Bam-Bam & Tuffy Mailday: This Card Is Cool Edition

     I'd been out of town all week for work and was anticipating some exciting mail when I got home.  In what has become one of my favorite online trading experiences, with RyanG of This Card Is Cool, I send him semi-random junk for his type-card collection, and he sends me stacks of pure Japanese awesomeness!  He included a brief note:

     Very eager: check!  Update want lists: check!

     It is increasingly difficult to find new cards to add to my Sir Hensley Meulens collection.  Before these new additions, my Meulens want list was down to just seven cards (of which, one may not exist).  Now it is down to five (or maybe four for existential reasons).

2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners 2 Deep Impact Silver Signature #42 /100

  

2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners 2 Deep Impact Red Signature #42 /30

  

     Feels kind of awesome to own a Hensley Meulens card numbered to just 30.  If I can track down the gold signature (numbered to 50), I'll have the whole rainbow for this set.  Then it's just back to waiting for an affordable copy of his autographed card (numbered to 48) to show up to have the clean sweep of all of Sir Bam-Bam's Japanese cards.

    Ryan also sent some major additions to my Tuffy Rhodes collection, which has been a touch stagnant in the past year.  Well this is quite the revival.

2002 Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Team Issue
     I had discovered something like a half dozen team issued cards of Tuffy with the Buffaloes, but this beauty was not one of them.  I love how these keep turning up and I super love that Ryan found one for me!  2002 is a guess on my part, but all of the 2003 cards I have seen actually say 2003 on them.  Could be 2000 or 2001, but I'm sticking with 2002 until proven wrong.

  

2003 DyDo Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes Team Issue w/Norihiro Nakamura
    Yet another team/sponsor issued card of which I was completely unaware.  Tuffy shares the card with fellow B's slugger Norihiro Nakamura.  It would appear this was given out during a two game series vs. Hanshin on 22-23 March 2003.

  

2008 Lotte Bikkuriman Pro Baseball Seals #17

  

    I've been trying to pick up this little foil beauty since it was issued.  Each year, Lotte issues their Bikkuriman Seals (stickers) with little chocolate wafers.  Usually they are anime-type characters, but a few times they issued baseball sets.  I think 2008 was actually the last time they issued a baseball-themed set featuring actual players. These are 2" x 2" squares.  I find it curious that while Japan, like most of the rest of the civilized world, uses the metric system, cards and stickers are still created using firmly standard measurements.

2013 BBM Legendary Foreigners 2 Deep Impact Title Holder Pink TH8 #/100

 

     Looks more purple in the scan, but the decorative trim is actually pink.  In the typical modern parallel overkill, there are four versions of this card, an unnumbered version with ugly gold(?) trim and parallels with trim in pink (/100), green (/50) and blue (/30).  I still need the green and blue.

2015 BBM 25th Anniversary #087

  

     It is something of a mixed blessing to collect such a big star in Japan.  On the one hand, it means he keeps getting new cards almost every year (but in no where near the quantities of, say, Dave Winfield), but it also means a lot of his cards can be pricy and out of reach for someone as cheap as me.  BBM is very big on anniversaries, and they seem to issue a set for every single anniversary that rolls around, be it league anniversaries, team anniversaries, event anniversaries or even its own company anniversaries.  This set commemorate's BBM's 25th anniversary issuing baseball cards.  Similar to the early Stadium Club sets from Topps, each card features the players' first BBM card on the reverse.

    Now on to the two new highlights of my entire Tuffy Rhodes collection:

2008 BBM Orix Buffaloes Memorabilia #BsM4 /300

  

2009 BBM Touch The Game Memorabilia #M02 /200

      Yes, indeed, these are my first two actual Tuffy memorabilia cards featuring actual pieces of bat in the actual card!  No non-game used shenanigans here, I can practically smell the home runs hit with these tiny chips of wood.  It's not that Tuffy's game used cards are really all that expensive, but I can just never find a single seller on Yahoo! Auctions Japan that is selling more than one at a time.  Pile on Kuboten fees, and I'd be paying an extra $12-15 per card on top of the actual sale price.  I just can't justify $25-50 for a single card.  But thanks to Ryan, I didn't have to.   Many, many thanks, Ryan!  These cards are not just cool, these cards are awesome!

