Justin Schuda on baseball cards

Justin Schuda played four seasons in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. His best season was 2001, when he hit .240 with 25 HR and 71 RBI. Now a coach for the California Heat and Capo Valley Christian High School, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

- Do you have any stories about cards of yourself or of other players? No stories really, but I do remember thinking how cool it was when i got my first team set ('99 Princeton DRays). Also, a teammate of mine in Bakersfield in 2002 told me his Dad bought a pack of cards at a card shop and found my card in it, among all the big leaguers.....I thought that was pretty crazy!
- Do you have a favorite card of yourself or of another player? My favorite card would have to be my Will Clark team USA card. He is my favorite player ever, and I have almost 60 of his cards and that one is by far my favorite.
- Do you collect baseball cards? I used to collect cards as a kid, and I still have my collection. It mainly consists of Will Clark and Rod Carew (my 2nd favorite player). I have a few Nolan Ryans that I cherish also.

Thanks! Speaking of Will Clark cards, does anyone have his 1990 Upper Deck #50 to trade?

It happened again! Does anyone have a 1990 Upper Deck Will Clark All Star (#50) to trade?

Boy, wrapped factory sets are really unreliable! The 1990 Upper Deck box was wrapped and had a factory seal, nevertheless was missing two cards, including one I needed, the Will Clark All Star card, #50. Does anyone have this to trade? (And thanks to Captain Canuck, who is coming through with the Sandberg I posted about earlier today!)

Help! Does anyone have a 1991 Fleer Ryne Sandberg (#431) to trade?

So I bought a sealed 1991 Fleer factory set, and I was pretty bummed to discover it was missing a bunch of cards! There were nine cards that were duplicated, and nine that were left out. Only one was one that I didn't have already. I'm disappointed that instead of having the complete set, I'm still one short. So, does have anyone have a 1991 Fleer Ryne Sandberg to trade?

Player Profile: Tony Abreu

I have two cards of Tony Abreu. This one is from 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights.

Playing Career: Middle infielder Tony Abreu made his major league debut with the Dodgers in 2007. Traded to the Diamondbacks straight up for Jon Garland in 2009, last year he played in 81 games for Arizona, hitting .244 with 1 HR and 13 RBI.

My Memories: Wasn't familiar with him outside of his cards.

Where he is now: He has started this season with the Diamondbacks' AAA team at Reno, hitting .299 with 3 HR and 27 RBI. He last played on the 27th, going 1-4 with a double, RBI, run scored and stolen base against Sacramento.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is third when you type in Tony Ab, between celebrity mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim and New York entrepreneur Tony Abrams. Another prominent Tony Abreu is a web designer in Gainesville, FL.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jeremy Accardo.

Today's Haul

Today I bought the following complete sets (at $5 a pop, I couldn't resist): 1989, 1990 and 1991 Donruss, 1988 and 1991 Fleer, 1989, 1990 and 1991 Score, and 1990 Upper Deck. I needed about 500 cards total to complete these nine sets, so I see it as a good investment. And now I have about 6000 duplicates to trade, so for those of you who have wantlists for those sets, let me know!

On my way home from that purchase, I passed a craft fair/flea market in the Bellmore railroad station that I went to a couple of times last year. There was a guy who had a really good quarter bin, and I talked him into letting me get 150 cards for $15. There were lots of star cards and even some autographs. I got some autographs of pretty good players like Jose Lind, Jaime Navarro, Roberto Hernandez, Ricky Bones, Carlos Baerga, Wilson Alvarez and Leo Gomez. (I just realized that every single autograph was from a Hispanic player.) For some reason this guy had about a dozen different Leo Gomez autographs.

Here are a few other highlights from the quarter box that turned into a dime box:

Player Profile: Bobby Abreu

I have 31 cards of Bobby Abreu. This one is from 2007 Finest.

