The Frightful Sound of Catching: Charlie O'Brien, 1998 Collector's Choice (Contest Post!)

[Ed.  Note: Okay, this is for the REAL contest, which is now underway at the Nachos Grande blog.  Bracket pairings have been made and I'm going head-to-head against a fellow blogger.  I am seeded No. 25 out of 31, based on preliminary round voting.  It's a little low for my liking, but I will happily play the role of Butler or Gonzaga and sneak up on the field!  Anyhow, this is my contest entry, and it was to be based on the card you see directly below: Charlie O'Brien '98 Collector's Choice. I'll let ya know when voting goes live; I'll be soliciting your votes!]

Wow.  Look at this card.  You've come a long way, Freddy!  You've really come--

What's that?  I did?

Shoot, I did it again.  I called him Freddy.

Again.

I'm sorry, Mr. O'Brien.  (Can I call you Charlie?)  Okay, Charlie, as one of your era's preeminent defensive backstops -- and pioneer of the goalie-style catcher's mask -- you deserve a bit more reverence.

But, sometimes I can't help it.

See, here's Charlie:

And, here's Freddy:

Eek!  You see what I mean?  Haunting!

Anyhow, Charlie, you've come a long way, baby.  No, not in your looks or your abilities behind the dish.  I mean, your acumen as a defensive catcher has always been unquestioned.  Pitchers loved throwing to you, no doubt about that.

Your looks?  Erm, well...  You called a hell of a game, Charlie!

Anyhow, what I'm referring to is your representation on baseball cards.  Seems to me, Topps tried giving you a bad name with this lost little cardboard barb from 1992's Stadium Club set:

GASP!  GAG!  CHOKE!  That's not the Charlie I seem to remember!  Dropping the ball?  No way, man.  Bad Photoshop trip, man.  Aw heck, maybe it was just the early-90s Mets.  Chalk it up to bad karma enveloping the whole team.  Yeah, that's it!

Still, that had to sting a little bit.  But, you shook it off, didn't you, Fre--, I mean Charlie?

You shook. It. Off.

And the Upper Deck company noticed.  Sure, you weren't the perfect player, but you stood your ground at home plate like no one else.  Thus, the gem of a card you see at the very top of the this post.  A 1998 UD Collector's Choice collectible that any player would love to call his own.

What's that you say?  Uh, no, I don't know where the ball is exactly.

Anyway, as I was saying--

Wait, what?  Well, why should that matter?!  I don't see how it's Charlie's fault if the runner beats the throw.  Give us a break, please!

In any event, Kenny, you've acquitted yourself quite nicely on this Collector's Choice card.  Much, much better than that onerous, full-bleed mistake from 1992 Stadium club. In fact, I would dare say--

Grrrr.  Now what?!

Oh.  You're kidding, right?

I called him who?

Oh boy.  This is gonna take a while to sort out...

MK

Trade Recap: All Trade Bait, All the Time

Over the weekend I received a very cool trade package from Oscar (aka Stealing Home) of the great and mighty blog All Trade Bait, All the Time.

I'm still working my way through the 2012 sets, including Archives and Heritage, and Oscar was able to hook me up with some cards for each of those ventures.  One of the Heritage cards was even an SP (#428, Eric Thames), giving me a grand total of 20 of the 75 SPs.  That's, like, almost 27% man!

Additionally, Mr. Stealing Home included some terrific cards for a few of my player and/or team collections.

How about some highlights?  Here we go, in reverse timeline order...

A good card to lead off with: 2010 Topps Chrome rookie of Ike Davis.  I love this card so much that I have a few copies of it already, including a couple refractors.  But, the more the merrier!  Great photo, and the 2010 base card design is one of my favorites.  By the way, Topps really enjoyed using the scoreboard of St. Lucie's Tradition Field for the backdrop of several Mets cards from their various 2010 and 2011 releases.  I'm not complaining, just making an observation.

