The box part 3: double trouble

While the amount of White Sox in the box sent to my by Pat at Hot Corner Cards exceeded the other categories of cards, the wide variety of cards showing the turn at second for a double play made this group the most interesting. Pat included about 60 cards with a runner being forced at second, and my initial review says he may have duplicated just one card I currently have in the binder. But enough of the jib jab - on with the scans.

Pat being a Tigers fan (as he claims), he dropped a lot of Detroit clad players in the box.

I'll have to admit - that is a lot of Old English "D" I have to put in pages. The Stadium Club Whitaker is a pretty nice card. Great framing. Actually it's a little sad that is not a photo from Tigers Stadium in the background. Speaking of Whitaker, I made mention yesterday to remember his name when I showed a couple cards of him bunting.

AHHHHHHHH!!!! Pat even emailed me it was fun to drop all those Whitakers on a White Sox fan. The Leaf in the upper left is a difficult card as it shows Lou bunting on the back. Oh what binder to put it in? FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS! Here's two more cards that could go in multiple binders.

 Nice throwbacks on those two cards. Sometimes, a turn at two will have a cameos of another player. At times you can't see the names, but other times there is no doubt who's being forced out.

 

I wonder if a certain Wallach collector wants the card on the right? I know a certain dime box digger would want these two.

And I only thought Upper Deck did those multi image cards. More gems in the box...

Canvas-y DPs.

Shiny DPs.

Airborne DPs.

A lot of airborne DPs. In fact, my vote for the best of the bunch is a player launched in the air, about to make the throw to first. Enjoy...

Maybe not the best of Topps designs, but man that is an amazing shot. Ball still in Owen's hands, player just missing taking him out, SS focused on getting the runner at first. Gem card right there.

Ok - three groups down. Tomorrow we will tackle the group known as "all the rest".

The box part 2: Laying one down

So yesterday I started diving into a 300 count (or more) box that came from Pat at Hot Corner Cards. Let's get back to displaying the goodies within by seeing how Pat helped fill my binder of bunting cards. About 40 or so of the cards in the box had players positioned to have, or be prepared, to drop down a bunt. As this binder has grown, it's interesting who they (the card companies) select to be enshrined forever on a card squared to the pitcher. Some are obvious.

One would expect that if a pitcher is on the card, at the plate, he's probably not swinging away unless the sacks are empty. Three things on these cards: a) these guys REALLY need to work on their bunting. You will never deaden the ball with your hands that close together. b) You don't want to move the bat towards the pitch, unless you are trying to pop up the ball.  And c) Sorry Nick - find your own copies of these pitcher at the plate on COMC. BTW - combined career batting average between these two - .197 with 10 homers (all by Fernando).

Now, let's go to the other end of the spectrum to players you would NEVER expect to bunt.

Combined lifetime home runs of these 3 is 1248. Granted, about 30% or so are aided with steroids. I'm not looking at you, Kirk or Harold. See, though, how they all hold the bat - hand at the bottom with the other half way up. Kirk it going to drag, but he is not about to swat at the ball. Baines is waiting for the pitch to come to him. And Sammy.....is contemplating if he has enough HGH to make it through September. But I digress.

Some players - they just seem to always be a-bunting. Like...

Curtis Wilkerson.

Gary Thurman. Different games, btw. You can tell by his stirrups.

Doug Dascenzo, from both sides of the plate. The card on the right is perfect positioning to bunt.

And Lou Whitaker. Remember this name - we will visit Lou a LOT in part three of the box.

So who takes the prize as the best bunt card in the box?

Giving the win to Andy Sheets. Sure, it's a nice card, and Andy is squared up well. And yes, those Angel uniforms are horrible, but check out the killer view of the memorial patch for Gene Autry. One of the better honors shown to a former owner.

Ok - tomorrow: double plays.

A box...in 4 parts

I've been dumped on before. I had the PWE bombing by Jaybarkerfan. I had a drop from Junior Junkie. Even Jeff at My Sports Obsession dumped a ton of Chisox on me. But for sheer variety, Pat over at Hot Corner takes the prize with the 300 count box he sent a couple weeks back. I finally have the chance to organize all the goodies within. I won't scan everything and show it in one post, so let's look it over thru the rest of this week.

