Ten Records

The godfather of baseball card blogging, Night Owl, threw down a challenge earlier this week: to name 10 albums that were significant to you and tie it to baseball cards.  This is my effort.  I've gone a little further and added videos of songs from the albums (with one exception) and tied the cards to the song.    So, here we go:



1. Styx - Cornerstone

Why this album: This album changed my musical tastes.  Prior to buying Cornerstone, I listened to the worst of 1970s pop music, like The Village People and KC and the Sunshine Band.  The song Babe was what drew me in, but it was the rock power anthems on the record that converted me over to rock music.

Why this card:  Well, I am nothing if unoriginal.  Babe is the song that introduced me to Styx.  And what other baseball player to show?  Sure, there were many ballplayers with the nickname babe.  32, according to Baseball Reference.    But, none are greater than Babe Ruth

2. AC/DC - Back in Black

Why this album:  This album, bought at the KMart in Chili Center, NY really led me into the hard rock world and away from the (sometimes forced) theatrics of Styx.  A lot of Styx music sounds dated now.  Back in Black, at 37 years old, still fits into the modern music landscape.  Plus, I remember driving to Buffalo in a blizzard to see AC/DC as a college freshman.

Why this card: What Do You Do For Money, Honey?  Don Money?  Like I said, I don't pretend to orginality.

3.  Sammy Hagar - Standing Hampton 

Why this album: The first concert I ever attended was Sammy Hagar (with Aldo Nova opening) at the Rochester Auditorium Theater in my junior year in high school.

Why this card:  Well, standing hampton is a NSFW slang.   Look it up and you'll understand.

4. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood

Why this album: I remember hearing a cut from this album, SRV's debut, on the radio during my senior year in high school and being completely blown away by it. The cassette tape was pretty much on loop for me the summer between high school and college.

Why this card:  Well it is Curt *Flood* and he was born in Houston, Texas.

5. R.E.M. - Reckoning

Why this album:  I first heard this playing on the store sound system as I wandered about The Record Archive in Rochester during college. It blew me away and I bought it immediately. It was my entrée into alternative rock.  The video is a bit of a stretch. I really spent some time thinking about this and never got anywhere.  I finally googled "R.E.M. " and "baseball" and found out two members of the band formed a group called The Baseball Project and released two baseball themed albums.  So, I went in that direction instead of beating my head on a wall trying to tie Harborcoat to baseball.

Why this card:  Well, the song is called Harvey Haddix.

6. Metallica-S&M

Why this album:  This brought me back to heavy metal after a long time away. I don't have an extensive metal library, but I do appreciate watching people that are really good at what they do.  And Metallica is that.

Why this card:  I defy anyone to come up with a different player.  Enter Sandman played whenever Mariano Rivera came in from the bullpen at Yankee Stadium and Metallica played at his final game.

7. Pine Valley Cosmonauts - The Majesty of Bob Wills

Why this album:  I came across this album in the music section of the late, lamented Borders Bookstore.  They had headphones along the rows of CDs that would allow you to listen to selected albums.  This album was one such selection.  It introduced me to Western Swing music, an amalgam of country and jazz most popular in the 1930s and 1940s.  It is still around, most notably by the Austin band Asleep at the Wheel.  Bob Wills is in both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Halls of Fame.

Why this card:  Well the song above is about the Alamo, which is in San Antonio. Cliff Johnson, a player on the Yankees teams of my youth is from San Antonio.

8. Social Distortion - Social Distortion

Why this album:  I really like the SoCal punk sound here.  And, when I found out that there was a fair amount of crossover between the SoCal punk scene and the classic country and Bakersfield sounds (typified most recently by Dwight Yoakam), I was hooked.

Why this card: Well, Casey Stengel wrote a book titled "Casey at the Bat: The Story of My Life in Baseball."

9. Slaid Cleaves - Broke Down

Why this album:  I don't rightly recall if this was my introduction to Americana music, since that is a fairly broad label that encompasses a number of other genres, like folk and alt-country. I will say that, after hearing this song on a locally produced radio show, I did go right out and get the CD and it did contribute to a new direction in my music listening.

Why this card:  Well, what else is the baseball equivalent of one good year other than the one year wonder.  And Joe Charboneau falls into that category

10. Metamodern Sounds in Country Music by Sturgill Simpson

Why this album:  Sturgill Simpson is the man.  Along with Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, he is saving country music.  Much to the chagrin of Nashville's Music Row. But screw them. They are peddling crappy pop and bro country. If you haven't seen his performance on Saturday Night Live recently, you should.  Go here and here.  While I expect that Beyonce's "Lemonade" will win, I'd love Simpson's "A Sailor's Guide to Earth" to win the Record of the Year Grammy.

