The wrong way to prepare your bat

I love the 1997 Upper Deck set because they tell you the date the picture was taken. Usually they have something good to say about what the player did that day, at least on the back if not the front. This Michael Tucker card says "Prepares his bat for game vs. Angels, 8-11-96."

Usually, if not on the front, at least the back of the card tells you how the player did that day. That is not the case here, so I looked it up on Retrosheet and, sure enough, Tucker was 0-3 in the Royals' 6-5 loss with a pop-out and two ground-outs. He did reach base via walk in the ninth. So I guess whatever preparations he did with the bat that day were a failure.

Dan Smith is looking for his baseball cards

You may remember my interview with former Expos pitcher Dan Smith a few weeks ago. He recently contacted me to let me know that he is looking for two copies of each of his baseball cards for his own collection. I don't have any of his cards, but I figure some of you readers might. There are several Dan Smiths who appeared on cards, so I made this list below, and am also giving his baseballcube link in case you are not sure which Smith you have. If you do have any cards you want to send his way, let me know and I will get him in touch with you.

1994 Charleston RiverDogs (two different sets)
1998 Tulsa Drillers Team Issue #11
1998 Tulsa Drillers Texas League Champions #21
1999 Fleer Tradition Update #U71 [pictured above]
1999 Ottawa team set?
2000 Pawtucket PawSox Blueline #25
2000 Pawtucket PawSox Dunkin Donuts #25
2001 Buffalo Bisons Choice #10
2002 Ottawa Lynx Choice #20
2003 Expos Team Issue #35
2003 Upper Deck 40-Man #554
2003 Upper Deck 40-Man Rainbow #554
2004 Topps Total #714
2004 Topps Total Parallel #714 [pictured below]
2004 Topps Total Press Plates Black #714
2004 Topps Total Press Plates Cyan #714
2004 Topps Total Press Plates Magenta #714
2004 Topps Total Press Plates Yellow #714

Baseball card stories from Brent Mayne

Brent Mayne caught for fifteen years in the major leagues, mostly for the Kansas City Royals. Since his retirement, he has become a successful catching instructor with his own website, brentmayne.com, and is author of the popular book The Art of Catching. He kindly shared some great baseball card stories with me.

"I don't have any real favorite cards of myself. Maybe the first one, my rookie Topps or Score cards just because they were my first. I do have a couple cards I don't like though, mostly because I don't like the way I look in them. (I sound like a girl, huh?)

I used to collect cards up until my soph or junior year of high school. Then I just stopped. I think I pawned a good many of them to buy fishing rods or guitars or surfboards. I did have a pretty decent collection of cards going deep into the mid fifties Ted Williams, Mantle, Clemente, etc cards.

My best baseball card story deals with the one below. It's a card of me getting angry at umpire Terry Craft. I can't recall what the disagreement was all about, but I remember Terry coming up to me the next year begging me for a bunch of the cards. He wanted to have them as HIS baseball card! In reality, I guess it's just as much his as it is mine."

Thanks! This game was August 1, 1992 against Oakland (the only day game at KC that year in which Mayne caught and Craft was a base umpire) and it was a wild one - five batters were hit by pitches and two Royals pitchers, Hipolito Pichardo and Steve Shifflett, were ejected. This picture was presumably taken after one of the ejections. KC won despite the ejections, 8-4, in part due to Mayne's two runs scored.

Tagg Bozied on baseball cards

Tagg Bozied is a first baseman-outfielder currently in the Phillies organization. In nine minor league seasons, mostly at the Triple-A level, he has hit 128 home runs. He kindly shared his thoughts on baseball cards.

"My favorite card of mine is one that I share with Xavier Nady. He is one of my closest friends and randomly getting to share a card like that is rare and consider myself lucky to have it as a keepsake.

I used to collect cards when I was a kid. The height of my card collecting days was when upper deck first came on the scene. Thinking how long ago that was in my mind and the fact that one of my card memories was of a Ken Griffey Jr upper deck rookie card makes me appreciate a great player like he has been over time. Card collecting for me was something that help my love for baseball grow when I was a kid and now that I an adult helps me reflect on the innocence of baseball. Something that as you grow in the professional game is hard to maintain.

I do not currently collect any cards and haven't for years. They, predictably, are still in my old room's closet at my parents' house that I break out and dust off every time I am home."

Thanks! Here is the one Bozied card I have, a recent acquisition from Dinged Corners from his year with the Albuquerque Isotopes.

Dan Pasqua on baseball cards

Dan Pasqua, a lefty slugger with a swing made for Yankee Stadium, hit 42 home runs in just 746 at bats for the Yankees between 1985 and 1987, when the Yankees dealt him to the White Sox in the ill-fated trade for Richard Dotson. He retired in 1994 with 117 major league home runs, and now gives hitting lessons out of the Bulls Sox Baseball Academy. He also has his own website, www.danpasqua.com, and a Facebook Fan Club. He kindly answered my questions about his baseball card experiences.

"I collected cards as a kid back when you'd flip with your friends for cards. I gave all my baseball cards from when I was a kid to my brother who is an avid collector, even today.

The Upper Deck baseball card taken in '91 (but considered a '92 card) where I am sliding into home at Comiskey Park, won an award for the photographer that year. That is my wife's personal favorite baseball card of me.


My Topps Yankee Rookie card is obviously special to me, growing up in the NY/NJ area and being a Yankee fan as a kid and then being drafted by the Yankees was a dream come true.

I don't really "collect" per-se nowadays, but my 9 yr. old son and I every now and then will buy a pack of cards and see who we get. My son has a few books with cards in them, but nothing that he keeps up with on a regular basis."

Thanks! Some readers may remember that I wrote about that card a few months ago - he actually was safe!

Balancing Act

Vladimir Guerrero balances on his right foot as he prepares to swing for the fences. Bernie Williams balances on his left foot as he takes a rip at Yankee Stadium's short porch. Greg Vaughn balances on his left butt cheek as he tries not to fall off the photographer's tiny stool.

Star Struck

Usually, an insert set has some kind of random "cool name" that has nothing to do with the picture on the card. However, this 1996 "Star Struck" card seems appropriate. David Cone certainly looks "star struck" on this card - and that star must be really tall. (Or maybe just in the upper deck.)

