Houston Astros Dugout Lineup Card - Pickup of the Year

It is fitting to close the year with the best addition to my collection in 2012.  In the past two years since I returned to collecting, my best pick ups each year were T206 cards with a Black Cap Christy Mathewson "winning" 2010 and a green background Ty Cobb portrait "winning" 2011.   While I managed to purchase all the cards I needed to "complete" my T206 set (I still have six cards in transit) and I won a Plowboy Orval Overall on eBay, this year, my best pick up is not a card, but instead a piece of memorabilia. 


As you might guess from the large number of Mike Scott references and cards you've been subjected to on this blog, one of my favorite teams of all time is the 1986 Houston Astros, who would have advanced to the World Series if they were able to win one game where Mike Scott did not start.  Sadly, they didn't and the Mets won the World Series, but this team holds a certain place in my heart.  One day, while browsing for cards on an online forum, I came across a listing of items from someone who worked at Wrigley Field in the 1980s.  Scrolling down the post, I saw a lineup card from a 1980s game filled out by Pete Rose, while manager of the Reds, and another from Tommy LaSorda.  There was also a Braves card with Dale Murphy and a whole bunch of bad involved.  Towards the bottom of the list was an undated dugout lineup card from the Houston Astros.



The lineup card is the size of a piece of legal-sized paper, which is why you have two so-so scans above.  We won't discuss why I didn't take a picture.  Let's just say the picture always come out terrible, but a different kind of terrible each time.   I sent a message ASAP and reserved the lineup card and set about some research.  Using Baseball-Reference.com, I was able to quickly identify the game to a single day, September 1, 1986.  A Monday game with some starters such as Glenn Davis and Bill Doran rested and Danny Darwin starting against Ed Lynch, it matches exactly with the card above.

As an artifact of one of my favorite teams of all-time, I was overjoyed and began awaiting the arrival of this item.  It didn't have Mike Scott's or Nolan Ryan's names on the card, because Hal Lanier was not interested in listing his starting pitchers on his lineup cards.  But it was part of a magical season and a truly unique item.

The problem was it wasn't arriving.  The SuperStorm delayed my inquiry and I was told that it was shipped.  For a month, I was convinced one of my neighbors received the package in error and was in possession of this lineup card.  However, the fourth or fifth time I sent an inquiry, the package was miraculously found, having fallen behind a dresser or table and was shipped to me.  Given that I was concerned the lineup card was lost and now that it was found, I could've cared less about the wait, I was just so overjoyed to know I was getting the one package I couldn't replace shipped to me.  Because it took nearly two months to ship the lineup card, the seller also included a lineup card from the Cubs dugout from the May 30, 1983 game as well.



Mike Scott is featured on the card, which I enjoyed greatly, even though he did not pitch that fine day.   While I have a lot of great pieces in my collection, nothing brings greater joy to me than these cards, knowing they are truly one of a kind and part of history. Interesting about this card is the game was started by Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins in his last go-around, leaving two Hall of Famers on the lineup card as Ryne Sandberg started that day as well.  A very thoughtful gesture to make up for the wait and a piece of history I will treasure for forever. 

Home of the Toddfather Groupbreak - Dbacktastic

Sometimes you don't get around to scanning your cards.  Perhaps you scanned cards the day before and another package arrives in the mail in the mail the next day.  Or you take your new cards, flip through them and gently place them on the bookcase facing the window in an oh-so-neat stack, so you can look through them again.  Usually, you just forget you didn't scan something and when you go to write up your group break results, you realize you have no images to share.  Sure, I could get up off the couch, walk all the way over to the scanner, turn it on, turn the scanner's computer on, wait for the computer to load, scan the pictures, rename and save the scanned pictures and upload them to Photobucket, but I got tired typing that, so I would clearly be exhausted from actually performing such actions.

So, way back in November, The Toddfather had a group break.  There was 2012 Topps Chrome, 2012 Topps Update (long before I bought that fabled, overpriced box) and 2012 Topps Pro Debut.  With the breaking filling up rapidly, a search of the checklists indicated that I just might like a Trevor Bauer or Slidin' Billy Hamilton card for my collection.  I did realize that the Billy Hamilton stealing all the bases in the minor leagues was not the zombie of the Phillies' greatest base thief from the 1890s, but still remained interested in his cards.

Topps Chrome brought some base cards to my collection and a reminder that I do not like the very shiny Topps Chrome cards, as the "chrome" obscures the color.  As to Pro Debut, there was no Slidin' Billy Hamilton, but I did get a Trevor Bauer.  I was awfully close to scanning the Trevor Bauer, even going so far as to put it in the scanning pile, but I couldn't bring myself to make more than two scans of cards, so an editorial decision was made to take it out of the pile.



