Switching the Laundry Over

The hamper in our household has been filling up quickly this season.  My wife and I lead pretty active lifestyles -  both of us usually work out at least once a day, be it running, yoga, weight lifting, or Country Heat (not my favorite).  My running is usually done outside because treadmills are the devil, necessitating multiple layers this time of year.  Additionally, the holidays have been jam-packed with outfit changes based on photograph opportunities, food spillage, and/or whether or not we'd be visiting the home of a smoker in our Christmas adventures.  Not to mention, we both like to get comfortable at the end of a long day by swapping out our jeans and button ups for some warm and fuzzy pajamas.

Therefore, it's no mystery why our laundry pile grows like a dense, smelly patch of weeds.  Luckily, my wife and I have both been on vacation for the past week and change, so we've been able to keep up with the mound more quickly than normal.  However, the end of winter break is fast approaching and I'll likely soon get reacquainted with the back of my closet.

Thus, in the waning days of my break from the school district IT life, I would like to take advantage and get through one last load of laundry while I have the time.

By that, I mean I want to show off the latest laundry switch-ups, or "Cubgrades," I've made in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder.  The real laundry can wait another couple of days... said the doomed procrastinator.

Back in the glory days of having multiple card companies with official licenses, not only was there more innovation in the trading card industry, there was more variety in player selection.  Between Topps, Donruss, Upper Deck, Pinnacle, Leaf, and Pacific, it seemed like most players who spent a significant amount of time on a 25-man roster would show up on cardboard in one of the potpourri of products hitting store shelves.  Nowadays, in the era of just Topps and a few logo-less "competitors," the stars, prospects, and rookies soak up all the attention, while the bullpen arms and bench players are lost and forgotten, like so many singular laundromat socks.  Today, it would be a small miracle if a guy like Manny Alexander showed up in anything other than maybe Update, if we were lucky

Thankfully, back in the 90's, sets like 1998 Pacific Collection were around to fill in the gaps.

This wonderful, ivy-backed shot of Manny came as part of a much larger stash of cards as a Christmas gift from my father, which has been the subject of several posts over the last week or so.  Prior to that holiday surprise, the only two Alexanders I had as options for my treasured CATRC were the two singles you see above.  While I do love minor league cards, I have a separate binder for those; furthermore, I hold no ill-will towards the Orioles, but I do believe that almost every ballplayer looks better in freshly-pressed Cubs duds!

On a related note, paired with Manny was another "Cubgrade" that came courtesy of the 1998 Pacific Collection checklist:

Miguel Batista stuck around Major League Baseball for what seemed like forever - first signed in 1988, he stayed on the diamond until a mid-season release in 2013.  His 18-year career saw him pop up in break Spring Training camp with 11 different clubs, making him one of the most well-traveled journeyman in the sport's history - sounds like he probably went through a lot of laundry too!  With all that in mind, it's easy to forget that Miggy was ever-so-briefly a Cub - for 11 games - in 1997.

There's basically no chance that Batista would end up with a Cubs card had his career centered around this decade - Topps would have paid his 0-5 record and 5.70 ERA  (yikes) no mind.  However, things were quite different in the diverse cardboard marketplace offered by the 1990's.

Like I said, the 90's were flooded by diverse player selection and cardboard innovation.  On that note, this next product epitomizes both of those characteristics perfectly:

Pack-issued, certified autograph cards might be commonplace these days - however, they were still quite the novelty when the Leaf Signature Series his LCS shelves in 1996.  The first set to offer an autograph in every pack is also known for it's wide-range of signature subjects - more than 250 players signed for the first series alone!  Luckily for me, one of the players Leaf tracked down for the ambitious project was Todd Haney and the resulting bit of baseball ephemera remains the utility player's lone card in Cubbie Blue.

To be completely honest, I'm kind of surprised that Haney doesn't have more Cubs pasteboards.  The previous year, Todd came up from Iowa for his first extended bit of MLB action and absolutely, positively raked.  Across 73 at-bats, he destroyed NL pitching, posting an eye-popping .411/.463/.603 slash line.  Had Haney's introduction happened today, as a rookie playing for a major market club, he'd have about fifty cards and parallels before the bottom dropped out.  Again, different times.

Speaking of different times, let's fast forward from the 90's to the aughts:

Exclusive monopolies were not yet a thing in the world of cardboard, though the competition was slowly beginning to die off.  Before they were able to secure complete comfort in the market, one of the best things Topps ever did was develop the Total brand.  From 2002-2004, this products sought to showcase more of the active roster than any checklist before; in fact, the inaugural edition and it's 990-card manifest was, by far, the most comprehensive baseball card set the old bubblegum company has ever released.  It was the only place a mediocre, non-closing reliever like Alan Benes had a chance to appear.

Appearing in only ten "Total" games from 2002-03, it's a minor miracle that Alan's Cubs tenure was documented at all.  But, that's why the Total banner still has a cult-like following today - bring it back, Topps!

Finally, our last "Cubgrade" of the day also hails from the same decade:

Did you know that Tarrik Brock is one of the few Cubs players to ever debut on foreign soil?  I'm not talking about in our neighbor's north of the border either - Tarrik's maiden Major League appearance came in the land of the rising sun, when the Cubbies and the Mets journeyed to Japan for MLB's special opening series in 2000.  Thanks to the Fleer Tradition release from that year, I too know this fun fact now.  All told, thirteen cumulative games that year would be the extent of Brock's big league experience.  Thus, he was forced to share his only MLB card with fellow rookie, Ruben Quevedo.

It's a funny coincidence that this light-hitting (.167) outfielder had made his debut in another country, seeing as, for the longest time, he was represented in my CATRC by a card from another land, as well:

Of course, that land was Venezuela, not Japan.  Tarrik's Major League career was over after 2000, but  he didn't give up on his professional dream.  In 2002, he was playing winter ball in the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP), as this Line Up single will attest.  I must admit, I'm a little disappointed to boot this multi-cultural oddball from my main binder; but, it will still find a place in my binder of minor league/foreign league/Negro League cards.

With that, this load of laundry is finally done.  And I didn't even mess anything up!

via GIPHY

That about covers all of the laundry switches found in my Dad's overly-generous Christmas gift; but, there's still plenty more content to cover from that yuletide haul.  I'm going to try and run through the rest of the goodies over the next couple days; although, at this rate, it's going to be next Christmas before I get through it all!

Thank you for joining me on the virtual laundromat known as Wrigley Roster Jenga today.  Now that I'm done with this 'load," maybe I should consider going to the actual laundromat with my heap of workout clothes and sweaters... Nah, I still have four more days before work starts back up - I'm sure I'll get it taken care of before then.  Suuuuuuurrrrrrrre.

Calbee Does America, Part 2

The weather was absolutely beautiful in Chicago this weekend.  With that in mind, the wife and I did what any other self-respecting, newly-married couple would do with the gift of sunshine and nearly 70 degree temperatures in the middle of February:  we walked around inside of Bed, Bath and Beyond in search of household odds and ends.  That is what you're supposed to do on such an occasion, right?

While this might seem like a pretty lame way to spend a weather unicorn of weekend, it wasn't all bad.  The snack section of the store truly lives up to the "Beyond" label:

The exotic food section found in most BB&B's will keep me coming without complaint.  After all. their shelves are stocked with snacks and beverages from all over the world, including the above bag of Calbee Shrimp Chips from Japan.  Shrimp and snack chips might sound like odd bedfellows and they may even sound absolutely disgusting, but I just can't get enough of them.  Although, I do have an inordinate amount of love for anything seafood.

The last time I ended up with a bag of these delicacies, I couldn't help but think about baseball cards.  I mean, Calbee is a major baseball card manufacturer in their native land, including cards in many of their snack food products.  Unfortunately, the same can not be said for their Americanized lines.  As a replacement, I decided to do a series "what if" cards, featuring Japanese imports who have played for the Cubs, in the style of classic Calbee designs.  Yes, this is how I spend my free time.

Well, since then, the Cubs have signed themselves another one; so, this seems like a swell time to add an update:

(Scan of original courtesy of Japanese Baseball Cards)

Koji Uehara, the veteran lefty reliever, signed with the World Series Champions this offseason, as part of an organizational rebuilding of the bullpen.  To commemorate the signing, I've created this tribute, in the style of the 1995 edition of Calbee cards.  For reference, I've included an Ichiro from the very same set.

Based on teams, this set had different, rotating sets of colors for the nameplates and bottom border. Also, the originals were slightly smaller and narrower than a standard card, with rounded corners.
I've opted to blow my custom up to the normal 2.5"x 3.5" dimensions, with pointed corners, mostly because I'm OCD, even when it comes to my fake cards.

Alas, I couldn't halt my update project here.  While reviewing my previous post, I couldn't help but notice that I missed a player during my previous series.  I am a little embarrassed (I am the Cubs roster history nut, after all), but I suppose I shouldn't blame myself too much for accidentally forgetting about a guy who who only made it into six games in 2009.

