tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338577806977128952012-01-28T13:53:06.685-06:00Exploring the murky depths of my various and sundry player collections....so you don't have to! <p> (or Hensley Meulens and Other Stuff)</p>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.comBlogger1351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-39334871869301449802012-01-23T10:32:00.001-06:002012-01-28T13:53:06.735-06:00

 Hensley Meulens ratificado como mánager de Bravos de Margarita       While it's a bit late, congratulations are in order for Hensley Meulens.  After being the fill-in manager for the end of the past two seasons for the last place Bravos de Margarita of the Venezuelan Winter League (after the initial managers were dismissed), Meulens has been announced as the full-time manager of the team for

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-80669464413641348732011-12-28T08:49:00.001-06:002012-01-03T17:44:28.892-06:00

      Progress is moving at a surprising pace these days.  In the past couple of weeks, I have been in contact with the gentleman who started the fledgling blog 1992 Mexican Leauge Baseball Cards.  He posted a link to some photos of cards and unopened boxes he still has from the set.  In my previous post about this set, I posted close-up scans of the logos on the backs of the cards:      

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-26455228558210609412011-12-20T18:46:00.003-06:002011-12-20T18:46:53.856-06:00

     The more I dig, the more I keep finding on the 2005 Beisbol Cards set for the Mexican League.   Just yesterday, Google coughed up a listing on a site called Ofertopia.com for 158 different cards from the set.  I can't quite make out what the purpose of Ofertopia may be as there never seems to be any contact or payment information in the listings.  I don't know of these are just historical

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-83782751103638922702011-12-12T15:32:00.000-06:002011-12-22T19:41:50.220-06:00

     I'm sure the few of you that read my ramblings have noticed that my interests typically lean toward the less-than-mainstream.  In this particular instance, however, it is rather surprising just how far outside the mainstream this subject happens to be.  Mexico has consistently had professional baseball since 1925, when La Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB) was organized. And since that time,

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-6446593054519195862011-12-04T21:50:00.001-06:002011-12-20T19:15:57.570-06:00

(click here to skip the wandering preamble and get straight to the important stuff)      A few years ago, when I seriously got back into collecting baseball cards, I decided to pick up where I left off on my Hensley Meulens collection.  I had mostly stopped collecting and following baseball after the strike in 1994.  Then I came school, marriage, the beginnings of a career, and for awhile there,

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-76036798964499053992011-11-30T08:04:00.001-06:002011-11-30T08:18:25.435-06:00

     Twice in as many seasons, the Bravos de Margarita of the Venezuelan winter league have parted ways with their manager as the playoff drive gets underway. Finding the team in last place with a 15-27 record, team vice-president, Tobías Enrique Carrero,  relieved manager Don Baylor of his duties, in what is described as a "mutual decision" (sure it was). Baylor cesa funciones en Bravos

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-50742392717106306142011-11-18T22:09:00.001-06:002011-12-11T15:54:24.165-06:00

      It would probably be no surprise to learn that players on the same team on a Future Stars card would be on the same team in the minor leagues.  What was slightly more surprising, however, was to find that I actually had all three players on their own cards from that very minor league team.  So here you have them...Before They Were (Future) Stars all playing for the Spokane Indians,

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-256288050903031002011-11-16T10:19:00.001-06:002011-11-19T11:00:08.897-06:00

     By 1987, the minor league baseball card market had expanded enough that Modesto actually had a second team set.  For some reason, ProCards always numbered their cards as part of the master set that included all of the team sets they issued each year, so if seeing a #285 in a team set of 20-30 cards seems odd, that would be why.  ProCards issued over 100 team sets in 1987, so some of the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-9888909078712684222011-11-05T20:41:00.000-05:002011-11-05T21:06:17.813-05:00

Baseball Cards, April 1986, Issue #15, Volume 6, No. 1 Cover: Vince Coleman Articles: "On The Baseball Beat" by Irwin Cohen, Tom Seaver interview "What's New" by Steve Ellingboe and Vic Knight. pp22-23, 42, 44, 46.  Sets referenced: 1986 Fleer; 1986 Topps; 1986 Donruss; 1986 Donruss All-Stars and Pop-Ups; 1985 Fleer Update; 1985 Topps Traded; 1985 Donruss Highlights; 1985 7-Up Chicago Cubs;

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-44993292077693525292011-10-14T08:31:00.001-05:002012-01-19T09:12:27.513-06:00

2007 Grandstand       Below you'll find the list of cards I need for my Roberto Kelly collection.   Over his career, he played for the Yankees, Reds, Braves, Expos, Dodgers, Twins, Mariners and Rangers.  He has some cards in a Rockies uniform, but he never made it back to the majors with them and ended his career in Mexico.  Since retiring as a player, he managed the Augusta Greenjackets for

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-47057219408177893752011-10-07T17:44:00.001-05:002011-10-28T15:43:30.700-05:00

    Back in my school days, around the grades when we were expected to be able to research a subject and write a report about it, our teachers would march the class down to the library.  There the librarian would enlighten us on the wonderful world of reference books at our disposal.  The dictionary, the thesaurus (Latin for "treasure"?), the Encyclopedia Brittanica, it's much lesser used cousin

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-63862666135298017712011-10-04T16:25:00.002-05:002011-12-10T14:23:41.835-06:00

       Having renewed his value on the free agent market, after the 1991 season, Winfield headed north, and took his talents to Canada where he played a big role in a hugely talented 1992 Toronto Blue Jays team. As mentioned in an earlier post, it was with the Blue Jays that Dave finally picked up his World Series ring. However, despite having a great season with the Jays, Winfield became

