Blog Bat Around: My All-Autograph Team

This morning I was straining my brain, trying to come up with something to write about on the blog.  It's been a couple of days since I've banged out a post because the creative juices just have not been flowing lately.  Inspiration is a fickle mistress.  Then, Zippy Zappy, of Torren' Up Cards fame, zipped into my reading list with his very first Blog Bat Around topic and - boy oh boy - was it a good one.  This prompt obviously could not have come at a better time for me and as soon as I finished reading his kick-off post, I immediately started drafting my take on the topic.

That topic, by the way, is creating a personal "all-autograph team."

For those that are familiar with Zippy Zappy's writings (and if you're not, you should be), this point of inspiration shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  After all, the Internet's preeminent Luis Torrens collector may very well be the TTM king of the blogosphere.  With that in mind, the starting lineup that Zip created from his immense stash of autographed baseball cards was deep and talented; but, I did my best to create one of my own that could compete.  Full disclosure - my take is entirely based around the Cubs because, y'know...

The parameters include starting eight position players and the starting pitcher, plus two relievers, a DH/PH and a closer.  Furthermore, this roster can be constructed only with players of whom the collector possesses a John Hancock, be it on a trading card or any other piece of memorabilia.  With the guidelines set, I'd like to introduce you to my personal "All-Autograph Team:"

C - Randy Hundley

Honorable Mention(s) - Joe Girardi, Jeff Reed, Josh Paul, Robert Machado, Danny Breeden

I still don't know much about this Northwest Herald/Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce oddball that I found at a collector's convention in Kankakee a couple of years back; however, I do know that I could never pass up a five-dollar auto from "Iron Man" Randy Hundley.  The Cubs' signal caller caught 149 games or more for four straight years in the late-60's and was an All-Star with the infamous 1969 Cubs squad.

1B - Mark Grace

Honorable Mention(s) - None

"Amazing Grace," the hit-king of the 1990's was also a whiz with the glove, earning him three Gold Glove and All-Star selections.  That's a pretty tough resume to beat by itself, adding in the fact that "Gracie" happened to have been my favorite player growing up.  Therefore, this 2016 Archives pull was making this lineup no matter what.

2B - Todd Walker

Honorable Mention(s) - Cy Block, Eric Patterson, Bret Barberie, Zeke DeVoss

Okay - second base was obviously a weak link.  Of the four second basemen to have signatures in my binders, Todd Walker was the clear standout, with only Bret Barberie having had a drink stronger than a cuppacoffee.  Walker served as an above average, offensive keystone-minder for a few seasons with the disappointing, Dusty Baker-led teams of the mid-00's.  Plus, the red and blue design of this repack-pull reminds me of the iconic Wrigley Marquee.  That'll do, even if his penmanship is lacking.

SS - Billy Jurges

Honorable Mention(s) - Cody Ransom, Darryl Robertson

Full disclaimer - I can't be 100% sure that this signature is authentic.  I found it stashed in a discount box at one of my LCS for that very reason, though I was more than willing to take the risk.  Billy Jurges was still alive when this set came out and the handwriting looks similar to other known copies of his mark, but it's not authenticated.  Anyway, the Cubs shortstop might be most famous for providing some of the inspiration for Roy Hobbs, after being shot by a jilted lover; but, he was also a key contributor to three pennant-winners for the Northsiders in the 1930's.

3B - Ron Santo

Honorable Mention(s) - Kevin Orie, Brendan Harris

The first Hall of Famer on this lineup card and my absolute favorite professional athlete of all-time.  I don't think that the most underrated third baseman of all-time really needs an introduction at this point, but Ronnie was the bleeding heart and soul of the franchise, on the field and in the booth, for decades.  My most treasured piece of baseball ephemera was a generous gift from my health teacher in high school, who had a connection in Arizona and knew I was a huge Cubs fan.  Favorite teacher forever!

 

OF - Rafael Palmerio

OF - Jason Heyward

OF - Bill Buckner

Honorable Mention(s) - Austin Jackson, Felix Pie, Brett Jackson, Paul Schramka

As you can see, I had to get a little creative with the outfield.  Mark Grace nudged out Bill Buckner at first, but there was no way I was leaving this surprise gift from Bob Walk the Plank on the bench.  Buck's days chasing fly balls might have been mostly over by the time he blew into the Windy City, but he did play 12 games in right field for the 1980 Cubs.  Good enough for me!

Meanwhile, Raffy Palmeiro might have spent the great majority of his career at first base and DH; but, when he was coming up in the Cubs chain, Grace's presence shunted him into left field.  Again, I'll take any excuse to get his 500 homer/3,000 hit bat into the starting nine.  Thanks again, Dennis!

