Time Travel Trade!

Here's this month's Time Travel Trade with Diamond Jesters.

Usually my first cards of the new year come from these, though this year Kerry beat Matt by a day with his pack. I'm still liking the shiny best of all. Maybe it doesn't come out in a photograph but they look pretty good in hand.

 I should also correct Night Owl - I didn't actually grow up with foil cards. I grew up buying cards in packs from stationery stores and drug stores from 1986-1993. I only knew the major brands - Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Score, UD, Sportflics. I wasn't aware of the high end cards like Stadium Club and Elite until later on. So I actually got out right before foil started hitting the major brands. By '93 Score was fading out and there weren't too many packs around, so that set still has lots of holes for me. It's UV coated but otherwise no more shiny than a 1970s card. Some old-time HOFers in there too, though Slingin' Sammy was a football HOFer, not baseball.

He's a good segue to the football cards that came from this trade. The only vintage this time around came from football. I was collecting football cards in '88 (again, nothing shiny other than the coating) but I still only have about half the set. I didn't have any Pro Set as a kid (I had shifted to only baseball by '90) so still lots of needs there too.

 

Cards on Cards contest winnings: my first 2025 Topps pack

I was an award winner in the Cards on Cards college football contest, and my prize was a 36-count pack of 2025 Topps. These are my first 2025 cards!

Here's my first card in the pack. Topps says the design is supposed to look like a subway map. Lots of bloggers think it looks like the '82 design. Personally I'm reminded more of 1992 with the rounded border on top and bar on the bottom.

My favorite part of the set is the colored foil border. It brightens up the otherwise-bland design. I thought it looked especially nice with a bunch of cards in hand, seeing the different-colored foil bars shining in the light. I couldn't get a good picture of that effect, though. It's weird to me how much hate the foil is getting on other blogs. (Especially the two big Dodger blogs - did Ron Cey once get attached by a foil monster or something?) Foil is also supposed to be very "90's" which is also supposedly terrible - again, i don't get it. One funny thing is that a very "90's foil" thing happened with this Kershaw card, as part of his name that was printed on the foil didn't print right.

Overall I think these cards look better in hand when you have a few of them at once. They don't look great in a photo but in person the colors pop more. It's not as good a design as last year, but it's OK. The player photos are still "pitcher pitching", "batter batting", etc. Even the fielding and celebration photos look pretty similar to each other. You'd think you'd at least get a "batter batting" where the ball is meeting the bat, or a double play turn, or even a different angle once in a while.

I got two Yankee cards in the pack - ironically the first was of a Met. I wish the Yankees got blue foil instead of the gray foil, which doesn't shine as well as the other colors.

Some "hits". Two Stars of MLB inserts. Unfortunately one is a Met but the other is one of the game's biggest stars. This set was looking very similar year to year and got freshened up nicely this year. I think the gold looks good, though again other bloggers seem to hate it. The 1990 Topps card is pretty good, it's a design from my youth that hasn't been overdone yet, so it was a bit nostalgic. Elly de la Cruz is another big star which is nice. It's funny that the 2025's don't have batter strikeouts but they do show up on the 1990 design, so you see he had a whopping 218 strikeouts! Finally, just a base card, but to get the base card of the best player in the game is pretty awesome. I don't usually read the stats on the back but I did in Ohtani's case, and they're mind-boggling.

 

1970 Topps Booklets: The Jay Johnstone Story

Looks like they forgot to color in the logo on Johnstone's cap.

Down in the Valley is a folk song that dates back to the 1920s. It's been heard everywhere from a Burl Ives record to the opening scene of the original Friday the 13th movie.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose was a 1968 hit for Dionne Warwick, for which she earned her first Grammy.

Finally, no more singing, but an actual MLB highlight! Like the Walt Williams booklet, Topps chose a promising young hitter for a bad team. Andy Messersmith was the same age as Johnstone and also had a breakout season, and was arguably as good a choice. Other than that is pretty slim pickings: Jim Fregosi, Ken Tatum, maybe Rick Reichardt.

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Randy Jones

Last time gum trounced cake, 10-2. Will this be closer?

