Player Profile: Jason Alstead

I'll be going out of order from time to time as new players come into my collection who I already passed alphabetically. I recently got Jason Alstead's card from 1992 Classic Best.

Playing career: Outfielder Jason Alstead played in the Orioles organization from 1990 to 1993, hitting .249 with 8 HR and 64 RBI.

My memories: Never heard of him until I got his card.

Where he is now: A systems developer at Federated Insurance for the last seventeen years, he is also the varsity hitting coach at Owatonna High School in Minnesota.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fourth when you type Jason Alst, between Jason Alster, an ADHD specialist, and Jason Alstadt, Treasurer of the Bethel Park German Club. Another prominent Jason Alstead played soccer at West Texas A&M.

Coming up next: Another new card from 1992 Classic Best, former Orioles minor league pitcher Matt Anderson.

More sets in

Getting down to the home stretch here. A lot of little and one big set came in on Friday and Saturday.

1991 Fleer Update
1998 Fleer Tradition Update
1991 Front Row Draft Picks
1991 Topps Traded
1992 Topps Traded
2004 Topps
1991 Upper Deck Final Edition

Haven't opened most of them yet, but I did open the 2004 set, with great cards like a rookie card of two-time World Champion Yadier Molina. He's a fantastic catcher but I like him better without those ridiculous neck-tattoos. I really like this set with the little outlines of the player in the lower left-hand corner.

Cardinals!

I grew up in a family of Yankee fans, but the Cardinals have always been our National League team. This goes back to the 1940s when my uncle decided he didn't want to root for one of the three NY teams and picked the Cardinals as a front-runner, then stayed with them ever since. Therefore I was happy that, if the Yankees couldn't advance, at least I'd have a team to root for. I wasn't expecting much and was shocked that they knocked off Philly, and like everyone else I couldn't believe what happened in Game 6.

I remember being so disappointed as a kid when they blew the 1987 World Series, letting the Twins beat them up in Games 6 and 7. I also remember having a lot of fun watching them upset the hated Mets in 2006. Now I have another great Cardinals memory.

More new sets in

"Only" four boxes last night. In those boxes:
1997 Collectors Choice
1984 Donruss
1986 Fleer
1987 Fleer
1992 Fleer Excel
1985 Topps Traded
1999 Topps Traded

Unfortunately there was also a 1982 Fleer set, when it was supposed to be Donruss. I've written to the seller but haven't heard back yet...

I was surprised that a 1999 Topps Traded set comes with an autograph! It could be CC Sabathia, could be Alfonso Soriano...

... but instead it's Jay Gehrke, who pitched three seasons in the low minors before injuries ended his career, and he became a financial advisor. Still, any surprise autograph is pretty cool.

Huge mailday

Jealous?

These are the sets that arrived in these boxes yesterday (yes, someone repurposed a Huggies box).

1990 Bowman
1991 Classic Best
1995 Collectors Choice
1996 Collectors Choice
1983 Donruss
1985 Donruss
1992 Donruss
1984 Fleer
1985 Fleer
2000 Fleer Tradition Update
1992 Score Traded
1991 Stadium Club Skydome
1983 Topps Traded
2000 Topps
1989 Upper Deck
1992 Upper Deck Minors

Haven't even had a chance to open most of these sets yet.

In one of the boxes someone used this as packing material:

Any Orioles fans (or bear collectors) interested in trading for this?

One set I did open up last night was 1992 Upper Deck Minors. I have a bunch from 1994 and 1995 but had very little from 1992. What a great set - I love the photography in the UD minors sets.

Set arrival: 1992 Classic Best

The first of my Amazon sets arrived yesterday, 1992 Classic Best. This was the first minor league set that I got cards from, and it remains a favorite of mine - clean, crisp design, great photos, interesting players.

The coolest card of course is the young, very awkward Derek Jeter. Hard to believe the batter swinging here would rack up 3000 major league hits. Hope he still has a lot more hits left in that bat.

This card is not up for trade, but about 200 cards are from that set, including several minor stars.

Player Profile: Scott Anderson

I have two cards of Scott Anderson. This one is from 1991 Score.

Playing career: Scott Anderson pitched ten years of professional baseball and reached the major leagues on three separate occasions – 8 games for the 1987 Rangers, 4 games for the 1990 Expos, and 6 games for the 1995 Royals.

My memories: Only know him from his baseball card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Scott Anderson is now?

Google Autocomplete Results: He is sixth when you type Scott An, between Scott and Todd Phone Scams, a radio prank series, and Scott and Stringfellow, an investment advisor in Virginia. The first result when you google Scott Anderson is not the ballplayer but a Chicago-based artist who does some really weird and interesting quasi-sci-fi paintings.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Robert Andino.