Green Monster

Obsessed...

2009-01-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

I'm obsessed. Addicted. I can't help myself. Despite having a series of posts scheduled out, some of which I was excited to write, I haven't posted anything to Green Monster in almost two weeks. And I don't even have a good reason like being too busy with work, or family obligations. Nope. I've spent virtually all of my free time since my last post doing one thing - reading.

I'll be the first to admit that once I pick up a new series it tends to occupy my attention until I've read everything I can get my hands on. It happened with the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I was in my teens, and most recently with Anne McCaffrey's Pern series. But usually I'm able to go at a normal pace and string a series out over a period of time (with LOTR for example I've slowly been reading through Chris Tolkien's History of Middle Earth series for well over a decade now). I've never felt a series almost literally take over my life to the point where I rush home from work so that I can pick up where I left off at 1 or 2 o'clock the previous morning (and then only because my wife dragged me to bed knowing I'd never get up otherwise). Man, I can't believe how pathetic I sound.

My patheticness will only sound worse when I share what it is I've become so obsessed with. My reading preferences tend towards the Fantasy end of the spectrum. I do stray out and occasionally read other genres (I loved Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth for example) in between my forays into magical worlds of mythic creatures and daring adventure. But there are a number of genres that I've stayed away from because they just don't appeal to me - mysteries and romance being the two heavies. So when my sister-in-law and mother-in-law started raving about this pseudo-romance/fantasy series they'd been reading (finished in my sister-in-law's case) I shrugged them off, thinking I'd never be interested. But my sister-in-law kept on me and I finally gave in and took the first book home with me. Literally a day and a half later I'd finished Twilight and was back on my sister-in-law's doorstep begging her for the second book.

Yes, you read that right. I said Twilight. As in the young adult book that was written with a primarily female audience in mind; as in vampire falls in love with teenage girl and much angst ensues; as in the movie that came out this past November. I am obsessed with that Twilight. And I can tell you exactly why that is - her characters. More than any other literary characters that I can think of, these characters, Bella and Edward, have burrowed their way into me. I empathize with them, I feel with them, I care about them. It's a bizzare feeling to be honest. And because I want to know how it all turns out for them (actually I'm pretty sure I know how it's going to turn out for them, its not Stephanie Meyer's writing prowess that has me obsessed), I cannot stop reading. In less than two weeks, I have literally read over 1800 pages. I've certainly read more (I like to read Tad Williams after all - the three books in the Memory, Sorrow, Thorn series clocks in at over 2400 pages), but never at this kind of pace.

So for those who were wondering where I've been for the last two weeks, I've been in Forks, Washington with Bella and Edward. I'll be back soon, I promise - I'm already a third of the way through the last book and at the rate I'm going, I'll be done before the weekend. I just hope that the withdrawl won't be too bad.

He Played for the Red Sox? HOF Edition

2009-01-12T07:10:00.000-08:00

In honor of his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame, this week’s He Played for the Red Sox player is Rickey Henderson. Rickey played for a whole pile of teams (sidebar, anyone know what the most teams a single player has played for) including the Red Sox.

Henderson signed as a free agent with the Red Sox in 2002 and became the oldest player to play center field in major league history with them. At age 43, he played in just over 70 games and still managed to hit 5 home runs and steal 6 bases. Henderson's arrival in Boston marked a curious statistical oddity. From his 1979 debut through the end of the 2001 season, he had stolen more bases by himself than everyone who had ever played for the Red Sox combined: 1,395 steals for Henderson, 1,382 for the Boston franchise. The Red Sox finally "passed" Henderson on April 30, 2002. While statistically, Henderson certainly didn't have a huge impact on the Red Sox, his signing marks the beginning of a critical philosophical shift in the organization. Prior to Henderson, the Red Sox were always built as a slugging team. Sure there were guys like Ellis Burks who came along every now and then who could steal a base or two, but the Sox were never built as a team who could take the extra base on a single (and we Red Sox fans now know how important that can be following Dave Robert's steal in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS). They were always built to put men on base and either score them via a home run or leave them stranded. Henderson was the first step in an evolution that is still on-going with the 2009 team.

Here’s an anecdote I found about Rickey’s time with the Red Sox over on Buckey Planet:

“Henderson signed a minor league deal last year with the Boston Red Sox that included an invitation to spring training and a $ 350,000 salary if he made the team. After he played his way onto the Boston roster with an impressive spring, Henderson groused that the Red Sox were underpaying him.

Interim general manager Mike Port reminded Henderson of the conditions he had agreed to.

"Oh, that?" Henderson replied. "I canceled that contract."

Says Port, "It was the first and only time I've ever had a player tell me he canceled his contract."

Red Sox president Larry Lucchino telephoned San Diego G.M. Kevin Towers, asking how Towers had appeased Henderson during their contract squabbles in the past. "I was on the golf course late in spring training one year when Rickey called to close a deal," Towers says. "I was putting, and my wife took the call. I said to her, 'Ask him what he wants.' She said, 'He wants a living allowance.' And I did it. That's how we closed the deal."Lucchino liked that idea. The Red Sox agreed to pick up the tab on the suite Henderson was renting at the Boston Ritz-Carlton, which ran $ 10,000 a month.”

Smoltz, Baldelli and Kotsay... Oh My!

2009-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

After a relatively quiet offseason, the Red Sox have announced a flurry of signings. While none of these are a big splash signing on the level of CC Sabathia or Mark Texiera, I think all three are good solid additions that will make the Red Sox a better team.

Baldelli and Kotsay are bench players with starting lineup ability, something the Red Sox have lacked of late. Kotsay proved how valuable he was in the playoffs last year, with the ability to play both the outfield as well as fill in at first base allowing flexibility at the corners with Lowell (coming off of surgery) and Youkilis.

As for Smoltz, how can you not like signing a guy like this. While ordinarilly I would worry about a career NL pitcher coming over to the AL and seeing a jump in their ERA (like Brad Penny), I don't have this concern with Smoltz. The NL east is about as strong a division as their is in baseball and he routinely had to face guys like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Carlos Delgado, and the 30-HR infield the Marlins sported last year. I don't see the switch to the AL affecting Smoltz as much as it might others.
Now if they could just get someone to catch all of these pitchers (other than Josh Bard)...

Original Heritage - 1989 BBCM Inserts, Part 3

2009-01-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

The final installment of the 1989 BBCM inserts, featuring Pitchers, Rookies and a panel of combo cards.

Pitchers -

Rookies -

Combos -

I don't have a lot of the actual Topps Heritage cards, but I do have a few of the chrome versions and I have to say that I like the old BBCM inserts better. It may be the chroming process, but a lot of the images on the 2008's appear pixelated and blurry. I'll dig out the 1990 inserts soon and scan those for future posts.

Original Heritage - 1989 BBCM Inserts, Part 2

2009-01-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

The 1989 BBCM inserts are fun because they're like a snapshot in time of who the hottest players and rookies were at the time. Some of the players featured on these cards went on (or continued on) to become superstars, others not so much. In the second grouping of these insert panels we have the outfielders and catchers. Like the images in part 1, clicking on the thumbnail will load a larger image.

Outfielders:

Catchers:
Tomorrow I'll finish off the 1989 insert collection with the pitchers, rookies and combo cards.

Trade, the First

2009-01-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

I recently completed my first blog trade with Jason from The Writer's Journey. While trading through the internet isn't new to me (I've been a member of The Bench since getting back into collecting and have completed over 50 trades there), trading with other bloggers is. Both of us had recently picked up blasters of 2007 UD Masterpieces and were a few cards short of the set (horrible collation on that set by the way - 4 blasters and almost as many doubles as cards for the set). I scanned a few of the cards that came my way:

Bobby Doerr - Doerr often gets lost in the shadow of Ted Williams and the other greats of the late 1930's.

Lou Gehrig - I really wish that the MLB network would show the video of Gehrig's last game. They keep teasing me with it in their promos.

2004 World Series Champion Red Sox - Upper Deck new enough not to mess with a good team celebration card by sticking Photoshoped politicians in it.

I also sent Jason a few other cards from his want list and in return he sent me a bunch of Red Sox cards:

2008 Topps Opening Day Josh Beckett Flapper Card - I had little interest in collecting the Opening Day set when it came out, so I had to look this card up to figure out what it was. According to the sell sheets it's supposed to transform into other cards. Ummm.... yeah. Why not just stick it in a bicycle spoke and be done with it.
Fleer Stamps- These are either from 1982 or 1983. If I had to guess I would say they are from 1982, only because one of the stamps featured Mike Torrez (he of Bucky Dent infamy) and he was traded by the Red Sox in 1983.
2001 Topps - Jason sent me a large collection of Red Sox from this set. I'll have to look at my checklists to see if it's a complete team set.
2001 Topps Manny Ramirez Hobby Masters - I'm finding that I've been able to pick up Manny Red Sox cards dirt cheap. I wonder if this is a common phenomenon when a star player changes teams. Fans of the old team no longer want his cards, while fans of his new team don't want him in the old team's uniform. This is one thick card. I have game used cards that aren't this thick.

2000 UD Victory - I have a number of cards from various Victory sets by Upper Deck. This isn't one of my favorite designs, but hey, Red Sox cards are Red Sox cards. Trot Nixon was another player in the Greenwell/Naehring/Wakefield mold that I enjoyed watching. Good, hard-nosed, team oriented player. I was sad to see him go, even though I know it was time.

Original Heritage - 1989 BBCM Inserts, Part 1

2009-01-07T18:19:00.001-08:00

A couple of posts ago I was reminiscing about Baseball Card Magazine and the bonus insert cards that came with every magazine. I've seen a few of these here and there around the internet and blogs, but I don't know that anyone has ever posted a complete series of these before. BBCM's inserts were organized into yearly collections, each with a similar design theme. The 1989 series used the 1959 Topps design. You might call them the pioneers of the "Heritage" movement, putting contemporary players on retro designs. Here are the first four uncut panels of the 1989 series featuring the infielders. Clicking on the panels will take you to a larger version:

First Basemen -
Card Backs -
Second Basemen -
Shortstops -
Third Basemen -

Blog Recognition

2009-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Time for a quick timeout so that i can recognize a few of my fellow bloggers -

Goose Joak - For those of you who haven't stumbled across this blog yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. One of th centerpieces of Goose Joak (which is by the way my favorite blog name) is a series of great fantasy cards. A while back Dave asked for some suggestions for future fantasy cards. I suggested a 2004 Bill Buckner card. In my opinion, Buckner bore too much hatred and blame from Red Sox fans for far too long. Yes it was a boneheaded play, but there were others who were equally, if not more responsible for the Red Sox loss that year (Calvin Schiraldi, this means you). 2004 wiped that all away and I thought it a fitting mea culpa to show Buckner on a card from the year that all was forgiven.

wait till next year - A little over a week ago I received an email from a Green Monster reader (they really do exist) asking me to check out his new blog and give it a plug if I liked it. Well not only did I check it out and like it, I added it to my daily reading list (which currently stands at 66 blogs, most of the hobby related). I find it funny how similar Cubs fans and Red Sox fans are. I can't tell you how many times I heard the phrase "wait till next year" from one of my New England relatives when talking about the disappointing end to yet another season. Hang in there Cubs fans, its all worth it.

Bluegrass Smoke Signals - I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Kentucky Harold and his vintage themed card blog. After all, he is the only official "follower" according to blogger. Besides his card blog, KH also writes a second blog that deals with the Euclidean Triangle. I tried reading a couple of his geometry posts and they made my head swim. I use basic geometry in my regular job (architect), but KH takes it to another level.

