Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

"Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to."

From what I've seen on the internet during the build up to and immediate aftermath of the release of Topps' 2018 Flagship offering, many a card collector is applying TLC to their collection this year.  By that, I don't mean "tender love and care," because obviously we all do maintain those principles with our favorite fragile strips of paper.  Rather, I'm referring to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez and company and their ubiquitous little ditty known as Waterfalls.  The 90's R&B classic tells the story of a mother imploring her daughter to stay grounded, not to chase waterfalls, and to stick with what she's used to.

Of course, the song is actually a commentary about the HIV/AIDS epidemic; but, that's another story for another blog.

At any rate, I've noticed many a collector voice their distaste with what's become known as "the waterfall" set; making note of how the release has inspired them to stick with vintage cards (aka, what they're used to).  In their second year of no-borders, Topps has made use of a colored swirl, which has been mocked mercilessly by vociferous collectors, as part of the "lower-third graphic" in the design, appropriate for a set which (again) looks like a TV visual put together by ESPN.  I must admit, that general displeasure had kept me from getting too excited about it's release... well, that and a few other factors.

After all, this is a busy time of the school year, with the quarter ending and report cards being due.  Additionally, I was in Texas for four days last week for a conference, including the day Topps dropped.  Between the airports, convention centers, and late night food runs, I couldn't find the time or desire for another side jaunt to a Walmart or Target in the Lone Star State.  Furthermore, while many were preoccupied with the new visuals of the card set, I was left unimpressed with the checklist of the product. Considering my ultra-niche collecting habits, I suppose this shouldn't come as much of a surprise; nevertheless, I was disappointed that there were no Cubs debuts in the product (plus Koji Uehara, for some reason).  All of this considered, I was in no rush to taste the new stuff.

But, eventually sirens' call of new baseball cards wormed it's way into my head.  Yesterday (after a loooooooong day at work), a week after it's hitting store shelves, I made an impulsive trip to my LCS in search of Waterfalls - sorry, TLC.  Anyway, since I wasn't thrilled with the checklist and I'm a cheapskate, I was pleased to discover that my longtime baseball card provider had a small bin of 2018 singles near the register, especially this one:

"Q" appeared in the Update set last year and even had a Topps Now card printed in his name after his trade across the Windy City; however, I still had yet to track down a proper Cubs card to represent one of the most underrated hurlers in baseball for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

In the meantime, I had to settle for this 2014 White Sox Factory Team Set single that my brother gifted me with for my marquee binder:

Personally, I think blue and red suit Jose much better; but, that's just me.  After his strikeout rate exploded to 28.3%  post-trade in 2017 (normally around 20%),  I cannot wait to see what the lefty does for the North Siders over the course of a full season in their rotation.

The reverse side makes note of Jose's phenomenal Cubs debut, where we whiffed 12 Orioles on July 16th - he was absolutely masterful. Along with that that tidbit, we get Jose's vitals, social media handles, five years of statistics, and lots of impossible to read legalese.

For a couple quarters (hometown markup), I was quite content having chased down this "waterfall" for my CATRC.  That being acknowledged, there were still a few Cubs to be had in that bin of 2018 singles and the sirens compelled me to add one more card to my small purchase:

How could I pass up this image of Willson Contreras, soon to surpass Yadier Molina as the best catcher in the National League, looking so positively jubilant?  For spare change, might as well throw this beauty into the CATRC, as well, seeing as that epic photograph perfectly captures the spirit of the young backstop.

A quick search of Getty Images fills us in on the context of the scene - Contreras had just jacked a late-inning solo shot to tie their June 19th tilt against the Padres, a game they would go on to win 3-2.  In that situation, I'd be pretty pumped up too!

WillCo is a wonderful talent to watch at the plate and behind it, but the emotion he brings to the game makes him perhaps the most electric player on the roster.

The fun fact given on the back of Willson's card is about as obscure of a baseball stat as you can get.  If you cannot read that text, the gist of it is that Contreras was the first catcher in Major League Baseball history to lead off a game with a home run in his first ever start from the lead-off position.  I want to know who tracked that tidbit down!

