2026

As I mentioned I decided to just grab a $30 collated set from eBay rather than try to build by trades. Not a bad set, but I wish they had committed fully to the design. The more of the set I see, the less I even notice the jersey motif, but rather the big team letters.

Seems like a lot of the better photos go to the better players. Final tribute card for Kershaw - even with final tribute cards it seems like Topps has one theme they stick with and drive into the ground until it's meaningless. 

Jonah Heim is one of those players who regularly gets interesting cards. The superman pose card is pretty cool, I feel like that's the kind of card someone somewhere PCs. And happy to get my first Cam Schlittler card! Hope he's not a flash in the pan.

Two BFFs holding hands is definitely not something I expected. And maybe it's just the angle but Ian Seymour must be the most muscular pitcher I've ever seen.

Another superman for Bobby Witt. And the Carlos Estevez card is certainly unique for this set, showing a quirky photo where the player isn't in a hero pose. I guess someone at Topps has it in for Estevez?

 

 

Wood vs. Wood #330

Last time was a 7-2 win for 1987. Will this be closer?

Johnny Romano takes a swing during batting practice at Yankee Stadium. You can see the wheel of the batting cage angled down to lock the cage in place. Catcher Johnny Romano played ten seasons in the major leagues for the White Sox, Indians and Cardinals. His best seasons were 1961 and 1962 with Cleveland, hitting 20+ HR and driving in 80+ runs, making the All Star team both seasons. Overall in 905 games he hit .255 with 129 HR and 417 RBI. After his playing career he sold swimming pools. He died in 2019.

Mike Scott delivers a pitch in spring training.  Scott spent four mediocre years with the Mets, and was traded to the Astros after the 1982 season. There, pitching coach Roger Craig taught Scott the split-fingered fastball, and Scott quickly became one of the best pitchers in the league. From 1985 to 1989 he was the ace of the Astros staff, and his 1986 was one of the best pitching seasons of the 1980s (18-10, 2.22 ERA, 306 strikeouts). In the playoffs that year against the Mets, he pitched two complete games, winning both, allowing just one run in 18 innings. A rotator cuff injury limited his effectiveness after 1989. Overall, in 13 seasons he went 124-108 with a 3.54 ERA. Today, Scott does a little bit of youth coaching but is mostly retired.

Gum or cake? 1977 Bill Buckner

Last time was a 12-1 romp for gum. Will it win big again here?

Topps has the Dodger star at spring training, posing in front of the dugout and the players inside. In January of 1977, Buckner was traded to the Cubs, and Hostess gave fans their first look at Buckner in a Dodger uniform, by airbrushing a Cubs hat onto a photo of Buckner at Candlestick Park. Looks like the red part of the C was giving the airbrusher a lot of difficulty.

Bill Buckner put up some excellent numbers over a 22-year MLB career. The NL batting champion in 1980, he hit .289 with 2,715 hits, 498 doubles, 174 HR, 1,208 RBI and 183 SB. Of course, despite all that success he's known for one bad play. After his playing career Buckner worked in real estate and was a minor league coach. He died in 2019.

1981 Topps Shane Rawley

The ranks of baseball card bloggers have been starting to grow again. I just came across a really fun new blog called Sir Nailhead's Frankensets. The Angels in Order is back as Batting Out of Order. And after an even longer hiatus, Red Cardboard is back, and celebrating by giving away a vintage Mickey Mantle card. Not on I need myself, but maybe you do? (And what other new blogs am I missing?)

The front: Shane Rawley delivers a pitch at Yankee Stadium. He pitched in one day game at Yankee Stadium that year. He relieved Floyd Bannister in the sixth inning of a scoreless game. (His photo is also from that day.) Rawley combined with Bannister on the shutout in a game Seattle won, 1-0.

The back: Rawley pitched in the Expos and Reds organizations without making the majors; he was traded to Seattle after the '77 season and was in the majors for good.

The player: Rawley was primarily a reliever for the Mariners, who traded him to the Yankees after the '81 season. The Yankees converted him to a starter, where he had success for the Yankees, Phillies and Twins. Overall in 469 games (230 starts) he went 111-118 with 40 saves and a 4.02 ERA.

The man: After his playing career ended, Rawley opened Shaner's Pizzeria in Sarasota, FL in 1991.  He has recently written three novels about a baseball player who fought in Vietnam. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2009.

My collection: I have 53 of his cards, from 1979 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Topps Traded #95. 

 

1976 SSPC Charlie Williams

 

The front, in brief: It's hard to imagine that head of hair fitting into a baseball cap. Nice sunset sky behind Wiliams, too.

Playing career, in brief: Williams got into 31 games as a Met rookie in 1971. The local boy (born in Queens, grew up on Long Island) was back in the minors in early '72 when he was traded straight-up for Willie Mays. He was a regular in the Giants bullpen for several years. Overall in 268 games he went 23-22 with 4 saves and a 3.97 ERA.