Last, but not least, Jason Heyward might not have lived up to expectations in Chicago, but he's still a World Champion and, apparently, a phenomenal motivational speaker.  Not to mention, with Raffy and Buck manning the corners, J-Hey's vacuum of a glove will be desperately needed in center.  Would you believe this ink came as a consolation prize from Collecting Cutch?

DH/PH - Rock Shoulders

Honorable Mention(s) - None

I suppose I could have bumped one of my slow-footed outfielders to the DH spot, but the drop-off after those three was drastic.  Plus, I'll take any excuse to get one of the best names in minor league baseball history into the fold!  With a name like Rock Shoulders, it should come as no surprise that this former Cubs prospect thrice posted double-digit home run totals in the bushes  He may not have made the ultimate ascent; however, he did make it into my lineup and collection, courtesy of P-Town Tom.

And now, with the offense set, let's take a look at the pitching staff.  It's a good one, if I do say so myself:

SP - Fergie Jenkins

Honorable Mention(s) - Mark Prior, Guy Bush, Steve Trout, Rich Hill, Angel Guzman, Jerome Williams, Dave Swartzbaugh

I could patch together a quality starting rotation out of my autograph collection and Ferguson Jenkins would unquestionably be my ace.  The 300 game winner is the second Hall of Famer on my roster and is the first autograph on this list to have been obtained in person.  I had the incredible luck of running into the man himself at the local shopping mall, making an appearance (with a partner) to promote Cubs charities.

LHP - Mitch Williams

RHP - Carl Edwards, Jr.

Honorable Mention(s) - Bob Howry, Mike Remlinger, Paul Assenmacher, Matt Karchner, Larry Casian, Bob Patterson, Neil Ramirez, Corey Black, Newt Kimball, Tony Balsamo, Footer Johnson, John Pyecha, Dick Burwell, Seth Frankoff, Lendy Castillo, Kennie Steenstra,

As you can see, I basically have an entire side-collection relievers to choose from.  In the end, I decided to go with one lefty and one righty - Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams and the man formerly known as CJ Edwards.  Things could get a little dicey at the end of games due to their noted control problems; however, their power arms are just too tempting to pass over.  Also, in case you were wondering, Mitch was a Listia find while that Carls Jr. beauty was another five-buck purchase from the same convention as my Randy Hundley oddity.

Finally, closing out wins for my all-autograph team will be:

CL - Lee Smith

Honorable Mention(s) - Mike Montgomery

Lee Smith SHOULD BE the third Hall of Famer on my roster.  For many years, Lee was the premier closer in the National League and, for many years, held the all-time saves record.  How he continues to be passed up by Hall of Fame voters while Sutter, Fingers, Hoffman, etc. get the call is beyond me.  Anyway, this dominating closer was Fergie's partner at the Orland Park mall function I alluded to earlier.  For a generous donation to both charities, I received autographs from both legendary Cubs hurlers.  I'll take that opportunity every time!

As far as honorable mentions go, how could I not give a shout out to the man who closed out the Cubs' first World Series title in 108 years?  MiMo might not really be a closer, but he'll always be remembered as one in Chicago!

So, there you have it - my all-autograph team.  I feel pretty confident that my squad would make for some stiff competition, courtesy of it's offensive potential and pitching staff.  Of course, that outfield defense might be a bit problematic.  At any rate, I think I did surprisingly well for a decidedly low-budget collector who rarely seeks out autographs! 

What say you?  I cannot wait to see what lineups the rest of you can generate.  I highly encourage you all to participate in Zippy Zappy's excellent Blog Bat Around debut.  It made for quite the fun little creative exercise. 

In conclusion, I think it's time for me to "sign" off.  I mean obviously my brain is tired... I just made that stupid pun.  Play me out, aptly-named, 80's hair metal band...

Counting Off the Best Cards of 2017

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that P-Town Tom, of Waiting 'til Next Year fame, was first challenging bloggers to write about their favorite card of 2016.  Now, suddenly it seems, it's been a full calendar year and the time has come to do the same for 2017.  The Peoria-area Cubs fanatic recently kicked off the second edition of this blog challenge/contest and the rules remain the same as last year's go-round:

1. Must be one card produced in 2017.
2. It does not have to be baseball related and may even be from a non-sport set.
3. It should be a card you have in your collection.
4. Make a quick blog post about your favorite card.
5. Reply in the comments section of this post with a link to your blog post before January 8th, 2018.

For reference, here's a link to the original post.

