Fightin' Phils and Be-Headed Bucs

A week or 2 ago, perhaps a month ago, I pulled a card of Phillies pitcher Ben Rivera out of a pack of 1993 Stadium Club. I wrote about it here. I talked about how cool the card looked, but didn’t have a scan of it to show off. You can see that TSC went with the standard pitcher image on the back, but went a little bit deeper on the front. Here he is in all his glory, Ben Rivera, pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. I think you may have killed him Ben. Take a good close look. By the way, this is the Collective Troll's 100th post of 2010. Woo hoo! Go Rays! troll out.

The LAST Pack of 1993 Topps Stadium Club, THE LAST PACK!!!!

It's been a long night, (actually it's much more like morning) but I’m on a roll and I am really psyched to finally finish off one of these boxes. This is the LAST pack of 1993 Topps Stadium Club… Here we go!
#666 Harold Baines Baltimore Orioles (Should I be nervous that the first card out of #the last pack I opened is number 666? 1993 was the first year of the first stop that Baines made in his home state with Baltimore. He hit 20 homers and batted .313. Pretty much standard stuff for Baines… Also, 1993 was the first year that Baines became exclusively a DH-he did spend 2 innings in right field in 1997 though.)
#644 Tony Fernandez New York Mets (The Padres send Fernandez to NY for Wally Whitehurst right after the ’92 season. He would only play 48 games for the Mets before they traded him back to the Blue Jays in June ’93 for Darrin Jackson. In Toronto Fernandez’s batting average jumped 81 points from .225 with the Mets to .306 in Toronto. Of course the Jays won the Series in ’93 and Fernandez, who had originally signed with the Jays in 1979 won his first and only ring with his original team)
#703 David Cone Kansas City Royals (Cone was a late season acquisition by the Blue Jays in 1992 and he helped them to their first World Series, but left for free agency and Kansas City after the Series. Had an off year in ’93 for the Royals going 11-14, but came back and won the Cy Young Award for the strike shortened ’94 season)
#737 Rob Natal Florida Marlins (I don’t think I have a scan of this one, but it is a Rob Natal play at the plate)
#707 Ken Griffey Jr. Seattle Mariners (Its hard to get upset with pulling a Griffey, but this is like the 6th copy of this card! Griffey batted .358 against lefties in ’92 with 12 homers in 173 at-bats)
#724 Frank Bolick Montreal Expos (Who?)
#652 Armando Reynoso Colorado Rockies (Reynoso was 12-11 with a 4.00 ERA and 4 complete games for the Rockies in their inaugural season)
#713 Manuel Lee Texas Rangers (After 8 seasons in Toronto the Roberto Alomar trade made Lee expendable. He found a temporary home in Texas in 1993 and ’94 fighting for playing time at short with Mario Diaz)
#671 Jerald Clark Colorado Rockies (One half of the slugging Clark Brothers of the early 90’s. Combined the two (Jerald and Phil) played for parts of 12 seasons and hit 61 homeruns)
#602 Jeff Reardon Cincinnati Reds (The Terminator spent just 1 year with the Reds and he logged (7th All Time) 8 of his 367 career saves there)
#735 Mitch Webster Los Angeles Dodgers
#673 Kirk Gibson Detroit Tigers (Gibby won the MVP in ’88 but NEVER made an All Star team…)
#748 Roger Clemens Boston Red Sox MEMBERS CHOICE (From the back of the card: “Clemens is to pitching what Lombardi’s Packers were to football”
#672 Doug Drabek Houston Astros (This is a great card to end the last pack of a box that bored me to tears at times. That isn’t sarcasm either, I was a Drabek fan… Drabek will forever be remembered as the 1990 Cy Young (22-6, 2.76 ERA) and also the guy who suffered all 3 losses in the 1992 NLCS against the Braves. Drabek started 7 games in the postseason, he threw 2 complete games and struck out 33 batters. He has a career 2.05 ERA in the playoffs to go with his 2-5 record. Hard luck for a very cool and decent guy)
Okay, that’s it! Stick a fork in 1993 Topps Stadium Club, cuz it is DONE!!! It was a nice ride, but I am glad It’s over. Thanks for reading. Just need to finish off the Pinnacles now. Go Rays! Troll out.