In the end, these two 2018 Flagship singles ended up being the only cards that I purchased from the LCS yesterday.  It might have been a decidedly low dollar day, but I was much happier to spend a dollar and change on two cards that I know I wanted rather than almost three bucks on a random pack and hoping the baseball card gods shined down upon me favorably.  Yea... as much as I like this particular shop, I definitely do not enjoy the fact that he pumps up the prices on all of his new stuff.

 As far as the controversial design of the cards themselves, I must admit, I don't hate it.  While it did look a little silly when the initial sell sheet dropped a few months back, in hand, these cards look pretty darn decent.  That much-maligned waterfall that cups the team logo is color-coordinated with each franchise as well - a characteristic that I always appreciate.  In fact, I think I like it better than either the 2017 or 2016 layouts.  That said, I do kind of miss borders.

Overall, is it my favorite Flagship design of all-time?  Noooooooooooooooo way - far from it!  Is it my least favorite design to ever hit the market?  Also, decidedly not.  But, if the player selection varies a little more to my liking for the Factory Team Sets, Series II, and Update, I wouldn't be opposed to chasing down a few more waterfalls for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

In the meantime, in the comments section below, please feel free to let me know what you think of the 2018 edition of Topps' Flagship offering.  Are you one of the collectors who will be sticking "to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to?"  Is the waterfall goofy?  Are you lukewarm on the whole thing, as I am?  Or, are you the rare bird who actually adores this design?  Curious minds want to know!

As for me, I'll be spending the rest of my day hopelessly trying to get TLC out of my head...

You're Undeliverable

Several months back, I came up with an idea to fill some slots in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection that would otherwise be impossible.   With a history that dates back to the days of President Grant, I always knew that completing my ultimate collecting goal of one card of EVERY Cub would be, to put it bluntly, impossible; so many short-term Cubs lack any sort of cardboard representation.  However, I don't completely suck with Photoshop and a large handful of these players from the 50's and 60's are still alive.  Therefore, why not whip up my own baseball cards featuring their likenesses and send them off TTM?  I feel as though a signature by the depicted athlete makes the piece a legit collectible and, thus, more desirable for my collection than a fantasy piece.  Certainly better than a vacant slot.

So far, I've had a pair of successes during the course of this mission - both Footer Johnson and John Pyecha kindly obliged.  However, after a few months of inactivity, I was disappointed to find my first failure sitting in my mailbox 😞:

Rationally, I knew that not everything was going to come back successfully; but, nevertheless I was kinda proud of how this particular custom turned out and I had high hopes for this return. C'est la vie.

For the heck of it, here's a closer look at my take on Thomas "Duke" Simpson:

I went to the trouble of colorizing the only photo of "Duke" that I could find on the internet, a black and white original.  Then, I attempted to mimic the "hand-painted" style of 1953 Topps - a template I chose because Simpson's only MLB action came during that season.  A painting of Fenway made the perfect background, even if Mr. Simpson never actually took the mound in Boston.  Overall, I was mildly happy with my colorization and thought my custom mimed the style of the original card set well enough to cross my fingers and hope for TTM success.

Heck, I even went to the trouble of creating a back side for my custom "Duke":

According to the write-up that I included on the back:

"Thomas attended the University of Notre Dame for just one semester before enlisting in the U.S. Army.  After his service, he enrolled at The Ohio State University, where he starred in both the classroom and on the pitcher’s mound.  After graduation, he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics organization, tossing a seven inning no-hitter for Savannah in the Sally League in 1950.  The Cubs took over his contract this winter in the Rule 5 Draft and hope that the young hurler can earn a regular spot in their rotation or bullpen for 1953 and beyond.  When “Duke” takes the mound at Wrigley Field for the first time, the tall, lanky moundsman will be making his Major League Baseball debut."

As you can tell, I wrote it up as it might read had he actually occupied a slot in the second offering of Topps' checklist.  After making the team out of spring training in '53, Simpson stuck with the Big club all season, making 30 appearances coming mostly out of the bullpen.  All told, his next theoretical baseball card would show a 1-2 record, with an 8.00 ERA in 40 innings for his only MLB season.

With such a dud of a season, it's no surprise that Mr. Simpson was ignored by Topps and Bowman and, best as I can tell, he never appeared on any sort of trading card.  Thus, when I came across a TTM address on the Sports Card Forum with a recent success, I whipped up the above custom in hopes of his authenticating it with his signature.  Obviously, that did not work out - apparently the 90 year old has moved in the last year.  Hopefully all is well for the former Cubs moundsman.

