Holy Toledo! R.I.P. Milo Hamilton

Over the past day, I'd realized that I was sitting on 199 posts here on Wrigley Roster Jenga.  Being that we humans have an odd fascination with round numbers (and I am not exception), I spent the last day trying to come up with a good topic to commemorate the milestone.  Unfortunately, inspiration struck..

Yesterday, Hall of Fame broadcaster Milo Hamilton passed away at the age 88.

Milo worked for several organizations over the course of his 6 decade career - he's been around that he broke into the game announcing for the Browns.  He's been most synonymous with the Houston Astros, the team for which he spent the last 27 years working for.  However, he also had two separate stints with the Cubs.

First, in 1955, he was added to the broadcasting team alongside Vince Lloyd and Jack Brickhouse, two legendary names themselves.  It didn't last long however, as three years later, Lou Boudreau became available and P.K. Wrigley booted Milo to get the Hall of Famer.

He bounced around the league some more before returning to the Cubs in 1980, this time alongside Boudreau and Lloyd on the radio.  The Cubs were grooming Milo as the heir apparent to Jack Brickhouse on the TV side.  Then, fate struck again and Harry Caray became unexpectedly available in 1982 and the Cubs quickly swooped in, ignoring their previous promise to Hamilton.

Milo interviewing Mike Krukow for WGN in 1981

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Understandably upset, Hamilton stuck around for a few more years, including the painful-but-amazing 1984 campaign, before moving on to greener pastures.  He never forgave Caray though, as not only did he blame him for usurping him from the Cubs gig, but also for his replacement by the Cardinals before his first Cubs stint.  He had a lot of not nice things to say over the years, including some particularly barbed comments in his biography.  But, I guess I'd be bitter too.

At any rate, Hamilton and his iconic home run call of "Holy Toledo!" made for great memories for many baseball fans, including Cubs fans.  He won the Ford Frick Award in 1992, securing his spot in the Hall of Fame, a spot well-earned.  Milo lived a full life; but, it's always tough to see and icon pass on.

A couple of real cards honoring Milo Hamilton

Images swiped from Ebay

I have yet to acquire a card of Milo; but, he does have a few on the market.  There are several team-issued oddballs from the Astros and what appears to be a custom creation by he and his people for autograph requests (above right).  Panini included him as an autograph subject in their 2012 Cooperstown checklist too (above left).  As morbid as our society can be, the prices on these cards have suddenly spiked.

But, I wanted to add a card of Hamilton to my collection and I wanted to honor him on this blog, so this seemed like as good a time as any to break out my new toy:

It's several generations behind and all of my training has been with Photoshop; but, I sure as hell couldn't pass this up when I saw it for chump change at a garage sale this past Saturday.  Thankfully, my Adobe Creative Suite skills transferred quite easily.

Thus, what you see at the top of this post is my first custom card, something I've wanted to do for a long time now and just never had the software for it.  I whipped it up last night while the girlfriend watched "16 and Pregnant" or some junk and I'm pretty happy with it as a first go-round.

Maybe I'll even create a back for it and print it out one of these days.

In the meantime, my emerging custom card creation "legacy" is nothing compared to the legacy left by Milo Hamilton.  After 62 years of calling baseball games, including such legendary moments as Hank Aaron's 715th homerun, Milo left an imprint on the sports world that will never be forgotten.

R.I.P. Milo

It's a Major Reward!

This past Friday night, the girlfriend and I went on a double date; it was a needed bit of socialization after an especially trying work week.  So, where's the best place for four 20-somethings in children's body to go and blow off some steam?

Well, since we're too big to fit in the tubes at Chuck E. Cheese's, the answer is obviously Dave & Busters.

This was actually my first time going to such an establishment and I have to say, amusement park games + beer + good company = a rip-roaring good time!

For those of you who have never been, D&B really is just the adult version of Cheese's; you play games, you win tickets and you cash said tickets in for prizes.  After countless rounds of surprisingly rousing games of air-hockey, throwing balls at clowns, touchdown passes, skee ball, etc. etc, we had quite a nice stash of tickets.

Also, like Cheese's, the prizes at the end are pretty lackluster - you end up spending $50 on games to win pencil toppers and cheap stuffed animals.  But, that's not the point of it all, I guess. After seeing nothing that caught our eyes, we decided to bankroll pretty much all of our tickets for a future visit.  However, neither one of us was about to leave completely empty handed.

In the cheapy bins, the girlfriend found a couple cute rubber ducks for her collection and I found this pack of baseball cards for mine:

The bin it was in was labeled TriStar baseball cards, so I got really excited at the prospect of winning some old packs of Obak or Projections.  That said, I guess some junk wax is a much more reasonable expectation

Let's see what I won, shall we?

First up, the insert:

I've always disliked these magic motion trivia card things.  They're too small, hold no visual appeal and, seeing as they're World Series trivia, not a lot of them feature the Cubs.  Urgh.

What year do we have?

Ah, Billy Martin and his heroics.  Damn Yankees.

