Don Baylor - Forgotten Trailblazer

This was not a good weekend to be a former Major League baseball player.

On Saturday night, word trickled out on social media that former Phillie All-Star catcher, Darren Daulton, passed away after a four-year battle with brain cancer. Daulton earned a Silver Slugger and MVP votes in two separate campaigns, while also leading Philadelphia to the World Series in 1993.  However, seeing as his career peak came well before I was cognizant of our nation's pastime, I was saddened by this news but not overly affected.  

On the other hand, when I heard about the tragic passing of Dan Baylor just yesterday afternoon, also after a long battle with cancer (at the age of 68), the loss hit a little closer to home.  I audibly gasped in the middle of a grueling 14-hour long drive home from our North Carolina vacation when I saw the news on my Twitter feed (don't worry - I was the passenger, at the time).  You see, Don Baylor was the first Cubs manager who I was truly aware of.

But, before he skippered my beloved Cubs, Baylor had himself a borderline Hall of Fame playing career himself.  In a 19-year Major League Baseball career, Baylor smashed 338 home runs, won the 1979 AL MVP award, and earned a 1987 World Series ring while playing for the Orioles, Athletics, Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, and Twins.  Additionally, during the latter half of his career, Baylor helped to revolutionize the designated hitter position, which allowed him to extend his time in the Bigs by nearly a decade.  Needless to say, Mr. Baylor was a notable name.

Even more important, prior to the start of his professional career, Baylor was one of three African Americans to integrate Texas public schools when he was only in junior high school^.   Furthermore, when he went on to star on the diamond and gridiron at Stephen F. Austin High School, where he was the first African American to play athletics.  It's important to remember that he was a trailblazer, as well.

All things considered, perhaps the most oft-cited aspect of Don's playing days was his proclivity to getting hit by pitches.  On eight, count 'em, EIGHT separate occasions, the lumbering slugger lead his circuit in "hit by pitches."  There's no doubt that this stung a little bit (it sure looks like it in the picture above); but, it most assuredly helped to buoy his career .332 on-base percentage.  This was not insignificant since his batting average rarely rose above the .260's, a minor flaw which has been cited as one main reason for his not being enshrined in Cooperstown.

In fact, until Craig Biggio came along, Don Baylor held the MLB record for HBP, with 267.  His "mark" still leads the American League ledger.  Hey, getting on base is getting on base, right? 

When he hung up his spikes after the 1988 campaign, Baylor soon transitioned into coaching, taking up spots on the coaching staffs of the Brewers and the Cardinals through the 1992 season.  Then, expansion struck with the addition of the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins to the National League.  Based on his stature as a prolific hitter and his rave reviews as a coach, the former  hired Baylor on as the first field manager in franchise history.  He would lead the expansion club through the 1998 season, beating the odds and navigating the newbie club into the playoffs just two years into their existence (via the Wild Card), earning him Manager of the Year honors for 1995.

Then, after a few more years coaching, Baylor was brought on by the Chicago Cubs to take over the reigns from longtime skipper, Jim Riggleman, starting in the year 2000.  Amusingly, Baylor's hiring was accidentally leaked onto the internet by the club before it was made official.

Unfortunately, the Cubs of this time were pretty much devoid of talent, outside of Sammy Sosa and Kerry Wood.  Nevertheless, after a rough first season, Baylor had the Cubs exceeding expectations by 2001, as the Cubbies suddenly became major players in the NL Central.  Though they would eventually fade down the stretch, missing the playoffs, their 88-74 record was a 23 game improvement over the previous season.  As such, hopes were high going into 2002.

Then, the glass slipper broke and the Cubs went back to being the Slammin' Sammy show - blue chip prospects busted (Roosevelt Brown, Bobby Hill, Corey Patterson), aging veterans hit the wall (Jon Mark Bellhorn, Bill Mueller, et al) and the magic was gone.  Not to mention, Baylor clashed with the mercurial superstar that was Sosa, once saying that he needed to be a more "complete" player and refusing to placate his antics.  "Sam-me" was not thrilled and fired back, saying that his manager had "no class" - and Sosa basically ran the show, in those days.  These factors combined to earn Baylor his walking papers midway through that 2002 campaign.

