My Last Pick-up of 2017

So, here it is… my last pick-up of 2017.

It’s the 303^rd signed card in my all-time Brewers collection. I actually have a longer post about some recent pick-ups for that binder, but I’ve decided to put it off until I get a COMC order that was my Christmas present to myself so I can do a whole project update thing at once.

But for now, we’ve got Dante. Most will remember Bichette as a four-time All Star with the Rockies, a slugger who placed second in the NL MVP voting in 1995 as the Rox won a playoff spot in just their third year of existence. He nearly won the award, finishing just behind Barry Larkin. But Bichette spent two years in Milwaukee before becoming one of the original Blake Street Bombers as a semi-regular right fielder. On the 1992 Brewers, which won 92 games and almost upset the Blue Jays for the division title, he batted .287 with 18 steals.

After the season, the Brewers – with Darryl Hamilton ready to start in right – traded Bichette to the brand-new Rockies in exchange for Kevin Reimer. The swap came as the Brewers were still “trying” to resign Paul Molitor. But, since Reimer was primarily a DH, it indicated the Brewers were resigned to losing the franchise icon to free agency. I wrote a whole thing on this awful period in franchise history about a year ago… it’s pretty good and it conveys some of the things I feel when I look at this card.

Funny thing about Bichette is that I remember him being a beast in Colorado, kind of a lower-level Larry Walker. But he ends up being one of these guys that advance stats casts a much different light upon. He had a decent three-year peak, but had very few walks for a power guy (just 22 walks in his near-MVP season of 1995), was a terrible fielder, and had some pretty wicked home/away splits. But most stunning – to me, anyway – was that for his career, which included 274 homers, over 1,000 RBI, nearly 2,000 hits – he totaled just 5.5 WAR according to baseball reference. I know that some people deathly hate WAR. I’m not at all sold on it as the elusive “God Stat” that will settle every baseball argument ever, but I do find it to be a useful jumping off point for stat discussions. And here is a guy who actually got three Hall of Fame votes in 2007 – who has a lower career WAR than Jonathan Villar.

And this is what I love about collecting. Here is a card I picked up for a few bucks because I needed it to fill a spot in one of my binders, and it told me a little story. Even the card itself – 1992 Leaf – brings me back to an aisle at our local ShopKo when I was ten years old, talking my mom into buying me a few packs on every shopping trip and being THRILLED when I pulled a Gold Rookie of Steve Hosey or some other such flop. It was a nice way to end my collecting year.

Secret Santa Time! Trevor of Bump n Run Delivers!

Happy Holidays!!!

To start things off, I’m happy for these holidays. Yes, this will make three posts in a row that will open with news about one of my pet rats. And if that’s too much for you, well, tough beans.

But this is good news. Idgie, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor last week and not given much of a chance to survive through Christmas, has made a pretty remarkable recovery. It seems the worst of her symptoms was being caused by an ear infection that, with a simple dose of antibiotics, has cleared up. She can eat and drink on her own again and is moving around much, much better than she was a few days ago. And that is the best present I will get this year.

But my secret santa gift was pretty nice, too. Trevor P from Bump n Run cards drew my name. he did the whole bit, wrapped up my gift and even sending along a family Christmas card… even with a damn poem on the back!

How nice!

 

Trevor did some fine common-scouring and came up with a few nice stacks of Topps base needs.

That 93/95 lot came in particular use these past few days as I put together those two sets from some vending boxes I recently picked up.

He also included cards that will make fine additions to my Brewers collection.

Rickie Weeks spent three years as one the best second basemen in baseball. And he had the best hair on the Brewers for even longer.

Braden Webb was a third-round pick in the 2016 draft. He had a decent debut with the Wisconsin T-Rattlers last year. This is my first card of his and, in honesty, I hadn’t even heard of him before I saw this.

Another shiny Bowman card, this one is pretty slick. I’m building up a pretty dcent Arcia collection.

More Rickie, this one serial-numbered.

Big Ben Sheets is probably the greatest right-hander in team history. This is my first Triple Threads card, I think. It’s rigid as hell, the type of card that wouldn’t crease, but just snap in two.

A Leather and Lumber Robin Yount, numbered out of 1,000. I think my next writing project will be a lumberjack-themed erotic novel titled, “Leather and Lumber.”

This is my first Gallery card of 2017 and I’m pretty glad I didn’t buy any of this. Don’t get me wrong, this Thames is awesome – highlighting his 10^th inning walk-off against the Padres last June. It was an awesome moment in a season that was full of them and I LOVE cards that capture games like that. But the set itself seems a bit boring. I think they did not do the artwork justice with the presentation.

Go-Go in blue. Always nice to add a new Gomez card.

More Sheets! This one in their Negro League Milwaukee Bears alternates. It’s always a good look for them.

Here is Jeromy Burnitz relic card, back from they actually claimed that these swatches were game-used by the player pictured. I’m pretty sure this is my first Burnie relic.

Hey! Now this one goes right in the Brewers All-Time binder. I already had a Clark auto, but it was on a Panini card and licensed always bests unlicensed.