Playing career: Bobby Abreu made his major league debut with Houston in 1996. After playing parts of two seasons with the Astros, he was left unprotected in the expansion draft, and was picked up by Tampa Bay, who immediately traded him to Philadelphia for Kevin Stocker. Abreu blossomed into a star for the Phillies. In five of his eight full seasons with the Phillies he earned MVP votes. He led the NL in doubles in 2002 and triples in 1999. In 2006, he was traded mid-season to the Yankees for four low-level prospects. After two and a half very good seasons with the Yankees, he signed as a free agent with the Angels.

Where he is now: He is currently the regular DH for the Angels, hitting .259 with 2 HR and 21 RBI. Yesterday he went 0-4 with two strikeouts in a loss to Oakland.

My memories: I remember Abreu coming to the Yankees in 2006 and tearing it up, especially in a big sweep of the Red Sox in Fenway Park to pretty much wrap up the division. He's a very patient hitter who is not afraid to take a walk, which made him a perfect fit for the Yankee lineup. I think he was underrated by Yankee fans in his time in the Bronx.

Google Autocomplete results: He is the first result when you type Bobby A, in front of Bobby Allison, a former NASCAR driver. There do not appear to be any other prominent Bobby Abreus.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Tony Abreu.

Trade with Hand Collated

I got 24 1983 Fleer cards from Scott at Hand Collated, which is very generous because I'm only sending him three cards to help finish his 1981 and 1982 Topps sets. 1983 Fleer (and early 80s Fleer in general) is one of my favorite sets, in large part because of the interesting candid photography, something not seen again until Upper Deck came around. Here are two examples from what he sent.

Player Profile: Johnny Abrego

I have one card of Johnny Abrego, from 1986 Donruss.

Playing Career: Johnny Abrego pitched in six major league games (five starts) all for the 1985 Cubs. He went 1-1 with a 6.38 ERA.

My Memories: Never heard of him until I got this card.

Where He is Now: He was a scout for the Astros in the mid-1990s. Could not find where he is now.

Interesting Fact: Johnny Ray Abrego pitched in six major league games, two of which were against the 1985 Pirates whose second baseman was named Johnny Ray. Johnny Ray owned Johnny Ray Abrego, hitting three singles in four at bats, driving in two. He also was issued an intentional walk.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Bob Abreu.

Player Profile: Shawn Abner

I have 25 Shawn Abner cards. This one is from 1990 Score.

Playing Career: The Mets drafted Shawn Abner number one overall in the 1984 draft. The high school star was chosen over more polished college players like Mark McGwire as the Mets were worried about signability and price. Though he never played in a game for the Mets, they got decent value from the pick as he was part of the trade that got them Kevin McReynolds from San Diego. Abner played in parts of five seasons for the Padres, and also had brief stops with the Angels and White Sox. He never lived up to the hype of being the number one draft choice, telling the New York Times's Jack Curry in 1991 that "The draft is a joke. Being drafted No. 1 is overrated."

My memories: Had a few baseball cards of him as his playing career was during my card collecting years as a kid, but as he spent almost all of his career in the NL I have no specific memories of watching him play.

Where he is now: Working for a beer distributor in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Interesting facts: Brother Ben Abner was also drafted in 1984 and spent several years in the Expos and Pirates organizations.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is second when you type in Shawn Ab, between Dartmouth cornerback Shawn Abuhoff and Shawn Abbott, head of undergraduate admissions at NYU. There don't seem to be any other prominent Shawn Abners.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile is Johnny Abrego.

Player Profile: Brent Abernathy

I have three cards of Brent Abernathy. This one is from 2001 Fleer Platinum. Add it to your cup cards wantlist, SpastikMooss!

Playing Career: Brent Abernathy played for Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Minnesota from 2001 to 2005. A member of the 2000 Gold Medal USA Olympic Team, his biggest MLB highlight was earning an ESPN Play of the Day for a home-run-saving catch in 2005.

My Memories: I vaguely remember him playing against the Yankees while with Tampa Bay.

Where he is now: He has started a life insurance business and is also coaching both USA Baseball and some local Georgia high school teams.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is second when you type in Brent Ab, between tennis coach Brent Abel and Brent Abendroth, a guard on the Bryant University basketball team. There do not appear to be any other prominent Brent Abernathys.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Shawn Abner.

