On the third night of Hanukkah, what do we do?

I know that one of the most frequent visitors to my Eight Men Out page is my mom. She's always happy to check which cards are missing from my collection, and whenever the holidays or birthdays roll around, a card or two from the list usually finds its way into a greeting card. This is not the first time this has happened, and I'm sure she appreciates how easy I try to make it.

On Thursday night, as we were celebrating Hanukkah, she presented me with the final card that was missing from my page of 1995 Fleer League Leaders, an all-horizontal set with plenty of blue foil. I collected a lot of 1995 Fleer, and I have more completed insert sets from it than anything else in my collection.

1995 Fleer League Leaders #6 Tony Gwynn

The last one I was missing was Mr. Tony Gwynn, the NL batting champion in the strike-shortened 1994 season. He compiled a jaw-dropping mark of .394, the closest anyone's come to challenging Ted Williams' .406, which was set in 1941, the same year as Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak.

Perhaps 1941 would have a little less of a grip on the record books if the 1994 season were played to completion. Conventional wisdom says that the Montreal Expos had their best shot at winning the World Series that year, but many forget that Gwynn was seriously chasing that elusive .400 statistic. The back of this card tells us as much, as the baseball card industry was as upset about the strike as any of us fans.

The Padres were a last-place club in 1994, but they managed to snag two spots in this ten-card insert set. Andy Benes led the NL in strikeouts, whose count of 189 was good for second all-time on the Padres leaderboard. That's since been eclipsed many times over, by guys like Jake Peavy, Tyson Ross, and Kevin Brown, and Benes' 189 isn't even in the top-ten anymore.

The Mariners and Yankees also had double appearances in this set, thanks to Paul O'Neill and Jimmy Key in the AL East, and hall-of-famers Ken Griffey, Jr. and Randy Johnson in the AL West. Most of this set talks about how the strike cut some amazing seasons short, and both Griffey and Matt Williams were chasing Roger Maris' single-season home run record, finishing with 40 and 43, respectively.

Unlike the 2004-05 hockey season which was cancelled in its entirety, there are many more open questions about how the 1994 season would have ended, because over two-thirds of the season was played. We'll never know for sure how things would have turned out, but Fleer made some interesting guesses.

The Trading Post #50: Brad's Blog

Prior to his recent move, Brad from the eponymous Brad's Blog ran a giveaway so he could schlep a little less cardboard to his new place. He's all moved in now, and I'm glad I could help take a few Rockies cards off his hands to smooth that process just a little.

1995 Fleer #529 John Vander Wal

When the lead card is from the nutty 1995 Fleer, you know there will be plenty of variety. It's just such a strange and disjointed set, but I can't help but love it. At least it's not shy. I purchased this product when it was new, but this John Vander Wal card is new to me.

Vander Wal was a pretty solid utility player and pinch hitter. He put together a good year at the plate in 1995, and I always enjoyed seeing him come to bat, especially when he hit a home run in the Rockies epic 16-15 win over the Dodgers on June 30th, 1996, a legendary game in Rockies history.

The NL West design of 1995 Fleer forced the player's vital stats (height, weight, age, etc...) onto the front of the card, a very unusual spot. That still didn't clear much room off the back of the card, as most of Vander Wal's minor league clubs are abbreviated as "W. Palm B.", "Indianap." and "Jacksonv."

It might go down as the busiest card design in history.

But I still like it.

1994 Topps #49 Armando Reynoso

I also like 1994 Topps, which was the first factory set I ever purchased. I thought I knew the set pretty well, but this card seemed a bit unfamiliar. It's not from the Traded set, just the regular 792-card base set. I'm just surprised I didn't recognize it, as I handled those cards a lot when I was ten.

1994 Score #643 Eric Wedge

So far, we've seen sets I collected when they were new. 1994 Score is no different, but I definitely haven't seen this card before. Wedge might be doing some bullpen catching here, but it just looks like a posed shot to me. He's also noted as a Rookie Prospect, though that didn't really pan out. He only played in 9 games as a Rockie, though he has a slew of cards as one. He appeared on the Red Sox briefly over three seasons, but I can't recall ever seeing a card of him in a Boston jersey.

His managerial career was quite a bit more successful, as he won the Manager of the Year award in 2007, though he hasn't really been involved in professional baseball since his stroke in 2013. Fortunately he seems to have recovered well.

1993 Triple Play #22 Darren Holmes

1993 Triple Play was one of the first sets to have Rockies, though this was released too early for Darren Holmes to appear in a Rockies uniform. It even has their original logo that was changed just before they began play. It's the closest thing the young Rockies have to a throwback logo. I'd personally love to see it appear on the field for the first time.

