Topps Cards That Never Were - 1984 Gaylord Perry

Apparently it has been almost 10 months since the last one I did of these, and believe me, it shows.  After Jim Palmer, I hit a wall when it came to new cards to do.  It can be extremely difficult finding photographs of Hall of Fame players at the end of their careers, especially if they play their last season in a strange uniform.  

Case in point, Mr. Gaylord Perry.  I do find it remarkable that I cannot seem to find a nickname for Gaylord Perry.  With a name like that and the fact he is renowned as one of the greatest "cheats" in the game, I am absolutely amazed he is without a nickname.  So, I am nicknaming him Cheats. 

Anyways, 1983 was the year that three HOFers retired, Bench, Yaz and Perry.  Topps went so far as to pay tribute to this feat in a highlights card (see below).  It never dawned on me until I was making this card, that Topps used the inset images from the cards they WERE going to make of Bench, Yaz and Perry, and made a lame highlights card.  

Always give HOFers their due respect and make a card for them, even if they only played sparingly in their final season.  Shoot, Fleer didn't make this mistake, and Perry starter 30 games!  

So, here you go Mr. Perry.  While not my best work, it's passable, and I will refrain from citing the picture in honor of your wily ways.

Well, here are "Cheats'" stats from 1983, where he split time with Seattle and KC at the age of 44:

Year	Club	G	IP	W	L	R	ER	SO	BB	ERA
1983	SEA/KC	30	186.1	7	14	108	96	82	49	4.64

Man, almost 200 innings at the age of 44.  Who does he think he is, Jamie Moyer? 

PS - Don't forget to enter my contest!

2011 Baseball Tournament Contest - Slots Available!

This is just a friendly reminder to enter the 2011 Baseball Tournament Contest for this upcoming season.  The original post is here.

All you have to do is select one of the remaining teams in the comment box, and provide your favorite NBA, NFL and NHL teams.  The grand prize winner will receive all of the non-set cards that I have for those teams.

The remaining teams to chose from are:
Angels
Astros
Blue Jays
Brewers
Diamondbacks
Giants
Indians
Marlins
Orioles
Pirates
Rays
Rockies
Royals

This is a great chance to get a lot of non-baseball cards for your collection.

No purchase necessary, void in Antarctica/Africa/Asia/Europe/South America!

2011 Tournament Seeding & Contest

For those who are interested, here is the seeding for the 2011 Baseball Tournament based on final regular season standings.  Unlike last years debacle (final results are in the post below), we'll open this tournament up to everyone.  All you have to do is claim one team per blog in the comment section.  The kicker this year will be that the winner will receive a lot of non-baseball cards.  With your team selection, enter your favorite NBA, NFL and NHL teams.  The grand prize winner will get all of the cards I have for their favorite NBA, NFL and NHL teams.  Anyone can pick the same teams, as there will only be one winner.  The runner up will get the grand booby prize, which will be determined, but I'm thinking that my Mork and Mindy, Close Encounters of a Third Kind, etc. cards need a new home, preferably not mine! 

Have fun!

The tournament will function as follows.  The seeds are based on 2010 regular season records.  Each round is broken into 32 games.  Whichever team wins the most games out of those 32 games advances.  Therefore, the first round consists of which team has the better record from Games 1 through 32.  Second round is Games 33 through 64, etc.  Tie breakers are based on best head to head record, then run differential.

Taken:

Angels (CL - Bengals, Devils and Heat)

A's (Fuji - Lakers, Packers, Sharks)

Astros (Dimwit - Rockets, Texans, Wild)

Blue Jays (Nathan - Bills, Leafs and Raptors)

Braves (MCT - Hawks, Falcons, Thrashers)

Brewers (Joe Punman - Vikings, Blues, Thunder)

Cardinals (Diamond King - Magic, Patriots, Kings)

Cubs (CubsFan731 - Grizzlies, Colts, ?)

Diamondbacks (Spookymilk - Wolves, Vikings, Wild)

Dodgers (Greg - Suns, Chargers, Ducks)

Giants (Mark - Lakers, Steelers, Penguins)

Mariners (Mariner1 - Sonics, Seahawks, Sharks)

Marlins (dgreen1899 - Sixers, Flyers, Cowboys)

Mets (BA Benny - Knicks, Jets, Islanders)

Nationals (Chris - Sixers, Steelers, Canes)

Orioles (MattH - Steelers, Penguins and Bullets)

Padres (Rod - Blazers, Chargers, Flyers)

Phillies (Dan - Sixers, Eagles, Flyers)

Rangers (PatP - Mavericks, Cowboys, North Stars / Stars)

Rays (Dayf - Hawks, Falcons, Blackhawks)

Reds (FanofReds - Raptors, Steelers, Penguins) 

Red Sox (Adam - Celtics, Steelers, Penguins)

Rockies (Jon - Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks)

Royals (Mad Guru - Steelers, Penguins, Grizzlies)

Tigers (RoofGod - ?, Packers, ?)