The next card comes from 1996 Topps Gallery:

Rey Ordonez, from a subset called "The Futurists".  I don't know about you, but I'm diggin' the design.  So what, it's kinda got a schmaltzy Tron rip-off thing going on.  In 1996, you know you were drooling all over this set and cards like these!  Besides, Ordonez's defensive abilities were otherworldly, so a little Tron mixed into one of his cards makes perfect sense.  Or, as the back of this card reads, "He simply makes plays no one has ever seen before."

Let's dial it back a couple of years:

The Ted Williams Card Company, eh?  Yes, I do believe I have some of these, but certainly none of Gary Carter. This card is from the 1994 set, which is a couple years after Kid retired.  The picture they chose is outstanding: Powder blue Expos uni, full gear, ready to fire a strike down to second base.  Perfection.

From '94, we go back to 1992 now and some wonderful artwork from the Donruss people:

I think this might be my favorite rendition of Donruss' Diamond Kings set.  Nicely composed, solid artwork. Here, the attention to detail on Doc is pretty darn good. They have captured his focused scowl in mid windup. I'm very happy to add this to my Gooden collection.

Last, but certainly not least, we go waaaay back to 1976 for the final highlight of this fine trade package:

A pleasant surprise, to be sure!  I was just recently thinking that I'd like to seriously start collecting some of Rusty's cards.  I have a few, but not enough of this official Mets "Team Ambassador".  As for the card itself, it looks like Rusty is having a good laugh around the batting cage.  And why not?  Getting paid to play baseball is a wonderful thing.  Plus, us redheads are generally known for our good-natured jocularity.  So there.

Hey Oscar, great group of cards!  Thanks for an extremely worthwhile trade...

MK

Clubhouse Favorites, Vol. 3: Cal Ripken, 1990 Topps (#570)

I was recently going through duplicates of my 1990 Topps collection to help a fellow blogger out with his '90 Topps set.  While I was doing so I remembered how much I really like this set.  And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Thus I got the itch to bust out my 1990 Topps binder and relive this very colorful set.  Some say tacky or gaudy. And I can't completely blame anyone who might hold that view.  At first glance, your first reaction may be, "God, what were they thinking?!"

But, over time, I've really come to enjoy the cards and the design.  At the very least, Topps threw caution to the wind and decided to try something different and maybe even fashionable (for the '90s, anyhow).  Some of the color combos work, some should have been aborted upon first thought.  In my final estimation, I think this set works as a whole.

Okay, back to the binder.  I eventually came across the Cal Ripken card above, and it brought back a lot of memories.  Chief among them is the family trip we took to Baltimore's Inner Harbor during the summer of 1990.  I had never owned a complete Topps set and, after considerable lobbying, I convinced my dad to buy me the '90 Topps factory set from one of the novelty stores near the Harbor.

I can't tell you how many hours I spent going through all the cards in this set after I finally got them home and cracked open the factory-sealed box.  I'd organize the cards by team, and then I would line them up on the carpet in my room.  Sometimes I'd make a starting lineup and arrange them according to their defensive positions.  Obviously, some of the cards retain a "well loved" condition today, but that just serves to reinforce my memories.

Since I got the set in Baltimore where Cal's likeness was everywhere you went, Ripken's base card seems to stand out in my mind the most when I think of '90 Topps.  More so than the Frank Thomas draft pick card.  More than the Sosa or Juan Gonzalez rookies, too.  After all, Cal was kind of The Man back then.  He even had a Record Breakers card in this set, as he broke Ernie Banks' record for most consecutive 20 home run seasons by a shortstop during the '89 season.

I don't know, I guess if you had to choose a card to represent a complete set, you could do a whole lot worse than Cal Ripken.

What I Learned from the Back of this Card:  In 1989, Ripken played in -- you guessed it -- 162 games and hit .257 with 21 homers and 93 RBIs.  The blurb on the back informs us that Cal broke a consecutive innings streak previously established between 1901 and 1905 by Buck Freeman of the Red Sox.

MK

A Trade I Couldn't Refuse

As promised, here is the scoop on the other great trade package I received back on Wednesday.  This one comes by way of Tennessee from Tim, the man behind the curtain at The Home of the Toddfather blog.

I first heard about Tim's blog via a trade post that a fellow blogger posted, so I wanted to give it a look for myself. It turns out Tim is a cool character, and working out a deal with him was a real pleasure.

