Awesome trade with Nolan's Dugout

Got so many terrific cards in a recent trade with Kyle of Nolan's Dugout. We connected through Night Owl's very helpful One-Card Challenge. He is a Yankee fan and also collects parallel sets like Topps Gold and Leaf Black Gold. He not only completed two sets for me but sent me a whole bunch of other terrific cards.

1992 Upper Deck - completed!

 2007 Topps - completed!

 

1980 Topps - with Tom Terrific in my hands, I am down to three needs to finish this set - Johnny Bench, George Brett and Reggie Jackson.

 Great shot of Carlos Perez acknowledging the cameraman.

 Don Mattingly batting righty? Nope, it's a reverse negative.

 Sad-faced Alvaro Espinoza.

 Mark McLemore - peace sign or V for Victory?

 Bernie Williams showing off the guns.

 Napping John Kruk - I think this is one of my favorite cards ever.

 Hi, my name is Joe Girardi.

 The lighter side of Randy Johnson.

 This is a great card capturing a great moment from my favorite Yankee year, 1996. It's largely forgotten now just how much excitement Darryl Strawberry brought to the team. I would guess this is from his 3-HR game against the White Sox.

 Any ideas where this photo was taken? I assume some Toronto landmark?

Donnie Scott on baseball cards

Catcher Donnie Scott played thirteen years of professional baseball, including four years in the major leagues with the Rangers, Mariners and Reds. He then had a long minor league managerial career and is now a youth baseball coach in Florida. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I have a decent collection, but it is mostly from the 60's, 70's & 80's, before all of the different card manufacturers saturated the market. I lost interest because it was hard for me to keep up. I started buying complete Topps sets in 1976, but I really enjoyed building them from the bubble gum packs prior to that.That was one of my driving forces as a kid. I was going to get my face on a Topps baseball card. I can still remember the day the 1985 set arrived at my house. One of my proudest moments! Throughout my career as a player and a manager, I often wrote my kids names on my bats when I was posing for trading cards. Then, I started getting my son involved by including him in the shot. The ultimate card for me though was when my father and son joined me on a 2006 Sarasota Reds FSL card. My father has an incredible collection and we often kid about that being his rookie card. I forgot how much fun collecting baseball cards can be. It's time for me to dig out my old collection! "

Thanks!

The Cano Show

Had a fun day at Yankee Stadium today. The Yankees made fairly easy work of the overhyped Blue Jays, 7-2. Robinson Cano was the big hero with two home runs.

It was interesting to see a lot of unfamiliar players on the Yankees. Instead of Teixiera, Jeter and A-Rod, they Yankees now have Overbay, Nix, and David Adams. They're playing pretty well though. And another new guy, Travis Hafner, found himself facing a unique shift - the Blue Jays would send their third baseman to right field to overload that side of the field. In the eighth inning Hafner figured out how to beat that shift, hitting the ball into the seats for a two-run homer.

Player Profile: Jose Acevedo

I have one card of Jose Acevedo, from 2005 Topps.

Playing career: Jose Acevedo pitched for the Reds and Rockies from 2001 to 2005. In 104 games (59 starts) he went 18-25 with a 5.74 ERA. His career ended due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident shortly before the 2007 season.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Jose Acevedo is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Jose Ac, ahead of Jose Acosta, an artist. Another prominent Jose Acevedo is a sprinter.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Scott Barczi.

Rob Hicks on baseball cards

Rob Hicks pitched five seasons in the Phillies and Brewers, going 24-24 with 23 saves and a 3.75 ERA. Now a math teacher and pitching coach at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?  

The minor league baseball card thing started soon before I was playing.  It was pretty cool to get a packet of baseball cards of yourself!  We all signed our $5 "contract" during mini camp.  Some of the players balked at it, but were told in stern words to sign it by the staff.  Nowadays I don't even know if they do that $5 thing anymore.  Probably have to get agents and such involved...kind of sad to lose that little rite of passage into pro ball if it did.  Players always tried to have some fun with it.  Pitchers would have bats, RH's would put on LH gloves,. etc.  Deep down we all loved it....it was a chance for us to be remembered on a card forever!!!

- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?

The only story I have on one of my cards is the El Paso card.  I was a little "woozy" from a "show the new kids Juarez" trip (season had not started yet...first workout) and I had a dip in....other than that I was in "just happy to be here"  mode!

- Do you collect baseball cards?

I do not.........though I do wish I had the cards I had as a kid, they ended up being worth a fortune in the early 90's....I was the kid who used to memorize the stats on back, and could recite them at will.  Baseball cards are truly pretty cool as they give a ton of info (the old ones) and also are a snapshot into styles of the years!! 
Thanks!

Player Profile: Marc Barcelo

I have three cards of Marc Barcelo. This one is from 1995 Upper Deck Minors.

Playing career: Marc Barcelo pitched in the Twins and Cubs organizations from 1993 to 1997. In 1993 and 1994, he was 13-7 with ERAs around 3.00. In 1995-1997, he was 16-23, with ERAs over 5.00.

Where he is now: He has turned from baseball to golf (his brother is a pro golfer formerly on the PGA tour) and is the Head Golf Pro at the Lakewood Ranch Country Club in Florida.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is second when you type Marc Barc, between Mark Barclay and Mark Barclay Prophecy 2012, both of which refer to a “Preacher of Righteousness”. Another prominent Marc Barcelo is a Steadicam operator.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Scott Barczi.

Player Profile: Manny Banuelos

I have two cards of Manny Banuelos. This one is from 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects.

Playing career: Manny Banuelos began his career in the Yankees organization in 2008, and in five minor league seasons is 19-19 with a 3.13 ERA, striking out 375 batters in 368 innings.

Where he is now: Going to miss all of 2013 after Tommy John surgery.

My memories: A highly touted Yankee prospect, it feels like we’ve been hearing about him for a long time, and now he has had a major injury which makes him feel like a bust. Still, he’s only 21.

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Manny, between Manny’s on Second, a sports bar on the Upper East Side, and Manny Perez, an actor. There do not appear to be any other prominent Manny Banueloses.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Marc Barcelo.

Player Profile: Jeff Ball

I have one card of Jeff Ball, from 1990 ProCards.

Playing career: Jeff Ball pitched in 13 games for the 1990 Boise Hawks in the Angels organization, going 2-0 with a 5.02 ERA.

My memories: Only know him for his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Jeff Ball is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is sixth when you type Jeff Bal, between Jeff Balancio, Head of Governance at McCann Worldgroup, and Jeff Baliban, a forensic consultant. There is no reference to this Jeff Ball on the first page of Google Results, though there is a mention of another Jeff Ball, who played thirteen seasons of pro baseball, including time in the majors with the 1998 Giants.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Manny Banuelos.

Player Profile: David Bacani

I have one card of David Bacani, from 2002 Topps.

Playing career: Second baseman David Bacani played seven seasons in the Mets and Red Sox organizations, hitting .268 with 20 HR and 214 RBI.

Where he is now: Head baseball coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in California.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fourth when you type David Baca, between David Baca Artist, a painter and David Baca Facebook, an architect. Another prominent David Bacani is a realtor in Boston.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jeff Ball.

Player Profile: Odannys Ayala

I have one card of Odannys Ayala, from 2001 Topps. As you can see, Topps really butchered his name.

Playing career: Outfielder Odannys Ayala played four seasons in the Royals and Rangers organizations, hitting .259 with 8 HR and 95 RBI.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Odannys Ayala is now?

Google Autocomplete results: Odannys Ayala is not in autocomplete, and there do not appear to be any other prominent Odannys Ayalas.

Coming up next: The next profile will be David Bacani.