Shenanigans - I say the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to mail baseball cards to all of your collector friends. After all, I've heard enough of Jingle Bells, White Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, and the entire yuletide canon already this December. Someone who clearly agrees with this sentiment is Stealing Home, of the Dodger-centric blog, All Trade Bait, All the Time. Every year, this kind soul digs out his trade boxes and stuffs generous PWE's full of baseball cards and ships them off to his blogging buddies, purely out of the goodness of his heart.
2017 is no different and I managed to stay on Mr. Home's nice list, as my gift landed in my mailbox yesterday afternoon. When I saw this envelope nestled among the bills and the college loan paperwork, I giddily tore into it like a kid on Christmas morning!
1989 Topps might be one of the most ubiquitous trading card sets to ever hit the printing presses; however, Stealing Home managed to locate a Cubs on this checklist that I did not already possess. Although, technically, Dwight Smith was part of the Traded box set, making his single a little tougher to come across. Plus, the outfielder was kind of a big deal when those boxes hit the shelves, as he was well on his way to finishing second (to teammate, Jerome Walton) in the Rookie of the Year balloting.
Oh what could have been...
Sticking in the 80's, here's another pair of baseball cards from the overproduction era. Speaking of ubiquitous sets, 1987 might be the most recognizable baseball card set of all-time, thanks to being a keystone of the junk wax era and Topps constantly paying tribute to it's wood-grained borders. In contrast, Brian Dayett is not nearly as iconic. In fact, the extra outfielder was entering into his last Major League season as this card hit the market, pink printing errors and all.
On the other hand, Cubs fans will always remember the rocket-armed Shawon Dunston at shortstop. On this '87 Donruss single, Dunston has either nailed the runner at first base in spring training, or sailed the throw into the stands and nailed an unsuspecting fan... you just never knew with that guy!
Fast-forwarding into the next decade, here we have a pair of Hall of Fame sluggers lumbering around the base paths; in fact, they both appear to be preparing to make the turn around third. I think that we can all agree that Ryno and the Hawk look much more majestic on the cards which showcase their powerful swings... track runners they were not!
We're moving into the "modern era" with the next few cards.
Speaking of awkward photographs... holy moly! I think the photographer's official assignment that day was to nap the worst picture possible of the future Hall of Fame second baseman. I mean, he didn't even get Ryne to look at the camera... or get both of his eyes to look in the same direction!
Here's a pair where the famous ivy walls of Wrigley Field are prominently displayed, which is always a pleasant characteristic for a baseball card.
The 100 Years of Wrigley Field, which pays tribute to important moments in the stadium's century-plus history, insert set from a couple years back is still one of my favorite such checklists of the decade, perhaps even of all-time. Sure, I may be a Cubs homer, but isn't there just something about the red brick and the lush green ivy that just screams America's pastime? This particular single highlights William Wrigley himself becoming the majority shareholder of the franchise in 1921.
Next to the chewing gum magnate, we have Marlon Byrd leaping for a fly ball at the wall of the field which bear's William's name, about 91 years later. This card is just gorgeous - the ivy, the high socks, the fantastic play unfolding before us... that's why this card reps Byrd in my CATRC binder!
Finally, we conclude the Christmas gifting with one further card from the 1980's, one that features a potential Hall of Famer. Granted, Moyer's chances of reaching Cooperstown are long due to his reputation as a stats-accumulator, but the ageless wonder is, nevertheless, on the ballot. Hey, it could happen! No matter what, he's still one of my favorite players of all-time, so any time he shows up in a PWE is a joyous occasion in my eyes.
With that, we've reached the bottom of Stealing Home's generous Christmas gift to Wrigley Roster Jenga. Thank you for showering me with Christmas cheer and Cubs baseball cards, Mr. Home - it was greatly appreciated! I would expect some Dodgers to hit your doorstep sometime after the holidays, if I were you.
"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is mailing baseball cardboard for all to hoard." - Stealing Home... probably.
Ha! I featured that exact Dawson on the base paths card last week and poked fun at the "lumbering." I paired it with Mark Grace, though, who far from a graceful runner himself.
ReplyDeleteI think we're all trying to outdo the Christmas puns with Oscar's PWEs.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little funny that Cubs fans kinda, sorta mock that card of the Hawk running. It's always been a fave of mine because I imagined the big man had to bend low so he could fit all the way into the confines of the card.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the generous write up, Tony B. Merry Aloha Christmas!