And the trade package he put together was absolutely tremendous.  He not only kicked me a few cards to help some of my 2012 set-building goals, but gathered a bunch of gems for my various player collections as well. Lots -- and I mean lots -- of great additions.

As always, I've chosen a few highlights from the trade package to share.  I'll begin with a simply beautiful card of future-HOFer Vlad Guerrero:

Obviously, this one is best appreciated in person, but I had to show it off anyhow.  It also happens to be numbered (3209/3500).  This is just one of the many Vlad cards that Tim included.

Next, we have a cool Jose Reyes insert:

This one is from 2006 Upper Deck.  I'm partial to any cards of Jose that showcase his speed and/or baserunning abilities.  Beyond that, this card reminds me of all those cool insert set from the early '90s that I used to love.

This next card is en Espanol:

From a Donruss set called Super Estrellas, we have Sammy Sosa's "Nacion de Origen" card.  Another very glossy, shiny card that my scanner can't digest.  Great card from a set I've never heard of.  Muy bien!

Moving along, we have an awesome David Wright entry:

Lots of embossing on this bad boy.  Any David Wright card I receive is always a prize, but this one is on another level.  In my opinion, Upper Deck hit a home run with this "Xponential" subset from their 2008 X product.  These cards really pop when you see them in person.

And finally...  The final card I have chosen to highlight is far and away my favorite of the package.  It may not be the fanciest or most visually appealing, though I think it meets both of those standards.  However, more so than its appearance, something about this card struck me immediately when I saw it:

Well, what do you notice?

Exactly!  How many Piazza cards have you seen with him wearing a Florida Marlins jersey?!  By my recollection, Piazza was barely a Marlin long enough to unpack his underwear. [Ed. Note: Per Baseball-Reference, he played just five games for Florida in 1998.  No word, however, on his underwear unpacking efforts.]

I'm not sure at what point during the '98 season Fleer released their Tradition set, but they must've thought they were pretty cute including a photo of Piazza in Fish attire.  Regardless, this is a brilliant addition to my Mike Piazza collection.  I will have to be on the lookout for other Piazza Marlins cards, if they exist.

Tim, thanks very much for an outstanding trade package.  And continued success with your blog!

MK

Recent Trade Activity

I received a couple of fantastic trade packages in the mail on Wednesday, and I'm excited to share both of them with you.  One of them was from a fellow blogger, Tim at Home of the Toddfather, while the other was from Steve, a fellow Mets fan and, therefore, a good guy who is blog-less.

I will start with the latter, while I'll go inside the Toddfather's trade offering in my next post.

I guess it was last week that Steve emailed me to gauge my interest in a trade.  He mentioned that, while he did not have a blog, he was a reader of sports card blogs and wished to bestow upon me some assorted cards for my player collections, Mets collection, etc.

After bouncing back from the initial shock that someone other than the wonderful Mrs. K reads my blog [Ed. Note: ...and even she has fallen off lately, might I add], I said 'Heck Yes!' and we worked out a deal.

Steve sent me a bunch of great cards, but I have chosen just a few highlights to share.

I will start with the most oddball of oddball items.  Which, naturally, I greatly appreicate:

I believe this is from Tetley Tea iced tea mix, circa 1989.  Doc has that look about him that should signal to every man, woman and child: Run!!  Darryl, meanwhile, is sporting a pretty laid back 'Whatever dude' kind of expression.  Great oddball items that will look snazzy in my player collection.  I might even try to complete the Tetley Super Stars set via the send-in offer.  See, all you have to do is send four dollars and a SASE to....

Oh, wait...what?  It's not?  They won't?

Nevermind.

Speaking of great oddball cards from food manufacturers:

Now that's more like it, a happy Doctor K!  Not that there was much to smile about in his personal life around this time, but sometimes it's good not to dwell on the TMZ angle of athletes' lives.  By the way, the good folks at Post wanted me to remind you that many of your favorite Post brand cereals, such as Fruity Pebbles and Honey-Comb, have essential vitamins and minerals that help you start your day off right!  [Ed. Note: If anyone from Post is reading this, I can be bought!]

