Some more Ginter additions

So guess what is headed my way (besides another foot plus of snow), the more Allen & Ginter beauties I won on eBay.

The first card is a 2009 Topps Football Allen & Ginter John Elway mini. It's part of a 15 card set only inserted into 2009 Topps Football packs found in gravity dispensers in Target stores. I already have Matt Ryan, Terry Bradshaw, and Ben Roethlisberger. What I like about this card is that it depicts Elway in a 1966 Broncos retro helmet.

The second auction I won was a 3-card lot of World's Deadliest Sharks insert set from the 2008 Allen & Ginter. With already having the Oceanic White Tip, it leaves me only one short of the 5-card insert set—Great White Shark. From my understanding, these were on the rare side as far as pack pulls. The sharks insert was a follow up to "World's Deadliest Snakes" found in the 2007 Allen & Ginter.

I really do enjoy all the A&G insert sets and wonder in what direction Topps will go this year.  How about World's Most Famous Speeches, Discovered Species of the 20th Century, World's Greatest Discoveries, Famous Explorers, or Greatest Military Leaders to suggest a few. What about bringing back A&G originals: Fish from America's Waters, Birds of the Tropics, or Government & State Buildings.

I am surprised they're haven't been hockey players or more basketball players in the base set.  What about an insert set of Hoops Legends consisting of Wilt, Russell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Bird, Magic, Pistol Pete, Bill Walton to name a few. How about World's Greatest Golfers, ... the possibilities are endless.

What mini insert set(s) would you like to see in 2011 Allen & Ginter?

Trade with SpastikMooss

So a a couple of weeks ago, SpastikMooss sent me a email about doing a trade. I always like reading 'Mooss's site, I'm the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame, I mean, who doesn't like the name Rusty Kuntz. Man, I would love to have that ball he's signing on his 1982 Topps card. In any case, if you haven't visited his site, check it out!!!!

So, going SpastikMooss' way will be a bunch of 1995 Topps Baseball and 1995 Topps Cyberstats along with some other cards he was looking for. And in return, below is a couple of shots of what I received.

The first image knocks off 3 cards from various wants. First up an OTW Missing 9 in the 2010 UD Rich Hill. Hill, a local kid from Milton (just south of Boston) appeared in a Red Sox uniform for 6 games at the end of the year. He picked up a win on September 14 at Seattle in his first Boston appearance. Next up is Juan Nieves, a member of the No Hitter Club. Nieves' no-hitter became the first ever thrown by a Puerto Rican in Major League Baseball. The feat was credited to Nieves, though was made possible by amazing outfield grabs by Jim Paciorek and finally by Robin Yount with 2 outs in the 9th inning. He was at the time, the second youngest to ever throw a no-hitter. And third in this shot is a 2009 Topps Heritage short print, #478 Troy Tulowitzki. Thanks to Mr. Tulowitzki's torrid August/September, I brought home a fantasy baseball championship in my long-standing head-to-head keeper league. No I face the decision of do I keep Tulowitzki or Robbie Cano, I am leaning towards Tulo as shortstop is void of big time talent.

Next up are a couple of shot of various Red Sox (there was a handful of 90's and 00's as well). A 1991 Fleer Update Mo "The Hit Dog" Vaughn, a 2004 Trading Day Fleer card of Nomah, and a Dustin Pedroia '09 Topps Chrome. Pedroia has a call in segment to the power house, sports talk radio station WEEI in Boston call the LaserShow. Do a search and I am sure to come across it—it's good for some laughs. He and manager are big cribbage players before games during the season.

And finally, some vintage 70's and 80's Topps Red Sox. I have always loved the 1980 Fisk, something about the catchers helmet on backwards, protector on, and looks like he may have just gunned someone down at second.

So thanks again SpastikMooss for the trade, hopefully one of more to come! It's great having the blog to finally be able to post these trades! The more, the merrier!

More Allen & Ginter Minis

Found a couple of these single cards on eBay last night while looking at some original 1888 Allen & Ginters. So I did a search to see how many were in the set and did anyone sell this as a set. Bingo! Kit Young has a couple left, so I picked one up right away.

It was a special 6 card set (including a very limited 6th card of Babe Ruth) produced by Topps for the 2008 National Sports Card Convention. They are styled after the 1888 Allen & Ginter cards and were only given out in special 5 card packs to just a few hundred VIP registrants (who paid about 120.00 for the ticket). These are very scarce—less than 2500 were made and perhaps 900 were given out at the show. 

