Keep watching this space, because on Sunday I’ll be unveiling something that will keep this blog occupied for some time starting in late October. Once that starts up, I won’t want to stop everything to wedge in a trade post.
Luckily, I have no qualms about squeezing one more in before the announcement. Then I’m going to work double-time to get caught up before we really get moving!
This trade from Madding over at Cards on Cards puts me into August. Can you believe it? I only have 1.5 months and 8 more trades before I’m fully caught up. Hooray for me!
This was one of those trades that snowballed into something bigger. I mentioned a desire for a Frank Thomas card or two, and then we kept finding more and more things to send each other. If I wasn’t on a temporary hiatus from trading, I could go another round right now. Assuming I didn’t wipe him out completely.
Oh, and I also want to say “Screw the Cardinals!” How dare they even sniff the World Series. What the hell is wrong with them? Why won’t they just lay down and die already? Come on Brewers, the one time I want you to do something positive….Ugh!
Hey Backdrop, your seam is showing
The last (so far) Upper Deck licensed baseball set. Luckily, it’s a good one. I don’t so much care for the picture, but that has more to do with the logo on his hat and sleeve more than anything else. Can’t expect much to be done there, since we all know how Upper Deck feels about airbrushing logos out.
The neon's so bright, I gotta wear shades
Let me tell you something about how forgettable this set design is. I flipped through my binder a good ten times before I finally found it. I kept passing it over, again and again, because it stood out that little. It’s either that, or Greg’s shades disguised him better than I thought.
PrEAview
Not too long ago, I showed the Tony Gwynn preview card at the end of this massive trade post. Here’s another of them. How close this matches the final product is something I can’t yet comment on. My guess is very close.
How do you mess up 1987 Topps?
Get ready to see a lot of these next year! If you loved minis before, you’ll probably join me on the dark side once these roll around in droves again. Something about these always seemed unfinished to me. The lack of a team logo or name, perhaps?
Far
1987 was a huge year for Tony Gwynn. He became the first player to steal 50 bases and bat .370. Hitting .370 is difficult enough, but to then also be such a threat on the base paths after getting on base so consistently…phew! That’s a Cardinal killer right there.
Near
You can pretty much call this the first parallel card. Another reason for some of you to hate 1988 Donruss. Look at how similar the pictures are. The backs are identical except for the card number itself. Otherwise, it might as well be the same thing.
Hitting a double with one hand tied to his front
The first Dream Team. Before the 1992 USA basketball squad, and before the Score subset, there was this glossy K-Mart exclusive. If I were picking a dream team for baseball, Tony would have to be on it. Other people on the checklist? I don’t even know who they are, but it’s highly unlikely that more than 2 others would make my cut. No one from the Cardinals, I can tell you that much!
One guy in the stands?
I can’t say I understand the purpose of the “Extreme Corps” subset. Is it supposed to be another version of “Dream Team.” The back doesn’t give much indication either. It lists his stats along with his team ranking for each one. Not surprising, he ranks first in just about every category.
The foil scans nicely
That would be his career batting average, in case you were wondering. Tony had just won his sixth batting title. Does anyone else find it odd that he’s not batting in this picture?
All those balls are slightly raised. That's what she said.
Kudos to Fleer for changing up the front to match the date featured on the card. August 6, 1999 marked Tony Gwynn’s 3,000th career hit. He got 3 more hits that night, which placed him at 21st All-Time above Roberto Clemente. The only way that would be sweeter is if it was against the Cardinals.
First of many - batting titles and '08 Heroes cards
These cards are bitter sweet to me. I love the Heroes look, but it also reminds me of how many parallels there are left to collect. I will be at this forever. I haven’t even started on the Gwynn/Ripken Jr dual cards from this set either. I count somewhere around 25 different cards left to hunt. It will look glorious when its all done.
Just two wins in a row, Milwaukee. If the Red Sox can win after being down 3-0, you can pull this out of your fat sausage & cheese eating asses against this joke of a St. Louis team.
Digging the old uniform
You know there isn’t much difference between this Hot Rookie design and the 2010 Topps Red Hot Rookie design. I’m lazy, so I’ll let you look it up for yourself. Of that rookie class, Mike Stanton is closest to Frank Thomas in my eyes in terms of power hitters that could actually pan out.
Although this uniform is better
While we’re comparing Topps releases. Doesn’t this look like the When They Were Young? I don’t believe Triple Play invented this concept, but it did make it a guessing game of sorts. This kid really doesn’t look any different now, does he?
Paired with Lbert Elle
I kind of want another copy of this card so I can fold it out. The card is fastened together well right now. Whether it’s supposed to be or not is a different matter altogether, but I don’t want to mess with a good thing. I’m excited to see what’s inside the flippy flap, but I’d rather do it to a second copy just in case.
.323 is nothing to stick out your tongue at
The back of this card is on upside down. That irks me. Not as much as the Cardinals, but still irked over here. Did you know that in 1995 the Big Hurt hit .389 against lefties and had an OBP of .524 against them? I like those odds.
I like this card because shiny
This was the card that started it all. What a great looking refractor this turned out to be. Despite featuring some of the border issues that I have had with other Bowman releases, I enjoy this card. It honestly could simply be the shiny. Pretty colors. Oh, and like Gwynn, Frank’s card signature doesn’t look like this either. You’ll see the difference there eventually, too.
Probably against a left handed pitcher
How could I not show this? Especially when it’s the best picture in the bunch? The backs of the cards feature tons of trivia for a young, inquiring mind. For instance, did you know that as of 1998 the only other White Sox player to drive in 1,000 runs was Luke Appling? I know I didn’t, because I don’t know who that is! I tend to ignore that franchise for the most part.
I'll pass, thanks.
I could pretend to want to know how to play this game, but I simply don’t care. I like card games. I used to play Magic. I much more recently played the Star Wars TCG (and would gladly play it again). I’m a nerd and I’m not afraid to admit that fact. I don’t want to play this game because I can tell from the front of the card that it wouldn’t be much fun. I could be wrong, but I’m okay not finding that out.
Saved the best design for last
2004 is my favorite “dead year” Topps design. Dead Year meaning the years I wasn’t collecting. I love the rotoscoped player on the bottom. The foil isn’t overbearing. The backs are simple and effective. Yeah, this is so much better than the Cardinals.
You can bet he also sent a few Cardinals as packing material, too. Rub it in. At least we probably got Theo. And we’ll probably only have to give up the farm to the Red Sox. Just you wait, Madding. The tides will turn, my friend. The tides will turn.
P.S. Thank you again for the great trade.
P.P.S. Tides.
P.P.P.S. Will.
P.P.P.P.S. Turn.
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