Why this card:  Okay, this is a stretch. I admit it. But, I do need to show some faint glimmer of originality. Turtles all the way down is a colloquial expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology.  It is also considered an example of the Anavastha concept in Indian philosophy.  So, here is a card of two Indian natives who joined the Pirates minor league organization in 2009 as part of the reality show, Million Dollar Arm. Dinesh Patel only hung on for two years, both in Rookie ball.  Rinku Singh made it 4 years, getting as high as A ball.  He resigned with the Pirates in November 2015 and managed to pitch one scoreless inning in rookie ball during the 2016 season.

2009 Tristar Obak - Packs 9 to 12

Rainy day here. Figure I'll knock another one out before I head out to run errands.

Pack 9

22 T212 Brooks Robinson York
16 Tommy Hanson Gwinnett
21 Mike Moustakas Wilmington
28 Pat Venditte Charleston

Switch pitcher!  And a Yankee farm hand.  He has had pretty good numbers through out his minor league career and made the AAA roster at the start of 2012.  But a torn labrum ended his season after 7 relief appearances.  It will be interesting to see where he lands next year. Will he be MLB first BOOGY?

58 Ron Neccai Bristol
94 Wright Brothers Innovators

Not those Wright Brothers.  George (clean shaven) was a member of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings team that was established in 1869.  Harry (bearded) was the manager of that team and is credited with a number of baseball innovations, like positioning defensive players differently based on who is batting.  I wonder if Mark Tiexiera curses his name?

Pack 10

52 T212 Jackie Mitchell Chattanooga
11 Lars Anderson Poortland
40 Duke Snider Fort Worth
83 Arthur "Foxy" Irwin Fielding Glove
90 Branch Rickey Farm System

One of these days, I need to find a biography of Rickey. Probably as positive an influence on baseball as Mountain Landis was a negative.  Known best for breaking the color barrier (with Jackie Robinson), he is also known (at least in this household) as a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, my wife's alma mater.

100 Barack Obama (06/25)

Sweet!  Card 100 is a short print to begin with.  To get a serial numbered (of 25) version of the card is pretty exciting.  I wonder if this is considered his rookie card?

* checks COMC *

Nope. Both Topps and Upper Deck issued Barack Obama cards in 2008.  Oh, well. Still love this card.

Pack 11

21 T212 Satchel Paige Miami

Not sure what to say about this.  Occasionally, you'll see one of those things where you are asked if you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be.  My first choice would probably be James Madison, but Satch would be my first choice from the world of sports.

75 Henry Chadwick  Father of Baseball

Chadwick is the original Bill James, what with his invention of the box score and being the first person to really keep track of statistics.  Check it out:

A boxscore from 1876!  Looks familiar, doesn't it?


91 Ruekheim Brothers and Eckstein, Cracker Jacks
91 Ruekheim Brothers and Eckstein, Cracker Jacks (41/50)
92 Frank Shaughnessy MiLB Playoff Sysem
100 Barack Obama President

Pack 12

13 T212 Jesus Montero Tampa
34 Satchel Paige Maiami
46 Spencer Harris Mineeapolis
79 Bud Fowler Keokuks

Bud Fowler was the first African-American professional ballplayer, thoough (obviously) he never made the majors. There is much to say about Bud, but just read his SABR biography.

95 William Wrigley Jr Industrialist
A40 Bobby Grich Rochester Auto (53/200)

The first of my 4 promised autographs. And a player from my hometown Red Wings. 6 time All Star and 4 time Gold Glover, Bobby Grich. Interestingly, this is an error card.  It states that his batting average at Rochester in 1977, the year he was the MiLB Player of the Year, was .366.  It was actually .336. The typesetter apparently uses the numeric keys at the right on his keyboard and didn't fact check.

Wow. Two posts in two days. I am on a roll.  It helps some that I am listening to some high energy music.  Check it.

It's hard to sit still and put down roots when you have that playing in the background, no?

A Modern Woody Guthrie

I know it is consider anathema to dip into politics when we have the infinitely more important subject of baseball cards to cover. But, dang, Bruce has done it again.

Happy Holidays!

Mail Call - Night Owl Edition

So, I am a about a week and a half into not buying cards because of my uncertain unemployment situation. I am still having withdrawal symptoms. Luckily, I found a fix in my mailbox today. I had helped Night Owl out with some Lineage 75 minis, so when he had some interesting cards available, he gave me first crack at them. Here they are:



One of my favorite of the 2011 Yankees. Still hoping they sign him for 2012. Since rumor has it that Toronto is the odds-on favorite to win the rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish, maybe they will.