I vividly remember hearing the announcement of Baylor's dismissal on WGN radio (I assume later in that same day) and thinking to myself, "what the heck does that accomplish?  No one could win with this disarray.  You have to retool this roster!"  However, I don't think that team president, Andy MacPhail, concerned himself with the opinion of a 13 year old junior high student.

Image courtesy of Steve Green, Associated Press

Thankfully, Baylor landed on his feat and, while he never did sit in the manager's office again, he served as a well-respected hitting coach in the Major Leagues for many years after.  As late as 2015, he provided batting tips with the Angels.

Also, remember how I noted earlier that Don Baylor was a trailblazer?  Here's something that I didn't realize until I began to draft this post - he was the first African American manager in Cubs history.  How about that?  It's a damn shame that his tenure was so brief, talent-deprived, unsupported by the front office, and nearly downright forgotten.

At any rate, rest in peace, Mr. Baylor - a trailblazer, borderline Hall of Fame player, beloved teammate, human bean (ball) bag, deeply respected coach, accomplished manager, and an esteemed human being.  He definitely deserved better from the Cubs!

If I Ran the Zoo

I'm still on vacay here in scenic Wilmington, North Carolina.  With all the time we've spent throwing our friend's bridal shower, hanging out in nearby Myrtle Beach, boardwalk browsing, and just enjoying our brief vacation, there hasn't been much time for blogging.  As it should be.  However, these customs that I'm about to show off had already been completed before we headed south; so, this seems like the perfect time to unveil them on the blogosphere.

The Cubs, courtesy of a slate injuries and poor play in the first half, have gone through a large amount of roster turnover so far in 2017.  Having used 41 players at this point, there's no way that the Topps Flagship set is going to be able to cover everyone (not that they would anyway) - not even Topps Total would have done so.  Seeing as I have a 2017 template already built and ready to use, I figured I'd take the liberty to help the ol' bubblegum out.  I'm always happy to assist.

With that in mind, I whipped up a 2017 "Flagship" Cubs card of everyone who has appeared in at least one contest this year, but did not show up on the S1, S2, or Factory Team Set checklists.  Without any further adieu, here they are:

The Off-Season Additions:

(My apologies to Brett Anderson; I forgot him)

The Deadline Deal Makers:

 The Prospect Promotions:

"So, You Think You Can Dance?" Contestants:

 (So far, they've all been voted off)

That Cubs bullpen sure does love to dance, don't they?

Anyway, how do you think they turned out?  Feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comment section below.

Of those pictured above, I feel like the ones most likely to crop up in the Update series are blossoming rookie, Ian Happ and the blockbuster trade deadline acquisitions (Q, Avila, and Wilson).  Otherwise, most of these names don't register on Topps radar, especially the dime-a-dozen bullpen scraps.  Of course, I've been wrong before and sometimes some odd choices are made to fill out the team checklists - we shall see.  In a perfect world, every single one would appear on their own Cubs cards; however, I doubt anyone but me and my CATRC feels that way.

But,if I ran the zoo...

Housewarming Hits

Earlier this summer, June 19th to be specific, the wife and I moved to a new apartment located in Alsip, IL - a suburb on Chicago's south side.  It took us several friends, a handful of automobiles, a few beers, and hours upon hours of sorting, packing, un-packing, and bickering about what goes where, but we appear to have finally finished setting up our new abode.  This is our first official place together as a married couple and we couldn't possibly be more excited about what the future has in store for us.  Plus, I get an office/card room!

Almost immediately after I mentioned our location change on the blog, Kin Kinsley (I Feel Like a Collector Again and Bean's Ballcard Blog) reached out to me, requesting my new address.  You know what that means, Mr. Kinsley was looking to sign me up on all the spam mailings and chain letter lists that he could possibly find.  Well, in all actuality, while he might have done both of those things as well, he also sent me a little housewarming gift.  A little bit of new cardboard smell is perfect way to christen a new apartment, after all.

