1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game

I am starting a new series which should get me blogging again on a more regular basis. I have been MIA after getting bored with blogging and busy with family and school, but now I need a more regular schedule to keep me focused, so this is one aspect of that.

I will be going through the 1999 Fleer series that many of you have seen, the Greats of the Game that includes photographs from Sports Illustrated. I completed the autograph set a while ago, and would like to share it with everyone.

Today's card is of Tommy Agee, the outfielder for the Mets. He started his career with the Indians in 1962, making his first appearance at the age of 19! However, he only had 31 at bats total over three seasons in the Cleveland system, and in another brilliant Cleveland trade (sarcasm dripping), was sent to the White Sox with John Romano and a pitching prospect named Tommy John (DOH!) as part of a three-team trade that brought Rocky Colavito back to the Indians from Kansas City, along with Cam Carreon. I think that the Indians front office was trying to make up for the infamous trade, and its eponymous curse, that sent Colavito to the Tigers for Harvey Kuenn.

Agee seasoned for one more year in the White Sox farm, then had his breakout season in 1966, earning him an All Star appearance, a Gold Glove, a Rookie of the Year award, and enough votes to come in 8th for the MVP award. That year, he hit .273 with a .447 slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 86 RBI's and 44 stolen bases! Not only was he a power hitter and run-maker, but he could fly!

He regressed the next two years and was traded to the Mets after the 1967 season, but found his stroke again in 1969, when he pounded the ball for an OPS of .806. He came in sixth in the MVP race that year, and followed up that year with two more years of .800 OPS.

Agee played until 1973, a rather short career for someone who had so much promise at such a young age, and showed flashes of brilliance. He ended his career with a .255 batting average, 130 home runs, 433 RBI's, 167 stolen bases and an OPS of .732.

Tommy Agee, born in rural Alabama, died in 2001 at the age of only 58.

A Big Smile!

I know I haven't been posting a lot lately, or even minimally. I have no excuse, except for Life. Sometimes it intervenes.

I have, however, continued to trade and even buy and sell a few cards. Recently, I came upon a card I just had to have. Have you ever come across one of those? You know the card. A player you collect. Maybe your team. Something so incredible that money was no object, or at least you were willing to pay a little more than you normally would.

Well, I had to have this card:

I don't know about you, but it certainly made me smile.

Not only is it a Thome autograph, which I would gladly take, but it is one of the most unique patches, aside from the Cubs' bear rump, I have ever seen. How much more perfect could this card be?!!? Not only is it a larger size patch, but it is a well-designed card with a well-placed sticker auto that is not simply stuck onto the front, but embedded in the card. This one is going right into the PC.

Sweet!

Sweet Spot, that is. Couldn't you tell that it is probably my favorite type of card? Love the autos. Love the manufactured ball or bat or glove leather. Love the designs (except for '07 and '08 - I can live without those.) Love the collection of HOFers that have signed them. Here is my latest, courtesy of eBay:

I picked this up for only $35, while I recently saw a Robin Yount Greats of the Game autograph go for over $300! I love getting the autos of players I've seen play who are now in the Hall of Fame. Molitor, Ozzie, Bench, Gwynn, Ripken. Add one more to the collection.

Found Treasure

You may have read my Blog Bat-around post from several years ago on my father and his amazing autograph book. It is truly a gem, a rare piece of history. If you haven't read it, go to the link in the right column titled A Father's Tale.

Looking through it recently, I settled on the miscellaneous pieces of paper that had collected in its back pages. There are a variety of autographs, some on the back of an old song sheet, some on my grandfather's business cards. A folded up notebook sheet with some 70's Indians on it, including Jim and Gaylord Perry.

One particular piece never bothered being noticed, more than just a cursory glance, until recently. I took a good, hard look at it. What I thought was Harry something-or-other was this:

I couldn't figure it out until right then. It hit me like a thunderbolt.

Hank Greenberg.

Holy Shitake Mushrooms!!!!!!

