By the page: Aaron Hill

I was a big fan of Aaron Hill during his time with the Blue Jays.   The 2009 season was off the charts for him, offensively and defensively.   36 HRs, 108 RBIs, .991 Fielding Percentage, led the AL in assists and double plays for a 2nd baseman.  I thought he was going to be the Jays 2nd baseman for a long time.  The next season the power numbers were still there, but the average plummeted, and the trade talk started.  By the end of 2011 he wound up in Arizona in what I consider one of the worst trades in Jays history (Kelly Johnson came to Toronto and didn't last past 2012).


Top row:  Bat on the shoulder pose

I don't know if there's any Blue Jays player with more cards featuring the classic bat on the shoulder pose than Hill.  I guess when you're a good looking guy you can get away with it more than others can. 

Middle row:  Bowman black

Interesting, 3 cards from his rookie season on this page so far (2005), and all three of them feature the bat on the shoulder pose.  I can't quite be sure, but the number on his jersey must have been a spring training issue, because the only number he wore in Toronto is #2.

Bottom row:  Horizontal

I originally had this row in the middle, but changed my mind just before working on this post.  Also note, the 2004 Heritage card has the bat on the shoulder pose again, with also what appears to be the same jersey number.   So it's easy to conclude that Topps in 4 different releases between 2004 & 2005 used the same photo for Hill.

I read that Aaron might be on the trade block in Arizona.   Maybe the Jays will pick him up to end the mess that they've had at 2nd base over the past couple of seasons.  That probably will not happen, because it sounds as if the Jays are chasing after Howie Kendrick of the Angels to fill that 2nd base spot.

Oh well....

thanks for reading, Robert

It isn't perfect, but....

I'm giving it away for nothing, so at least there's that.

I decided to try and give a little bit back to the blogosphere, and this card caught my eye yesterday at the card show.

The Duke of Flatbush.  '54 Topps.  Yes, as you can see there is a nice crease on the right hand side of it, but it's still a great looking vintage card that I'm sure a few people might want.  Here's how to enter...

Leave a comment on this post, gain an entry.  

Promote the contest on your blog, gain another entry.

Easy enough.

I'll end the contest on Thursday, using the random.org method of selecting a winner. 

Good luck to all that enter!

thanks for reading, Robert

100 down & 100 left

You know you're a regular at a card show when a dealer says to you "Robert, you're never here on Fridays, this isn't a bad thing is it?"  I assured him that the reason I was there today is that the wife and I are planning a day trip tomorrow, and I likely wouldn't be able to make it in the customary Saturday afternoon time frame. 

I did fairly well for myself today at the show.   I picked up a couple of Blue Jay relics, including this Jose Bautista from '14 Archives.

Love how it mimics the '68 Topps set.  This was an easy pick up for $5.

I managed to snare some vintage as well.   As the title of this post suggests 2 of the sets that I added cards for have the #100 in common.

The '64 Topps set is now down to 100 cards left to complete.   The single solitary card I grabbed today was this one...

A very nice copy of a Dick Allen RC!  I remembered seeing a blog, or posts on a blog about Dick Allen and whether he should be in the Hall of Fame.  I did a quick search and found this post today, and also found out that his home town is just 10 miles to the south of where I live!  Wampum, PA is a very small town, so for Dick Allen to make it out of there and have as good a career as he did earned him a little more admiration from me.  (I voted yes by the way, and those who voted that they never heard of Dick should be ashamed.....lol)

Now, the 100 down part of the title refers to these beauties...

Yes indeed, the '59 Topps set is already better than 100 cards in, 105 as a matter of fact.  Six of the cards that I picked up today were high numbers, including a very reasonably priced Warren Spahn!

Neither the Spahn or the Allen were the highest priced cards out of the purchases today.   The card that was the most expensive?   Well, I've decided to try and get through the winter blahs by doing a give away based on the monthly card show. 

Tomorrow at noon, you'll see a post that will show off the card (a hint, it's a mid 50's card of a HOFer).  I'll also detail what you need to do to earn entries.

Not going to be around for the next few days?  No problem.   Leave a comment on tonight's post, and you'll earn an entry into the contest.   For those who will be around, you can also leave a comment tonight and consider it an early bird special.

thanks for reading, Robert

Now the pressure is on

I received an email last week from Kyle at the Nolan's Dugout blog.  Kyle mentioned that he had some Blue Jays cards for me, and he asked if I could peruse his want list.   Kyle's want list is quite extensive, and I was able to hit his lists for a box worth of cards, full of inserts and base cards that he needed for those sets.

Well, Kyle sent me a box back in return.  It was filled with close to 200 Jays cards, all of them on my want list.  Now you see why the pressure is on.  After the efforts of the past few weeks to "de-clutter" my desk (to a degree), in comes another stack of cards to try and thwart those plans.

The want list is already updated, and all I have to do now is get the new cards into the spreadsheet before moving them to the Jays box.  To make room for the new cards, I have to start getting more pages done and into binders.   Let's start with a page of Pat Hentgen cards, one of my favorite pitchers back in the 90's.

Top Row:  both ends of the spectrum

I didn't buy a lot of Finest back when it first came out.   Back then it never struck me as worth chasing.   The price point was too high, and the designs at times struck me as "loud".  I have a bigger appreciation of the cards now, and even more so when they are Jays.   Stadium Club was always a favorite of mine, but I never had the opportunity to acquire a lot of 1st day issues.  Collectors Choice was an easy choice for me, the price point was right and the cards featured UD's quality photography. 

Middle row:  The finest red art

If I had three Finest cards for this Hentgen page, I would have put them all in one row.   In this case, I only had 2 so I split them up.  I think the bronze works well with the Topps Gallery Impressions card in the center, along with the UD red Canada Day jersey card on the left.

Bottom row:  that can't be good for his arm....

Look at the first two cards.  The torque on his arm.  It's no wonder that pitchers have arm problems.  The Pinnacle on the right features a solid follow through on what probably was a fastball. 

I have quite a few cards for players pulled together and waiting to be put into pages.  There's no excuse for me now to not get them posted on the blog and into my players page binder.  I guess that's where the pressure comes in.  I love when the cards come in, but the battle to keep them sorted (especially when a box arrives) is something that I have to keep ahead of. 

You can keep challenging me if you want......

thanks for reading, Robert

Singles

This has been a good week for marking cards off of want lists for me.   This was helped along today by the generosity of Tom from the Waiting til' next year blog, who sent me a PWE with 2 cards that hit two different want lists.

I don't think that I've seen any of the "new" Donruss Elite cards until now, but I like what I see.  The card actually didn't scan really well, as the Elite cards have a similar effect to what you see with the Xfractors in Topps cards, only without the X.

It also doesn't hurt that the card is of Roberto Alomar.  Another Blue Jay onto the spreadsheet.

Serial number 1381

This card has to be a double.  For Tom to send a Cub my way, it had to be expendable.  Craig Monroe's 2007 Topps gold card brings the SNI set to 1259 out of 1500, and the Cubs now have 45 out of the 50 cards needed for their "team set". 

Tom mentioned on his note that he liked it better when I needed a lot of cards, because now the serial numbered cards that he's pulling are already off of the want list.

Maybe I should start over?

Hmm.....I don't think that's going to happen.

Tom, thanks for the envelope, it is appreciated!!!

thanks for reading, Robert