Surprises from the Card Shop

Holy crap, New Orleans has a card shop.

We used to have several, the most prolific of which was Frank's with several locations.  Those are all long-gone since Katrina.  I have never seen another until I Googled and discovered Markman on W. Esplanade in Metairie.

I needed some long boxes for my sets, so I decided to go.  There were no dime boxes, sadly, but I cleaned out every Griffey I needed or wanted dups of from his dollar bin and grabbed a couple cheap long boxes filled with mystery cards.

I got these from those boxes: 

I wasn't expecting any Griffeys at all, so this was a nice surprise.  I have, oh, 3,000 of this card, but another couldn't hurt.  And I always loved this "All-Star" banner depicting the night sky.  Man, '91 Topps rules.

OK.  I'll take it.  To quote my uncle, Griffey cards are like pizza and p****, even bad ones are still pretty good.  My uncle is filthy but hilarious.

A guy blowing a bubble - one of my sub-collections.  Score.  And a Ron Kittle!  This is turning out to be a decent enough junk wax box.

Hey, look.  There's a whole bunch of '89 Bowman sitting sideways in this box....

Qapla'!!!!!

My wife even got a little excited for me when I started pulling these out of the box (she knows I'm a Griffey weirdo).

So, yeah.  I want more of those boxes.  I also got a fistful of Will Clark, Steve Carlton, Carlton Fisk, Fergie Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Will Clark, Dave Winfield, Ripken, Mattingly, Ozzie (Smith not Canseco), Nolan Ryan, Rollie Fingers, Dale Murphy, and Clark (Will) plus a buttload of early-80's Fleer and Topps.  It was fun to look through and better than any repack box I've bought.

I apologize for the Klingon.  My posts just keep getting nerdier....

Coming next week - Massive 80's Glasses on Guys Named Tom: Hume vs. Henke - Who Wore Them Best?

My First Trade!

I received a package today from Marcus over at Backstop Cards who is apparently far more organized and quick to ship than I am.

He put together quite a bunch of cards for yours truly, and I had to laugh out loud when I saw a lot of what he sent.

Here's just a small sampling as it is getting late and my wife and I are leaving for Vegas tomorrow (3rd wedding anniversary/her birthday).  Gotta finish packing and rest.

First, the meat and potatoes:

Six Griffeys, three of which I needed for the binders!  Beautiful.... That Career Day insert is amazing.

Zephyr Field is less than 5 minutes from my house (it is also next door to Saints Headquarters/training camp).  We go all the time - I'm certain I've seen Lance play.

It is amazing seeing the good ol' Zephyr logo on a refracting SP card.  And surreal.  Brings the hobby home which is something I enjoy a lot.  New Orleans is most decidedly not a baseball town.   Come down for Mardi Gras some time and I'll show you what kind of town we are....

And that guy playing basketball is Kenny Lofton.  I was like "whaaaaaa?"  Awesome.

Some great action shots.  Is that Ozzie getting tagged in the face?  Watch it, Kim.  Batiste (ba-teest) is a pretty common name down South.  I know a Kim Batiste.  She is an attractive blonde who works at a doctor's office.  Much cuter that this guy.

You may have noticed I love goofy pictures and funny names.  Marcus obliged me in fine style.  Checkit:

You've got a great BTS (blatant tongue shot), an excellent example of HLLH (Henke looking like Henke), Kinney with visible chawbutt,  Pete looking a little haggard, Troy and his Clutterbuckian stare, and Bo reminding me a lot of Donald Sutherland in Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

And of course, like the average 3rd grader, I have a silly-name fetish.

Ray Liotta - this cracked me up.  We have a movie night with friends on Tuesdays, and this week we watched Cop Land.  That card would have been a hit.

The soccer player's name is Fred.  I thought "Hm, let me flip this baby over and see his full name."  Nope.  Just Fred.  Yikes.

And God forgive me, I giggled very hard at Mr. Stanky.

The bottom left card has a gentleman named Willie Mo Pena.  In my brain, I can't help singing that "Mary Moon" song by Deadeye Dick but with this guy's name instead.  This card designates his position as IF-OF, so I assume Stadium Club forgot to ask somebody and was just guessing there.

Anyhoo, thanks for the awesome cards, Marcus!  In the interest of not keeping you waiting, I may just fill up a Priority Mail box with the Padres I have now and shoot it to you.  If you don't mind waiting just a teensy bit longer, though, you will have a hairy man-stack of Padre cardboard to wile away the hours sorting.

Griffey Pre-Rookies!

Griffey Pre-Rookies!

Pre-rookies are hard.  What really makes a pre-rookie in my opinion is when the card was actually printed.  Beyond that they're just picture cards that could have been made yesterday.  The main problem is that they tend to not have brands or production information printed on the back. 