The black bordered Topps John McDonald is numbered to 61.  Surprisingly, I also pulled a black border Henry Blanco when I opened my box of Topps Update, giving me two of the Diamonbacks limited to 61. If I was a Diamondbacks fan, I would be stoked and trying to put together the whole set in black borders, but I'm not, so I'll stick to the surprise of Henry Blanco being a major league catcher at 40, as he was not much of a catcher at 30.



I also ended up with a gold bordered Trevor Cahill, showing I have the touch for getting numbered Diamondback cards from Topps flagship group breaks.  I would show you some Reds, but there was nothing noteworthy enough to scan.  Despite getting teams which are well outside my wheelhouse, it was still quite the enjoyable group break and I would like to extend my thanks to the Toddfather for running such a fine break.

Daily Dimwit Group Break - 1 in 4,200 Hit

Group breaks tend to be difficult for me.  My allegiances are not to a specific franchise, but instead to players, mostly players long retired.  I like the camaraderie and the stack of organized cards, eliminating many of the cards I have no desire to add to my collection.  Given these choices, I gravitate toward group breaks with retired players in the product and scan checklist after checklist before committing.  The Daily Dimwit had a group break with 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces, 2008 Upper Deck Goudey and 2012 Gypsy Queen.  As the majority of the product was Gypsy Queen and this year's set did not have Christy Mathewson, but did have Ty Cobb, I signed up for the open Detroit Tigers, figuring I might pick up a few more Ty Cobbs for my collection.  In a surprise, I only ended up with one Ty Cobb card.  I did however pick up a few "hits" from the Group Break.

The Goudeys were not a success for the Tigers or the Twins, who were my randomized team.  There were some base cards and I believe a mini Delmon Young...but there is no such thing as success with Delmon Young.



Upper Deck Masterpieces were a success with the above black bordered Gary Sheffield.  The Sheffield is quite nice with some raised framing on the card.  Definitely a keeper for my box of modern day cards.  The real winner for me and perhaps the entire group break came from Gypsy Queen.



Yes, that is a piece of a seat from old Tiger Stadium on a framed relic numbered 82/100.  The chances of pulling one of these cards from a pack were 1 in 4,200.  On some level, I think that perhaps someone saw Sam Crawford or Ty Cobb from that seat, though it is more likely that someone saw Guillermo Hernandez or Bill Gullickson, but the illusion makes the card even grander.  I must admit, seeing it in the video was cool, but in person it is even better, as you can just touch the wood grain on the card.  I reckon the thrill of a hit like this is why we participate in group breaks, but also to get a card you might not think about or consider purchasing on your own.  I never would have searched for one of these cards, but I am quite thrilled to add this piece to my collection. 

So, thanks to Samuel for running a great group break and an even better blog.  

What Do You Get for Five Dollars at Five Below?

No pictures today, since I am working on setting up my new computer, as the old war horse no longer wants to take a charge after three years.  However, I'm not sure what a picture of a 1988 Topps UK Nolan Ryan or a 1992 Leaf Wade Boggs would do to lift the quality of this post.

Five Below for the uninitiated is a store where every product is five dollars or less, essentially the inflationary, evolutionary dollar store, which in itself, is nothing more than a modern five and dime.  One product they do have is sportscards.  Not just baseball, but a fairly decent cross section of cards.  There were football cards and 2012 Topps WWE Heritage in an unsearched drop box.  Amidst the rows of in-season football cards, there were a few boxes of baseball cards.  Each repack box comes with four packs and a bonus box of 100 cards.  The boxes are sealed in such a way you cannot see what is inside, unlike the four pack repacks at your local Target or Walmart, where they tease you with a pack of 2011 Topps Lineage to hide the 2008 Upper Deck and 2007 Fleer.

Knowing the risks, I pressed forward and gave the cashier five dollars and change to cover the sales tax and went home to look at the cards.  OK, I opened the box in the parking lot to see what packs were inside, but then opened the packs at home.

What Packs Were Inside?

2 Packs of 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update - Aside from a picture of Matt Capps, facing the camera holding a baseball, nothing of note was found in these packs, which is a surprise to no one who opened any of these packs.  As an aside, for those who think letting Upper Deck back into making baseball cards would be good for the hobby, look at some late year Upper Deck and say that with a straight face.

