The Cameos, Part 1

It's always fun to see cards of one player with another recognizable player in the background. Even the most boring cards can be livened up by a good old-fashioned cameo appearance. 

First up, it's Dave Concepcion featuring Herm Winningham. Concepcion, a nine-time all-star, was an integral part of Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, while Winningham was a part-time player who stole 105 bases from 1984 through 1992. 

Next, we've got Tom Pagnozzi featuring Mark Lemke. This might be mean, but the nickname by brothers and I used to have for Pagnozzi was Tom Bignozzi. 

Terry Kennedy featuring Mackey Sasser. Kennedy was actually a better player than most people remember. He's worth looking up. 

Walt Weiss featuring Joel Skinner. This is an absolutely incredible photo. 

Steve Sax featuring Jose Canseco. Goes to show that there's hope for little guys to beat the massive, steroid-fueled sluggers of the world. 

And last but not least: 

Terry Shumpert featuring Wayne Tolleson. It took a little more effort to find out who this player was, since there's no name on the back of his jersey. It turns out that Tolleson was out of baseball by 1991 and the Yankees had given his uniform number to Graig Nettles, back in a coaching role. 

That'll do it for part 1 of the cameos. Thanks for reading and have a great day! 

Error Cards

Error cards are always fun to spot in any pack or collection. Their mistakes, while occasionally annoying, more often have a certain uniqueness or even charm, in my opinion, that makes them stand out. The errors can be very minor or sometimes very substantial, and can be made on almost any part of the card. 

The error on this card is a simple misspelling of the player's name - it's actually Fariss. Later cards corrected the error, but it's still kinda fun to spot this. The photo is interesting too - it must have been taken at a tryout or an instructional league, since nobody else appears to be on the field and he's wearing a hat instead of a helmet. 

There's an error on the back of this 2014 Donruss Anthony Rendon card: 

401 runs scored in 98 games is certainly impressive (he actually scored 40 runs in 2013). What's more, they made this error twice: both for his season and career totals. Funnily enough, Rendon actually did top the NL in runs scored in 2014, with 111. 

It took me a while to notice this one. I've never heard of the Minnseota Twins before. 

This card was certainly a surprise to me. It looks like a typical 1986 Topps All-Star Lance Parrish card, right? When I turned the card around, this is what I saw: 

Dale Murphy? Come again? I had to make sure I didn't accidentally pick up a second card, but I hadn't - the back was simply misprinted. 

This Winfield card is even worse: 

Not only was the wrong player featured on the back, but the entire reverse was printed upside down. This was something I'd never seen before. I wonder if it's worth anything. 

That'll do it for today. Let me know in the comments which error card is your favorite. Thanks for reading! 

The Most Prized Item In My Collection

The title of this post is a pretty hefty claim, but after seeing the item, I hope everyone can see why I appreciate it so much. 

A Stan Musial autograph! I got this several years ago with some money I received for my birthday, and could not have been happier when I saw it selling, of all places, on Amazon. 

Here's a closer look at the autograph: 

The seller actually had several of these on his site, and I compared the different images he uploaded in hopes of finding a slight discrepancy in the signatures (whereas if every autograph looked exactly the same, they would more likely be printed). Luckily, I found just such a discrepancy and purchased the item, but I took a picture of the certificate of authenticity anyway, mostly because I was excited: 

Stan Musial may be my favorite baseball player of all time. Originally a pitcher, "Stan the Man" was converted to an outfielder in the minors and made his MLB debut in 1941, collecting two hits as a twenty-year old. Even as a rookie his veteran teammates commented on his experienced approach at the plate, which led to a .331 lifetime batting average, 3,630 hits, 475 home runs, seven Batting Titles, and three MVP Awards. In September of 1963, 22 years after his debut, 42-year-old Musial finished his career just as it started - with a pair of hits. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 1969.

Fun fact about Musial: he homered in his first at bat after the birth of his first grandchild. 

I think that'll do for today. Thanks to all for reading, and I hope you found the most prized item in my collection to be worth the hype. 

Two Last HOF Autographs, Before the Big One...

I know I'm a day late, but happy Independence Day! Last night, I went to a baseball game and added significantly to my collection, which will be updated shortly. However, as promised, I will continue to show my Hall of Fame autographs, of which I have two more before revealing my white whale. 

Lou Boudreau was an American League shortstop from 1938 through 1952, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. In 1942, at only 24 years old, he became the youngest full-time player-manager in MLB history. In 1948, Boudreau was the league MVP with a .355 average, 18 homers, and 106 RBI's and also piloted the Indians to their most recent World Series title. 

Irvin was a premier Negro League player in his day before joining the New York Giants in 1949. In 1951, he led the NL with 121 RBI's and batted .458 in the World Series. Two years later, he batted a career-best .329 and drove in 97 runs. Irvin finished playing in 1956 and was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Negro League committee in 1973. 

I picked up both these autographs from a local antique store, the same vendor who sold me the Joe Sewell autograph. The antique shop is right down the street from my card store, making for some very nice summer days. 

That will wrap up this post, which is a prelude to perhaps the most prized item in my collection. Be sure to catch that post, and thank you all for reading! 

Joe Sewell Autograph

Joe Sewell is one of my favorite players in baseball's long history. A lifetime .312 hitter who played excellent defense at shortstop, he is best known as the hardest batter ever to strike out, fanning only 114 times in 8,333 career plate appearances. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1977. 