Boy, oh boy - did Kin ever go all out on this one:

As you can plainly see, our generous gifter lead off with quite the doozy - a 1953 black and white Bowman single, featuring "Handsom Ransom" Jackson.  I can count the amount of times that I've gotten a '53 Bowman through a trade on one hand... in fact, both times it was this very same card (sadly, I cannot recall who else was so kind).  I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining though, this is a wonderful card and I'm not going to complain about getting a 64 year old piece of cardboard from an iconic set as an unannounced gift.  I just find it funny that, both times, it just so happened to be this very same card.  Strange how the world works sometimes, isn't it?

Next up, we have another player from days long gone by in Ralph Kiner, better known for his time with the Pirates.  The six-time All-Star and Hall of Famer made most of his resume in a Pittsburgh uniform, but it's important to remember, at least to me, that he also spent two years of his storied career in Chicago (1953-54).  Apparently, it was also important to Renata Galasso to remember his time spent in the Windy City, as illustrated by the no-frills oddball set co-produced by her and TCMA, from 1977-84.

Personally, I think Cubbie blue suits Mr. Kiner, even if the photo is black and white.

The Cubs portion of Kin's bubble mailer closes out with a pair of more modern releases - Kris Bryant on a 2017 Topps Award Winners insert, which honors his winning the NL MVP award last season (a retail exclusive set) and "Mr. Cub" Ernie Banks via 2000 Upper Deck Legends.  These are a pair of awfully significant player in franchise history, both of which are new to my collection.

In regards to the latter card, this shiny beauty has a blurb on the bottom which reads, "one of the most-loved sports figures in Chicago history, "Mr. Cub" earned that honor with his demeanor and potent bat that accounted for over 500 homers."  First off, that write-up couldn't possibly more true.  Second of all, I love the picture that they chose, which shows off the road uniform (with the underline) in use throughout the 1950's.  Third, why is the legendary shortstop hoarding so many bats?!

Like I said, that did it for the Cubs portion of Kin's mailing; however, he was far from done:

Ooooooo - we're breaking out the big guns now.

Mr. Kinsley is on record as, how shall I say, strongly disliking the Cubs.  That said, some common ground that we have been able to bond over is the shine we've taken to the Chicago Blackhawks.  I'm assuming that this is a double for Kin, seeing as this /225, two-color jersey swatch of short-term Hawk Steve Sullivan is a dandy.  In fact, it's actually the very first hit to make it into my burgeoning Blackhawks All-Time Roster Collection.  If the mailer emptied here, I would have already considered it to be an overly generous housewarming gift; of course, Kin appears to have wanted my jaw to literally hit the ground.

If that was the case, then Kinsley certainly succeeded - here we have my first AND second certified autographs to be inserted into my BATRC.  Both of these bad boys hail from the 2001/2002 edition of the Be A Player Signature Series.  

Steve McCarthy clearly missed the point of the translucent white box at the bottom of the card, instead making use of pretty much the whole card to ink his John Hancock.  While Mr. McCarthy is not entirely new to my collection, this signed single easily boots his previous, plain entry into my Blackhawks binder.  On the other hand, Reto Van Arx was a name entirely new to said binder, making his inclusion a double-whammy of awesome, even if his entirely NHL career amounted to 19 games, with a +/- rating of -4 during the 2001-02 campaign.  With that in mind, let me just take a moment to give my appreciation to the current Blackhawks administration and the program that they've built.

Mr Kinsley positively kicked ass on this exceptionally generous gift, as he always does in our little exchanges - my apartment feels a little more welcoming already.  Kin, I'll make sure to put together an appropriate return package in the very near future.

I might have to move a few more times if this dude is always so doting with his housewarming gifts! 

The NSCC - The Epic Conclusion

If all goes according to plan, you should be reading this while I am in the midst of a 13-hour long drive down to Wilmington, North Carolina.  You see, my wife's best friend just so happens to live there and we are throwing the bride to be a kick-ass bridal shower.  Of course, we're going and little early and staying a little later so that we can make a nice vacation out of the trip as well - spend some time on the beaches, get out on a boat, explore the boardwalks, run a 5k (cuz I'm nuts), and all that jazz.  All in all, it's going to be one heckuva time and I cannot wait to get there.