Monster Card of the Week - Elmira Pioneers Edition

2009-01-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

Last night, Jeffrey Wolfe over at A Pack A Day busted a rack pack of 1992 Topps and made some disparaging comments about one of my favorite Red Sox players, Tim Naehring. Now I'll be the first to admit that Naehring wasn't an uber-prospect and was far from a star player during his 8 year career (cut short by injury), but I gotta stick up for him none the less. And what better way to do that than to make him the subject of this week's Monster Card?I grew up in a small town in North-central Pennsylvania, far away from even the closest major league city. Just over the border in New York however, was the small city of Elmira, home to the Pioneers, a class "A" affiliate of the Red Sox. I attended a lot of Pioneers games when I was younger. Although I enjoyed going to the games, very few of the players I saw in Elmira (including the players on the visiting teams) ever made it to the big leagues. Tim Naehring was one of the rare few that did. I don't honestly remember much about Tim from his playing days in Elmira. But he became one of my favorite Red Sox players as a result of one of those bizarre, cosmic coincidences that I just love.

When I was growing up my family would take a vaccation every summer to Massachusetts to visit extended family. Most of the vaccation was spent at various relatives' houses, but at least once a trip we would venture into Boston. Some summers we went to a museum, others the aquarium, and some we would go to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play. Such was the case in the summer of 1990, when Tim Naehring made his major league debut. The Red Sox were playing the Twins with Tom Bolton and Scott Erickson battling to a 0-0 tie through 4 innings (my memories of this game have been supplemented by the old scorecard I kept during the game). In the bottom of the inning, Mike Greenwell reached base on an error. He advanced to third via a single by Tony Pena and a fielder's choice by Billy Joe Robidoux. Then, with two outs, up strides the rookie, Tim Naehring who, in only his second game since being called up does not have a ML hit. In that at bat, one of the only players I ever saw play both in Elmira and in Boston stroked a two out single for his first ML hit and his first ML RBI. It turned out to be the only run scored in the game. I remember the atmosphere in the stands being electric during that half inning, with all of the fans standing and cheering for a kid few of them had ever even heard of. To this day it is one of the few memories I retain out of all the Red Sox games I attended. So while Tim Naehring may not have been the best player ever to grace Fenway Park, he will always be one of my favorites.

He Played for the Red Sox? Carlos Baerga

2009-01-05T10:01:00.001-08:00

Best known for his time with the Cleveland Indians during the early 1990s, Carlos Baerga spent the 2002 season with the Red Sox. Baseball history is littered with players who burst into the sport at the start of their careers looking like surefire Hall of Famers, only to flame out and vanish as quickly as they arrived. Carlos Baerga is a card carrying member of this dubious club. From 1990 through 1995, as the Indians starting second baseman, Baerga was one of the hottest players on a talented young team full of future Hall of Famers (Thome, Ramirez, Vizquel). In 1992 and 1993 he became the first second baseman since Rogers Hornsby to have back-to-back 200+ hit, 20+ home run, 100+ RBI, and .300+ average seasons and received MVP votes in both seasons.

Baerga’s production quickly tailed off after 1995 and he spent the next several years bouncing around various teams and their minor leagues (including a stint in the Korean Baseball Organization) before landing with the Red Sox in 2002. He made appearances in 73 games for the Red Sox, mostly as a designated hitter/pinch hitter. While his numbers for the 2002 season are pretty inconsequential, his finest moment as a Red Sox may have come on May 24 in an extra-innings game against the Yankees. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, Baerga hit a stinging line drive to center field. Bernie Williams caught the ball, but it was it deep enough to score the runner from third to win the game. And while it may be a relatively inconsequential hit in the grand scheme of his career, it’s the scenario that every kid in his backyard pretends and dreams about.

Baerga signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a free agent in 2003 went on to have his best year since 1995. He finally retired in 2005 and is currently an analyst for ESPN Deportes.

Blogging on hold tonight...

2009-01-02T17:35:00.001-08:00

No blogging for me tonight. My new favorite channel is running the MLB Films video of the Red Sox 2004 World Series. I've officially died and woke up in heaven!

The Long Ball: The Summer of '75

2009-01-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

I love it when oddball coincidences occur. I equate them to mini cosmic practical jokes played out on us unsuspecting humans. In my answers to Dinger Corner’s New Years questions I noted that I haven’t read a lot of baseball themed books. In fact, over the years, I’ve probably only read about a half dozen baseball books, and none since Faithful was published in 2005. So it strikes me as really funny that Dinged Corners would put out their questions at the same time that I finished reading The Long Ball: The Summer of '75, by Tom Adelman (which is verbosely subtitled as, Spaceman, Catfish, Charlie Hustle, and the Greatest World Series Ever Played).

I bought this book on a lark for $2.99 at a discount store while on vacation in New England this summer. While the 1975 World Series took place a year before I was born, everyone knows the Fisk home run and with a picture of it on the cover, I couldn’t resist buying this book.

The Long Ball is divided into two roughly equal length parts (though by the table of contents it technically has five). Part one describes the events of the regular season while part two details the playoffs and World Series. The first half of the book feels rushed as Adelman tries to cram 160 games into a relatively small number of pages. That combined with the frequent perspective shifts gives the first half a kind of ADHD-like schizophrenia that can be difficult to follow. The second half of the book has much better pacing to it, although it too suffers from the quick perspective shifts that can be jolting at times. Other than these couple of criticisms, I enjoyed The Long Ball. It read pretty quickly and drew me into the drama of the pennant chase and the playoffs.

One of the biggest praises that I can give The Long Ball is that I feel as though I learned a lot about the events of 1975 without having read a dry historical retelling of the season. For instance, I didn’t know that Catfish Hunter was the first free agent and that he was the first in a long line of players “bought” by George Steinbrenner and his Yankees (Red Sox bias, I know). I had never heard about the controversial interference play during Game 3 of the World Series that by all reckoning should be talked about equally with the Buckner play of 1986. And I had never heard the story of how a rat distracted a cameraman such that he lost track of the Fisk’s momentous ball and instead filmed one of the most famous videos in MLB history.

My favorite part of the book is actually Adelman’s dedication:

"For my dad, Jack Adelman, who taught me to watch the game until the very end”

Words to live by.

Happy New Year - MLB Network Launches

2009-01-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

Baseball junkies received a special New Years gift today - as of 6 PM tonight, the new MLB Network is live. Fortunately for me, Time Warner Cable will be carrying this network. 24 hours of highlights, games, analysis and Hazel Mae.

Joining Ms Mae for the network's 24 hours coverage will be a team of six analysts who may be a bit familiar - Al Leiter, Harold Reynolds, Mitch Williams, Dan Plesac, Joe Magrane and Barry Larkin.

(Credit again for the images go to The Baseball Card Cyber Museum. I have all these in my 89 Topps set - which is now officially 20 years old - but why spend the time pulling and scanning them when the museum is out there. If you haven't checked it out yet, do so - it's free!)

MLB Network kicked off their inaugural hours with a rebroadcasting of Don Larsen's perfect game. I managed only to catch the last half hour due to family obligations, but I'm glad that I did. In addition to the game footage (which would have been enough for me as a history junkie), Bob Costas had both Yogi Berra and Larsen in studio to talk about their memories of the game. I'm a Red Sox fan and I was in awe.

I don't think I can do the game or the memories justice with my meager writing skills, so I won't. I did make a few observations while watching that old black and white footage though. First, I was amazed at how small the diamond looked. I don't know if it was the fact that it was in black and white and the contrast you get with color was missing, but it looked like grown men playing on a little league field. I was also amazed at how unflattering those old wool uniforms were. Every player, even the Hall of Famers like Yogi and Roy Campanella, looked unathletic and out of shape in those baggy, heavy uniforms. And lastly, having never seen any old footage of Yankee Stadium, I was amazed at how different the stadium looked compared to what I grew up knowing Yankee Stadium to look like. I knew it had been radically renovated in the 1970's, but it never really struck me how radical the changes were. It truly is a different stadium.

Its now been over an hour and a half since I first put the new MLB Network on and I can't stop watching it. I'm already hooked. And from what they've advertised for features and amenities coming in the future, I have a feeling my wife is going to get sick of channel 100 really quickly. I've already got my DVR set up to record the next 9 Tuedays (at 8PM Eastern) when the MLB Network is going to rebroadcast Ken Burns' legendary documentary series, Baseball. And all of this before the season and their unlimited coverage of games and highlights starts!

New Sox for a New Year

2008-12-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

So the Red Sox didn't sign the big pig (Texiera) this off-season. Honestly, I'm not going to cry over it (although I might cry that it was the Yankees who signed him). While I think he would have been a nice addition to the team, something would have needed to happen in the Mike Lowell/Kevin Youkilis department and both are guys that I really enjoy watching and respect. The Red Sox have not been idle though, and as the year comes to a close we welcome two new Sox to the Nation. Well, technically one new and one returning player. According to Boston.com, the Red Sox have signed free agent Pitcher Brad Penny and Catcher Josh Bard. Since I've kind of created a custom of commemorating these signings with fictional cards, here are Green Monster exclusives of Penny and Bard in their new unis, 2009 Topps Heritage style.

As for my reaction to these additions, I think Penny is a pretty good pickup. He's coming off of a bad year due to a shoulder issue so The Sox got him for cheap. If his shoulder is ok and he can return to his 2006 & 2007 form, then this is the steal of the decade. When he's on, Brad Penny is an ace quality pitcher. Considering he'll be the Red Sox 4th or 5th starter (depending on where they spot Wakefield in the rotation), you can't ask for much more. If he's still ailing and isn't the same pitcher he used to be, then the Sox are only out a few million (what's a few million in the scheme of things) and have young pitchers waiting to fill the 5th spot in Buccholz, Masterson and possibly Michael Bowden.

Josh Bard is another story. For the life of me I don't understand this signing. Bard breifly played for the Sox in 2006 (he was part of the Coco Crisp trade) but his inability to catch Wakefield's knuckleball earned him a quick exit out of town and resulted in the bizzare Mirabelli police escort escapade. Now I know that Bard is likely a better hitter than last year's backup (Kevin Cash), but really, we know he can't catch the flutter-ball, why go through this again? He's not an answer as a possible replacement for Varitek (god forbid). At 32, Bard is too old to be anything but a career backup catcher. Do you hear that Theo? Unless you have some grand masterplan out there to bring in the next catcher wunderkid - go resign Tek already! The guy wears the red "C" for Christ's sake. Cash really wasn't that God-awful to watch, and in the end, I think the yearly shuffle behind the plate will only hurt Wakefield. Especially since now he knows that he'll likely be throwing to a guy who in the course of 5 games he had 10 passed balls. Yikes.

Monster Card of the Week - 1959 Survivor

2008-12-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

It may be hard to believe from my almost 30 posts, but I do have non-Red Sox cards in my collection (other than in set form). This week's Monster Card is one of those "other" cards. In fact, of all the cards in my collection, this one non-Red Sox card may be one of the most special to me. This week’s Monster Card is a 1959 Topps Carl Furillo card, and it is the only card that remains of my dad’s childhood baseball card collection.

There are a million, “Mom/Grandma threw away my baseball cards” stories out there. It’s part of the reason why those old vintage cards are worth so much now. My dad’s story is no different. When he left home to go off to college, his mom cleaned out his room and threw out those old worthless beat up pieces of cardboard. I remember going to card shows with my dad back in the late 80s and he’d point out an old vintage card and tell me he remembers having it. The one I still remember to this day was the 1956 Mantle. I used to have dreams about searching my Grandma’s attic and finding that card in a dusty old shoebox in a dark corner. Unfortunately though, Mantle didn’t survive the purge. But Furillo did. Somehow, Carl Furillo managed to hide himself in an old book (I can’t for the life of me remember what book I found this card in) until I found him some thirty years later. I had no idea who Carl Furillo was, but I felt like I had struck gold. I had discovered a lost relic from my dad’s childhood – a treasured gem from the good old days.

