How to effectively rid oneself of unwanted '91 Donruss

I had contacted Dennis, the proprietor of the Detroit based sports card blog Too Many Verlanders, the other day and alerted him that I had a few cards that I wanted to send his way.

Dennis confirmed my request to make sure I still had his correct address, and at the same time he let me know that a PWE was headed my way.

That PWE arrived today and I quickly ripped it open, and take a guess as to what the first card I saw was...

Gerald Perry!  1991 Donruss!  Hold on....

Am I collecting this set?  (brain shuts down to think....give me a minute please)   No, I am not.

Royals?   Blue uniform is correct, but the logo is a little off.  Beginning to wonder if I was being pranked.

OK, there's blue tape on the top loader, let's see what's underneath the Perry.

Whew, a couple of cards more my speed!   A pair of serial numbered Bowman cards to add to the SNI project.  The Steven Ramos on the left takes care of the lowest number that was remaining, 29.  The Cardinals are now just 3 cards away from the 50 card goal.  The Frank Herrmann on the right is serial numbered 255/500, and gives the Indians 41 cards in the set. 

Dennis has also been a frequent contributor to the project, as these are cards #40 and #41 that he's sent my way.

Thank you for the PWE Dennis, it is greatly appreciated!

Note:  this post does not constitute an endorsement for anyone out there to send me their unwanted '91 Donruss cards.  Yes, my collecting interests are wide, but not that wide!!

Thanks for reading, Robert

I did find a few other odds and ends

The response to the Duke Snider giveaway has gone way beyond my expectations with approx 50 people commenting on that post.   Maybe I should grab some more like that next month....

I've had good luck at the monthly card show over the past couple of years.  I have found some really cool cards to hit many different parts of my collection.

While my primary focus this month was to add some more '59s to my collection, there were also a few cards here and there that I couldn't leave behind.

I grabbed a handful of '62s including the Hot Corner Guardians card.  I've really started to notice these combo cards, especially those that feature players who aren't as well known.   It doesn't have to be a league leaders card to be interesting.  (I still wonder how I'll ever find the '64 AL Bombers card on the cheap...)  Roy Face also interested me because of a show I watched on the local Pittsburgh sports channel that talked about Face and his success as a reliever for the Buccos (18 wins in 1959 wasn't too shabby...)

A dollar for a '74 Reggie Jackson was another deal I just couldn't leave at the show.  The '74 set is not a current pursuit, but a card here and there doesn't hurt.

Not sure what possessed me to pick up this '82 Robin Yount card.  Maybe it was the giant All-star star that caught my eye.   It could have been the fact that the card was only a quarter.

 

A tad off center, yes.  Still it's a good card of one of the best left handed pitchers of all time.  How he never received at least 1/3 of the BBWAA votes in any of his hall of fame eligibility years really surprises me, but then again what do I know?   I picked up 9 total '68s just so that set didn't feel left out.

I already can't wait for December's show.  I've got to keep the winter blahs away somehow!

thanks for reading, Robert

'59 Topps set build #6/572 Bill Hall

With the recent acquisitions at the monthly card show, I have a little over 100 cards towards the set.  I may need to make the posts on this project a little more frequent in order to keep up.   This is the 6th post so far...

Card #49:  Bill Hall

My poor effort at scanning unfortunately chopped a little off the top of Hall's card.  There is a little more white at the top, making this a nice copy of Bill's only card.  Many of you will probably remember the Bill Hall that played for the Brewers during the early 2000's.  The Trading Card Database doesn't distinguish between the two players if you do a Bill Hall search.

I'm pretty sure that this was one of the first cards I purchased for the '59 set last May at the Robert Morris card show.  It's in really good shape, the corners are nice and the edges are nice and smooth.  I don't think that I'll even worry about replacing this card.

Career beginnings:  Bill signed with the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1947

Career Line:  .262 average, 1 HR and 15 RBI's.

• I'll be very curious to see if there are any other cards from the '59 set that contain detailed minor league stats similar to what you see on Bill's card.
• Bill had 3 ABs with the Pirates in the '56 season.  These were not included on the back of the card.
• Hall played for teams such as the Hollywood Stars (appropriate), the Columbus Jets (in '59 & '60) and the Salt Lake City Bees.
• This card is also the first card that I've shown that doesn't have a cartoon drawing on the back.  
• I can imagine that Bill batted 8th a lot during the '58 season, because 8 of his 15 walks were intentional.

Bill spent his entire 13 year career in the Pirates system.  I can see why Topps wrote the line that Bill was a fine candidate for the regular catchers position. Bill was one of 3 backstops to play for the Pirates in 1958, and his OPS was higher than the other catchers who played for the Pirates that year.   Unfortunately for Bill, the Pirates made a big trade in January of '59, picking up Smoky Burgess (the #1 catcher for the '59 Pirates), Harvey Haddix and Don Hoak from the Reds for Frank Thomas and 3 part time players. 

Bill's only career HR came off of St. Louis pitcher Jim Brosnan.

Bill passed away on New Years Day, 1986 at the age of 57 in his hometown of Moultrie, GA.

thanks for reading, Robert

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