The Wicked Card of the Day, Manu-Patches and Hall of Famers For the PC!

Wicked Week is totally in full swing on the My Past Time I Love It! Blog. He is giving away primo stuff on a daily basis, so if you aren’t going there and entering his contests you are missing out… Speaking of missing out, I have been living on the outskirts of the blog-o-sphere. I have been lucky enough to have amazing family and friends staying with us for the past week. They went home this morning. It was a tough goodbye, but it will give me a chance to get caught up on my posting. I haven’t acknowledged Matt Garza’s no-hitter yet, but that is coming don’t you worry! Not only will I acknowledge it and share my thoughts and my pride, but I will put together all of the unposted Garza gems that Wicked has shared with me. Anyway, I am starting slowly, but will get back on track. I will also be hitting the post office today. Okay, so I only have a few minutes of time today, so I am going to limit this post to just one single card. Fortunately it’s a pretty unique and interesting one… It is a modern card, coming from 2004 Sweet Spot Classic, but features my favorite vintage subject. This card actually made me flash back to this 1956 Topps card. You can read the original post about it right here. Anyway, moving on with the Wicked Card of the Day it is a 2004 Sweet spot Classic Patch card of Cleveland Indians outfielder Larry Doby. Doby was an All Star in 7 straight seasons for Cleveland. He went to 2 World Series with them and won 2 homerun titles before being traded to the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1956 season. The timing of the trade confused the folks at Topps back in 1956. Actually that card freaked me out as a kid. It lists him as a White Sox, but shows him in Cleveland gear. 55 years ago it is excusable. Anyway, in 2004 Upper Deck reversed the mistake. On the card Doby is listed as a member of the Cleveland Indians. It makes sense; he spent the bulk of his career with him and is one of their best players of all time. The odd thing about Sweet Spot is that they list Larry Doby as an Indian, but the Manu-patch on the card is a Sox logo. I have a scab on my head from scratching it wondering what the hell Richard P. McWilliam was thinking of when he gave this card his seal of approval. It is sooo ridiculous that I love it! Kind of like my pastime. Anyway, since I have never ripped a pack of Sweet Spot before I don’t know if this type thing happens often. Has anyone else seen a Manu-patch gone this wrong before? Thanks to Wicked for the card and thanks to all for reading. Larry Doby forever! Final exams tomorrow. Wish me luck. More to come in this Wicked Wicked Week. Oh, don't forget about the amazing giveaways you can find here! Go Rays! Troll out.

Heartbreaking Awesomeness!

This package of awesomeness came to me from Matt F. the legend behind Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius and also a Pack To Be Named Later which are easily two of the best card blogs on the web. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that Matt has a birthday coming up Sunday. Since you’ll be checking out his blogs anyway, drop him some well wishes while your there. Matt is the provider of the image for my header. Since I was planning this post I took it down to cut down on redundancy, but trust me it will return. It is tri-fold card from 1993 Upper Deck. It is styled after the 1912 T 202 cards. I think these came from 1993 Baseball Heroes, but this is honestly the first one I have EVER seen. I really love this card. It is a pain to store yes, but it is the ideal size for a blog header and this one features 4 of my favorite players of All Time who also happen to be majorly historically significant. It shows Larry Doby and Minnie Minoso on the sides, but the center picture shows Minoso, Joe Black, Doby and Monte Irvin. It’s awesome. The T202 header card didn’t arrive alone. He sent a fairly well stuffed envelope of goodies. This arrived well I had the poll up for the next player I should select. Matt picked Larry Doby as many of you did. The poll ended in a tie between Doby, Bill Mazeroski and Bill Madlock. I have yet to think of a tie breaker, but I certainly don’t mind picking up cards of any of those guys and Matt hooked it up with some great Doby cards to add to the binder. These first two had post its attached to them asking if they count as Doby cards. The answer is Yes! It does seem a little bit selfish of Gene Mauch to be SO much bigger than everyone else, but managers can be glory hounds. The Expos were my original childhood favorite team and these cards are super special to me. My true favorite Doby card in the bunch (other than the T202) is this one. It is a 2002 Topps Archives version of Doby’s 1954 Topps card which I don’t have YET. Of course I would rather have the original, but this card is all shiny and chromed out and pretty darn awesome in its own right. Next up are a trio of cards of former Devil Rays, Rays and Swallows infielder Akinori Iwamura. Aki is currently holding down second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates who got off to a surprisingly good start this year. Reality is setting in for the Bucs who have dropped to 7-8 after a humiliating 20-0 loss to the Brew Crew last night. Aki is holding down the leadoff spot for the young Bucs and is still waiting for his bat to wake up this season. The first card to show is this GOLD version of his 2008 Topps card, #243. I am obsessively trying to replace my lost GOLD cards and also trying to fill the Rays team sets in gold. This card gives me 9 (a full page!) for 2008. Also from ’08 Topps is this WBC card, #WBC4 of Aki representing Japan. The last Aki card comes from 2009 Goodwins and has a little swatch o’ jersey in the shape of an M at the base. From one former D-Rays leadoff hitter to another, this is a 1998 Pacific Paramount card #98 of Quinton McCracken. The D-Rays grabbed McCracken from the Rockies and he was the sparkplug of their Inaugural squad. I have been organizing my PC in my spare time this week and I have my Longoria binder straightened out and free of dupes. The dupes that are sorted out aren’t very fancy, but are up for trade if you are interested. Anyway, this one has a spot in the binder waiting for it. It is a 1st Issue stamped version of card #108 from 2008 Stadium Club. In person Longo is a super signer and I like the kids in background. I do feel bad for the beheaded girl in the back. The last card I will show from this awesome surprise package is from 2007 Fleer Ultra. Matt seems to be a magnet for Jonny Gomes cards. I think this is the 3rd auto or relic he has pulled and sent me. It is from the Dual Materials series and is serial numbered 136/160 and shows two bits of white jersey. I don’t know if you can tell from the scan, but there is dirt on the swatches. Awesome! Thanks so much Matt! Happy Birthday a few days early! I sent you a package, but you will probably get it a few days late, so it all evens out. Go Rays! Troll out.