Thrillo Cirillo! One of my favorites from the dead zone of the mid-1990s. I have a few other Brewers from this Signature Rookies “Old Judge” set. It’s a weird-looking set, as was everything SR produced, and I wish they would have used a picture of him in a white or grey uni so that the autograph wasn’t quite so lost. But still, this is one of my favorite cards of the lot.

For a moment, I thought this was the shortstop Alex Gonzalez (who the Brewers INEXPLICABLY played at first base during his one season in Milwaukee) and I was pumped, since I lack his autograph. But, this is not that Alex Gonzalez. This would be Chi-Chi Gonzalez, the Rangers prospect who might now be a former prospect. It’s kind of tricky, as there is no team indicated and no bio on this card. Anyway, it’ll go with my Rangers cards.

And, in addition to these, there were some other Brewers cards that will find a place in one of binders just as soon as I have the time. Thanks much to Trevor for the package and Matt of Bob Walk the Plank for putting this all together.

Happy Holidays, all!

What's in the Box...?

It’s been kind of a lousy week for me. I shared in my last post a bit about our sick pet rat, and I’m sorry to say that the news from the vet was not good. Idgie has a brain tumor and will not be with us much longer. But she’s been doing pretty well considering, slowed down physically, but not mentally. So, I’ve been glad for distractions and my mood led me to do something I probably wouldn’t have normally done. But it turned out to be a pretty nice pick-me-up on an otherwise depressing day.

There is a comic book shop near our apartment with an antique/consignment area. I stop in every now and again to look for cards, but rarely find anything worth picking up. It’s that cross-hobby problem, I think, where you tend to overprice stuff that is outside of your realm of expertise. You see it a lot in antique stores. This shop had a factory set of 1990 Score priced at $35 that is a pretty good example of this. So, when I found an 800-count box marked “’70s Vintage Baseball, $20,” I was suspicious. And when I opened it up and thumbed around and found mostly 1982 Topps and early ‘80s Fleer commons, I almost put it back. But then I tried from another part of the box and turned up a vein of stars cards… Rose, Morgan, Reggie, etc from ’82, ’79, and ’78 Topps, I figured I might as well pick it up and give myself something to do.

The box was arranged by team, with stars cards arranged by player at the end. With a cold beer and some Riff Trax on the TV, I sorted them by set and came up with a decent stacks of 78, 79, 80, 81, and 83 Topps, as well as 81, 82, and 83 Fleer. With almost no dupes!

As for my “hits…”

There were a few ’83 Topps cards in the box as well, including this nice pair of HOFers.

The bulk of the cards were 1982 Topps, which is a set I am now on my way to building. Here is Johnny B and George Brett… I love that Brett card, with him preparing his bat.

A pair of second-to-last year Yazes.

REGGIE! And the last Ozzie as a Padre card.

And a pair of Brewers from the World Series team.

  

I also got a nice starter set of 1979s, a set I’m eager to start on so I can chase that Ozzie Smith RC.

That is, I believe, Munson’s last card. And I already had a copy of that Fisk, but it’s still pretty sweet.

BIG REDS! Looks like photos taken from the same game.

I managed to put together a smaller stack of 1978s, too. Here we have another Munson and a big Willie McCovery from his second tour with the Giants.

I also found four 1976 Topps traded cards, a set I have yet to begin.

I found just one card from my 1981 wantlist in the box, but snagged some decent dupes, including this Gibby RC and a Bench All Star.

I found 12 (!!!) cards I needed for my 1980 set, including this BALLER Gary Carter. The Schmidt is a dupe, but still a great card.

If anyone is in need of 81-82-83 Fleer, I can probably help you out. I got a huge stack of ’81s, including these beauties (which I might actually need to hold on to).

Some ’82s. This Rod Carew photo also appears on his ’82 Topps In Action card.

And a smaller stack of ’83s. This was the year they finally solved their printing issues, and with a clean design and sharp photos, it makes for a very nice set.

This alone would have made this worth the twenty bucks. But I still have yet to get to the three BIG HITS…

First up is the newest Hall of Famer… in this debut issue. I wouldn’t have voted for him, but I’ll certainly never scoff at adding a HOFer RC.

So, I certainly won’t scoff at adding THIS HOFer RC. Even my deeply-held hatred of the Cubs cannot put a damper on this find. It’s the best-looking of his RCs, in my opinion.

And then, for the BIG BIG HIT…

Kaboom! Hidden among the commons was this all-time classic. It’s a bit soft-cornered and off-centered, but a definite upgrade from the Henderson RC I had in my ’80 set. This card alone might have been worth the money and it ranks easily as my greatest in-a-random-box find.

So, this leaves me, fellow traders, with a few fresh new wantlists to post and some nice stacks of early ‘80s stuff up for trade. If anyone is interested in starting a 1980 Topps set, I’ve got plenty for you, including many stars. I also have a fair amount of 1981 Topps. I’d also be open to trading my old Henderson RC, which, as you can see below, isn’t in great shape. I think it got wet at one time…

… anyway, I’ve got several new wantlists up and will be posting new lists soon for 1993 and 1995 Topps. Happy Holidays, everyone!