Post-playing career, in brief: Williams was briefly a New York City cab driver before moving to Florida. He died in 2015.

My collection: I have eight of his cards, from 1972 to 1979. I would be interested in trading for 1972 New York Mets Long Island Mets Boosters Picture Pack #NNO.

Finishing off 2025

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I hadn't added a single card from 2025 Series II, so knocked it off with one $30 purchase. I got the cards this week, and the set is not too bad.

What I usually do in posts like this is go through the cards one by one and pull out photos that catch my eye. Some years there's barely anything. This one was better than some of the psst few years. 

Not a ton of variety but some interesting cards here and there. I like the purple bat.

I pulled out that at-the-wall shot of the Rays' Jonny Deluca because it seemed pretty unique, but then the next few cards showed me it's not that unique. The O'Neill card gets an extra point for all of the dings in the Green Monster.

The bubble-blowing card is going to be a lot of people's favorites. There are even cards of players looking a little awkward, which you rarely see these days.

I don't generally care for city connect uniforms, but I like the colors on that Kirk card. The "Mom" sign is something different, so that automatically makes that card a good one. 

I guess the Stars of MLB inserts are so common they're practically base cards - the full Series II of these were included. Some good young players, most notably Yamamoto who won the World Series for the Dodgers with his great pitching last year, that feels like a good card to get.

 

Trade with azdbacks252003

Had a nice big TCDB trade with azdbacks252003, aka former Diamondbacks minor leaguer Kellen Raab. I believe that's my first trade with a former pro ballplayer. Among his collections are players he played with or against, so I was able to send him a lot of early 00s Bowmans, among others. Got a lot of nice cards in return.

A little bit of vintage, with one Hall of Famer, the brother of another, and a mini card. 

Otherwise, a lot of modern cards, mostly Yankees. I really like the photo on that Whitey Ford card.

Some fun shiny inserts in this group.

Nice mix of current and former Yankees, plus a Pirate with a sword.

Some more variety here with some interesting Stadium Club photos and Heritage inserts.

Finally a few more mostly Yankees, with one older minor league card as well.

 

1930 Scrapbook variety

Next two pages, plus an extra.

The first page partly continues the wedding bells theme. Noell and Postell Cliett were married for almost sixty years when Noelle passed away in 1989. Her husband Postell, a floor refinisher and a Mason, died ten years later at the age of 93. Two articles about piano recitals by Connie Floyd, including a full-length photo with her sister. Finally, a note about the Valentine Ball hosted by Mrs. William McCrary Jr. Junior, like his father and son, owned Phoenix Oil, a motor oil company in Augusta, GA. A Phoenix Oil can from this era sold for over $400 at auction in 2014.

Tucked in these pages is a loose Counter Stock Order, on which our heroine appears to have drafted a thank you note. Certainly a good example of the Depression mentality, not letting anything go to waste.

You ought to meet Ginger - and Patty! Note the handwritten names, Ginger Ella Tolliver and Patty Sears. My first thought was more members of Florida-Georgia high society. Nope! Turns out they were the main characters in For Ginger's Sake by Ethel Hueston, a novel serialized in newspapers from coast to coast in 1930 and 1931. Carole Lombard's career was just taking off at this point - in 1930 the young star signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, and the next year she married William Powell. Two years later they divorced, and in 1937 she married Clark Gable. Sadly, she was killed in a plane crash in 1942 at the age of 33. Finally, a brief comedic anecdote about a mouse living in a phone switchboard, and a tug-on-the-heartstrings reminder to make sure that Santa can deliver on the faith of a child whose father is unemployed.

 

1986 Renata Galasso Mattingly #11

Weird to see Mattingly in green and gold, but that was what the Yankees' Greensboro farm team wore. I guess Green for Greensboro makes sense. In his first full professional season, in 1980, Mattingly won the SAL batting title, hitting .358 with 9 HR and 105 RBI. He also led the league with 177 hits.

Does listening to music count as a hobby?

1988 Domino's Mickey Lolich

Lolich gets a great photo here, a batter's view of Lolich's delivery. What a shame photos like these didn't appear on cards at the time.

Lolich had been a solid starter for the Tigers for several years, and actually had a bit of a down year in the regular season in 1968, at one point being demoted to the bullpen. He recovered big time in October, with one of the greatest World Series of all time, going 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA, twice defeating Bob Gibson, including in Game 7. Lolich won over 200 games in his 13 seasons in Detroit. After 1975 he was traded to the Mets for Rusty Staub. At that time he was fifth all time in strikeouts; his 2,832 career total is now 23rd. After one season in New York Lolich retired to open a doughnut shop and dabble in acting. He returned to the major leagues in 1978 and was an effective member of the Padres' bullpen. He struggled in 1979, however, and retired after that season. He returned to the doughnut business, running a shop in Michigan until he retired in the late 1990s. He passed away last month at the age of 85.

I have 25 of his cards, from 1964 to 1980. I would be interested in trading for 1973 Kelloggs #54.