All cards feature players from famous events at Yankee Stadium. The cards are: Card #2 Lou Gehrig July 4, 1939 His famous retirement speech I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, #3 Jackie Robinson September 28, 1955- his famous steal of home against the Yankees in the world series, #4 Don Larsen October 8, 1956 The Moment, famed shot of Larsen, with Yogi Berra jumping into arms after his perfect game, #5 Johnny Unitas famous 1958 NFL title game the greatest game ever played, #7 (of course) Mickey Mantle May 22, 1963-hits home run to beat the As the hardest ball I ever hit, almost hitting it out of Yankee Stadium. And #1 Babe Ruth a special extremely limited card (about half as many produced as others) of The Bambino April 18, 1923, with Babe hitting the first home run ever in the House that Ruth built. The backs are nice too, describing the famous event.

So any other Allen & Ginter collectors out there, do yourself a favor and go grab a set.

[Ring, ring] Bring out your dead ... [Ring, ring]

As a follow up to my post on "Looking Ahead—retro minis," I asked Beckett's Chris Olds about T206. He tweeted that it's dead.

Taking delivery

With the Topps Million Card Giveaway ending soon, I decided to take delivery of my collection today.
Before I get into what is headed my way, I suggest you comparing shipping options. You have the option of USPS or UPS. The checkout defaults to USPS and I almost missed this, but changing it to UPS saved me a couple of bucks. I was also surprised that delivery time was only 9–12 days—I was expecting 4 to 6 weeks.

I will be curious to see what others are doing out there. 

So twenty-one cards are headed my way. Nineteen of these are guys who have thrown no hitters or been part of a combo no hitter. One card, Ed Goodson (1975) is for my 1975 Topps Set and the other is a 1979 Mike Edwards Season Highlight card.

The oldest in the bunch is a 1961 Lou Burdette who tossed a 1-0 gem against the Phillies on August 18, 1960. Tony González, the only opposing batter to reach base after being hit by a pitch in the fifth inning, was retired on a double play. Burdette helped himself by scoring the only run of the game. Following up his no-hitter, five days later he pitched his third shutout in a row.

The newest, was a 2005 Peter Munro who pitched 2-2/3 of no hit ball against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2003. Munro was one of six Houston pitchers that day. The others were Roy Oswalt (1), Munro (2-2/3), Kirk Saarloos (1-1/3), Brad Lidge (2), Octavio Dotel (1), and Billy Wagner (1). Oswalt only threw 22 pitches when he aggravated a groin injury. Munro's day was not a picnic either as he ran into trouble in the third when he issued one of his three walks on the day to Derek Jeter and hit Jason Giambi to load the bases. But with two outs, he coaxed a groundout from Jorge Posada toward first to escape further damage and stayed in long enough to induce two grounders in the fourth. Munro's final line: 2-2/3 innings, three walks, two strikeouts—but no hits.

There are seven cards from the 1960's, eleven from the 1970's, two 1990's and one 2005. And if I had a favorite, I think I would go with the 1966 Dave Morehead. Classic pitcher pose, a Red Sox, and a great name to boot.

I think most collectors were happy with this new program rolled out by Topps. I can remember being like many others that day the site launch, spending hours and hours trying to log in to redeem my codes. Fortunately, Topps got their act together and from there on, it was a better situation. I will definitely be looking forward to Topps next redemption program, the Topps 60th Anniversary Diamond Giveaway.

I still have three cards left in the collection. Hopefully, I can still make a trade or two and take one last delivery.

A little looking ahead ...

So work and house projects have been keeping me pretty busy the last week. I have been itching to get another post up as it appears I am gaining so repeat readers. So with that, I write while sitting in traffic on the Mass Pike overpass trying to get onto 128 North. Snow has created a fine mess this AM commute.

In the meantime, here are more thoughts on what I am looking ahead to ... More retro minis.

So far we know 2011 Topps’ base product will feature a 100 card (50 cards series One, 50 cards series Two), mini insert set called Kimball Champions. This insert set is based on the 1887 N184 Kimball Champions (https://www.gfg.com/baseball/n184.shtml). The Cobb card taken from the series two sell sheet looks sharp. I will definitely be looking to collect this insert set. Topps Series One is slated for a February 16th release.

Next up we have is the Gypsy Queen minis. So far, we have seen only the Buster Posey mini. I am torn on the look right now. It appears that there is a worn leather grain texture, not sure why Topps designed the minis this way. I hope there is a solid black mini to these as I just am not digging it. The original Queens did not have it as far I as I know. Also this shot of Posey makes me think he is a Transformer or some other warrior. I think poses work better for these retro minis--it ties back to the originals design-wise. Hopefully I am wrong about this set as I really want to like it.