These are the only true inserts that can be found in Score, as that phenomenon had not truly began to spread yet in 1991.  What we do have are subsets, which are essentially inserts that are just numbered as part of the regular checklist.  Did I get any cool subset pieces?

I've always loved these No-Hit Club cards and I've always had a thing for the White Sox jersey that Melido is sporting in that photo.  It's just too bad that the last Cub to throw a no-hitter at that point had been Milt Pappas in 1972, a little too long ago to make the cut for this gathering.  Drat!

I also really like that multi-exposure effect going on in their pitching motions.  Nice touch Score.

Too pretty big names here, as they should be in a subset that honors franchise players.  I must admit, I completely forgot that Brett was still kicking around in 1991.  Not only that, he won the friggin' batting title the year before with a .329 average at the age of 37.  He's truly one of baseball's immortals.

But, with a player as good as "Mullet," you'd think he'd know that he only needs one bat, right?

That does it for the "special" cards; let's move on to the plain, ol' base cards.  Since the folks at Score couldn't decide which color to use for their borders in 1991, they just figured why not use all of them?

White is for rookies:

Just think, some kid back in 1991 was carefully placing these cards in penny sleeves in hopes that they would someday down the road pay for their college education... They're probably still sitting in said sleeves, now crumbling, in a forgotten, water-stained box somewhere in that 30-something's parent's basement to this very day.

That said, neither of these players really amounted to much.  Barnes had a few mediocre-to-good seasons out of the bullpen and Decker bounced around the league for 9 seasons as a career backup.  Nothing special here; although, nice Cubs logo cameo on that Barnes card.

Now let's move to the opposite end of the color spectrum:

I must admit, the black borders work really well with White Sox cards and, hey, I've actually heard of Ron Karkovice; so, that's pretty cool.  I'll also hold onto the Campusano with the improbable hope that maybe someday my girlfriend will start to hoard cards of her favorite baseball team someday.

Hey, a guy can dream, ok?

There were also a few greens...

...and a few blues...

...but no Cubs - be it current, former or future.  In fact, not even really any names that move the needle for me or any particularly interesting photo choices.  Overall, this entire pack was pretty blah.

If anybody is desperately trying to build the 1991 Score set, let me know.  First, I want to know why because I forgot just how bland this release was.  But, then, I'll get these to ya ASAP.   Or, perhaps the subset cards or the magic motion little bugger are more your speed?  Regardless, none of these cards really fit my collection.

Still, a "free" pack of baseball cards is always a good thing and it was fun ripping a pack of these for the first time since I was in grade school.  However, I wish Dave & Buster's would change that bin label so crazy baseball card collectors like me don't continue getting their hopes up.

Lastly, if you've never been, I highly recommend a trip to D&B.  It's a perfect way to let out your inner child while simultaneously being able to enjoy a few beers.

Just don't imbibe too much and end up with your arm stuck in a skee ball hole or something like that.

Bears Sunday: Grin and Bear It

Well, today is the big day - the Chicago Bears officially open the season against the hated Green Bay Packers this afternoon.  Football madness has officially taken over the town.

However, it's not as fervent as it has been in years past.  A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Cubs are playing meaningful baseball for the first time in a long time; however, most of it is likely due to the fact that the team just looks plain awful.

Jay Cutler is still Jay Cutler, there's no talent on either line (which are made up almost entirely with retreads) and the receiving core has suffered so many injuries that I'm a call away for suiting up for them.  It's going to be a rough go of it.

In honor of another Bears season, let's take a look at a new collection I've been developing since the middle of last season, my Bears All-Time Roster Collection.

Now, this endeavor scared me more than my Cubs equivalent, 53-man rosters and constant comings and goings make it almost impossible to keep up with.  Plus, cards aren't even made for a good half of the players.  But, when I found a nice dime box filled with hundreds of Bears cards at the LCS one rainy day, I finally decided to take the plunge.

In my opinion, only players who have seen game action with the Bears count.  Practice squad, off season members and training camp counts do not.  Thankfully, that means Rey McDonald will not be marring this collection.

As of now, I don't really have enough to sort these alphabetically, so there's just arranged randomly by what cards I like best.  Let's take a look at page one:

That Red Grange Panini Golden Age is by far my favorite card in this collection.  It just looks so regal, fitting for such a football legend.  Plus, he just looks bad-ass with that leather cap.  The rest of the page is filled with members of the '85 Bears, a pretty popular squad in the pantheon of Chicago sports.

Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, except for that 1998 Bears Fan Convention single of Otis Wilson in the bottom center.  A complete set of current Bears and team legends was handed out at every convention and I was offered a great deal on the '98 set.  So, you'll be seeing a lot more of those.

Also, my cat is namd Mongo, partially in honor of the polarizing Steve McMichael (bottom left) and partially for Alex Karras' character in Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks movies are the best movies).

Page 2:

Pro Line Portraits might be the worst football cards ever made - they're just really awkward year book shots.  While the Payton at the top isn't one of the worst, a man of his stature deserves better representation; I'll have to get on that.