So Taguchi was a minor league depth signing who the Cubs rewarded with a September call-up, so as to have some extra veteran presence for the stretch run.  Of course, the Northsiders failed to make the playoffs and So was released after the disappointing season, never to play in the Majors again (he did go back to play in Japan again, however).

With that in mind, it was quite difficult to locate a usable picture for the above custom; the sliding shot I ended up with was the only one I could track down.  Luckily, it worked quite well with the 2006 Calbee Starcard insert design:

(Scan courtesy of Ryan from This Card is Cool)

For reference here is an original card from the same insert set.   The thing about Calbee cards, unlike their main rival BBM,  is that their "flagship" design traditionally changes very little, year to year.  Of course, there are aberrations, but they usually opt for a minimalist norm.  So, in order to find an unique template for So's custom, I had to broaden my horizons a touch.

Lastly, two custom cards didn't fell like quite enough content for a dedicated blog post, at least in my opinion.  However, with Koji and So taken care of, that officially covered all of the Cubs players of Japanese origins.  Therefore, I had to fudge the rules a little bit, opting for a short-term Cubs hurler who had spent several years in Japan before coming Stateside

(Scan of original courtesy of  Getting Back into Baseball Cards... In Japan)

Chang Yong-Lim, aka "Mr. Zero" is a Korean pitcher who received a brief (6 game, 5IP) trial with the rebuilding Cubs in 2013.  Previous to that, Chang had been a superstar closer in Japan with Yakult and a workhorse stater in his native South Korea for Samsung.  After his ill-fated cuppacoffee in the MLB, the reliever opted to return to the Korean Baseball Organization for a few more seasons, retiring after the 2016 campaign.

Much like the 1995 Calbee cards that Koji demonstrated, the 1994 edition were also originally of a smaller size with rounded corners, as Hideki Matsui has kindly volunteered to demonstrate.  Again, I went with the standard-size and characteristics for my custom... because reasons.  Also, the nameplates changed colors based on team, so I chose the color that, in my eyes, worked best with Mr. Lim's image.

I've also developed a taste for these melon creamy sodas 

With that, I can put a period on my "update" set of Cubbie Calbee customs.  Looking back at them now, there are a couple minor tweaks and changes I wouldn't mind make; with that being said, I am satisfied with how they have turned out.  What do you think?  Please feel free to leave any thoughts or suggestions in the comments section below!

So, yea.  It's February, the weather is unabashedly sunny, the temperature has rocketed up into the high 60's and I spent my weekend wandering around indoors, in a cavernous Bed, Bath and Beyond, buying Japanese snack food.  I then followed up that expedition by staying inside and Photoshopping fantasy baseball cards, in the dark, for a few hours.  I think I'm doing this wrong.

The Calbee Shrimp Chips made me do it.

Spoils of the Season

I hope that everyone reading this had themselves a Merry Christmas.  The weather in Chicago might have created a more spring-like atmosphere; however, personally, an entire day spent with family, board games and movies made for a jolly, festive holiday celebration.  That is what the season is all about, correct?

Of course, there are gifts too and those are alright in my book, as well.

Thanks to the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs (still not tired of hearing/saying/writing that), all of my future in-laws knew exactly what to get me this year - one of the many unexpected benefits of this World Series title run:

So, so much better than socks and dress shirts - although, my fiancee might feel quite differently about that statement.  In fact, in her opinion, the only things with more holes in them than that statement might be my socks.

At any rate, I was exceptionally enthused to see these items under the tree at the fiancee's folks' house.  In fact, I don't know if I've taken that comfy, blue fleece off for longer than five minutes, since the moment I unwrapped it.  I suppose that I should mention that I also got some nice, non-Cubs gifts as well, including a Fitbit, cordless earphones for when I run and some therapeutic bath salts (what? I like to be pampered), among other things.

When people think of me, either Cubs baseball or running pop into their mind.  I'm not complaining, though,

However, that wasn't the last of the baseball-themed gifts.  It wasn't until yesterday that we exchanged presents on my side of the family, thanks to our busy and thoroughly uncoordinated work schedules.  In the end, the wait was certainly worth it, as two gifts, in particular, stole the show. Much has been made about card-based gifts on the blogosphere in the time leading up to the 25th of December and whether or not they end up being worth the effort. With that in mind, I'd say my sister, who did choose to go down that route, not only put in the effort, but crushed it:

First up, here we have Herb Hutson's lone baseball card - a 1973 Venezuelan League sticker.  The super short-term Cub pitched in 20 games during the very next season, mostly out of the bullpen, with a 3.45 ERA.  Despite that decent performance, Huston found himself back at AAA Wichita in '75 and out of baseball by '76.  The only evidence we have of his brief career on the diamond is this
Lara Cardenales sticker from his time in the winter league.

