The evolution of a card blog

Well, as it turns out Ben Henry of the celebrated Baseball Card Blog might or might not retire in 2008. It would suck to lose a Blogger considering he kind of started this whole scene but if he does decide to go, there are two new Blogs to read and enjoy.

The first one is called Poor Old Baseball Cards and it’s quite fascinating. The guy goes out and buys some of the most famous cards of all-time, but only if they are creased, bent, and or destroyed. He has some amazing cards for you to look at, including a T-206 Ty Cobb!

The second blog is dedicated to pre-war baseball cards but will feature lots of different topics relating to our hobby. Ironically, it’s called For Love of the Cards. I haven’t had a chance to look over it yet but will do so as soon as I am done watching Juno with the so-called “Infamous” Tatiana.

Both these blogs shall be added to the Sports Cards Blog Directory tonight. Keep em’ coming, guys! Remember, everything old is new again. Who would ever think that you’d see a new 1987 Topps Jose Canseco. In our hobby, nothing ever dies and that includes Blogs.

P.S - THE SPORTS CARDS BLOG DIRECTORY IS BROKEN. TOO MANY LINKS. I shall find an alternative ASAP.

1987 Topps Max Headroom

Oh man, the things I missed out on as a kid. To be honest, I probably have only seen the famous Max Headroom Coke commercial once in my life and instead always refer to the one in Spaceballs when I think about a stuttering robot/man. Well, back in the 80’s this guy was huge. So huge in fact that he spawned a TV show, video game, and yes, even trading cards produced by our friends at Topps.

Now, after a Fat Boys post followed by a Max Headroom blog you probably think I’ve fallen off the rocker. Not so, my friends. I was simply on Google watching this amazing and infamous video of a crazy man in a Max Headroom mask who hijacked television airwaves for one night and was never caught. It’s actually kind of scary and for those who choose pull it up, it’s a little “NSFW”.

Searching for a Fat Boy…

Hip-Hop fans can be some of the most loyal and brutal fans in the world. Back in the mid 80’s the “Disco Three” were about to break out and become stars but were missing something. They had the skills and the look for MTV but the name just didn’t work. In 1984 they went on to release their debut album with a new name, “The Fat Boys” and the rest is as they say, music history.

The Fat Boys were an instant hit, commericially and even critically but like many other artists in the age of video, fell off the face of the Earth after a couple of weak albums, the last one released in 1991. Since then, the star of the group, “The Human Beat Box” passed away from Cardiac Arrest at just 28 years of age and Kool Rock-Ski became a health nut and quit rapping altogether. That left only the face of the group, “Prince Markie Dee” who today works as a DJ for the South Florida station, The Beat 103.5 and hosts parties on Thursdays at one of the hottest clubs in Miami.

My co-worker Art is a frequent guest of this establishment and promised to get me an autograph. You see, not only am I a fan of the sickly-underrated Fat Boys, I even considered creating a website as a tribute to them. So I drove 25 miles home on my lunch break to get my copy of Disorderlies, a great but cheesy 80’s film starring the Fat Boys but could not find the case. Instead, I will print out a color photo and hope Prince Markie Dee signs it for his fan, Mario Alejandro.

Tomorrow I will post the results. Wish me luck! In the meantime, check out one of their best videos!

Why was this guy sitting on the bench?

Every night when I watch my Marlins play on TV the announcers always refer to Cody Ross as a “slugger”. I always find that a bit strange considering that while he does have a few home runs, he never seems to make it over the “Mendoza Line”. Well, last night he finally lived up to his title and hit 2 home runs, including a monster shot to center. Unfortunately, the Marlins still lost and lead the National League East by just 0.50 games.

After doing some research on Cody Ross I was amazed to find out that despite never hitting more than 13 home runs in one season, he has three, 7-RBI games, and once hit 3 Home Runs in one game. The man can flat out hit the long ball with the best of them but for some reason has only played 100+ games once in five seasons in the bigs.