Twins (Rhubarb - Wolves, Vikings, Wild)

White Sox (WSC - Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks)

Yankees (DawgBones - Sixers, Vikings, Flyers)

Two more teams available! 

Better Late Than Never - Tournament Contest Finale

Some or none of you may remember that prior to my work woes, I was hosting a contest.  Read here for more info.

When all was said and done, it was the Reds versus the Red Sox in the grand finale.  Unfortunately, in order to win the grand prize, you had to have successfully completed a trade with me (i.e., actually sent me something back for what I sent you - To date, I've been stood up twice!).  

The final winner was the Reds in an unspectacular series of 15-17 for the Reds and 14-18 for the Red Sox.  I vow to do this again next season, and maybe, just maybe, we'll have a winner this time!

The sad part is that I do have a package for Fan of Reds still lurking in my office from a trade that never materialized.  Perhaps I should just send it to him as "winnings."

A Card Collector’s Worst Nightmare

This is a TRUE story about an event that happened to me in the summer of 2006.  This single event culminated in me purchasing my own house.  This event was so terrible that the apartment complex let me out of my lease…
 
One summer morning, I awoke and began my daily workday routine.  I took a shower, shaved and got dressed, then headed to my kitchen for breakfast.  Entering my main hallway, I noticed the air was thick, hot and humid.  I immediately thought I had left the balcony door window open all night, which I tended to do, and the North Carolina summer had invaded my apartment.
 
I looked at the balcony door and it was closed, then I heard a dreaded “drip.”  I turned and headed down the hallway to the second bedroom, then felt the carpet squish beneath my feet.  I looked up towards the ceiling and could see water streaming on the plaster.  Then a drop hit me on the head.  It was HOT.  “Oh no,” I muttered and burst into the second bedroom.  The floor was wetter in there and the ceiling was alive with water.  My attention immediately turned to the closet, which was where my baseball card collection lived and where the hot water heater was located.
 
I flung open the door and water was streaming everywhere.  I looked at my water heater and everything was intact.  In fact, I had prepared for this very tragedy and had encased my water heater to prevent a catastrophic rupture that would soak my cards.  Turns out, I didn’t plan for the water heater upstairs failing…
 
I knew it was a possibility, but every water heater I had seen in this complex had a tub and drain beneath the water heater, so I wasn’t overly concerned about a spill upstairs.  It turns out, which is why I got out of my lease with a little cash in my pocket, was that the water heater upstairs did not have a tub and drain as required.  To make matters worse, the girl who lived above me , beastly little thing, was out of town for the week.
 
I started for my front door to get management and was met by my downstairs neighbor who was irate at me.  Apparently the water damage was bad in his apartment, two floors beneath the leak.  We made our way to management, who finally turned off the water to the leaky apartment.  All the while, I was frantically moving 5,000 count boxes out of the closet at a manic pace.  All of the cards were moved to my room at the other end of the apartment.  Damp and wet boxes were dumped on my bed.
 
Amazingly, 5,000 count boxes can absorb a LOT of water, so most cards were saved.  I still lost more cards than I care to remember, but I consider myself lucky, as junk wax was stored closest to the water heater.
 
Enjoy the car(d)nage…

If anyone needs some GI Joe or Star Wars toys, drop me a line!

Background Noise - 1988 Topps Mark Gubicza

This is the second in a series dedicated to the everything people do not focus on when looking at a baseball card.  Therefore, this new series is aptly named Background Noise. 

The holidays are over, and I spent most of the time sick with a nasty stomach bug.  I will not go into those gory details.  Needless to say, it is a quick, albeit painful, way to lose 10 pounds.  I digress...

Since the last time we left this new feature, I was diligently going through my 1988 Topps.  During that foray, I found another Background Noise gem.  While it does not reach the same pinnacle as the infamous Billy Ripken 89 Fleer card, this one does lend itself to similar pastures.

In this new background addiction, I having been paying close attention to billboards.  Look just to right of Mr. Gubicza's left arm.
 

 

I would venture to say this is the only baseball card with the word Hooter's scrawled across the background.  The 12 year old in me giggles.  Tee-hee.

I tried to figure out which Hooter's this sign was for, but the Royals are in their road uniforms, so it would almost be impossible to figure out the stadium locale.  If anyone can figure it out, post a comment!