Any information you may have on these would be amazingly helpful. 

Here we go:

Moeller High School - both versions

Moeller High School back - both versions

I have 3 Moeller high cards, two of the right version and one of the left.  The version on the left includes a High School All-American banner across the front and the Kid in a pro uniform named the Mariners' #1 draft pick for 1987 on the back.  Obviously this card was made later when those two things had been decided.  The production quality is super-high.  Both sides have finished surfaces like only card fronts tended to be in 1988, and the full-color front and back contribute to the mystery here.


Donora, 15 minutes away and upriver of Charleroi

The card on the right is glossy and may actually be an authentic pre-rookie.  It lists Griffey's birth place as Charleroi, PA instead of Donora, PA which is where he is widely known (among fanboy weirdos like me) to have been born (Stan Musial was also born there).  It suggests he may well be a first-round pick someday....

One thing I really like about this card is the Moeller uniforms are very similar in color to the Mariners, but also anyone who is a fan of the band Moe would love one of those hats.  I saw them at Bonnaroo a few years back - it was a solid show.  Maybe I'll try and find one of these hats online.

Awww.  Nevermind.....  But look, a Barry Larkin jersey.



San Bernardino Spirit #34

  

San Bernardino Spirit #34 back


I have three of this San Bernardino Spirit card.  This is his California minor league rookie card for 1988.  He had just had a solid 53-game (or was it 54?  more on that later...) year with the Bellingham Mariners (I have no cards showing him as a Bellingham Mariner) and was promoted to the bigger California league.  He would not even finish the year there. 

This has the look and feel of a minor league team set, the kind they give away on Thirsty Thursdays or Footlong Fridays.  Alliteration is huge in minor league marketing.



California League All-Star #26


  

California League All-Star #26 back

Of course, he was already an All-Star.  He hadn't even put up any stats in the California League yet when this card was made.  Pretty good design for the minors, too.  I have two of this one.



Oddball minor league card #2 "The Kid"



Oddball minor league card #2 "The Kid" back - ignore that tiny version - it's a glitch I'll get rid of soon enough....



I have two of these as well - it has no brand, but it does have all the Kid's minor league stats for the 2 years he was there as well as the first time "The Kid" appears as his nickname on a baseball card.  He is in his Spirit uniform which is not surprising as he spent the most time there and also played at his best.  Homeruns are not recorded on the back of this card, but he had 27.  And .320 in 129 games is pretty good for a teenager.

And look.  54 games in 1987, not 53.  Hmm....

 

SB Spirit Gold

  

SB Spirit Gold back

I have one of this card.  I have no idea where it came from or what it's signifcance is, but it has a gold foil border on the front and is numbered out of 5,000.  These two characteristics led me to believe that this card must be worth millions.

The stats show him playing 128 games and batting .323, but he played 129 games and hit .320, right?  It is not clear whether he missed a game in Bellingham and this is the only card that takes this into account or they're just wrong.  Here's my opinion:

They're wrong.  Here's why: they got the team name wrong.  The Spirit.  Not the Spirits.  You know how old people like to add an "s" to store names like the name is always the owner's name the way it was in the 50s?  "Get in the car, we're going to Wal-mart's for some new socks."  This card does that.  And it pisses me off. 

"Go Magics!  Beat the Jazzes!" 

"The Crimson Tides really dominated the Fightings Irishes in the BCS Championshipses."

Annoying, right?  Moving on.....



Oddball set #16, 17, 18



Oddball set #16, 17, 18 back

These are from some 18-card set that came out after his minor-league career.  I'm not sure if these were made by the Vermont Mariners or the Seattle ones (though I assume it would have a MLBPA logo or something), or just some company cashing in on Ken's newfound fame. 

I am hoping this is one of those sets (that doesn't exist) where players get 3 cards in a row (18 is divisible by 3!) instead of one.  That way these 3 would be considered all of his cards from that (imaginary) set, not just a small minority.

Also, Reds is not capitalized.  Derp!



ProCards Vermont Mariners



ProCards Vermont Mariners back



Now this is a freakin' minor league card.  Pre-rookie through and through.  You've got a date, brand, and MLB logo, which is immediately more than you can say about any of those other cards.  These facts make me believe that this card speaks truth; therefore, 54 is correct number of games in 1987.  You heard it here.

Now, look closely under the round Vermont logo on the front.  There's a light ink stain in the shape of that MLB logo from where the cards were stacked too soon after printing.  Those would be the little card packets you get at minor league games for free on Thirsty Thursdays.

And it looks like Griffey lost 5lbs.  I've mentioned before that 1988 was a tough year for Junior, so it's no surprise.

The value of these cards is a complete mystery to me, but they are some of my favorites of his.  Again, if you know any specifics about them, let us know!