When I saw this post go live, I instantly knew that I would be participating, once again.  After all, I love a good writing prompt and the incentive of a prize is never a bad thing (though it definitely is secondary).  Additionally, I figured that I would do as I did in 2016 and, instead of just writing about one card, I would build a full, top ten countdown and work my way to my favorite card of  '16.  It was a fun exercise the first time around!

The only problem is that, in my humble opinion, 2016 was a much better year for cardboard than 2017.  Whereas, last year, I almost instantaneously knew which card was my ultimate favorite, this year, I could scarcely come up with contenders for the crown.  Perhaps it's because I just didn't buy much in the way of current product this year, or that the Flagship design was unattractive, or the new lines (like Fire and the re-booted Gallery) didn't pull me in... at any rate, it wasn't nearly as easy of a process this time around.

That said, after a thorough review of my card stocks and my own blog posts, I was able to come up with what I think is a pretty good list.  So, without any further adieu, please join me for the Wrigley Roster Jenga Countdown of the Best Baseball Cards of 2017!

#10

I know this is an odd card to choose for this project; in fact, many people might not even consider this "loot" card from Bunt to be a legit baseball card.  I don't know what it is about this Kris Bryant piece that draws me in - maybe it's the product logo which appeals to be graphic design roots, maybe it's the fact that Kris is layered on top of a bed of other baseball cards, maybe it's just the fact that I like weird stuff.  Whatever the reason actually is, I just like it!

#9

From one extreme to another - we lead off the countdown with a filler card and the very next item included is a coveted chase card, or "hit" if you will.    Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

This sort of manu-relic typically isn't my scene; however, the preponderance of blue in the design, offset with a crisp gold makes this Rizz pleasant on the eye.  Plus, any card which pays tribute to the great Jackie Robinson is a-ok in my book.  Putting it over the edge is the fact that it came as a generous gift from Collecting Cutch as a thank you for participating in one of his contests.  A hit for participation!  All of these factors combined make this 2017 Anthony Rizzo Jackie Robinson Day Commemorative Patch(from Topps Series One) one my favs of the year.

#8

Mike Montgomery was acquired just before the trading deadline of 2016 and all he's done is become an incomparable swingman that's sprung the Cubs out of more than one jam in the bullpen and the starting rotation.  Furthermore, he just so happened to close out the first World Series win for the North Siders in 108 years, last October with his very first career save.

Even with all of that notoriety, it took until Heritage High-Numbers for MiMo to finally debut on Cubs cardboard - talk about overdue!

#7

On that note, here's another card which makes the countdown solely on the fact that it's the player's first Cubs card.  Brian Duensing leapfrogs Montgomery because it was a pasteboard appearance which was wholly expected!

Mr. Duensing quietly became one of the most rusted components of Joe Maddon's bullpen and a cream of the crop LOOGY, as well.  That said, lefty specialists almost never get love from Topps and friends... why would they when there are so many hot rookies to exploit?  Therefore, I had resigned myself to the fact that Duensing would forever be a Twin in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder... that is, until I read the checklist for Update.  I honestly couldn't believe my eyes that Brian appeared on the document instead of another Aaron Judge reach.  It may very well have been the biggest cardboard surprise of 2017, for me anyway.

#6

This one makes the list more so because of what the card represents than the card itself.  On it's own, the Honus Bonus set is fairly bland and filled with non-complimentary colors and washed-out, black and white photography.  I do like the 20th Century Fox, movie theater-esque design; but, overall, these cards leave a lot to be desired.  So, after a rave review like that, how does this card make it all the way to number six on this countdown?

Well, as I said, the short-lived Honus Bonus brand represented a challenge to the era of license exclusivity.  I was thrilled to see a start-up come in, guns a-blazing and try to edge their way into the market.  In the end, their "fantasy sports meets trading cards" idea didn't last, but they still tried.  That (and the fact that I like this image of Willson) is why an HBP oddball appears on this countdown.

#5  (Tie)

Speaking of oddballs, this was a tie that I just could not break.  Both of these Mother's Cookies-like singles hail from Carl Aldana's new sets revolving around the old Pacific Coast League.

As I've detailed on this blog a few times now, Aldana was an oddball maestro in the 70's and has recently returned to the fold with this current project.  When I discovered that short-term Cub Jim Adair's first ever baseball card came of this product, I had to pounce.  Checking off such a rare need for my CATRC was definite a defining highlight for the year; but, then, Mr. Aldana himself stepped in.  He graciously made contact with me and gifted me with the Steve Bilko too, out of the goodness of his heart.  All things considered, there was no way that I could exclude either one of these bad boys; therefore, they share spot number five.