Two very different photos this time. The hostess card has Randy in front of the visitors dugout at Shea Stadium, the site of so many Topps photos over the years. There are so many visible details, from the view of the stadium and the sky beyond in the background, players on the field, fans in the stands, and in the foreground some Padres in the dugout and a ball bag on the steps. Topps's photo, meanwhile, has a close-up of Jones at home at Jack Murphy Stadium, with some pretty good stadium detail on this one too.

Randy Jones won 100 games in his ten-year major league career. A two-time All-Star and twenty-game winner, he was the NL Cy Young Award Winner in 1976, going 22-14 with a 2.74 ERA and 25 complete games for the Padres. After his career he owned a restaurant and had a barbecue sauce business. He is now the chairman of the Randy Jones Foundation, which provides opportunities and resources for military families. He shared his thoughts on baseball cards with this blog in 2014.

Wood vs Wood #261

Last time it was another big victory for 1987, 8-0. Who will win here?

George Alusik looks away from the photographer at Yankee Stadium. You get a nice, if blurry, look at the centerfield bleachers and flagpole. Alusik was a big power hitter who never really got a full chance at the big league level. He was signed by the Tigers at the age of 18, but his development was delayed due to serving in the Korean War. After the war he won two AAA batting titles but never got much of a look by the Tigers, who sold him to the KC A's two games into the '62 season. There Alusik put up good power numbers in limited playing time. He had a five-game HR streak in 1962, one short of the record at the time. He played his last big league game in 1964 at the age of 29. In 1965 at the age of 30 he hit .207 in AAA, ending his career. In 298 major league games he hit .256 with 23 HR and 93 RBI. After his playing career he returned home to New Jersey. When he died in 2018, his obituary said he was "a practical joker always making people laugh, avid golfer, hunting/fishing, playing the slot machines in AC Casinos".

Ruben Sierra takes a big cut at Yankee Stadium. Sierra was an exciting slugger who put up some big numbers early in his career, most notably 1989 when he led the AL in triples, RBI and slugging. The Yankees traded Danny Tartabull for him in 1995 and he was a key figure in returning the team to the postseason after a 14-year absence. His at-bats were always exciting, must-watch moments, including two home runs against the Mariners in the ALDS, and he is still one of my favorite Yankees. He struggled to start the '96 season, and the Yankees traded him to Detroit for Cecil Fielder. This was a wise move by the Yankees, as Fielder contributed a lot of big hits to the world championship team, while Sierra's production fell of a cliff upon turning 30. Sierra eventually reinvented himself as an excellent pinch hitter and bench player, and he returned to the Yankees from 2003-2005, getting a lot of big hits, including two more postseason home runs. Overall in 2,186 games for nine teams, Sierra hit .268 with 306 HR and 1,322 RBI. During his time with the Yankees, Sierra's walk-up music was his own salsa music, and he has recorded several successful albums since the end of his baseball career.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Dick Allen

Nice to see Allen finally get into the Hall of Fame. He gets a good photo here, too.

April 24, 1973. 

Allen was 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. Meanwhile Eddie Leon, Bill Melton and Carlos May all hit home runs as the White Sox crushed the Yankees, 8-4. It was Stan Bahnsen's first win against the Yankees, for whom he had pitched for five years before being traded to the Pale Hose.

In other news, the USS Force caught fire and sank off of Guam, thankfully with no casualties; the President of Cambodia agreed to US pressure to share power with the leaders of three other anti-communist groups; and the Saturday Review went bankrupt.

It looks like this photo and similar ones got a lot of use. Here it is in color on his 1974 Topps Puzzle.

The same photo was also used on the 1975 home run leaders card. The Yankees played at Shea Stadium in '74 so the photo had to be from '72 or '73.

His 1974 Topps stamp appears to have been taken at the same time.

His Kelloggs cards are worth mentioning here. Check out his 1973 Kelloggs card. Also Yankee Stadium. Also a turtleneck, with the zipper down to the team name. He would have had to change out from a bat to a fielding glove, but that's hardly a big change. But wouldn't these cards have been out by April of 1973? I would assume that the baseball card tie in would have been out in boxes around opening day?