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-37309895750351807802011-09-24T11:26:00.000-05:002011-09-24T12:18:10.513-05:00

     For the seventh consecutive season, Emerald Nuts sponsored another team set give away for the San Francisco Giants. For me, that means one more card of Hensley Meulens and Roberto Kelly. Fortunately, this year, the day after Baseball Card night, several people put the sets up for sale on eBay, and one was even kind enough to sell me an extra coaches card for an extra $1, so I could

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-89692669740860246632011-09-17T16:29:00.001-05:002011-12-25T12:22:24.261-06:00

Not Hendu's 1983 Donruss card      In 1982, Dave Henderson spent his first full season on a Major League roster, platooning in the outfield for the Seattle Mariners.  Yet despite playing in 104 games in 1982 (but a reasonably productive 104 games, hitting 14 home runs), he was somehow snubbed for a spot in the 1983 Donruss checklist.  Rick Sweet got a card and he only played in 88 games in

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-32717140724376887712011-08-13T23:16:00.001-05:002011-12-14T09:37:17.756-06:00

     Pursuing a player collection of a lesser known, yet widely traveled slugger can be a challenge.  What makes that pursuit all the more satisfying is when something like this turns up out of the blue.  Not only was I not looking for this photo, I had no idea it even existed as none of the main hobby resources have any record of this set.  A little research reveals that in (and

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-15041530178995217952011-08-06T13:56:00.003-05:002011-08-06T15:55:56.843-05:00

     Another week, another cachet commemorating the induction of Dave Winfield into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the sixth cachet for Winfield's HoF induction, with apparently no end in sight.   It has been 10 years since his induction, and I'm still finding new commemorative cachets dedicated to this one event.  For 30-something collectors, the art here probably looks a bit

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-7913414205326379582011-07-30T14:45:00.006-05:002011-07-30T17:18:19.003-05:00

     Fast forward 10 years to 1990, and Dave Winfield is making his comeback to baseball after missing the entire 1989 season due to back problems. After a dismal start (hitting just .213 in 20 games) to what would undoubtedly be his last season in pinstripes, the Yankees decided to get something out of him before he became a free agent and in May, dealt him to California for Mike Witt.  Witt

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-47500467303808616332011-07-12T22:00:00.003-05:002011-09-04T15:06:11.000-05:00

        Arriving from Seattle today is this blank-backed, 3.5"x5.5" black & white photo card, featuring the Cubs greatest opening day lead-off hitter of all time, Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes.  This was in a lot of four, including Shawon Dunston, Jose Bautista and Willie Banks, so I'm dating this "set" to 1994, the only year those four were Cubs at the same time.       Often called just "photo cards",

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-54420529436812670682011-07-03T11:48:00.000-05:002011-10-04T16:30:44.137-05:00

       While Dave Winfield is probably most recognized as a San Diego Padre or a New York Yankee, he was no stranger to the late-season traded set. He first saw action in 1981, when Topps first set forth to formalize the "traded" set they had dabbled in over the course of the 1970s. His first mainstream card as a Yankee was in that inaugural Topps Traded set. Even at this point, Topps should

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-22929951942062189542011-05-14T19:45:00.005-05:002011-05-15T23:10:57.964-05:00

     Occasionally, I'll just do random searches on eBay's Sports Cards and Memorabilia section for "japanese" and see what pops up. A few weeks ago I did that, caught a seller unloading a nifty assortment of random Japanese baseball goodness and put in a token minimum $.99 bid (+$4 S&H). About a week later, this is what turned up: Three 1988 Calbee cards and six 1988 Calbee wrappers:

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-9708934700554348942011-05-04T17:39:00.005-05:002011-07-03T11:59:06.045-05:00

    I first caught this story about a week or so ago, on a Dutch site, and didn't say anything because I thought it might just be a gag. Then I saw it repeated again today: Bam-Bam's odyssey is truly out of this world      Apparently, Bam Bam is headed for the final frontier, courtesy of Space Expedition Curaçao, a new space program supported by Curaçao's government.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-64875628519382242042011-04-23T20:26:00.001-05:002011-04-23T20:37:07.820-05:00

     I don't hide that I don't particularly like variations and parallels in baseball cards. I just think they're the product of an extremely lazy attitude toward baseball card production. It's bad enough that the companies reuse the same photographs over and over, year after year, but to basically make the same card, over and over, with no change aside from color, ELEVEN TIMES, is borderline

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-58991853878551974632011-04-16T20:01:00.002-05:002011-12-20T18:31:01.816-06:00

      In 2005, La Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, known to most gringos as the "Mexican League", began a big marketing push, thanks to a new league president, and part of that effort included a set of league-produced baseball cards (tarjetas de beisbol). I managed to pick up 55 cards from the set on Mercado Libre, and after three weeks of shipping, they have finally arrived. Until I can get them

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-85549974798818724572011-04-08T11:44:00.006-05:002011-05-15T23:15:51.523-05:00

     A little over a year ago, I posted a query about some Mexican League cards I'd found on MercadoLibre.com.mx, eBay's partner site in Latin America.  Well, I contacted the seller, initially through a Spanish-speaking friend, learned that he did, indeed, speak English, and negotiated the purchase of all of the 1992 Mexican League cards he had.  Unfortunately, by this time, he only had five

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-83497140867401339952011-04-08T10:59:00.001-05:002011-10-28T16:00:05.173-05:00