I checked quickly on eBay to see if there were any other Hank Greenberg autographs. Sure enough, a few pop up, and there are the telltale signs. The swoopy "H" and the looped and skinny "G"!

There has been a Hank Greenberg autograph in my dad's autograph book for 70 years, the last dozen or so with me, and I didn't even know it! OMG!!! (Sorry, I had to throw that in there. My kids turn 13 on Monday, and I need to keep up with their lingo!)

Has anyone else ever realized that, right under their noses, lies a treasure like this?

Another HOF auto

One more HOF auto that I've bought with the proceeds from that Jeter bat barrel nameplate that I sold:

Everyone know who this is, so there is no need to describe his feats, his fielding prowess, his daily backflips before each game, or his Wizardry.

Add this to the list of HOFers whose autographs I now have.

Even more bounty

I keep finding autograph cards that are too juicy, too irresistible to pass up.

Another Hall of Famer autograph, had for a nice price off of eBay (about $29). He also has one of the nicest autographs out there. (I really love the Sweet Spot autographs, if you couldn't tell!)

At a recent Collectorfest, a monthly card show, two nice Italian boys showed up:

Joe Altobelli is Mr. Rochester Red Wings, having served in one capacity or another for the team (now the Minnesota Twins Triple-A affiliate), was also the manager of the Orioles the last time they won the World Series in 1983. Mr. Altobelli was the first-year manager of the Orioles, and lasted two more years, but didn't win another World Series.

Johnny Antonelli was a big-time pitcher for the New York Giants who won 21 games in 1954, culminating with a victory in Game 2 of the 1954 World Series against my beloved Cleveland Indians. His stat line for that game is interesting:

New York Giants	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Antonelli W(1-0)	9.0	8	1	1	6	9

Eight hits and six walks in nine innings, but only letting up one home run to Al Smith leading off the game. Another nail in the coffin of the Indians.

Both were very gracious and signed hundreds of autographs for $5 apiece, all going to The Wilmot Cancer Center. I was more than happy to wait for two autographs each and to chat for a minute with them. The two of them started discussing their favorite restaurants in Cleveland (which I doubt was still there when I grew up in Cleveland), although Mr. Antonelli did mention his affinity for Little Italy on Mayfield Hill in Cleveland. They both commented on what a thrill it was to win a World Series, and Mr. Antonelli had his 1954 World Champion ring on.

Johnny Antonelli still has a thick Italian accent, which I really enjoyed listening to.

What I did on my summer vacation...

...or, What happened after I got laid off.

Yep, I was walked out the door in July, which gave me an interesting perspective on corporate management. The economic downturn hurt my company, whose initials are *@$*# (sorry, can't say them due to non-disclosure agreements) but they also made terrible decisions, lost BIG contracts, and severely messed up new contract proposals. So guys like me get a pink slip, and the management who made the missteps get bonuses.

It didn't take me long, though, to decide that I don't want to be an engineer anymore, so I am going back to school to get my certification to be a high school physics teacher. My high school physics teacher was the biggest influence on my choice of college and career, so I want to be thought of in the same way. I'm taking one course right now, but I am applying for the spring semester and will hopefully be going full-time starting in January.

I've also cut back on buying cards over the last three months since then, but recently I got a BIG shot in the arm to help me get some of the cards I've desired for a while. I finally got my asking price for the Jeter Sweet Spot bat barrel nameplate I pulled in the spring, put half of that in the bank, then have gone on a small but significant shopping spree. Here are a few of the cards that I've purchased with the proceeds:

I'm not going out and blowing money on the first one I find. I'm looking for good deals, and waiting until I find the right one. The Pujols, for example, I got for under $200, his supposed going rate for autos. The Aaron is a 1994 Topps Archive RC reprint. The signature is very nice, and probably authentic, as compared to some of the Aaron autos you see now which are sloppy and, rumor has it, are signed by someone else.