Ripping Again... Pack #23 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club

Here we go with the 23rd pack of 1993 Topps Stadium Club…
#705 David Hulse Texas Rangers (Hulse burst on the scene as a rookie in 1993 with the Rangers batting .290 with a homer, 29 RBI and 29 steals while playing an above average centerfield. After his newness wore off he returned to obscurity. Fortunately someone has 8 copies of this card to remember him with)
#646 Joe Magrane St Louis Cardinals (Magrane was a pretty decent arm for the Cards in the 80’s, but more importantly he was part of the Original Devil Rays play by play team)
#717 Paul O’Neill New York Yankees (O’Neill was a batting champ, a 5-time All Star, 5-time World Series champ and he played on the winning side in 3 perfect games. I am pretty sure he is the only player who can make that claim)
#619 Richie Lewis Florida Marlins (Pitchers on expansion teams get a lot of work… Lewis pitched in 57 games in relief for the Fish in 1993 posting a 6-3 record with a 3.26 ERA)
#690 Kirt Manwaring San Francisco Giants
#749 Joe Carter Toronto Blue Jays MEMBERS CHOICE
#649 John Olerud Toronto Blue Jays (1993 was THE YEAR for Big Rude… Of course he won his second straight ring, but he also logged 200 hits, scored 109 runs, drove in 107, hit 54 doubles and won the batting title with a .363 batting average. He also walked 114 times and had a .473 OBP, not too shabby…)
#700 Andy Ashby Colorado Rockies (Ashby was the player to be named later in a deal between the Padres and Rockies. He went to Colorado in July of ’93 and didn’t fare well in the mountain air. He was 0-4 with an 8.50 ERA in 9 starts for the Rockies. He hit his stride in the late 90s in San Diego)
#683 Jim Converse Seattle Mariners (I like to root for short pitchers and Converse was 5’8”, but he was not the exception to the rule. He was 2-11 for his career with a 7.21 ERA)
#709 Dave Nilsson Milwaukee Brewers
#675 Mike Felder Seattle Mariners (Felder played for 10 years in the big leagues and somehow I can’t ever remember seeing him play. I pulled the card, said “Who?” and looked him up and realized he spent a decade in the Majors. Damn)
#743 Charlie Hayes Colorado Rockies (Hayes caught the final out to seal the World Series for the Yankees in 1996. He also committed the error that ruined Terry Mulholland’s perfect game in 1990. Hayes had his best year for the Rockies in their first year. He batted .305 with 25 homers with 98 RBI. He also stole 11 bases and led the NL with 45 doubles. His son Tyree Hayes is a pitcher on the Bowling Green Hot Rods in the Rays organization. He was 7-5 in 2009)
#687 Matt Mieske Milwaukee Brewers
#636 Pete Incaviglia Philadelphia Phillies
Okay, that was pack #23, only ONE MORE left to go from this box! Go Rays! Troll out.

Pack 21 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club is Up!

Right here! Check it out!

Ripping Again... Pack #18 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club, Plus an Update on the Next Break...