Frank Seminara on baseball cards

A graduate of Columbia University, Frank Seminara was drafted by the Yankees in 1988 and pitched three years in the major leagues for the Padres and Mets, going 12-9 with a 4.12 ERA. Since his retirement from baseball, he has had a successful career in the financial services industry, and is currently Senior Vice President, Investments at UBS Financial Services. He kindly took the time from his busy schedule to share his thoughts on baseball cards.

"I do collect cards for for fun and investment-mostly pre-war and some fifties. I like to concentrate on the "when it was a game era" and memorabilia that was not "created" for sale.

I collect Gehrig, Ruth, Dimaggio and now some Brooklyn Dodger stuff (I am from Brooklyn, Gehrig went to my college).

Favorites include Goudey Ruths and Gehrigs( my favorite set) and 1956 Topps Mantle. Also autographed balls from the 20s/30s.

1993 Fleer Ultra and Gold Topps my favorites of myself. "

Thanks! I didn't have either of the cards that were his favorites, so here is one from my collection that I like, 1993 Select.

Austin Manahan's pine tar bat story

One more story from Austin Manahan, the one about the Pine Tar bat he referenced a couple of days ago . . .

"Here is a picture of the pine tar bat.

My younger brother A.J. (19 years younger) gave this to me about 6 or 8 years ago. I was visiting Kansas City and this picture (signed by Brett) was hanging in his room. I kind of drooled over it...and he ended up giving it to me for Christmas (or birthday?). I'm not sure how many there are of these out there. I heard that Brett had them made as a thank you to some people helping out the team. I guess some friend of the family didn't want it and gave it to my little brother. In real life it is a beautiful picture. I remember watching that game on tv as a kid..."

Thanks! As a Yankee fan I have a less happy memory of that game than a Royals fan would. . .

More stories from Austin Manahan

Austin Manahan sent me some more great stories last night. (He also sent some scans for the cards in yesterday's post).

"My 1991 Bowman card was very disappointing. I finally saw it and my teammate Keith Osik is the guy in the picture. His picture and my stats...not a great combination for sure. We used to both sign the card for the autograph seekers.

I used to carry around a Robin Yount card in my wallet a couple of years ago. I sold some furniture to him at La-Z-boy in Scottsdale and a few years later came across a card of his. Such impressive stats from guys back then that played at 170 or 180 pounds before baseball got BIG.
[Below is a card from my collection, I'll see if I can find out which Yount card he has.]

I have a Willie Wilson card that I have been looking at lately. The guy is 6 foot 3, chopping ground balls off that turf and running like a gazelle on the old astro turf at Royals stadium... stealing up to 80 bases a year (no roids). That takes a toll on the body...take it from a part time base stealer who's legs were tired by June. That guy was impressive. No wonder the Royals used to make it to the playoffs back then.
[Again, here is one of my Wilson cards, I'll ask about the one he is referring to.]


Sitting in the right field 'cheap seats' in Kansas City, my brother is having a discussion with the drunk sitting next to us. I guess the guy thought Fred Lynn was a pretty good player.Who were the Royals playing.. maybe the Angels? My brother Anthony (he's probably 12 or 13 years old at the time, I'm a year younger) is not agreeing with this guy. The guy pulls out $5 and bets my brother that Fred Lynn will hit a home run this at bat! My brother is not an idiot so he takes the bet. (try hitting a ball out of that stadium). Fred Lynn does not hit a home run, I think he popped up. Anyway, my brother won the 5 bucks...but on Freddy's next at bat he came up with the bases loaded and would you believe he hit a grand slam. From that point on Fred Lynn sat just one seat behind Brett on my list of favorite left handed hitters.
[Actually, Lynn was an Oriole and Austin was 15 - the game was July 6, 1985, and after a fourth inning pop-up to first base, Lynn hit a grand slam off of Joe Beckwith in the fifth. Baltimore won the game 8-3.]

Do you remember when Bo Jackson took out Rick Dempsey at home plate? I noticed that Rick did not come to bat the following inning.. I knew he must have been hurting, it was a gruesome hit! Fast forward Probably a decade I'm playing third base for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League.. we are in Bakersfield and low and behold Rick is the third base coach.. I had to ask him how it felt to be hit by Bo Jackson running full speed. He said that it wasn't as bad as it looked. So i asked him why he didn't come up to bat the next inning.... He said he broke his thumb on the play! (by the way he did hold onto the ball and Bo was out)."


Thanks!

Austin Manahan's favorite baseball cards

Austin Manahan played eight years in the Pirates, Padres, Expos and Cubs organizations, as well as playing pro ball in Australia. He is now Sales Director at Glad2BHome, a company that creates local business coupon packets directed to new homeowners. He kindly replied to my request for his thoughts on baseball cards with these descriptions of his favorite cards:

"I do have a favorite card...two that I actually really like...the 1992 Upper Deck...nice shot on the front.

Also, they made a card (I only have one) in Australia for the ABL when I was there in 90-91 playing in their 'so called' league. I love that card also...great shot on the front. I remember the smell of the grass, the weather, the field etc...everything, like it was yesterday."


He has also promised me some funny stories about cards from his minor league days as well as a cool story about how he got an autographed picture of George Brett's Pine Tar Bat (he grew up a Royals fan) so stay tuned!
The two scans above came from Austin. Here is a Manahan card that I have, from 1989 Bowman.

A picture that sums it all up

This card I got from Dinged Corners sums up a lot of what makes baseball great. Not only is it a great action shot of Ryan Freel, I love the sense of wonder of the boy on the right, as one of his heroes comes close enough to touch, the adult fans happy to see a great play, and best of all the kid on the left, eyes closed, tongue hanging out, as he tries to catch the ball with his hat.

An in-depth look at Gary Sheffield's 1991 Ultra card

The most interesting card in the four packs of Ultra I got from Cards on Cards was this Gary Sheffield. Though listed as a third baseman, he is clearly a shortstop on this card, albeit an awkward looking one as he fails to turn the double play courtesy of a hard slide by Carney Lansford.

Interestingly, even though it is a 1991 Ultra card, Sheff didn't play a game at short in 1990. Instead, this picture is from May 14, 1989, a 2-1 Milwaukee win at Oakland - this play occurred in the second inning. Sheffield would go 1-4 and scored the winning run in the ninth on a Glenn Hubbard error.

There was no Fleer Ultra in 1990, which makes one wonder why Fleer held onto this photo for an extra year instead of using it to spice up the oh-so-boring 1990 Fleer set. Were they holding on to great pictures in anticipation of launching Ultra the next year? Or did they not get the picture until too late for the 1990 set?