     As I mentioned in my previous post on Venezuelan stickers, I finally received my 1981-82 Dave Henderson. I held off on this one for awhile due to the price, but then finally came to the conclusion that if I didn't pick it up, I'd miss it forever. This is actually a different sticker/card than the one posted months ago as the former had some black staining along the bottom edge on the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-23112652675734408292011-03-24T22:12:00.007-05:002011-07-03T12:14:52.230-05:00

   Since the early 1970s, Venezuela has been the venue of many sets of cards and/or stickers that go all but unnoticed to the wider collecting world.  As a result, sets like this can be very frustrating to player collectors, as they can be very poorly documented.  Case in point: 1991-92      Thankfully, my Karl/Tuffy Rhodes saved search on eBay caught this one, or I wouldn't have known there was

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-38510535347360183132011-03-21T18:43:00.031-05:002012-01-12T09:55:19.726-06:00

     Despite having over 1000 different cards of Dave Winfield, I'm still over 1100 short of completion, based on SportsCardForum.com's Inventory Manager. Here are a couple of his most recent cards that represent a really annoying trend by Topps...endless reprints and rehashes of the same cards, over and over and over, no matter how underwhelming those reprints may be.      Here is

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-74506082200356618902011-03-20T16:06:00.003-05:002011-05-27T22:56:28.478-05:00

     I caught this a month or so ago in the course of my usual daily eBay Winfield hunt. Having no idea what it was or from whence it came, upon its arrival in the daily post, I plunged deep into the murky depths of the web seeking enlightenment. As happens more often than not, ManOfSteal over at Rickey Henderson Collectibles had the scoop. He'd picked up his 1988 Rickey Pop-Up years before.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-69676230079774345662011-03-11T14:24:00.003-06:002011-12-18T19:33:07.714-06:00

      In 1992,  Original Products, Inc., issued several sets of static decals featuring random Major League superstars and team sets.  You can find more information about the set over at Rickey Henderson Collectibles.  I didn't even know what these were until a few years ago, but I've finally managed to snag the Winfield, in a lot of random oddballs, after a couple of years of not wanting to pay

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-48074088240242068742011-03-06T17:47:00.019-06:002011-05-29T20:31:58.553-05:00

       Over the last 100 years or so, the sports section of various newspapers around the U.S. have featured illustrations or even "baseball cards" of baseball players.  In the 1920s and 1930s, syndicated columnist and cartoonist Jack Sords, in his "Sords Points" pieces, provided wonderful illustrations to go along with his pieces, both historical and contemporary, of all manner of athletes.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-18284877284867327702011-01-16T13:01:00.000-06:002011-01-16T13:01:14.335-06:00

     I picked this one up awhile ago and forgot to post anything for it.  I'd seen several copies on eBay for awhile, but finally found one at a price I liked (under $10) and pulled the trigger.  This is another Hall of Fame Induction Day cover, this time in a series with Kirby Puckett, called Hometown Hero Station.  This is another full size #10 envelope with the art printed directly on the card

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-40843662770479349162011-01-09T21:15:00.001-06:002011-11-16T10:16:47.318-06:00

photo from http://bravosdemargarita.com Bravos con nuevo mánager       Congratulations are in order for Mr. Meulens as he has been appointed manager of the Bravos after the sacking departure of Luis Dorantes, manager for most of the season (but who apparently missed three days with the team for organizational meetings with the Pittsburgh Pirates), who led the team to 4th place after 61 games

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-19169357221879716232010-12-08T21:43:00.004-06:002010-12-12T10:43:52.344-06:00

     An eclectic trio of Winfield goodies showed up today, spoils of the almighty eBay. The first was yet another silk cachet/first day cover/postmarked envelope with a picture on it, this time, Colorano's contribution commemorating Dave Winfield's 3000th hit on September 16, 1993.      This is another that I didn't even know existed until I happened to catch the auction. I am still hunting

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-87630277121959019622010-11-30T21:00:00.000-06:002011-10-22T23:30:03.968-05:00

    If there could possibly be a "white whale" of my Steve Howard collection, this would be it.  As mentioned in the post on the 1986 Chong Modesto card, singles in this set are extremely hard to find due to the presence of the Mark McGwire cards and the very low (relative to other contemporary sets) print run.  The 2006 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards puts the original print run at 500

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-11202781122039163482010-11-02T22:16:00.005-05:002011-11-09T21:27:41.135-06:00

     Now that the Giants have wrapped up their season, while some get to go home, others just get to go back to work, albeit in warmer climes.  While Burrell and Rowland rest their creaky bones, and Renteria goes home to stare at his new trophy, coaches Hensley Meulens and Roberto Kelly will both have to pack their bags and board a plane to Venezuela to pick up their winter jobs, already in

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-48555641803184283192010-10-31T21:59:00.007-05:002010-11-02T07:47:59.609-05:00

    With the Giants in the World Series, not to mention unleashing 20 runs in the first two games, there is are a new crop of articles about the man that helped make that happen, the San Francisco Giants hitting coach, Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens.  Here he is in his 2010 Topps Emerald Nuts card along with coaches Tim Flannery and Roberto Kelly, his first card since becoming a Major League coach.  I

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-14066895300762686762010-10-31T13:44:00.021-05:002011-11-20T09:20:04.911-06:00

     In the very early 1990s, R&N China acquired a license with Topps to produce porcelain versions of many of Topps' iconic cards from the previous 50 years.  These were marketed by The Hamilton Collection, makers of endless "collectible" nick-nacks as "Baseball's Dream Team".  An early advertisement can be found for these cards in this November 1990 issue of Baseball Digest:      They ran a