I've also got my eye on a few other classic autos, like George Brett, Paul Molitor, Tony Gwynn and Robin Yount. Any other suggestions?

Recent brushes with fame

This has been an interesting spring. I have had two chance meetings with two football luminaries in the past two months. (Two! Two! Two...!)

First, I was in Cleveland to visit my parents, and went to an upscale shopping village near their house. I was sitting with our new dog, Laila, outside a nice bookshop, waiting for Joshua to get out of the bathroom, when a nice looking, older, slightly husky man and his wife walk out of the bookstore. Instantly, I knew who he was.

"Excuse me, Mr. Holmgren?"

"Yes?" he replied.

Now, at this point, a fast thinker would probably say something like "Good luck with the Browns," or "May I have your autograph?" All I could manage was "Do us a favor...," to which his wife responded, as they kept walking, "No one wants to do it more than him!"

There I sat, with my dog, looking pretty flummoxed, probably. Oh, well.

Then, a few weeks ago, my family was in Miami Beach visiting my sister for a family event. On the way home, from Ft. Lauderdale airport, we were waiting for our JetBlue flight to Buffalo, when he walks up to the waiting area and watches the golf match on TV at the bar nearby. I recognize him immediately, and casually saunter over to my son to see if he has a pen and paper.

"Joshua, that is [name omitted], go get his autograph!"

Pretty cool. I spoke briefly with him regarding golf, and found out he was going to Buffalo for Jim Kelly's charity golf tournament for Hunter's Hope. (Please check out the charity. It is certainly admirable and has raised millions to search for a cure for the disease that took his son's life.)

Any guesses to the autograph? The departure point and the number under the signature should give it away.

2010 Topps Review

I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for my Jumbo Hobby box of 2010 Topps to come in. It finally did on Tuesday, and my son and I opened it last night. Hmmm, I have a few opinions on this year's edition of the only licensed MBL product.

Design: B

Not bad. Not great. This may be one of those Topps designs, like 1972 or 1975, that grows on you after a while and becomes a classic. On the other had, the use of foil is becoming a bit annoying. Topps should not use it for the names and logo, in my opinion. But the size of the names and the team name and logo are good. Makes it easy to read, especially for my old, failing eyesight.

The backs are pretty good, too. The numbers are easy to read and all situated the same way. Complete batting and pitching records are listed, and a nice second picture is there, too. Good job on the obverse, Topps.

It's also good to see that Topps has finally gotten over their A-Rod infatuation and put someone else in the #1 card slot - Prince Fielder - although it is a strange picture!

Photography: A

Like last year, the photography is a strong point, although I don't have any of those stupid Yankee pie-in-the-face cards. Thank goodness! But there are some really nice photographs. Randy Johnson's falling-down-while-throwing-to-first-base photo comes to mind.

Inserts: C+

WAY TOO MANY!

There are just too many insert sets to collect, and that doesn't even include the variations. Not only do the base cards have variations, but the Cards Your Mother Threw Out has variations, too. I pulled the Albert Pujols 2002 All-Topps Rookie card, and it has the original back on it, not the CYMTO back! (If anyone is interested in trading for it, make an offer.)

Do I really need Turkey Red again? Why is there Tales of the Game AND History of the Game? Two sets of ToppsTown, gold and silver? C'mon!

As I count it, there are TEN different insert sets this year for Series 1. Lord knows how many more they will bring out for Series 2 and U&H. There could end up being 12 to 15 different insert sets this year. Dial it down, Topps!

Collation: A-

Very good, for the most part. In the Jumbo Hobby box, you get the entire set plus inserts, plus about 50 base doubles. However, I did get four Turkey Red doubles, out of 10 cards. Not good. Other than that, though, the variety is excellent.

Hits: B+

This is where I did well this year. The first hit is an autograph of Glen Perkins. OK. It looks like the signature was rushed. Very messy compared to the Sweet Spot I had.