The rest of this page is mixed with more '85 Superbowl Champs and some key members of the 2006 Superbowl team.  While they lost handily, they're still the best Bears team from my lifetime and thus I will always be partial to these names.

Yes, even Rex Grossman.

Oh and I know that Tom Waddle wasn't a Bear until 1989 and certainly didn't stick around for the latter squad; but, he's an amusing radio personality in this town and so I threw him in near the front.

Let's do one more page:

Jim Miller has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, he attempted to take his own life during an ongoing battle with depression.  Here's hoping that he can find the help he needs and get back on track.  More evidence that repetitive head injuries are an immense problem.

Butkus, Briggs, Hampton and McMahon are all franchise legends.  Bell would have been a Superbowl champ if he didn't hold out that season.  Mike Brown and Earl Bennett all had bright moments as Bears.  So, why is Garrett Wolfe, a high draft pick bust, in with this group?  Well, shortly after he was selected, I met him at the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge (a local 5K) and he was as nice as can be.  So, he'll always be cool with me.

By the way, my grandmother once danced with Dan Hampton (top right) while on a cruise in the 80's and gave her an autographed picture, which I inherited and would show off if I hadn't temporarily packed it in storage.  Forethought is not my strength.

Alright, that's going to do it for this week.  This is all the blogging my mind can take on this lazy Sunday morning.  Here's hoping that the Packers don't completely embarrass the Monsters of the Midway today; but, they probably will.  Aaron Rodgers is a complete God when he plays the Bears.

Welcome to a long football season Chicago.

Cubs of a Different Color - The Letter B

First of all, let me just say that I had no idea what passion my "New Coke" themed post would bring out; Cola War PTSD is a real thing.  Hopefully I can keep some of this blog momentum going.

Second of all, as you might have heard, tomorrow is the first Sunday of the NFL season and it's going to be football, football and more football all day.  In turn, I kind of want to do a themed post with a new collection I've been working on.

The dilemma - last week I started a weekly spotlight on another new collection to be posted on Sundays, my Cubs of a Different Color collation, which aims to contain a card of every Cubs player on another team.  I quite like this feature and I have no intention of stopping or interrupting it.

Solution - from now on, this series will run on Saturdays.  It's not like there's a particular reason I decided to schedule it for Sundays; that is, other than the fact that I was super bored last Sunday.

But first, a refresher:

The rules:

1. The card must depict them in an MLB uniform that is not the Cubs.  
2. MiLB cards do not count; they go into their own, separate collection.  
3. "Zero-year" cards do count, provided they show MLB teams (so Bowman Draft counts).
4. Have fun (mandatory!)

I chose each card based on availability, which I liked the best and variety in clubs - with extra weight given to teams each player may be most identifiable with.  Plus, I may have been biased to other teams I have a rooting interest in  (White Sox, Red Sox & Phillies).  Sue me.

Each Saturday, I'll showcase a letter of the alphabet, since I have these cards sorted in ABC order. Today, the letter "B" takes the spotlight:

Page 1:

• Jeff Baker - 2007 UD Rookie Elements #144 (Serial #474/550) - Rockies
• This shiny piece of serial-numbered goodness came my way courtesy of a repack, of all places.  Thank you repack gods!
• John Baker - 2008 Topps Heritage #622 - Marlins
• 1959 Topps is one of my favorite sets of all-time, so that made this selection quite easy.  Baker has become something of a cult hero in Chicago, thanks to his being the winning pitcher and scoring the winning run (yea, he's a catcher) once last year.  Also, a great follow on Twitter: @manbearwolf
• Scott Baker - 2012 Topps Opening Day #131 - Twins
• Scott was supposed to bring rotation depth to the Cubs, coming off Tommy John surgery in 2013.  After several setbacks, he barely became a Cub, making only 3 starts while being very surly about it. But, he did bring a nice throwback jersey to this collection. So, there's that.
• Jay Baller - 1993 Donruss #356 - Phillies
• This was my only non-Cub card of Jay, he of extreme chest hair fame.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, just look up his card from 1988 Topps.
• Willie Banks - 1993 Donruss #79 - Twins
• Two cards from the same set right next to each other.  This is something I really wanted to avoid; I'll have to take another look at what I have for Willie.  I like the set; but, I don't like it that much.
• Brett Barberie - 1992 Donruss Triple Play #134 - Expos
• Expos sighting!  Triple Play was aimed at kids and really helps remind a collector what this whole experience is really about - having fun, not profit.  Also, I'm like 75% sure that that' Wrigley Field in the background.
• Dick Bartell - 1992 TSN Conlon Collection #452 - Giants (NY)
• That box of Conlon I bought several months ago continues to pay off this far down the road.  Not a lot of people are asking why Dick isn't in the HOF anymore; the offensive outburst from middle infielders in the years after this card ensured that.
• Michael Barrett - 2000 Wizards of the Coast MLB Showdown #264 (Expos)
• Another Expo!  Back when Montreal stuck Barrett at third base, in a desperate attempt to find a position he could actually play.  Showdown cards are amongst my most favored oddballs; so, this won't be the last of these you'll see.
• Miguel Batista - 2012 Topps Update #US77 (Mets)
• He was a Cub?  Yes, in fact, he was.  He was also a D'Back, National, Mariner, Blue Jay, Royal, Pirate, Brave, Cardinal, Marlin and, as we see here, a Met during his 18 year career.  Thus, it shouldn't be hard to find a card of him another uniform; yet, this is the best I could do.

Page 2:

• Jose Bautista - 1989 Upper Deck #574 - Orioles
• I had to have at least one example of this iconic set in this binder; so, why not with Jose Bautista?  Unfortunately, the Cubs got the wrong Jose Bautista.  This Jose spent most of his career in Baltimore; so, I felt he should be represented as such.
• Dave Beard - 1984 Fleer #438 - Athletics
• Ironically, Dave is sporting the clean shaven look.  Fun fact, the only member of ZZ Topp who does not sport facial hair is the drummer - Frank Beard.  Feel free to impress your friends with that one.  Oh yeah - the card - I've always had a thing for A's jerseys.
• Rod Beck - 1995 UD Collector's Choice #112 (Blue Parallel) - Giants
• This was one of the easiest choices I had to make.  The ever rare shot of a relief pitcher at the plate and it's Shooter of all people?  Plus, blue parallels always get me.
• George Bell - 1990 Fleer #628 - Blue Jays
• His greatest contribution to the Cubs franchise was being traded for Sammy Sosa way back in 1992. However, in the previous decade he was quite good, as this card honors.  He's always a Blue Jay in my mind and cards that bestow awards are pretty cool.
• Les Bell - 1992 TSN Conlon Collection #651 - Cardinals
• Another card from that box bubbles up, this one was a double.  I don't have any other cards of the guy; but, even if I did, that perfect view of the NL 75th anniversary patch would make it impossible to beat.
• Mark Bellhorn - 2004 Topps #569 - Red Sox
• The 2004 Red Sox were my favorite non-Cubs team to watch ever because they gave me hope that this long-suffering franchise could someday overcome their "curse."  As such, when I think of Bellhorn, I think of him a Red Sox (Sock?) first and a Cub second.
• Alan Benes - 1995 UD Collector's Choice Rookie Class #11- Cardinals
• Nice throwback, pullover jersey there Alan.  Even though you're a dreaded Cardinal here, that fact is your saving grace here.
• Jason Bere - 1996 White Sox Team Issue #46 - White Sox
• I wish there were more team-issued sets these days; I would go to every game in which the Cubs issued such a thing. So, to encourage them to do so (I know they hang on every word of my blog), I'm showing some love for my South Side brethren.
• Damon Berryhill - 1993 Donruss #78
• There's 1993 Donruss again.  I must subconsciously love this brand ten times more than I thought I did.  Damon looks like he had a bad moment at the plate there and his frustration makes for an intriguing picture.  His pain, my gain.

Page 3:

• Mike Bielecki - 1987 Topps #394 - Pirates
• The pill box hat = total no-brainer here.
• Larry Biitner - 1983 Topps #527 - Reds
• I have to say, I've never really liked this set; but, it wins by default since I am otherwise Biitner-less.
• Steve Bilko - 1986 CCC '51 Bowman Reprints #265 - Cardinals
• The best flea market find I've ever had keeps on giving and giving.  Maybe some day I'll find something that cool at one again.
• Doug Bird - 1980 Topps #421 - Phillies
• Since my girlfriend is from the east coast and an active Phillies phanatic, I've developed a certain fondness for the club.  Philly suits 1980 Topps.
• Henry Blanco - 2002 Topps Heritage #361 - Brewers
• Good ol' Hank White has bounced around a little bit; so, it's easy to forget that he was a Brewer.  This one won for novelty's sake.
• Jeff Blauser - 1996 Pacific #15 - Braves
• Pacific!  Wrigley Field's ivy wall in the background!  Flip-down shades!  There's nothing not to like about this card.
• Brian Bogusevic - 2011 Topps #88 - Astros
• Until the Phillies recently gave him another shot, the local kid (Palos Heights, IL), had never played for another franchise besides the Cubs except for Houston; so, there aren't a lot of options on the market.  But, my love for 2011 Topps continues to grow exponentially.
• Bobby Bonds - 1981 Donruss #71 - Cardinals
• Another set my love has grown for, 1981 Donruss might be chronically blurry, often miscut and on terribly thin card-stock; however, it has a certain charm to it.  Even if it is a red bird.
• Bill Bonham - 1980 Topps #47 - Reds
• Nice blue-sky background that really makes the Reds colors and the green grass pop.  Even though it's the second '80 Topps card on the page, it's safe for now.