Carl Furillo played the outfield for 15 seasons with the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers. He was an integral part of the Dodger dynasty of the 1940s and 1950s. Nicknamed “the Reading Rifle”, Furillo was noted for his strong and accurate throwing arm. He recorded 10 or more assists in nine consecutive seasons and led the National League in 1950 and 1951. As testament to his defensive prowess, he once threw out Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Mel Queen by two feet at first base after Queen had apparently singled into right field. Furillo was a decent offensive player also, batting over .300 five times and winning the 1953 batting title with a .344 average (the highest average by a Dodger since Oyster Burns hit .354 in 1894). In his 15 year career, Furillo batted .299 with 192 home runs, 1910 hits, 1058 RBI, 895 runs, 324 doubles, 56 triples, 48 stolen bases, a .458 slugging average and 514 walks for a .355 on base percentage. Sure he wasn’t Mantle (or even Duke Snider), but he was a very good major league player. Unfortunately he left baseball on very antagonistic terms. The Dodgers released him in May 1960 while he was injured with a torn calf muscle. Furillo sued the team claiming they released him to avoid his pension and medical expenses.

Furillo reportedly died a very unhappy ex-major league ball player, feeling that baseball had forgotten him and his accomplishments. Well I can tell you that I’m one baseball fan who will never forget Carl Furillo. He and his 1959 Topps card will always hold a special place in my collection. I wouldn’t trade my Furillo baseball card for a Mantle. Unless of course it was that Mantle I dreamed was hiding in a dusty shoebox in a dark corner of Grandma’s attic.

Recess is Over - Dinged Corners Rings the Bell

2008-12-29T05:46:00.000-08:00

With the holidays now all but over (I hope everyone got the chance to relax and enjoy time with their family and loved ones) it means the close of another year. The girls over at Dinged Corners have put forth a request for bloggers to answer some New Years questions and since I’ve never been able to turn down a reasonable request from the fairer sex, here are my responses – Green Monster style.

If I didn't collect baseball cards, I'd collect comic books. I’ve always considered comic books to be an underappreciated art form. They combine two of my long-time passions (writing and drawing) into a dynamic that somehow has been assigned the stigma of being the province of kids and guys who live in the basement with their parents. I collected comic books continuously from the early 1980’s (starting with Marvel’s GI Joe) up until about two or three years ago. Even when I stopped collecting baseball cards in the 1990’s I kept collecting comics. But between the demands of work and my growing family I had a hard time finding time to read a dozen or so monthly comics (some of them not so monthly) so I decided to call it quits.

My baseball heroes include one you probably wouldn't know from my blog or comments, and that person is Tim Wakefield. Yes, Wakefield plays for my favorite team, but that’s not the whole reason why I consider him one of my favorite players of all time. I count him among my favorites more for his team minded mentality that seems so rare in pro sports these days, and for his off field charitable contributions. While it seems like every pro athlete these days has a foundation in their name, I think most of them do it at the advice of their accountant as a tax shelter. I never get that feeling with Wakefield who shows up unannounced at children’s hospitals and who, while make millions less than many of his peers, supports numerous charities in Boston and in his hometown of Melbourne, Florida.

Every New Years I resolve to complete those pesky unfinished sets in my collection. Actually, this is the first year that I’ll be making a baseball card related resolution. One of the first things I did when I decided to get back into collecting was to blow the dust off of all of the old shoe-boxes and catalog what it was I had. I discovered that I was tantalizingly close to finishing up numerous sets from my childhood and began a quest to complete them. I succeeded in completing a few through trades, but also added a few with the new products I decided to collect. So in 2009 I’m going to strive to complete as many unfinished sets as I can.

If I could spend a day with one person from baseball history, it would be Tom Yawkey. Yawkey died only months after I was born in 1976 so I have no memories of the patriarch of the Red Sox. I’d love to spend a day with him and shoot the breeze.

What is your favorite kind of dog? I’ve never owned a dog, but if I was going to go out and get one today it would either be a Greyhound or a Siberian Husky. I grew up around both breeds of dog and have fond memories of both. If pressed I’d probably adopt a retired racing Greyhound. The photo is of my son with Oscar, a retired racer who is as sweet (and excitable) a dog as you'll find.

Who is your favorite baseball player? Mike Greenwell.

What is your favorite team? Boston Red Sox.

What is your favorite baseball movie? There are lots of good candidates for this one, but it would come down to two for me – A League of their Own or Fever Pitch. For sentimental reasons I’d probably lean towards Fever Pitch (I’d love to paint the wall of my living room to look like the Green Monster, but my wife has other ideas. Oh, and if anyone knows where to buy Yankees toilet paper let me know!).

What is your favorite baseball book? I haven’t read a ton of baseball-themed books. Despite my love of all things history, I just find them very hard to read. I guess I’m too used to fast paced fantasy and mystery novels. One of the few I have read is Faithful, by Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan. While it’s not a great piece of literature, it is a great archive of the 2004 Red Sox season.

What is your favorite card? I featured my favorite card in my first Monster Card of the Week – 1991 Fleer Pro Visions Mike Greenwell. Ah, I can't resist. Here it is again. After all, it is my favorite!

Remembering Baseball Cards Magazine

2008-12-23T07:38:00.001-08:00

Card blogs all over the internet have been abuzz lately with the latest round of Beckett bashing. Personally, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Sure Beckett is a big name in the hobby, but would card collecting come to a screeching halt if we woke up one morning and they had vanished? I doubt it. As long as there are card manufacturers and people willing to buy their products, this hobby will continue. Beckett, along with other hobby publications like Tuff Stuff and Sports Collectors Digest, is just riding the coat tails of that essential pairing. The bottom line is that I see good points on both sides of the argument and am therefore declaring myself neutral and am not getting involved.

That said, I have never been a Beckett guy. In fact until just this year, I never owned a single copy of a Beckett publication. When I was collecting back in the late 80’s and early 90s, I subscribed to Baseball Cards Magazine. Baseball Cards Magazine (BBCM) no longer exists (I’m not exactly sure when they ceased publication but it was sometime after I left the hobby in 1993) and I’d like to take advantage of this whole Beckett hoopla to remember, by way of comparison, what a great magazine BBCM was.

BBCM wasn’t just a great hobby publication, it was a great magazine. Unlike a lot of the other hobby “magazines”, every issue of BBCM was loaded with articles, player interviews, reviews of products and checklists. And while every issue also featured a price guide, BBCM never felt like a price guide first with some fluff thrown in to justify the cover price. I bought the magazine just as much for the informative, professionally written articles as for the price guide. I actually still have several of the articles filed away in an old manila folder though the magazines themselves went the way of the circular file long ago (the cover images were pilfered from Ebay - I believe the Will Clark issue was the first BBCM issue that I owned). One of those articles, featuring a history of the Fleer Corporation and their battle with Topps is a perfect example of the quality of writing featured in BBCM. Although sadly, the last sentence of the article, proclaiming that "over the long haul you can be sure: Fleer will be there", was not to hold true.

Another of my favorite BBCM features was the bonus cards that came with each issue. These were great inserts that featured (then) current players on vintage Topps card designs. Sound familiar? BBCM was (I think) the originator of the heritage movement. It just took 20 years for it to catch on. I have two or three complete series of these that I'll feature in separate posts in the future.

Its a shame that BBCM is no longer published. Beckett may be the standard in price guide publications (again, like it or not), but in my estimation they fall short as a hobby magazine. Their articles just aren't memorable and their reviews... well I think we all know about their reviews. There's avoid in the magazine department that is just aching to be filled. I for one would be first in line if someone published a magazine on the level of BBCM again.

Monster Card of the Week - 1993 Front Row/Spectrum Autographs

2008-12-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

In the early 1990s, card manufacturers were a dime a dozen. Among this multitude was a company called Front Row. Front Row's main gimick was limited, serial numbered print runs of their cards. While their print runs seem huge (most of the ones I have were in the 5-25,000 range) compared with the quantity of /50 or less cards available from current products, it is possible that Front Row was the first to put serial numbers on their products. Most of what Front Row offered were small 5-7 card sets of the hobby's major stars, though they also produced basketball and baseball draft sets. Front Row's cards were simple and clean in their design, however they did not have a MLBPA license so their cards didn't feature team logos. They also offered a subscription club (which I was a member of) that got you cool promo cards and first crack at their "limited" issues. At some point, Front Row became Spectrum and they started producing really gaudy gold and hologram cards as well as offering autographed versions of their cards. They still produced their staple small sets however.

One of these sets, produced in 1993 was a 5-card Red Sox set that featured Carl Yastrzemski, Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn, Luis Tiant and Bobby Doerr. Front Row/Spectum offered autographed versions of these cards and it is a pair of these that are this week's Monster Card of the Week.

These are probably the first autographed cards I ever owned. In fact it would be 15 years before I would added another autographed card to my collection. And you know what? Despite being unlicensed cards produced by a fledgling company that no longer exists, I prefer this pair to the stickered autographs being produced now. The design is simple and the bold blue ink is striking in its matching simplicity on the card. Topps and Upper Deck take note, this is how autographed cards should be done.

Ghosts of the Past - Rick Ferrell

2008-12-19T05:47:00.001-08:00

There are a number of players in the Hall of Fame who, unless they played for your team, are relatively unknown. Raise your hand if you knew that Earl Averill, Dave Bancroft, Jake Beckley, Jim Bottomley or Kiki Cuyler were Hall of Famers. Rick Ferrell is another one of those relatively unknown Hall of Famers, and as a former Red Sox player (though he is in the Hall as a St Louis Brown) is the subject of this installment of GotP.

Rick Ferrell was a catcher who played for nineteen seasons with the St Louis Browns, Washington Senators and the Red Sox. His Hall of Fame plaque proclaims him as a “durable defensive standout with a fine arm.” Indeed, it is most likely this defensive prowess that earned him a spot in the Hall. Despite setting Red Sox catchers’ records in average, doubles, home runs and RBIs, Ferrell’s offensive numbers are not particularly noteworthy. He only batted over .300 four times in his career and he didn’t reach any major milestones in any other batting category. In fact, his brother Wes, who was a pitcher, hit more home runs (in significantly fewer games no less) than Rick did. Rick Ferrell was named to eight All-Star games, and received MVP votes in four different season despite rarely playing for a winning or contending team. But, his primary claim to fame was that he retired as the all-time leader in games played at the catcher position, a record that would stand for 40 years until Carlton Fisk broke it in 1988. Ferrell is one of the most controversial members of the Hall of Fame. His offensive numbers are clearly not Hall of Fame caliber. There has also been speculation that his election was the result of tit-for-tat voting that resulted in Pee Wee Reese’s induction. Whether that is true or not will probably never be known, but he was elected in 1984 by the veterans committee who, prior to the 2001 rules changes that allowed all living Hall of Famers to vote, was a closed door group that had elected almost half of all players in the Hall of Fame and weathered numerous charges of cronyism.

Controversy aside, Rick Ferrell was most certainly a solid catcher for the entirety of his career. He had a solid .984 fielding percentage and when he retired had recorded the second most career putouts as a catcher. This despite the dubious distinction of having to regularly catch 4 knuckleballers during the 1945 season (with the Washington Senators). There is also anecdotal evidence that suggests how respected he was by his coaches and peers. For example, Ferrell was named to the first All-Star game in 1933 and played all nine innings for Casey Stengel’s American League team despite having future Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane and Bill Dickey, who were superior offensive players, on the bench. And if the respect of Casey Stengel isn’t enough, Bill James (he of sabermetrics fame) when asked which ten players did not belong in the Hall of Fame, did not include Rick Farrell’s name.

“You never saw him lunge for the ball; he never took a strike away from you. He'd get more strikes for a pitcher than anybody I ever saw, because he made catching look easy.”

Wes Ferrell on his brother's catching ability.