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-74822957691405685702010-10-24T11:25:00.006-05:002010-10-26T18:23:46.286-05:00

     While you may not see it right away, CheckOutMyCards.com has quickly become one of the best trading sites on the web. What's that? You can't trade on COMC? Balderdash, I say! Maybe I can't trade one card directly for another, but so long as my cards are being traded for other people's store credit, I can then trade that credit back for cards I want. So there's a monetary middle-man

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-86526605072815588062010-10-20T22:44:00.004-05:002010-10-24T11:17:22.324-05:00

     Unfortunately for all of us Brito collectors (read: me) Bernie had no baseball cards in 1984 & 1985.  No team sets for Batavia or Waterloo those years.  But young Senor Brito was a busy man.  In 1984, he must have found his stroke as he went from a .228, 11 home run hitter in 95 games split between Batavia and Waterloo to a .300 hitter with 19 long balls in just 79 games with Batavia in

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-65576788605993405492010-10-09T17:20:00.001-05:002011-05-10T15:54:14.881-05:00

After the Mid-Season hiatus, we now return to the Power League UL box break. Takeshi Hidaka  - still catching for Orix, only now for the Buffaloes and on a part-time basis.  Hit .279 in  79 games this past season and earned free agency for the second time in his career. Takeshi Hidaka @ NPB Official Website Hiroshi Gondoh - in 2000, the manager of the Yokohama BayStars.  In 1961, Gondoh was

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-69474970401262231312010-10-02T16:58:00.005-05:002010-10-12T12:18:29.572-05:00

A very eclectic mélange of goodies in the post today. 1989 Phoenix Collect the Stars Baseball Magnetables I'm not sure why, but Beckett only lists 47 magnets in this set, while the Standard Catalog lists 156. For the 1990 set, Beckett only lists about 17 of a set of at least 115 and the Standard Catalog doesn't list the 1990 set at all. 1994 Minnesota Twins pocket schedule There were at

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-39982468584720911112010-09-30T21:54:00.003-05:002010-10-01T13:44:05.651-05:00

      One of the lesser known rarities that the middling player collector must pursue is the mostly uncatalogued season ticket depicting the player with whom the collector is obsessed.  While a few of these have made their way into the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, most of them are still just floating out there, sitting in junk drawers, shoe boxes or the pockets of coats and jackets sitting

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-73949961873958090122010-09-26T13:45:00.002-05:002010-09-26T13:47:28.385-05:00

       When building a collection based around players with relatively few actual cards, one quickly nears the point of completion, leaving only the very obscure and rare items unobtained.  Then the eye begins to wander to other bits and bobs floating around radiating the names of those cardboard heroes.  The results are mixed, sometimes delving (both accidentally and not) into custom creations,

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-45497490397784864532010-09-22T21:04:00.001-05:002010-09-26T13:55:33.718-05:00

       I caught these late last week on eBay, and fortunately, no other Winfield collectors were looking (or cared, is more likely the case) and managed to knock something off my cachet want list as well as pick up one I didn't even know existed.   I didn't expect them to be full size #10 envelopes (does anyone know of somewhere that makes 2-pocket sheets that are split vertically?), but it

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-36972628662604620672010-09-18T22:53:00.003-05:002010-09-19T16:26:58.634-05:00

Score of the week! While it's not somewhere I often search for Meulens loot, I picked up this beauty on Amazon for $9.95, discounted from $15.  I'm not usually one for buying autographs, but how could I possibly pass up a signed photo with Bam Bam (World hitting coach), Dave Winfield (the USA manager) and Juan Marichal (the World manager)?    I'll have to see if I can somehow get this signed by

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-67342592081012633092010-09-10T22:01:00.004-05:002010-09-10T22:04:31.408-05:00

Despite the somewhat lackluster numbers put up by these three youngsters during 1981, in an organization such as Seattle at the beginning of the 1980s, there really weren't a lot of bright spots to fit the "Future Stars" category. Of the three, after an absolutely blistering Spring Training, Henderson got to spend the most time with the big club as their regular center fielder. Despite winning

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-57574079555276689762010-09-05T17:30:00.004-05:002011-11-28T12:04:20.401-06:00

Despite the lack of activity on the KuboTEN website, Craig is apparently still in operation.  I took a stab at a couple of auctions and brought in a lot of three more boxes of 2000 Epoch Pro-Baseball stickers (90 packs, 900 more stickers) plus sticker album, as well as a couple of lots of Tuffy Rhodes cards from joecool0314.  Among the three boxes of stickers, the first box gave me pretty much

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-91925776432564721052010-08-29T13:06:00.006-05:002011-10-14T13:36:19.244-05:00

Bam Bam's 1st Card      In 1987, Hensley Meulens gave the world its first real preview of what the Yankees hoped would be the power source of their new youth movement.  He tore into Carolina League pitching to the tune of a .300 batting average, 23 doubles, 103 runs batted in and 28 home runs, breaking the franchise record of 25, set by Lorenzo Bundy of the Alexandria Dukes.  That, despite

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-77845605557897063132010-08-22T13:12:00.001-05:002010-08-22T13:13:05.845-05:00

      As a blogger, or any other type of researcher, one has to love Google News Archive.  Especially if one has any interests in Modesto, California in the 1980s.  The Modesto Bee's archives are there for the scouring, making a wonderful history book of the Oakland Athletics minor league system at the time.  Being a fan of Dann Howitt and Steve Howard, this is especially fun for me, to uncover