Flanking Dwight are Gregg Jefferies and Jason Phillips.  Great action shot of Gregg from the '91 Stadium Club set -- a set that I need to add to my collection one of these days.

As for Phillips, the pose on this Fleer Ultra card pretty much sums up my fond memories of Jason Phillips.  I tell ya, this guy would've been right at home on the '62 Mets with the likes of Choo Choo Coleman and Marv Throneberry.  I mean, he was a pretty good receiver behind the plate but, man, he was as slow as a barge.  I don't think there's a player alive -- retired or otherwise -- who would lose a foot race to this guy.  Still, you couldn't help but love him, what with those great rec specs and his goofy personality.  Jason Phillips -- a true Met!

Speaking of 'true Mets'...

Jon Niese pitched a hell of a game in SF last night.  Three hits over seven innings.  If this guy can ever become consistent, he'll be a star.  This Goudey card is a pretty sweet-looking rookie of him, by the way.

Like a slouched-over Jason Phillips, Gary Sheffield in a jacket in the dugout is another lasting Mets image.  Sheff had a couple good moments with the Mets, including the April night in 2009 when he hit his 500th-career home run.  And as a pinch hitter, to boot!  Otherwise, Sheffield in a jacket in the dugout says it all about Gary's time in Queens.  I like this O-Pee-Chee set, by the way.  Plain design, but effective.

Next to Sheff, Carlos Beltran strikes a pose in the 2010 Topps 206 set.  Steve sent me a bunch of nice Beltrans for my collection, but this one was the most unique.

Onward we move, and here's a nice horizontal card of Johan Santana from last year's Allen & Ginter's set:

And I'll finish up with three great Topps Heritage cards for my 2011 and 2012 collecting quests, respectively:

Man, that Angel Pagan trade to San Fran last offseason didn't turn out too swell for the Mets, did it?  I didn't throw a fit when it happened, but I always liked Angel as a player.  Glad that he's had a pretty decent season for the Giants to this point.

The Kyle Seager card is an SP, which made me a very happy collector!

Thanks a million for reading the blog, Steve!  And, thanks also for a great trade -- hope to do it again someday soon.

MK

Chemical Warfare and Ovaltine: My Ginter Code Musings

[Ed.  Note: So this post is for the sole purpose of a contest I've decided to partake in on the blog Nachos Grande.  Basically, you get a random card and you have to write a post about it.  Over 30 bloggers are participating and the grand prize is a complete set of 2012 A&G.  So I figured, what the heck?  This is just a preliminary round, but feel free to vote for my entry when the game gets real!]

My first reaction to this card: Mr. Potato Head!

Aside from looking like one of the average physical stereotypes that one attaches to baseball card collectors over the age of 15, custodian Larry Mudlin bears a somewhat striking resemblance to the know-it-all computer dork, Melvin, from the 1983 cult hit War Games.  Maybe it's the glasses, I dunno.

In any event, I guess War Games and Allen & Ginter's code contest kind of share another common thread, albeit an abstract one.  In the movie, Matthew Broderick's character attempts to find the password to access secret computer games and, in the process, nearly triggers World War III.

And while A&G's promotional gimmick isn't going to inadvertently launch Soviet missiles at Seattle, fans of this code contest set forth to gather clues and information in an effort to crack the code and solve the mystery.  A buzzer rings and prizes ensue and the Twitterverse adores you for three minutes.  

Not as glamorous as breaching the WOPR's operating systems to play "Theaterwide Biotoxic and Chemical Warfare," but to each his own.

Nah, I'll leave the case cracking to the experts.  I don't mean to get all cranky about it, really.  Perhaps I have the subconscious fear of winding up like poor Ralphie in the infamous Ovaltine scene from the holiday classic A Christmas Story.

It would go something like this:

"Dear Diary, after many months of wasteful spending and mental hardships that nearly destroyed my marriage,  I've finally cracked the Ginter Code.  Alas I am a broken man, for the knowledge I have gained may be summed up in the following, bitter words:  'Buy Topps Chrome on August 29!'"