Speaking of having a good time, it's time to show off the last portion of my haul from the National - I wouldn't want to leave you all hanging until I got back!  In part one, I gave a general overview of what I discovered.  For part two, we took a looksie into my virtual mailbox at the postcards that I found, un-stamped and delivered into my collection.  Meanwhile, in part three, we focused solely on the Renata Galasso T260 tobacco card reprint sheets that I happened upon, which thankfully came from a smoke-free environment (unlike the set which they were aping).  You're mind must be racing, at this point, "what will we cover today?"

The answer is:  a little bit of everything.

You see, the rest of the treasures that I uncovered didn't really have an overarching theme, like those in the previous two postings.  However, sometimes the moment calls for a nice, big stew; a concoction made up of several distinct and tasty ingredients which all blend together to make one tasty meal.  So, grab yourself a big, ol' spoon - let's dig in.

Initially, after the shock and awe of actually being at the National wore off, I was beginning to fear that some of my concerns were being confirmed.  As a seriously low-end collector with ultra-niche tastes, I was afraid that there simply wouldn't be anything in my wheelhouse at this high-end, mega show.  After about an hour of walking with nothing yet to show for it, I settled for this beat up '58 Morrie Martin, found in the discount bin of a vintage dealer, for fifty cents, just to get a baseline going.  Morrie pitched in 3 games at the end of his career with the Cubbies and was already repped in my CATRC binder; that said, his rep was a reprint and I always prefer authentic, when available.  The above single may be showing it's age, but how often does one come across 60 year old cardboard for spare change?  It was something, anyway.

Luckily, it wasn't long before I came across the first adrenaline-pumping discovery of the day.

I've been chasing this Bowman card since last September... which, in the grand scheme of things, isn't that long; however, in Burbs years, that's eons!

Jake Buchanan was called up by the Cubs last call-up season to make a spot start and a mop-up bullpen appearance, in order to keep the key arms rested for their deep playoff run - he'd been signed as a minor league free agent that April.  In his lone start, he earned the W against the Reds, pitching 5 shutout innings.  This was the extent of his Cubs career.  Of course, no matter how brief a tenure, a Cubs is a Cub and a binder card was required of the former Astros farmhand.

Jake during his only Cubs start, at the Great American Ballpark 9/30/16

The problem here was that Jake's only mainstream baseball card appearance came in 2012 Bowman Chrome, a product that none of my local vendors bother with.  Not wanting to overpay for a Buchanan on the internet left my lying in a sort of purgatory, hoping a copy of this one would eventually drop into my lap.  At the National, it finally did.

While digging through a dollar box in the middle aisles of the convention hall, I found a box dedicated solely to the Astros.  Just in case, I decided to flip through, on the off-chance that this insignificant pre-rookie might be nestled amongst the Correas, Bregmans, and Kuechels.  Imagine my surprise when it actually turned up, as a beautifully shiny Chrome refractor, on top of it all.  I couldn't hand my green Washington fast enough.

All in all, that might not be an exciting find to anyone but me - but, it's my blog, sooooooo....

Speaking of things that might appeal especially to certain bloggers...

Nick, from Dime Boxes, posted last night about digging through a 10-cent box stuffed with all sorts of reprints.  I'm pretty certain that I too spent time sifting through those gems, a few days prior.  As you can see in his wrap-up, I made sure to leave plenty of good stuff behind for him.  Although, there was no way I was leaving this Dick Culler oddity behind.  While it looks like a Play Ball reprint on the surface, it's truly a "fantasy" card printed up by TCMA in 1983, a set conceptualized to fill in the gaps left behind in the 1944 original.

Culler would eventually go on to spend a year on Chicago's Northside, a fitting 48 games in 1948, near the end of the infielder's career.  I was when I uncovered this single in the handful of TCMA's stashed in the box.  I think the vendor was actually a little confused over how I could be so excited over a ten cent "reprint."

In order to get back in his good graces, I made sure to flesh out my dime box dig with a few more cards so as to get up to a full buck.  There were no more CATRC needs hidden within; but, there were plenty of these PPG Indy Car World Series singles from 1991.  As a massive Indy 500 fan, I was content to take these home with me.  In fact, Gordon Johncock, Johnny Rutherford, and Duane "Pancho" Carter also competed in the NASCAR ranks, making these cards perfect additions to my corresponding binder.  Meanwhile, the Bettenhausens, one of racing's most famous families, are local legends in these parts, putting nearby Tinley Park, IL on the motorsport map.  For a dime, these racers were definitely going to be mine.

