Astros with one World Series appearance, when the White Sox knocked the Astros out in 4 straight in 2005. He is currently signed with the Cardinals.February 11
1987 Fleer Record Setters #26 Ben Oglivie
Ben was born in 1949 in Panama. He was drafted in 1968 by the Red Sox in the 11th round. In his 16-year career he played for the Red Sox (3 years), the Tigers (4) years and 9 years for the Brewers. He had 1,615 hits in his career with a career batting average of .273. He made 3 All-Star Game appearances. In 1982, his Brewers lost the World Series to the Cardinals. His best year was 1980 when he hit for a .304 average and belted 41 home runs, well above his annual average. He is currently a hitting coach in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.February 12
1989 Donruss #209 Chet Lemon
Chet "The Jet" was born in 1955. He was a 1st round draft pick by the A's in 1972. He played for 16 years and amassed 1,875 hits. He is a 3-time All-Star with a World Series ring as a member of the 1984 Tigers. He retired in 1990 and has suffered from a serious spleen disease, eventually having his spleen removed. He now coaches two successful AAU teams, Chet Lemon's Juice,(18 and under) and Chet Lemon's Juice II,(12 and under) in Eustis FL. Lemon's son Marcus was selected in the 4th round of the 2006 ML Draft by the Rangers.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Movie of the Week - The Road
This 2009 movie was in very limited release in the Houston area, I think only one theater was showing it. I had read the book, and although it was just about the most depressing book I'd ever read, I liked it. I finally got to see the movie on DVD last weekend.
The movie is pretty depressing as well. What makes the movie watchable is the all consuming love of a father for his son. The same theme, of course, is what made the book readable. Mortensen plays "the man" struggling through soul devouring landscape trying to find a place of safety and/or hope for his son. The boy is 10 years old and this is all he has ever known. Just before he was born, some unknown catastrophe struck the earth. It's never explained in the book or the movie. It doesn't really matter. Through flashbacks, the movie briefly hints at the life the man had with is wife both prior to the catastrophe and the years after as the boy grows. But the bulk of the screen time is the man and the boy heading south, hoping for some place of safety there. Along they way they scrounge for food among ruins, avoid cannibals, and try to stay warm.
The filming of this movie must have been brutal. It was almost all filmed outdoors, in the winter, in Pennsylvania, Mount Saint Helens and Katrina ravaged Louisiana. Mortensen starved himself to look the part and slept in his movie clothes for days on end to make the movie look more realistic. And I can't say enough about Kodi Smit-McPhee, the 11-year-old actor who played the boy. He was fantastic.
The movie is pretty depressing as well. What makes the movie watchable is the all consuming love of a father for his son. The same theme, of course, is what made the book readable. Mortensen plays "the man" struggling through soul devouring landscape trying to find a place of safety and/or hope for his son. The boy is 10 years old and this is all he has ever known. Just before he was born, some unknown catastrophe struck the earth. It's never explained in the book or the movie. It doesn't really matter. Through flashbacks, the movie briefly hints at the life the man had with is wife both prior to the catastrophe and the years after as the boy grows. But the bulk of the screen time is the man and the boy heading south, hoping for some place of safety there. Along they way they scrounge for food among ruins, avoid cannibals, and try to stay warm.The filming of this movie must have been brutal. It was almost all filmed outdoors, in the winter, in Pennsylvania, Mount Saint Helens and Katrina ravaged Louisiana. Mortensen starved himself to look the part and slept in his movie clothes for days on end to make the movie look more realistic. And I can't say enough about Kodi Smit-McPhee, the 11-year-old actor who played the boy. He was fantastic.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Random Phillies cards of the Week
This week we spin the wheel and get three pitchers and a utility infielder.
1979 Topps #493 Larry Christenson
Larry spent his entire 11-year career with the Phillies and had a respectable 83-71 career record. I remember his as being very popular with the fans. But by 1979, his best years were behind him. He was 5-10 in 1979 and plagued by injuries, including a broken collarbone in June during a charity bike race. He'll play until 1983 but never really be effective again.
1981 Topps #644 Ramon Aviles
Ramon was a utility infielder for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981. He appeared in a grand total of 89 games. Despite that, my wife managed to get her baseball glove autographed by Aviles before a game, probably in 1981. She was at the game with her follow employees in her employer's field box seats. Everyone thought he was Manny Trillo until they saw the autograph.
1994 Topps #199 Danny Jackson
Danny Jackson was 26-17 in his two years with the Phillies, including the World Series year of 1993. He parlayed that into a big free agent signing after the 1994 season. He got a 3-year deal from the Cardinals worth $10.8 million, an enormous contract for the time. Due to injuries, his record was a dismal 6 and 24 in those 3 years.
2004 Bowman #26 Kevin Millwood
In 2004, Millwood was in the last year of a 2-year contract with $20.9 million. His record with the Phillies was 23-18. Prior to coming to the Phillies he'd been a successful pitcher for the Braves, and would continue to be a successful pitcher after leaving the Phillies, at least up until last year. He is currently a free agent after a 4-16 season with the Orioles. My impression is that he was not very popular while he was in Philadelphia.
1979 Topps #493 Larry Christenson
Larry spent his entire 11-year career with the Phillies and had a respectable 83-71 career record. I remember his as being very popular with the fans. But by 1979, his best years were behind him. He was 5-10 in 1979 and plagued by injuries, including a broken collarbone in June during a charity bike race. He'll play until 1983 but never really be effective again.1981 Topps #644 Ramon Aviles
Ramon was a utility infielder for the Phillies in 1980 and 1981. He appeared in a grand total of 89 games. Despite that, my wife managed to get her baseball glove autographed by Aviles before a game, probably in 1981. She was at the game with her follow employees in her employer's field box seats. Everyone thought he was Manny Trillo until they saw the autograph.1994 Topps #199 Danny Jackson
Danny Jackson was 26-17 in his two years with the Phillies, including the World Series year of 1993. He parlayed that into a big free agent signing after the 1994 season. He got a 3-year deal from the Cardinals worth $10.8 million, an enormous contract for the time. Due to injuries, his record was a dismal 6 and 24 in those 3 years.2004 Bowman #26 Kevin Millwood
In 2004, Millwood was in the last year of a 2-year contract with $20.9 million. His record with the Phillies was 23-18. Prior to coming to the Phillies he'd been a successful pitcher for the Braves, and would continue to be a successful pitcher after leaving the Phillies, at least up until last year. He is currently a free agent after a 4-16 season with the Orioles. My impression is that he was not very popular while he was in Philadelphia.
Monday, February 7, 2011
3 years and counting
It's been busy at Capewood Manor and what with an ice storm going on last Thursday, I completely missed that February 3rd was the third anniversary of my first blog post. In those three years I've managed to make 685 posts. Pretty respectable, I think.
When I started this, there were not too many baseball card blogs that I could find. I'm by no means a pioneer at this but I think, by now, I've been at it longer than many. I seem to have gotten into this just as the number of baseball card blogs began exploding. There are lots of blogs around now and many have been around as long as or longer than me.
There have been a lot of changes in my life in the past three years, many of which I've shared here. Not in any order but here are a few of the highlights:Hurricane Ike
3 stents in my heart (the day before Ike)
I lost my job of 35 years but found a new one within 2 months that was almost as good
My daughter got her Master's Degree in Library Science
My oldest son moved to the Dallas area
The Phillies won the World Series and appeared in another one.
Through it all, I've remained a baseball card collector. The 2011 collecting season has already started and I'm behind in blogging but that's a chronic problem with blogging.Thanks to those who read and especially those who comment.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