The thing that struck my about these standard-sized "cards" is how thin they are, almost paper-like.  These were produced by Digallo C.A. and were intended to be pasted into an album, just like your average Panini sticker book.  They were then redeemable for various prizes, like bikes and such.  With that in mind, these cards don't show up very often and, when they do, tend to be in poor condition.

Thankfully, my sister was able to get a killer deal from a vendor in Venezuela, who miraculously got it here before Christmas.  Bonus points on his packaging too, which appears to include a facsimile of the original "Album de Barajitas de Beisbol," or "Album of Baseball Cards."  I shan't be pasting my Hutson into one of these albums; but, it will look quite nice in my CATRC binder.

This set and it's various, yearly editions is much sought after for it's inclusion of several Stateside stars (Luis Aparicio, Frank White, etc.), some even before their "official" rookie cards (Jim Rice). Only I would be more excited to find a "Moonlight Graham" like Herb Huston than a Hall of Famer.

Anyway, had this been the only baseball card my sister gifted to me, she'd already be named the "Card Gifting MVP of 2016," at least in my humble opinion.  However, in what I can only assume was a lobby to become my favorite sibling, she also included one more vintage oddball that fit snugly into my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection:

This well-loved, antique is 88 years young and features another "barely there" Cubs player in Gale Staley.  Mr. Staley is depicted during his days with the Los Angeles Angels of the old Pacific Coast League.  We know this because the above artifact is a super vintage Zeenut card, a series that documented the original incarnation of the PCL for over 25 years.

This particular Zeenut hails from the 1928 edition of the long-running series.  The look of this series is evocative of the Chicago Supply Co. Exhibit cards; but, they are considerably smaller than those Exhibits.  In fact, they're a bit tinier than standard size:  1-3/4 x 3-3/8.  After years of only admiring these from afar, in Ebay auctions, I did not realize that fact.

Staley was a late-season call-up as the 1925 season drew to a close.  That September, the second baseman managed to get into seven games, with a whopping .423 batting average in 26 AB's.  Despite that admirable performance for the listless Cubs, Staley found himself playing for the old Angels in 1926 (who, while not officially an affiliate, were owned by the Wrigleys).  After three years there and a one-year excursion in Portland, Staley called it a career without ever climbing back up to the top of the ladder.

A clearer image of Staley with the LA Angels, circa 1926.

Image courtesy of Gordon Brett Echols

Like Hutson, there's very little public information available on the internet for Staley, so that's about all I can tell you about the "cuppacoffee" Cub.  Well, that and the fact that his name always makes me think more of the Bears than the Cubs.  "Why's that?" you might ask.  First of all, his first name is shared with all-time great, Hall of Fame running back, Gale Sayers.  Second of all, his surname was the original nickname of the Chicago NFL franchise  - the Bears as we know them today were first conceived in 1919 by the A. E. Staley food starch company of Decatur, Illinois.  That company team was known as the Decatur Staleys (go figure) and launched the HOF careers of George Trafton and George "Papa Bear" Halas.

...and that's how my brain works.  As far as I can tell, Gale Staley has no connection to A.E. Staley or the early days of the Chicago Bears.

These guys have absolutely nothing to do with Gale Staley

To wrap things up, my little sister gifted me with two, obscure Cubs with very little cardboard presence.  Of the two, one was a rarely seen, foreign release from well-south of the border and the other was an 80+ year old, minor league oddball.  I'd say that she did fairly well here with here Christmas gift.  What say you?

Of course, I may have tipped her off on a few of the things I was hoping might land in my stocking this winter.  Nevertheless, she executed flawlessly.  I hope she enjoys the "Yellow Submarine" decorative lights we bought her as much as I love these cards.

Not gonna lie - I kinda wanted to keep those for myself.

In conclusion,when it comes to trading card Christmas gifts, it seems the returns on the blogosphere are somewhat mixed.  Did you receive any cards for Christmas?  Were these well-intentioned presents up to snuff or did you end up longing for a gift receipt?  Share your experience in the comments section below.

Personally, I couldn't be happier!

