Sometimes I love junk wax. While it may seem like everyone in the world should have every card produced between 1987 and 1996, the reality of it is that there are still some people out there that could use some of those overproduced beauties.
(…Joe) from The Sandlot is one of those people. He took me up on my offer from last November (see, told you I’m behind) to send a couple cards in exchange for all you can eat junky goodness. Lucky for him I used to collect the Mets, for reasons previously discussed, so I knew I’d be able to find some stuff that would fill out more of his team set needs.
A big ol’ stack o’ stuff that I no longer had any desire to keep netted me 3 great cards in return. I’ll exchange 1990 Topps and late 80s Donruss for these two any day.
Not online anymore - website does not work
I may not officially collect pitchers batting anymore, but I do still hold a special appreciation for them. What a great card. Not so much for the design, but because it personifies a moment in time. 1998 WAS the internet. We transitioned from a world that asked ourselves “Why would M&M’s ever need a website?” to a world that gave each special candy coating stamper its own dedicated fan page. Thanks, Geocities! The “series of tubes” was getting filled with meat to form a weird digital sausage. And this card is a portion of the marrow that got ground up and encased. How’s that for an image!
Nerd alert
And here’s the normal variation. The “online” graphic is so horrendously cheesy, it’s good. It makes the internet seem so cool and hip and edgy. Now according to my list, each version also has 3 parallels: Red, Winners and Web Cards. I know these look like they’d be the Web Card versions, but I don’t think they are. As long as they aren’t online only, I’ll find them eventually. I’ll just hop onto my 128 baud, connect to the local BBSs and ask the sysop where I can acquire such things. Angelina Jolie and Matthew Lillard would be proud.
Honestly, I would have been quite satisfied with this exchange if that’s all that was in the package, but (…Joe) had a little surprise up his sleeve. Let’s see how long it takes you to guess what it is.
A not so secret message hiding the secret card
An unnecessary thank you message accompanied this mystery guest. All I could tell was that it appeared to be kind of old and obviously bad ass. Oh, and Cubs related. Let’s push on.
Can you tell who it is from the outline?
All you vintage-y types probably know exactly what I hold in my hands. These numbers may give you a tiny clue.
The big reveal
Ta Da! 1965 Topps Embossed Ernie Banks. How’s that for a bonus! I don’t recall ever seeing one of these in person, and never would I have thought I’d own one. This is not only insanely generous, but all kinds of overkill for what I sent.
Now, I want to get back to the numbers from the previous scan if I may. Someone wrote in pen 4 numbers corresponding to four years (1961-1964), then totaled them up. I looked on baseball-reference.com and I couldn’t find anything that matched up. Do you guys have a clue as to what this might be referring to? Right now, my best guess is that it’s for a different player but written on the Banks card.
Regardless, what a way to finish off a trade! Mr. Cub in all his gold glory. (…Joe), I can’t thank you enough. I’m sure I still have more Mets stuff laying around that could use a good home, so I’ll do my best to compensate on the next go-round.
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