Gosh, I haven’t posted in two days, it seems like FOREVER! So much has gone on in my life, so many stories, so much new stuff, so much to write about! I will spare you for the time being as I have a responsibility to finish off this group box break. The stories will come eventually. There is so much I don’t know where to begin! I will mention that I received about 15 pounds of Tampa Bay Rays cards in the mail today… I owe huge thanks to Thoughts and Sox, Cards on Cards and On Card Autos. It is gonna take a while to get it all sorted, but between the 3 I think I can finish about 15 different teams sets. Thanks guys! This week in the mail I got cards from almost every single phase of my collection- Carl Crawford and the Rays, Brian Roberts, Pat Neshek, Danny Tartabull, plus my oddities-players wearing sombreros and players holding microphones. The generosity of the blog-o-sphere boggles my mind, but it also (pleasantly) surprises me that y’all remember all the different things and players that I collect. On the subject of the box break, I have the boxes for the next break in my possession now. I got a box of 1994 Stadium Club, 1992 Topps, 1993 Collectors Choice and a few cans of 1997 Pinnacle Inside. I am NOT going to post every single pack, but those participating will receive EVERY card that is pulled. Does anyone object to this idea? I plan on posting the first 5 packs out of each box and every can of Pinnacle Inside and then posting a Best Of whatever is left. Should I pull something spectacular, I will post that pack. What do you guys think? There are still quite a few teams left (and I am sorry if you already claimed one of these, claim it again!) including the White Sox, Dodgers, Tigers, Giants, Astros, Angels, Royals, Pirates, Reds, A’s, Rockies and Expos. Okay, now let’s finish this one up…
We are up to pack #18 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club. Can you believe it? Here we go!
#649 John Olerud Toronto Blue Jays (Another natural pose in front of the bat rack. Unfortunately no one got “creative” in writing on the bat knobs…)
#747 Barry Bonds MEMBERS CHOICE San Francisco Giants (The back of the card calls Bonds the best player in baseball AND a player without a weakness)
#651 Julio Franco Texas Rangers (From 1988-1992 Franco batted .330 with 22 homers against left handed pitching)
#718 David Nied Colorado Rockies (Nied was the Rockies opening day starter against the Mets at Shea Stadium. He lost that game and he went 5-9 in 16 starts for the Rockies in ’93)
#645 Randy Bush Minnesota Twins
#616 Dante Bichette Colorado Rockies (Bichette was the Rockies opening day right fielder. He hit .310 with 22 homers in their inaugural season)
#724 Frank Bolick Montreal Expos
#608 Greg Swindell Houston Astros
#685 Greg Gohr Detroit Tigers
#611 Chili Davis California Angels (One of the best switch hitters ever, seriously)
#647 Ivan Calderon Boston Red Sox (The coolest man alive…)
#702 Tim Bogar New York Mets (This is Bogar’s rookie card, investors take note!)
#642 Milt Thompson Philadelphia Phillies
#662 Dan Wilson Cincinnati Reds (Wilson hit .417 against lefties in ’92-in 12 at-bats…)
There ya go, another post and another pack down. I am pulling the plug on trade bait. I sent out surprise packages yesterday for Thoughts and Sox, Cardboard Junkie, It’s Not a Wasteland, Play at the Plate and Heartbreaking Cards… I have packages growing for First Day Issue, Democratic Roadkill, Carl Crawford Cards, GCRL, Mr. Scott, Night Owl, Waxaholic, It’s Like Having My Own Card Shop, On Card Autos, Cards on Cards and No Ones Gonna Read This Blog. The trade bait thing is far too frustrating. I do still have a bunch of stuff left and I am still looking hard to finish off 2009 Heritage and to gather up some 2009 Topps Gold cards. The reason why I post cards as "trade bait" is that I don't want to play favorites. I know there are several bloggers who collect the Dodgers, D-Backs, Orioles, Rays and Braves-so I like to post them to give everyone a chance. I posted some Isalys discs from 1976 earlier this week-I know for a fact that at least 4 other bloggers have these are their "most wanted" lists, so I posted them to give them all a shot. Unfortunately known of these folks read my blog... Thats okay, someone did and they were claimed... Someone made me a pretty good offer for everything I posted and I think I will take it, so that clears that up. I may post a few more Dodgers, Reds and Phillies jersey cards to see if anyone is interested, but mainly if I think you will like it, you will just get it. Sound good? Many stories to come including a Hall of Famer and a few former All Stars popping in at my work. On a different note- I REALLY need to get a scanner! Hopefully before the next break... Not being able to post because I don't have scans is the most frustrating thing... Till next time… Go Rays! Troll out.