Nothing Major

I've decided to start up a new collection; please allow me to explain it in a rather long-winded fashion.

For many moons, I've been fascinated with baseball cards featuring Major League players during their minor league years; it's an interest that's probably bubbled just under the surface since I started collecting way back when.  I think it has something about seeing well-known players in unfamiliar uniforms, at least partially.  

For instance:

Casey McGehee, seen as not much more than minor league depth, may have broken out as a Brewer, but he started out in the Cubs system and even received a September call-up at the end of the 2008 season.  In contrast, Corey Patterson was about as highly-touted as a prospect possibly can be... and we all know how that turned out.  That said, how can anyone not love a team named the Lansing Lugnuts?

I just picked up this Chris Valaika, who made a brief stopover in Chicago in 2014, from my LCS from a quarter box.  Truthfully, it was mostly to round my purchase up to a full dollar; but, again, what's not to love about a team known as the Dayton Dragons?

Neal Cotts never could consistently hold down a spot in the Cubs bullpen, riding the shuttle between AAA and the Majors for a couple of seasons after winning a World Series ring with our neighbors to the south.  

In the ensuing years, along with minor league Cubs, I've also set aside cards that show these athletes during their days in college and high school, as well  For a while now, I've had a binder going where I stash these curiosities:

That Scott Maine is a slightly over-sized oddball single from a set made to honor the University of Miami nine in 2005; I'm fairly certain it was team-issued, but I can't find any manufacturing information on or about it.  If anyone knows anything more about that Hurricanes issue, please let me know!

Meanwhile, we all know about Jeff  "the Shark" Samardzija's much-ballyhooed girdiron career for the Fightin' Irish; it's easy to forget that he played baseball for them too.  Additionally, I picked up this Bob Howry autograph dating from his days with McNeese State for fifty cents - can you believe that?

As far as high school goes, there aren't a lot in my collection; but, a few have found their way into my clutches:

Classic Four Sport was always good for a few varsity baseball cards, seeing as the sets were based pretty much entirely around prospects in several of the major sports. Here you can see future Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee taking a hack on a chain-link circled diamond near El Camino Fundamental High School in California.

On the other hand, while you see Serra HS graduate Dan Serafini holding a bat on this "limited," serial numbered, shiny offering from Classic, he eventually made it to the Majors as a pitcher, including 42 games for the 1999 Cubs.

All these cards you see above have long been set aside in a special place; I've even referred to the stack on this blog as my "Baby Bear" collection.  However, I've always felt that I could do more with this accumulation - I just didn't know what.

At the same time, I've also made a habit of hanging onto cards that feature future/former Cubs players participating in leagues from outside of the traditional Major/Minor system:

I've got Senior Leagues (which come from my original collection, as a gift from my late grandfather)...

...Negro Leagues....

....international leagues...

...independent leagues...

...hell, I've even got Little Leagues.  Again, these all catch my attention because they depict familiar faces in unfamiliar settings and digs.

Although, after showing off all of these slightly-jarring keepsakes, my absolute favorites in this loosely-connected family are cards that feature stars on the diamond competing in sports that are NOT America's pastime.

Cards like these: 

Like I mentioned earlier, much has been made about "Shark's" football exploits; but, did you know that this similarly difficult to spell name played collegiate football?  In fact "Super Szczur" required a hefty signing bonus to keep the wide receiver from entering the NFL draft when he was drafted out of Villanova in 2010.

Coincidentally, Delino DeShields was another future Cub, multi-sport star; he almost attended Villanova too, to play point guard on the basketball squad.  No doubt, Foot Locker and the NBA were aware of this when they invited the hyped youngster to compete in their celebrity slam dunk tournament in 1991, which also included names like Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Bo Jackson. Thank goodness a card set was produced by the shoe hawkers to commemorate this cross-sport overlap.

These are the only two like this, but there are a bevy more out there - Kenny Lofton and Tim Stoddard on the hardwood, Ernie Banks on the back nine, etc.

See? I'm not (entirely) crazy

Anywho, if you've made it through all of this rambling, congratulations - I'm finally about to get to my point.  I've come to the conclusion that the best way to show off, store and continue to build these half-baked accumulations is to merge them all together under one banner:  my "Nothing Major" collection.  The idea being that the collection is made up of cards of Cubs playing in the minors, prep, international and even other sports, but "Nothing Major" League Baseball.

I love a good pun.

So, if you have any cards of this vein lying around in your dupe/trade stacks, please drop me a line; I'm more than willing to talk trade!

Lord knows I don't already have enough projects...