For those that haven’t seen it, the Topps’ blog did a video production report ( http://www.toppsblog.com/?p=762 ) on the new Gypsy Queen. Slated release date is April 2011.

We should also see another round of Allen & Ginter. Wonder where Topps would have been if they had not brought this set back to the collecting masses ... While we haven’t seen any images, I saw a tweet from Beckett’s Chris Olds that Topps will be bringing this product line back once more.

And to wrap up, no word on whether Topps is bringing back it’s T206 line or whether Obak will continue this sets as well.

So there you have a little window on looking ahead to retro minis.

Sadly, I am 304 cards further ...

Rough, real rough ... that pretty much summed up the 300+ (incld 18 high #'s) lot of '72 Topps baseball cards I just received from eBay. I can't blame the seller as they stated the condition ranged from Good to Ex with creases, soft corners, etc.  I probably should have contacted the seller for more details on just how many would fall in the EX range. 

The 39 singles I already had, ranged from Vg-Ex thru NM. Put these side by side with this lot, and it wasn't pretty.

So with that, I am returning this lot ... and now find myself 304 cards further from the 1972 set.

On a brighter note, working on a couple of trades and hope to get those packages into the mail after this weekend AND there is only 26 more days till Red Sox camp opens!

Another '72 added via eBay

Lefty is in the fold.

Picked up this beauty last night on the Bay.  Completely forgot that I threw in a bid at 2AM about four nights ago. Usually I never just throw in a bid as I figured I would have seen go back in forth at auctions close. This has happen a bit lately with some other '72 high numbers/star cards.

Turns out, I was the only one this go.  So one "TRADED" down, another six more to go. I don't know why Topps didn't take this route more often during the early 70's, or even earlier. They DID issue there cards in series during the course of the season. I have always like these TRADED cards. I missed out on a Frank Robinson, a Joe Morgan over the weekend, so this was a nice surprise.

Here is a little background info on the trade of Carlton to the Phillies ...

It was one of the worst trades ever made, but no one realized it for a while. In 1972, St. Louis Cardinals’ left hander Steve Carlton wanted $65,000 to work for the Cardinals. They were willing to pay him $60,000, Philadelphia Phillies’ right hander Rick Wise wanted $65,000 to pitch for the Phillies, which the Phillies would not consider. Each pitcher become a holdout.

On February 25, 1972, the Cardinals traded Carlton to the Phillies for Wise. The impetus was the fact that neither the Cardinals nor the Phillies wanted to pay THEIR pitcher $65,000, but each team was willing to pay $65,000 to another team’s pitcher. Wise was ecstatic to join the Cardinals, but a shocked Carlton said he would have reconsidered if he had been aware that he would be traded.

The Phillies gave Carlton a one year contract for $65,000 and the Cardinals gave the same amount to Wise. Baseball experts considered Wise and Carlton to be “mirror images” of each other. Carlton was 27 years old and had won 77 games in seven seasons. Wise was a year younger and had won 75 games in seven seasons with the Phillies. In 1971, Carlton was 20-9 with a 3.56 ERA, while Wise had been 17-14 with a 2.88 ERA. Carlton had LOST 19 games in 1970, which was ammunition the Cardinals used against Carlton.

Many baseball people at the time thought the Cards were getting the better pitcher.  Turns out, the Phillies, not the Cardinals, would become the dominant team in  the National League East, winning the division in 1976, 1977, and 1978, and finally winning their only World Championship in 1980. Mike Schmidt, Greg Luzinski, Jay Johnstone, Dick Allen, Greg Maddox, Lonnie Smith, and the great Pete Rose usually provided Carlton with enough runs.

In 1972, before the Phillies became contenders, Carlton had one of the most incredible seasons ever. For the last place Phillies, Carlton won 27 games. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball until about 1984, winning a total of 329 games. Carlton was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994.

Rick Wise was a good pitcher, but he never was more than that. He won 19 games for the Red Sox in 1975, which was his best season. He won a playoff game and a World Series game that season as the Red Sox lost the World Series. In his career, Wise was 188-181 with a 3.69 ERA.

And with that, I am another card closer to my 1972 Topps set. Welcome home Lefty.

(Hi)Stories from my Topps Million Card Collection

Ken Johnson made major league history in a bittersweet fashion, becoming the first pitcher to ever throw a no-hitter and lose. Joe Nuxhall was pitching brilliantly for the Reds, and kept the game tied at 0-0 through eight inning. With one out in the 9th, Pete Rose tried to bunt for a base hit and reached second when Johnson made a bad throw to first. After Rose advanced to third on a ground out, second baseman Nellie Fox bobbled an easy grounder allowing Rose to score. Nuxhall pitched a scoreless ninth to give the Reds an historic 1-0 victory.

The big, easy-going, 230-pounder was told he had become the first pitcher in the annals of baseball to pitch a nine-inning no-hitter and lose.

Ken Johnson’s face broke open with a smile and he said, “Say, I guess that will put me in baseball history? What a way to get in the book.”

The Houston Colt .45s had just managed to lose to the Cincinnati Reds, 1-0, Thursday night in a game that was maddeningly frustrating to the 5426 customers who saw the 30-year-old right-hander in an artful demonstration of pitching skill.

It took a pair of errors in the ninth inning, one of them by Johnson, to get Cincinnati’s run. Meanwhile, the Colts were blowing every opportunity they had on the bases, partially because left-hander Joe Nuxhall was doing quite a job of pitching himself.

Johnson’s locker is next to that of Don Nottebart, the only other Colt pitcher to throw a no-hitter. And coincidentally, or not, the foes got a run in that one. Nottebart beat Philadelphia, 4-1, last May 17. Johnson and Nottebart are roommates on the road trips.

Here is the audio call of the final out.

... this is why I love baseball and love no hitters. You just never know what you are going to see. I know for me, the no hitter is one of those events I will stop what I am doing just to see if the pitcher can pull off one of baseball's rare feats.  The MLB network is a godsend for just this thrill.

I managed to pick this card up for a (go figure, now that I am going after this set) 1972 Topps Billy Martin. Not bad for a little piece of History.

Some content was pulled from www.astrosdaily.com.

Looking ahead to Topps Heritage ...

So earlier this week I took a look over at Topps' 2011 base product, today, I will offer my thoughts on the 2011 Heritage offering.

The design, a classic, but design-wise, it probably came too late. The wood grain look would have been better served in 1958 –1960 (if not earlier) with the baseball moving to the left coast. In any case, it is a look that Topps repeated in 1987 with success.

Undoubtedly, this years version is sure to surpass last years '61 offering. I never minded the simplicity of the '61, but it's well known the look is not a favorite of many card bloggers.  I too like the nostalgia of the 1962, and will certainly try to pick up a couple of blasters and packs,  but not sure I will collect this years set.  While I like the '62, my favorite designs of the 1960's Topps were 1960, 1965, and 1967.  I just simply cannot collect everything and would rather put that money towards my 1972 and 1975 sets or this years 2011 Topps set (if it looks as great as we have seen in previews).

But, maybe my mind will change when I see the cards in person.  Looking at the original 1962 checklist and comparing to this years, there are a number of similarities in the checklist make up. For example, the Red Sox team cards both fall at #334, the ten Babe Ruth cards fall at 135–144, and the Rookie Parade cards have multiple players on them.  I looked a little deeper and noticed that the combo cards were slated for the same number slots in each set. Here is a look at the original versus the Heritage version:

Original 1962 ...
18 Manager's Dream (Mantle, Mays)
37 Tribe Hill Trio (Latman, Perry, Stigman)
72 Bob's Pupils (Boros, Scheffing, Wood)
127 Pride of the A's (Bauer, Lumpe, Siebern)
163 Hot Corner Guardians (Boyer, Gardner)
211 Midway Masters (Bolling, McMillan )
263 The Right Pitch (Jay, Purkey, Turner)
306 Redbird Rippers (Jackson, McDaniel)
351 Braves' Backstops (Crandall, Torre)
401 AL & NL Homer Kings (Maris, Cepeda)
423 Rival League Relief Aces (Face, Wilhelm)

and now my take on what the Heritage might offer...

18 Manager's Dream (Mantle, Mays)
37 Tribe Hill  (No offense to the Chief Wahoo fans out there, if there are any left, but Carmona, Masterson, Westbrook ...yikes!)
72 Bob's Pupils  (original had pitching coach, but no "Bob" with current Tigers staff, so ... Leyland or PC Rick Knapp ... Verlander and Max Scherzer)
127 Pride of the A's (Suzuki, Matsui, DeJesus?? Not gonna lie, but oooooffffffffff!)
163 Hot Corner Guardians (Arod/Wright ... Original had two Yankees)
211 Midway Masters (original was Milwaukee Braves ... Alex Gonzalez and Uggla? ... maybe Brewers to tie into Milwaukee theme but then Betancourt and Weeks)
263 The Right Pitch (Dusty Baker or PC Bryan Price with Arroyo and Cuetto ... Travis Wood?)
306 Redbird Rippers (Wainright and Carpenter or Pujols and Holiday? Both good options but think Topps will stay true and do the two pitchers)
351 Braves' Backstops (McCann and David Ross)
401 TBD Combo  (if Al/NL Homer Kings, Jose Bautista and Pujols)
423 Rival League Relief Aces  (how about Mariano and Brian Wilson ... Soriano led the AL last year, but right now he is a set up guy for the Yanks. Other thought was Wilson and Neftali Feliz)

As a whole, the set make up looks like this:

• 500 Total Cards
  425 Regular Player Cards
  6 World Series Highlights
  11 Combo Cards
  4 League Leaders
  24 Sporting News All-Stars
  18 Team Cards
  8 Rookie Parade
  9 In Action Cards
  Babe Ruth
• 75 Short Printed High Number Cards

So there you have my take on this years Heritage. Topps never seems to fail on this product line, and don't think they will start this year.  Right now, release date is tentatively March 17, 2011.

304 cards closer

So in between bouts of shoveling and snow blowing nearly two feet of snow this afternoon, I managed to win the above item earlier today.  With 304 more '72 Topps cards, I have reached just about the halfway point for this set.

Once I figure what cards are in this lot (there were also 18 high numbers to boot), I will update my list. I know I still need a number of stars. I have stars from other 70's sets, so feel free to send me your offers and hopefully I can fill some of your wants.

Calling on your '72s ...

Okay, so I was watching MLB Network last night and they were showcasing the 1971 season.  Turned out to be a fascinating show and this period certainly had it's characters and flair. So I thought, hhmmm, I am close to completing one icon set of the '70s (1975 Topps), why not go for the other one as well, the 1972 Topps. A set loved but some, but disliked by many, Granted I only have 60 or so cards toward the whopping 787 total.

So I am placing a call to you, the collectors out there. I am looking any and all your 1972 Topps baseball. If you want to trade me a lot of 1972's for an early 80's Topps set or 85 fleer set, I'll do it.  If some want to trade hi #'s for 2010 Heritage SPs, I'll do it.  I have a 2001 Topps Pujols rookie that could find a new home for a superstar from the '72 set. For other 1970's set collectors, I have a number of 1970-79 Topps stars and commons.

Throw me your offers and let's see if we can make some deals. Check out my Trade Archive on the right side, you can see I more than generous when it comes to trading.

Always going in circles or cycles?

As an art director, I'm usually giving graphic designers direction or guidance, yet over the last two years I constantly feel I need some direction with my card collection.

I have my pride and joy, All-time Red Sox Roster collection (birth year of 1973 to present).  In that collection, I have picked some cool oddball items (I will share some of these with you fellow Nation members in later posts) that I have never seen elsewhere. I have a handful of sets that I have built/building 1975, 78, 80, 81, 83, 2009 Topps, 84 Donruss and the 2009 and '10 Heritage. Also to this collection is my Allen and Ginter mini "frankenstein" set that I am building all in part to an idea I saw on dayf's Cardboard Junkie blog. I really like these mini cards and love all the insert sets Topps rolls out into this product.  It's a like one big history lesson after another.  Now I am doing the same with the modern-day T206 line.

So where am I going with this you ask? I go through phases. Sometimes it feels like I go through phases within phases.

I had some vintage 60’s at one point, did some TTM autos with good success for a period of time. Got sucked into jersey relics after that and then back into some 70’s stuff. I have made lists upon lists, created these “set” checklists on top of checklists, and still, I wonder where the heck I am going. In circles or cycles?

The above listing won't change, that part of my collection isn't going anywhere. But it's the "where do I want to go/collect now" that has been the issue. Here's where I hope I can get some insight from this blogging community. I can make my own decisions but would like to see what others would do, find more interesting.

Collection A:  Collection "A" is a collection made of RARE BASEBALL FEATS. I have always been fascinated with No-hitters, especially those thrown by no-namers, guys hitting for the cycle, and who doesn't love watching a player going yard in his first major league at bat--Sox fans, see Daniel Nava this season hitting a grand slam on his very FIRST pitch! Right now I have a good chunk on No-No's, in fact, all but one card in my Topps Million collection are guys who have done this rare feat.
It's a nice collection of stars like Koufax, Cone, Bunning (both leagues) and no names like Bud Smith, Jack Kralick, and Annibel Sanchez. Same goes for the cycles and HRs in first at bat.  These are only TOPPS cards, so it's spans the whole era of the brand.

Collection B:  Collection "B" is what I am calling my "Ultimate Topps Set."  This set though, has some limits set on it--the Topps regular size cards from 1957 thru present day. 1–850 plus as well as traded and highlights 1–330. It would not necessarily the most expensive cards or most popular, but my favorite cards (poses, action, feats, etc.). For example, the Robbie Alomar above in which his brother is sliding into second.  This collection would contain big names and no names and paint a nice history of the Topps brand over the last 60 years. This collection would definitely take more time, more trading, more money. Money of which I don't have a ton extra of with having two young children.

Collection C:  Collection "C" is finding a vintage set to build.  Condition doesn't matter to me and I think I would like to stay within the 70's, but I do love the design of the '67 Topps. Problem is, I might have 10 cards in my collection.  I have always like the 1970 and 1971 Topps sets. I have maybe 100 of the gray border '70 set, and 150+ of the black-beauty '71 set. With these, I have some stars, minor stars and leader cards.  Again, would take time (don't mind), trading for (again don't mind) but the high numbers and super stars would take some mullah.  If a side business takes off, than no sweat, but right now, extra, extra mullah is something I don't have piled away for baseball cards.

So, for those that stuck around till this part, I thank you. I'm sure I am not the only one who has experienced these same thoughts with their collections. I welcome your input, comments, and wisdom and of course, welcome your trades. Hopefully, one of my goals for 2011 and this blog will get me headed in one direction.

Looking ahead

So with the first Topps product a little more than a month away, I have begun thinking what to collect in 2011.
I remember thinking last spring, that I was going to be all aboard the USS 2010 Flagship, that I was going to complete the set and maybe tackle the SP variations. But, after I busted a hobby box, the design just didn't wow me. As an art director (graphic designer), seeing this recycled design really put me off. Really?  Really? Topps? What were you thinking? You were the only kid on the block now and you're gonna go with this retread?

I just felt it was a significant let down from the 2009 set. The one redeeming aspect was the Topps Million promotion. I felt that was a good way to keep the collector interested in your product the whole year and it allowed collectors to interact with other collectors.

So with that in mind, I find myself a little wary of the upcoming release of 2011 Topps Baseball.  So far, it's got my interest with the design, a far cry from what was thrown against the wall last year. 

What I would really like to see Topps do is get back to it's bread and butter. Topps pulls out all the stops on the retro product gravy train but overlooks what could really reel in more collectors. Take the existing flagship issue, with it's great photography, and put in a better engine so to speak.
   - go to a four or five-series release, thus give us collectors a better and more current roster
   - bring back the coaches cards (see '09 Heritage)
   - bring back the 3-player, team prospect cards ala early 1980's
   - more bench player cards (I don't need to see 4 different Strasburg's in my base set)
   - where did the team picture cards go? Bring 'em back (a favorite of mine as a kid)!

Here's hoping the 2011 Topps is as good and hopefully better than the 2009 version.  Maybe this is the year that I try building a set with my 6 year-old son ....

There's the pitch, it's a long fly ball ...

"There's the pitch, it's a long fly ball, deep to left, waaay back, waaay back, and ... OFF THE WALL ... and Youk has to retreat back to first ..."   as Red Sox radio announcer, Joe Castiglione would say.

Joe has been known to make many of these "home run" calls yet they either get caught or hit off the wall. So with that in mind, I know my first blog won't be a home run, but at least hope it scrapes off the Monstah for a base hit.

I have been toying with this blogging idea for almost two years. In those two years I have made a number of trades to the good people on the blogroll, and now, thanks to some encouragement from David at “é rayhahn, rayhahn” I have jumped in with both feet.

I am probably like some of you on this blogroll, late 30's, married with a beautiful family, and still cling to my one childhood memory I still cherish to this day: baseball cards. In the next few posts, I will share with you some ideas I plan on blogging about, and with your help, I can attempt to narrow the focus of my collection.

I welcome your input, advice and ideas. I welcome your trade offers. Now off to clearing the snow that has dropped ... only 37 more days till pitchers and catchers report ... 37 more days ... 37 more days ...

Shane