Then you have 1974 and 1975. Kelloggs used fake backgrounds on their lenticular cards, but once again his uniform matches up with the Yankee Stadium photos.

 

 

1981 Topps Eric Soderholm

  

The front: Looks like someone in the stands has an umbrella open. Maybe a bit of a rainy day at Yankee Stadium?

The back: April 20th was a big day for Soderholm, who was a triple short of a cycle. His second-inning solo homer gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in a game they would go on to win, 9-5.

The player: This was a final tribute card for Soderholm. The third baseman played for the Twins, White Sox, Rangers and Yankees from 1971 to 1980. His best season was 1977, when he bounced back from missing the entire '76 season due to injury, hitting .380 with 25 HR and 67 RBI, earning AL Comeback Player of the Year honors. Overall, n 894 games he hit .264 with 102 HR and 383 RBI. 

The man: After his career he was a Cubs scout and a youth baseball coach. He is now the owner of Soderworld Wellness Center & Academy, a body, mind and spirit sanctuary in Willowbrook, IL. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards in 2018.

My collection: I have 14 of his cards, from 1973 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1978 Hostess #20.
 

1976 SSPC Larry Milbourne

 

The card, in brief: Between the chaw and the sideburn, there's a whole lot going on with Milbourne's cheek.

Playing career, in brief: Utility infielder Larry Milbourne played for six teams over 11 seasons. In 989 games he hit .254 with 11 HR and 184 RBI. He hit very well in his one post-season, filling in for an injured Bucky Dent with the 1981 Yankees, hitting .327 in 14 games.

Post-playing career, in brief: For someone who played over a decade in the major leagues, Milbourne has kept a very low profile. Anyone know what he is doing now?

My collection: I have 20 of his cards, from 1975 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for  1984 Topps Traded #79T.

1970 Topps Booklets: The Walt Williams Story

 No neck in this portrait. But, nobody else had a neck in their portraits either.

Another Bay Area baseball star. I like the hat.

Bateman was not one of baseball's nice guys, and the nickname was not necessarily meant to be friendly. Williams didn't like the nickname at first but eventually warmed up to it.

It's not until the last panel of the comic that we get a major league accomplishment for Williams. The '69 White Sox didn't have much star power to choose from. Luis Aparicio was certainly more accomplished, and they had a strong starting staff, but at age 25 Williams was maybe the most exciting player at the time. He never hit .300 again and only had one more good season, though.

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Mike Torrez

Last time it was a close one, with cake victorious by a score of 6-4. Who will win here?

Once again we have two photos from the same session, this time at the Oakland Coliseum. In a bit of a departure from usual patterns, it's Hostess with the closeup, Topps with the farther-away shot. You can even see Torrez's #24 written on his glove.

Mike Torrez pitched for seven teams in his 18-year-career. 1975 was his one year with the Orioles, and his one year winning 20 games. Torrez had been traded along with Ken Singleton from the Expos for Rich Coggins and Dave McNally, a great trade for Baltimore. However after the season the Orioles traded Torrez and Don Baylor to Oakland for Reggie Jackson, a trade that did not work out as well for them. In early 1977, the Yankees, with several injuries in their starting rotation, traded Dock Ellis to Oakland for Torrez, and he had a great regular season and an even better postseason, dominating the Dodgers with two complete game victories, including the clinching Game 6. A free agent after the season, Torrez signed a big contract with Boston and ended up facing the Yankees in the one-game playoff at the end of the regular season, where Torrez famously gave up Bucky Dent's big 3-run home run. Torrez struggled to live up to his big contract in Boston. He has said that he preferred pitching to Thurman Munson than Carlton Fisk, and he did improve when Fisk left, going 10-3 in 1981. Overall in 494 games Torrez went 185-160 with a 3.96 ERA. After his career he has done some coaching, and for many years has owned MAT Premiums, a promotional-items distributor.

Wood vs. Wood #260

Last time it was an 8-2 win for 1987. Who will win this battle of great AL pitchers coming to the Giants at the end of their careers?

