Trade with Scott Crawford

Had another mega-trade with Scott Crawford, with well over 1000 cards going each way. Like Smed, he always delights with a great variety of cards from the last thirty years.

A lot of the cards were of the lenticular variety, including a bunch of 1987 Sportflics. I really love the photography in this set, though it is hard to capture in a picture.

I chose this card to show in part because of the odd error on the back - the number 8 appears to be upside down. No other 8s in the set look like this, with the larger circle on the top of the 8 instead of the bottom. Not sure how clear it is in this picture but if you have the card you'll be able to tell pretty easily.

There were also a bunch of cool 1979 Kellogg 3-D Super Stars cards. Though only 60 cards, this interesting set includes some folks like John Henry Johnson and Mario Guerrero who you wouldn't think of as superstars. It also includes a guy who was briefly a superstar, and was certainly paid like one - the patron saint of the other blog I write for, the Hall of Very Good - Ross Grimsley.

Interview with Jason Hirsh

Jason Hirsh has pitched professionally since 2003 in the Astros, Rockies and Yankees organizations, including three years in the major leagues. A member of a baseball family, I interviewed his brother Matt in 2009. He missed the 2011 season due to injury, and is currently playing in the Australian Baseball Winter League. You can follow his comeback on his blog, On My Way Back Up Down Under. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I collected baseball cards all through my childhood. I use to go to my local card shop (After The Anthem) and hang out there for hours talking with the owner and the workers. I collected everything from Topps to Upper Deck to OpeeChee to Donruss. One my favorite things to do was collect the Diamond Kings from the Donruss packs. One story in particular that I always tell to people is the story of my 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. It was my birthday and I had money burning a hole in my pocket so naturally I headed to the card shop. I saw the Griffey rookie packaged tightly in a big glass protector sitting on the top shelf of the display case and it was only $20. I thought it was a great price and I was a fan of Griffey so what a perfect match. I bought the card and treasured it as my prized possession in my collection. I still have the card and its still tightly sealed in the case it came in. I know the value of the card has probably peaked for now but its always nice to look at the investment of $20 has now gone as high at $120 bucks or more. That was definitely the crowning achievement of my card collecting days. I also have an UpperDeck SP hologram card of ARod that I think is pretty valuable. Baseball wasn't the end all of my card collecting however. I also have some football, basketball and hockey cards. I possess a Shaq rookie card that I think I traded for or picked up real cheap. I didn't really know much about hockey but I definitely have a bunch of cards including an Eric Lindros card that I thought at the time was like the best card ever for hockey. Needless to say I've spent quite a fortune on cards in my time and as I grew older the prices of packs got too expensive to collect anymore so I stopped and moved on. But I have countless white organizing boxes in my closet at my parents house with what I'm sure will one day be cardboard gold.

Once I got into pro baseball it was kind of surreal to finally see myself immortalized on a baseball card. I have a bunch of cards from my time in the bigs and I've tried to collect every one of them but there are so many subsets and colors and other BS now its almost impossible. Its definitely pretty cool to think that some kid can open a pack of cards and pull out my picture. Whether he values it or not is not for me decide, but nonetheless pretty cool. I dont collect cards anymore because the hobby has gotten way out of hand. The prices for a pack of cards are ridiculous. I remember being able to buy a pack for 50 cents and the most expensive pack was 5 bucks. Today you cant even sniff a pack for 5 bucks. Plus the number of cards in each pack has shrunk as well. We use to get anywhere between 8-12 cards a pack and that always made it fun to open packs and see what you got. Its just not the same today. Sports memorabilia has such value today that baseball cards are almost an afterthought to baseballs, bats, jerseys, hats etc... Oh well maybe one day my kids will learn what true baseball card collecting is all about and I'll pass along to them my cards and hope they appreciate them like I did."

Thanks!

Player Profile: Jose Altuve

Check out This Week in Baseball Cards at the Hall of Very Good, featuring a Pete Rose WWE card, and the story of the 1986 Mets rap song.

I have one card of Jose Altuve, from 2011 Topps Update Set.

Playing career: Second baseman Jose Altuve made his big league debut with the Astros in 2011, hitting .276 in 57 games.

Where he is now: Still in the Astros organization.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is seventh when you type Jose Al, between Jose Alvarez, the former Braves pitcher, and Jose Alvarez NYU, a law professor. There do not appear to be any other prominent Jose Altuves.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Alexi Amarista.

Player Profile: Ryan Adams

I have one card of Ryan Adams, from 2011 Topps Update Set.

Playing career: Second baseman Ryan Adams made his major league debut for the Orioles in 2011, hitting .281 with 0 HR and 7 RBI.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Still in the Orioles organization.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fifth when you type Ry, between Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bills quarterback, and Ryanair, an Irish airline. There are no references to the ballplayer on the first page when you google Ryan Adams; most entries refer to a singer.

Coming up next: the next profile will be Jose Altuve.

Ed Vosberg on baseball cards

Ed Vosberg pitched ten seasons in the major leagues for the Padres, Giants, A's, Rangers, Marlins, Diamondbacks, Phillies and Expos. Now the Marketing Specialist for San Diego's AAA team, the Tucson Padres, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"My favorite card of myself would be my Topps A's card taken during the '94 season...It's the only Topps card I have.I did collect baseball cards as a kid, and even collected Slurpee cups from Circle K, back in the day. Its a shame, baseball cards don't have the same special meaning as they used to. Sports in general has changed, and the money is so astronomical, that a family can't even afford to go to the games. Its tragic!"

Thanks! I don't have that card, but here is one I do have, from 1991 Score.

Player Profile: Alfredo Aceves

I have one card of Alfredo Aceves, from 2011 Topps Update Set.

Playing career: Alfredo Aceves pitched for the Yankees from 2008-2010, going 14-1. He pitched for the Red Sox in 2011, going 10-2.

My memories: Aceves was a bit of a vulture with the Yankees, one of those relievers who would come in with the team losing and then get lucky when the Yankees would come back the inning he happened to be in the game. While they didn’t really need him, it’s a shame he went to Boston.

Where he is now: The Red Sox may be converting him to a reliever in 2012.

Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type Alfredo, between Alfredo, the pasta sauce, and Alfredo Flores, a music video director. There do not appear to be any other prominent Alfredo Aceveses.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Ryan Adams.