Cut Signature DISASTERS, Potential PC Edition...

I am broke right now so I won’t be chasing cards for my new PC until this month’s mortgage is paid, but I still wish I knew who I was chasing. I got a package this morning with some Larry Doby cards that I will show off soon. I also have a great Mad Dog bat card that came in the mail last week that I need to show off. I was searching all 3 players on the auction sites and seeing what I am in for. Bill Mazeroski has a TON of cards. He is in many autograph series and these cards ain’t cheap! That frightens me. Knowing what a great signer Maz is it is hard to try and chase down 100 different autographed cards that average 40 bucks a pop. Now while I was looking I had this post from Sports Cards Uncensored on my mind. It was titled “How Not To Do a Cut Auto Volume 1,000,000” and showed the WORST cut auto card I had ever seen. Seriously, check this post and see the AWFUL looking piece of cardboard that sold for over $1,000.00 bucks. Well if that was Vol. 1,000,000, here is Vol. 1,000,001; a Larry Doby cut sig that you could own for $249.00. This one really sucks because the frame of the card is really nice and classy, but the extra words kill it for me. Check out Vol. 1,000,002; a decapitated Doby cut auto that probably used to look good before it was mutilated. You can buy it now for $125.00. Bill Mazeroski checks in with the same premise. How not to do a cut auto Vol. 1,000,003. Another card that probably used to look good. It can be yours for $59.99. I hate to give this auction site free advertising, but if any of my readers are dumb enough to buy these cut autograph disasters, well… They’re not! This ain’t eBay love, these are eBay atrocities… It sucks that you can take a nice in-person auto which might sell for 5 bucks, take a scissor to it and slap a serial number on it and the value goes up 10 times... I was glad that I didn't find any atrocicuts of Bill Madlock, but I am sure they exist. Oh, there is less than an hour to get in on the Steve Garvey bat relic contest. Enter HERE. More to come. Go Rays! Who am I collecting? Troll out.

The Polls Are Closed OR A 3 Way Tie For a Fifth

The poll is finished. It was up for a week and I couldn’t believe how many people got involved and voted. Thanks so much to all 68 of you who voted. I really couldn’t believe how many of y’all voted and I REALLY appreciate it. Thank you all! Thank yous aside, even with 68 people voting, I am still right back where I started. Somehow the vote ended in a 3 way tie! 16% of you think I should collect Hall of Fame outfielder and former star of the Newark Eagles, Larry Doby. 16% of you think I should collect Pittsburgh Pirates hero, defensive standout and Hall of Fame member Bill Mazeroski and 16% of you think I should collect 4-time batting champion Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock. Like I said, even with the help of 68 of my friends and readers, I am still where I started and I still can’t choose. I have about 12 cards of Maz with no autos or relics, but there are plenty available. I have 5 cards of Doby with no autos or relics. There are some of those available, but the autos get pricy. I have 5 cards of Mad Dog, one relic and an autographed 8X10. Since he played for 15 years and up until 1987 I think Mad Dog has the MOST cards, but since he is not a Hall of Famer and he is still alive and well, his autographs are much more affordable than Doby’s. Ugh. I hate decisions. That was why I left it up to you guys. I enjoyed checking on the poll, though. It looked as though some people changed their votes as time went on. Roy Face had a pretty big lead early on and Oscar Gamble was off to a great start, but they lost votes as time went on. With Doby, Maz and Mad Dog tied for 1st, Roy Face finished 4th with 7 votes. Gamble was in 5th with 5 votes and Don Newcombe and Bert Blyleven were tied for 6th place with 4 votes each. Tony Oliva finished 8th with 3 votes and Ray Durham and Monte Irvin each received 2 votes. 2 of you also thought that I should stick with current players. The problem with that is that current players can get traded to the Yankees. It happened to Danny Tartabull and I am terrified it is going to happen to Carl Crawford... The contest and poll over at the Nitty Gritty are still up for another 13 hours. Comment on that post with your name and have a shot at winning a Steve Garvey game used bat relic. Easy huh? I had promised to start the big contest here at the Troll tonight, but I am going to hold off until tomorrow. Two of the prizes were things that I ordered online and since I haven’t checked my post office box all week, I wanna wait till I have them in hand first. I am riding my bike (bicycle not motorcycle) over there after work so I can post the contest manana afternoon. Thanks again to everyone who voted. Any ideas for a tie breaker? Go Rays! troll out.