Page 4:

• Emilio Bonifacio - 2015 Topps White Sox Factory Team Set #CWS-16 - White Sox
• Here's a short-term stop we'll all soon look back on and say, "wait, Emilio played for the White Sox?"  Cool beans.
• Zeke Bonura - 1991 TSN Conlon Collection #237 - White Sox
• Back to back pale hose.  I like the White Sox; but, this was necessitated by being my only extra Zeke.
• Julio Borbon - 2010 Topps T206 #242 (Gold Parallel) - Rangers
• This one is as good as gold.  Not really, I think this set is rather ugly on the whole; but, damnit, I'm a sucker for parallels.
• Rich Bordi - 1987 Topps #638 - Orioles
• Wood-grain borders are always welcome in my binders.  It's going to be tough to top 1987 Topps when it peaks up.
• Steve Boros - 1959 Topps #331 - Tigers
• Vintage!  The first piece of real vintage to appear in this collection.  I was kinda sad to Cubgrade this card and banish it to my miscellaneous box.  Now, it hath been rescued from limbo.
• Joe Borowski - 2008 Topps #554 - Indians
• I'm not going to lie, I completely forgot the Joe Borowski made a comeback after injuries killed his Cubs career in 2005.  This exercise has been both fun and educational.
• Thad Bosley - 1981 Donruss #162 - White Sox
• They may be some of the horrid uniforms ever sported on a Major League diamond; however, these leisure suit oddities are so ugly that their awesome!
• Pat Bourque - 1974 Topps #141 - Athletics
• More vintage!  1974 is in my top 5 Topps sets ever issued.  Green and yellow never looked so good (although those colors will probably look great against the Bears tomorrow... *sigh*).
• Larry Bowa - 1981 Donruss #142 - Phillies
• There's '81 Donruss again - I am not ashamed!  Bowa will always be a Phillie in my mind, even though he was a Cub on the lauded 1984 squad.

Page 5:

• Michael Bowden - 2010 Topps National Chicle #128 - Red Sox
• I thought the Bowden for Marlon Byrd trade was an absolute steal at the time.  Byrd was almost immediately suspended for performance enhancers and Bowden had a live arm.  Well, we can see who's still in the league now...
• Rob Bowen - 2007 Upper Deck Series 2 #908 - Padres
• Bowen came to the Cubs in a brief stopover after the emergency trade of Michael Barrett, post-skirmish with Big Z.  Somehow, his anemic bat was flipped for Jason Kendall.  However, he doesn't look impressed.
• Milton Bradley - 2006 Fleer Ultra #64 - Athletics
• The greatest mistake in all of Cubs history.  It's a real shame that this extreme headcase and all around awful human being had one of the most fun names in baseball history.  How's that dichotomy?
• Hal Breeden - 1973 Topps #173 - Expos
• Expo!  '73 Topps is an absolute classic for a reason.
• Roger Bresnahan - 1982 Renata Galasso Turkey Red Reprints #4 - Cardinals
• Another set that I bought ages ago that continues to benefit me to this day.  I can't really complain about that.
• Jim Brewer - 1972 Topps #151 - Dodgers
• Another classic vintage set makes an appearance.  I've found that the Dodgers and the Cubs cards look the best in this set; so, this was another easy choice.
• Al Bridwell - 1982 Renata Galasso Turkey Red Reprints #?? - Giants (NY)
• Maybe some day I'll been rich enough to have actual tobacco cards in my secondary collections.
• Dan Briggs - 1979 Topps #77 - Indians
• I bought this card for cheap and then a few days later I found his Cubs card from a few years later (that I was completely unaware of) for pennies.  My impatience paid off (eventually).
• Pete Broberg - 1977 Topps #409 - Mariners
• This may be an egregious airbrushing job; however, this binder is lacking Mariners.  So, this Bro stays in Seattle.

Page 6:

• Lou Brock - 2005 Fleer Greats #25 - Cardinals
• So much pain... I pulled this from a pack many moons ago from the local CVS.  The embossing and the picture frame-esque borders really make this layout pop.
• Brant Brown - 2000 Topps Stadium Club #312 - Pirates
• Shiny!  
• Jumbo Brown - 1992 TSN Conlon Collection #454 - Yankees
• He earned his nickname - 6'4" and 295 lbs was gargantuan in his time and is still pretty darn big today.  He fills out a Yankees jersey for this collection quite well.
• Mike Brumley - 1991 Fleer #445 - Mariners
• Yellow bordered barf bait?  Somehow, it didn't feel right not to include just one of these cautionary tales of hideousness; their woven into the baseball card story.
• Warren Brusstar - 1979 Topps #653 - Phillies
• Couldn't Topps have turned the shot in another direction, so the sun wasn't in poor Warren's eyes?
• Bill Buckner - Boardwalk and Baseball #14 - Red Sox
• Oddballs will always take precedence in my eyes.  This Buckner goes all the way back to my original collection from the mid-90's.
• Steve Buechele - 1991 Score #257 - Rangers
• I honestly have nothing to say about this player.  Steve Buechele played for the Cubs and I chose this card to take his place as a Cub of a Different Color.
• Damon Buford - 1994 Score #582 - Orioles
• No damage to the gloss on the front of this one?  That's reason enough to include this one.
• Steve Bullet - 1992 Topps Stadium Club #288 - Pirates
• Can we just take a moment to appreciate how awesome this guy's name is?  Too bad his play on the field didn't match his excellent moniker.