Rolling Forward-Pack #16 of 1993 Stadium Club-Way Better than the Last Pack and Featuring A Bunch of Scans!

Moving right along with pack number 16 of 1993 Stadium Club…
I will start by saying that there are only 149 different cards on the checklist for series 3 of 1993 Stadium Club. This box will yield 336 cards, so there are bound to be a lot of doubles. The last few packs have had a bunch of dupes. This one is no different. Here we go!
#707 Ken Griffey Jr. Seattle Mariners (I doubt anyone is going to complain about getting dupes of the Kid. Has anyone taken the Mariners for the next break yet? Remember they had Griffey, Martinez and Randy Johnson in the mid-90s)
#699 Kevin Reimer Milwaukee Brewers (Reimer hit 20 homers for Texas in ’91. He hit 13 for the Brew Crew in ’93, but never saw the leagues again)
#637 Tom Henke Texas Rangers (The Terminator makes another appearance)
#722 Kevin Young Pittsburgh Pirates (In 1999 Young batted .298 with 26 homers, 22 steals, 41 doubles and 106 RBI for the Bucs)
#705 David Hulse Texas Rangers
#749 Joe Carter MEMBERS CHOICE Toronto Blue Jays (The back of the card mentions that Carter told his teammates after Game 6 of the ALCS that they could ride his shoulders to the pennant, and they did) #692 David Hulse Florida Marlins
#744 Guillermo Velasquez San Diego Padres
#743 Charlie Hayes Colorado Rockies
#627 Paul Molitor Toronto Blue Jays (Always awesome to pull a Hall of Famer… The Ignitor batted .500 with 2 homers and 8 RBI while winning his second World Series in 1993)
#646 Joe Magrane St Louis Cardinals
#640 Dave Martinez San Francisco Giants (Martinez was just a platoon outfielder with the Giants, but in a few years he would bat over 300 in 2 straight years for the White Sox and in 1998 he would be an original Devil Ray)
#665 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves (In ’93 Maddux won a Gold Glove and the NL Cy Young, but didn’t make the All Star team… Go figure)
#663 Mike Moore Detroit Tigers (Moore was an All Star with Oakland in 1989 and won the World Series… in 1993 he was 13-9 for the Tigers)
#650 Tom Glavine Atlanta Braves (How many Braves pitchers can we have in one pack? Glavine led the NL in wins for the third straight year in ’93, plus he was an All Star, but he finished 3rd in the Cy Young vote behind Maddux and Bill Swift of the Giants)
#650 David Cone Kansas City Royals (Coney could battle it out with Tom Henke for 3rd best pitcher in this pack. Conehead won 11 games for the Royals in ’93, but he won the AL Cy Young the following year for KC when he was 16-5 in that strike shortened season)
#681 Troy Percival California Angels (I think this is the 5th copy of Percy’s rookie card. I wonder if somebody is gonna get bipped with this)
#708 Steve Bedrosian Atlanta Braves (3 Braves pitchers in one pack?)
Okay, this pack beats the heck out of the last one. A Hall of Famer helps, plus Griffey, Maddux and Glavine. Maybe the best pack of this brand so far… 8 more to go. Troll out!

Quick Rip-Pack #15 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club

We are up to pack #15 of 1993 Stadium Club…
#651 Julio Franco Texas Rangers (Julio was an All Star and Silver Slugger winner in 4 straight seasons at 2nd base for the Rangers and Indians from 1987-1991-He won his 1st and only batting title in 1991)
#670 Al Leiter Toronto Blue Jays
#633 Mark Gardner Kansas City Royals
#660 David Justice Atlanta Braves (Just look natural Dave, there ya go…)
#613 Mark Williamson Baltimore Orioles
#635 Jeff Russell Boston Red Sox (This set is full of journeymen relief pitchers)
#631 Greg Gagne Kansas City Royals (This guy was a heck of a wrestler)
#614 Phil Plantier San Diego Padres (Another lefty who can’t hit lefties-batted .155 (11 for 71) against LHP in 1992)
#735 Mitch Webster Montreal Expos
#678 Otis Nixon Atlanta Braves
#621 Jaime Navarro Milwaukee Brewers
#648 Jose Guzman Chicago Cubs (Guzman was 4th in the AL in Ks in ’92 with 179 for Texas)
#606 Greg Hibbard Chicago Cubs
#697 Benji Gil Texas Rangers
I think this pack might take the dubious distinction of being the most boring pack I have ever ripped…Only 9 more to go! Having serious tech issues today… Troll out!