Player Profile: Reggie Abercrombie

I have two cards of Reggie Abercrombie. This one is from 2009 Topps. It depicts Abercrombie getting thrown out at the plate in the Astros' 2-0 victory over the Rockies on September 6, 2008. You can find the original picture by Associated Press photographer Jack Dempsey on the AP website.

Playing career: Abercrombie was a backup outfielder for the Marlins in 2006 and 2007 and the Astros in 2008. He is now playing for the Sioux Falls Pheasants of the independent American Association.

My memories: I hadn't heard of him until I got this card.

Google Autocomplete Ranking: He is third when you type in Reggie A, between Reggie Awards, which honor bold thinking in promotional marketing, and Reggie and the Full Effect Lyrics (Reggie and the Full Effect was an indie rock band). There do not appear to be any other prominent Reggie Abercrombies.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Brent Abernathy.

Player Profile: Paul Abbott

I have five Paul Abbott cards. This one is from 1992 Fleer. I originally wrote about this card and others whose photos were taken at the same game here.

Playing Career: Paul Abbott pitched eleven seasons for the Twins, Indians, Mariners, Royals, Devil Rays and Phillies. For the excellent Mariner teams of 1999-2001 he went 32-13. Before and after he was just 11-24.

Personal memory: I remember him pitching against the Yankees in the 2001 ALCS and being very surprised that he was 17-4, as he wasn't ever thought of as an elite pitcher. That won-loss record probably had more to do with his team, than his pitching.

Where he is now: Pitching coach for the Red Sox Class A team, the Lowell Spinners. Also a Professional Consultant for sports agency BKK Sports.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is the first result when you type in Paul Ab, ahead of Paul Abdul, a real estate agent in Houston (or a misspelling of singer Paula Abdul). The first entry for Paul Abbott in Google is actually not the ballplayer but an English television writer.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Reggie Abercrombie.

Player Profile: Kyle Abbott

I have seventeen Kyle Abbott cards. This one is from 1993 Donruss.

Playing career: Kyle Abbott pitched four seasons for the Angels and Phillies. Was 1-14 with a 5.13 ERA for the Phillies in 1992; 3-3 combined in his other three seasons.

My memories: I remember getting his Topps rookie card in 1992 and thinking he might be a big star. Guess not.

Interesting stories: Son of former A's minor leaguer Larry Abbott. In high school originally wanted to pursue water polo instead of baseball. Was a waiter at Harpoon Henry's in Dana Point, CA in his minor league offseasons, according to this 1991 LA Times article, which also described Abbott's smooth moves in picking up his future wife, Kathy: "She and Kyle had met in a Huntington Beach bar several months earlier. Kyle was a customer, Kathy was in her first week as a cocktail waitress. Kyle was following her every move all evening, and she finally lost her cool and dropped a tray of drinks. They met while he was on the floor, helping her pick up the debris, and the romance flamed quickly."

Where he is now: Co-founder of Pro Source Athletics in Lewisville, TX.

Google Autocomplete Rankings: Kyle Abbott is second when you type in Kyle Ab, between choreographer Kyle Abraham and Kyle Abrahamson, a highly regarded high school basketball player in North Dakota. Another prominent Kyle Abbott is a minor villain character in some recent Batman comic books.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's player profile is Paul Abbott.

Player Profile: Kurt Abbott

I have seventeen Kurt Abbott cards. This one is from 1995 Ultra.

Playing Career: Kurt Abbott played for the A's, Marlins, Rockies, Mets and Braves. His best season was 1995, when he hit .255 with 17 HR and 60 RBI for Florida. He played in two World Series and won a ring in 1997.

My Memories: I remember seeing him on the Mets in the 2000 World Series and being amazed that they even got that far relying on guys like him.

Interesting facts: Abbott's 1994 Ultra card actually has a photo of teammate John Massarelli, revealed in my interview with Massarelli. Father Tom played minor league ball in the Giants organization. Lists his heroes as "Cal Ripken, Alex Rodriguez and my wife for saving my ass" on his Myspace page.