Final page of the B's:

• Lou Burdette - 1953 Bowman B+W Reprint #51 - Braves (Boston)
• I sure wouldn't mind having the real one of these instead of a reprint.  But, this will do for now.
• Smokey Burgess - 1989 Pacific Baseball Legends #201 - Pirates
• Pacific's super crazy 90's sets might have been quite the eye catchers; but, these sets will always be their best work.
• Jeromy Burnitz - 2001 Topps HD #24 - Brewers
• Here's a one-hit wonder of a set.  An interesting concept that really just amounted to making the cardstock unusually thick and really amping up the saturation filter.  Still, that majestic swing...
• Ray Burris - 1985 Fleer #418 - Athletics
• Ray looks positively happy to be here.
• Marlon Byrd - 2003 Topps Stadium Club #109
• Baby Byrd!  Marlon was still just a Phill pharmhand at the time.  That said, the card lists him as a member of the Phillies themselves, so it counts!

Alright.  that does it for this weeks edition of the Cubs of a Different Color collection.  Next week (spoiler alert!), we'll take a look at the letter "C."  It will feature a current Cubs broadcaster, a set of brothers and a perfect game maestro, among others.

See ya next time!

New Coke

Remember when Coca-Cola decided to up and change the formula for their semi-iconic soft drink?  I don't, because I wasn't born yet, but America was up in arms over "New Coke," with such distaste not seen since Bob Dylan went electric.

Now, was it even actually different and not just a marketing scheme?  Did it actually taste that bad?  I'll never know because I never took a sip; however, there is another modern revamp of an old concept that recently hit shelves that I'd like to take a look at.  This one has nothing to do with teeth-rotting, bubbly drinks; but, it does involve a Coke .

It is called "Platinum Series Baseball:"

This Coke didn't last very long in Chicago either and people shuddered at the thought of Phil Coke just like they did with New Coke.  Still, he now has a card that lists him as a Cub, so I had to have it.

Like MLB Showdown or Topps Attax before it, Platinum Series Baseball endeavors to provide a viable table-top, collectible baseball card game that accurately simulates America's pastime.  Baseball wants their Pokemon moment so very badly.

Each card provides ratings and statistics that determine the value of the player pictured to the game.  The front shows things like fatigue rating (shortened to a rather rude-looking Fat) and durability, while the back gets much more detailed:

I'm not even going to try and get into all of that - that's a lot of numbers and text.  Maybe if I ever someday have the opportunity to play the game, until then....

As you can see this product is unlicensed by MLB; but, it does have the blessing of the Player's Association, as notated on the bottom-front of the card.  Thus, it features a lot of obvious, and often gratuitous, airbrushing; however, without that airbrushing, I would have never gotten to "Cubgrade" Phil Coke, since he was here and gone so quickly earlier this season (I guess a 6.30 ERA out of the bullpen will do that to you).  So, my CATRC is thankful for Platinum Series Baseball anyway.

You can buy the starter kit, which comes with a game board, dice, scorecards and a starter pack of 12 cards, 12 card packs individually or a full wax box.  Since I am really only interested in the cards and just a few of them at that, I was happy to find a single Ebay vendor who was, thankfully, shilling singles:

The full checklist for the cards is over 600 people deep, which makes me love this product even if the game itself is less fun than playing gin rummy with my grandmother.  It harkens back to the glory days of Topps Total, so that guys like Coke and Justin Turner can get baseball cards too.

This is Turner's first card as Cub and though it is airbrushed, it is at least obvious that it is a home Cubs jersey (unlike Phil's now blue Tigers shirt).  Turner has spent the entire season on the disabled list, which is unfortunate for him since the club has been desperate for back-end starting pitching all year.  Still, he's young and has upside, so maybe he'll be of use next year.

Oh, by the way, here's the back of Justin's card in case you were curious about how the game values him:

The cards themselves are not at all what I expected.  I imagined that they would be just like your typical playing card/Showdown card:  rounded corners, standard size, flexible, thin and durable.  Not so.

Instead, the cards are slightly taller than standard size (they just peak out of the top of a nine-pocket pouch) with the thickness of your usual baseball card.  However, the paper that they're printed on is more like the old "Action Packed" brand of days gone by; very unusual.  The corners are still round though, so there's that.

Other Cubs in the checklist include Rizzo, Castro, Bryant and the names you'd expect; however, it also includes guys Like Jason Motte, David Ross, Chris Denorfia and others who haven't had a Cubs card yet.  I chose to get only the two above though because I figured the rest of them had a pretty good chance of being a part of Update, while the two above had absolutely zero chance.