Incidentally, he was the first ballplayer I ever met in person. He did an autograph signing at a local mall, and he signed a couple cards, a ball, and my hat. I remember the day quite vividly, in fact. I'm pretty sure my dad bought a pair of sneakers at that mall anchor store, my sister was there as well, and we saw a white limousine as we left the mall.

Forgive my channeling Rain Man right there. But I can't remember what my lunch plans were on Sunday. Go figure.

1993 Triple Play #237 Joe Girardi

Anyway, back to 1993 Triple Play. Somehow Donruss managed to get Joe Girardi in a real Rockies uniform, with the current Rockies logo, no less, all without changing the team logo on the print layout. I'm sure they had it all ready to go and it was too late to change the design, but getting this official uniform on the card must have been a real accomplishment!

1999 Fleer Tradition #327 Brian Bohanon

Brad had an eagle eye here, spotting the updated team name on Brian Bohanon's 1999 Fleer Tradition card. That script lettering is pretty tough to read, and not to put this one in the Dodger pile took some attention on Brad's part. Granted, it's clearer on the back, and that Free Agent seal is a signal to take a closer look.

Bohanon wrapped up his career in Colorado, coming close to a .500 record over three seasons, though with a rather elevated ERA of close to 6.00. The Rockies didn't have much going on during those years besides the emergence of Todd Helton, but I do remember seeing him pitch a few games on TV (before it went to cable, but that's a whole other story).

2013 Topps Heritage #329 Drew Pomeranz

So far, it's mostly been inaugural-era Rockies, but there were some newer cards as well. Drew Pomeranz, now with Oakland, looks mighty ticked about something. Perhaps it's that 2-9 record he amassed in the previous season. Or that the scratch off area on the back of this Topps Heritage card doesn't scratch off like a true 1964 card.

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter #226 Nolan Arenado

Now, Topps' vintage-style brands like A&G and Gypsy Queen are kind of low on my list of favorites. They're an awful lot like Bowman, in that I can hardly tell the years apart. I can easily differentiate the two sets, but I don't know them well enough to be able to pinpoint the different designs. I don't think Topps would lose much by nixing one of these brands, or maybe alternating years.

2015 Topps Gypsy Queen #116 Nolan Arenado

And recycled images don't help that problem one bit. Topps had to use the same image of the same guy in the same year on more or less the same set? At least this 2015 GQ design is somewhat distinctive, but really? Is Topps stretching themselves too thin with photo licensing fees? Are they even fielding their own photographers anymore? Are they still using 64 MB flash cards or something?

2015 Topps Chrome #11 Carlos Gonzalez

That's a bit more up my alley! Chrome cards still curl, but this one is relatively flat. I do like how the 2015 design looks with the shiny treatment. I hope to keep seeing shiny cards of CarGo, but he and most of the Rockies outfield are starting to come up in trade rumors. The whole league knows the Rockies need pitching, and they do have some outfield depth to draw on there, but Gonzalez, when healthy, is a great contributor.

1995 Topps Cyberstats #57 Charlie Hayes

Here's one you don't see too often - a Topps Cyberstats parallel. The very existence of this card helps explain its rarity, as the simulated stats on the back assume a 1994 season that wasn't shortened by the infamous strike. It was a pretty big nail in the coffin of the overproduction era, just as shiny technology started taking off.

I'm a fan of most of the 1995 brands, and the torn edge look of the border goes well with the type of streaking they use for the background. It's similar to some parts of 1995 Fleer's NL West design. To me, it looks a lot like The Void that Frodo enters when he puts on the ring in Lord of the Rings. But relax, this is only Wrigley Field.

2007 Artifacts MLB Apparel # MLB-AT Garrett Atkins /199 (MEM)

Brad said he'd do his best to include at least one relic or autograph in each giveaway shipment, and this UD card fits the bill. There's a prominent serial number, right below the pinstriped swatch, easily my favorite feature of relic cards. That frame around the relic looks straight out of a Harry Potter movie (you getting an idea of the movies I like?), and if you look extra carefully at the border, you can see that it's an old map of Canada. Winnipeg, of all places, is found on the upper right.

I might need to dig up a magnifying glass to fully appreciate the cards I've been getting lately. Stamp collectors use them; why not us?

Thank you Brad, and enjoy your new home!

Antique Mall Mystery Pack: Mets

The other night, my girlfriend and I stopped into The Brass Armadillo, an antique mall in West Denver. While you might think that's not the most likely sentence to begin a baseball card hobby post, you'd be surprised.