Where he is now: During his playing career he went on ride-ins with the local police departments, sometimes using his baseball fame to get through to men on domestic-dispute calls. After his baseball career ended, he decided to turn to law enforcement full-time and is a deputy in the Martin County police department in Florida. He made headlines in 2006 for pulling a woman out of a burning building. Here's a more recent article from the TCPalm.com which features a photo of Abbott at work. In the article, he compares chasing down and arresting a suspect to hitting a home run.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is the first entry when typing Kurt Ab, ahead of wrestler Kurt Angle. Another prominent Kurt Abbott is a lawyer in Waxahachie, TX.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Kyle Abbott.

Player Profile: Jim Abbott

I have 54 Jim Abbott cards. This one is from 1994 Upper Deck.

Playing Career: Jim Abbott pitched ten seasons for the Angels, Yankees, White Sox and Brewers, winning 87 games. Career highlights include pitching a no-hitter for the Yankees in 1993, finishing fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1989, and third in the Cy Young Award voting in 1991. Lowlights include leading the American League in hits allowed in 1990 and in losses in 1996.

My memories: Right befofe Labor Day weekend 1993 I had a bad allergic reaction to some medicine that sent me briefly to the hospital. By Saturday the 4th, I was feeling a little better and decided to take it easy and just sit on the couch and watch the Yankee game. As a result, I ended up watching every pitch of Abbott's no-hitter, the first no-hitter I ever saw. Other than this one highlight, I remember Abbott as being a bust for the Yankees. In 1991 and 1992 with the Angels, he had ERAs of 2.89 and 2.77. He then came to New York and put up ERAs of 4.37 and 4.55.

Interesting stories: Abbott was the first major league pitcher to be born with one hand. (There have been only two - the other is former Expo Chad Bentz, who no one remembers. It pays to be first.) Besides pitching, he was able to field as well as any two-handed pitcher (better than some) and was a capable hitter as well, getting two hits in the major leagues and slugging several home runs in high school.

Where he is now: He is now a motivational speaker - check out his website, Jim Abbott.net, which also includes a lengthy interview. He also does work for the US Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy, where he helps raise awareness of the talents of people with disabilities. He is also the assistant coach of a third- and fourth-grade girls basketball team head coached by his wife - you can see pictures of them at a recent game here.

Google Autocomplete Results: He is the first result when you type in Jim A, ahead of Jim and Pam, the fictional couple on the TV show The Office. Other Jim Abbotts include a realtor in San Diego and a writer for the Orlando Sentinel.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Kurt Abbott.

Player profile: Jeff Abbott

I have two cards of Jeff Abbott. This one is from 2001 Upper Deck.

Playing career: Jeff Abbott played five seasons for the White Sox and Marlins from 1997 to 2001. His best season was 2000, when he was the fourth outfielder for the AL West Champion White Sox. He got one at bat in the ALDS.

Personal memories: Don't really remember him.

Where is he now: Couldn't find him - any readers know?

Google Autocomplete results: Jeff Abbott is the first result when you type in Jeff Ab, ahead of impressionsist Jeff Brandt. Jeff Abbott the ballplayer is actually only the sixth result when you Google him; the first five links are for a "National Bestselling Author of Panic and Fear."

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Jim Abbott.

Player Profile: Glenn Abbott

I have eight Glenn Abbott cards. This one is from 1981 Fleer.

Playing career: Glenn Abbott pitched eleven seasons for Oakland, Seattle and Detroit between 1973 and 1984. Pitched one inning of a combined no-hitter for the A's in 1975, and also pitched an inning for them in that year's ALCS. He was the longest tenured member of the Mariners' expansion draft, three times starting on opening day. In 1979 he struck out just 25 of 518 batters faced, the lowest total of any pitcher in the last 57 years.

My memories of him: He's a bit before my time - I only know him from his cards.

Where he is now: Has been a minor league pitching coach since 1990. Currently is coaching for the Mets' A-Ball team in Savannah.

Interesting facts: Missed the entire 1982 season due to meningitis. Participated in the 1975 Bazooka/Joe Garagiola Big League Bubble Gum Blowing Championship (he was eliminated in the first round). His son Todd pitched in the A's organization, reaching AAA.