 #4

In October, one my wife and I's closest friends tied the knot with her wonderful husband in North Carolina.  The ceremony was lovely and the experience was one that I'll never forget... if for no other reason than it offered me the excuse to cross the nearby border and visit the home ballpark of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans ( I kid of course, the wedding was amazing).

On our way to catch a flight back home, my wife and I stopped by the South Carolina-based, Single A Cubs affiliate and were blown away by their hospitality.  The minor league season had concluded, by this point, but the staff on duty allowed... nay, encouraged me to tour all of the facilities.  I felt like a kid in a candy shop!  As a souvenir, I decided to pick up a team set from the gift shop, which featured the above Dillon Maples, who's meteoric rise through the farm system to the Majors was a joy to watch this summer.

Again, this card might be here more so for what it represents rather than it's own assets; but, it makes it, nonetheless.

#3

While Brian Duensing made the Update checklist, big-ticket acquisition, Alex Avila, did not.  I'll never understand Topps' process.

Luckily, Alex played a pivotal role in one of the wackiest wins of the 2017 season, thus earning him a spot in the instant Topps NOW checklist.  You can read a detailed write-up about the insane game here, but the short version of the story is that the Cubs came back from a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth with two dropped third strikes, a stolen base, and an Avila RBI single.  As soon as I picked my jaw up off of the living room floor, I knew I needed to add this card to my collection.

The circumstances behind this amazing win, the exuberant celebration on the front, and the fact that it is perhaps his one and only Cubs card makes seeds this Now single near the top.

#2

A White Sox card?  Near the top of a Cubs fan's countdown of the best cards of 2017?  Say what?

This stadium giveaway was acquired at Guaranteed Rate Field early in the summer, as part of a White Sox win over the Indians.  It was an absolutely picturesque day at the ballpark, which made for an excellent family day with my wife, father, and brother.  Upon arrival, we were each handed one of these baseball card-sized coupons which featured one of the Sox mascots, borrowing the likeness of White Sox legends on Milwaukee sausage costumes.  Weird, right?

How could a sausagey oddball (which doubles as a coupon for ice cream) of one of the few men to play for both the Cubs and the White Sox not make this list?!

With that, we've reached the moment of truth - what was the very best card of 2017????  Drum roll, please:

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via GIPHY

Okay, okay... I must admit that I was, in fact, stalling.  I had to take a moment to make sure that I had this order right; but, I think I finally have this nailed down.  Without any further delay, please allow me to unveil to my favorite card of the 2017 season:

#1

This card came out in the first issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids this year, definitely ensuring that my year got off on the right foot.  Luckily, I just so happen to work for a school and was able to secure a discarded copy of the periodical.  SI for Kids cards have long been a part of the hobby and have personally been some of my favorite oddballs since the days of Mark Grace.  That fact alone would probably have secured on spot on this list for this card - seeing as those perforated panels cover all teams and individuals in all sports, Cubs don't show up all that often.  But, that photo!

The image used for the front of the card appears to be after hitting a key double in the postseason; however, it isn't the 10th inning double that won the Cubs their first World Series in over a century. This image was snapped after Miguel Montero and Dexter Fowler hit back-to-back homers in eighth inning of Game One of the NLCS to bust a tie.  Following that, Zobrist continued the rally with a bases-empty double and after what had just happened moments before, I think we can all understand why Zobs is so fired up on the photograph in question. I know that I was too!

To sum this all up, we have an oddball card from a continuing set that's fascinated me since childhood, one that uses a phenomenal photograph from a seminal moment in the Cubs' historic run to the World Series in 2016.  It simply pulls out all of the stops.

So, there you have it - the definitive list of the best cards of 2017, topped by the SI for Kids Ben Zobrist single.  It was a little tougher to draft this year, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

That noted, I have to ask, how does your list differ from my bullet points?  What's your favorite card of the year so far?  Is your favorite card even a baseball card?  Perhaps you think the football, basketball, or non-sport offerings were better?  Draft up your own post and enter it into P-town Tom's awesome contest!  What have you got to lose, eh?

I look forward to reading your takes!

Blog Bataround - Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Everyone's favorite Andrew McCutchen super-collector, Collecting Cutch, has opened up another round of blog-bataround.  This one is a pretty unique premise that plays off of a favorite game of film buffs across the world - I'm talking, of course, about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

In this bataround, Cutch has challenged us purveyors of pasteboard prose to create a link from the acting tour de force known as Kevin Bacon, using six degrees or less.  The twist here is that instead of linking the Footloose star to another actor, we must connect the dots to our favorite baseball player.  At first glance, this seems like an almost impossible task; however, after giving it a few minutes of thought, I realized that it wouldn't be nearly as difficult as first anticipated...  at least in my case, anyway.