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-82664493857196380282010-08-17T20:52:00.001-05:002010-08-17T21:35:37.955-05:00

       Not eighteen months out of Cal State Fullerton, a veritable factory of professional ballplayers, Dann Howitt was coming off an impressive first season of pro ball.  In 1986, he'd hit .317 for the Medford A's, Oakland's short-season, low-A ball team in the Northwest League, and was all set to move on to bigger and better things.        Unfortunately, that's not always how it plays out in

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-62381905606684340932010-08-15T12:12:00.007-05:002010-08-15T12:24:47.061-05:00

      Signed by the Yankees, in 1982, as an undrafted amateur out of Panama, Roberto Kelly began his professional career in Bradenten, Florida, playing for the Gulf Coast League Yankees as an 18 year old shortstop.  Interestingly, Kelly played alongside just one other future Major Leaguer on that GCL team, a young first baseman by the name of Fred McGriff.  Probably because the rate of attrition

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-73601686788327571182010-08-10T22:21:00.002-05:002010-08-10T22:30:00.085-05:00

Yet again, I miss something right in front of my face and Dave Weber is there to save the day.  In 1990, there were FOUR separate team sets for the New York Yankees AAA affiliate Columbus Clippers. There was the Police/Cracker Jack team issued set (thank you Sailor Jack for your wise words of warning):   The team set issued by CMC (successor of the TCMA legacy), which is nearly identical to

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-4444167259345996642010-07-31T21:12:00.005-05:002010-08-15T12:31:25.336-05:00

      After another impressive AAA season in 1992, but another disappointing trip to the Majors, 1993 would be the last year for Hensley Meulens to play in the Yankees organization.  The writing was on the wall even in January, as there were rumors of the Yankees dealing Meulens for some extra bullpen depth, and Meulens openly requesting a trade, alas the it wouldn't happen.  For whatever reason,

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-785885395046181712010-07-29T20:15:00.010-05:002012-01-28T13:52:44.545-06:00

Just in case you had a stack of random Tuffy Rhodes cards lying about that you were trying to unload, these are the ones I need for my collection.  No pressure, just, y'know....in case :) 1994 1994 Collector's Choice Gold Signature 489 1996 1996 Takara Kintetsu Buffaloes BF-20 1997 1997 BBM Green 365 1997 Takara Kintetsu Buffaloes BF-20 1998 1998 BBM Silver Signatures 441 1998 Calbee First

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-62315731757254626062010-07-27T17:38:00.003-05:002011-01-16T12:41:13.792-06:00

Major score on eBay last week and it finally hit the mailbox today. Thanks to a poorly labeled auction ("1967 NY YANKEES signed DAVE WINFIELD upper deck authent"; it was included in a scan with a 1967 Topps card that was a separate auction), I managed to snag this nugget for just under $5! As I've probably mentioned a time or two in the past, I'm not the world's biggest autograph hound, but

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-311050083506900482010-07-23T14:11:00.004-05:002010-07-23T14:30:28.379-05:00

Thanks to NPBCardGuy over at the Japanese Baseball Card Blog, I've been able to fill one more hole in Ye Olde Tuffy Collection, his 2003 BBM Sluggers card: There is also a sepia tone parallel of this card that I've yet to see anywhere online. I was finally able to put one of those cards I bought from Mr. Angeles to work and traded this 2001 BBM Century Best 9 insert of the legendary Hiromitsu

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-4894283910503712912010-07-21T23:32:00.006-05:002010-07-23T14:31:56.299-05:00

Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius: Show and Tell #54: They Were Diamond Kings?: "I received a bunch of Diamond Kings toward my project to collect all the DKs from 1982-1992 from Mike D. When I looked at some of the cards..." Taking a cue from Matt, I thought it might be interesting to see how long it took Donruss to run through the "usual suspects" for each team when they were choosing

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-80671407468890428182010-07-19T16:27:00.004-05:002010-07-19T19:35:24.757-05:00

Filled in a gap in the colección de cachet last week with this one: As further testament to this being a wide open field for player collectors, with not a whole lot of competition, this went for a whopping $1.99 +$1.50s&h.  Though, at the same time, I missed two of the 1991 Gateway 400HR cachets due to my strict $10 or less bidding strategy for autographed stuff.  I'm hoping it exists

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-87357933773162004522010-07-11T00:10:00.011-05:002011-07-03T11:55:13.513-05:00

       Once in awhile a non-card item catches the eye of the ever vigilant player collector.  Whether it be a can of RC Cola,  embroidered patch, various and sundry idols and graven images or a stamped and cancelled commemorative silk cachet.  'Tis the latter that brings together two of the most prominent forces in the collectible universe, that of baseball and stamps.  Though first day covers

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-31265859342997584932010-06-05T18:11:00.003-05:002010-06-05T18:19:12.114-05:00

I picked up this card as part of a large lot of assorted Japanese baseball cards from a fellow in the Philippines, but can't find it listed in the last two editions Gary Engel's Japanese Baseball Card Checklist and Price Guide. Any ideas?  The front shows Matsui's first NPB home run, but judging from the back, it's probably from late 1996 or 1997.  Stadium give-away perhaps?