1 Pack of 2007 Fleer Ultra - There was a Jesus Flores Ultra Rookie in the pack.  I think the less said here, the better.

1/2 Pack of 1989 Topps containing 50 cards - It seems Topps made gigantic rack packs in 1989 containing 100 cards, plus a special Rookie card.  While sealed, I am a little disappointed that half the pack counted as one of my four packs of cards.  It could be worse, since they could have taken a Topps rack pack with three separate compartments and called it three packs, but this is only marginally better.

Despite that, this was by far the best pack to open.  There were fifty cards in the pack, five of which were Hall of Famers - Ozzie Smith, Mike Schmidt (on the back of the pack at that), Dennis Eckersley, George Brett and Roberto Alomar.  I remember collecting these cards in my youth and would have been incredibly excited to find a pack of 100 cards or 1/8 of a set in a single, non-vending box package.

What Are the 100 Included Cards?

First, there were 102 cards included in the box.  Below are some quick stats before we break it down by publisher.

Oldest Card - 1982 Donruss Randy Niemann - Despite last appearing for the Houston Astros in 1980, Niemann is wearing an Astros jersey on the card, despite being a Pirate.  Actually, I was impressed by the lack of airbrushing on this card.

Newest Card - 1999 Just Memorabilia Fernando Seguignol - He was a member of the Ottawa Lynx at the time.  This also serves as the only minor league card in the package.

Cards Not in English - 1 -1993 Pacific Jose Oquendo and Luis Alicea in Spanish

Hall of Famers - 6 - 1994 Upper Deck Fun Pack Dennis Eckersley, 1992 Leaf Wade Boggs, 1989 Donruss Tony Gwynn, 1988 Topps UK Paul Molitor, 1988 Topps UK Andre Dawson, 1988 Topps UK Nolan Ryan.  There is also a 1991 Topps Craig Biggio itching to make it seven by 2015.

Checklists - 2 -1987 Topps and 1988 Fleer

100 Cards by Publisher and Year

Donruss - 24 - 1982 - 1; 1988 - 5; 1989 - 13 (including two Todd Frohwirths); 1990 - 3; 1992 - 1; 1993 - 1 (Andy Benes for the interested).

Fleer - 13 - 1987 -3 (All Kansas City Royals); 1988 - 4 (including checklists organized by team, which is actually fairly smart if you release all of the cards at once); 1989 - 3; 1990 - 1 (Tom Brunansky as a Cardinal); 1991 - 1; 1993 - 1

Fleer Ultra - 3 - 1991 - 3

Just Memorabilia - 1 - 1999 - 1

Leaf - 1 - 1992 Wade Boggs

Pacific - 1 - 1993 Jose Oquendo and Luis Alicea in Espanol.  

Score - 5 - 1988 - 1; 1991 - 1; 1992 - 2; 1994 - 1 (Rich Rodriguez in the classiest scorecard...a low title indeed)

Topps - 34 - 1986 - 6 (including Ron Cey and Tommy John); 1987 - 9 (Including Ron Cey again and a checklist, a fairly pro-Penguin repack box); 1988 - 1; 1989 - 2; 1991 - 16 (Includes Mike Scott bunting, which I might already own 15 of)

Topps Gallery - 1 - 1996 Todd Greene

Topps Stadium Club - 1 -1993 Jeff Frye

Topps UK - 10 - 1988 - 10 (Including Parker, Canseco, Mattingly, McGwire and Dale Murphy in addition to the other Hall of Famers)

Upper Deck - 8 - 1991 - 5 (Including Dale Murphy as a Phillie); 1992 - 2 (Doug Glanville Top Prospect); 1994 - 1

Conclusion

The box delivered for me.  I appreciated the older cards and enjoyed the memories.  The actual packs themselves were terrible aside from the 1989 Topps.  When you fail next to a pack of 1989 Topps, you probably shouldn't be making cards anymore.  I did get 11 hall of famers, a bunch of interesting players and spent far more time with these cards than expected.  I'm not saying run out and get one, but if you need a trip down memory lane, there are far worse things you can spend $5 on. 

Buying Hobby Boxes: A Fallacy

A few months ago, Topps let us know they were releasing a WWE Heritage Set this year.  Even better, in the sell sheet, they showed Michael P.S. Hayes of the Fabulous Freebirds as one of the autograph signers.  As a big Freebirds fan, I was very excited.  I spent a fair amount of time considering whether I should purchase one box or perhaps even two boxes, as I was excited about putting together the set and wanted to maximize my chance of pulling the cards I really wanted and to put together a set.  Eventually, I settled on wanting just one box, figuring I would go and buy the Michael Hayes autograph separately. 