Interview with Greg Litton

Greg Litton played six years in the major leagues, from 1989 to 1994. In the 1989 postseason, he hit a combined .571 against the Cubs and A's with a homer and three RBI. Since his retirement from baseball, he earned a post-graduate degree in diamond grading and appraising from the Gemological Institute of America and is currently General Manager & Diamond Appraiser at Meadows Jewelers in Pensacola,FL. He is also a public speaker with Studer Group, a leading health care consultancy. He kindly took the time to answer my questions about baseball cards.

Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player? My favorite card is one of my rookie cards that shows me kneeling with a pair of red Franklin batting gloves on and a Chris Speier bat in front of me because that was my first day in the Big Leagues.

Do you collect baseball cards? No I do not collect baseball cards. As a child, we used to buy them, chew the gum and then clothespin them onto our bike tires for the noise.
Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players? I don't have many of my cards but there is one of cards (early first or second year) that has a quote from Jack Clark on the back. He was one of my favorite players and I give him credit for getting me to the big leagues as I copied something from his hitting style that really helped me. So that is pretty cool.

Thanks! I don't have the card he is referring to here - I believe it is either 1989 Score Traded or 1990 Score. Do any of you readers have that card and can confirm?

Litton's major league debut came on May 2, 1989 at Candlestick Park against the Cubs, a 4-0 Giants victory. In his first major league at-bat, he struck out against future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, but later reached base after getting hit by a Maddux pitch in the sixth.

In Praise of 1991 Ultra

In my contest winnings from Cards on Cards, I got four packs of 1991 Ultra. This was not a set I particularly cared about either way, just another early-90s baseball set. However, getting this many at once made me really look at the set for the first time, and I find that I really like it. The gray borders are nice and understated, and the focus is on the photography, which is very crisp-looking and contains a lot of angles and images you didn't often see on cards in 1991 or earlier.

1999 Ultra Tino Martinez - I was there

The card I liked best in my winnings from Cards on Cards was the 1999 Ultra Tino Martinez, which features action from the one day game in the three-game Subway Series at Shea Stadium, June 27, 1998. The Yankees won that game, 7-2, with the Bam-Tino hitting a big three run home run to give the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish; the ball landed a deck below where I was sitting in right field.

The baserunner is John Olerud, he reached base just once in the game, hit by an Andy Pettitte pitch in the top of the third.

One thing I remember from that game was how the Mets big-name catcher was in the midst of a big slump, while the Yankees unknown catcher had a great game, leading the Yankee fans to chant "Posada's better than Piazza." At the time it was solely to rip on Piazza, who at the time was doing worse than Joe Girardi's backup, but amazingly over the last twelve years Jorge has at least worked himself into the same league as top catchers of the 1990s/2000s.

Contest winnings from Cards on Cards

I recently won part of the Cards on Cards bowl games contest, and got my winnings this weekend.

Part of the winnings were a bunch of packs of "junk wax" - four 1991 Ultras, a jumbo pack of 1990 Fleer, two packs of 1989 Topps, and one pack each of 1988 and 1989 Donruss. I still have a lot of needs for 1991 Ultra so I was glad to get a lot of packs of that set, same thing with 1990 Fleer. I was pleasantly surprised that there was a card in 1989 Donruss I didn't already have, I now just 11 left in that set. 1988 Donruss and 1989 Topps I already completed but I couldn't resist opening those packs just for fun. Anyway, if you have any needs for those sets check out the tradelist on the top right of this page. (SpastikMooss I already checked your 89 Topps list, no luck.

There was also an awesome stack of recent Yankees cards, which was awesome because I needed almost all of them.

Believe it or not, this Swisher is my first 2009 Upper Deck card - just hadn't gotten any up until that point. Honestly, it's not my favorite card design.

I think the 1999 Ultras are just a great set - this David Wells card is just fantastic. There was one that was even better, but that's going to get a separate post of its own.

Tom House on Baseball Cards

Tom House pitched eight years in the major leagues for Atlanta, Boston and Seattle from 1971 to 1978, going 29-23 with 33 saves. His best season came with the Braves in 1974, when he went 6-2 with 11 saves and a 1.93 ERA, yet his most famous moment that season came when, sitting in the Braves bullpen, he caught Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run. Since his retirement, he earned a Masters and PhD in sports psychology and became one of the most successful pitching coaches in the country, most famously working with Nolan Ryan in Texas. A co-founder of the National Pitching Association, he is the pitching coach for the USC Trojans, one of the country's best college baseball progams. He kindly responded to my request for his thoughts on baseball cards.

" Ugliest card ever?
My first Red Sox card. Topps photo shopped Red Sox uniform and hat over Brave uniform and hat before Photoshop was a technology! Result speaks for itself!!

All my cards are my favorites. Just glad I have a few in circulation but no, I do not collect cards."

Thanks! That is a bad airbrush job. Here is a nicer card of him showing his pitching form with Seattle.

Big Box of Fun from Dinged Corners

Recently, Dinged Corners announced that they had too many cards and needed to get rid of some. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to get some - I just love random assortments of baseball cards! And this was truly random, with lots of cards from the eighties, nineties, and aughts and lots of sets I had never seen before, like a Pacific card of Brian Jordan with a see-through window. It's a little hard to see in the picture so I put it on top of some of the other cards so you can see where the window is:

There was also an unopened pack from a fun set called "Baseball Inquirer."

The back has a quote by Pete Rose - "I'll bet my card's going to be worth a fortune!"

Well, I must be a rich man now because guess what was in the pack:

Well, according to Baseball-Cards.com, it's only worth $1.50. I guess Rose lost that bet.

There were far too many cards to show them all, so here are some cards that best capture my mood on opening this box, plus one of the greatest hats in baseball card history.

Crime Dog can fetch

In my trade with SpastikMooss I wrote about it the other day, I got more McGriffs than just the dozen 1990 Donruss's, as he has more cards of him than probably any other collector, and so has a lot of doubles to get rid of. The nicest one in my opinion is this 1996 Upper Deck card.

The back, with the old-technology cordless phone, is definitely fun.


But the front has a really awesome action shot, showing McGriff stretching out all six feet, three inches behind the base line to corral an errant throw, easily beating the admittedly slow-footed Todd Zeile.

Not a lot of cards show plays at first base, especially a difficult one like this.

