Mailbox time

Is there anything cooler than opening the mailbox and seeing a handwritten envelope in there?  Seems like everything that shows up in there is just bills right?  So the handwritten stands out.

When I see a handwritten envelope, I walk back to the door a little faster.  I know what's in there!  Can't wait to open up the envelope.  Baseball Cards!.   But I won't do it until I get in the house.  Gotta keep them safe. 

My most recent PWE comes courtesy of everyone's favorite dime boxer, Nick.

An insert of former Angel Mark Trumbo.  Not too big on inserts, but if its an Angel, I'm all in.  He goes nicely with the Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson cards I've gotten from the same set.  Trumbo was made expendable because as a 1B/DH type, he had to vie for playing time with the other 14 1B/DH types on the roster.

Gold parallel of Garrett Richards.  This guy and a couple of the young pitchers that the Angels got back for the aforementioned Trumbo are the key to the Angels' season this year.   The pitching was awful last year.

And finally....ummm......wait a minute.  Let me try something.

Eh.  That's a tad better.  Brian Downing was the Angels' career leader in almost every category before the arrival of Tim Salmon.  So he's definitely one of my main PCs.  This card will actually go right into my Angels Frankenset, the first Sportflics to be enshrined.  

Thanks again Nick.

Okay Tom, because you asked.....

Been silent for awhile.  Eh, that's the way it goes.

P-town Tom of the excellent (although misguided..Cubs? really?) blog Waiting 'til Next Year sent a PWE my way.  The first group of cards

had some very cool, and new to me 1987 Fleer (oddball?) Angels.  Back in high school Wally Joyner was a big deal, and his rookie cards were all the rage for awhile.  That Brian Downing will of course be headed off to the Downing PC.  If I didn't see the name, I'd think that was Ryan Howard on that Bowman refractory thingy. 
(Side note: I took the two pictures on Grant Green's BaseballReference bullpen page.  <patting self on back>)


But he posed a question a to me.

"...could you explain why Wade Hinkle gets 2 Bowman cards in 2013.  Is he that good?"

So I will attempt to explain that now.  The first thing I did was go look up who Wade Hinkle is. He was a 27th round pick of the Angels in 2012 out of Kansas State University. 

To get 2 Bowman cards, I would think you would have to be unique.  There were 96 players who qualified for the batting title in the 2013 Midwest League.

Of those 96 qualifiers, 35 hit .270 or better.

Of those 35 qualifiers who hit .270, 10 hit 13 or more Home Runs.

Of those 10 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers, 4 hit 30 or more Doubles.

Of those 4 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers and 30 doubles, 2 had less than 90 strikeouts.

Of those 2 qualifiers who hit .270 with 13 homers, 30 doubles, and less than 90 strikeouts, only 1 stole a base.

Yes, the only batter who qualified for the 2013 Midwest League batting title, and hit .270 with 13 homers, 30 doubles, less than 90 strikeouts, and more than 1 stolen base is the immortal WADE HINKLE.

So there you go Tom.  Wade Hinkle is unique.  He was the only player in all of baseball to accomplish that feat.  So Bowman gave him 2 cards.

But I bet Tom knew that.  Wade Hinkle was a visiting player in Peoria a couple of times last year.