Okay, so far, I've been showcasing the "niche-iest" of my finds; I promise that we're getting to the good stuff now.  Most people loves vintage, right?  Everybody gets a kick out of oddball vintage, yes?  Good thing I ran across a dude with a small box full of discounted Mother's Cookies singles...and we're not talking about the stadium giveaways from the 80's either...

Most of us are familiar with their 80's endeavor; but did you know that the confectioners dipped their toes in the baseball waters thirty years previous?  In fact, they produced two brightly-colored, under-sized sets, in 1953 and 54, based around the old Pacific Coast League.

Thanks to their recognizable name, attractive look and inclusion of several future/former MLB'ers, these old cookie cards are kind of tough to find and expensive when they do show up.  I've seen a few of these Richards go in the range of $20-50, before shipping, based on condition - too much for one card to this cheapskate.  I almost peed myself when I negotiated the seller down to five bucks for Red Lynn up there.  That's cheaper than a pack of 2017 Stadium Club, for cryin' out loud.

Red also some brief action with the NY Giants, image courtesy of Getty

Before suiting up with the Hollywood Stars, Red tossed some war-time innings for the Cubbies in 1944.  Despite those 22 games (5-4, 4.06) being the end of his MLB career, as the cookies attest, Red hung around the pro ranks for quite a while.  In fact, he hung on until the age of 42 in 1956.  Despite his lengthy stay in our nation's pastime, the lavender beauty you see above is one of only two Lynn baseball cards to ever hit the market, making it even more of a steal for a Lincoln flash card!

The only thing that could have made the purchase even better was if it actually came with some cookies.

Had that been the end of my shopping spree, I would ended the day with an ear-to-ear grin.  But, this was the National - as long as I kept looking, I was going to keep finding.  Before I left the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, I decided to circle through the first couple of aisles, which had previously produced almost nothing for me (as previously noted), just in case.  It's a darn good thing I did too, because it allowed me to end the afternoon of baseball card hunting with an exclamation point.

It may be taped up, but this 1949 Bowman Ralph Hamner high-number set was also negotiated down to a scant five bucks.  Ummmm... yes please!

Good thing I turned out to be adept at haggling because that last five bucks completely exhausted my budget; that said, I couldn't have be happier to turn that bill over.  Ralphie here spent the '47-'49 seasons at Wrigley Field and I've been targeting this classic from 1949 for my CATRC binder for many moons; I've never seen it with a price less than 10 bucks, in any condition.  Without it, I would have never learned that Hamner's MLB career almost closed before it began, as he suffered a broken back while diving for a ball in the minors.  Ouchy!

Thankfully, I didn't break my budget on this bad boy.

With that, we've finally reached the end of my massively productive haul from the 2017 National. In the end, I was able to track down an eye-popping thirteen new additions to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder.  For frame of reference, I consider any card show where I'm fortunate enough to uncover one new name to be a success - these are uncharted waters!  That's not even accounting for the auxiliary awesomeness that appeared alongside the roster additions.  I truly felt like a little kid after a spree through the local candy shop.  And no sugar crash afterwards!

Thank you for reading through my bragging, I just had to sing the praises of my time at the National and the blogosphere seemed like the perfect audience.  I hope you enjoyed the read half as much as I enjoyed the ride!  If you ever get the chance to go,no matter what kind of collector you are, I highly recommend that you take that opportunity.

Simply put - it's baseball card nirvana.

The NSCC - Holy Sheet!

Here we are, day three of my humble bragging about what I was lucky enough to come across at the. National Sports Collectors Conference.  So far, in part one, I gave you the general overview of what I uncovered while wandering, mouth agape, about the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in nearby Rosemont, IL; plus, you got to check out the hottest rookie card to hit the market (forget Judge and Bellinger).   Then, in part two, I went completely "postal," in that I spent our time together showing off the postcards of long-forgotten Cubs players of yore which just so happened to fill some gaps in my CATRC binder that I wasn't sure would ever be filled.  For once, "mailing it in" wasn't a bad way to approach a blog post!