Denny Hocking on baseball cards

Denny Hocking played 13 years in the major leagues; 11 years for the Twins, and one each for the Rockies and Royals. Now the Field Coach for the Frederick Keys, the Orioles High-A minor league team, he kindly sent me his stories on baseball cards.

"Only story I have is I think my KC card is someone else. No other specific memories about them other than my daughter has a pillow with all my cards in it. I collected them as a kid but not now."

Thanks! I couldn't find a picture of the card he was referring to (2005 Omaha Royals Multi-Ad #11) but here is a picture of him with the Twins. If anyone has that Royals card I would be interested to see a picture of it to figure out who it really is.

A record?

Von Hayes goes for two records on his 1992 Upper Deck card:

Front: Most pieces of a broken bat visible on card?


Back: Most catchers masks in a picture with no catchers?

Wolf whistle

Who is Alfredo Griffin wolf whistling at?

Maybe it's that pair of legs interviewing teammate Jack Morris?

I see she works for ESPN. Hope she remembered to wear some pants around Steve Phillips and Harold Reynolds when they joined the network.

Just a few cards

I went to the card shop yesterday because I was in the mood to get a few new cards. I got two 100-card boxes for $5 each and a 10-pack of Yankees for $1.

I picked a Yankee pack with a 1987 Leaf Don Mattingly on it because I knew I didn't have it, but it turns out that I had all the others!

I did better with the larger boxes of randomness, with favorites of mine like Jorge Posada and Mickey Rivers.

There were a lot of 1984 Fleer, which is a set I love and don't have a lot from. So many of those cards just look so great, like this one with Chris Speier.

One more great shot, this one of Randy Johnson, photographer.

Is that a bat in Will Clark's pocket?

Yes, it is. But I'm sure he's also happy to see you.

That pocket is never going to be the same though. I wonder if there are any other 1996 Will Clark cards that show him with a saggy back pocket?

Other highlights on this card include the cop with two-fisted coffee-cup action and that every fan is wearing jean shorts - hey, it is 1995.

Something fishy

Sometimes weird objects make it onto baseball cards, but there's usually a reason. Player is riding a tractor? Probably used for field maintenance. Using a water gun? To cool off the fans. Holding a surfboard? To advertise for the photographer's brother.

But how does a fishing pole get on the field?

Maybe someone was using it to dangle a card for Ashby to autograph and it fell onto the field?

A shoeboxful of goodies

Back in August, I first traded with SpastikMooss of Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. That seems to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship, as we have now traded cards four times in the last five and a half months. This time, he sent me some cards in "this size 5 children's shoebox that I took home when I used to work at payless many years ago that has held a video camera, my prized baseball cards, and a digital camera at different times over the years".

Quite an honor to get this prized shoebox - we'll have to another trade at some point so SpastikMooss can get his box back! (He can keep the Ikea sink strainer box that his cards are coming in.)

First off, before Thorzul falls asleep from this trade post, I got Bipped! Twelve 1990 Donruss Fred McGriffs!

Don't worry, SpastikMooss, you're going to get an even bigger Bippage from another card in that same set, coincidentally.

This is my first-ever bobble-head doll. Apparently it is supposed to be Bernie Williams but it sure doesn't look anything like him.

He sent a bunch of Don Mattingly cards I didn't have - here's just one of them:

Lots of shiny Upper Deck stickers - I love these!

Lots of current Yankees like A-Rod and Damon (hope he stays a Yankee). Johnny sure looks cocky for someone who at the time only had 47 major league games under his belt.

The vast majority of cards he sent me were perfectly mint. However, he knows I'm no condition snob and sent me some fun used-and-abused cards like Junior Ortiz run over by a car and Chris Hoiles with coffee stain. Those of you with cards like this and want to get rid of them I'm always up for trading for more of these! I'll even send mint cards in return!

From Donruss consultant to Hall of Famer

Which member of this year's Hall of Fame class was the most influential in the baseball card industry? It is not Andre Dawson, Whitey Herzog or Doug Harvey but Daily News writer Bill Madden, who was inducted into the writer's wing. According to the website awesome80s.com (which believe it or not has a lot interesting articles about baseball cards) it was Madden who, as a consultant for the new baseball card company Donruss, suggested in 1981 that they have a group of cards with paintings instead of photos; thus, the Diamond Kings were born.

It was also Madden who "rated" the Rated Rookies beginning with the inaugural list in 1984. A few, like Joe Carter and Tony Fernandez, became big stars, while most, like Mike Jeffcoat, had more run-of-the-mill careers.


In addition to the 20 "Rated Rookies," Donruss included dozens more "unrated" rookies in the rest of the set. Among those not rated in the top 20 by Madden was Don Mattingly, who would go on to become the iconic rookie card of the set. What makes Mattingly's omission the most surprising is that Madden was the Yankees beat writer at the time - you would think he would know the players on the team he was covering! Instead, he was rated lower than Doug Frobel, Mike Fuentes, Mike Brown and Chris Smith.

John D'Acquisto on Baseball Cards

John D'Acquisto pitched ten years in the major leagues from 1973 to 1982. In 1974, he was the National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Since his retirement, he has been involved in a number of interesting ventures. He has a PhD in Exercise Science & Physiology from Rochville University and has worked and studied with the father of bio-mechanics, Dr. Gideon Ariel. He is currently Director of Research & Development at Sorganics, which creates environmentally friendly agriculture products, including GreenWave eco-friendly cleaning products. In addition, he runs JD Sports Consulting and Analysis, which provides injury prevention and bio-mechanics training to professional and amateur athletes. Also, he is an e-fitness consultant to RoughEdge Software. He kindly took the time out of his busy schedule to share his stories about cards.

"There are a couple of cards that are very unique... My 1977 St. Louis Cardinals card had to be hand painted over a San Francisco Giants picture because they didn't have any photos of me.

The second card was the Fleer card of me with the Oakland A's. I had not signed a contract yet with the A's and they took the picture which was later published by Fleer. At the time of the picture I was trying out for a spot on the A's and later signed my contract.

My favorite card is attached:

Yes I collect baseball cards."

Thanks!

Thanks!

Another fine mess

Usually it's not hard to figure out how a player ended up in a certain baseball action pose, but this one stumps me. How did Kevin Maas manage to end up in a three point stance on the ground and holding only the barrel of his bat?

What manner of slapstick resulted in this pose? Surely not the most dignified for a ballplayer, especially one who at the time looked to become a major star.