Second was a bat relic - thank goodness, again, for no plain jersey relics - of Dustin Pedroia. I do like the design of the Peak Performance inserts, and the autos and relics are nicely done.

Third I got one of the manufactured hat patches of a Red Sox logo, for Kevin Youkilis. Nice card. I'd rather have an Indians logo, though, so if you read this and you have the Grady Sizemore version, I will trade with you. In any event, it's a good-looking design, and better than the partial, can't-figure-out-what-it-is patches from last year.

Fourth, as a bonus, I got a silk card, numbered to 50, of Adrian Gonzalez. Again, nice card, didn't make me jump up and down, but it is good trade bait, so if you are interested....

Value: B+

From what I understand, the price of a hobby box is quickly escalating, according to my dealer. Jumbos are up to $90-something, and wax are up to the high $60's. It is a hot product so far. If you haven't bought yours yet, you may want to wait until the price comes down again.

As for me, though, I preordered at $75 for the Jumbo Hobby box, and I believe that I got good value. Four hits is nice, and the cards look pretty good.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B+

I couldn't make up my mind, so I'm waffling. However, this is a strong set for Topps' first exclusive. They deliver good value, so that help boost the grade, but those inserts! As Charlie Brown would say, "AAARRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!"

I'm really looking forward to Heritage. I hope it is not as difficult to collect as this one is.

FOR TRADE

HITS

Dustin Pexroia Peak Performance GU Bat #PPR-DP
Glen Perkins Peak Performance autograph #PPA-GP
Adrian Gonzalez Silk Collection (03/50)

(this one will only be traded for a Grady Sizemore logo hat patch)
Kevin Youkilis Boston Red Sox Hat Logo manufactured patch #MHR-127 (86/99)

Turkey Red
6 - Upton
10 - Papelbon
19 - Ripken
31 - Ott

Gold-border
8 - LL Mauer-Ichiro-Jeter
24 - Maine
33 - Moore
70 - Hamels
84 - Robertson
102 - Twins
140 - Holliday
173 - Morales
214 - Kemp
227 - Thole (not Thome)

Base: 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14, 16, 24, 29, 42, 45, 48, 49, 55, 60, 64, 65, 69, 70, 72, 74, 78, 80, 87, 105, 107, 114, 117, 120, 130, 135, 136, 145, 152, 153, 164, 167, 171, 172, 177, 185, 188, 196, 197, 198, 216, 226, 237, 240, 241, 248, 256, 260, 261, 274, 280, 288, 293, 300, 303, 304, 314, 321, 326

Attention all Braves fans

I have had amazing good luck with 2009 Sweet Spot. I have basically figured out where, in a fresh box, the Sweet Spot and the Sweet Beginnings autographs are, so I have been able to pick up quite a few autos. In fact, I picked up my second Tommy Hanson auto from the set, this time a Silver auto numbered out of 65.

It is up for sale on eBay now, ending today, as is a Kenshin Kawakami auto.

Too bad I'm not a huge Braves fan. Between them, the Cardinals and the Braves, I seem to be getting a lot of their autos.

If you are interested in trading for some of the Sweet Swatches, they are on my Autos, Relics and S/N'd cards page, in the column to the right.

Where have you gone, Jimmy Dean?

Lately, I've been doing most of my trading on The Bench. I know, you think I'm a snob now, too good to talk to my friends. The truth is that I've been sucked into the world of high-end trading. As you can see from a few of my recent (sporadic) posts, I've been dabbling with Sweet Spot, SPx, and assorted "mid-range" cards in order to get some high-value trade bait so that I can (1) fund my Thome, Vizquel and Sizemore collections and (2) fund my autograph collections, including the 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Autographs set.

I've picked up quite a few Thome cards from 1999 and 2001 on eBay, a few patch cards here and there, and almost half of the SI GotG set. That is a pretty amazing set, and although some of the autographs are questionable as to whether that signer is actually a "Great of the Game," the checklist is impressive and the signatures are on-card. The best ones are the actual reprints of the SI covers, and my favorites include the Eddie Matthews, the Al Kaline (which is the first one I got) and the Luis Aparicio.