Usually known as Billy, Bill Pierce is in his White Sox uniform at Yankee Stadium, but listed as a Giant. Pierce originally came up with the Tigers at the age of 18 in 1945, and after the 1948 season was traded to the White Sox. In his 13 seasons with the White Sox, Pierce and Whitey Ford were generally considered the best left-handed pitchers in the American League, with the two often matching up against each other directly. He led the AL in strikeouts in '53, wins in '55 and ERA in '57. He had a down year in 1959, the White Sox' pennant year, and was only used in the bullpen during the World Series, a controversial decision by manager Al Lopez. Seemingly on the decline, Pierce was traded to the Giants in '62 and had a marvelous comeback season, going 16-6 and going 1-1 against his old rivals, the Yankees, in the World Series. However he flamed out quickly after that. Overall in 585 games he went 211-169 with 1,999 strikeouts and a 3.27 ERA. These numbers seem more "very good" than "all time great", but given the watering down of the Hall of Fame in recent years, he would not be a terrible Hall selection. After his career he spent some time as a White Sox announcer and scout (signing Ron Kittle), and was a sales and PR representative for Continental Envelope for over 20 years. He died of cancer in 2015.

Vida Blue's sunset card has a simple shot of him with arms crossed, looking up into the stands. Blue burst onto the national scene as a 21-year old rookie in 1971, going 24-8 with 301 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA. He held out for much of 1972 and slipped considerably, going 6-10 and being demoted to the bullpen. However, his strikeout and ERA numbers, though not as good as '71, were still better than most pitchers in the league. He rebounded to win 20 games in '73. Blue was never again as dominant as he was in '71 (he never struck out 200 batters again, let alone 300), but he still put up excellent numbers for Oakland and San Francisco though the 1981 season. Blue was traded to the Royals before the 1982 season, and quickly became embroiled in the cocaine scandals that engulfed that team. He was suspended for the 1984 season, though he returned in 1985 and 1986 as a solid starter for the Giants. He signed with the A's in 1987 but abruptly retired in spring training, presumably due to more drug problems. His career 209-161 record and 3.27 ERA compare well to other pitchers of his era who get Hall of Fame consideration. He is hurt by not living up to his rookie-year hype, his history of drug abuse, and a poor postseason record (1-5, 4.31 ERA in 17 games). Blue was one of the players most directly involved in the cocaine scandals of the 1980s, eventually serving 81 days in jail. Substance abuse continued to haunt him after his career, with at least three DUI arrests in the 2000s and 2010s. Blue was an announcer for the Giantswas involved in various charitable endeavors. He died of cancer in 2023.
 

1974 Topps Deckle Dating: Claude Osteen

Airbrush alert. 

Not only is it a Dodger uniform, but it's a Dodger uniform from 1971, the only year the team had that stripe on their road uniforms. (Though they appear to have worn them in spring training of 1972.) Definitely not February 26, 1974. Most likely '72 if uniform changes went into effect after spring training was over.

Looks like Osteen's '74 Topps Traded card looks similarly airbrushed from the same shoot. At least here they did the uniform too.

 

1981 Topps Paul Mirabella

The front: Mirabella unloads a pitch on a sunny day at Yankee Stadium. This is June 1, 1980, a loss for Mirabella and the Blue Jays. Mirabella was pulled from the game in the bottom of the fifth with two runners on, after allowing a single to Lou Piniella to tie the game. Tom Buskey was brought in, and he immediately gave up a 3-run home run to Bobby Brown, giving the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish, in a game that ended with an 11-7 final. Third baseman Roy Howell can be seen in the photo; Howell went 2-for-5 with a run scored in the loss.

The back: Mirabella's 136 strikeouts edged the #2 man, Don Robinson of the Pirates, by four K's.

The player: Journeyman pitcher Paul Mirabella pitched for six teams over parts of thirteen seasons, mostly with the Mariners and Brewers. 1980 was his one years as a starter; he was mostly used as a middle reliever. His best season was 1988 with Milwaukee, when he went 2-2 with 4 saves and a 1.65 ERA in 38 games. Overall in 298 games (33 starts), he went 19-29 with 13 saves and a 4.45 ERA.

The man: After his playing career, he returned to his native New Jersey, where he opened Garfield Tire in Clifton.