Google autocomplete ranking: He is second when you type in Glenn Ab, between artist Glenn Aber and Glen Abbey, a mortuary in San Diego. Another prominent Glenn Abbott is the producer of the horro movies Monstar and South of Heaven.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Jeff Abbott.

Player Profile: Chuck Abbott

I have two cards of Chuck Abbott. This one is from 1999 SP Top Prospects.

Playing Career: Middle infielder Chuck Abbott played six seasons in the Angels and Indians organizations from 1996-2001, making it as high as AAA before an elbow injury ended his career.

My Memories: I had not heard of him except for his baseball cards.

Post-Playing Career: Abbott teaches physical education and drivers education at Hoffman Estates High School in Illinois, is an inclusion aide at the Northwest Special Recreation Association, and is Assistant Baseball Coach at Professional Sports Performance.

Google Autocomplete Ranking: Chuck Abbott is fourth when you type in Chuck Ab, between actor Chuck Aber and artist Chuck Abraham. Another prominent Chuck Abbott is a longtime Disneyland employee who was the foreman at both Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile will be Glenn Abbott.

Player Profile: Don Aase

I have 26 different cards of Don Aase. This one is from 1986 Donruss Highlights.

Playing Career: Don Aase pitched thirteen seasons in the major leagues for the Red Sox, Angels, Orioles, Mets and Dodgers, winning 66 games and saving 82. Red Sox fans remember him for a surprisingly strong rookie season as a starter in 1977. Angels fans remember him winning the first playoff game in franchise history in 1979. Orioles fans remember his all-star season of 1986, saving 34 games. Mets fans remember him giving up back-breaking home runs to unusual suspects Willie Randolph and Mitch Williams in the doomed summer of 1989.

My Memories: I remember him in the 1986 Topps sticker book, my first introduction to Major League Baseball. I thought his name was pronounced Ace for a few years until I heard it on TV - it is pronounced Ozzie.

Interesting Stories: Aase and his wife had conceptions problems in the 1980s. In 1985 they adopted a child, then in 1986 Mrs. Aase became pregnant, only to learn that the child would probably have cystic fibrosis. Don Aase had actually been doing charity work for the Cystic Fibrosis foundation at the time. However, the worries proved unfounded and the Aases had a healthy baby boy, who went on to play baseball at UNLV. (LA Times article, 1988)

Post-playing career: In the 1990s, Aase owned two batting cages in California, Winning Streak and Don Aase's The Slam. Since then he appears to be retired.

Google Autocomplete Ranking: He is the first entry to come up when typing Don Aa, ahead of DON AA, which is the Department of the Navy's Assistant for Administration. There do not appear to be any other prominent Don Aases.

Coming up next: Tomorrow's profile is Chuck Abbott.

I wasn't going to do this but...

Just after I said I wasn't getting any baseball cards for a while, I couldn't resist checking out a garage sale in my town. Sure enough, I got a few hundred cards for $7. Here are a couple of brief highlights:

Scott Bullett's nickname might have been "Faster Than a Speeding," but probably wasn't. Great photo, though.

I had completely forgotten the game mentioned on this card, though I think we called it "Slaps," not "Slapsies," when I was a kid.


I'll get to my player profiles, starting with Don Aase, tomorrow.

A new direction for this blog

It's time for a new direction for Baseball Cards Come to Life. My observations about individual baseball cards are getting harder and harder to come by, as I have pretty much used up all the good ones. Also, I've pretty much run out of people to interview who either appeared on or photographed major league or prominent minor league cards. You might still see an occasional interview on this blog, and I'll still post trades and other card acquisitions, although with the new baby my time to spend on getting more cards has greatly diminished for the moment (that is why I did so many monster trades and purchases over the last few months - knew that would be the last time I had that kind of time). All in all, it is definitely time I did something new with this blog.