As the time approached, something strange happened.  I didn't pre-order a box and when I went to my local store, there were no boxes or even packs of WWE Topps Heritage to be found.  I was able to find the Michael P.S. Hayes Autograph above for $25, which was fortunate, because no one bought or opened a great amount of this product.  I also found a base set, complete for $6 and shipping.  I nearly bought a set with six insert sets as well for $40, but held off at the zero hour. 

So, for the price of half a box, I was able to get a base set and the exact hit I wanted.  I missed out on a few inserts and there was no joy in opening packs, but I ended up with what I wanted from the product, with no doubles, no fuss and half the cost.  Thinking about this and given that most of my favorite players and performers are not the big names in a box, I can't imagine ever buying a new box ever again. 

It's just the economics of it.  I can get exactly what I want for a similar or lower price than actually purchasing a whole, unpacked box.  I like opening things, but it now feels wasteful.  Rarely do the hits outweigh the cost of the product and I lose control.  I prefer control.  I spent two plus years putting together a set of 100 year old cards.  If I can complete that (and aside from sending a money order tomorrow morning and waiting, I have hit the mark.), I think I can wait out a set on eBay and save a few dollars to get exactly what I want. 

Next time, we will discuss what comes in a five dollar box from Five Below, since just because I won't buy hobby boxes doesn't mean I don't like opening packs. 

Cy Old

Given some of the other personalities of the era, I've never gravitated toward Cy Young . Even as I was preparing this undertaking, part of me said, "Ugh, three Cy Youngs to collect", one of which, Cy Young Bare Hand, is one of the worst looking cards in the set.  Fortunately, I did really well on that card back in the day and added a Cy Young Portrait a year or so ago.  This left me with a grey, old man sized hole in my set, with an obnoxiously large glove showing, which needed to be filled in order to reach my goal of completion. 

A few weeks ago, I broke down and was able to negotiate a deal for the above card.  As a Cy Young card, it doesn't offend me, as it shows Cy, showing his age and paunch, hurtling a ball towards home.  As this is the very tail end of his career, Cy Young made his great return to Cleveland, starting as Spider in 1890 and closing out his career as a Nap in 1911.  In between, Cy had some great years in St. Louis (part of the ruination of the 1899 Cleveland Spiders) and Boston (part of the Americans, before they were Red Sox and before the World Series and labor peace were guaranteed).  But I always think of Cy in Cleveland, grey background, preparing one last pitch as he moves towards 500 wins. 

In a somewhat related note, this is really only one of two cards with a grey background, with the other being the Nap Rucker portrait.  I would imagine with the factories and just generally, rain, there would be more "dark" background T206s, but instead most harken back to pastoral images and sunny days, which are an easier sell than the darkness.  But good old Cy manages to bring a small bit of the starkness of reality with the above image. 

The Big Train Toppling Dominos

Sometimes, you put a project on the backburner.  Or the project moves to lower status as you find other, shiny objects which distract you.  Other times, you look at your list and think, what is going to be the hold up from finishing your set.  And finally, you find a card you need, make a bid, don't expect to win the card at all and then look at your E-Mail and say "Oh, I did win that Walter Johnson Portrait."



A few weeks ago, I won the above Walter Johnson Portrait.  It was one of the three big cards standing between myself and completing my T206 set, along with a Cy Young Glove Showing and the shortprint Kid Elberfeld Washington Portrait seen below.  For some reason, I was locked into this thought cycle that Walter Johnson and Christy Mathewson cards were equal in value.  Amazingly, I found a Johnson Hands at Chest with this mindset, but the portrait eluded me.  Watching the portrait go for 1.5 to 2 times of a Mathewson, I finally flipped the switch and accepted it would be costlier to add one of these cards to my collection. 

Still, even with this in mind, I continually lost every Johnson Portrait which came to market.  It became such a joke to me, I anticipated I would end up getting to 517 cards and still need to track down a Johnson Portrait.  But then, a few weeks ago, I had that surprise moment where someone didn't outbid me and I won the above Johnson Portrait.  So, over the next few weeks, we will see how I've gotten from 490 to 518 in rapid succession, assuming I can find the last five cards which meet my standards.  Of course, I went from 10 to 5 in the last two days, so the race is on. 

And to think, it was just the Big Train falling off the list, that have made it seem for the first time, that yes, I am going to finish the set.  The Big Train with the yellow background and oh so soft upper left hand quadrant of the card, which still makes it the better of my two Walter Johnsons, since there isn't a crease in the middle of this one which would allow you to fold the card in half with ease.