Moving Right Along... Pack #14 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club

Moving right along to pack #14 of 1993 Stadium Club… Quick rip at work means not a bunch of words or pics… Here we go!
#624 Bud Black San Francisco Giants
#734 John Johnstone Florida Marlins (He is one of two different players to make the big leagues named John William Johnstone. The other preferred to be called Jay)
#742 Damon Buford Baltimore Orioles
#684 Barry Bonds San Francisco Giants (1993 was the Quad-Fecta for Bonds… He started in the All Star Game, won a Gold Glove and Silver AND won the NL MVP… He also paced the NL in homers and RBI and batted .334. Had Andres Gallarragga not hit .370 that year. Barry Lamar could have taken the Triple Crown, too)
#615 Jim Abbott New York Yankees (Abbott finished third in the 1991 Cy Young vote when he won 18 games)
#706 Cris Carpenter Florida Marlins (Again, not to be confused with the far more successful Chris Carpenter)
#637 Tom Henke Texas Rangers (Mr. Henke started his career as a Ranger, spent 8 years in Toronto and returned to Texas in 1993 where he saved 40 ball games for the Rangers)
#639 Jimmy Key New York Yankees
#658 Lonnie Smith Pittsburgh Pirates (Skates won a World Series ring with 3 different teams during the Eighties-not the Pirates though)
#647 Ivan Calderon Boston Red Sox
#707 Ken Griffey Jr Seattle Mariners (The Kid would take the Trifecta in the AL-starting the AS Game, winning Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove. He finished 5th in the MVP vote that year after setting career highs in homers and RBI. His final line in ’93 was .309 with 45 homers and 109 RBI)
#731 Mike Hampton Seattle Mariners
#656 Mike Harkey Chicago Cubs
#604 Bryan Harvey Florida Marlins (The original closer for the Fish! Was an All Star in their Inaugural Year, saved 40 games and got votes for both Cy Young and MVP)
That didn’t take long… Just 10 more to go and I need to get to a scanner. Troll out!

Ripping Quickly-Pack #13 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club

The box break that won’t go away is back! I am gonna go wholesale through a few packs tonight… Here we go!
Super fast rip mode with pack #13 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club (I do wish I had more scans saved... Sorry bout that:
#632 Bobby Kelly Cincinnati Reds (I don’t know at what point he stopped being Roberto, but he is Bobby now)
#698 Jeff Juden Houston Astros
#680 Mark Carreon San Francisco Giants
#732 Mike Draper New York Mets (Blink and his career is over… Draper was 1-1 and done by August of 1993)
#653 Felix Jose Kansas City Royals
#634 Ozzie Canseco St Louis Cardinals ( I wonder, if you are a brother of a Bash Brother, does that make you a Bash Brother or just a Bash Brother’s brother?)
#610 Charlie Hough (I can’t even fathom pitching over 200 innings at 45 years of age)
#690 Kirt Manwaring San Francisco Giants (Mawaring hit .305 against lefties and .206 against righties in ’93)
#723 Charlie Liebrandt Texas Rangers (1993 was Liebrandts first and last season with Texas and the last year of his 14 year career. He was 9-10 for the Rangers)
#719 JT Snow California Angels
#726 Steve Cooke Pittsburgh Pirates (Cooke started for Pittsburgh for 5 seasons-not bad for a 35th round pick-he was 10-10 in ’93)
#669 Candy Maldonado Chicago Cubs (1993 was not Candy’s year in Chicago. He hit just .186 mainly as a pinch hitter for the Cubs)
#727 Domingo Martinez Toronto Blue Jays
#617 Mark Eichorn Toronto Blue Jays
#696 Tony Tarasco Atlanta Braves (This is TT’s Rookie card… In 1995, with Montreal, Tarasco was intentionally walked 14 times. Was he ever that good?)
Okay, hopefully this is the first rip of a few tonight. I hope so. Troll out!