The full set-up for a game of Platinum Series Baseball

Image courtesy of their official YouTube account

I first discovered the existence of this card set/game courtesy of Wrigley Wax and his quest for Darwin Barney's likely last baseball cards.  The concept was funded entirely through IndieGoGo and started shipping out their product in July.  As of now, it is only available online; that said, they are currently working on deals with big-boxers such as Target to get PSB on store shelves too.  It's an encouraging, grassroots story.

Maybe if they can stick around, MLB will be impressed enough to issue them an official license too.  I can dream, right?

The odds are against them though, MLB Showdown's shining moment was quite brief and Topps Attax went over like a lead balloon.  Meanwhile, card games like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh aren't quite as culturally pervasive as they once were.  Only time will tell if this go-round will be any different.

How do you all feel? Is this something you'd be interested in?  Would you actually like to learn how to play the game or are you just all about the cards?  Or, since it's unlicensed, do you revile them like many do with Panini products?  I'm curious.

Should Platinum Series Baseball stay or should it go the way of New Coke (or Phil Coke, for that matter)?

Meeting Matt Kenseth

Two NASCAR tinged posts in one week?  What is going on here?  This is a Cubs-themed blog, right?

Well, I used to be a die-hard NASCAR fan (from approximately 2000 through 2007 or so) and I still follow casually.  In that time, I collected NASCAR cards hardcore and I still occasionally add to that collection from time to time, so this is going to happen every once in a while.  Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Anyway, the travelling road show is opening their "playoffs" on September 20th at Chicagoland Speedway, a local haunt; so, both the race track and NASCAR are starting to build hype for the event.

My little brother caught wind of Matt Kenseth doing a free signing at our local shopping mall, in partnership with a jeweler.  It was close, the guy has won the championship and a couple Daytona 500 and I had no other plans; so, I figured why the hell not?

Even though I was more of a Tony Stewart guy and I've already met Matt once before:

Like I said, in my younger days, I was as rabid about NASCAR as I am now about the Cubs.  I used to stake out these signing events when the races came to town like a crazed conspiracy theorist tracing hidden signs in movies placed by the Illuminati lizard people from Mars.

So, I've had this signed rookie card from 2000 Upper Deck for probably about 10 years now; but, two is better than one, right?

Off we went:

As is fairly normal with these events, there was a show car on display for everyone to "oh and ah" at while we waited in line.  When I last watched NASCAR regularly, Kenseth drove the #17 Roush Racing Ford sponsored by DeWALT tools and had been for years, as you can see from the trading card above. Things have changed quite a bit, as he now drives this ride for Joe Gibbs Racing (he of football fame).

The slight irony:  Kenseth is now driving the car that was piloted by Tony Stewart, my favorite, for over a decade.

At any rate, I was surprised at how short the line was for this meet and greet.  It was never longer than a couple of stores down from the jeweler and, all-told, we got through the line in less than half and hour.  I've waited in line for groceries longer than I did to meet this national sporting champion.

That doesn't mean the store wasn't prepared though - they were excellent hosts:

A free bottle of water that reminds me of where I am, just in case I forget?  Sweet deal!

I was also quite amused by the "ticket" that was passed out for meeting Mr. Kenseth:

Either these were the tickets or I struck a really bad deal for a knock-off watch.

Apparently, this whole event was held because Matt is partnering with Rogers & Holland to release his own watch line, off which I am wearing a paper version. NASCAR and corporate sponsorship go together like peanut butter and ladies (name that flick!).

So, after standing in line for a short while with a lot of people wearing Green Bay Packer shirts (Kenseth is a Wisconsin native), we met the man of the hour, without a hitch:

Yes, I am wearing a tank-top.  I will enjoy the last breaths of summer, damnit!

Matt seems like a good guy, very polite and willing to converse about whatever anyone wanted to talk about.  My brother asked him what was his favorite paint scheme out of all the cars he's driven, which apparently was the design on his 2003 DeWALT Ford.  I'd be partial to the car I drove to a title too.

As you can see, 8x10 headshots were provided in case one didn't have anything for Kenseth to sign (though I wonder who cares enough to show up for something like this and doesn't have anything to get signed). However, I collect trading cards, so I didn't need one of those:

I had this die-cut Challenger insert from 2003 Press Pass (RIP) in my NASCAR binder, just begging to be signed.  Though, I am a bit disappointed that he signed right through the black sleeve of his firesuit.  So it goes; there's only so much space on the card, after all.

All in all, I now have a card signed by Matt Kenseth from his rookie year of 2000, when he won Rookie of the Year, and from the year he won the circuit championship in 2003 (turns out Challenger was a good set for him to be a part of, huh?).  Not a bad pair, I'd say.

Kenseth celebrating his 2003 title, way back when it was the Winston Cup Series

Image courtesy of Lawrence Journal-World

To conclude, it was an enjoyable experience.  Excellently hosted, very prompt and obviously productive.  I have to say, NASCAR signing events are the best in professional sports.  In my experience, they are the only professional athletes who hold these events without charging the fans.