The place is absolutely overwhelming, packed to the gills with old furniture, signs, cookware, books, salt and pepper shakers, coke bottles, you name it.

1999 Stadium Club #256 Bobby Jones

And of course baseball cards. It wasn't exactly like going to a card show, as I had to do a bit of digging to even find some, and even then, more digging was required to find good values. I found a page of 9 cards from the 1993 Rockies Team Stadium Club set which had one of my Eight Men Out needs, but I passed on that at almost $6. I even saw a box of 9-card pages priced at $9.95 each, but when the top page exclusively contained 1991 Donruss, I moved right along. Vendors simply rent space and leave their wares, precluding the opportunity of negotiating (or even giving them a simple heads-up that this isn't 1993 anymore).

Still, I found a few values, including a couple vendors that had team bags (appropriately filled with a single team) for under a buck. There were some singles, too, including a 1962 League Leader card for a mere $4. But I'll get to those later. I'm planning on delaying gratification and opening these team bags one at a time, starting with the Mets, as you can see by that Stadium Club beauty of Bobby Jones above.

There were lots of overproduction cards around, but I think I found some gems in these team bags. Not much recent stuff, but everything from this Mets bag was 1994 or later, so it's a fairly rare glimpse at late-'90s product.

2002 Upper Deck MVP #239 Roger Cedeno

And even early 2000s. This 2002 example from Upper Deck MVP is one of my favorite black-bordered sets around, and the thin copper lines work very well with the Mets' colors. I didn't realize Cedeno was such a journeyman; the back of this card documents his appearance on four teams in four years, not counting his return to the Mets for 2002. Unfortunately, he missed the last Mets' World Series appearance in 2000, spending that year on the Astros.

1998 Pacific Online #488A Mike Piazza Hitting

Mike Piazza, of course, didn't. He was involved in that infamous altercation with Roger Clemens and a broken bat during 2000's Subway Series. What Clemens was thinking there, I'll never know.

This was one of a few Pacific Online cards, the always-enjoyable Geocities Set, as I like to call it. Note the intact baseball bat and absence of Roger Clemens.

1998 Stadium Club #164 Chris Hoiles

Somehow, an Orioles card or two snuck into this bag. It's 1998 Stadium Club, so no objection there, but I am curious how this happened. I'll never turn down a card with that embossed baseball stitching (just like that Dante Bichette card from a previous post), but Chris Hoiles only played for Baltimore. I am guessing that whoever packaged these had the teams arranged alphabetically, and after the Mets cards ran out, picked a couple off the Orioles stack to fill the bag. Prior to the Expos moving to D.C. to become the Nationals, the Orioles come right after the Mets in alphabetical order. I should know, as there is lots of alphabetizing in my card organization habits.

Based on the other team bags I purchased, I might see a few rogue Rangers, Braves, Indians, White Sox, A's, and Giants. Watch this space.

1998 Metal Universe #148 Bobby Jones

Bobby Jones was never a Mets superstar, but here he is on his second card of this post. This card is from 1998, a year after his best season and only All-Star selection. We'll see how the Mets do when the NLDS gets to Queens. The home team has not fared well at all in the playoffs so far.

I've posted about this set before, although the Rockies cards are quite a bit less urban than this New York card showing the Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty, and Lower Manhattan (trust me, that's what's on the card). I love New York, but my home state is called Colorful Colorado for a reason.

1997 Donruss #350 John Olerud

I lost track of the hobby when this was printed. Turns out I have exactly one other base card from 1997 Donruss (not counting a whole bunch of cards from that subset-heavy set). But I know that era well enough to recognize 1996 Leaf when I see it.

1996 Leaf  #164 Kurt Abbott

Never a good idea to knock off your own product.

1994 Leaf #31 Bobby Bonilla

1994 Leaf was the most common set in this team bag, when Leaf was firing on all cylinders. The 1993 card backs featured a cityscape (or naturey landscape photo, in the Rockies' case) of the team's home city (much like 1998 Metal Universe above), but 1994 Leaf changed this just a little, including a shot from the team's home stadium.

1994 Leaf #31 Bobby Bonilla (Reverse)

For the Mets, of course that means the Home Run Apple. I'd love to see an updated version of this set, and I can see the train in Houston, the slide in Milwaukee, the Rooftop in Denver, and the Whatever-it-is-Fountain in Miami being great subjects for such a set. Or even a Topps insert set called "Ballpark Oddities".

1995 Fleer #384 Ryan Thompson

Now that I think about it, I wonder if the same designers that worked on 1995 Fleer came up with the Marlins' home run fountain. The Marlins, an NL East team, carried the same design in 1995 Fleer (which had different card fronts for each of the six divisions), although the card backs look positively tame in comparison.

