Matt Clement on baseball cards

Matt Clement pitched nine seasons in the major leagues for the Padres, Marlins, Cubs and Red Sox, going 87-86 with a 4.47 ERA. His best season was 2005, when he made the All-Star team going 13-6 for Boston. Now the head basketball coach at Butler High School in Butler, PA, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"My youngest son and I are working on the Heritage and Allen and Ginter sets for this year right now. I like my black border Bowman rookie card the best. I collected cards with my dad as a kid."

Thanks! I don't have that card, but here is one from my collection.

Rich Butler on baseball cards

Outfielder Rich Butler played for the Blue Jays and Devil Rays from 1997 to 1999. In 86 games he hit .223 with 7 HR and 22 RBI. Now the owner of the Butler Baseball Academy in Ajax, ON, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"Growing up I had a dream about playing Major League Baseball and to have my very own baseball card. So when I received my first one in Myrtle Beach in 1992, I was over the moon and just stared at it for days. It's one of my favourite trophies in my life."

Thanks! The image above was provided by Butler. I don't have that card, but here is one from my collection.

Trade with minibbcards

minibbcards is a collector on tradingcarddb, where you can find his wantlists and tradelists. As his name suggests he collects minis, mostly those from Allen & Ginter, Gypsy Queen, etc. I traded him a few extras that I had and he sent me a few full-sized cards in return. Here are some highlights:


He sent me the last three cards I needed, including this beautiful Wizard of Oz, to complete the 1994 Leaf set.

 This is an error card - Nigel Wilson's name and photo on the front . . .

 . . . Darrell Whitmore's name and photo on the back. There is another card in the set which has the opposite.

 Here's a photo I liked. Hinckley is from Oklahoma, and that is probably where the picture was taken - just drafted, taken on the local ballfield, not even issued a real uniform yet, just a T-shirt with the team name on it.

Trade with Zeprock

Zeprock is not a blog but a trader and seller with an extensive wantlist and tradelist. Got a bunch of cool cards from him in a trade. Here are some highlights:


Lots of oddballs in the package. I love the Coca-Cola logo on those early 80's Topps cards - looks like an old time privilege sign storefront. Even better with the addition of the Brigham's logo - a Boston-area ice cream chain that is still around.

 This is a 1989 Phoenix magnet of Kirk Gibson. Not sure whether to consider this a card - it is an actual magnet, shaped a little smaller than a baseball card. Would you consider this a card?

 Lots of great photos too, like Juan Gonzalez at the doorway to the Green Monster.

 And some set needs too. I'm now down to needing just one card from 1992 Studio, and it's a common card - #100 Todd Zeile. Anyone have one to trade? And there hasn't been much in the way of comments on my 1993 Studio posts - are people interested in more of them?

Mariano & Mariano = Marcus & Manny

Traded a couple of more Mariano Rivera cards to Al. In return I got a couple more of those 2017 "National Packtime" cards (what he calls them, they actually are "Baseball Hobby Continuity Program". The two I picked are Long Islander Marcus Stroman, and a green parallel of Manny Margot.

Trade with A Cracked Bat

Got some great cards in a trade with A Cracked Bat. She knew I'm a Yankee and Cardinal fan so most of the trade was cards from those teams. Some highlights:


Lots of shiny cards in this package which I love.

 This makes two trade packages this month to feature a Sportflics set I've never gotten a card from before. This is the "Decade Greats" set from 1986. I remember reading about it when the set came out when I was a kid, but never before had I gotten a card from it before, so I was really excited about this one. The player on this card is Giants Hall-of-Famer Carl Hubbell.

 I love getting surprise vintage in these trade packages. Here is the Cards Rookie Stars from 1971.

 Topps Total had an insert set called Total Topps, but the design of the card looks like it is Topps Total: Topps Total.

 Finally, she included a full 12-card 2001 Sunoco Dream Team set. These are beautiful cards featuring two stars each from a dozen teams. Unfortunately I already had the set so this one is up for trade if anyone wants it.

Trade with Night Owl

Got some great cards in a trade with Night Owl. Here are some highlights:

This was the last card I needed to complete the 2011 Toppstown set.

 He sent me a whole bunch of cards from 2015 Topps, whittling down my wantlist to just seven cards: 112, 458, 463, 470, 580, 616, 687

 Yankee fans still cringe in memory of the Rally Monkey. Which is probably why Night Owl sent it to a Yankee fan.

 This looks better in person - a shiny foil Jackie Robinson card.

 At first I thought this was an oversize glove, like Mickey Hatcher used to wear as a gimmick on some cards. It's actually just a neat use of perspective to create a unique image.

 He sent a few vintage Yankees as well. I just featured the Ellis on this blog as I picked it up in a street trade, so now I have an extra up for trade. The Rob Gardner is new for me though, as is the 1974 checklist, featured signatures of the 12 best players on that team, only 4 of which would still be there when they won the pennant two years later.

National Baseball Card Day

Today was National Baseball Card Day. I went to three card stores near my house to pick up free packs and hopefully other items of interest as well. Unfortunately there was nothing in any of the stores that compelled me to actually hand over cash. Quarter boxes of 1986 Topps commons or $50 1987 Score sets were typical of the overpriced junk at these places. I know some of you in other parts of the country have some really good LCS's but here on Long Island they are really underwhelming. Fortunately I have a good street vendor, a good flea market, the occasional garage sale score, and of course all of you great traders.

Each NBCD pack featured five cards. The collation was not great so there were three dupes out of the fifteen cards, so these three are up for trade:

Trade with Rekindling the Cardboard Flame

First off, remember that tomorrow is National Baseball Card Day! Here is the list of participating card shops where you can get free cards.


Speaking of new cards, Tyler of Rekindling the Cardboard Flame set me a bunch of 2017 base cards. I had mentioned at the start of the trade-a-thon that I had almost no 2017, and people have sent me lots of Archives, Heritage, Gypsy Queen, Bowman, etc but up to now very few base cards. Tyler sent me 20 or so which finally put me in double digits. I've added the set to my wantlist so you can see the 675 or so cards I still need for the set.

 I'm pretty unhappy about the change to the back of the cards. I saw Jim Johnson on the Braves and thought to myself, "Is this the same guy who used to be an Oriole"? You could always rely on Topps for the full career stats on the back. Not anymore.

 He also sent several dozen cards from the 2016 Topps Update set. Another reason I am not thrilled with the 2017 set is that it looks too much like 2017, both of them with the diagonal line in the corner being the only real design element. I know I will always be confusing them when I seen them in the years to come.

1993 Studio Roger Clemens

Hobbies are golf, water sports and collecting jerseys of other athletes who wear number 21: Clemens is an avid and skilled golfer.

 

Where he is now: His Roger Clemens Foundation is involved in a variety of charitable endeavors.