Old Cards Found in Old Boxes...

Sorry I haven't posted a new Griffey in a couple of days, but I have been putting together trade packages for a few fellow bloggers.  In doing so I am consolidating all the cards I have no intention of keeping into team piles.  They're getting kind of big and heavy, and I'm not sure what the best way to ship them is.... do baseball cards count as media mail?

Anyway, I have come across numerous cards I didn't even know I had.  Most of them I just chunked into the appropriate team pile or blogger trade stack ("chunked" may sound bad - let's say "gingerly placed"), but a few I kept for my own binders.  Here's just a handful from last night:

Guy's a legend.....

I already have so many Nolan Ryan's I don't know what to do with myself.  Then I came across these 9 in a row (actually a few more of those were dups, so it was more like 12 in a row).  Some cool older ones, but the guy played for so long, none of these approach what you would call an "early" card.

No words........they should have sent a poet.

YES!  I cannot tell you how long I've been on the hunt for a Rollie showcasing the Rollie-stache.  It's so iconic you can't even make fun of it.

But you know why I really wanted one?  Hipster friends.  The fancy mustache is back, and I know a bunch of people rocking them.  I always reference Rollie Fingers and they're like "Whaaaa?"  Drives me nuts.

I'm putting this one in a top loader and keeping it in my glove compartment so I can whip it out at parties and get all in their face with "Rollie did it first!  Boom.  Try getting your ERA under 3.00 and we'll talk.  Now get me a beer, doofus."

What do you do with a Doc with 3 balls?

This Doc stopped me because of that bottom left corner.  Don't get excited - I flipped it and the back is solid cardboard brown.  This was the back of a box.

Sweet twin Gwynn's.

I think Tony was born in that Padres uniform.  One of the bloggers I'm trading with loves the Padres and Tony Gwynn, so I'm sending him a bunch, but these and a handful of other Gwynn's from my childhood are for the binders.  Those Topps All-star cards with the bright primary colors always did it for me.....

Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson.

Show me a bad picture of Rickey.  I double-dog-dare you.  He's the "Really Photogenic Base-runner."

Two excellent examples of a nice baseball card.

A 4th-year Ryno and a rookie Straw.  I recently bought a Ryno RC in the 'bay for my uncle for Christmas.  This one is not nearly as cool.  Look at that amazing picture, though.  And check out how fresh-faced the Straw is.  Makes me wanna call him Darryl....

ROOKIES!

I love rookies.  I found 5 of that Belle and 3 of the Sosa and Greenwell, plus dups for Jim Abbot and Sheffield.  I bindered that Sele because he got that one HOF vote, and I'm proud of him....

Louisiana boys.

Local boys all.  That Tulane card is sponsored by Maison Blanche (if you know about that, then God bless you), Big Ben ended up pitching for the Orioles, and Chuck went to high school with my Aunt.

Vida was also born in Louisiana.

I was thinking the other day how I had no Vida Blue cards.  Turned out I had two.  Better keep these for posterity.

K-mart sucks.

Let's face it, K-mart makes Walmart look like Target, but these are super glossy and I love strange-branded cards.

You know the K-mart nearest my house has a sports card section made up of a little more than 50% hockey cards?  Hockey.  Stacks and stacks.  In New Orleans.  I don't think you could give those away here.  Geniuses running that place....

Fernando looks like Hervé Villechaize.  There, I said it.  Been holding that in for years.  Also, Tino.

I come across so many Fernanado Valenzuela cards, and I keep very few.  The guy had a long, distinguished career, though, and deserves a page in the binders.  Also a sweet 2nd-year Tino in the Mariners' heyday.

Jose plays infield.....along with 6 other guys.....

These appear to be signed - I don't know how or why.  There's no proof or COA (not that a COA is proof these days), but I can't imagine someone trying to fake this guy's autograph.  So, I kept them.

Somewhere there is a Giants fan who loves this guy and has a cute nickname for him and everything, and he is going to go nuts for these cards.

"Whoa!  Two signed '87 Donruss Uribalicious?  They must be mine.  Trade me trade me trade me....!"

And this is where I'll get my signed Griffey.

Ahem.

[Note: that "trade me trade me trade me" thing is the same thing I do in my brain whenever another blogger posts a pack opening and pulls a Griffey.  Sometimes there's squealing too.]

Finally, Night Owl mentioned Fred Lynn in a recent post.  Having read that, I later came across all these cards of his I had no idea were in boxes in my house.  The "rookie" (there's two seasons of pro stats on it, thanks for misleading me with the trophy, Topps.) was the first one I came across, so I put it aside and the rest followed.  I figured an instant Fred Lynn collection deserves a page in the binder.  Plus that rookie is a great-looking card, and I have almost no cards from that particular Topps set.  These six cards show every team he played for in his 15-year career.