About a year ago, I found myself in a nearby antique shop which had a ton of baseball memorabilia. Among the items selling was a Joe Sewell autograph, which I just had to pick up: 

And if there are any doubts about its authenticity, let me clear them up for you: 

Funny, being a very ignorant collector, I don't exactly know what he signed; all I care about is the picture and the autograph. Whatever the case may be, the back seems to have skipped about 45 years of Yankee history. 

Fun fact about Sewell: only two pitchers ever struck him out twice in a game. The first was a rookie named Cy Warmoth, who accomplished the feat on May 13, 1923. Warmoth, however, was not a strikeout machine, tallying only 54 in his career to go with a 3.8 K/9 ratio. The other pitcher to fan him twice in a game was just as obscure: his name was Pat Caraway, and he did it on May 26, 1930. Caraway had a career K/9 rate of just 2.8, and Sewell only struck out three times in the entire 1930 season. Why Caraway got the best of Sewell that day, nobody quite knows for sure. 

Spotlight: Bob Lemon

In my last post, I briefly mentioned Bob Lemon, who was one of four men featured on a Cleveland Indians coaches card. However, I don't think it's right to brush over a Hall of Fame career, so I'll put the spotlight on him in this post. 

My local card store has a box of old photos and magazines signed by athletes of various sports. Most of the athletes are baseball players, including a few Hall of Famers. I got this certified authentic autographed photo for ten dollars, I believe - not bad for something I can just pick up and take home without paying for shipping. 

Once again, I apologize for the bad picture quality. I would take another one, but this picture is in a box and kind of a pain to get to. Although I am known as The Ignorant Collector, I should probably be known as the Collector Who Can't Take Good Pictures. 

Originally a third baseman, Lemon made his MLB debut at 20 in September 1941. He mostly played in the minors in 1942, and only made five at bats for Cleveland before spending three years in military service. When he returned, he worked with pitcher Mel Harder, the first modern pitching coach, to convert to the mound, and became one of the finest pitchers of his generation. Lemon won 20 or more games in six different seasons, leading the AL three times, and threw 10 shutouts in 1948. The highlight of his career came in that year's World Series, when he went 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and helped the Indians take home the title, the most recent in franchise history. 

Due to his background as a position player, Lemon was an outstanding defensive pitcher and also a great hitter who clubbed 37 big-league homers. From 1947 through 1950, he batted .282 / .341 / .520 (128 OPS+) with 20 home runs, and was used as a pinch hitter throughout his career. 

This is the second Hall of Famer autograph I have blogged about so far, having previously shown a signed photo of Eddie Mathews. However, I have several more that I am excited to share with the blogging community. Stay tuned to see them, and thanks for reading! 

A Trip Down Memory Lane Featuring 1960 Topps

A few days ago, I found myself at my local card shop when I stumbled upon a binder of 1960 Topps cards. They were fairly cheap, so I decided to look through them. What followed was a trip down memory lane in more ways than one: I had forgotten how much I like this set, having previously traded for a few from a fellow blogger, and I couldn't resist grabbing cards of players I had previously written about on my other blog, The Cooperstown Advocate. 

Nicknamed "The Walking Man," Eddie Yost collected 1,614 of them in his career, which are the 11th most of all time. In addition to his plate discipline, Yost scored over 100 runs in five different seasons and led AL third basemen in putouts eight times. While he isn't the best third baseman outside of Cooperstown, he wouldn't be a bad pick. 

While I didn't advocate for his election to the Hall of Fame, I did write a post about Johnny Logan because I think he should be remembered. Despite not really having a case for Cooperstown, Logan was certainly a solid player, receiving MVP votes in six consecutive seasons and topping the NL in doubles in 1955. 

Mel Harder was a fine pitcher in his time, winning 223 games despite never pitching for a pennant winner. He was also the man who revolutionized the role of pitching coach, in the process helping future Hall of Famers Bob Feller, Early Wynn, and the above-pictured Bob Lemon, among others, find remarkable success. Also featured are Jo-Jo White and Red Kress. 

I almost wrote an article about Jimmy Dykes. He was a good player, collecting 2,256 hits and winning two World Series, and a long-tenured manager who skippered nearly 3,000 games. While I don't think he's a Hall of Famer, he is certainly an important part of baseball history. 

Also a former player, Bob Elliott was remarkably consistent on both offense and defense. A six-time all-star and 1947 NL MVP, Elliott had six seasons with over 100 RBI's and collected the most hits in the decade of the 1940's. He was also a steady third baseman who had a strong arm. 

I really love Elliott's picture on this card. His toothless smile and jovial expression make him look like a fun, trouble-making uncle. 

I thought it was cool to get a card of Gordon pretty cheap without going online. A nine-time all-star, Gordon was an incredible fielder and one of the greatest power-hitting second basemen of all time. Although he didn't live to see it, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. 

I also got a card of Al Lopez, a truly impressive manager who piloted both the 1954 Indians and the "Go Go" 1959 White Sox. He was also a top-tier defensive catcher in his playing days, ranking fourth in MLB history with a .541 caught stealing percentage over 19 seasons. 

I really like the backs of these manager cards: 

They're just so fun. 

While I picked up several cards of managers who had good playing careers, I also flipped the script and grabbed a player card of a future successful manager: 

Dick Williams was a journeyman utility player from 1951 through 1964, hitting .260 with 70 home runs. He was better known as a manager, winning four pennants and two World Championships. However, his career winning percentage was only .520, and he only had 1,571 wins. As such, he found his way into my Lucky Hall of Famers section. 

That'll wrap up my little trip down memory lane. It was very fun to find these cards and look back on the posts that I had written over time (and reflect on how much my writing has improved since 2021). Thank you all for reading and be sure to check them out!