Interview with Bill Bathe

Bill Bathe played ten years of professional baseball, including time in the major leagues for the A's and Giants. He hit a pinch-hit three run home run for the Giants in Game 3 of the 1989 World Series. He is now a captain and paramedic with the Tucson Fire Department and also runs Pro Baseball Drills and Equipment, a baseball instruction site that can also be found at BillBathe.com. He kindly replied to my questions about baseball cards.

Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?
I just remember how cool it was to finally see myself on a playing card as this was my dream as a kid. I also played with a pitcher named Dwayne [DeWayne Buice] who had asked me to go in with him on an investment. It was Upper Deck when it first started. Wish I had listened to him. It made him a multimillionaire.

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

Not really. I do have an error card of myself with Scott Garrelts on it also. When they found out the error, the card became a collectible. I also like the Japanese cards that came out when i played in Japan. Pretty cool to see your baseball card in Japanese.

- Do you collect baseball cards?

Not like I used to. This doesn't mean I won't grab a collectible if it comes along but for the most part, I just enjoy the collection I already have because of the memories.

Thanks!

Baseball card stories from Kash Beauchamp

Kash Beauchamp, the Blue Jays first round draft pick in 1982, played 14 years in the minor leagues. Son of the late former major leaguer Jim Beauchamp, he played for his father on the 1989 International League champion Richmond Braves. Today, he runs Wood Bat Mechanics, which provides baseball instruction to aspiring professionals, and is feature writer at BoomerSooner.com, an Oklahoma fan site. He kindly responded to my inquiry with some great baseball card stories.

"When baseball cards were at a peak, and I did card signings instead of money, I would just get cards or sets. I stlll have them although I am not an active collector. I remember getting a whole set one time when there was a special rookie class of Bonds, McGwire, Canseco, etc but the steroid scandal has probably greatly reduced the value. I was a clown when I played and in a couple of cards I did some crazy things like holding the bat cross handed in one and then holding like 15 bats in another. My favorite card was probably my Richmond Braves card in '89 because that was a special year as we won the International League Crown and we had a great chemistry and I also played for my Dad that year and it brings back a lot of fond memories. I guess my most memorable card that makes me laugh was Billy Ripken's F#$K Face card. I played against him in the Minors and hung out with him a couple of times and he was a funny guy and that card kinda sums him up."

Thanks! I couldn't find a picture of any of the cards he talked about, including the three with the Richmond Braves (1989 CMC 23; 1989 ProCards 836; 1989 Team Issue 2) but here is one I did find with the Phoenix Firebirds.

Interview with Phil Hiatt

Phil Hiatt played fifteen years of professional baseball, including four seasons in the majors with the Royals, Tigers and Dodgers. In April of 1993, his first month in the major leagues, he led the Royals in RBIs. He now owns the Triple Play Party Center in Cantonment, FL. He kindly took the time to answer my questions about baseball cards.

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players?
The first story that comes to mind about baseball cards is the time I was given 7 days to sign 10,000 cards for $10,000. It sounded like an easy thing to do, but of course I waited till the last 2 days and it was unbelievably hard. It honestly permanently ruined my penmanship.

- Do you collect baseball cards?
I have a few of some of my favorite players.

- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player?
I actually have 2 favorite cards. The 1993 3-D Upper Deck and 93 Flair Fleer.

Thanks!
I have the Upper Deck card:

The only image I can find of the Flair card is in this picture, it is on the lower left:

The Chicken

Here is one of the weirder base cards of all time - a 1982 Donruss card of "The Chicken," mascot of the San Diego Padres.


Ten chicken jokes on card - that has to be a record! I didn't realize he was a switch hitter.

I had never heard of "The Baseball Bunch" - it was a kids show that ran in the early 1980s. Here is an article about it on Wikipedia. When on wikipedia I looked up The Chicken (or The San Diego Chicken) and found that he is one of no less than 34 members of the wikipedia category, Fictional Chickens. Wow.

The Hall of Fame shirt exchange

A while back I posted about how on one of Tony Gwynn's cards he is wearing Scott Sanders's jersey in a spring training game because he lost his. Something similar seems to be happening on Mike Schmidt's 1983 card - he is wearing number 37 and not 20 and the last letter of the surname is G.

I checked Baseball Almanac and Stan Bahnsen wore number 37 in 1982, so I knew the picture must be older, so I checked 1981 and sure enough #37 was worn by someone with a last name ending in G: Ryne Sandberg.

This must be the only card with one hall of famer wearing another hall of famer's jersey.

Daryl Smith's favorite card

Daryl Smith pitched professionally from 1980 to 1995 in the organizations of the Rangers, Padres, Indians, Phillies, White Sox, Royals, Orioles and Yankees. He made his major league debut in 1990 for Kansas City. Currently a Certified Master Sales Associate for Lexus, he has written an inspirational autobiography called Dreams Do Exist, which can be purchased at his website, www.dreamsdoexist.com. He kindly replied to my inquiry about his baseball card experiences.

"My favorite card was my debut card in 1990 & i don't collect cards anymore."

Thanks!

The Bachelor

Hey ladies - are you looking for a guy who hunts, fishes, and is an All-Star second baseman? One who learned to switch hit from dear old Dad? Then here's the guy for you - Johnny Ray!

Note: Marital status may have changed since 1984.

I wonder if we'll ever see marital status on players cards again?

Schooled by The Greatest 21 Days

There is a great new blog called The Greatest 21 Days (a reference to the movie Bull Durham) that chronicles the 1990 CMC minor league set. I aways figured I knew what that set was - cards that look like this:

Turns out that it also includes these cards, which I always thought were another set called 1990 ProCards. Apparently its actually the second edition of 1990 CMC.

Apparently its the little number on the bottom, not the big one on top, that you follow. I thought it was card 1030 in 1990 ProCards; actually it is 785 in 1990 CMC.

What is even more confusing is that I have a couple of cards with the 1990 ProCards design but don't have the little number in the border. As they are both Columbus Clippers cards and have an ad for the "Paper Mint", which is a Columbus-area version of the Pennysaver, I guess it was a local set produced for the Clippers.

You learn something new every day, I guess.

Swing and a miss and a hit

Usually baseball cards show a player succeeding, or at least apparently succeeding. However, once in a while a card will show a player swinging and missing, like this 1995 SP card of Deion Sanders.

However, with the advent of photoshop, card companies may be getting too cute. Look carefully at this 2005 Topps Tony Clark. There are two baseballs in this photo! One ball is about to get hit by Clark's bat, while the other has already gone past [look next to the AR in CLARK]. It looks like the one he is about to hit was photoshopped in because there is no motion blur.