Box Break Halfway Point!!! PAck #12 of 1993 Stadium Club

Greetings Trollites and group box break participants! We are onto pack #12 of 1993 Topps Stadium Club, but more importantly this is the 42nd rip total. There are 84 packs to rip, so we are at the halfway point!!! I totally didn’t realize that this would take me so long to do; I’ve been at it since last year. I promise one way or another to have this done by next Wednesday morning (or sooner), Troll’s Honor, I promise…This may be the best pack out of the box because the first card out of the pack was the box hit. Here we go!
#606 Greg Hibbard FIRST DAY PRODUCTION Chicago Cubs (This is it, this is the box hit… Doesn’t really look too fancy or exciting, but these were the stuff in ’93… Joe Collector had an interesting write-up on these cards not too long ago, check it out here…
Scarcity of the card aside and onto its subject… 1993 was probably the best year of Hibbard’s 6 year career. He was 15-11 with a 3.96 ERA in 31 starts. His 15 victories were the most by a Cubs lefty since Ken Holtzman won 17 for them in 1970)
#704 Willie Greene Cincinnati Reds
#712 Rene Arocha St Louis Cardinals
#642 Milt Thompson Philadelphia Phillies (Milt was on the Phillies in ’93-if he is married, that is his only ring…)
#629 Dave Stewart Toronto Blue Jays (Ya wanna talk rings??? Smoke was the best pitcher in baseball from 1987-1990-by ’93 he was still pretty good, but was great in the ALCS for the Jays… If you were wondering Smoke Stewart has 3 rings)
#679 Scott Sanderson California Angels (As a young Montreal Expos fan, I remember Scott Sanderson… In 1980 he and Steve Rogers both won 16 games, Ron LeFlore stole 97 bases-they had Dawson, Carter, Scott, Parrish and Valentine… They finished second to the World Champion Phillies, only 1 game back. I remember it like it was yesterday… In ’93 SS was less effective, but he was still going. I was surprised he pitched for 19 years and had a pretty nice record of 163-143)
#710 Paul Wagner Pittsburgh Pirates (Not a whole ton of Pirates in this box break…Wagner was a spot starter and mop up guy for the Bucs in ’93. He finished 8-8 but ate up 140 innings)
#708 Steve Bedrosian Atlanta Braves
#681 Troy Percival California Angels (I think this is copy #3 of Percy’s rookie card. This is gonna be worth a fortune when he goes into the Hall. JK)
#727 Domingo Martinez Toronto Blue Jays (This isn’t DM’s RC, wish it was… He retired with a career batting average of .409 and a .682 Slugging percentage. Those are HOF numbers…Too bad he only played in 15 games-he had the makings of a superstar)
#698 Jeff Juden Houston Astros (The Astros nabbed JJ in the 1st round in 1989 and in 1990 he was 10-1 in 15 starts in the (High A level) FSL at 19 years old. JJ was tall, like Randy Johnson long and tall, but never really clicked in the big leagues… His best season came in 1997 with the Expos when he was 11-5 with a 4.22 ERA. He went to Cleveland in a deadline deal, but didn’t make an impact. He did appear in the WS for them, but as a righty specialist. He pitched 2 innings and gave up 1 run in 2 appearances)
#653 Felix Jose Kansas City Royals
#617 Mark Eichorn Toronto Blue Jays (How many Jays are in this pack???)
#690 Kirt Manwaring San Francisco Giants (It seems that all of the Giants and Brewers players have cheesy portraits on the front of their cards, but cool action shots on the back… 1993 was KM’s best year in the bigs-he set career highs in homers (5) and RBI (49) and won his first and only Gold Glove Award for the Giants)
Okay, done. 42 down, 42 to go! Is anyone still with me here? I’m Troll and I’m ooouuuutttaaaaaaa heeerreeeeeee!