Image Key:
1. 1936 Goudey Wide Pens R314
2. 1937 Kellogs Sports Stamps
3. 1933 Goudey
4. 1934 National Chicle Batter Up R318

Requiem for a Baseball Card Blog

2008-12-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

For those of you who might have been living under a rock (possibly to escape the snow and ice that buried the Northeast last week) and missed Ben Henry’s epic Casey at the Bat post, do yourself a favor and check it out. It is perhaps the best blog post you will ever read. Unfortunately, it is also his last post. I’m sure I’m one of countless many who consider Ben’s writing as inspiration for starting my own blog. His was the first blog that I discovered upon returning to collecting (which is the genius of simply calling your blog, The Baseball Card Blog – it appears first on all of the major search engines), and I voraciously devoured every post both old and new. His reviews of sets from the 1980s and early 1990s were like a blast backwards in time to my childhood, and should be required reading for every collector. Ben will be sorely missed in the blogging community. Perhaps one day he will get around to publishing the book he’d been working on (aptly titled, The Baseball Card Book) and we all will get another helping of the quirky humor and keen insights that made his blog so popular. In the spirit of hoping for one more hurrah from Ben in book form, and as a way of saying thanks, here’s the sequel to Casey at the Bat, sans images. After all you can’t top a masterpiece.

Casey's Revenge
by Grantland Rice

Published: The Speaker (06-1907)

There were saddened hearts in Mudville for a week or even more;
There were muttered oaths and curses- every fan in town was sore.
"Just think," said one, "how soft it looked with Casey at the bat,
And then to think he'd go and spring a bush league trick like that!"

All his past fame was forgotten- he was now a hopeless "shine."
They called him "Strike-Out Casey," from the mayor down the line;
And as he came to bat each day his bosom heaved a sigh,
While a look of hopeless fury shone in mighty Casey's eye.

He pondered in the days gone by that he had been their king,
That when he strolled up to the plate they made the welkin ring;
But now his nerve had vanished, for when he heard them hoot
He "fanned" or "popped out" daily, like some minor league recruit.

He soon began to sulk and loaf, his batting eye went lame;
No home runs on the score card now were chalked against his name;
The fans without exception gave the manager no peace,
For one and all kept clamoring for Casey's quick release.

The Mudville squad began to slump, the team was in the air;
Their playing went from bad to worse - nobody seemed to care.
"Back to the woods with Casey!" was the cry from Rooters' Row.
"Get some one who can hit the ball, and let that big dub go!"

The lane is long, some one has said, that never turns again,
And Fate, though fickle, often gives another chance to men;
And Casey smiled; his rugged face no longer wore a frown-
The pitcher who had started all the trouble came to town.

All Mudville had assembled - ten thousand fans had come
To see the twirler who had put big Casey on the bum;
And when he stepped into the box, the multitude went wild;
He doffed his cap in proud disdain, but Casey only smiled.

"Play ball!" the umpire's voice rang out, and then the game began.
But in that throng of thousands there was not a single fan
Who thought that Mudville had a chance, and with the setting sun
Their hopes sank low- the rival team was leading "four to one."

The last half of the ninth came round, with no change in the score;
But when the first man up hit safe, the crowd began to roar;
The din increased, the echo of ten thousand shouts was heard
When the pitcher hit the second and gave "four balls" to the third.

Three men on base - nobody out - three runs to tie the game!
A triple meant the highest niche in Mudville's hall of fame;
But here the rally ended and the gloom was deep as night,
When the fourth one "fouled to catcher" and the fifth "flew out to right."

A dismal groan in chorus came; a scowl was on each face
When Casey walked up, bat in hand, and slowly took his place;
His bloodshot eyes in fury gleamed, his teeth were clenched in hate;
He gave his cap a vicious hook and pounded on the plate.

But fame is fleeting as the wind and glory fades away;
There were no wild and woolly cheers, no glad acclaim this day;
They hissed and groaned and hooted as they clamored: "Strike him out!"
But Casey gave no outward sign that he had heard this shout.

The pitcher smiled and cut one loose - across the plate it sped;
Another hiss, another groan. "Strike one!" the umpire said.
Zip! Like a shot the second curve broke just below the knee.
"Strike two!" the umpire roared aloud; but Casey made no plea.

No roasting for the umpire now - his was an easy lot;
But here the pitcher whirled again- was that a rifle shot?
A whack, a crack, and out through the space the leather pellet flew,
A blot against the distant sky, a speck against the blue.

Above the fence in center field in rapid whirling flight
The sphere sailed on - the blot grew dim and then was lost to sight.
Ten thousand hats were thrown in air, ten thousand threw a fit,
But no one ever found the ball that mighty Casey hit.

O, somewhere in this favored land dark clouds may hide the sun,
And somewhere bands no longer play and children have no fun!
And somewhere over blighted lives there hangs a heavy pall,
But Mudville hearts are happy now, for Casey hit the ball.

Monster Card of the Week - 2008 DAV Kason Gabbard

2008-12-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

In addition to building sets and collecting Red Sox cards, I collect cards of two players, Mike Greenwell, who was my favorite player growing up, and Kason Gabbard. Now, Gabbard may seem like an odd choice of players to collect. After all, he’s not exactly a star player and he doesn’t even play for my team anymore (f&$!#ing Eric Gagne). But there’s a story behind Gabbard that keeps me loyal to him despite these facts.

Two and a half years ago my wife was pregnant with our second child - a boy. We were purposely avoiding common names (if it was in the top 25 of common names we weren't even considering it) and were struggling to find a name that we liked. We had actually thought of naming him Anakin, but changed our minds after everyone laughed at us and told us that everyone would refer to him as “Star Wars boy”.

As an aside, did you know that George Lucas made up the name Anakin? Look it up on any of the baby name websites. It sounds so normal (compared with Obi Wan or Qui Gon) that I just assumed it was a name he’d just picked up and used in his movies.

About two months before my wife’s due date we were visiting at my parent's house. The Red Sox were on ESPN and Kason Gabbard was making his ML debut against the Seattle Mariners. He was pitching well and I jokingly said to my wife, “we could name him Kason.” I assumed that my wife would give me one of her, “don’t be a dumb-ass” looks and that would be the end of it. Imagine my surprise when she instead told me that she liked it. Good thing too. Two days later she went into premature labor and our son Casen was born (he’s a healthy, normal terrible two now, for those wondering).

This week’s Monster card is just the second Gabbard card I’ve added to my collection (my player collections have been a lower priority of late). It comes from a relatively obscure minor league issue produced by the DAV (Disabled American Veterans). For general info on this multi-team set, check out this post by Cards in the Attic. Considering that it isn't produced by any of the "major" manufacturers, the design of this card isn't half bad. In fact, I like this design more than some of those by Topps and Upper Deck from this year (Artifacts, and CoSigners for example).

Blog Bat Around 2 - Centerpieces

2008-12-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

centerpiece

[sen-ter-pees]
–noun
1. an ornamental object used in a central position, esp. on the center of a dining-room table.
2. the central or outstanding point or feature: The centerpiece of the evening was a play put on by the employees.

I’ve spent a good bit of time contemplating what I might consider the centerpiece of my baseball card collection. For the most part, my card collection has two main focuses – sets that I have built (or bought in a few instances), and Red Sox cards. While I am quite fond of many of the sets that I have collected over the years, and while many of them have some individual cards that are centerpiece-worthy, when taken as a whole, none of them stand out to me as centerpieces of my collection (I may change my opinion on this when and if I complete my birth year set - 1976 Topps). So that leaves me with my Red Sox collection. When I consider my Red Sox collection, there are a number of cards that spring to mind.

The first card that I might consider a centerpiece to my collection is Mike Greenwell’s 1987 Topps rookie card. While this card is pretty much worthless in terms of dollar value, Greenwell was my favorite player when I was younger so it has significant sentimental value to me. The 1987 Topps set is also an iconic set from the 1980’s and was the first set I completed in my earlier collecting days (by opening wax packs no less) so it has that going for it too. All of that factored in, it just doesn’t scream centerpiece to me, so I dug a little deeper.

And arrived at Carl Yastrzemski’s 1960 Topps rookie card. To me this is a card that is definitely centerpiece-worthy. While I really don’t care for the 1960 set design, I think the Rookie Star subset design is outstanding. And Yaz looks like the quintessential all-American baseball player on this card. But, while this card has decent monetary value, it has little sentimental value to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love this card. But I bought it at a card show years ago and it has no real story to it. So I went back to my collection once more.

And found my centerpiece – my 1954 Topps Ted Williams #1. This card is everything that I think a centerpiece should be. It is a beautiful card from a classic vintage set; it features one of the greatest baseball players to ever step foot on a diamond; and it has real sentimental value to me as it was a Christmas gift from my favorite Aunt when I was thirteen. I spent lots of time at my Aunt’s house when I was growing up and she is almost like a second mom to me. I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like with her now that I’m grown up and have a family of my own, and seeing this card reminds me of all those summers playing board games at her dining room table and watching Red Sox games. Of all of the cards I own, this is one of the few that demand being displayed, that is more a piece of art than a baseball card. I can’t conceive of a situation (short of being on the verge of homelessness) in which I’d want to sell this card.

1991 Upper Deck Box Break - Part 2

2008-12-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Before I post images from the second half of my box of 1991 Upper Deck, I thought I'd share a few observations. First, I have to say I'm incredibly happy with this box. Short of pulling the Nolan Ryan autographed Heroes card, I think I pulled every big card from this set in this one box. The collation for the cards was superb. Out of 540 cards there were only 22 doubles in the box. When put together with the cards I had collected when I was younger, I'm only missing 166 cards out of a set of 700. The collation on the 3D team holograms on the other hand was atrocious. Out of 32 packs, I only pulled five different teams. I have 6 or 7 duplicates of the Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, A's and Red Sox (at least my team was in this box).

The most interesting thing about this box to me was the "Random-Sequencing" that the box proclaims. In my mind, it was anything but random and it makes me suspicious that people who bought multiple boxes ended up with piles of duplicates. There were 4 stacks of packs in the box. I opened one whole stack at a time. The cards in each stack were random within each pack, but there was a definite pattern from pack to pack in each stack. For example. here's the number sequencing for the first three packs in a stack:

Pack #1 - 453, 425, 347, 559, 502, 129, 182, holo, 249, 299, 693, 646, 41, 64, 326
Pack #2 - 454, 426, 348, 398, 560, 503, 130, 183, holo, 250, 300, 694, 647, 42, 65, 327
Pack #3 - 455, 427, 349, 399, 561, 504, 131, 184, holo, 201, 251, 695, 648, 43, 66, 328

See the pattern? This repeated through the whole box. And each stack was sequentially tied to the others. It doesn't take a genius to see that if you ended up with two boxes that followed an even remotely similar sequencing you'd end up with a huge stack of doubles.

Anyways, enough rambling, onto a sampling of cards from the second half of the box.

Let's start with a pair of opposites. A guy in Mussina who fulfilled the expectations of a "Top Prospect" and a guy in Zeile who failed to live up to even a fraction of his hype.

Here's a pair of guys who had better secondary careers than they did as baseball players. Sanders was a much better football player than he was a baseball player, and Farrell is a much better pitching coach than he was a pitcher.

It's Red Sox madness!

Speaking of madness... Jose lind has some serious spring in his step. And is anyone else scared of Saberhagen after seeing this photo... like serial killer scared?

How about some more stunning Upper Deck photography?

How about some 1990's fashion trends... Alex Cole's goggles always bugged me. And I just love the Upper Deck self advertising.

I had to post Gladden for my sister-in-law... she has a mullet fetish. And Incaviglia... well, I can't think of anything witty to say about him right now.

And finally, how about some players with funny names. There's something ironically funny about a pitcher whose last name is Plunk. I wonder if Mr. Klink is related to Colonel Klink (Hogan!!!!)?

Red Sox Unveil new Unis & Logo

2008-12-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

The Red Sox have announced some new uniform and logo designs.

These will be the new primary Road uniforms and are an updated version of the road uniforms from the early 1980's. In the background (and on the sleeve of the uniform) is the new logo for the team, referred to as the "hanging sox". This replaces the circular logo with a small version of the hanging sox in the middle:

The team also announced new secondary home and road uniforms which will be worn with an alternate hat featuring the new hanging sox logo instead of the "B".

