You don't see much of this anymore

The writing bug is back (somewhat).  While flipping through some Blue Jays binders looking for a little inspiration, I came across a couple of early 80's cards that featured Bob Davis...

1981 Topps #221

 

1981 Fleer # 428

The one thing that struck me right away about both photos is the fact that Bob has a healthy (or unhealthy as the case may be) wad of chewing tobacco prominently featured in his right cheek.  Fast forward 35 years, and I don't even recall seeing cards of players with a mouth full of seeds or bubble gum.

I took a quick look through a few more pages of Jays cards from that area, and I found one more card that I could positively identify as having a wad of chew in the cheek.

1978 Topps # 196

Another Bob, this time Bob Bailor is featured with a nice wad in his left cheek. Not sure if this was just a Bob thing on the Blue Jays back in the early days...

I'm sure that there are plenty of other cards from back in the day that featured players with a big hunk of chew tucked delicately into their cheek, and I'm sure that you have probably seen other bloggers write about this topic (leave a link to the post in the comments if you so desire, I'd love to see what other people's take on this was).

At least in a couple of photos there was some semblance of a smile on their faces.

Someone should teach Mr. Strasburg that skill.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Removing 3 and then adding 200 (or more)

There's the three, a trio of 2011 Topps Heritage SPs.  Down to 16 of them left to finish off the set.  I've said it many times, but I will be very happy once this one is done and off the books.

So what did I do to add 200 to the baseball want list page?  2015 A&G is on the books now.  I have just under 40% in my possession, so I figured that I would take a few minutes and type out the want list.  Going one further for this set, I decided to collect one of the inserts that I really like, Starting Points.

for the World Series champion fans out there

I really do like this insert set, the back reads as if someone is reading the teleprompter at an evening sports show.  The Hosmer back reads "Hosmer walks twice and swipes a bag in his MLB debut.  In other action, Jaime Garcia's (Cardinals) perfect game goes by the boards in the eighth inning, but he completes a two hit shutout...Cliff Lee (Phillies) loses despite whiffing 16 men in seven innings."  Very cool.

If anyone out there is looking for some cards from any of the other insert sets (Ancient Armory, Keys to the City, Great Scott, etc. etc.) just let me know as I have just over 20 of them for trade.  Send me an email or leave a comment pointing me to your want list and I'll see what I have for you.

Thanks for reading, Robert

I guess I don't know what I was expecting

I forgot how dark Chrome cards scan

I had a few extra dollars burning a hole in my pocket on the weekend, so in addition to the A&G blaster that I bought, I decided to pick up a blaster of 2014/15 OPC Platinum.

Now I really didn't have any idea what to expect when I opened the packs (6 packs, 4 cards in each), but to say I was surprised/disappointed when the cards turned out to be chrome would be accurate.

To be honest, I don't know what I really expected.  6 packs for $20. With 4 cards in each, I thought this would be different.  Live and learn I guess. 

The only card that wasn't a base card was the Luke Schenn rainbow parallel I pulled, #155/199.  Would have been better if he was still with the Leafs, but hey what can you do?

It's kind of weird, but lately I've had more of an itch to collect hockey.  I'm not sure why, but the last few weeks I've really wanted to find some good hockey products down here in S. Florida.  Maybe that's the reason I bought the blaster of OPC Platinum.

Maybe the release of Upper Deck Series 1 hockey this week will help get rid of the itch.   Another reason to get to the card show this weekend!

Thanks for reading, Robert

Heritage got this one right

Over the years, we've all seen the rookie stars cards feature multiple players that just end up fizzling out.  Guys that don't even play for the teams that they're pictured in, or guys that end up playing a year or two with a few ABs, leaving nothing to speak of.

But this card of Kevin Pillar/Ryan Goins I am very hopeful for.  I started calling Pillar "the human highlight reel" (yes, I know it's been used for many players in the past) because of the many great catches that he made this season.  The 12HR, 25 steals and .278 average in his first everyday season reminds me of Lloyd Moseby during his time with the Jays in the 80's. 

While Goins may not be the offensive dynamo at shortstop that Troy Tulowitzki is, he hit .250 while providing solid defense at 2B and SS during the season.  For my money, he will be a solid backup for Tulowitzki and should play the utility infielder role with Devon Travis coming back.

Two solid pieces of the Jays lineup (hopefully) for years to come.

Thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #19/572 Marv Throneberry

Great shot of Marvelous Marv with the lights of Yankee Stadium in the background.  In an effort to get myself into a posting rhythm again, I'm striving to do one of these posts on the weekends.  We'll see how long that lasts.

Card # 326:  Marv Throneberry

Marv was signed by the Yankees in 1952 as a free agent.

The front of the card is in decent shape, with the "W" not really distracting from the picture itself.  The corners aren't in bad shape, and the edges are smooth with no rough spots.l

Great cartoon on the back of the card, noting that Marv's brother Faye was also a baseball player (Faye will be the next post in this series).  What's been interesting about the backs of the cards so far is the various minor leagues that were around at that time.

The I.I.I. league, also known as the 3I league, was a minor league that played in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana.  Marv played as you can see on the back of the card  in the league for the 52 and 53 seasons, winning a championship with the Quincy Gems in 53.

How'd he fare in 1959?  Marv was a part time player for the Yankees in the 59 season, playing in 80 games.  He hit .240 with 8 HR and 22 RBI. 

• Marv started and completed a game only 36 times in 1959.  In 9 of those games, he had 2 or more hits, including 3 3-hit games.  
• He was part of the big off season trade in December of 59 that saw Hank Bauer, Don Larsen, Norm Siebern and Marv shipped off to the KC Athletics for 3 players, including Roger Maris.  
• Marv had one career post season AB in 1958, but it was enough to get him a World Series ring as the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves in 7 games

On a side note, I found out that there is a band named "Throneberry", named for the marvelous one.

Marv passed away from cancer in 1993 at the age of 60.

Thanks for reading, Robert