46

Frankenset card #46

As of right now, my frankenset is very 80's-centric.  I collected in the 80's then stopped for almost 20 years.  That's the way it goes.  But I've gotten a few newer cards, and whenever a newer card (or vintage for that matter) has a double it goes in the set.

And so it is with card #46.  2008 Upper Deck Timeline Torii Hunter.  Its actually a pretty sharp looking card.  Good team colors.  Decent (in)action shot.

I've always been ambivalent about the one line of stats cards.  I'd rather have the full set, but one year doesn't usually bother me.  But just career stats?  Nah.  Home jersey on the front, road jersey on the back.  Nice touch.

One thing that gets me about collecting cards from the period after I stopped is that there are always parallels to look for.  I had to check The Trading Card database to see if the cards I have could be different in some way.  There's a gold version, but the two I have are the same.  Are there other resources out there for figuring out what you have?

Torii Hunter is a player who I seem to appreciate more now that he's gone.  While he was an Angel I always new he was a good clubhouse guy.  I knew he was a great defender, and a decent bat.  But the Angels basically let him go so that they could pay Josh Hamilton $97 million more.  Seriously.  $123 million versus $26 million.  Sad thing is, they have about the same value.  But Torii is far less streaky.  And doesn't need a life coach following him around. (low blow?)  Its easy to overstate "intangibles" in baseball.  It happens every day.  It happens every time a .500 pitcher who "eats innings" is signed.  But when a popular, good influence player leaves a team, the clubhouse can suffer.  Especially when the player is a solid contributor on the field.

Thanks for the 5 years Torii.

Great Mail

Today was a great mail day.

0 bills.

4 envelopes of baseball cards.

That's a ratio you can't beat.  2 of the envelopes were eBay wins.  I typically troll for good deals on eBay, put in a bid and get outbid.   No harm, no foul.  I like to look for big lots of "vintage" cards.  (parentheses due to the definition of vintage.  I'm using pre-1980 as my definition).  If I can get a big lot (say - over 200 cards) for 5 cents a card, I'm good.  Lately though I've been picking up Mike Trout cards.

That's the second Panini Prizm I've gotten this week.  I'm a huge proponent of a second MLB license to eliminate Topps' monopoly, but both of the Panini cards have actually looked pretty sharp.

But the real star of the mailday were the two envelopes I received from John over at My first blog.  I reached out a week ago and offered up some Braves cards.  He sent back a bunch of 1990's Angels.

I think that Washburn is now my oldest chrome card.  When did those things start being produced?  And a Tim Salmon there which will go in my Frankenset, which will add a little variety to the very 80's-centric nature of the project at the moment.  You can't go wrong with Rickey in a Halo uni.

I remember when Rod Correia was playing for the Angels.  You had the sense that he was a bench type player, but I rooted for him to be star anyway.  There's 2 new Salmons for that player collection, and they're sharp looking cards to boot.  I like the look of 1994 Score.  Those two cards bring my total of the set up to 3.

That Baylor is awesome.  It'll go with the Grich I got from Dime Box Nick.  Another Rickey.  Even at 38 with a .183 batting average, I think Rickey was a good pickup in 97.  Todd Greene was a slugger that the Angels moved from outfield to catcher.  I had high hopes for him...

I like the Donruss Classics.  Good looking cards.   Those Upper Deck Vintage really are a cross between new cards and 80's cards.  They look like thy're from the 80's (or earlier), but they feel like new cards..almost.

All in all, an outstanding pair of packages.  Thanks John.

Flip it over

I first saw reference to the Just Commons site back in March on the Wallach blog.  I've ordered a couple of times, working on player collections  (Tony Gwynn, Nolan Ryan, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich, Brian Downing, Kole Calhoun, and of course Rod Carew), set needs  (1979 Topps, last 3 cards for 1982 Fleer, 1978 Topps).

I just received my fourth order.  This time I just wanted some vintage Angels cards.  I trolled the lower end of the price ranges and got some

1967:

I know the design is simple, but I like it.  Probably because its simple.  Although, green nameplate for the Angels?

1968:

I've read alot of opinions about the burlap border, but again, I like it.  Except that not all the borders are the same.  Mincher's burlap is much bigger than everyone else's tightnit pattern.

1969:

Again, simple.  I like simple.  For a long time, my 1969 Topps Rod Carew was the oldest card in my collection as a kid.  Maybe its just nostalgia for me...

1970:

Another set that I don't think gets the love it deserves.  Maybe the grey border is uninspired, but its clean.  And the backs are actually rather attractive.   I like the blue/yellow combination they used.