1984 Donruss

It took me a long time to "get" the popularity of 1984 Donruss. I'm still not impressed by the head shots, but I was taking another look at the cards from this set and I've got to admit that the action picture are really nice, especially for the time. They were much clearer or crisper than anyting Topps or Fleer had done to that time.

Dave Righetti

Dave Hostetler

Mike Jeffcoat

Roy Smalley

And Roy is excited about the big news of the new year:

The Baseball Card Blog is back!

New Year's Eve - Ball Drop Time

It's New Year's Eve - time for the ball to drop in Times Square. I guess it's going to be hit to Luis Castillo.

Future dental star

How many of you have this Gary Sheffield card and never noticed his teeth? He has the letters GS inlaid in gold on his two front teeth.

Why GS? Does it stand for "great smile"? Is his favorite TV show Get Smart? Or is he referring to grand slams, of which he has hit thirteen in his career. I can't think of anything else GS might stand for. . .

This end up

You would think, by his fourth season in the major leagues, Ernie Whitt would have figured out which end of the bat is up.


I know, I know, this is probably seconds after a bunt, but even still, what a lousy picture for your baseball card.

This card needs support

Here's another card with an interesting element I overlooked for a long time. Look closely at the background.

This is the only card I have seen to feature crutches!

What are those?

Ever have a baseball card for a long time and never pay that close attention to it, and then look at it closely for the first time and see something weird? That happened to me here.

What are those giant bracelets that Bob Pate is wearing? They are much to big for his wrists, and look like they would fall off if he put his hands down at his sides.

Red vs. Green

Earlier this month Mark's Ephemera had a fun contest where you had to guess what a bunch of cards had in common. One unexpected aspect of playing in the contest was that I noticed a little variation within 1989 Fleer.

In that set, each team had a border of the same color. For example, every Yankee had a red border:

However, for some reason, only the Oakland A's had two borders. Most cards had the A's signature green, but a few had red for some reason:

Bet you never noticed that before!

Merry Moose-mas

Mike Mussina and his wreath wish you a happy holiday season!

My "inexplicable" card collecting choices

The "Dinged Corners" blog asks what our most "inexplicable" card collecting choices. In my case, I suppose, the inexplicable choice is what I do not collect.

I'll collect just about anything. I don't care about the condition . . .

. . . or how unpopular the set is among most collectors.


Even though I'm a Yankee fan, I'm happy to add Red Sox and even Mets to my collection.


The one boundary to my collection - no cards before 1978. Hey, everyone's got to have a limit.

Pre-Rookie?

How can a guy who played in the majors from 1974 to 1984 be a "Pre-Rookie" in 1991?

I guess he is a "Pre-Rookie" Manager, though you don't usually hear a first-year skipper being called a rookie. And besides, Stearns clearly still wants to play - that's his glove on the railing, with the JS initials.

The autograph goes on the front!

The readers have chimed in and overwhelmingly agree that an autograph goes on the front. Rod even goes so far as to write in the autograph space asking the player to sign the front. Several readers pointed out other sets which have autograph spaces on the back. Rod pointed out Mothers Cookies, which being West Coast based I have heard of but never seen, and GCRL pointed out a set called Permagraphics which I've never heard of.

Some more mainstream sets include Classic, pointed out by Night Owl. Here's an example from the awesome tiger-striped 1990 set:


Pricelesspursuit remembers Starting Lineup cards having spaces for autographs on the back. I don't have many, but the ones that do have a facsimile autograph on the back.

Those sets had a cool design, but I think the abbreviation O for outfield looks a bit weird.

There's no doubt about it, an autograph looks best on the front!

Where should the autograph go?

In the baseball card autograph world there is apparently a big difference between an autograph on the card and an autograph on a sticker on a card. But if the auto is on a card, does it matter where it is? I've only ever seen them on the front. Are they just as good on the back?

In the 1990 Best minor league set, and probably others, there is a place specifically set aside for autographs. Not on the front:

But on the back! Is that considered as good as on the front? If you wanted this card signed, which side would you want autographed?

Wrigley Wrecks - 1981 Donruss Edition

Last week I posted a bunch of mid-eighties Topps cards showing players at Wrigley Field looking like they just had a rough night out, after Chris Welsh's comment that the Topps photographer there often caught players hung over. I figured it would be fun to check out the 1981 Donruss set, as about 90% of that set was photographed in Chicago. Sure enough, there were a lot of players who looked like they had a rough night. Or maybe were just photographed facing the sun.

Blue Jays on Cards

I got a nice stack of Blue Jays minor league cards from Kerry of Cards on Cards. The nice thing about being an omnivorous collector is that everything fits great into your collection.
I love minor league cards for all the little weird touches.

Celebrate Knoxville!


A boyhood photo of Crabbie Crabtree!


This is the best of the lot - check out all the dents in the metal outfield wall!

Scott Sanders on baseball cards

Scott Sanders pitched seven years in the major leagues for the Padres, Mariners, Tigers and Cubs. He now runs the Sanders Baseball & Softball Academy in Louisiana. He kindly answered my request for his thoughts on baseball cards.

"One of my favorite cards is: Tony Gwynn forgot his jersey at the hotel for a spring training game, and had to hit in my jersey-- his 1st at bat. It ended up on one of his baseball cards.

My favorite card is my Topps rookie card. It is me & Brian Johnson. I waited all of my life to have a MLB Rookie Card. It is my favorite--even though I share it with Brian.

I collected cards as a youngster. My mom collects cards for my kids now."

Thanks!

One more card story from Benny Ayala

Benny Ayala had one more card story to share:

"I have about 7 or 8 different cards . I know that in one of them that the picture was taken in Chicago that I like a lot ; Brooks Robinson told me that I was looking good. That was a perfect day to take the picture. He said 'looking good Benny today in case you have a bad game today.'

After that I always shave before the game, good hair cut, shine shoes, complete clean uniform, brand new hat. In case I have a bad game always looking good."

I can't figure out which card was taken in Chicago - none of those on the Beckett site look like they were taken there. Perhaps it is an oddball card like an Orioles postcard that he is referring to?

Even his card in the 1981 Donruss set, where most AL players were photographed at Comiskey, doesn't appear to have been taken there, due to the red seats in the background. He does look good, though.