My opinion - I like the new unis, both primary and secondary. The primary (gray) have a classic retro/modern look to them that I find appealing. I'm not sure how I feel about the hanging sox logo on the hat and am glad that it will only be worn with the alternate uniforms. To me replacing the "B" logo on the hat would be sacreligious.

All photos courtesy of Boston.com.

Box Break - 1991 Upper Deck, Part 1

2008-12-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

Box breaks are not something I plan on doing very often here on Green Monster, mostly because I don't buy a lot of boxes. My card collecting budget just can't handle the price of most wax boxes. But, one of my goals when I returned to collecting this past year, was to finish up a lot of the sets that i had collected in my younger days. So when I stumbled upon a deal for a box of 1991 Upper Deck (one of those aforementioned unfinished sets) for $10, I couldn't pass it up. I'm going to approach this a little differently than most typical box breaks though. Rather than bore everyone with a card by card rundown of every pack, most of which are full of players who nobody remembers, I just selected a few highlights to scan and provide commentary for. I split the break into two parts just to keep it from getting too unwieldy.

First up are a pair of cards from two of the most dominant pitchers of the 1990's. Between them they won nine Cy Young awards. Both are sure fire Hall of Famers.

A couple more pitchers photographed doing things other than pitching. I love the photo of Jim Abbot. Everyone has seen how Abbot handled pitching and the transition to fielding. I hadn't ever seen a photo of him batting before.

Of course I scanned my favorite player's card. Its a pretty good action photo too. Blauser's in mid-leap after a line drive. This is the kind of photography that set Upper Deck apart from all the other card companies right out of the gate.

Speaking of photography that set Upper Deck apart, Fernando-mania meets patented UD triple exposure. I also appreciate Upper Decks creativity when it comes to checklist cards. This one would fit right in over at Night Owl Cards.

Rookie extravaganza. Not a bad pair of rookie cards to pull from a box. Both have an excellent chance of being Hall of Famers.

When I pulled the Chipper, I thought I had pulled the best card out of the box. I had forgotten about the Michael Jordan insert card. This card was the shit when it first came out. I remember going to card shows and seeing this card selling for obscene amounts of money. Topps isn't the only company to indulge in a little hero worship.

Not only was Upper Deck one of the first companies to put full color photos on the back of their cards, they put good photos on the back. In fact, I think some of the rear photos are better than the ones they put on the front.

More good photos from the backs of cards. Nice visualization of the knuckleball grip. Somehow I think Mr. Parrish is done for the day (and not happy about it)!

Thought I'd finish up part one with a couple of oddball photos. My memories of Dave Stewart of of this ultra-intense guy with the death ray stare. Seeing the lighter side of him is just... odd. And I'm not sure, but I think Fisk and Ventura are reinacting a scene from Field of Dreams... "if you build it..."

He played for the Red Sox? - David Cone

2008-12-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

I was going to hold off introducing this feature for a little while, but a response to my Hall of Fame post a couple of days ago changed my mind. Night Owl (incidentally, you should check out his blog if you haven’t already – it’s on my daily reading list) commented that he had forgotten that David Cone played for the Red Sox. Which is the whole point behind this feature – spotlighting players who played only briefly for the Red Sox and/or who are better known for playing elsewhere. Case in point, David Cone.

David Cone pitched one year for the Red Sox. He is much better known for his time with the Mets, with whom he started his career and established himself as a dominant starting pitcher, and with the Yankees, with whom he pitched a perfect game in 1999 and won 4 World Series. In 2001 however, the 15-year veteran signed an incentive laden minor league contract following a dreadful year with the Yankees in which his win/loss record was 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA. Cone justified the Red Sox signing of him, rebounding from his dreadful 2000 by appearing in 25 games and posting a 9-7 record with a 4.31 ERA.

The highlight of Cone’s 2001 season may have come on September 2, when he battled Mike Mussina of the Yankees for 8 scoreless innings. Though he eventually gave up an unearned run in the 9th inning (on an error by current NESN studio analyst Lou Merloni) and lost the game, Cone’s performance that night was a swan song, reminiscent of the dominance he showed earlier in his career. I should note that that particular game is remarkable in that Mussina came within one strike of throwing a perfect game (broken up by a pinch hit by Carl Everett) which would have made Cone the only pitcher in history to both win and lose a perfect game.

The card scans in this post are courtesy of the Baseball Card Cyber Museum (I actually have this card as part of my 02 Topps set but was too lazy to dig it out and scan it). If you haven't discovered this excellent site yet, I highly recommend it. Joe McAnally's site features every Topps base card from 1969 to present as well as a healthy sampling of pre-1969 Topps cards. The site is free, but does require you to apply for a 4-day visitor pass which you can renew as often as you like. I have found it to be a valuable resource in putting my Topps sets and team sets together.

Sports Card Fun Essay Contest Results

2008-12-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

I submitted an essay to Sports Card Fun's most recent essay contest, "My favorite type of baseball cards to collect are __________ (fill in the blank) and here's why." Now that the contest is over (and no, I didn't win), I thought I'd post my essay here on Green Monster. Congratulations to the winner, Andrew Algava (aka aacard). His essay, though chosen by random drawing, was well written. I also like the sounds of his "oddball cards" collection. In some ways, I'm happy that a collector whose collection is a little bit outside of the, set, team, player collection mainstream won and got to share his unique passion. If you get a chance, take a few minutes and read some of the non-winning essays. There are some good ones in the bunch. Thanks to Darcy at Sports Card Fun for yet another great essay contest. I look forward to the next one.

As promised, here's my essay - those of you who have been reading Green Monster since the beginning (all three weeks ago) will notice some familiar themes.

My favorite type of baseball cards to collect are Topps base sets, and here's why.

I'm a history geek. There's just something that fascinates me about people and events that happened long ago. I love understanding the hows and whys behind the past and being able to make connections to current times. To me, Topps base sets are like a baseball history lesson in cardboard format. They are an archive of every baseball season since 1950 - the record breakers, the all-stars, the rookies. Topps base sets are also the only place where you can fins cards for many players. I've never been one to gravitate towards the high profile stars. Rather, my favorites have always been the gritty, lesser-known role players. These are not the types of players who are immortalized with shiny, autographed, serial numbered, game used, tri-color shoe string cards. Most of these players are only featured on a handful of cards a year. Topps base set is always one of those handful of cards.

Then again, I'm sure that most of the reason that I'm partial to Topps base sets is nostalgia. Some of the first cards I collected were 1983 Topps. I remember stopping with my Mom and Dad at the neighborhood convenient store after church on Sundays. There would always be a half-full wax box of Topps cards on the counter and every Sunday I'd plunk down a few quarters and walk out with a couple of packs. I collected Topps cards straight through to 1992 when cars and high school girls became more important. And when I came back to the hobby last year, I skipped right over the shiny chromes and the boxes guaranteeing a game used card and went right for the packs of Topps base cards. Just like I used to all those years ago. It just cost me a few more quarters.

Monster Card of the Week - 1985 Topps 3D

2008-12-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Topps has a long history of producing oddball baseball sets in addition to their eponymous set (I highly recommend the Topps Archive blog if you’re interested in some of these old oddball sets). Topps continued their tradition of issuing oddball sets in the 1980’s with sets such as Tattoos, Rub-Downs and 3D Stars. This week’s Monster card comes from the 1985 3D stars set and features Hall of Fame hopeful Jim Rice.

I’ll be honest in that I don’t know much about this set. The few cards that I have came from a baseball card grab bag that I bought when I was younger (I think these may have been the original repack boxes because they were full of 1980s oddball stuff). So I don’t know how much packs originally sold for, or even how available they were. What I do know is that I feel about this card the same way I feel about a lot of oddball cards – I love it and hate it all at the same time.

I love the card itself. It is printed on more of a plastic substrate than traditional baseball cards and the players’ photos are embossed to give the advertised 3D effect. The cards have a simple design that allows the player photo and the 3D effect to be the focal point of the card. And the 3D effect is actually quite stunning – the scan really doesn’t do it justice. You can really feel Jim Rice popping out of the background, that killer gaze focused intently on the unidentified pitcher’s next offering. There is nothing on the back of the card, it’s all about the 3D.

What I hate is the fact that, like most oddball designs, it is impossible to store. It will fit into no box or plastic page that I know of. For someone who likes to keep all of his Red Sox cards organized together, grouped by year and manufacturer as much as possible), these oddball cards are immensely frustrating. My solution thus far is to keep them all in a shoebox (that real shoes came in) tucked into a corner of a closet. Every now and then I pull the shoebox out and shuffle through the cards. But when I’m done they go back into the box which goes back into the closet.

Ogden Nash - Lineup for Yesterday, Part 3

2008-12-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

I have a pair of books that I recieved as gifts a few years back that are more modern takes on this poem (though nowhere is Ogden Nash given any credit). For the Love of Baseball and For the Love of of the Red Sox were written and illustrated by Frederick C. Klein and Mark Anderson. The writing doesn't approach the quality of Nash's though the illustrations more than make up for this deficiency. They are drawn with a light, carnival-esque caricature style that fits the tone of the book perfectly. Amazon.com has a whole series of these available for other teams and other sports.

And now back to Ogden Nash for the rest of Lineup for Yesterday:

R is for Ruth.

To tell you the truth,

There's just no more to be said,

Just R is for Ruth.

S is for Speaker,

Swift center-field tender,

When the ball saw him coming,

It yelled, "I surrender."

T is for Terry

The Giant from Memphis

Whose .400 average

You can't overemphis.

U would be 'Ubell

if Carl were a cockney;

We say Hubbell and Baseball

Like Football and Rockne.

V is for Vance

The Dodger's very own Dazzy;

None of his rivals

Could throw as fast as he.

W is for Wagner,

The bowlegged beauty;

Short was closed to all traffic

With Honus on duty.

X is the first

of two x's in Foxx

Who was right behind Ruth

with his powerful soxx.

Y is for Young

The magnificent Cy;

People battled against him,

But I never knew why.

Z is for Zenith

The summit of fame.

These men are up there.

These men are the game.

Image Key:

1. Babe Ruth – 1933 Goudey Sport Kings R338
2. Tris Speaker – 1911 Close Candy E94
3. Bill Terry – 1933 Delong R333
4. Carl Hubbell – 1941 Goudey
5. Clarence (Dazzy) Vance – 1931 Exhibit Supply Co. W517
6. Honus Wagner – 1910 Mello-Mint E105
7. Jimmy Foxx – 1933 US Caramel R328
8. Cy Young – 1910 Sporting Life M117

Ogden Nash - Lineup for Yesterday, Part 2

2008-12-05T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ogden Nash was best known for his humorous poetry (he’s the guy that penned “candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker…”). He was also a huge sports fan and wrote several poems about his favorite sports. It is poems like Lineup for Yesterday that give credence to the notion that baseball is America’s Pastime.

J is for Johnson
The Big Train in his prime
Was so fast he could throw
Three strikes at a time.

K is for Keeler,
As fresh as green paint,
The fastest and mostest
To hit where they ain't.

L is for Lajoie
Whom Clevelanders love,
Napolean himself,
With glue in his glove.

M is for Matty,
Who carried a charm
In the form of an extra
brain in his arm.

N is for Newsom,
Bobo's favorite kin.
You ask how he's here,
He talked himself in.

O is for Ott
Of the restless right foot.
When he leaned on the pellet,
The pellet stayed put.

P is for Plank,
The arm of the A's;
When he tangled with Matty
Games lasted for days.

Q is for Don Quixote
Cornelius Mack;
Neither Yankees nor years
Can halt his attack.