With that, I know you must be on the edge of your seat, desperate to find out what we'll be gazing at with awe today.  So, let's get right down to business.

As I've mentioned countless times throughout this blog's history, at this point in my CATRC, most of the players I'm chasing hail from the 1940s and earlier and, thus, lack the cardboard footprint of more modern ball players.  This means that, oftentimes, my selections are limited to super vintage and ultra rare curiosities - not friendly to this penny-pinching collector.  When I come across them, I'm content to let reprints hold down the fort until I win the lottery enough times to buy the stacks of strip and tobacco cards I'll need to complete my task.  That's why, when I saw this stash of oddballs at one vendors table, all I could think was "holy sheet - these are going to fill in a bunch of gaps:"

Entire, un-separated sheets of Renata Galasso T206 reprints!  Now we're cooking with gas.

There are upwards of a dozen subjects in what might be the most famous baseball card issue of all-time who have thus far eluded my grasp.  If I were to sit around and wait until I scrounged up enough funds to purchase all of those singles, I might be paying for them with my first retirement check.  Thanks to the revered Renata Galasso, the queen of oddball baseball cards, and her reprints of the early 1980's, I can now cross some of these names off of my "need" list without taking food out of my own mouth.

You know what that means, I definitely perforated these bad boys - sorry, not sorry.

At this particular table, the seller had four different, full sheets available for purchase. However, sadly, my limited, cash only budget only had enough wiggle room for me to land two of them.  Moral of the story - always make sure you have your debit card BEFORE you peel out from an ATM.  Oh well, I think Meatloaf would still agree that two out of four ain't bad - heck, you're batting .500!

Renata released this set of T206 reprints in both perforated sheets and as a boxed set, circa 1983.  As I am writing this, I see no confirmation that her re-do's contain all of the original cards from "the Monster" (as the large set is affectionately known); however, that is certainly doubtful.
A lot of the big names of the era are included on the sheets that I did end up pulling the trigger on - Mordecai Brown and his three fingers, Joe Tinker (sans his poetic teammates), plus some non-Cubs notables like that Cy Young fellow and Tris Speaker.  Of course, being the roster obsessed collector I am, the only names that concerned me were the obscure ones.

I'm talking about guys like Johnny Bates and Jake Weimer, Deadball Era players whose fame did not translate through the decades.  The former, Bates, was a regular in the outfield for the Boston (as pictured), Philly, and Cincy clubs from 1906-13, before being released mid-season in '14.  Nearing the end of his rope, Johnny inked a deal with the Cubbies, with whom he finished out the year with nine more games with one hit in eight at-bats.  After one more year with the rebel Federal League in Baltimore, Bates racked his Major League bat for the last time.

Meanwhile, Jake Weimer broke in immediately as regular in the Cubs' starting rotation in 1903, posting a 20-8 record and never winning less than 18 contests in his three total seasons in the Windy City.  With a strong starting staff and an opening at third base, Chicago decided to swap Weimer to the Reds for Jimmy Sebring and the answer to everyone's favorite trivia question, Harry Steinfeldt.  Of course, that trivia question is, "who played third base during the Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance era?"

Just a couple o' Bills here.

Bill Bradley was a longtime Cleveland Blue/Nap/Indian; but, he broke into the Bigs with the Chicago National League franchise, before the turn of the century, in 1899.  After playing a year and a half as the starting third baseman for the then-Orphans, Bradley "jumped" on over to Cleveland in pursuit of a more lucrative offer to play in the newly-formed American League.

Billy Maloney did some jumping himself, from team-to-team, throughout the first decade of the twentieth century.  During his sole season with the Second City, Maloney managed to lead the NL in stolen bases, with 59 swipes.  Of course, he also lead the league in strikeouts, with all of 59 - 'twas simply a different time.  Also, gotta love the old-timey field (that almost looks more like a carnival than a ballpark) in the background of Billy' lithograph.

Finally, here's the card I was most happy to see included on these Galasso sheets:  John Ganzel.