You see, many a former Chicago Cub has taken their talents from the diamond to the silver and/or small screen, in various capacities.  In fact, I've covered this topic, on this very blog, ranking the greatest Cubs actors of all-time... and there's really more eligible parties than you might expect.  So many that my favorite ballplayer didn't even make that initial countdown, despite appearing in a major potion picture in 1990.  That man was Mark Grace and that movie was a Jim Belushi vehicle titled Taking Care of Business.

According to IMDB, this box -office bomb tells the story of Jimmy Dworski (James Belushi), who, "after winning tickets to the World Series, walks out of his minimum security prison and starts hitchhiking to the big game. While in an airport, he discovers a leather datebook that belongs to... a wealthy corporate businessman..." and hilarity ensues.

Of course, Belushi is a major Cubs fan in real-life and so too was his character - thus, the movie was written so that Grace's Cubs would be one of the World Series participants.  Grace makes a cameo in simulated game action:

Now, Jim Belushi has been in a ton of movies (regardless of their quality), therefore, I knew it would be relatively easy to draw a connection to Bacon after that first degree was established.  However, seeing as my movie knowledge does not match my baseball trivia abilities, I had to resort to the online service known as The Oracle of Kevin Bacon to do the heavy lifting for me.

Here is what the Oracle came up with:

Contrary to my expectations, the connection wasn't drawn through the less funny of the Belushi brothers; rather, the chain was linked via Annie De Salvo, who makes her appearance in TCB as Belushi's neurotic and overbearing high-school sweetheart, Debbie Lipton.  Speaking of comedic actors who have made a lot of Razzie-worthy movies, she also appeared in Burt Reynolds' Starting Over.  That flick also featured a young Kevin Bacon, who was making just his third credited film appearance.  I didn't see that one coming.

Additionally, if I'm being completely honest, I also expected this exercise to come a lot closer to six degrees that it ultimately did.  Life is full of surprises, eh?

Now, as I mentioned earlier, Mark Grace is far from the only Cub to ever make the transition from the stadium to the studio.  Just for yucks, let's figure out the Bacon number for a few more of those would be Hollywood stars, shall we?

First up, Tim Stoddard, who appeared as a surly Dodger hurler in 1993's Rookie of the Year:

Wow - Tim the underwear snitcher has Gracie beat by one, with a measly Bacon number of two, courtesy of the hilarious John Candy.  Both of the movies in this chain were staples of my childhood - I truly should have put this connection together for myself.

Alright - who else have we got?

How about Jay Johnstone, who donned a Seattle Mariners jersey to play in the very same game where Reggie Jackson attempted to assassinate the Queen of England:

Wow - another two and Mystic River makes it's second appearance in this blog post.  Maybe I should pop that into the Netflix queue...

Speaking of queues, next in line is Leon Durham, who starred as one of Billy Heywood's chargees in Little Big League:

Yet ANOTHER Bacon score of two... this is apparently a much easier exercise, overall, than I could have ever anticipated.

Sidenote - how cool of a name is Wolfgang Bodison?  He may be best remembered for his role as Lance Cpl. Harold W. Dawson in the 1992 drama A Few Good Men; but, he also appeared as Spencer Hamilton on those fictional 1994 Twins.

Before I call it quits, there are two more names that I definitely want to run - when it comes to Cubs connections and acting, they are the two premier names.  First, the ultimate baseball player/thespian combo, the Rifleman himself, Chuck Connors:

Another two... big surprise, huh?

Lastly, let's run what is easily the most recognizable name on this list.  That said, he really isn't best remembered for his stint as a Cubs broadcaster in the thirties or for his Hollywood A-list career in the mid-20th century.  Rather, you might know him best as the 40th president of these United States:

The Illinois native even starred as Cubs legend Grover Cleveland Alexander on the silver screen in 1952's The Winning Team - the same movie from which the picture used on the RBI oddball (seen above) sources from.

Now, what's his Bacon number?

Two.  Funny how the cookie crumbles sometimes, isn't it?

With that, I'm concluding this Kevin Bacon-centric exercise.  Who knew that Bacon's lengthy and varied film career would not only make it easy to link him with any fellow actor, but with a myriad of professional athletes, as well?  He's truly a legend of our time.

Thanks to Collecting Cutch for coming up with this unique blog bataround and inviting us all to play along.  I hope to see a few more of these posts popping up along the blogosphere - I know that I had fun drafting this one up!  How many degrees of separation do you think exist between your favorite baseball player and the one and only Kevin Bacon?