My collection: I have 16 of his cards, from 1981 to 1991. I would be interested in trading for 1988 ProCards #1258.
 

1976 SSPC Roger Metzger

 

The card, in brief: Lots of people milling around in the stands before gametime. Meanwhile Metzger already has his pregame chaw.

Playing career, in brief: The shortstop was known for his defense (Gold Glove in '73) and speed (twice led the NL in triples). In the 1979 offseason he sliced off part of four fingers on his throwing hand in a woodworking accident. He attempted a comeback in 1980 but hit just .074 in 28 games. Overall in 1,219 games he hit .231 with 101 2B, 71 3B, 5 HR and 254 RBI.

Post-playing career, in brief:  After his playing career he returned to his hometown of Brenham, TX, and taught high school math. Later he was the job procurement officer at the Brenham State School, a home for teenagers and adults with mental disabilities. He appears to now be retired.

My collection: I have 15 of his cards, from 1971 to 1980. I would be interested in trading for 1975 Hostess #115.

1970 Topps Booklets: The Vada Pinson Story

Best known for his time with Cincinnati, Pinson is wearing a Cleveland hat here. He played for them in '70 and '71.

I imagine Fuji is probably familiar with McClymonds High School.

Error card! 1967 should be 1957.

Pete Rose broke Pinson's record in 1977 and went on to have 13 straight seasons with 600 at-bats, the current record for all of MLB, from 1968 to 1980.

 

Cake or gum? 1976 Don Kessinger

Last time it was Topps winning, 8-3. Who will come out on top here?

After 12 seasons with the Cubs, Don Kessinger was traded to St. Louis in October of 1975, and he was airbrushed into his Cardinals uniform on both cards. Looks like a spring training shot in Arizona for his Hostess card, and Candlestick Park for the Topps card.

An excellent fielding shortstop with doubles power who would take a walk, Kessinger was an All-Star for six out of seven seasons from 1968 to 1974. The Cubs traded him to the Cardinals in 1975, and two years later he returned to Chicago when he was traded to the White Sox. In 1979 he was the White Sox player-manager, the last person to do that in the American League. It was an unsuccessful stint, resigning in August with a .434 winning percentage and .200 batting average. Overall in 2,078 games, he hit .252 with 1,931 hits, 254 doubles, 14 HR and 527 RBI. He was later the head baseball coach at Ole Miss for many years, and founded Kessinger Real Estate in Oxford, MS, which is now run by his son Keith, also a former major leaguer.
 

Blogger/TCDB/OBC roundup

Hadn't realized I hadn't done one of these since December. Some overdue thanks for all of these! 

Three 1962 Topps from Neal Thomas, OBC. Lee Thomas and Bob Cerv had just been traded for each other!

I love it when I can trade modern for vintage. I traded three modern cards to DSPokecards of TCDB, for these two '68 high numbers.

Two awesome additions to my 1953 set, from Steve Sankner, OBC. Always a thrill to get cards this old.

I love the Heritage flashbacks cards and any Don Mattingly card. These came from homerjg007, TCDB.

Great mixture of vintage needs from Randy Welk, OBC.

Two '58 Red Sox and some '82 Fleer stamps with great photographer, courtesy of Ymmat, TCDB.

Time travel trade with Diamond Jesters. A vintage card, a Topps sticker, and some big football names from the 80's.

I got four envelopes from Johnny's Trading Spot, in batches of two. The first two were all modern cards of vintage Yankees.

The second two were lots of shiny Yankee cards. All of the '24 design cards are from the 582 Montgomery set, with shiny foil. The Panini Chronicles Gary Sanchez card is two different color variations. I didn't even realize the cards were serial numbered until later.

Finally, I picked out some fun cards from the Angels in Order giveaway. Lots of great cards here but my favorite is the "Picture Perfect" insert, which I had never seen before. For some reason the photo under the Reds player is of Hilltop Park, the uptown Manhattan home of the New York Highlanders (later Yankees) before Yankee Stadium. That part of Manhattan is quite hilly, hence the park and team name. You can see the Fort Washington Armory behind the left field wall. That building is still there today. (The site of Hilltop Park is now Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital.)