1995 Fleer #384 Ryan Thompson (Reverse)

So that's what baseball cards look like when you go antiquing, provided you avoid the $10-a-page 1991 Donruss. Next up will be the already-eliminated Pirates, and I don't know if I'll get to the Astros before they conclude their playoff appearance. There's lots of baseball left before it all wraps up for the year, so enjoy it while you can!

Birthday Season

My birthday is on Tuesday! Mine is the first in about a five-week stretch that also contains my sister's birthday, as well as both my parents'. Now that my sister and I both have busy adult lives, we often get everyone together at once to celebrate a couple at a time. To mark the beginning of "birthday season", we all went out to brunch yesterday along with our significant others, and my mom gave me a small wrapped package.

The thoughtful mother that she is, she picked three cards from my "Eight Men Out" wantlist and ordered them from eBay!

1998 Collector's Choice #443 John Olerud

I first saw this card on Nick's Dime Boxes blog and I knew it would be perfect for my Coors Field mini-collection. That is a great shot of the third deck in right field, along with the iconic light towers that show off the exposed metal architecture of the stadium.

As I mentioned yesterday, Coors Field has been through some changes over the years. Just last season, The Rooftop opened where you see most of those stands in Olerud's card. They tore down the upper right field seats all the way to the corner (just barely visible on the right side of this card) and built an outdoor patio, complete with lounge areas, premium food and drink, and standing-room terraces with great views of the ballpark, Downtown Denver, and the mountains to the west.

Olerud, one of the few players to go straight to the Bigs without ever playing in the minors, certainly doesn't look too pleased about whatever just transpired on the diamond. He spent a few seasons as a Met, but I remember him as a Blue Jay, and a key part of the 1993 World Series, the first one I ever watched.

Not only does this card give you a great view of Coors Field's architecture, but also of Colorado's summertime weather. That is a pretty angry-looking storm cloud looming beyond right field, which is a pretty common occurrence in the Denver area. True rainy days are quite rare, but quick isolated thunderstorms are pretty common in the afternoons. They usually go west to east, meaning that whatever precipitation this cloud has in store is likely safely past the stadium and on its way to hammer the Eastern plains and airport.

That was your meteorology lesson for today, so let's move on to the next card.

1995 Fleer Lumber Company #2 Albert Belle

Most insert cards from 1995 Fleer are pretty tame relative to the polarizing base set. I actually have a little bit of a soft spot for that set, as well as a fairly complete collection of the insert cards. That Belle is one of the last few I need for the 10-card Lumber Company insert set. Though there isn't actually a bat relic in that oval (good idea, though), this gave collectors a wood-grain fix that hadn't been seen since 1987 Topps.

Notice I said "most" insert cards from 1995 Fleer. That statement does not include "Pro-Visions" cards, which are a perfect accompaniment to the crazed base set.

1995 Fleer Pro-Visions #6 Manny Ramirez

All six Pro-Visions cards are pretty much like the above. There are a lot of randomly appearing baseballs, a nature background that looks like something from an iPad game, a very red/orange color pallete, both gold and silver foil, and usually some type of natural disaster. Tim Salmon's card has...salmon.

1995 Fleer Pro-Visions #5 Tim Salmon

You can't make this up.

But I already completed that set, as well as three others from 1995 Fleer. There's one card I need to finish off the 10-card League Leaders set, and it's of the late Tony Gwynn.

1995 Fleer Ultra League Leaders #6 Tony Gwynn

Tony Gwynn won eight batting titles in his career, so there are understandably lots of cards to document that. Some readers might notice that this one is actually from 1995 Fleer Ultra, rather than just 1995 Fleer.

Apparently, Fleer was so busy in 1995 making some truly wacky cards that they couldn't be bothered to give Tony Gwynn a different card number in their premium set. It's still #6 (of 10, even). Paul O'Neill suffered the same fate in that checklist. I have relatively few cards from 1995 Fleer Ultra, and, as is common for mid-1990s cards, this is the first time I've known of or seen this particular design.

So, there are lots of questions to answer here. Is this the precise Tony Gwynn card from my Eight Men Out list? Not exactly. Is there a reasonable likelihood of confusion for a non-collector or eBay seller, based on Fleer's numbering snafu? Absolutely. Is this new to my collection and baseball card knowledge base? Yes.

Does it matter that I got a different Tony Gwynn League Leader card #6 of 10 printed by Fleer in 1995 than I had been on the hunt for? Nope. Am I grateful for having such wonderful loved ones that spend time and money on indulging this little hobby blog of mine?

You'd better believe it.

Thanks, Mom!