Hensley Meulens, truly a "rising" star!

    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.

Or you can read the original snippet in Dutch:

Retourtje ruimte voor Hensley Meulens

      Naturally, when I found this, I had to figure out which card or cards to attach to the post.  What better than his "Rising Star" issues from Score? 

      Starting in 1989, until 1992, Score released a 100 card set of Rising Stars, and a 100 card set of Superstars. The sets were sold in large, plastic blisters, along with a magazine-style book with slightly more thorough biographies of each player. Aside from super-hyped rookie Gregg Jefferies holding the #1 spot in the inaugural set, there wasn't any particular order to the card numbering.

      They were usually sold for $9.95-$12.95 almost anywhere baseball cards were sold. The 1989 issue was fairly popular, but as with the regular 1989 Score base cards, were so over-produced that supply far outpaced demand, and even today, these sets are very easy to find unopened, usually for less than $5 (plus shipping & handling).

      I'll go back and research the checklists, but Meulens has got to hold the record for most appearances in Score's Rising Star sets.  Had 1992 not been the final year of those sets, one has to wonder if he would have made a 5th appearance!

     In any case, I guess all that rising amounted to something after all.  Perhaps he will keep these specific cards in a pocket of his flight suit as he blasts off into space, thinking to himself how the Yankees had given up on him too soon.  Godspeed, Mr. Meulens!

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Dave Winfield #126 Rainbow

     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 contempt toward the collector from the manufacturer. That's probably why it took me three whole years to complete the 2008 Upper Deck Heroes rainbow of Dave Winfield's base card; my heart just wasn't in it.  Sort of like my never ending, but somewhat lackadaisical, pursuit of the 100 Winfield cards in the Yankee Stadium Legacy set . Here, in all it's glory, in descending order of commonality:

Base Card	Black	Emerald #/499
Charcoal #/399	Beige #/299	Red #/249
Navy Blue #/199	Brown #/149	Sea Green #/99
Light Blue #/49	Purple #/25	Base Card Back

     As you'll notice, the "beige" is basically a serial numbered version of the base card. Apparently someone at Upper Deck's printer messed up because some of the #/299 cards are a beige color somewhere between the base and brown editions, while others are just the base card with a number stamped on them. However, I don't think there are both beige and base numbered variations. I think the beige set is just scrambled. Of all of these, the Light Blue was the hardest to find. The Purple actually came to me in a trade offer on The Bench, so that was nice. As far as I know, I'm just three jersey cards away from the jersey rainbow for #126, but have a lot of colors to go on card #190.

    I participated in a 2008 Heroes case break on The Bench a couple of weeks ago, and out of all of those boxes of cards, there were multiple jersey/autos of Derek Jeter, Tim Lincecum and Victor Martinez, but not a single useful card of Dave Winfield. All I got for my trouble was a Matt Cain jersey auto, Josh Willingham jersey auto and a stack of Marlin base cards.  All for trade if anyone has any Winfields I need in exchange!

2005 Liga Mexicana de Beisbol Cards

      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 all scanned and documented, here is a sample:

1992 La Liga Mexicana de Béisbol tarjetas (Mexican League baseball cards)

     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 cards left, with one being a double.  We worked out our sales details and he thankfully was glad to accept PayPal, and yesterday, I had in my mailbox, my five shiny new 1992 Mexican League cards.  Here they are in all their glory:

     I had really hoped the backs of the cards might help illuminate their origins a bit better, but aside from the usual biographical details and statistics, there's nothing terribly useful here. The backs have a decidedly Donruss flavor to them, with the card number in the baseball icon in the corner, and maxing out at 5 years of "statisticas" (which I think is more Spanglish than Spanish. That should probably be "estadisticas").   The logo in the lower left corner has the initials "TCI" and "EDM"  around a small, stylized logo of the western hemisphere and a couple of yellow, right-pointing chevrons.

    The seller did say these cards were very rare and he had not seen many of them.  I've asked that he let me know if he finds any more as I would be interested.  Pity that the other 10 cards had already sold when I finally got around to contacting the seller.