Speaking of backs of cards, you can learn alot on the backs of cards.  I don't know about anybody else, but I usually flip a card almost immediately when I get one.  I like looking at the stats, reading the commentary, seeing the minor league cities if they're listed.  And this batch of cards reveals some good information.

For instance, I solved the mystery of Tom Egan's hat:

It seems that the Angels couldn't find him a hat with a logo in 1967, and they still couldn't afford one in 1969.  Well, now I know why:

Look at all the "huge bonus"es the Angels were handing out in the 60's.  Forget hats, we'll throw money at amateur players.


I also learned why the Angels weren't winning on the field:

Too busy perfecting their skills in the pool halls.

But they were good in high school:

I guess that's why they were throwing around all those bonuses....



We can also learn how one player "led the club in batting", while his teammate "paced the Angels with a .276 mark"

Nice Topps.  Confusing kids.


Here we learn how a major league career ends:

When the only thing a bio writer has to say about your career is that you were assigned to the minor leagues...not good.  This card serves as a sunset card though.


Here we can learn about ballplaying relatives:

I knew about Spencer's grandfather.  McGlothlin's brother is new to me though.  Good stuff


A little cross-promotion:

Brunet is the answer to the trivia question on Rojas' card, and Rojas is the answer on Brunet's card.  I'm probably the only one who finds that interesting.

I think we collectors spend alot of time admiring the fronts of cards, or critiquing card designs and photos.  But see how much fun is on the backs of cards?

I did it again....

You ever tell yourself "What a waste.  I ain't doing that again"?  And then you do it again?

I did that.

Again.

I bought one of those re-packs at the Red bulls-eye.  I looked down the card aisle and nothing looked interesting.  But I could get 100 cards for $4.  What a deal!  4 cents a card!  I don't know why I fall for it.  Card opening itch to be scratched?  Maybe.  But I'm already overflowing with junk wax.  Why do I do it?

Here's the front cards.  2 newerish cards.  I need newer cards.  I don't have much from 1994-2011.  Maybe I'll get some Angels.

Here's the back.  1 newerish card.  I need newer cards (did I already say that?).  But the other card kinda intrigued me.  I remember seeing those in rack packs of late 1980's Topps.  I like those.  This looks like a promising (re)pack.  I'll get it!

Oh look.  12 cards from 1989 Topps.  yay.  I'm drowning in these things already.  If you ask me for these things, you're getting them.  I'll probably come damn near completing your set.  In case you were wondering, that's the A variation of Destrade (E*), not the B variation (E*F*).

And 12 cards from 1987 Topps.  I was drowning in these things at one point to, but there's three young children in Southern California somewhere learning about players who retired years before they were born.  There was one cool card with these, but I'll get to that later.  DeCinces won't even help with the frankenset, there's a Jimmy Dean oddball already in #22.

A Jack Clark hot pack!  There were two Rick Schus from this set too.

But enough of the redundancy.  Let's see stuff I liked.

In addition to the 08 Topps on the front, there were these three.  But they're numbered with NYY numbers, so I'm assuming they came from a team set?  (Side note.  It kinda sucks living in enemy territory.  If I see team sets, I don't want Giant or A team sets.)

Sure enough, there were three more of these in the package.  I don't know why I like these, but I do.

Wait.  That's junk wax.  Yeah, but it's from the 1986 Fleer Update set.  The set was probably broken to get the Bonds out.  Oh well, I'll take it.

I always get one of these in a repack.  I don't really know where to put them in my collection, but I've always been a minor league history buff, so I'll take it.

It's a 1/1!  Wait, here's the back:

What happened there?

2009 Topps.  I don't have many of these at all.  I like the little stats they rap over the top on the back.  The 6 degrees of Mantle.....I guess it was a very Mantlesque time period.

Last but not least, I need help with this card:

What is this card?  Here's the back:

No identification whatsoever.  No copyright.  No brand name.  Nothing.  Somebody fill me in.

147

Frankenset card #147

One of the things about having OCD is that I notice coincidences, anomalies, things that might defy the odds.   When I first decided to put together my frankenset, I haphazardly went through my doubles boxes grabbing Angels and putting them in a box in numerical order.  When I came to number 147, I noticed a coincidence (okay so anybody would have caught it.  Whatever).

My two choices for #147 in the frankenset were:

1989 Topps #147

1989 DeWayne Buice or:

1989 Upper Deck #147

1989 DeWayne Buice.

Two of the 5 major card companies gave the same player the same card number in the same year.   What are the odds of that?  Score just missed making it a trifecta:

1989 Score #153

Just 6 off.  Fleer and Donruss declined to offer up Buice cards in 1989.