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-85768909684182719162010-06-04T20:34:00.000-05:002010-06-04T20:34:56.466-05:00

...but Ee-Yah!! is forever.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-80022872723144841632010-05-31T20:08:00.004-05:002010-06-01T19:29:15.054-05:00

A big mail day from CheckOutMyCards.com has given a nice 10-card boost to my collection of one of the Yankees most under-appreciated young players. Roberto Kelly, while easily the most accomplished and consistent of the crop of prospects to come up from the farm system since Don Mattingly, Kelly was promptly shuffled off to Cincinnati as soon as Bernie Williams was deemed ready for prime time.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-63817331442803139832010-05-21T18:36:00.001-05:002010-05-21T19:00:59.156-05:00

Thanks to Tim Peichel, master sleuth of the oddball card, I now have in my hands yet another, hitherto unknown, Broder-style card of everyone's favorite San Francisco Giants' hitting coach, one Bam Bam....Muellens? Geez, no wonder I never found this one. The only auction I'd ever seen with a spelling that mangled was for what someone was claiming was an authentic Pittsburgh Pirates jersey of Mr

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-64270809249198456462010-05-08T21:44:00.004-05:002010-05-08T21:50:10.308-05:00

1993 Blue Jays Donruss World Series Highlights #WS7 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp In the 1980-81 off season, George Steinbrenner signed up, to play left field for the New York Yankees, the biggest free agent on the market to the biggest deal in history. At the time, it was reported as $10M for 10 years (though it would become apparent later, that The Boss apparently didn't actually read the complex

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-10101853833367103472010-05-02T19:40:00.003-05:002011-03-20T14:58:32.235-05:00

"Sorry, officer, I must've left my MLB Properties license in my other pants." In the late 1980s, you knew you were highly touted as an up-and-coming prospect when there were a handful of these babies on the dealer's tables at card shows. These Rookies sets began in 1987 and continued on until at least 1990. Branded "Broders"; a catch-all term for unlicensed cards that got the name after

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-61358660288205477002010-04-24T21:40:00.001-05:002011-11-19T16:27:58.520-06:00

I emailed COMC in response to the notification that one of my cards was being returned and very plainly stated my case, how I'd verified that every single card I submitted was, in fact, listed by Beckett, and identified the card to them as what Beckett called "1995 Takara SW16 Kazuhisa Ishii" and now they've acknowledge finding the card in Beckett's listings and are going to add it to my

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-52453118611570281702010-04-21T20:49:00.004-05:002010-04-24T21:40:52.560-05:00

I was out of town for work yesterday, so I caught the notice for the completion of processing on my latest submission to CheckOutMyCards.com on my Blackberry and only just now got the cards priced and into the system. The email read as follows: Jason, We finished processing your shipment of 49 cards, Batch #427993. 1 cards are being returned, and 48 cards have been added to your 'DaClyde'

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-8742845709426192682010-04-18T16:01:00.004-05:002010-04-18T16:03:48.320-05:00

Back in February, I won another Yahoo Auction of 18 Tuffy Rhodes cards from joecool0314 (my 3rd). A couple of weeks later, I also took a shot at ordering from Mitchael-Trading.com via KuboTEN and picked up another 7 Tuffy's I needed (one was sold out, I guess I missed that when I was browsing their online inventory). Oddly, Tuffy didn't have a card in the 1996 Calbee set. 1996 was his first

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-64541511216684794252010-04-12T17:37:00.005-05:002010-04-13T21:41:23.863-05:00

Is there a parallel set for the 2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy box set? The top card is what comes from the dime-a-dozen 100-card boxed set. The bottom card I finally received today after watching it on eBay for the last year. It sat there at $2.99 for the longest time, and I didn't really want to bother since shipping was another $2. Just last week, though, I got about $50 from my

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-67221105441012210532010-04-06T20:09:00.000-05:002010-04-06T20:09:26.495-05:00

I have absolutely no idea what it signifies, but my batch has moved on to the next step of completion (or maybe they just automatically bump standard service batches to 35% on the 37th day after the process begins). ServiceBatchProgressEst. QtyDue DateEst. DateCompletedFees Standard42799335 %504/21/20104/21/2010$0.50

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-26356000307378699542010-04-04T14:53:00.000-05:002010-04-04T14:53:08.249-05:00

From pack #6, we find only two players who are still active this season, Hiroshima's Akihiro Higashide and Naoyuki Shimizu, who is now pitching with the Yokohama BayStars.

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-76360905451908413202010-04-03T15:38:00.000-05:002010-04-03T15:38:02.422-05:00

Check out the brief interview and update about Tuffy over at Baseball Happenings: Tuffy Rhodes reaches a crossroads Nice photo gallery!

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-27256186776350071392010-03-28T23:25:00.000-05:002010-03-28T23:25:59.761-05:00

"What? Yeah, sure, I'm Matt Williams. Just take the picture!" Such was the scene shortly before the REAL Matthew Derrick Williams came storming onto the field to dive, catch the impostor bare-handed by the neck and fire him clear across the infield into the visitors dugout. Perhaps a somewhat ignominious starting point for my Matt Williams collection, but the only one which demands that I

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-25671872330981265802010-03-25T18:31:00.004-05:002011-12-09T22:54:43.342-06:00

The postcard arrived today, all the way from Los Angeles. It was interesting to see that as soon as I got my shipping notice, the seller immediately had a second one posted for sale. Considering he said he was given these as a gift, and he only had the Meulens, Showalter and Howe, he probably has a stack of them from an in-person signing from way back when. I have to revise my date estimate to

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-31811425063674033862010-03-17T08:35:00.003-05:002010-03-17T18:43:21.485-05:00