One type of baseball card blog concept I have enjoyed is the blog that focuses on a different card and individual each day. Usually they focus on a single set - Project Baseball 1976 and The Greatest 21 Days: 1990 CMC are two standout examples of blogs that delve into the person on each card. What I want to do is much more ambitious - highlight each player I have a card of, one a day. I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of cards I have for each individual player (I only collect 1978-present). I currently have cards of 5,657 different players. That means if I start with Don Aase on May 12, 2011, post one player a day and get no new players, I will reach Mike Zywica on November 6, 2026. Nice to have a blog concept that should get me at least fifteen years worth of new posts.

For each player profile, I will feature one randomly selected card of that player from my collection, and will note how many individual cards of that player I have. I include small sets on this list, but only base cards from small or large sets. For example, this card would count:

But this one wouldn't:

After the card, I would include a brief description of their playing career, my personal memories of them, and, where possible, any interesting stories about them, either on or off the field. I will also note for former players where they are now. I also think it would be fun to put each name into Google Autocomplete to see what comes up and where they rank, as well as who else has their name. For example, Derek Jeter first comes up when you type Der into google, while Derek Livernois doesn't come up until Derek Liv. If you google Tino Martinez, the first ten entries are all about the former Yankee. If you google Paul O'Neill, the first entry is the former Treasury Secretary.

Finally, at the end of each post, I will say who's coming up next, and encourage readers to send in their own personal memories of the player, which I will add to the post. The first post is Don Aase, so if you have any personal memories of him, leave a comment below.

Free Sample

Here is a Pocket Pages card of George Brett.

The back lists it as a "free sample".

Wouldn't it be cool if baseball card stores gave out more free samples? Or how about going to a place like Costco and getting free samples of baseball cards in addition to little hot dogs or pieces of brownies?

I've never actually seen baseball cards at Costco, but they used to sell them there, apparently. In 1990, National League Umpire Bob Engel was arrested for shoplifting baseball cards at Costco. To make it even more embarrassing, the cards he stole were 1990 Score. According to this article from the LA Times, the 4,000 stolen cards were valued at $143.98. I doubt you could get half that for 4,000 1990 Score cards today.

Minnesota highlights

I don't have many cards from 1997 Pinnacle, but they look pretty cool. They have an interesting feature where they list some cultural highlights for the city or state for each team. Here is one of the few cards I have from the set, Minnesota Twin Greg Myers.

I've never been to Minnesota, but what does it say about a place that their most iconic non-sports cultural highlights are a mall and a sitcom?

Funny Fortune

I don't have many 1996 Bazooka Cards, so I don't know if all of the "Funny Fortunes" are as funny as Ray Lankford's. (Turn your computer upside down to read).

OK, for those of you who didn't turn over your computer, his "funny fortune" is: "Batting atop a revamped lineup, Ray becomes the ML's first player of 1996 to score 100 runs." I don't understand the humor, but the prediction was not way off - though not the first player of the year to hit that number, he did finish the 1996 season with exactly 100 runs.

The greatest

I don't usually use this blog for personal stuff, but I just had to mention that I became a father earlier today (actually yesterday, as it's after midnight). My daughter picked a historic day to be born (and the Yankees won, too!)

To tie into baseball cards, here are a few of the people she shares a birthday with, including one Hall of Famer.

Baseball cards from Rite Aid

Got one of those 100 card jumbo repacks from Rite Aid. I only did it because it ended up being free after some coupon deals my wife had. I was pleasantly surprised - it wasn't all 1988 Donruss and 1987 Topps. Overall 33 of the 100 cards were ones I needed.

There were minor brands from the early 90s like Bowman and Leaf...

recent cards...

and even some oddities like this card of Babe Ruth and five cans of Socony Motor Oil.

Socony stood for Standard Oil Company of New York and later became Mobil Oil.

Where's Albert?

Here's a picture of Albert Belle from 1993 Upper Deck. My question is, where is he? On the left half of the card, it looks like he is in Yankee Stadium.

However, the photo must have been altered somehow because there is no way there would be just blank sky on the right side of the card. There should have been more the facade with advertisements below and/or the right field seats, depending on the angle of the shot. Here is a photo I found online of Yankee Stadium in 1992 that will give you a good idea of what should be behind Belle. I can't figure out why it's not.