Image Key:

1. Walter Johnson – 1909 Ramly T204
2. Wee Willy Keeler – 1909 American Caramel E90
3. Napoleon Lajoie – 1903 Breisch-Williams E107
4. Christie Matthewson – 1911 General Baking Co. D304
5. Bobo Newsom – 1936 National Chicle R313
6. Mel Ott – 1933 Goudey
7. Eddie Plank – 1910 American Caramel Die Cut E125
8. Connie Mack – 1887 Goodwin & Co. Old Judge N172

Ogden Nash – Lineup for Yesterday, Part 1

2008-12-04T12:51:00.000-08:00

In the course of my research for the Tris Speaker and Jimmy Foxx GotP posts I stumbled across this poem by Ogden Nash. It seemed to fit in with the theme of the blog thus far and so I thought I’d post it with some accompanying images. In order to keep this from being a marathon post that no one would read, I’m going to break it into three parts. As with the GotP posts there will be an image key at the end that identifies all of the cards (none of which, unfortunately, are in my own personal collection).

Originally published by Sport Magazine, January 1949.

A is for Alex

The great Alexander;

More Goose eggs he pitched
Than a popular gander.

B is for Bresnahan

Back of the plate;
The Cubs were his love,
and McGraw his hate.

C is for Cobb,

Who grew spikes and not corn,

And made all the basemen

Wish they weren't born.

D is for Dean,

The grammatical Diz,
When they asked, Who's the tops?

Said correctly, I is.

E is for Evers,

His jaw in advance;

Never afraid

To Tinker with Chance.

F is for Fordham
And Frankie and Frisch;
I wish he were back
With the Giants, I wish.

G is for Gehrig,

The Pride of the Stadium;
His record pure gold,
His courage, pure radium.

H is for Hornsby;

When pitching to Rog,

The pitcher would pitch,
Then the pitcher would dodge.

I is for Me,
Not a hard-hitting man,
But an outstanding all-time
Incurable fan.

Image Key:
1. Grover Cleveland Alexander – 1914 Fatima T222
2. Roger Bresnahan – 1912 T207 (Brown Backgrounds)
3. Ty Cobb – 1910 T3 Turkey Red
4. Dizzy Dean – 1935 Rice Stix UM7
5. Johnny Evers – 1911 T205 (Gold Borders)
6. Frankie Frisch – 1934 National Chicle Diamond Stars R327
7. Lou Gehrig – 1934 Goudey R320
8. Rogers Hornsby – 1919 W514

My two pennies on the HOF vote

2008-12-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

It seems like everyone is talking HOF ballots so I thought I'd chime in with my opinion. I'm not going to weigh in on every candidate (I would if I had unlimited time), just those with Red Sox ties.

1. Rickey Henderson - He's a no-brainer. In fact, you'd have to not have a brain to keep him out. Don't worry though, some sportswriter somewhere will leave him off the ballot because he's not Babe Ruth and there's this insane rule (unwritten of course) that no one should be a unanimous first time selection. Here's my question. Do they coordinate and decide ahead of time who is going to be the moron leaving the obvious candidate off the ballot? What if they all left Rickey off because, "no one should get in unanimously?" Talk about embarrassing.

2. Jim Rice - He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Plain and simple, he was a dominant offensive force for over a decade. In his 16 year career, Rice was selected to eight All-Star games, finished in the top 5 MVP voting six times (he won the award in 1978), hit at least 39 home runs in a season four times, had eight 100 RBI seasons, four seasons with 200+ hits and batted over .300 seven times. He finished his career with a .298 batting average, 382 home runs (55th best of all-time), 1451 RBIs (56th). Sure he pissed off a lot of people, but Ty Cobb was no picnic and he's in the Hall. I'd be willing to bet that you couldn't find another more dominant player from 1975-1986 who isn't already in Cooperstown.

3. Andre Dawson - I'm on the fence with the Hawk. He only played with the Sox at the tail end of his career, when his knees were shot, so I know I didn't see him in his prime. Comparing him against Jim Rice, he has more home runs, but didn't hit for average as well, and in an extra 5 seasons has only 150 more RBI. He did win an MVP award and finished in the top 10 3 other times. He ranked among the league leaders in major offensive categories 60 times compared to well over a hundred for Rice. Dawson was clearly a better fielder and was more of a threat on the bases than Rice ever was. Overall though I think the Hawk is a borderline candidate and in my opinion, borderline isn't good enough. It's the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Really Good. Would I be enraged if Dawson gets in, no. And I think he will eventually get in, even if its via the Veterans Committee.

4. Lee Smith - I think Lee Smith is a Hall of Famer, but I think it will take him a long time to get in. He may be another guy that gets in through the Veterans Committee. But he deserves to be in. He was one of the most dominant relievers in the mid-eighties, second only to probably Eckersley, and still ranks third on the all-time saves list (behind Hoffman and Rivera - both future HOFers). He finished in the top 5 voting for the Cy Young award three times and in the top 10 for the MVP award once, and was one of the players who helped to define the role of a closer as a vital part of the bullpen.

5. Mo Vaughn - If Mo Vaughn had been able to play longer than 10 full seasons he would probably be a Hall of Famer. In the mid-90's he was one of the best hitters in the game. He averaged 37 home runs and 117 RBIs between 1995-2000, while maintaing a .305 batting average. Unfortunately he wasn't able to stay healthy. Combined with his appearance in the Mitchell Report, Vaughn will never even sniff the Hall. I'd bet he won't even be on the ballot next year.

6. David Cone - David Cone is simply not a Hall of Famer. He was a very good pitcher, but very good doesn't get you into the Hall. His name is not one that readily springs to mind when naming the dominant pitchers of the 1990's, and his stats are simply not Hall worthy. He will forever be remembered for pitching a perfect game and that will have to be enough.

More new additions

2008-12-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

The off-season, "hot stove" seems to be heating up a little bit more as we get closer to Christmas and the winter meetings. The Red Sox made a couple of moves that add two more pitchers to the 40-man roster. I created a fictional card for Ramon Ramirez following the Coco Crisp trade (click here if you missed it) and thought it would be fun to keep adding new ones as additional players join the team. So here are Green Monster exclusive cards of Junichi Tazawa and Wes Littleton.

So who are these guys? Wes Littleton is a right handed relief pitcher with a sidearm delivery (as you can see in the photo on the card). According the Boston.com, the Red Sox like Littleton's arm, but seeing as how he is out of minor league options, I get the feeling he is a AAAA type guy who will be another in a long line of Sox relievers who make me want to pull out my hair. As for Tazawa, he is a 22 year old Japanese starter who opted to sign with a MLB team rather than go through the Japan league's amature draft. From what I've read he needs some time in the minor leagues, but has lots of upside. Personally, given Diasuke Matsuzaka's somewhat rocky transition from dominant Japanese ace to pretty good MLB nibble pitcher, I have to wonder how good this kid will be as a MLB pitcher. Either way, the cards that I've created will probably be as close to a 2009 Topps card as these two get (Tazawa probably won't even be elligible under the MLBPA rules).

Monster Card of the Week - Field the Game

2008-12-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

I wasn't planning on doing another "just plain cool" card of the week for a little while, but this card just came in the mail and I felt compelled to share. In 2001 Fleer issued a set commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Red Sox organization. As a Red Sox fan, it is one of the best sets out there. I'm sure Yankee fans feel otherwise, but then I don't care for Upper Deck's Yankee Stadium Legacy set, so I'd say we're even. One of the harder to get inserts from the Red Sox 100th set is called Field the Game. The cards feature game used pieces of Fenway Park. I don't know how rare they are - they're not serial numbered and there always seem to be a few available on Ebay. But they always seem to sell for fairly high prices which is why I have had such a hard time acquiring one until now (I'm pretty thrifty when it comes to Ebay). I seem to recall seeing somewhere that they were an exchange card so that may play into the rarity factor.

The particular card I now proudly own features a piece of a game used base. There are other variations that include pieces of the on-deck circle as well as the Green Monster itself. I have only seen a few copies of the Monster variation and all of them that I have tracked have sold for more than I usually like to spend on one card. The card design itself has a classic, nostalgic feeling with a photo of Fenway Park being the main focus. I could do with a little less of the scrollwork and borders within borders though. The piece of the base is interesting. It has a stippled texture to it that I have never seen on a base before. Now lets have a look at the back.

At first glance, the back has the standard "Congratulations" text that is customary on all game used cards. But hold on a minute...

The text on the back specifies exactly when this game used artifact was used! Not only that, but they tell me who the opponent was too. Now that's something you don't see on many game used cards these days. Well done Fleer. Knowing exactly when this relic was used certainly adds another layer of charm to the card. I will definitely have to keep an eye out for the Green Monster variation (for obvious reasons).

Here's the box score from when this particular base saw actual Major League action:

Tuesday, April 24, 2001
Boston 9, Minnesota 4

MINNESOTA            ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Hocking ss            5  0  0  0   0  1   2  .161
Rivas 2b              4  1  1  1   0  1   0  .209
Lawton rf             3  2  2  1   1  0   0  .250
Koskie 3b             4  1  1  0   0  1   1  .348
Ortiz dh              4  0  1  1   0  1   1  .379
Hunter cf             4  0  1  1   0  1   0  .235
Mientkiewicz 1b       3  0  1  0   1  1   1  .362
Jones lf              4  0  1  0   0  0   2  .242
Pierzynski c          4  0  0  0   0  2   3  .293

Totals               35  4  8  4   2  8  10

BATTING: 2B - Mientkiewicz (5, Crawford). HR - Rivas (2, 1st
inning off Crawford 0 on, 1 out); Lawton (2, 7th inning off
Wakefield 0 on, 2 out). RBI - Rivas (7), Ortiz (16), Hunter (3),
Lawton (6). 2-out RBI - Lawton. Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - Jones 1, Hocking 1, Pierzynski 1.  Team LOB - 6.

BASERUNNING: SB - Hunter (1, 2nd base off Wakefield/Hatteberg).

BOSTON               ab  r  h rbi bb so lob   avg
Stynes 2b             5  3  3  0   0  0   0  .357
Offerman 1b           4  1  2  0   1  0   1  .318
Everett cf            4  1  2  5   1  1   2  .316
Ramirez dh            5  0  3  1   0  0   1  .429
Bichette lf           3  1  1  1   1  1   4  .263
Nixon pr-rf           1  0  0  0   0  1   2  .211
Hatteberg c           4  0  0  0   0  0   5  .182
Hillenbrand 3b        4  0  0  0   0  1   3  .321
Lansing ss            3  1  1  0   0  0   0  .235
Grebeck ss            1  1  1  0   0  0   0  .069
Lewis rf-lf           4  1  1  1   0  1   1  .212

Totals               38  9 14  8   3  5  19

BATTING: 2B - Offerman (6, Romero); Grebeck (1, Miller); Lewis
(2, Miller). HR - Everett (3, 2nd inning off Redman 3 on, 2 out);
Bichette (1, 5th inning off Romero 0 on, 2 out). RBI - Everett 5 (14),
Bichette (2), Lewis (4), Ramirez (22). 2-out RBI - Everett 4,
Bichette, Ramirez. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out -
Hatteberg 2, Hillenbrand 2, Nixon 1.  Team LOB - 8.

--------------------------------------------------
   Minnesota      - 300 000 100  --  4
   Boston         - 140 010 12X  --  9

--------------------------------------------------

MINNESOTA          ip      h  r er bb so hr    era
Redman (L, 1-2)     1 2/3  7  5  5  1  2  1   5.75
Romero              4 2/3  4  2  2  1  2  1   8.56
Guardado              2/3  0  0  0  0  0  0   9.53
Miller              1      3  2  2  1  1  0   9.82

BOSTON             ip      h  r er bb so hr    era
Crawford (W, 2-0)   5      6  3  3  2  3  1   2.55
Wakefield (S, 2)    4      2  1  1  0  5  1   1.80

WP - Redman 2. IBB - Bichette (by Romero).  Pitches-strikes:
Crawford 94-60; Wakefield 51-35; Redman 49-31; Romero 57-38;
Guardado 5-3; Miller 19-12.  Ground balls-fly balls: Crawford 7-5;
Wakefield 3-4; Redman 2-1; Romero 9-3; Guardado 0-2; Miller 2-0.
Batters faced: Crawford 23; Wakefield 14; Redman 13; Romero 19;
Guardado 2; Miller 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Dana Demuth. 1B--Charlie Reliford. 2B--Kerwin Danley.
3B--Greg Gibson. T--2:49. Att--32,557. Weather: 75 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, left to right.