Okay, maybe not.  But, it's still too much effort.  Part of the reason I love this hobby so much is it allows me a distraction from the many brain-cramping things in life.

When I want baseball cards, I'll buy baseball cards.  When I want a mystery, I'll flip on some Murder, She Wrote or Monk.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a game of "Global Thermonuclear War" that has my name on it.

MK

Card Shop Pickups, and Another Heritage Hit!

I had a pretty great experience at my local card shop yesterday, and it goes a little something like this...

My local card shop, The Collector's Box in Newark Del.,  is a short distance from our house and it's not unusual for me to pop in there a couple times a month on my way home from work -- as was the case yesterday.

More so than anything, I utilize this shop for their vast assortment of hobby supplies, such as penny sleeves, pages, binders -- you know, the usual.  But, of course, once I'm in there I have to look around.  And, usually that involves going through the "discount" box, which is basically a .50-a-card collection of recent base cards and inserts housed in several 5,000-count boxes.  I've mentioned these boxes before, and how sometimes you find a really good deal, sometimes not.

Well, nothing extremely ground breaking this time around, but I did find some great cards that I deemed worthy of purchase.  Among them were cards from a 2006 Fleer set called "Greats of the Game", of which I'm not familiar.  But, they looked pretty cool and they had some players that I liked:

The Seaver was a no-brainer, but I also could not resist the Bo Jackson card.  Especially not when he's wearing the sweet powder-blue Royals unis of the '80s.  There were a bunch of other base cards from this set mixed in as well, many of which were as nice looking as the above.  But, at half-a-buck per card, I didn't go crazy.  Maybe another day.

They also had some inserts from the same set, three of which I snatched up, as well:

Finding cards of Seaver or Bo isn't really an extraordinary occurrence, but finding a Rusty Staub certainly is!  "Le Grand Orange" is one of those guys who will always have a place in Mets lore, and I think it's outstanding that Fleer went deep enough into the pool of retired Mets players to recognize someone other than Seaver, Gooden, Straw or Carter in an insert set.  Not that I don't enjoy all those players, but you know what I mean.  Speaking of Seaver, how badass does he look in that "Decade Greats" card?  That's either his game face or he just wasn't in the mood for a photo that day.

Moving on now, but staying with the retired Mets theme.  I found these Topps inserts from recent years that I didn't already possess:

Of course, the vast "Topps 60" insert set is from 2011 Topps, while the faux '62 Seaver is from something called the "Topps Vintage Collection" in 2010.  Not super-familiar with this set, but I know they put a bunch of HOFers on card designs from years that did not coincide with that player's career.  Topps has never done anything like that before or since, so that's pretty cool.  [Ed. Note: Sarcasm much?]

And finally, these two inserts were much too splendid to pass up:

Both of these were real eye-catchers.  The Kershaw is a "Rookie Performers" insert from 2008 Heritage, while the sparkle card of Eddie is...well, you know what that is I'm sure.  The Kershaw alone books for $8 as I found out later, so the five bucks I spent for all of the above cards seems like an OK deal to me!

But, before I headed to the register with my package of penny sleeves and the 10 cards you see above, I decided to grab an over-priced pack of 2011 Topps Heritage from the nearby counter.  Aside from the box topper being removed, the hobby box looked untouched and every pack was still nestled in place.  So, I grabbed the middle pack off the top, paid for all my goodies and headed home.

Well, I don't know what it is about '11 Heritage, but I've had an insane streak of luck with hits.  First it was a relic card (Mark Reynolds bat), then a stamp card (Nelson Cruz/Brett Myers), and now this:

What are the chances??  One pack and I get a jersey relic, and a Mets player at that!  And I didn't even have to "pack search".  I don't feel so bad about overpaying for the pack after all.  Truth be told, I would've been happy to just get an SP, but this was definitely a great surprise.  I guess the owner of my card shop is an honest chap since this pack was allowed to exist in the box.  Good to know.  

Anyhow that's how it went down.  I'm not expecting the lucky streak to continue, but I wouldn't mind it!

Talk to ya soon, and happy collecting!