First up, the plethora of White Sox cards. About half the box was Pale Hose. Strange a Tigers fan would have so many. I think he secretly wants to be a Sox fan but is afraid to go public. I am sure these are just dupes in that regard. So what are the highlights of those dupes Pat gave up?

Let's start with the shiny, chrome-y Sox. Love the Frank '04 Chrome. And the Mark from 04 Donruss is a great addition. Ahhh....the days when the picture on the back was different.

Vintage-y Sox are next. I really need to work on that Goudey set. I like the simplicity of the cards and the bright colors. The Turkey Red in the middle is one I am no longer missing.

Some real vintage was in the box as well. Three eras of uniforms on display. I really hope the Sox bring back the 59 threads as a Sunday throwback some year. They wore them a couple years back as a throwback for a series, but that is not enough time for a fine design as that.

Lots of great players in the stack of Sox. How can you go wrong with three great cards of Fisk? I have never seen those SI Kids cards before (with perforation on the edge). I have a few of the Fleer star stickers, but zero White Sox until now.

As I am want to do, we need a best card of the bunch. Since I am breaking this box down by groups, we will showcase the best, IMO, of each group. The best of the ChiSox was a little tough, but I am going to have to pick this beauty.

 

Yup - not a Sox card at all. But a cameo of the Big Hurt takes the top bill. Does it bother me with Frank as a Bronx Bomber? Nah. I mean - Magnum PI is their first baseman. Who cares!

What I don't need is bad luck.

It starts with a simple letter:

That's from Weston at Fantastic Catch. I think the envelope he sent was from a few PWEs, or maybe some trade, or probably just cuz Weston is a really cool kid. But it's the line "feel free to send back what you think is fair" is what freaks me out. See, if Weston had filled it with Cubs, Tigers or a multitude of other MLB teams, I could find a few cards to send back. If it was an envelope of Red Wings, I know there is work my dog has done in the grass I can put in a box and affix a stamp.

HEY - I'm saving those to eat later!

But no, Weston had to totally nail it in the envelope. I will say that I easily need 75-80% of what he sent. Stuff like....

Rookies that never really panned out. 

Golds. I had that Thome card  (but with David Wright on it). I also have the die-cut Thome, but not the gold version. 

Bunting? Yes. OPC play at second? Yes. Nice Heritage team card and more Thome. Yes twice. Weston could have stopped there and the pressure would have been high. Then he goes and does this.

That would be a Hope Diamond parallel. I have been hunting high and low for a White Sox Hope Diamond insert since I found out they existed a good year ago. #38/60. Funny stat: this is the 2nd card that has a run of about 60 that Weston has sent me. Months ago he dropped a mini gold in a trade envelope. 

Thanks a whole bunch for the awesome envelope, Weston. This envelope feels like some kind of chain letter that I cannot break. I hope I get more than 10 days to reply.

SSP for a dime.

That's just what it reads in the title. I was at card show a couple weeks back and found, in a dime box, a card that I could not believe was selling for a silver FDR. Luckily, the seller didn't notice it when I made my selections, so while I enjoy having it, there is a little guilt I am experiencing by not mentioning the card to the dealer. Then again - you do need to pay attention, right?

I am sure some of you are thinking "wait Jeff - SSP cards in UD Heroes"? I thought the same too. I thought this was some regular insert card until I took a closer look. Serialed # 49/49. And.........

It's card #49 in the set. EBAY SSP 1/1!!!!!! I am SO rolling in the dough. And all for a dime.

Throwback Thursday - 06.27.2013

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Kevin Brown - 1994 Topps - Texas Rangers

LCS:Denver

So here I am in Denver. There is a card shop that has been here over 30 years, so I was forced to check it out. The place is Bill's. The place is HUGE compared to my LCS. I didn't have a lot of time to spend in there, but I picked up a few things.
Tough to blog from my phone, but attached are my pickups. Three Blackhawk autos - former players - and a Hull gold Action Packed
Ten bucks for them. I also grabbed a couple hobby packs of series 2 and hit a black bordered Buck. Better hit than my other black border if you ask me.
Back to regular posts on Thursday.