Catch you on the flippy-flip.

A Box of 1994 Upper Deck

A Box of 1994 Upper Deck

In my collection: 9 regular, 2 reg Electric Diamond, 1 reg Promo, 9 reg Homefield Advantage, 4 ED HA, 12 reg The Future is Now, 2 ED TFIN, 3 Griffey Jumbo Checklists, 1xCL3 & 2x CL1

Griffey looks: like freakin' Superman

Is this a good Griffey card?: Yes.  An iconic photo of the Gold Glove winner in a landmark year for Upper Deck's design evolution.

The set: 1994 Upper Deck is to 1993 Upper Deck what Kid A is to OK Computer (if you don't know what these are, you're not as geeky as I assumed).  1993 was one of the greatest sets of the 90's, and Upper Deck said, "We've conquered the card collecting world.  Now to make something super-radical and different that will change everything all over again."

You've got the very modern, almost alienating design, old-gold foil on every card, full-bleed, lots of shiny.  I dig it, but there was nothing else quite like it.  It must have been crazy to see for the first time.

Going forward, I'll try to keep the Radiohead references to a minimum....

Hey, look what I bought.

When I was a kid, this box was unattainable.  Today, it is mine to break!

And if you know anything about unattainable Griffey cards, you know why I bought this box.
  

Because I want this.

Or this

Or this.

Pulling any one of those from a pack would be an extraordinary experience. It probably won't ever happen, but that probably becomes definitely if I don't try.

Oh, yeah.  Giant Griffey card in every box.  Already ahead!  I wonder what stores like Rite Aid and K-mart did with these.  I'm guessing trash....

Let's get opening:

Bam!  First pack!  Always wanted this one.

Further down the line:

Ryno and the Wizard: two of my favorite players!  I am pleased.  What else?

A Fantasy Team without Griffey?  Not in this house.

OK.  Dudes and their ages.  I get that. 

Plus I see some Hall of Famers here.  Even Sele got a vote....

What happened to this guy?  I still don't know the whole story.  He was a jerk, or something?  Then he went to the Dodgers and he sucked and everyone was like "Ha ha, he sucks now, but it's cool because he's a total jerk?"  I'm not looking it up right now, but that's what I remember. 

I got these too:

2 A-Rod rookies!  Woo-hoo!

Buhner, Klesko, Mac.  I got almost all of series one out of that box, probably around 90%.

OK, so I didn't get the Mantle/Griffey Autograph card.  I figured this was going to be the case, but I got some cool stuff.

Like this:

Your nickname is Pudge, brah.  Pudge.  You know it, I know it, Sportscenter knows it.  Little girls name their gerbils that.  Nice Oakleys.  (I like Pudge and consider his cards keepers, but look at this picture, dude.  That is ridiculous.)

Let's check out those Griffeys:

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's that guy who didn't make the Fantasy Team!

Griffey is flying through the air like freakin' Superman to make that catch.  What an awesome picture.  I remember seeing this on a phone card (remember those?) back in the day.  I wish I had gotten one.

Let's talk about Electric Diamond for a minute.  The Electric Diamond multiplier appeared 1 per pack.  The cards are slightly thicker than their non-electric diamond counterparts, and sometimes the name on the back was in silver instead of bronze, but not always.  Look:

That's the regular and the promo at the top.  Beneath that 2 Electric Diamonds.  See?  Shiny player name, team name, UD logo and "ED" logo.  Let's check the backs:

See there?  One of the ED cards has silver where all the others have gold.  I don't know if this is an error or what, but I've never heard anything about it.  [Note: see comments for an answer to this question]

While it's not the world's first multiplier (Topps Gold?), all in all the ED cards are kind of gimmicky.  But you've got to admit it sounds cool.  Electric Diamond.

Whooooa....

I can't look at this card without thinking of The Hudsucker Proxy.  The Future is Now!

Griffey is a Scorpio on the cusp of Capricorn.  That means he kicks everyone's ass and takes names.

The Homefield Advantage subset appeared in both series 1 and 2, but series 2 had the Griffey.  These cards had tidbits about the stadium and the player's impact there.  Really, it just reminds me that I never got to see a game at the Kingdome.

 

These checklists came one per box.  There are 4 of them, all 5"x7" with holograms.  They are hard to store but pretty damn cool if you ask me.  I have 2 of the 4, but am not really working terribly hard to find the rest.  Here's the back in case you wanted to take a nap:

That box was not worth it as I already had all the Griffeys I got.  The A-Rods and MJ helped, but for the most part, I feel like I broke even on a scratch-off.

Still, a cool set with decent photography, and a groundbreaker regardless of how you feel about Upper Deck.  The 1995 design is even better, all minimalist and classy.  You'll see.  Good night, Baseball card people!