I really, really hate all the damn parallels and inserts that Topps puts into their flagship product. I'd calculate out how many cards are needed to build a 2011 master set, but I am too lazy. Just on the base set you have 990 times 6 (base, Walmart blue border, Target red border, gold border, diamond parallel, cognac parallel). When you are up to 5940 cards before you even get to the inserts...well...suffice it to say it is too damn many. But, I do like the fact that they put these legacy players in the set. I've gotten several over the course of the year and I like them real well. One day, maybe I'll do a post on them, but for now let me say that this Maris is definitely the cream of the crop. Even if it does look like his one leg was amputated at the knee.

Being the guy he is, though, Night Owl didn't leave it at that. He included three cards I needed to complete 2011 Update. I am down to only needing 7 cards now.




He also included 3 of the Lineage base cards from my want list. I only need one card (I'm looking at you Adam Wainwright!) to complete that set.




So, big thanks to Night Owl.

For those that may wonder, my employment situation is uncertain, but not dire. I have already gotten one call regarding a job inside my current employer. I also have solid leads on two external jobs that are right in my wheelhouse. So, I am actually pretty excited about a change in environment. Of course, who could feel bad when iTunes random play brings this up while you are composing a post:

Monday Random 10 - Austin Edition

I don't think I'll have much hobby related to post this week, so I thought I'd throw up a random 10. With three artists based in Austin and a fourth video recorded in Austin, there seems to be a theme this week. It was a pretty good selection. I don't expect that anyone will listen to all of these. But, I would suggest that, if you only listen to one, to choose "Autumn Leaves" by Eva Cassidy. A great talent that died of cancer in 1996 at the tender age of 33, she wasn't really "discovered" until she was gone.


1. "Tell Me True" by Sarah Jarosz



2. "Good Hearted Man" by Tift Merritt



3. "I Disappear" by Metallica



4. "Perfect Blue Building" by Counting Crows



5. "Blinded by Rainbows" by The Rolling Stones



6. "Pancho and Lefty" by Steve Earle



7. "Cold and Lonely" by Slaid Cleaves



8. "I Say A Little Prayer for You" by Aretha Franklin



9. "Autumn Leaves" by Eva Cassidy



10. "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon

It's Here! It's Here!

FedEx just left and I have my box of 2004 Greats of the Game in my excited little hands.

Here is the plan. I am going to try and limit myself to opening three packs a day and to blog each group separately. Whether I can stick to that or not is another matter altogether. Frankly, I used to get so terribly excited on Christmas Eve that, once, my mother actually had to slip me part of a phenobarbitol so I would fall asleep until Christmas morning. Parenting was a bit different back then. So, as you might guess, my impulse control can be a bit problematic.

That said, I figured I might figure out what I can expect from this box, based on the number of packs (15), number of cards per pack (5), and stated (but not guaranteed) odds.

Parallel Cards: Basic Card Parallels # to special year(1:60 packs): 0

Insert Cards: 29 Forever, # to rookie year (1:5 packs): 3

Game Used Memorabilia (1:15 packs): 1

Autographs (1:7.5 packs): 2

Base Cards (65 total): 69.

Given that I already have 26 base cards from the second series, I am hoping to get all, or at least most, of the remaining cards I need among the 69 expected base cards.

So, I have taken the three packs that seemed thickest and put them on the bottom, figuring that they are the ones likeliest to have hits in them. They may just end up being the packs with a checklist card added in, so my plan to save the best for last may be foiled. We'll see, and that is the exciting part anyways.

I've got another post sketched out about a great vintage break I participated in over at Crinkly Wrappers, which I will try and work on this week also. But, I have no clue as to what will go up when.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, that video playing in the background of the picture above is Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson playing one of my all time favorite songs, the old Hoagy Carmichael classic "Georgia on my Mind." Ray Charles still sets the standard for that song, but Wynton and Willie do come close. Here is the video. If you like jazz, blues, or country, you will like it.




ADDED LATER: Yeah, no impulse control. All 15 packs have been opened and I did get the hits generally in line with the expectation. There was one big hit and one big disappointment. I'll still blog 3 packs a day, but in the mean time, does anyone have a subscription to Worthpoint or Beckett Online Price Guide?

A Good Day

The box of 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game I won on EBay last night shipped this afternoon. I have no idea when it will arrive, but I don't have to obsessively check EBay anymore to see if it shipped. Now I can obsessively check the Fedex website to track it's progress.