Ghosts of the Past - Jimmy Foxx

2008-12-01T12:50:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Foxx may end up being the most recognizable name I spotlight in the GotP feature. After all, Foxx is not only a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, but he is also one of the most greatest power hitters to ever play the game. But, there is a lot that people may not know about Foxx (plus it gives me the chance to feature some great 1930’s baseball cards).

Jimmy Foxx made his major league debut with the Philadelphia A’s in 1925 at age 17. Though he was signed as a catcher, the A’s already had a Hall of Fame catcher in Mickey Cochrane (the guy Mantle was named after). Foxx was moved to first base and by 1929 was an offensive force. Though he is enshrined as a Boston Red Sox, Jimmy Foxx arguably had his best years with the A’s. In 1932, he hit 58 home runs and was named the American League’s MVP. He followed this up in 1933 by winning the Triple Crown (with a batting average of .356, 163 RBIs, and 48 home runs) and a second MVP award. Foxx is one of only 11 players who have won back-to-back MVP awards (the others are Barry Bonds, Mike Schmidt, Dale Murphy, Ernie Banks, Joe Morgan, Frank Thomas, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Hal Newhouser).

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Great Depression hit in the midst of Jimmy Foxx’s prime. A’s owner Connie Mack was forced to sell off many of his best players, and in 1936 Foxx was sold to the Boston Red Sox for $150,000. Foxx provided Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey with a genuine star, something the team had lacked for years. Foxx didn’t disappoint. In 1938, he hit 50 home runs, drove in 175 runs, batted .349 and won his third MVP award (he also nearly won a second Triple Crown finishing 8 HR shy of Detroit’s Hank Greenberg). His 50 home runs stood as a Red Sox team record until David Ortiz hit 54 in 2006, and his 175 RBI is still a team record despite the best efforts of guys like Ted Williams, Carl Yazstrzemski, Jim Rice and Manny Ramirez.

Jimmy Foxx would go on to have two more good seasons with the Red Sox before showing a dramatic decline in 1941. Foxx’s decline was most likely due to a severe drinking problem and in 1942, the once gigantic slugger was placed on waivers. Though he went on to play parts of two more seasons, he never again showed the form that earned him the nickname, “The Beast”.

Over the span of a twenty year career, Jimmy Foxx hit 534 home runs and when he retired was second only to Ruth on the all-time list, and first among right-handed hitters (Willie Mays would eventually surpass him in both regards). His twelve consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs was a major league record until it was broken by Barry Bonds in 2004. Perhaps most telling of Foxx’s raw power though is this - in 1937, he hit a ball into the third deck of the left-field stands at Yankee Stadium. Lefty Gomez, the pitcher who gave it up, when asked how far it went, said, "I don't know, but I do know it took somebody 45 minutes to go up there and get it back."

Following his playing days, Jimmy Foxx worked as a minor league manager. In 1952 he managed the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and was immortalized in the film A League of their Own as the source for much of Tom Hanks’ character Jimmy Dugan.

"Next to DiMaggio, Jimmie Foxx was the greatest hitter I ever saw. With all those muscles, he hit drives that sounded like gunfire." Ted Williams

Image Key:
1. 1935 National Chicle Diamond Stars (R327)
2. 1933 Goudey (R319)
3. 1941 Play Ball (R336)
4. 1938 Goudey Heads Up (R323)
5. 1939 Goudey Premiums (R303-B)

2009 Topps Turkey Day Gimmick

2008-11-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

There are a few baseball player names that my wife just finds funny - Coco Crisp, Pujols, Colon, Putz, and of course Gobble. In the spirit of tomorrow's holiday, here's a little something I put together (all in good fun of course). Who knows, maybe this is next years gimmick card from Topps:
Green Monster wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe and enjoy!

Score, Conigliaro, Florie, Clement...

2008-11-24T19:18:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, former MLB pitcher and broadcaster Herb Score passed away (I've been meaning to get to this post for some time now, but things have conspired to keep me from it until now). I mention this, not in an attempt to eulogize Score's life (if you want to read a good eulogy post, try here), but because of the catastrophic event that occurred on May 7, 1957. But first I must admit something. Despite having a 1956 Topps card bearing his likeness, I knew nothing about Herb Score until I read the accounts of his passing. I now know that Score was ROY in 1955, went 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA and 263 strikeouts in 1956, and that in 1957 his career was derailed when he was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Gil McDougald. As a Red Sox fan, I immediately thought of Tony Conigliaro and the similar event that all but ended his career.

The following excerpt from Rico Petrocelli's book, Tales From the Impossible Dream Red Sox, details the brutality of Conigliaro's beaning:

“Tony set himself in the batter’s box, crowding the plate as always, while I knelt in the on-deck circle. I always believed there was a spot where Tony couldn’t see the inside pitch. If you threw it to the right spot, he’d hit that ball nine miles. But then there was this blind spot, a little more inside. Sometimes he moved too late to get out of the way, and sometimes he never moved at all.

I saw Hamilton’s first pitch coming in and knew it was head high. But Tony didn’t start to react until the last fraction of a second. Instinctively he threw up his hands to protect his head, but not nearly in time. The ball crashed into the side of his face with a sharp crack that I swear could have been heard clearly all over that noisy ballpark. It sounded like the ball hit his helmet, so my immediate reaction was relief that the ball had struck plastic instead of flesh. But the sound was probably his cheekbone breaking.
In his desperate scramble to get out of the way of the ball, Tony had dislodged his helmet, and the ball struck him flush in the left side of his face, just below the eye socket. Tony went down like he’d been clothes-lined by an NFL cornerback and didn’t move.

Except for umpire Bill Valentine and catcher Bob Rodgers, I was first on the scene. I didn’t like what I saw. Tony’s face was swelling up like there was somebody inside his skull blowing up a balloon. The first thing I thought was he was going to lose his left eye. Blood was pouring out of his nose. I didn’t know what else to do, so I knelt down beside him, loosened his belt a little so he could breathe easier, and whispered into his ear that everything was going to be all right....

Tony became fully conscious in the trainer’s room. “It hurts like hell,” he told the doc. “I heard a hissing sound, and that was all....”

The diagnosis was a shattered cheekbone. Doctors would have to wait until the swelling went down to determine if there was any permanent damage to his eye. Dr. Dorsey said that if the ball had struck Tony an inch higher and to the right, he might have been killed.”

I’m not old enough to remember either Herb Score or Tony Conigliaro's playing days. I have however witnessed a couple of similar plays (none live fortunately – blood and bone type injuries make me go all jell-o legged). In 2000, Bryce Florie, a relief pitcher for the Red Sox was hit in the face by a line drive and in 2005, Matt Clement, starting pitcher for the Red Sox was struck in the head by a line drive. Both plays were sickening to see. A human body should not crumple like both Florie’s and Clement’s did. Most sports fans do not consider baseball to be a contact sport. Basically their arguments revolve around how baseball is less dangerous, less physical of a sport than football (the fact that they delay baseball games due to rain is frequently mentioned). While I will agree that baseball can’t compare with the repeated brutality of football, I do think the physical, and sometimes dangerous, aspects of baseball get unfairly downplayed. Outfielders run into walls (and occasionally teammates - ie Johnny Damon & Damian Jackson in 2003) in full pursuit of fly balls, base runners are constantly sliding hard into defenders in attempt to break up close plays, and catchers are always in peril of being bowled over by runners trying to score (a play that I would argue rivals any full force NFL hit). And as the four incidents noted above show, the most basic components of baseball, the ball and bat, can become lethal projectiles capable of horrific results.

Score, Conigliaro, Florie and Clement all made come backs once they had recovered from the physical damage they had suffered, though none of them was able to match the success enjoyed before their injuries. In the case of Conigliaro, he suffered structural damage to his eyesight that prevented him from being the same player. The others all claimed to not suffer any psychological effects, though their results might suggest otherwise. So while baseball may not measure up to football when it comes to overall physicallity, it has the potential, with any individual play to be just as violent and dangerous.

Monster Card of the Week - Green Monster's Friend

2008-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

It's time to introduce another feature that will make regular appearances on this blog - the Monster Card of the Week. This feature will showcase cards that are slightly out of the mainstream, players who weren't necessarily well known stars, and cards that I think are just plain cool. Today's feature falls into the last category, a 1991 Fleer Pro Visions Mike Greenwell.
If you haven't already figured out from the name of my blog, I have a jones for the Green Monster in Fenway Park. In my estimation it is one of the most iconic landmarks in all of sports. Do a Google images search for Fenway Park and virtually all of the results feature the famous left field wall. I owe my fascination with the Monster to Mike Greenwell. When I was younger, the Gator was my favorite Red Sox player (I remember reading once that he got this nickname because he liked to wrestle alligators in Florida - not sure I believe that though). I've always kind of shied away from the biggest stars when it comes to picking favorites. Greenwell played the game hard and had a few great years, but was never really the star of the team (that would have been Boggs and then Vaughn).

The '91 Pro Visions card is one of my all-time favorite cards. The use of art rather than photos was something I had never seen on a baseball card before (In all honesty, I'm still a sucker for this gimmick, which is how I got sucked into collected UD Masterpieces despite the dreaded short prints). And then there was the Monster. I loved the anthropomorphism of Fenway's most famous feature - that devilish, devious smirk and the predatory eyes. Opposing players beware! And yet there stands Greenwell in front of the Monster, calm and cool as could be. Because he knows that he has tamed the beast, he is the Monster's friend.

So long, farewell...

2008-11-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

I was so busy the last two days that I was completely unaware that the Red Sox traded Coco Crisp until this morning. Crisp will end up as one of those ex-Sox players that I'm not sure how I feel about. I remember being excited when the Red Sox first acquired him. He was a good defensive outfielder who was lightning fast on the basepaths - something Red Sox teams have always lacked (Johnny Damon not withstanding). He seemed destined to live up to the hype too during the first few weeks of Spring Training in 2006. But then he broke his finger stealing a base and the wheels seemed to come off. Crisp struggled as a lead-off hitter and instead of being the table-setter at the front of a potent Red Sox lineup, he spent most of his time with the Sox at the bottom of the order. Defensively however, Coco was one of the most dynamic players ever to play for the Red Sox. The highlight-reel, diving catches that he made on a regular basis are some of the best I have ever seen. And so I have mixed feelings about Crisp as a Red Sox player. I don't harbor any ill feelings towards Coco and wish him well in Kansas City.

In exchange for Crisp, the Red Sox get a relief pitcher, Ramon Ramirez, that I freely admit I know very little about. Boston.com has the following scouting report on Ramirez:

"Throws 92-95 [mph] with a heavy, late-life fastball . . . Gets away with mistakes over the middle of the plate because his fastball has so much late life . . . second-best arm in that bullpen [to Joakim Soria] . . . Likes to challenge hitters . . . Definitely a setup man with potential to be a closer down the road . . . Plus fastball, plus slider, has a splitter or something that resembles a splitter . . . Average command . . . Deceptive delivery makes it hard for righthanded hitters to pick up his fastball . . . Hitters can't pick up his arm slot on the backside . . . Needs to tweak his off-speed pitches . . . Can throw his slider too hard . . . Very athletic. Fields his position well . . . Has an above-average 1.22 [second] release point [from the breaking of his hands to catchers mitt] on his slide step, 1.3 from the windup . . . Works fast."

