1988 Domino's Tom Matchick

 

No action shot this time, but a nice simple, clean photo.

Tom Matchick was a rookie backup infielder for the Tigers in 1968, getting into 80 games, mostly at 3B. Highlights included a walkoff home run against the Orioles in July, and participating in a triple play in September. He was 0-for-3 in the World Series. Despite the home run, he never amounted to be much of a hitter; in 292 major league games for five teams over six seasons, Matchick hit .215 with 4 HR and 64 RBI. After his playing career he was a salesman at a sporting goods store and a car dealership, and was a VP at an aerial photography business. He and his wife had two children and were foster parents to over 30 more. He died from COVID-19 in 2022.

I have eight of his cards, from 1967 to 1973. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Dell Today's Team Stamps #NNO. 

Burgers or gum? Larry Herndon

Last time was a win for gum, 7-4. Who will take the prize this time?

Wendy's has a spring training photo of Herndon sporting a Fu Manchu mustache, while Topps has a regular season game photo of Herndon at Tigers Stadium with a noticeably smaller mustache.

Herndon made his big league debut with the Cardinals in 1974 but played almost all of his career with the Giants (1976-1981) and Tigers (1982-1988). With the Giants he was a decent hitter, good fielder with some speed. After he was traded to the Tigers he immediately developed into more of a slugger. After six seasons with 23 total HR for the Giants, he hit 24 in his first season in Detroit, though by '84 he was down to 7 HR for the season. He hit .333 in the 1984 World Series and caught the final out. Overall in 1,537 games he hit .274 with 107 HR and 550 RBI. After his playing career he was a minor- and major-league coach, and is now retired. 
 

More 1930 stuff

Next page.

Starting off with a dramatic photo of Niagara Falls, followed by the story of a stubborn Parisian, and on top right a somewhat comic story about a pair of drunk drivers. These kinds of human interest stories were syndicated nationally. The other two items are either pages from a booklet or some kind of cards. I can't find any reference to The Automation Corporation in Cleveland. That name makes me think they could have come from some kind of vending machine. They are dated 1929. Both give some advice, and then tell the reader to go ask grandmother for more.

Opposite page. Top left is the amazing tale of Zaro Agha, 156 years old! This would have been July of 1930 when he toured the United States; he died four years later at the age of 160. He had 36 children and outlived all except the daughter he had when he was 96. Wikipedia quotes a 1939 study that insisted he was only 97 when he died, but I believe this news story. No comment on the next one. On the top right we have some collected words of wisdom. The bottom of the page has three obituaries for George Bernell Greene, who died on December 29, 1930, after a two week illness. The 32-year-old Greene left behind a wife and two daughters. She remarried in 1938, to Augustus Hayden Britton in South Carolina. She died in 1982.

 

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.