Ganzel was a teammate of Billy Maloney's at Rochester when this set was originally released in cigarette packages.  By then, he was nine-years removed from his one year stint with the Chicago club.  Of course, playing as a first baseman there was a fool's assignment, seeing as HOF'er Frank "The Peerless Leader" was firmly entrenched and not going anywhere.  As such, Ganzel was traded away after just 78 contests in 1900.  Not to be deterred, John stuck around in the pro ranks all the way through the 1918 season.

That said, none of that has anything to do with the fact that THIS seemingly innocent trading card was my favorite find of the bunch.  In fact, the reason truly has nothing to do with the card or John himself at all - this is the reason why:

That's right - Ebay notifications are the true reason... they've been driving me bonkers.  Granted, that is a rather short drive.

I, like many a collector, have a ton of saved searches on my Ebay account, lest a card that I desire show up and run right under my nose.  Additionally, I have notifications turned on for that very same reason - simply put, like Aerosmith, I just don't want to miss a thing.  For whatever reason, I'd been getting pop up notes for "new items" in relation to Mr. Ganzel, at the rate of at least once a day, for several weeks.  A rational person might have just turned off notifications or deleted that search; but, I just knew that if I did that, someone would list an off-condition, Ganzel T206 for a bargain basement price and I would miss it.

Like I said, short drive.  Regardless, my long, national nightmare is now over - I have a Ganzel and I can stop following that search, with it's kooky, rogue pop ups.

Btdubs, that photograph on my lock screen comes from a charity promotion put on by the local commuter railroad earlier this summer.  They brought in the "Joliet Rocket" (NKP 765) to roll down our line, pulling a special excursion train.  Seeing as another one of my longstanding passions is railroading and it's history, watching this galloping 2-8-4 steam locomotive roar through town made my hair stand on end.  It's incredible to think that when guys like Ganzel, Maloney, Bradley, Weimer and Bates were entertaining fans on the diamond, this was simply a normal, everyday scene.

Anyway, all told, courtesy of the Renata Galasso discovery, I was able to add five new names to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder that otherwise might have taken me years to track down elsewhere.  Thank you for your oddballs and reprints, Mrs. Galasso - this collection would look drastically different without your efforts!

This concludes part three of the series about my finds at the National.  Stay tuned, for tomorrow we will wrap everything up, with a tidy bow on top, with a potpourri.  Oddballs?  Check ✅.  Ultra vintage? Check ✅.  Refractors?  Check ✅.  We're going to go out with a grand finale-like bang.

All you'll be able to say is, "holy sheet!"

Sacrificing Your First Born

I know what you're thinking - "Tony, you're supposed to be bragging and showing off the next portion of your haul from the National today!"  Well, sorry folks, first I have to cover the deadline deals made by the Cubs in the last 48 hours.  I assure you I will get back to gloating tomorrow; but, first...

When the keystone of your baseball card collection is built around the all-time roster of your favorite team, there are a few key dates on the MLB calendar which necessitate your vigilant attention:  the end of World Series play (players can officially file for free agency), September 1st (the playoff roster cut-off) and July 31st (the non-waiver trade deadline).  In reference to the latter, here we stand on the day after with the Major League landscape looking quite different than it did 24-hours previously.  Sonny Gray finally swapped hands after what felt like years of rumors, the Dodgers managed to pry away Yu Darvish at the buzzer, and relievers bounced around like Illinois lottery ping-pong balls.

In the midst of all that craziness, Theo Epstein quite literally demanded the first born son of Tigers' General Manager, Al Avila:

That Epstein - he's one ruthless dude, huh?

Throughout the late night hours of Sunday night, bleeding into Monday morning, rumors swirled that a deal was about to be consummated between the Motor City and the Windy City.  Al's son, Alex, had long been mentioned as a trade target for the Northsiders, especially since Miggy Montero went postal back in late June and earned a one-way ticket to Toronto.  In need of some veteran leadership behind the dish, Alex's modest, one-year contract fit the mercenary bill while also putting a potent bat to the table, as well.  In short, it was the perfect match.