Hobby Archaeology: 1983 Chicago Tribune White Sox Scrapbook

     1983 saw the Chicago Tribune issue another scrapbook series, this time for the White Sox.  The set was announced on page 17 of the September 11th Sports section, opposite a big article on hot hitting Sox rookie Ron Kittle.  Taking up the whole of the Focus page, the last page of the Sports section on weekdays, these scrapbook "cards" were large at three to a page.  At least for the first six installments, after which they were issued one per page on no apparent fixed schedule.  The set ran from 13 September to 1 October.

     Each entry included a fairly full biographical profile, abbreviated statistics through the previous day's game, a head shot and an action shot.

Hobby Archaeology: 1984 Chicago Tribune Cubs Scrapbook

     In 1984, the Chicago Tribune produced yet another series of "cards" for the Cubs.  The set was announced on the front page of the September 5th issue, to appear "intermittently" on the Focus page, which was the last page of the Sports section. This time around, rather than stringing them out one or two players per issue, they issued the set in full pages spread across five seemingly random issues from September 5th to 2 October, as the Cubs were making their push toward the post-season.

     The other big change with this issue is that the cards were presented in full color, and designed in a way such that the cut-out card can be folded in half to create a "card" with a front and a back.  The set introduction recommends folding the cut-outs around a piece of heavy paper or cardboard and gluing it in place to make them more card-like.

Washington Nationals Inside Pitch Program Cards

     In these days of exclusive licensing deals, the "oddball" card has become something of an endangered species.  Gone are the sets issued with food products or the small boxed sets from drug stores and discount retailers.  About all we have left in the way of oddballs are the occasional sets issued by the teams themselves.   The Washington Nationals were one such team.

     From 2009 to 2014, the Nationals issued a pair of cards bound into their Inside Pitch game programs.  For each of those six seasons, the Nationals issued twelve programs resulting in a total of 24 cards each year.  Given that 2009 is Volume 2, I would not at all be surprised to learn that cards were issued in 2008's Volume 1, but so far I have found no evidence.  Also, in 2009, it seems the cards may have been inserted randomly and not sequentially as in later years.  As a result, I am not 100% confident in the numbering below.

     Someone asked about a few of these cards over on SportsCardForum.com and, as I started researching, I was surprised to find no other blog had covered these cards.  To fix that, I'm going to post what I found here and enlist the rest of you to help fill in the gaps.   If you can help out with additions or corrections, please drop me a line in the comments.

2009

© Nats320

Number	Name	Issue*
1	Elijah Dukes	Vol. 2, #1
2	Ronnie Belliard	Vol. 2, #1
3	Willie Harris	Vol. 2, #2
4	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 2, #2
5	Anderson Hernandez	Vol. 2, #3
6	Cristian Guzman	Vol. 2, #3
7	Austin Kearns	Vol. 2, #4
8	Ronnie Belliard	Vol. 2, #4
9	Jose Flores	Vol. 2, #5
10	John Lannan	Vol. 2, #5
11	Joel Hanrahan	Vol. 2, #6
12	Saul Rivera	Vol. 2, #6
13	Adam Dunn	Vol. 2, #7
14	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 2, #7
15	Josh Willingham	Vol. 2, #8
16	Sean Burnett	Vol. 2, #8
17	Nyger Morgan	Vol. 2, #9
18	Josh Bard	Vol. 2, #9
19	Wil Nieves	Vol. 2, #10
20	Mike MacDougal	Vol. 2, #10
21		Vol. 2, #11
22		Vol. 2, #11
23		Vol. 2, #12
24		Vol. 2, #12

*I'm not entirely sure the card pairings to issue numbers were consistent in the first year.  It is entirely possible the set was released jumbled throughout the year, rather than sequentially.