Benny Ayala on baseball cards

Benny Ayala started his major league career with a bang, hitting a home run in his first major league at bat. He totaled 38 home runs in his ten year career, and hit .429 in two World Series with the Orioles. Fans interested in his autograph or those of other Puerto Rican former major leaguers should check out this post at Paul's Random Stuff. I wrote to him and he kindly responded with his thoughts on baseball cards.

"I have favorite cards - the 83 Orioles, the 79 Orioles and the 74 NYM; and all of the ex major league players from P.R.

I don't collect baseball cards but I have the opportunity many times to get them signed by my teammates."

Thanks!

Wrigley Wrecks

The other day I posted about how Chris Welsh said that the Topps photographers would come out to Wrigley Field early in the day and catch the players still hung over. That makes sense considering that, as they played only day games there back then, the players had the whole night to get wasted.

Now you know why Jim Frey needed dark glasses even when it was cloudy.


Rick Sutcliffe was out partying with Bill Murray again. I think Murray stole his hat.


Maybe Murray stole Steve Trout's hat too. And ripped the sleeves off his jacket.


I don't think Bob Sykes has even noticed yet that his hat is gone, too.


Dick Tidrow isn't hung over, but had way too many baked beans the night before.


And here are some more assorted "the sun is too bright/ow my head hurts" faces:

Chris Welsh's baseball card collection up for sale

Yesterday I wrote about Chris Welsh's baseball card collection, how he bought two card-catalog cases full of baseball cards and wants to get rid of them. He is interested in selling them (cases and cards together) - $400 for one or $700 for both. Each drawer contains a complete set or close to it. If anyone is interested in buying them, let me know and I'll have him contact you.

Baseball card stories from Chris Welsh

Chris Welsh pitched for the Padres, Expos, Rangers and Reds from 1981 to 1986, winning 22 major league games. For the past seventeen years, he has been a broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds. He kindly shared some great baseball card stories with me.

"I don't really have any specific stories about cards except that the photographer for Topps always used to show up in the morning at Wrigley Field after we were out on the town late the night before. That explains a lot of hangover looks.

My favorite card is a rookie card that was taken at the Angels home spring training field in Palm Springs. I broke my foot covering first base (Don Baylor slid feet first into the bag while I was covering it) just moments after the photo was snapped.

I don't really collect cards, never did; except for the real good ones my mom threw away. I did go to an auction about 10 years ago and bought a whole lot of cards and two large oak library card cases filled with cards from the 80's and 90's. I only wanted a few albums of players who played the same years as me but I had to buy the whole lot. Now I can't seem to get rid of the cases."

Thanks! The 1987 Topps card was the only one I could find of Welsh that looked like it was taken at Wrigley Field. He doesn't look so bad to me.

Cleanup Hitter and Clothes Horse

From the New York Times, July 11, 1993: "CLEANUP HITTER AND CLOTHES HORSE When you make $5 million, you can buy clothes. Lots of clothes. Danny Tartabull signed a 5-year, $25.5-million contract two years, ago and some of that cash winds up outfitting him in nifty duds. From tailored suits to silk shirts, Tartabull is impeccable. He sheepishly conceded that he had not worn the same clothes to a game since joining the Yankees. Think about that. No repeats in a year and a half. "I don't like to wear things over again," he said. Tartabull was caught wearing jeans once this year and was teased unmercifully by teammates. "They said that I actually looked like a normal guy," Tartabull said."

This photo was probably taken just after Tartabull signed that huge contract, before he had time to run out and buy 200+ new jeans-less outfits. How his teammates would have ragged on him if they found this card!

Predrawn beard

Ever been tempted to draw a mustache or beard on a baseball card? On his 1994 Score, Kevin Brown has beaten you to the punch.

I wonder if he pitched with that on his face? That would have been awesome.

1989 World Series revisited in 1994

In 1994 the Rangers signed Will Clark, making him teammates with Jose Canseco. Thus, the biggest star on each team of the 1989 World Series were now teammates. That meant that, come spring training, fans would bring cards of both of them to sign. Here's Will Clark in spring training on his 1995 Pinnacle, about to sign a card from a pile held by a fan.

At the bottom of the pile is clearly a 1991 Fleer card. It's a bit hard to tell in this picture, but the number is pretty clearly one digit. That means it is very likely Jose Canseco. As you can see, the back of the card looks like the one being held in the picture.

I wonder if, the same day Pinnacle snapped the picture of Clark, the fan also got Canseco to sign this yellow-bordered beauty.

Grandy the Yankee

Assuming the trade goes through, be prepared for a lot of those anti-Yankee bloggers to start writing about how they've really hated Curtis Granderson all these years.

Welcome to New York, Curtis. And Phil Coke, thanks for your part in bringing a championship to the Bronx.

Farewell, Metrodome

A belated farewell to the Metrodome, which hosted its final game (a playoff loss to the Yankees in October) after eighty-seven years since it's opening on April 5, 1922.

1922? Older than Yankee Stadium? Was Babe Ruth hitting home runs into a baggie? I think this 1988 Fleer sticker back has an error on the date.

How did I do - NL West

I definitely did the worst with this division. I almost never see these teams play so I guess that's not surprising. Original prediction link here.

1. Diamondbacks
"They started off last year the best team in baseball. There is too much good talent on this team for them not to put it all together."
In both western divisions the teams I picked for first finished last. Ouch.
2. Dodgers
"Manny isn't playing for a contract this time."
Manny was not as productive this year, but it was more for injuries and suspension. The rest of that team seems pretty good.
3. Giants
"Some good young players, this team is starting to emerge from the shadow of Barry Bonds."
My one correct prediction in the NL West.
4. Rockies
"Hard to believe this team was in the World Series two years ago."
Guess all they needed was a new manager.
5. Padres
"How much does it suck to be a Padres fan? Your team can't compete because your owner needs to sell off players to pay for his divorce. Ouch."
I wonder if that's what Dodger fans will have to look forward to in 2010.


The player pictured was the Diamondbacks' Stephen Drew. One of many disappointing D-Backs in 2009, he hit .261 with 12 HR and 65 RBI.