Will it make Christmas a little awkward in the Avila household?  Maybe - but, then again, pops did give his son a chance to punch a ticket to the playoffs.  However, when word of the potential deal began to trickle out, it wasn't Alex's name which was originally attached to the trade:

Justin Wilson was the man the rumor mill was swirling around that night, another oft-mentioned target of the Cubs.  Of course, as a reliable, lefty reliever, with closing experience, and an extra year of team control, Wilson perked the ears of just about every club within sniffing distance of postseason slot.  Not to mention, the recently anointed closer had already posted 13 saves to go along with a 2.68 ERA and 12.3 K's per nine innings.  In short, he's looked damn good in 2017.

 That said, ultimately, it was the Cubs who came out on top of the Wilson (and Avila) sweepstakes, with their offer of corner-infield prospect Jeimer Candelario, A-ball shortstop Isaac Paredes, the ubiquitous player to be named later getting the Tigers to bite.

"The Candy Man" has already had a couple whacks at the Major League roster in Chicago, but was unable to capitalize on his opportunities, slashing an anemic .136/.240/.250 across 50 PA's, this year and last.  However, the Cubs' number one prospect was very much blocked in Chicago, seeing as he was playing behind Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, who won't be going anywhere anytime soon.  Simply put, he just didn't have a spot on this team's roster anywhere down the line; thus, it makes all the sense in the world that he was dangled as trade bait.  If Jeimer is afforded a lengthy trial in Detroit, I do believe the massive power potential and plus-defense that he showed in the minors will shine through on the Tigers roster.

As for Paredes, he was a crown jewel signing from last year's IFA signing period.  While he's shown some promise and quick progression so far, A-ball prospects are pretty much a crapshoot.  We'll have to check back in a few years to see how this part of the deal works out.

Of course, every move in roster jenga has an equal an opposite reaction - it's the first rule of roster construction physics.  In this case, while the 40-man roster did have one extra spot open for Avila, somebody was going to have to make way for the addition of Mr. Wilson.  As it turns out, the odd man out this time around happens to be Dylan Floro, who had been constantly buying bus tickets back and forth from Iowa and Chicago, rotating through that final bullpen spot with a whole host of others.  All told, the offseason minor-league depth signing ended up getting into three games (though he sat around A LOT), giving up 7 ER in 9.2 innings, leading to his eventual DFA - I don't think he'll be missed that much.  

Although, I suppose Floro could clear waivers and be optioned to the minor leagues... in fact, that actually seems quite likely.  That said, I feel fairly confident that even if that should come to pass, Floro can stop worrying about bus fare.

While not entirely related to the trade deadline maneuverings, I do feel compelled to mention that another short-term Cubs hurler was sent packing a few days prior.  Brett Anderson, brought into to provide some production out of the fifth slot in the starting rotation, was also designated for assignment as part of a roster crunch.

Anderson was ineffective in a trial run early in the 2017 season, with his ERA rising above eight.  Then, the already injury prone hurler suffered a back injury, which required a lengthy stint on the disabled list.  In his absence, Mike Montgomery stepped in and proved to be an adept starter while the Cubs also made their major splash of the trade season in acquiring Jose Quintana.  Thus, when it came time to activate the erstwhile starter, there was simply no place to put him.  Here's hoping that the entertaining Tweeter lands on his feet somewhere and finally gets healthy enough to reclaim his 2015 form.

The Cubs big acquisition of 2017 was made a few weeks prior.

So, there you have it - the Major League Baseball non-waiver trading deadline, as told from the perspective of the Chicago Cubs.  Going into the swapping season, the Cubs had a few glaring needs:  A) at least one, cost and team controlled starter, B) a veteran receiver to spell Willson Contreras, and C) some bullpen reinforcement (like pretty much every baseball club).  In acquiring Jose Quintana, Alex Avila, and Justin Wilson, Theo and Co. check off every single box on their "to-get" list - a feet I can't even seem to accomplish when grocery shopping.

With the team having already flipped the script on the 2017 season, coming out of the gates, guns a'blazing after the All-Star break, I'm excited to see how these new reinforcements blend in with the team.  If all goes according to plan, the Brewers might just have to wait 'til next year and the Dodgers and the Nationals could have to share a little bit of the spotlight with the re-emerging Cubbies.  These moves came with a high prospect cost, but in order to get quality, you have to get quality - that's the price of doing business in Major League Baseball.

Thankfully for GM's across the league, that price doesn't ALWAYS include your first born son.