One of the Red Sox weaknesses last season was their bullpen - Okajima wasn't as good in his sophomore year, Delcarmen struggled to be consistent and Timlin was done (God I hated seeing him come into games last year). Sure Papelbon was as dominant as ever, but getting to him was difficult. Good end-of-game pitchers are hard to come by, so if Ramirez performs as advertised, then I applaud the Red Sox for this move. I've seen a lot of speculation that this is the first domino in a bigger game Theo Epstein is playing. I'm not sure I buy it. Epstein has had a history of stocking up on pitching during the off-season. I think his 2006 blunder with Bronson Arroyo taught him a valuable lesson - there's no such thing as too much pitching.

Enough talk though, what will be will be. Lets get to the fun stuff - cards! First up if the former Sox doing one of the things that made him exciting to watch - motor around the bases.

Next up is a Green Monster special. Since Topps didn't produce an image of their 2009 base set design featuring a Red Sox player, I came up with one for them. Introducing the newest member of the Red Sox, Ramon Ramirez (may he have as much success for the Sox as the last guy with that last name):

Original photo by G.Newman Lowrance/Getty Images

Original card design by Topps Company Inc.

Blog Bat Around - Why do we collect?

2008-11-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

I find the psychology of collecting fascinating. What drives human beings to spend time and money stockpiling things that have little to no real value (isn't that what we really mean when we say something is priceless) - things that are not essential to everyday survival. Art, cars, baseball cards, coins, books, rocks, stuffed animals. We clutter our houses, our lives with these purposeless pursuits. Sure collecting is fun and serves as a distraction from the everyday pressures of life, but is that what really drives us to collect? Or is it the thrill of the chase; the feeling of satisfaction when a long sought after piece is finally attained; the hope that the items we hoard will become valuable? Why do I, a (relatively) normal man of 32 years old, store thousands of cardboard rectangles depicting others playing a game in boxes, binders and specially designed plastic sheaths in my closet?

When I was younger I collected every type of card imaginable – baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and even non-sports cards. In 1982, the year I started collecting, there were approximately 50 baseball card products issued, including small run and regional releases. No one I knew labeled themselves as a player collector, or a set collector. We didn’t have to. We were just card collectors. By the mid-1990’s there were six times the number of products being issued. As a collector, I could no longer keep up with the quantity of products being issued. I also couldn’t afford my collection habit any more, as the early 1990’s saw the genesis of high end products. It was depressing to not be able to afford the best looking and most desirable cards being produced, so I stopped.

Fast forward 15 years. While the number of manufacturers has decreased (RIP Donruss), the number of card products has continued to rise exponentially. In 2007, there were over 700 baseball products, including parallels, inserts and 1 of 1s, issued (granted this is a marked improvement from over 2,100 products in 2005, the year before MLBPA contracted to two manufacturers). It is impossible to collect everything unless you are lucky enough to have nearly unlimited resources. As a result, we as collectors have to limit what it is we collect. The type collector is a product of today’s sports card industry more than anything else. We are forced to limit our collecting to one team, to one player, or even to one type of card (game used for example) to make collecting manageable. This is the hobby I returned to in 2008. I’ve come to realize that my original collecting goal (to collect one Red Sox card from every set ever produced) is laughable in its impossibility and that I need some guidelines to keep from getting in over my head. These are my new Collecting Rules of Engagement:

1. I will only collect baseball cards

2. I will only collect (1) base product, inserts not included, per year (I picked Topps since that’s what I collected most when I was younger)
3. I will only collect 2-3 additional products per year (I picked Topps Chrome – what can I say, I like shiny – and UD Masterpieces this year)
4. I will only collect Red Sox cards only of all other products

Basically, I’ve decided that I want to collect as a set builder who dabbles as a team collector on the side. To me, this model is as close as I can get to how I collected when I was younger (I’m sure this says something on a psychological level about why I collect baseball cards). Also, as I noted in my first post on this blog, I find that set building feeds my love of baseball's history. In the end though, no matter what label we as collector's use to identify ourselves, be it set collector, team collector or autograph collector, it all goes back to the psychology of collecting. We all have the same itch, the same addiction - to fill our closets with rectangular pieces of cardboard!

Pedroia wins AL MVP

2008-11-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

After months of rampant speculation, it's official - Dustin Pedroia is the 2008 AL MVP (read it here).I'm sure there will be lots of posts about whether Pedroia should have won the AL MVP award this year. I'm not much of a stat junkie, so I really can't argue for or against the others who received votes based on stats. I will say this however, I don't know that any other player means more to his team than Pedroia does to the Red Sox. Now I should point out that I am a Red Sox fan and therefore probably not the most unbiased voice. I watched just about every Red Sox game this year (God bless MLB Extra Innings), and Pedroia was the motor that kept that team running for long stretches during the season. There were times when he was virtually impossible to get out. And in those rare instances when he did struggle, his presence on the field (Gold Glove anyone) and in the clubhouse more than made up for the lack of offense. If that's not the definition of an MVP, then I don't know what is. And its not like his offense wasn't worthy to start. He did leed the league in hits, runs, doubles and multi-hit games after all. In the absence of a standout performance from anyone in the American League, I think Pedroia is as worthy as anyone of winning.

In keeping with the theme of this blog, here's some historical trivia to share at work tomorrow. Pedroia is only the third player to win an MVP award the year after being named Rookie of the Year. The others:

Cal Ripken, Jr., 1982 AL ROY, 1983 AL MVP
Ryan Howard, 2005 NL ROY, 2006 NL MVP

Pedroia is the first AL second baseman to win the MVP since this guy won in 1959:

(This is one my favorite 56 Topps cards. There are a lot of 2008 Topps cards that don't have this kind of an action shot on them!) No position has won fewer MVP awards.

Congratulations to Dustin Pedroia for joining some elite company.

Ghosts of the Past - Tris Speaker

2008-11-17T15:40:00.000-08:00

In my first post I mentioned the idea of featuring players from the earliest days of baseball’s history. A lot of these players, though stars in their time, have faded from memory and are completely unknown to today’s fans. They have become nothing more than ghosts of the past, ephemeral spectres that lurk in the dark shadows of time. Tris Speaker, though not an unknown name by virtue of being in the Hall of Fame, is the first of these ghosts I want to illuminate.

Even though Speaker is in the Hall of Fame and baseball fans may recognize his name, I would guess that most know little to nothing about how good a player Speaker was in his time. Speaker's Hall of Fame plaque proclaims him to be "the greatest Centerfielder of his day." Indeed, during his 20 year career (1907 - 1928) Speaker led all American League outfielders in putouts 7 times, and is still the all-time leader in assists (448), double plays (139) and the AL leader in total putouts (6,706). To put this in perspective, Willie Mays, who many consider to be the best outfielder of all time only recorded 195 total assists and 51 double plays. And while his total putouts (7,290) exceeds Speaker's, Mays played nearly 10 years longer than Speaker did. Let that sink in for a minute. Speaker has nearly as many DOUBLE PLAYS as an outfielder as Mays had total assists! Speaker was famous for playing so shallow in Centerfield that he was almost a fifth infielder. In fact, recorded 6 unassisted double plays by catching a line drives on the fly and beating runners back to second base.

Speaker was not just a defensive specialist though. He was also one of the era's great offensive threats. Speaker put up such incredible numbers that he still ranks in the top ten all-time in batting average (5th), hits (5th), triples (6th), runs (8th) and is the all-time doubles leader with 792. He led the American League in batting average only once (1916), though he batted over .380 five times, and finished behind Ty Cobb multiple times. Speaker never struck out more than 25 times in a season, and even led the AL in home runs in 1912 (with a whopping total of 10). Remember too, that Speaker achieved these numbers in the "dead ball era" when the league wide batting average was .243, entire teams only hit less than 10 home runs in a season, and pitchers were allowed to scuff, spit on and manipulate the ball in ways that are illegal in today's game. Speaker's best offensive year came in 1912, a year in which he won the Chalmers award, the predecessor of todays MVP award.

Tris Speaker played the first nine years of his career with the Boston Red Sox. In his prime he was part of the "Million Dollar Outfield" with Duffy Lewis and fellow Hall of Famer Harry Hooper - considered by many the best outfield trio ever assembled (look for more on Hooper and Lewis in future posts). Speaker helped guide the Red Sox to World Series victories in 1912, 1915 and 1916. Following the 1916 World Series, in which he led his team with a .300 average, 9 hits and 4 runs scored, Speaker had a falling out with the Red Sox President, Joe Lannin, who wanted to cut Speaker's salary from $15,000 to $9,000 due to his declining batting average. Speaker refused and was traded to the Cleveland Indians for two lower tier players and $50,000. Speaker went on to play eleven years for Cleveland, guided them to a World Series in 1920 (Cleveland's first) and averaged over .350 during that span. Baseball experts rank it among the worst trades ever, including the Babe Ruth debacle (why does it seem like the Red Sox have been on the losing ends of so many of these bad trades?). Tris Speaker's career in Cleveland ended with a gambling scandal involving Ty Cobb (Speaker and Cobb were ultimately granted amnesty by Judge Kenisaw Mountain Landis, the first Commissioner of baseball). Speaker went on to play one season each with the Washington Senators and Philadelphia A's and his statistics during those years were subpar.

Tris Speaker retired from baseball at the end of the 1928 season and was elected as the seventh member of Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1937. There are a number of annecdotal stories about Tris Speaker. My favorite is that he was the first player to test the wind by throwing grass into the air. He also had one of the best nicknames - Spoke, which supposedly is a play on his last name. In terms of baseball cards, Speaker is featured in many of the iconic sets of the early 20th Century, including the T206 set made famous by Honus Wagner. I've included some images of some of the more interesting and iconic cards featuring ole Spoke.

Image key (I'm still figuring this blogger thing out - its totally different than the desktop publishing programs I'm used to) from top:
1. 1909 T202 Hassan Triple Folder
2. 1909-1911 T206
3. 1911 T201 Mecca Double Folder
4. 1913 WG5 National Game
5. 1911 T3 Turkey Red
6. 1911 T205

...the beginning remains always the most notable moment

2008-11-10T16:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome!

It seems like every day someone is starting a new baseball card blog. And while the internet probably doesn’t need yet another, I think I’ve got an angle that may make Green Monster a little bit different from the others.

I love the history and tradition of baseball. Baseball has such a rich tapestry of stories, stories that are shared from generation to generation. The game that is played today is essentially the same as it was 100 years ago. The bases are still 90 feet apart, pitchers still have to throw the ball over home plate for a strike, and batters still have to be able to hit said pitches. The great players of decades past - Ruth, Williams, Cobb, Young - would most likely be great players today. Which allows for debate among fans as to a favorite player’s place among the pantheon of baseball immortals. The same cannot be said of the other pro sports. This heritage, the statistics and milestones that form the individual threads of the tapestry that is baseball, is endlessly fascinating to me.

Which brings me to baseball cards. Part of the reason I collect baseball cards is that they help me to connect with the individual threads of baseball’s history. A 1987 Topps card of Mark McGwire calls to mind the post-home run forearm collisions that earned he and fellow ~~juicer~~ slugger Jose Canseco the nickname “Bash Brothers”. The back of a 1992 Topps Julio Franco card reminds me that he was the AL batting champion the previous year. A 2005 Topps Traded Jacoby Ellsbury reminds of what year he was drafted.

I am primarily a set collector and I’m pretty sure that this connection between cards and baseball’s heritage is the reason. Each set is like an archive of the previous baseball season - the record breakers, the all stars, the rookies. (I also collect Red Sox cards, but I think it’s obvious why people collect their favorite team.)

I have a ton of ideas for this blog that will explore the rich history of baseball as viewed through baseball cards. Most of the threads I will explore will revolve around the Red Sox because… well frankly because that’s what I’m interested in. I’ll spotlight cards of players who moonlighted with the Red Sox or who are better remembered for playing elsewhere. There will also be features on players from the dead-ball and pre-war eras (1901 – 1940 or so), and on favorite cards and players from my personal collection. Regardless of the topic, the baseball cards will be the stars of this blog. Hopefully my words can do them justice and that others will enjoy what I think is a different twist on baseball card collecting.

Scott C.