     I went ahead and posted the meager 14 cards to SportsCardForum.com's Inventory Manager system, so they are available to the world to search. The highest card number I found was 147, but I would suspect the set contains at least 150.  I'll ask the seller if he can remember any more details and post them here.

    In other news, I also worked out a deal with the seller of a lot of 2005 Mexican League cards that were produced when the league inked a deal with a new marketing company who updated the league's logo and embarked on a more aggressive advertising and licensing campaign.  Apparently that campaign wasn't hugely successful, as this seller has only about 50 cards (though he kept the wrappers, so I'll be getting a couple of those), but there haven't been any further league-wide sets issued.  I'll post details on those once they arrive.  Again, I probably grossly overpaid, but they aren't easy to find.  Once I get them all scanned and cataloged, I'll make them available for trade or sale if anyone is interested.

Dave Henderson 1981-82 Venezuelan Sticker & Hendu Want List

     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 front and this one looks a little cleaner.
     I mentioned that these were odd to be considered stickers, or to be pasted into albums, as some sets had information on the back, like this one. And, as is apparent in the scan, this one was pasted into an album at some point. I just don't understand. But now I have one, so that's something.

     As rare as these are, I guess this wasn't Hendu's rarest piece as I've now seen two copies (from the same seller) in the past year. The cards I'm having the most trouble with are below in my comprehensive (to date) Dave Henderson want list:

1981-1984?

Seem there are at least two more Mariners postcards out there I need for the Hendu collection:


1983
 
MLB Transparency Slide A3120


1985
MLB Transparency Slide A3120


1989
1989 Collect the Stars Baseball Magnetables #65

1991
1991 A's S.F. Examiner #5

1993
1993 Topps/R&N China porcelain #473

2004
2004 UD Legends Timeless Teams Autographs Gold #243 /5
2004 UD Legends Timeless Teams Autographs Platinum #243 /1
2004 UD Legends Timeless Teams Bronze #243 /50
2004 UD Legends Timeless Teams Gold #243 /5

2013
2013 Leaf Memories 91 Buyback Red #232 /1

2014
2014 ITG Past Present Future Cut Signature #CHDHE
2014 Leaf Memories 92 Buyback Gold #232 /5
2014 Leaf Memories 92 Buyback Red #232 /1


1982 Seattle Mariners team poster
1990s Oakland Athletics 4"x6" black & white photo w/facsimile signature
2000-ish Oakland Athletics Saturn/AL Champs 4"x6" black & white photo

2000s Seattle Mariners GetWell Tour black & white photo


2010s Seattle Mariners photo card

Venezuelan Baseball (non)Stickers

   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 a set of Venezuelan stickers for the 1991-92 winter league season.  I definitely wouldn't have known to look for a Karl Rhodes card in the set as neither Beckett, nor the Standard Catalog include them.  But thanks to the wonders of the Internet, it now sits safely in my Tuffy collection between his 1991 Upper Deck Rookie Threats card and his 1992 Stadium Club card.  A little digging turned up the checklist, which tops out at 244 stickers.  Topping the list of well known players are, Galarraga, Vizquel and Franco, but also Eric Karros and another"Big in Japan" name, Roberto Petagine.  Distributed by Genesis S.A.
  
     Until this card showed up on eBay, I had no idea this set existed.  Between Beckett and Sports Collectors Digest's Standard Catalog, sets of Venezuelan "stickers" (some are actual cards with information on the backs, some completely blank, but none with any sort of adhesive backing, I guess Venezuelans go for the DIY approach) have been documented for these years:

1972

     The Standard Catalog lists these as "Venezuelan Baseball Stamps".  They feature the same photography as Topps 1972 cards, only somewhat less focused and more grainy.  Almost like someone took photos of the Topps cards and then used those photos as the basis for these stickers.  As a result this was a completely MLB-oriented set.  Beckett lists the set as "Venezuelan Topps Stamps".  The Nolan Ryan sticker stands out as the most valued.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

Beckett lists these as "1972-73 Venezuelan Winter League Stickers" and SCD as "1972 Venezuelan League Stickers".  These covered the teams and players of Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional.  Obviously styled  after the 1972 Topps set, though perhaps a bit less flashy.  The Standard Catalog lists 249 stickers in the set, Beckett only includes 96.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.














 1973

     Same set naming as the prior year and an original design.  The Standard Catalog puts this set at 275 stickers, but, as of the 2006 edition, lists a few as "Unknown".  Beckett lists only 210.  The most notable inclusion is that of a very young Jim Rice, two years before his Topps rookie.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

1974

     Borrowing the (in my opinion) ugly burlap design from the 1968 Topps set, again, Beckett and SCD follow the naming of the previous two years, covering the 1974-75 winter season.  While Beckett acknowledges the set contains 275 cards, they only bother to include 206 in their listings.  The Standard Catalog includes the complete set.  No notable rookies, though there is a Dave Parker following his 1974 rookie year.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

1976

     After skipping a season, Venezuelan collectors were treated to this familiar looking set, styled after the 1975 Topps entry.  This series, covering the 1976-77 season, was expanded out to 330 stickers (Beckett lists 330 and the album).  Stickers above 217 are mostly comprised of team action shots, group photos, logos and puzzles.  Distributed by Divepress C.A.

1977

     1977 was a little different.  This time around, in a larger 402 piece set, Major League and winter league players were combined into a single set.  The Major League players were presented in the design of the 1977 Topps set, while the winter leaguers were presented in a unique design.  Beckett makes a bit of a mess with this set,  listing it as "1977 Venezuelan Topps Stickers", even though only about 50 of the cards reflect the Topps design, and only includes 326 stickers, but also listing it again as "1977-78 Venezuelan League Stickers", with 402.  The Standard Catalog lists them as "1977 Venezuelan Baseball Stickers".  Distributed by Divepress C.A.





1980-81

     After 1977, no sets show up until the 1980-81 Venezuelan League Stickers set.  SCD doesn't cover this one, but Beckett lists 288 stickers, sorted by team.  Says Beckett, "Andres Galarraga first ever card is in this set."  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

The next three sets haven't been catalogued by either of the big two books.

1981-82 (-83)

     This is actually sort of a two part set.  Stickers 1-288 comprise the 1981-82 set, fortunately for me, including Hendu in the Pre-Smile phase of his career.  For the 1982-83 winter season, the set was expanded with several cards being issued per team with letters suffixed to the card numbers.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

1987-88

     After a gap of a few years, the stickers returned in 1987, bringing this brightly colored set of some 240 stickers.  A few of the big names here include Omar Vizquel, Andres Galarraga, David Justice, Cecil Fielder, David Wells, Julio Franco and one Gregory Maddux.  Distributed by Digallo C.A.

1988-89


     Big names again include Andres Galarraga, Omar Vizquel, Julio Franco and Joe Girardi (ok, so he wasn't exactly a "big name" as a player).  This set shrank a bit more to 216 stickers.   Distributed by Digallo C.A.  As far as I can determine, there were no sets for the 1989-90 or 1990-91 seasons.









     Starting in 1993, Line Up issued several sets of actual baseball cards, in actual packs, covering the winter leagues, both for contemporary players as well as historical sets documenting the past 50 or so years of professional baseball in Venezuela.  Panini issued a few sets, some specifically for the Venezuelan market, and some that just happened to be distributed there, along with the US.  As recent as 2010, a set of stickers featuring caricatures of popular Major Leaguers in their Venezuelan team uniforms was issued.

      All of these images (except for the Rhodes) come from listings by venezuelancards on eBay.  I've ordered a few cards from him for my Tuffy Rhodes and Dave Henderson collections in the last couple of years.  At first glance, some of the prices can seem steep, but he has pretty much cornered the market on selling these rare Venezuelan jewels to the U.S.  I've sent him a few questions about the nature and origins of these sets and hope to post any details he provides.  The checklists for all of the above sets are now available via the Inventory Manager over at SportsCardForum.com.

---UPDATE---

     I got some responses from Gilberto, the gentleman who sells as venezuelancards.  The stickers were usually issued in packs or envelopes of 4 at a time, and most of the time, the manufacturers did not release any sort of formal album, collectors were expected to create their own.  Also, there were multiple companies that produced the cards over the years.  I'll go back and amend the set listings to include the distributors mentioned in the eBay listings.