I've never once had to hand over money for a signing session for a NASCAR driver.  In contrast, I've never once gone to a signing session for a baseball or football player because I've never seen one that didn't have at least a $20 fee attached to it.  I'm cheap.

That doesn't mean my point of view is correct, however.  I acknowledge my sample-size is quite limited and biased.  What sorts of experiences have you guys had with meet and greets/signing events?  How do they compare between sports in your experience?

If It's a Severed Head, I'm Going to Be Very Upset

QUICK!! Name that movie!

This afternoon, I was skimming through my Google Drive looking for blog inspiration, as I am often liable to do.  In my skimming, I noticed a card that I had looked fairly hard for, but had forgotten to show off on this here blog.  So, today I am going to rectify that slight:

Now, I can forgive you if you cannot tell that this famous/infamous floating head card from 1962 Topps is a Cub card because it is definitely not immediately obvious.  See that lonely levitating noggin in the upper left?  That's Jim McKnight and he was a rookie infielder for the 1962 Cubs.

Now, these multi-player, flying skull cards are not for everyone, me included.  I prefer my baseball cards to focus on one player and to, hopefully, show at least most of their body; however, I understand there are printing budgets and compromises must be made.

But Tony, why don't you quit your whining and just get a card that features only Mr. McKnight?  Well, to that I'd say, since Jim only appeared in 60 games that season and then never again sniffed the Bigs, he has no other baseball cards.  It's not like he played in the 90's, for cryin' out loud.

However, there is one (sort of) exception:

The 1962 Salada coin you see above (whose image was gratuitously ripped from Ebay) is the only other piece of sports memorabilia that showcased the young infielder.  But then, I guess a .231 career batting average and a spotty fielding record will do that to you.

I know a lot of collectors enjoy these coins and a lot of people even seem to catalog these coins or Topps Chips as cards; but, that does not compute with me.  A coin is a coin and a card is a card.  Until I can pay for my gumballs with a '91 Donruss card, nothing will sway me from that.

Sidenote - I totally understand that Salada coins are not legal tender; I was exaggerating for comedic effect.

Long story short, I have no other option than to include those other three wayward melons in my CATRC along with Jimbo.

**********EDIT*************

In the course of my writing this post, I discovered that I'm not very bright and there is in fact another Jim McKnight card in existence and it's a full body shot of just him and everything.  That said, it still won't displace that '62 Topps card.

Let me explain:

 Images courtesy of the Trading Card Database

What you see above is Jim's entry into TCMA's "The 1960's" set.  It's a beautiful card that let's the picture do the talking that I would otherwise love to include.  What's the issue then?

Well, as you can plainly see, he is wearing a Cardinals uniform, even though he never suited up for them in the Majors.  He was signed by the Devil's team in 1955 and spent the first five years of his pro career in their system, before the Cubs traded Moose Moryn to acquire him (oddball "zero year" card!).

But, since the '62 Topps floating head card lists him as a member of the Cubs, it will still take priority, even though I like the above card much more overall.  One of my CATRC goals is to obtain as many Cubs players on Cubs cards as possible, after all.

Thems the breaks sometimes.

Anyway, let's talk about the guy on all this stuff, for just a minute:

Image courtesy of ootpdevelopments.com

As we stated earlier, he was originally part of the Cardinals system, before finding his way to Chicago in 1960.  That summer, he got a brief, 3 game cuppacoffee, but he did well - going 2 for 6 with and RBI in that time.

Unfortunately, he had the misfortune of being primarily a third baseman in the Ron Santo era, so he was never able to crack into the starting lineup.  He did get another chance as a bench piece two years later, but was unable to capitalize as a utility infielder.  

Without a use for him, the Cubs sent him to the Braves for Ken Aspromonte and though he was never again to reach the Bigs, he was far from done with baseball.  He kept lacing it up in minor league circuits through the 1972 season, playing for 18 seasons overall.

His son Jeff tripled his father's amount of time in the MLB, playing parts of 6 seasons from 1989-94 for the Orioles and the Mets (in two, separate stints).  Just like his proud papa, he also served as a spare infielder.

Sadly, Jim was killed in a car accident in 1994.  He was only 57 at the time.  Even more tragic, Jeff  also passed away at a young age, dying of complications from Leukemia just this past March.  Jeff was only 52.

Well, this post took a dark turn, didn't it?

Image courtesy of ootpdevelopments.com

There - that should cleanse the palette nicely.  I think that's Jim having some fun with the Salvation Army.

Anyway, I had no idea where this post was going to go when I started, in case you couldn't tell.  What a journey though; we laughed, we cried, we learned a lot about a forgotten player and my reasearch skills too.  Thanks for coming along on this ride with me.

All of this just from a floating heads card that I forgot to write about months ago.  Isn't is funny how inspiration works?

By the way, if you're still driving yourself crazy trying to remember where the quote in the post title comes from, the answer is Wayne's World. Calm yourself!