Thanks to a new eBay auction, it has come to my attention that there was a set of New York Yankees postcards issued in either 1991 or 1992 that has a Meulens in the set! I don't know if I want to pay $12 for the signed copy up for auction, but now that I know it exists, I can go hunting down the set. Down in the bottom corner, it looks like it says SportsPrint Atlanta. A little Googling

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-53362506519942091332010-03-09T23:04:00.007-06:002010-08-07T11:21:42.192-05:00

On occasion I tend to browse auction sites aimed at other countries, looking for interesting stuff. Probably a hold over from my previous life as an über Star Wars geek. I was searching through the listings at Mercadolibre.com.mx (eBay Mexico) on my occasional hunt for that set of La Liga Mexicana de Béisbol tarjetas that was issued back in either 2004 or 2005 (no idea what manufacturer) that I

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-75307948369043375022010-03-08T14:27:00.008-06:002010-07-23T17:22:36.474-05:00

My three new boxes of 1993 Lime Rock Winter Baseball arrived today, so I rushed home at lunch to rip into a box. Wouldn't you know it? I'm now 0 for 4 on picking up that Bernie Brito Diamond Star! Interestingly, there are a couple of errors I've now seen repeated in the set. Of course, there's card #3 of Victor Silverio which is actually a photo of Miguel Batista, but there is also at least

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-17364777013587112142010-03-05T19:58:00.003-06:002010-03-06T16:35:35.084-06:00

1993 Lime Rock Dominican Winter Baseball In 1993, Lime Rock, a company known mostly for it's non-sports and cheerleader cards, issued this set of 165 cards featuring 20-something cards per team for the 1993-94 Dominican Winter League season. As with any set of the winter leagues, it was littered with local Dominican talent, up-and-coming minor leaguers as well as a smattering of major leaguers

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-63086811393875707602010-03-02T23:27:00.005-06:002010-03-03T12:48:32.683-06:00

Gentlemen, behold!  Here are the newest additions to La Galerie de Tuffy Rhodes: 2001 Upper Deck Homerun Explosion #HR12 2002 BBM Touch The Game #104 2007 BBM 2nd Version (Buffaloes Team Checklist) (Made ya look!) 2008 BBM 2nd Version Title Wars #727 (I have no idea what title Tuffy is supposed to be warring over, the back doesn't really give any hints) 2008 BBM Touch The Game #053 (

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-66804721710942597812010-03-02T21:11:00.002-06:002010-03-02T21:19:47.567-06:00

"HEEEEEEEEEEYYYY KIIIIIIIDDDDSSSSS!!!" This week, Binky wants you to match the players to their names! George Arias - Takanori Suzuki - Takahiro Saeki - Makoto Kaneko - Tsutomu Iwamoto - Akio Shimizu

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-78832781530233075302010-02-27T12:40:00.000-06:002010-02-27T12:40:52.830-06:00

After receiving my notification that COMC had received my cards, in My Dashboard for managing my account, under My Processing Status, I now see the following (including my previous two batches for reference): ServiceBatchProgressEst. QtyDue DateEst. DateCompletedFees Standard4279935 %504/21/20104/21/2010$0.50 Express344443100 %5012/28/200912/28/200912/24/2009$20.00 Standard261915100 %7712/1/

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-77000066080531631802010-02-24T23:43:00.008-06:002010-07-23T17:23:30.724-05:00

Taking advantage of a processing discount coupon from the last order I placed with CheckOutMyCards (COMC), I figured it was time to cash that puppy in (before it expired). To date, I've submitted two earlier batches of cards with somewhat mixed results. The problem was twofold, really: COMC's policy of only really supporting the submission of cards currently listed in Beckett's catalog, and my

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-33794577707166925982010-02-22T17:59:00.000-06:002010-02-22T17:59:44.411-06:00

Fumitoshi Takano - backup outfielded for the Buffaloes and later the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Atsuhiro Motonishi - currently on Marty Brown's staff for Rakuten as the outfield baserunning coach, former Gold Glove winner in 1989 with the Hankyu Braves. Kiyoshi Hatsushiba - shockingly has a fairly extensive bio over at the BR Bullpen. Kazuya Shibata - played alongside Hideki Okajima for the

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-17225860401833455082010-02-15T19:22:00.001-06:002010-02-15T19:26:36.482-06:00

Masao Kida had a less than stellar 2000. Daisuke Miura. He wins some, he loses some. 135-133 over the last 17 seasons. Koichi Oshima was, in fact, an infielder, so don't let the photo mislead you. His being labeled as simply "INF" makes me think of a Jose Oquendo-type player who just filled whatever spot was lacking in the lineup. Not a monster with the bat, nor on the bases, but

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-19317796747716939552010-02-14T16:20:00.005-06:002010-02-16T22:40:01.278-06:00

Well, I don't know if I'd go quite that far in describing Hensley Meulens, as he had a fairly successful career in the minors and in foreign leagues (except for Korea), but he certainly never made an impact on Major League pitching. At the moment, Bam Bam is getting a lot of coverage by baseball media, as San Francisco has handed him the task of making hitters out of the Giants' lineup of wind

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-40751101225937814382010-02-06T14:32:00.001-06:002010-02-06T14:32:47.016-06:00

Pack two is a touch more diverse with the team selection, and another Leader insert.  Michihiro Ogasawara, one of the biggest stars in NPB to not chase the MLB dream,  led the Pacific League in 2000 with an impressive 182 hits.  In fact, he had an impressive year all around, batting .329, scoring 126 runs, hitting 32 home runs, driving in 102 and even stealing 24 bases which was three time his

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-47748229598614001992010-01-30T01:00:00.004-06:002011-12-15T23:23:26.024-06:00

     I asked around on a couple of sites about whether there were any good online cardshops in Japan, but didn't receive any responses that didn't involve American sites selling Japanese cards.  So, grabbing some keywords from my various Yahoo! Auction Japan searches, I set about digging for some sites I could order from using  KuboTEN.com.  As of yet, I have not ordered from any of these, so

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-81328138629205676562010-01-17T18:55:00.000-06:002010-01-17T18:55:33.150-06:00

I don't think I've ever seen a set that has as great color as this one.  It's a shame that in only two years, Future Bee would cede the baseball CCG market to Konami (who produced much less visually interesting cards).  A set this nice looking demanded larger images: Interesting that only two teams are represented in the base cards in the pack.  The set checklist is completely organized by

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-36103606643026200472010-01-17T15:52:00.002-06:002011-12-30T08:25:30.058-06:00

     Seen here in his third season in A-level ball, young Bernie still hadn't quite found his stroke. Waterloo would be a slight promotion for him, but barely keeping his nose above the Mendoza line, he ended up right back down in A- ball in Batavia the following season. Considering today's state of the farm system, one has to wonder if he'd still have a job if he'd only managed to hit .228

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-17725290797549699522010-01-16T15:29:00.007-06:002010-01-17T15:54:53.514-06:00

      In 2000, Future Bee, Hudson (the software company, formerly HudsonSoft...hardcore, old school Nintendo and TurboGrafx 16 gamers will recognize the name) and Ahomaro Games launched the 2000 Power League Dream Stadium collectible card game. The set was issued largely as starter decks with 25 player cards and 25 action cards for playing the game (20 decks per box).      They then issued

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-8318364399839390402010-01-16T13:26:00.014-06:002010-01-17T15:55:41.445-06:00

     In 1988, the baseball card industry, led by the nose by its publications, was neck deep in the hysteria of rookie card collecting and speculating. Look at the future Hall of Famers gracing this cover, for Pete's sake! (sorry Pete)      However, this is also probably one of the first issues to announcing the coming of Yankees minor league power prospect, Hensley Meulens. He even got a

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-62000822764392012422010-01-12T18:45:00.004-06:002010-07-23T17:23:03.923-05:00

Doubles: Sohji, Jefferson, S. Noguchi, H. Takahashi, T. Itoh, K. Kobayashi The final numbers after 30 packs and 300 stickers: 185 of 384 total possible unique stickers for just under half of the set (48.1%). 152/204 base (74.5% complete) 25/108 puzzle pieces (23.1% complete) 5/24 Leading Players (20.8% comlpete) 3/12 Star Players (25% complete) 115 doubles View the entire gallery here. Not

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-65358082700835457842010-01-12T18:45:00.000-06:002010-01-12T18:45:19.053-06:00

Doubles: Y. Ohshima, Arias, Nagashima, Nilsson, M. Nashida, Ohgi, K. Yoshinaga

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-88226428113875904782010-01-12T18:44:00.003-06:002010-01-12T18:44:55.761-06:00

Echoes of pack 25, only the single puzzle card is new, all the rest are dupes, with two packs remaining. Doubles: S. Ohtomo, K. Nomura, N. Matsunaka, M. Tatsukawa, S. Miyamoto, T. Ide (hasn't he been in 3 of the last 4-5 packs?), Oh (again!), T. Nioka, A. Inaba

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-72126454052134757672010-01-12T18:42:00.000-06:002010-01-12T18:42:15.917-06:00

Total bust! Pack #27 is 100% doubles, and of that, only Takahashi and Yabu (and maybe Jefferson) qualify as half decent cards using either price or star power as a gauge. Doubles: N. Matsunaka, O. Higashio, S. Ohtomo, Jefferson, Yuhki, T. Shindoh, K. Yabu, T. Kuji, Y. Takahashi, Hoshino puzzle piece

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-61101305527709395072010-01-12T18:41:00.000-06:002010-01-12T18:41:48.961-06:00

Doubles, T. Ishii, A. Iwamura, M. Yamamoto, T. Iwamoto, S. Murata

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-34706653517479910062010-01-11T22:33:00.000-06:002010-01-11T22:33:10.071-06:00

Wow, you know the end of the pack is near when 9 out of 10 are doubles :/ Doubles: Oh (2nd straight dupe of Oh!), T. Takagi, M. Shimizu, T. Ide, S. Miyamoto, M. Tatsukawa, K. Danie...er S. Nishiyama, K. Nomura, Y. Wada

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-15158948353947094982010-01-11T22:31:00.000-06:002010-01-11T22:31:48.475-06:00

Phil Clark....make that Phill Clark. Never underestimate the potential for misspellings on baseball products, no matter what country they come from. Bobby Rose is another player in the vein of Tuffy Rhodes. Not much success in MLB, but went to be a huge star in Japan for awhile. Doubles: Oh, K. Akiyama, M. Tanishige, K. Nomura, S. Tohyama

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-26051795185036362692010-01-10T13:21:00.000-06:002010-01-10T13:21:23.760-06:00

Doubles: S. Taninaka, T. Ide

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-533857780697712895.post-91842400650362201252010-01-10T13:15:00.001-06:002010-01-10T13:15:23.246-06:00

Looks like this box may finish strong. Yet another solid turnout with 8 new cards and just 2 doubles. Doubles: M. Kitoh, H. Takahashi

Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13543465200431539036noreply@blogger.com0