Ripping Wax For Warmth....Pack #11 of 1993 Stadium Club Series 3

I spent the last couple hours wearing gloves to thaw, so I think I can type again... Here is the 11th pack of 1993 Stadium Club. Only 13 more to go, I hope to finish this off this week and get everyones cards ready and in the mail... Here we go!
#750 Greg Maddux Atlanta Braves MEMBERS CHOICE (The reigning Cy Young in ’93-Maddux held righties to a .176 batting average)
#652 Armando Reynoso Colorado Rockies (’93 would be Reynoso’s best season-he won 12 games for the Rockies)
#714 Brian Williams Houston Astros (Williams was 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA prior to the All Star break in ’92-he finished the season 7-6)
#609 Dave Winfield Minnesota Twins (Coming off the ’92 season-Winfield was still with the Jays and he hit 26 homers with 108 RBI for them, winning his final Silver Slugger Award and winning the Series-his first. The back shows Winfields rookie card from 1974. I think he was the longest served batter in this set. As a Twin in ’93 Winfield hit 21 homers-it would be his final full season in the Majors)
#668 Harold Reynolds Baltimore Orioles (Reynolds stole 15 bases in ’92. Prior to his notierity as a broadcaster-he was a pretty speedy and good defensive player. He was the second overall pick in the 1980 draft and he stole 60 bases for the Mariners in 1987. His 250 steals puts him 222nd All Time... On the negative side of things. I interviewed HR a while back and considering he is a "journalist" himself he was a horrible subject...Cliche after cliche after empty cliche...)
#655 Andre Dawson Boston Red Sox (The Hawk. The best hitter and best arm of any outfielder who isn’t in the Hall of Fame)
#677 Spike Owen New York Yankees (Spike was the starting shortstop on the Red Sox in ’86 when they gave the WS to the Mets)
#625 Tom Brunansky Milwaukee Brewers (Tom topped 20 homers 9 times during his career-he was an All Star in ’85)
#736 Russ Springer California Angels (Springer ended 2009 in the Rays bullpen. His 738 career games is 12th among active pitchers)
#603 Billy Ripken Texas Rangers (Still searching for the hidden dirty word in this card, I cant find it!)
#612 Jody Reed LA Dodgers (This is the pack for gritty middle infielders… Reed is the 4th in this one)
#744 Guillermo Velasquez San Diego Padres (Velasquez hit .309 with 44 doubles and 99 RBI in Las Vegas in 1992 earning himself a callup. He batted .304 for the Padres in 15 games and seemed like a can’t miss guy… Well, he missed. He played in 79 games and hit .210 and that was it for his big league career. He is still active and playing in the Mexican League right now…)
#739 Darrell Sherman San Diego Padres (’93 was Sherman’s lone big league season. The dude stole a bunch of bases in the minors. He stole 2 in the bigs…)
#709 Dave Nilsson Milwaukee Brewers (This Aussie catcher had one of the best offensive outputs of his career in ’99-he hit .309 with 21 homers, made the All Star team and that was it. He retired from the Big Leagues at the peak of his game… He was the first Aussie born player to be an All Star)

I wish I had scanned Dave Nilsson and some others... If I don't pull a dupe, I will add him later on. Thanks for reading... Before I go I wanted to give a friendly reminder to anyone who has not yet checked out thevoting for the 2009 Gummie Awards hosted by Chris Harris and the Stale Gum Dot Com blog... It was easy and fun to vote and you get to pick the best and worst products and inserts of 2009... I laughed pretty hard while filling it out. You can only vote one time and after you vote it shows you the current results. When I voted there were only 68 votes so get your voice heard!!! There are 2 awards for card blogs at the end, so check it out! troll out!