Anyhoooo, only one card gets to make the frankenset.  I'll go with.......

Inital Frankenset inductee

The Upper Deck card.  After all, it was Buice who was instrumental in getting Upper Deck into the baseball card business.  

Angels, Angels, and even more Angels

I'm pretty sure that anybody who reads baseball card blogs has come across the Dime Boxes blog, but if they haven't, they need to.  Nick has a way of connecting with cardboard of all types and enjoying the cards on their own terms.

Recently I saw a post he wrote and inquired about a card I needed to have wanted to get.  I sent along a couple blue and red parallels and a stack of the blurriest 1982 Fleer I could find.  What I got back was way more than I could have expected (which is quickly becoming a running theme for me).

This is the card I asked about.   I would have been happy with this card alone.  An Angels blogger, who I know has seen more Angel ball than I have lately, has opined that this kid has the enthusiasm that the rest team could use more of.  So I've started a player collection.  This camo version will go next to the base card and the gold parallel I have.  I only need 45 more for the rainbow (I kid...sorta.  There's 14 total I think.  14!?!)

But Nick decided to throw in a stack of Angels.  Over 50 more Angels.  I'll show some of the highlights.

 Player collection needs!  There's a Rod Carew card from his playing days.  I thought I had all those except his rookie card, and assorted OPeeChee cards.  And a Tim Salmon to add to one of my more recent player collections.  But that Bobby Grich is possibly my favorite card of the package.  Underrated player, and he doesn't seem to get much love from Topps in their recent binge of "old players on new cardboard".

1987 "1987 mini" next to 2012 "1987 mini".  And a 1987 for comparison.  1987 Topps was the second set I ever completed from busting packs, after 1986.  All these years later, I still like 1987 better.

A couple of guys who ended their careers in 2012, never having made the majors.  Both made AAA though.  I don't think I'm in the minority when I say that I would given anything to have the chance to play one season in the minors.  Castillo played 7, getting 5 games at AAA in 2011.  Auer played 5 seasons, getting 105 games at AAA in 2010-2011.

Gold parallels, and sparkly parallel.  I'm a sucker for all the parallels I've seen the last couple of years.  Sure, Topps is beating a dead horse, and the dead donkey next to it, by overdoing parallels.  But I still like them.

I have considered starting a Gary DiSarcina player collection.  He was the real reason the Angels collapsed in 1995.  He was hitting .307 in the 9 hole and made the All Star Game in 1995.  Then he gets hurt on August 3rd, missing a month and a half, and the Angels went in the tank.  The Percival and Velarde bring my grand total of 1997 Topps to two (edit - grand total of three.  There was a third one in the package).

And here's the guy the Angels let go so they could sign Josh Hamilton.  So they could pay 5 times as much for less production.  So they could sign a guy with a checkered past and ongoing recovery instead of a clubhouse leader.  (Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing anybody in recovery and definitely not the process itself.   I'm lamenting the presence of the man that got away).


Thanks Nick.

Full names

One of the perks about having this here little blog is that I get to pretend I'm a blogger.

In my new self-titled role of blogger, I headed over to the 2X3 heroes blog and signed up for Club PWE.  Sure enough, I got a PWE filled with Angels the other day.  Ironically it was the day after a post detailing how Jeff from 2X3 and I had sent the same card to Night Owl.

I got cards from just after I stopped collecting cards.  I'm not even sure I knew about Leaf when I was still collecting.  Nowadays, thanks to a Craig's lister from 10 years ago, I have a bunch of 1991 Leaf, but that Sanderson is definitely an addition to my Angels cards.

I also got some cards from when I was not collecting at all.  Any cards I have from the 2000s I have gotten from re-packs or from generous bloggers like Jeff here.  Erstad and Molina were both products of the farm system and key contributors to the Angels only World Series champions.  Guerrero on the other hand is (in my humble opinion) indirectly responsible for the mess the Angels are in right now.  He was a great signing for Arte and won an MVP.  But that has led to the Angels signing more free agents who haven't been as good, which in turn is weakening  the farm system.....

But I digress.

The best card for me in the PWE was this Tim Salmon, which will find a good home in my Salmon PC.  This is from one of the 14 million sets Fleer produced in 1999 (exaggeration I know.  I collected in the 80's when there was three sets and we liked it).  But its a pretty sharp looking card.

Oh and one other thing.  If you sign up for a mailing list........

....full names people.  Full names.


Thanx Jeff