As any card afficionado can appreciate, the photography on this set is spectacular! The photography can be quite silly, too, judging from shots like this one of Ed Kranepool from those Amazin' Mets:

There are still quite a few for me to go, including one of the three Reggie Jackson variations, a Nolan Ryan, a Willie Mays and a Carl Yastrzemski. Wish me luck!

If anyone has any of these lying around, just begging to be sent to a good home, please contact me and I will make a trade worth your while.

Big Trade

When it comes to trading, I like to trade type for type, such as an autograph for an autograph, relic for a relic, etc. On rare occasions, I will trade an auto or relic for a short printed card that I need for a set, such as those SP variations in the 2009 Topps base set.

Lately, I've been diving into the world of high-end sportscards. I've sold a few "hot" autographs of guys like Porcello and Hanson, and I've been buying packs of the mid- to upper-level products like SPx, Sweet Spot and even a Ballpark Collection, although the latter leaves me cold. I've pulled such hits as Markakis and McLouth autos, a Griffey American Heroes 1-of-1, and a Ryan Braun By the Letter autograph.

The Braun BTL is now the subject of a philosophical debate: Would you rather?

Would you rather have an on-card/on-material autograph of an up-and-coming superstar like Braun, or a glossy, inset auto card of a Hall of Famer?

Personally, I would rather have the HOFer, especially when that is a guy who doesn't normally sign everything in his path. That is why I traded the Braun BTL, numbered out of 10, for a Leaf Limited autograph, numbered out of 100, of Mike Schmidt. As an added bonus, in order to make the trade "even" according to book value, I received an Albert Pujols Fleer Platinum RC.

I think that, although the Braun is a VERY nice card, low numbered, and signed on material, if I can get a pseudo-rare autograph of a Hall of Famer and a rookie card of a no-question-about-it Hall of Famer, I'd do it again. And again. Do you agree?

More Card Shop Booty

No, not THAT booty. Like pirate booty. Treasure. Trinkets. Valuables.

These valuables came out of more of the half-price packs that were on sale, in order to clear out inventory. This time: 2009 SP Authentic. Almost all of the packs were still in the box, and I'm allowed to hold the packs, though I don't do "pack-searching" by any stretch of the imagination. I tried that once, at Tar-jhay, and it was a complete failure. But with the SP, I thought I could distinguish between the dummy cards, which are getting thicker and thicker, and the By-the-Letter autographs. So, out of seven packs, I came up with these three finds:

Pretty good haul, I'd say. AAARRRR! Um, sorry. I couldn't resist. A Trevor Crowe BTL autograph, a Ryan Braun BTL autograph, numbered 10/10!, and a redemption for a rookie BTL autograph of David Patton of the Cubs. I'd say I got my money's worth!

Weird thing about these BTL autos, though. What do they spell. I now have two Crowes, a "U" and an "S", neither of which is in his name! I think that the higher-numbered versions spell "SP AUTHENTIC," but what about the Braun? "R" is in his name, so maybe the lower-numbered versions spell the names.

Additionally, there is no mention in the Beckett guide (sorry, but I use it for trading) of a lower-numbered version of the BTL autos. The Braun listed is also out of 65, I think, so what is this version? It is gold-trimmed, but there is no mention of it.

Post-Holiday Shopping Spree

I had some cash burning a hole in my wallet, so I wandered on down to the local card shop, where the owner was trying to clear out some older packs so he wouldn't have to inventory them come the first of the year. Just my luck! Lots of stuff half-price!

Here's a sampling of what I came up with.

2009 Sweet Spot Sweet Beginnings Gold Tommy Hanson auto 135/199 (this was the only full-price stuff I bought - $18 per pack - I'm hooked on it!)