A Nitty Gritty Reminder...

Thanks to everyone who is voting so far in the poll! It really blows my mind that 44 folks out there care about who I collect. Thanks! I am trying to post cards of the guys who seem to be leading in the vote. Yesterday I posted cards of Roy Face. Tonight's Nitty Gritty Card profile is of Larry Doby. Check it out! Add the Nitty Gritty to your blogrolls and I will stop these annoying reminders! Add it to your blogrolls and I will actually post a card a day! Go Rays! Thanks for voting! troll out.

CotD-1956 Topps Larry Doby

After 2 World Series, 7 straight All Star appearances and 2 homerun titles the Cleveland Indians traded 32-year-old outfielder Larry Doby to the Chicago White Sox for Jim Busby and Chico Carrasquel following the 1955 baseball season. Apparently the late-October timing was way too late for Topps to adapt. Also, apparently in 1956 they weren’t concerned with airbrushing or blacking out logos either. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that Larry Doby is one of my favorite players of All-Time. Well, I have been a fan of his for a very long time. This is probably the 7th or 8th copy of his 1956 Topps, card #250, that I have owned in my collecting lifetime. I was a fairly young tike (8 years old) when I found my first copy, it was my very first vintage card, the first card printed before ’76 that I ever owned. I stared and stared at this card for many hours; I got a giant oversized lucite case for it and kept it on a shelf in my room. I trusted Topps baseball implicitly in those days-the card said Chicago White Sox and shows a portrait of Doby in what I now know is a Cleveland Indians hat, but for years during my childhood I was certain that the red C on his blue hat was for Chicago. I think I was in high school before it finally struck me that it was in fact a Cleveland hat. Anyway, like I said in the opening this marked the end of an era for Doby in Cleveland. He had joined the team for a little while in ’47 and was their full-time centerfielder during their World Championship season in 1948. During their amazing 1954 season, where the Indians won 111 games, Doby paced the team in homers (32) and runs batted in (126) and he finished 2nd in the MVP voting that year behind Yogi Berra. The following season (1955) would be his last year in Cleveland-he went to his 7th consecutive All Star game and batted .291 with 26 homers and 75 RBI. In his first season in Chicago with the White Sox Doby would top 100 RBIs for the 5th and final time in his career-he batted .268 with 24 homers in his freshman year with the Sox. He would only spend 2 seasons with Chicago before being traded to Baltimore. He never played an inning with the Orioles and was traded back to Cleveland before the 1958 season. He would be traded to the Tigers prior to the ’59 season and then sold back to the White Sox for his final big league season in 1959. He only played in 21 games for the Sox and didn’t factor in the playoffs for them. He would retire from Major League baseball after that season after 13 seasons in the big leagues. Over his career he had 1515 hits, 253 homers, drove in 970 runs and scored 960 times. He was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998, five years before his death.
This stands as one of my favorite cards of all time and for years I thought it was the perfect card. A great design, a great player, an awesome moment in time. Even knowing he is wearing the wrong hat for the wrong team, it is still an amazing card and it is today’s Collective Troll card of the day. I love the story-telling cartoons on the back-the 3 color printing and the overall design. The back of the card mentions that Doby was twice the AL homer champ-in ’52 and ’54. It also mentions that on June 4, 1952 he hit a single, double, triple and homer in the same game. Commonly known (now at least) as hitting for the cycle. Regardless of which hat Doby is wearing, this is the still one of the most treasured cards in my collection. I love this hobby! Troll out.

Seven of the Best EVER!

Happy Halloween Blog-O-Sphere!!! Getting ready to head off for makeup so we can participate in Bradenton’s first ever Zombie Bridge Walk… No time for words, but here are a few wonderful cards that came courtesy of Wicked Alfredo Ortega of the My Past Time! Blog. You will have to do your own research, but trust me when I say, these are 7 of the greatest individuals ever to play the game of baseball…All are Hall of Famers, but one and he belongs there. All are instant favorites and new highlights of my collection. If anyone has cards of any of these fine individuals, they are always welcome here! Thanks Wicked!
Roberto Clemente. John “Buck” O’NeillJosh Gibson. Satchel Paige.James “Cool Papa” Bell. Larry Doby. Buck Leonard. Thanks again Alfredo! Happy haunting to all! Troll out.