How did I do - NL Central

Here's the link to my original predictions. Glass half full - I got 1st, 2nd and 6th right. Glass half empty - I got 3rd, 4th and 5th wrong.
1. Cardinals
"Why not? They have some good young players, and Tony LaRussa always gets the maximum out of his teams. This division is ripe for the picking."
Pretty good - not many people picked the Cardinals this year.
2. Cubs
"After two straight playoff disasters, the Cubs, like the Mets, will be playing very tightly. It won't take much for this talented team to implode."
I think that is not a bad summary for what happened to the Cubs this year.
3. Reds
"Lots of exciting young players like Johnny Cueto and Jay Bruce. The dark days could soon be over for this franchise."
I was wrong about both players, who seemed to get hit by the sophomore jinx last year.
4. Astros
"All of those people picking the Astros to lose 100 games this year have forgotten how strong this team finished last year. Remember this team won 86 games last year."
They didn't lose 100, but they weren't very good either.
5. Brewers
"Last year was nice, but they lost their two best pitchers with nothing in return and picked a total mediocrity for their manager."
They were better than I expected, but still finished below .500
6. Pirates
"LOL"
After that loss to Manatee Junior College they went and lost 99 games to major league teams this year.

The player pictured was Cardinals rookie Joe Mather. He spent most of the season rehabbing an injured wrist and didn't play in the majors in 2009.

How did I do - NL East

I didn't do too well in my NL East predictions, but I did get first and last place right. Link to the original predictions is here.

1. Phillies
"I don't know why so few people are picking the Phillies to repeat. This is a good young team on both offense and pitching, and I think they are easily the class of the National League once again."
Spot on here. Now that they've won two pennants, the Phillies aren't going to lack for respect anymore.
2. Braves
"They do seem to be a greatly improved team. Javier Vazquez is a nice acquisition, he does well in low pressure situations. Garret Anderson is a great pick-up too. If their young pitchers step up they will be right in the thick of the wild card hunt."
They finished third, not second, but were in the wild card hunt for a while. I was right about Vazquez, less so about Anderson.
3. Mets
"The pressure brought on this team by their two collapses and the New York media will be unbearable. That and their mediocre starting pitching after Santana. Mike Pelfrey is a decent prospect, but when he is your #2 starter you're in trouble."
Turns out the pressure and pitching were the least of the Mets problems.
4. Marlins
"Once a decade the Marlins win a World Series. The other nine years they are lousy. They already won their World Series this decade."
Well, they didn't win a world series, but they sure weren't lousy either. Actually they had a better record than the AL Central champs, the Twins.
5. Nationals
"Some decent young players, but this team is years away."
This was an easy pick, and will be next year as well.

The card I posted was of Joe Blanton. He went 12-8 with a 4.05 ERA. The Yankees roughed him up with four runs in six innings in Game 4 of the World Series.

How did I do - AL West

Other than being dead wrong about the A's, I wasn't too bad about the order. Still the farther away you get from the Yankees' division, the less I know about the teams and the sillier I look. Here's the link to the original predictions.

1. Athletics
"Unlike Kansas City, Oakland seems to know what to do with its good young players. They turned Mark Mulder into Dan Haren into Dana Eveland and Greg Smith, for example. Jason Giambi and Orlando Cabrera are some underrated acquisitions, too."
Well, actually, they finished last, though they were ten games better than Kansas City at least. I certainly overrated their acquistions, though interestingly that Giambi, Cabrera and Matt Holliday all started last season with Oakland and ended it in the playoffs.

2. Angels
"They may miss K-Rod, but they'll miss Garret Anderson even more. And their rotation is already being hit by injuries."
OK, they didn't miss them in the regular season, but the Yankees probably don't win the ALCS if those two are still Angels. I doubt K-Rod blows the save Fuentes did, and Anderson was always the big Yankee killer on the Halos.

3. Rangers
"Believe it or not they were 50-46 at the All Star break last year. Still, any team whose big acquisitions are Omar Vizquel and Andruw Jones isn't going anywhere."
Hey, everyone was surprised by their young pitching. The second sentence I will be using in my White Sox predictions this spring.

4. Mariners
"This team needs a whole lot more than Endy Chavez and Ken Griffey's pot belly. (Being a Yankee fan, I hadn't seen Griffey in years. When he was traded back to the AL last year I was shocked at how out of shape he looked.)"
They were 85-77 this year? Really? I didn't even notice them all year!

The player pictured was Oakland outfielder Aaron Cunningham. He played in 23 games in 2009, one more than in his 2008 debut. He hit .151 with a home and 6 RBI.

Baseball card story from Steve Springer

Steve Springer played fourteen years of professional baseball, including time in the majors with the Indians and Mets. He now has a website called Quality At Bats where he sells a hitting instruction CD endorsed by the likes of Eric Valent, Ron Hassey, Clint Hurdle and Billy Beane, who writes, "Spring, if you knew what's on this CD at 18 instead of learning it at 30, people might know who you are." He kindly shared this story with me:

"My favorite story -I was in Cleveland for my first call up and a photographer was taking a picture of Sandy Alomar Jr. and I went up and put my arm around Sandy and said to the photographer --lets go top rookies card--lol-------he didn't bite."

Thanks! There have certainly been less deserving players who have gotten on those Top Rookies cards, so it's too bad the photographer didn't go through with it.

Baseball card stories from Dan Smith

Dan Smith pitched thirteen seasons of professional baseball from 1993 to 2005, including four years in the major leagues with the Expos and Red Sox. He is now the Vice President, Real Estate Development at Watco Companies, a transportation company based in Pittsburg, Kansas. He kindly took the time to reply to my questions about baseball cards.

"I guess the thing that stands out from my career, is the trouble I had with the "other" Dan Smith. There was a left-handed pitcher named Dan Smith who was a first round pick by the Rangers a couple years before me (I was a right hander drafted in the 7th round). My whole career I was handed his cards and asked to sign them. After the first few years, I just signed them and handed them back. It was a real pain. I don't think the other guy played much after about 1998 and I'm sure he got handed a couple of my cards along the way as well.

My favorite card of myself would have to be 1999 Fleer update. It was the first card I got at the major league level and I imagine that is memorable for most guys who collected cards when they were young. My favorite two sets were the 1983 Topps and the 1985 Topps.

I don't collect cards anymore, but I have kids who I'm sure will start collecting when they get older. I collected when I was a kid and I still have them all. I amassed quite a collection."

Thanks! Hopefully you autograph collectors out there can tell the difference between this Dan Smith, the righty Daniel C. Smith from Kansas, who at least on his baseball cards has a goatee, from the other Dan Smith, Daniel S. Smith, a clean-shaven lefty from Minnesota who pitched for Texas in 1992 and 1994: