Trolling the 'bay

So in my ongoing effort to put some sense into my collection and to keep it fresh, I have been looking for cheap, off-condition vintage for my All-Decades Team Project. It is a project that will encompass Topps cards from 1960 to the present day. I hope to get some wants lists up in the next week as well as get some of the "team pages" scanned and posted.

One thing I have come across in my researching this project and trying to determine who ends up in my "starting lineup" and who rides the pine.

Take my 1970's California Angels for example. First base wasn't the best of positions for the Halos during this stretch ... Jim Spencer, Bob Oliver, Mike Epstein, Tony Solaita, Bruce Botche, Ron Fairly, and finally Rod Carew. So right off the bat I know it's going to come down to Spencer and Carew. Spencer had two solid years for the Angels and even won a Gold Glove in 1970. Carew had just been traded before Spring Training in 1979 and had a solid year for California. He was an All-Star but failed to be in the top 10 for hitting and his lone stat achievement was ranking 5th in on-base percentage. Right now Spencer is my starter, Carew, on the bench, and don't worry you Solaita fans, where he appears to have been a useful player for several seasons with the Angels, he too lives on for this team in a bench role.

And with that little tidbit out of the way, onto some good, off-condition, vintage finds I have recently acquired on the 'bay (I apologize for not scanning the backs, it was late and I had a number of other scans to do) ...

a little bit of everything in this first scan. Speaking of Angels, one of the originals, Eddie Yost. He was drafted off the Tigers roster as the 25th pick. Yost resides the pine on my 1960s Angels team on a "They-Used-to-Be-Great" page. A nice shot of a 1961 Topps Tito Francona, who was a pretty good ballplayer during his day. I love this 1965 high number Boog Powell. I'm a sucker for the old school O's look, especially the script and bird logo on the wool uniform. And lastly, a 1966 Topps Tom Tresh, who was a pretty damn good player for those power house Yankee teams of the early 1960's.

Second scan, five cards, five Hall of Famers, all of them cheap!! Got me self a nice Hank Aaron and being an All-Star card and a great pose, helps me not break the bank in looking for some of the superstars of the 1960s. One of the original New York Mets, Richie Ashburn, also his last card too. Not sure why Topps had to butcher the "NY" painting job in the circle photo when they clearly had actual photos of Richie in a real Mets cap. Next up, Mr. Cub, Let's Play Two ... your starting FIRST baseman for the 1960s Chicago Cubs ... ERNIE BANKS. Moving on, Whitey Ford's last Topps card and what a way to go out on the classic 1967 design. I wish Topps would bring back the multiple, series of releases only so we could revive these in-season "TRADED" cards. I once had this 1972 Frank Roby but I sent to Night Owl a couple maybe a year and a half ago. Welcome home Frank.

And with that, I wait one more day to rip my hobby box of Ginter.

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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter now LIVE, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe I can grab a couple of minis for these??? Will also be posting some trade bait on Friday to help entice people to send mini Ginters my way as well.

Anyhow, drop me a line if you're not into the minis, and I'm sure I can find something to trade you.

Filling up on vintage before Ginter release and looking for HELP

So with the kids away at the in-laws this past week, I was looking forward to heading back to my LSC to go through a small pile of vintage cards I had looked at a couple of weeks ago.  I still have to post these scans but was too excited about what I landed this weekend that these scans needed to go first. 

What I didn't realize was that there will be many, many boxes to go through in the weeks and months ahead.

While looking at some off-condition vintage in the case, I noticed a boxed behind the counter. The owner said it was a mish-mash of stuff and more than happy to let me go through it. I went through that (and will go through again I'm sure of it) and then a good sized box of 1966–68 Topps cards.

So without further ado, let's dig in and see what I pulled ...

First to bat, a 1960 Topps Vic Power and some 1961 Topps. "Dr. Strangeglove" is the most beat of this bunch which is quite appropriate for his nickname.

Next up, some '62 woodies! Been trying for a while to pick up a cheap Ken Boyer and Mike McCormick will be forever know for getting "blown off" the mound in at the 1961 All-Star game at Canndlestick.

Some 1963 Topps ... Dick Groat almost won the 1963 NL MVP award after being trade by the Pirates to the Cardinals. He would be moved a couple of years later to the Phillies in a pack with Bob Uecker and Bill White.

Moving into the mid-60's ... 1964 Topps ... wonder who had the bigger unibrow; Wally Moon or the O's Andy Etcheberran?

Onto one of my favorite 1960's Topps designs, the 1965 release. In this batch is O's great, Mike Cuellar ... imagine if the Cards hadn't traded him to the 'Stros. Gibson, Carlton, Cuellar ... love the specks on Bob Veale

Mving down the line, 1966 Topps. Still need to read Jim Bouton's Ball Four.

Another of my favorite designs from the 1960's, the 1967 Topps set.

The first batch of many '68 Topps. When I was younger I actually really liked this burlap design ... of course, I then grew up and still don't know why Topps thought this was a good look. I finally landed a Drysdale to go along with my Koufax. Don is a little beat up but with serve well in my All-Decade's project. The Bunning had some massive wax residue but with a little rubbing of some nylon, all clean!

You like the long-ball???? These sluggers could do the trick!

Are slick fielders more to your liking? Can't go wrong with any of these guys. Looking at this photo selection makes me wish Topps would shoot/choose more of these looks in their design selection.

And to round haul, more burlapped beauties.

All of this for less than two, 2011 Topps Value boxes and all with find there respective places in my All-Decades Team project. And with more boxes to go through, they'll be more vintage posts to follow!

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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter release just days away, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe a can grab a couple of minis for these???

LCS visit brings in vintage and retro vintage (PART TWO)

So many times I look at the boxes and boxes of cards and wonder, how can I organize my collection better. How can I make it truly mine? How can I keep this "fun" for me? What's a good way to pull out a binder and explore the history of the game? The players, the uniforms, the crazy hair of the 70's, odd nicknames, etc. ... I know other blogs have "built" All-Time team binders and the like, but how can I do this for myself in a way that encompasses the stars and not so stars of America's pastime and showcase Topps' design through the years?

I have thought about just doing a page of each Topps baseball card design, but there is no way I would be able to limit myself to say, nine cards from any given year. Hhhmmm, what if I did that and didn't limit myself?  Well then I might have nine pages of 1971 Topps but only one page of 1988 Topps. That won't work.

I went back and thought about doing the All-Time teams bit again and again ... a project that would be easier to tackle and more attractive thanks to all the recent reto set products. However, I am a bit anal and wouldn't want a 2011 Gypsy Queen Honus Wagner next to a nice 1964 Topps Bill Mazeroski. So what to do, what to do, how can I pull this together? I needed to answer the question of "what is it about baseball and baseball cards that I love the most? What always draws me back to looking at these pieces of cardboard?" The answer was easy and stems from one of my favorite baseball books in my library, Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups.

So with a little bit of fine tuning on my end, I am starting a new collecting project that will be one of All-Decade teams for each Major League ball club from the 1960's till present in Topps baseball card form. Each ball club for each decade will have; one, 9-pocket page for the starting line up that will include a pinch hitter/utility/DH, one, 9-pocket page of a starting rotation of five, a couple of bullpen saviors, a closer, and one, 9-pocket page of bench guys and/or highlight cards such as post-season or record breaking performances.

I will begin posting these teams little by little and would love to hear feedback even if it's in the form of "What the hell are you thinking putting player A over player B????"

So with this project in mind, how could I not pass up this Roger Maris for only $3.00!!  I mean, would you rather have this 1964 Topps card or a $3.00, crap pack of 2011 Bowman????

Sure, there's a lot of wear on this baby, but all the stats are there to peruse and the card really has some nice color. It's my first and only Yankee so far for my 60's Yanks, All-Decade team and what a way to kick this collection off.

Next up, a high number ... all for the price of a 2011 Topps Rack Pack ...

Your starting second baseman of your 1960's Pittsburgh Pirates, BILL MAZEROSKI!!! The 1964 Topps design is a little underrated I feel. The set has some great color, the color photos spilling over onto the white borders, and the game/quiz on the back of the cards is a cool touch. Seems like the 1960, 1962, and 1967 Topps designs get all the love but this, I think, will be the next Heritage set I'll collect. It's a just a classic and clean set.

Next up for the cost of a couple of new packs, more guys to help fill out the rosters for my '60s teams for the Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, and Phillies to name a few ...

Love, love this shot of Callison!!  I mean, look at that color and the classic wool uniform against a backdrop of an old school ballpark.

Here's a bunch of 1968 Topps with Shannon probably being my pinch hitter as Ken Boyer will be the starting third baseman for the this '60s Cards team. At one point when I was a teen, actually had a chance to buy a partial set from this year and for whatever reason, I decided not to. Still kicking myself on that one. I think would have been maybe $80 for about three quarters of the set. For some reason, I still like this design over the '69 ... Oh well.

And speaking of 1969, here's the last three vintage pulls from the LCS. Maxvill fills out my Cards infield alongside the '68 Javier, above, and Veale was a pretty good lefty in his day.

So with that, I have begun putting these guys in sheets as well as begun putting together a wantlist for other cards I will need for the 1960s and 1970s teams. I hope you'll help me along the journey and hope it sparks some pretty good debate in the comments section.

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CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST!!!!
And finally before I forget, I'd like to pimp This Card Is Cool's blog contest over here. Ryan's always has some good reads and he steps it up a notch in celebrating his 200th post. Congrats Ryan, keep up the great work and thanks for the cool contest!