In 2007 he put up big numbers in 66 games so it’s perplexing why this guy is not playing full-time. I hope after last night’s efforts he is given full-time duty somewhere in the line-up, even if it means he has to buy some catching equipment. We need this kind of bat in our line-up right now. The Phillies and Braves have us against the ropes and guess who our next two series are against?

P.S - Did you know that Cody almost became a professional rodeo clown?

It’s time to bring Donruss back…

Wow, look at this monstrosity of a baseball card. I don’t know what the heck Tri Star was thinking but it’s one of the ugliest cards I have seen since this Mickey Mantle made by Topps.

As far as the Gwynn, it’s a 1/1 cut P.O.S Fleer card that was probably obtained in person and sold to Tri Star. There are a bunch of these chopped up disasters on eBay. Check em’ out, but only if you have a strong stomach.

When did baseball cards become 98% all about gimmicks? If it’s not a redemption, it’s 1,001 parallels. Autographs, game-used everything, hair, dinosaur bones, used-up monster truck tires, printing plates, Rip Master and Friends autos, ARGHH!!!!! Please tell me this is all just a dream. Please?

I think I am finished with busting new wax. I am just going to concentrate on Andrew Miller cards and busting old wax like John does on his blog. I’ve had my eye on several 1997 releases for many years now.

The Perfect Baseball Card

You would never imagine that something as insignificant as a smile could make or break a company. As a child I spent countless hours looking through my baseball cards and noticing everything from the colors of the players’ uniform, to the brand of bats and gloves worn by the guys I aspired to be like one day.

In December of 1988 a new company under the name Upper Deck was granted a license to produce official Major League Baseball trading cards. Their first release would come in 1989 and like most in the sports cards industry, they wanted a young, future superstar to be the face of their company.

His name was Ken Griffey Jr. and at the time many were predicting big things for the 18 year old kid. Fleer was one of the first to put Griffey’s mug on a card in 1989 and as you can see from the results, it was a colossal failure. Don’t even take a second look at the Bowman card, cause he looks even more upset! Donruss almost managed a smile but failed miserably and Topps didn’t even try coming close to the rookie and instead chose to go for a classic baseball portrait for their release.

Who was this kid and why did he seem to be so sulky? Was he bound for glory or was he the future Albert Belle and Tony Phillips’ of the baseball world? No one had a clue yet, especially collectors who had all the different releases from that year.

In the end, it would be a battle to the finish to capture this future Hall of Fame slugger’s best rookie card between a new, unknown company versus a seemingly-exclusive to Home Shopping Netword brand called Classic Baseball, that didn’t even really produce baseball cards.

In the late 80’s, early 90’s I never once saw Classic cards anywhere but on television. None of my friends who collected had any and the baseball card shops in town would laugh anytime you asked to see one. Believe it or not there is a 1989 Classic Ken Griffey Jr. and it is without a doubt the worst major release of all the Griffey cards from that year. Infact, it looks more like a mugshot than a portrait. Actually, it looks like Griffey Jr. is midway into the “Gigantism” he would suffer at the hands of an overdose of nerve tonic in Springfield a few years later.

That only left one company to make up for the failures of icons like Topps, Bowman, and Fleer. It was up to Upper Deck to catch the smile that would make Ken Griffey Jr. a beloved slugger much like Babe Ruth and Lou Gerigh, way before his time. It was that smile and grace that Upper Deck captured perfectly in card #1 of their debut that not only made Griffey and icon but also made Upper Deck the card company to beat, a title that to this day still belongs to them.

Topps may have a 2001 Bowman Chrome autograph but consider that it is a very rare, limited card full of gimmicks. Upper Deck did nothing more than to photograph, print, and release to the masses the most beautiful and wanted card of the 90’s and beyond. They didn’t need an autograph, a redemption, or to make it a short print. All it took was a simple smile.

2008 Topps Finest Rookie Redemption #2

(reported by Beckett Media)

Talk about perfect timing! It turns out that Rookie Redemption #2 from 2008 Topps Finest is of none other than Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds. The catch? Well, unlike the first redemption, this one is autographed. Man, it must feel great being a Reds fan these days. Well, except for the whole living in Ohio thing.