2008 SPX Carlos Zambrano patch 17/50 - $10/pack (usually $20)

2009 UD Icons Everth Cabrera Rookie Signature 293/600 - $5/pack (usually $10)

2009 UD Icons Letterman Joe Nathan 03/45

2009 UD Icons Letterman Kent Hrbek 50/50

2008 SPX Ken Griffey American Hero #KG91 1/1!

Nice take for only a few packs. OK, so there were more than a few packs, but not a case. Busting packs and getting this many things is not normal, at least not for me.

I also ended up taking the last five packs of 2009 Goudey at $2.50 per pack. Great price! Better than Tar-zhay and Wally World. And what do you know, I ended up getting three SP's and one 4-in-1 that I needed, on top of the base. Plus two blue-back minis. I'm very happy with the SP's on those packs. I would normally pay $3 for each of those short prints, so this was a great deal.

There are a few other things I got that will all being going on my Picasa trade page (see the links to the right, under "Give & Take"). If you want something, make me an offer. My email address is also in the right-hand column.

2009 Bowman Chrome

So, my local card shop owner suckered me into buying a box, minus one pack, of 09 Bowman Chrome for $40. "Below cost!" he said. I thought my son is collecting that set, but later found out he is only collecting the base non-chrome set. #%(##(_%#&_!!

Se we bust it open for fun, and what do I get?

I don't know this guy. Hmmm, a Yankee. I can probably trade it for something half decent. Then my son tells me, "He's the guy who can pitch both righty and lefty!" I look on the back, and sure enough, check out the "Throws:" stat.

"BOTH"

That is something you rarely see. Pretty cool.

Then I check it out on eBay. It is selling for $30-40! Well, since I'm spending WAY too much on the SI autos and other things, I figure I need a little cash to replenish the Paypal account and keep my wife from being too suspicious of things coming in and not going out. So, if you are interested, I'm selling this card on eBay. Here is the link:

Pat Venditte blue refractor auto

As for the rest of the box, I really like the simplicity of this year's design. Easy to read, good pictures, excellent quality. I'm a bit sick of WBC stuff, but it doesn't detract from the rest of the set since the design is identical to the base, except for the WBC logo.

The rest of the "hits" include another blue refractor, an orange refractor, an X-fractor, and 4 regular refractors (Kinsler, Cueta, Javy Vazquez, Kuo). Not a bad haul. No superstars, but a decent crowd. If you are interested in any of them, email me and let's work out a trade.

VMart Special

Ryan from I Heart Halos! sent a nice big package filled with nothing other than Victor. Martinez, that is. VMart. All VMart. All day. All package. Over 60 - YES 60! - VMart cards.

I have one card of Victor in a Red Sox uniform, and that is the latest card I will probably ever keep of his. It's sad to see him in that drab Fenway-gray. Better to have a nice RW&B Indians uni.

Ryan hit me with some really intersting cards. First, this 2004 Bowman Heritage.

Notice anything funny about it? Look on the back. Yes, Martinez was a pitcher on the Red Sox in 2003! Whoa, WHAT! Oh, wrong Martinez. If you read the biography, it is talking about Pedro, not Victor.

ERROR CARD! WORTH 5X OF THE NORMAL BASE CARD!

Oh, that's only $2.50 on eBay. Oh, well.

Next up is an early WBC card. Victor played for the Venezuelan team in the 2006 WBC. This is a mighty fine looking card, too:

Great use of color and refractor foil. And I really like that they put the flags on the backs of these. I had never seen one of these before, but I really like it.

Third, I now have one of the earliest VMart cards available: the 2002 Bowman card after his Single-A year in the Carolina League at Kinston.

That's an early card! But not the best of the earlies. Ryan outdid himself (BTW, how DO you out-do yourself?) and sent this amazingly beautiful, amazingly early, amazingly numbered card of Victor from 2002 as well:

This looks like a Major Leaguer card, well thought out. If I had pulled this from a pack, I would have thought that he was already a Major Leaguer.

Thanks, Ryan, for all the great cards.