2010

© Nats320

Number	Name	Issue
1	John Lannan	Vol. 3, #1
2	Ivan Rodriguez	Vol. 3, #1
3	Adam Dunn	Vol. 3, #2
4	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 3, #2
5	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 3, #3
6	Willie Harris	Vol. 3, #3
7	Livan Hernandez	Vol. 3, #4
8	Tyler Moore	Vol. 3, #4
9	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 3, #5
10	Drew Storen	Vol. 3, #5
11	Ian Desmond	Vol. 3, #6
12	Cristian Guzman	Vol. 3, #6
13	Matt Capps	Vol. 3, #7
14	Nyjer Morgan	Vol. 3, #7
15	Roger Bernadina	Vol. 3, #8
16	Michael Morse	Vol. 3, #8
17	Wil Nieves	Vol. 3, #9
18	Miguel Batista	Vol. 3, #9
19	Drew Storen	Vol. 3, #10
20	Ian Desmond	Vol. 3, #10
21	Roger Bernadina	Vol. 3, #11
22	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 3, #11
23	Danny Espinosa	Vol. 3, #12
24	Wilson Ramos	Vol. 3, #12

2011

2011 New Era Inside Pitch Washington Nationals #3 - Wilson Ramos

Number	Name	Issue
1	Livan Hernandez	Vol. 4, #1
2	Ivan Rodriguez	Vol. 4, #1
3	Ian Desmond	Vol. 4, #2
4	Jayson Werth	Vol. 4, #2
5	Adam LaRoche	Vol. 4, #3
6	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 4, #3
7	Rick Ankiel	Vol. 4, #4
8	Drew Storen	Vol. 4, #4
9	Laynce Nix	Vol. 4, #5
10	Tom Gorzelanny	Vol. 4, #5
11	Jerry Hairston	Vol. 4, #6
12	Todd Coffey	Vol. 4, #6
13	Michael Morse	Vol. 4, #7
14	Jason Marquis	Vol. 4, #7
15	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 4, #8
16	Danny Espinosa	Vol. 4, #8
17	Wilson Ramos	Vol. 4, #9
18	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 4, #9
19	Alex Cora	Vol. 4, #10
20	John Lannan	Vol. 4, #10
21	Jesus Flores	Vol. 4, #11
22	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 4, #11
23	Chris Marrero	Vol. 4, #12
24	Tom Milone	Vol. 4, #12

2012

Number	Name	Issue
1	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 5, #1
2	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 5, #1
3	Brad Lidge	Vol. 5, #2
4	Adam LaRoche	Vol. 5, #2
5	Jesus Flores	Vol. 5, #3
6	Ian Desmond	Vol. 5, #3
7	Bryce Harper	Vol. 5, #4
8	Tyler Moore	Vol. 5, #4
9	Craig Stammen	Vol. 5, #5
10	Michael Morse	Vol. 5, #5
11	Ross Detwiler	Vol. 5, #6
12	Steve Lombardozzi	Vol. 5, #6
13	Gio Gonzalez	Vol. 5, #7
14	Jhonatan Solano	Vol. 5, #7
15	Sean Burnett	Vol. 5, #8
16	Roger Bernadina	Vol. 5, #8
17	Edwin Jackson	Vol. 5, #9
18	Drew Storen	Vol. 5, #9
19	Ryan Matheus	Vol. 5, #10
20	Jayson Werth	Vol. 5, #10
21	Danny Espinosa	Vol. 5, #11
22	Kurt Suzuki	Vol. 5, #11
23	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 5, #12
24	Jordan Zimmerman	Vol. 5, #12

2013

Number	Name	Issue
1	Davey Johnson	Vol. 6, #1
2	Danny Espinosa	Vol. 6, #1
3	Ian Desmond	Vol. 6, #2
4	Chad Tracy	Vol. 6, #2
5	Jayson Werth	Vol. 6, #3
6	Ross Detwiler	Vol. 6, #3
7	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 6, #4
8	Rafael Soriano	Vol. 6, #4
9	Jordan Zimmerman	Vol. 6, #5
10	Kurt Suzuki	Vol. 6, #5
11	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 6, #6
12	Craig Stammen	Vol. 6, #6
13	Bryce Harper	Vol. 6, #7
14	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 6, #7
15	Jordan Zimmerman	Vol. 6, #8
16	Kurt Suzuki	Vol. 6, #8
17	Gio Gonzalez	Vol. 6, #9
18	Roger Bernadina	Vol. 6, #9
19	Anthony Rendon	Vol. 6, #10
20	Wilson Ramos	Vol. 6, #10
21	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 6, #11
22	Ian Krol	Vol. 6, #11
23	Dan Haren	Vol. 6, #12
24	Drew Storen	Vol. 6, #12

2014

Number	Name	Issue
1	Matt Williams	Vol. 7, #1
2	Tyler Clippard	Vol. 7, #1
3	Bryce Harper	Vol. 7, #2
4	Ross Detwiler	Vol. 7, #2
5	Adam LaRoche	Vol. 7, #3
6	Taylor Jordan	Vol. 7, #3
7	Anthony Rendon	Vol. 7, #4
8	Tanner Roark	Vol. 7, #4
9	Rafael Soriano	Vol. 7, #5
10	Drew Storen	Vol. 7, #5
11	Jordan Zimmerman	Vol. 7, #6
12	Kevin Frandsen	Vol. 7, #6
13	Jayson Werth	Vol. 7, #7
14	Danny Espinosa	Vol. 7, #7
15	Denard Span	Vol. 7, #8
16	Jose Lobaton	Vol. 7, #8
17	Ryan Zimmerman	Vol. 7, #9
18	Jerry Blevins	Vol. 7, #9
19	Stephen Strasburg	Vol. 7, #10
20	Racing Presidents	Vol. 7, #10
21	Wilson Ramos	Vol. 7, #11
22	Gio Gonzalez	Vol. 7, #11
23	Doug Fister	Vol. 7, #12
24	Ian Desmond	Vol. 7, #12

Mother's Cookies Dave Henderson (1984 - 1993)

In Memoriam
David Lee Henderson

1958-2015

1984 Mother's Cookies Seattle Mariners #3

  

1985 Mother's Cookies Seattle Mariners #4

  

1986 Mother's Cookies Seattle Mariners #4

  

1988 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletcs #14

  

1989 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics #13

 

1990 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics #18

  

1991 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics #18

  

1992 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics #18

  

1993 Mother's Cookies Oakland Athletics #9

Thank you, Hendu, for all the smiles!

2015 Seattle Mariners 5" x 8" Photo Cards

Behold the latest addition to my Hendu collection!

     The Mariners have been pretty good about producing these over-sized photos for their yearly fanfest events, much like the Orioles, Rangers and Astros still do.  And as most teams do, the checklist is a mixture of current and former players and announcers, which is great for collectors of players who aren't getting any love from the big trading card companies.  This is the only way I ever see new cards of Dave Henderson, Roberto Kelly and Hensley Meulens, so I'm grateful.  I'd been watching this one for while, hoping the price would drop, but finally just snagged it to be done with the waiting.  As is often the case, it is very difficult to find clean copies of these cards without autographs.

     Below are the cards I have seen cross eBay this year, organized by uniform number where available.  This list almost matches the 2015 Mariners FanFest autograh appearance lineup exactly, so it is possible only individuals who were scheduled to appear had cards produced.

10 Dave Valle
16 Austin Jackson
32 Taijuan Walker
33 J.A. Happ
42 Dave Henderson
54 Tom Wilhelmsen
65 James Paxton
NNO John Hicks
NNO Alex Jackson
NNO Patrick Kivlehan
NNO DJ Peterson
NNO Stefan Romero
NNO Dave Sims (broadcaster)
NNO Carson Smith
NNO Chris Taylor

    Here is the list of those scheduled to appear back on 24 & 25 January 2015 for FanFest:

Current Stars
Nelson Cruz
Charlie Furbush
J.A. Happ
Austin Jackson
James Paxton
Fernando Rodney
Taijuan Walker
Tom Wilhelmson
Mike Zunino

Mariners Legends
Jay Buhner
Julio Cruz
Dave Henderson
Dave Valle
Dan Wilson
Mariner Moose

Future Stars
John Hicks
Alex Jackson
Patrick Kivlehan
D.J. Peterson

Other Special Guests
Lloyd McClendon
Jack Zduriencik

Mariners Broadcasters
Mike Blowers
Aaron Goldsmith
Rick Rizzs
Dave Sims

The following cards are similar in design, but lack the position at the bottom of the card, there is just a thin blue stripe.  I'm not sure of these are also 2015 issues.

Aaron Goldsmith (broadcaster)
James Jones
Dominic Leone