And to make things even better, I am heading up to OKC tonight to take in a concert by a favorite singer, Eilen Jewell. So, I will leave you with a few of her videos:

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other Things

Monday Random 10

I really don't have anything card-related to post today, but have taken the week off as a honey-do staycation, so I'm going to recycle an old (and probably overdone) blog meme, the Random 10. So, I am setting iTunes on random play and see what comes up. Where there is a video available, the title will be a link to it.

1. Over the Top by Motorhead
2. New York by Sex Pistols
3. Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin
4. Is That You? by Buddy Miller
5. Union House Branch by Alison Krauss and Union Station*
6. Whiskey Lullaby by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley
7. Black and Blue by Louis Armstrong
8. I see Red by Split Enz
9. Are You Running? by Jerry Harrison
10. Roll Me Away by Bob Seger

* Okay, so the video isn't actually Alison Krauss and Union Station. But, it does feature AKUS member Jerry Douglas, who is a virtuoso on the dobro.

Mail Call - April 25th Edition

So, I mentioned earlier about putting an order in at COMC for more cards towards my 1974 set. They arrived today and here is some of what I got:







Three Hall of Fame inductees. This was the last of the special Aaron cards I needed. It appears to me that Topps used the same picture of Aaron three straight years.



Six more of the team checklists and 2 more base set checklists.





Two more of the Washington Nat'l Lea variations. I was slightly disappointed with these two cards. These cards are in great shape except for a a gum stain on the back of one and some paper loss on the back of the other. I recall the gum stain from when I was ordering, but I must have missed the paper loss on the other. The damage shows clearly on the card images on the packing list, so I must have not inspected the images of the back for that card. The fronts are clean and all the corners are sharp, so I am not going to obsess about it.



And finally, the father of a major part of what is wrong with country music today. Okay, maybe that is overstating it, but Tim McGraw isn't my cup of tea. With country music, I prefer Western Swing throwbacks like Asleep at the Wheel, outlaws like Willie Nelson, and just about the entire alt-country scene centering on Austin, Chicago, and Seattle.

Now that I am getting real close to completing 1974, I am shifting into overdrive. Today, I placed an order each at Sportsbuy and Sportlots. When those shipments come in, I believe I will be down needing two four cards to complete 1974. And one of those cards has an active EBay auction closing this week.

Mining a Rich Seam

As the handful of you who actually read my ramblings may recall (not that I expect my poor words to be that memorable), I had a couple trades in the works to help me wtih Topps Heritage, since I haven't had much love from my retail purchases. One is with Johnny over at Cards from the Quarry, and it was a doozy. I sent him a meager handful of cards he needed and another set of cards he can use as trade material. In exchange he sent me 34 (34!) cards off my 2011 Topps Heritage want list. It is times like these I am overwhelmed by the generosity of the collecting community and feel a little embarrassed to be a new collector, since I cannot even begin to do justice with what I send in exchange.

So, since it seems to be the practice, here are a few of the cards I got.


Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira, who currently is in a three way tie on the AL leader board for both home runs and runs batted in, despite a pedestrian .259 batting average.



Yankee great Don Mattingly, who appears, in this lousy economy, to have fallen on hard times and in need of any work, no matter how demeaning.



Last year's breakout star, Blue Jay Jose Bautista. This card is one of the Heritage short prints, so I am particularly stoked about getting it.



There are few people in the culture who can go by one name. There is Willie and Snoop in the music world*. In the sports world, there is, of course, Lebron and Ichiro. And ya gotta include anyone who can go by one name.



And, naturally, The Bambino.

So, there was plenty of other cards in the package from Johnny, but I have to stop playing in the Intertubes.

* Speaking of Willie and Snoop, here they are joined by their love of...........music.

Snoop Dogg (Feat. Willie Nelson) - Superman- Vidéo ambrase13 sélectionnée dans Musique

I Has A Sad (Non-Card related post)

I know I should stick to my knitting, but I am really down in the dumps. I just found out one of my favorite singers is playing here in OKC tomorrow night and, due to a variety of obligations, I cannot attend. I like most every type of music, but I am most fond of the genre known as Alt-country or Americana. It combines traditional country, folk, and rock the right way. Not like all that Faith Hill/Tim McGraw crap.

To sooth my sad, I am going to (hopefully) create a few more fans for this talented artist. So, I present to you Boston based singer Eilen Jewell. This first song, Sea of Tears, has a great 1950s rockabilly vibe to it:



Here is Jewell, and her band, covering the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates song "Shakin' All Over:"



This song, from the same SXSW set as the first video, is probably my favorite. It has a laconic fatalism to it, without veering off into the maudlin: