By the page: Dave Stieb

I don't know why it took me as long as it did to find 9 cards of possibly the best pitcher in franchise history (it's between him and Roy Halladay, IMO), but I think I've got a good group of 9 for the owner of the best slider that Jays fans have ever seen.

Top row:  The early years

All 3 photos show the trademark Dave Stieb determined look, even the posed shot for his '83 Donruss card on the left.  I like the minimal writing on the front of the '85 Topps all star card on the right, no need to clutter up the card with fancy logos and such.  I wonder if that's Damaso Garcia or Tony Fernandez in the background photo bombing the card.

Middle row:  87 through 90

Had to include at least one Canadian issued card on the page, so the '87 OPC on the left does the trick.  I was never a big fan of the Classic releases, and misspelling his last name doesn't help matters any.  2 decades ago, you couldn't attach a pole vault pole to a javelin and still get me to touch a Donruss Studio card.  Over the years, the photography grew on me, and I appreciate them now a lot more than I ever thought I would.

Bottom row:  Later on in life

For a guy that was known for so many close calls when it comes to no-hitters, it was only fitting that the No-Hit Club card from Score '91 be on this page.  The Upper Deck checklist art has always been a favorite of mine, and the '92 UD that features Stieb in the Skydome with the CN Tower in the background is a classic for me.  The '93 Topps in the dark blues....you know how I feel about that particular jersey.

I managed to even make the page chronological.  Sometimes I surprise myself. 

I also find that it's easier to discuss cards from the mid 80's to mid 90's era.  I'm not sure why that is, but I just feel more comfortable discussing how I feel about each release.   Maybe it's because that was a time where I was really in tune with collecting, and the cards bring back a lot of memories for me.

thanks for reading, Robert

By the page: Score '91 Traded

Hard to believe that a team could actually end up with a page worth of cards from a traded set.  The Blue Jays managed this with 9 cards out of the 110 that appear in this release, including the RC of long time reliever Mike Timlin.

Top row:  Pitchers and a guy who hits for the pitcher

Timlin turned out to be one of the most durable relievers during his 18 year career, the first 5 1/2 being spent in a Jays uniform.  Timlin pitched in 70+ games during a season 4 times, and had 60+ appearances in another 6 seasons.  Candiotti was a true rental for the Jays, only pitching in 19 games during the '91 season.  Pat Tabler's favorite pitcher to hit against?  The numbers suggest that it's Tommy John (.520--13/25).

Middle row:  Robbie, Eddie and Cory

Ed Sprague Jr. had a slightly longer career than his dad, Ed Sprague Sr. did, lasting 11 years in the bigs compared to Senior's 8.  Alomar is still the only Blue Jay to have his number retired (12) by the club.  Not bad for having played in T.O. for only 5 seasons.  Snyder's time in Toronto was quite forgettable; he wound up moving on to San Fran and Los Angeles to be a utility man for the next three years.

Bottom row:  The outfield

It's not too often that a team replaces their entire outfield from the previous season and wins a division title.  The 1990 Jays outfield consisted of George Bell, Mookie Wilson and Junior Felix.  Bell signed a free agent deal with the Cubs, Wilson became the 4th outfielder in Toronto and Felix was traded to Anaheim for White.  One of these days, I'm going to have to make a Devon White page, simply because he loses his equipment (helmets/bats) on more cards than anyone I've ever seen.

Interesting choice of the red border by Score for the '91 Traded set.  121 cards out of the box now and into pages.   Over the next couple of days you're going to see a major dent put into the piles on my desk.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Putting some pages together

One page, one post.  I see it all the time out there.  Easy, simple, and for me, putting together some pages for my Blue Jays binders will actually start emptying my 3 row shoe box that is full of Jays cards. 

Between getting these posts together, and taking the time to get the trade list back on the blog, I'm hoping that I'll start to see the clutter that is on my desk start to drop down some.  So, without further delay, let's get the process started.

This page is going to be really easy to put together, 9 cards of '91 Score.   Yes, not the most exciting set to look at, but at least it's 9 cards out of the box.

Top Row:  Todd Stottlemyre, Dave Stieb, Wilie Blair

If I told you that one of the two starters won 15 games in 1991, I'm sure that many of you would jump on Stieb right away.  Dave Stieb unfortunately would only start 9 games for Toronto that year, while Todd Stottlemyre was one of 3 15 game winners in the rotation (Key and Wells were the others).   Willie Blair had a Jays card even though he had been traded to the Indians in the off season for Alex Sanchez.

Middle Row:  Jim Acker, Jimmy Key, Tom Henke

 
Key was already mentioned above, Acker had a tough year in the pen for the Jays, posting a 5.20 ERA in 54 outings.  Tom Henke was established as the Jays closer, and in '91 he saved 32 games while posting a 2.32 ERA and a WHIP less than 0.9.

Bottom row:  Mookie Wilson, Rance Mulliniks, Rob Ducey

Wilson and Ducey were two of 9 outfielders that the Jays used during the 1991 season.  Rance Mulliniks' career would be at its sunset in 1991.  Rance would DH in 81 out of the 86 games that he appeared in, hitting .250 with 24 RBI's. 

That's 9 less in the box.  Only a couple of hundred pages to go...

thanks for reading, Robert