Previous to this disappointing "return to sender," the last sight of my initial round of TTM's came back on November 10th, courtesy of John Pyecha.  So, of course - after months of inactivity - the very next day after Simpson came back, I found another familiar envelope in my mailbox:

And wouldn't ya know it, it's another failure - I guess when it rains, it pours.  😞x2

Of course, this may be a case of the cosmic forces of the universe protecting me from myself.  Upon further examination of my work upon return, I noticed that I made some pretty glaring errors on this card, which was based on 1966 Topps (Bob's maiden campaign). So, perhaps it's better off that Mr. Raudman never actually saw it and it's rather embarrassing mix-ups.

For whatever reason, I decided that Bob was a pitcher when I put this card together; the reality is that he played 16 games in the Chicago outfield, from 1966-67.  In fact, I can find no record of Raudman having ever taken the mound in a professional setting; thus, I have no idea what I was thinking when I drafted his card.  Maybe his name just sounds "pitcherish?"

Furthermore, that wasn't even the worst error - I wasn't careful enough with my image search and the photo culled from the internet is actually of former Cubs catcher, Randy Bobb.  Therefore, I managed to both screw up his position and his photograph on the card I created to "properly" represent him in my collection.  It's a damn wonder that I spelled his name right... I did spell his name correctly, right?

As if that wasn't enough, I got lazy and didn't even bother with drafting a back, in an attempt to get the monstrosity into the mail more quickly.  Egad - yea, I'm definitely glad that the USPS was unable to deliver this monstrosity... I likely would have insulted the man!

Here's the real Bob Raudman, during his brief Cubs trial.

"Shorty" Raudman stood 5'9" and posted a .200/.228/.236 slash line in 57 plate appearances.  The purported slugger once popped 20 long balls (1966 with Tacoma) in the PCL, but never went yard with the Cubbies.  Maybe he should have tried pitching?  Anyway, although his Major League career was quite short, his time with the Cubs organization was quite long, as the minor league vet toiled in the minors with the franchise from 1961-67, plus one bonus year in the Cincy chain in 1968.  Also, fun fact, the thrill-seeker was a professional dirt bike racer during the off-season and one manager described him as a "Hell's Angel."


Being that his time in the show was so brief and relatively unsuccessful, it should come as no surprise that Topps never honored "Shorty" with a spot in their Flagship set.  Plus, to my knowledge, he never appeared in a retrospective or regional oddball checklist, necessitating my "hail mary" attempt at getting his signature on my custom creation.  That said, after doing some further research, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, just like Tom Brady in Super Bowl LLI, I came up empty.

According to this article from the Duluth News Tribune from back in 2011, Mr. Raudman has fallen on hard times.  In the fall of that year, the local hero (then 69) was arrested for allegedly striking his wife at their Minnesota home.  It was then discovered that complications from dementia had left him incompetent to understand the charge against him and unable to assist with his own defense.  From there, the domestic assault charge was dismissed and Raudman was civilly committed to a secure mental health facility.  Yikes.

We can only hope that Raudman got the help he needed - dementia is a terrible and debilitating disease.  On the bright side, he again turned up in the public record in October of 2016, when he was interviewed by the local Fox affiliate about his former club's World Series run - “It’s great they finally made it to the World Series,” said Raudman.  It's also implied that he and his wife were able to reconcile.

Here's hoping that all is well in the Raudman clan and things have settled down.

"Shorty" giving an interview in 2008 with The Average Guys.

Thankfully, the streak of failures ended at two days.  As of now, I have had two successes, two failures, and I still have two more outstanding requests.  Here's hoping those other two that are still in the care of the United States Postal Service actually made it to their intended targets.

Now, after all of that, I'm left with a few questions.  Barring the possibility of tracking down new addresses to send out my customs to Simpson and Raudman (I don't think I'll be bothering Bob, though), what do I do with my custom cards?  Do I include them in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, sans autograph?  Should they count towards my ultimate total of Cubs players acquired?  Do I disregard them because custom cards aren't "real" cards?  What would you do in this situation, eh?

One thing is for certain though: those error-ridden Raudman cards are going straight into the recycling.

Broders, Popcorn, and Wine

If you've been in the hobby for any significant length of time, especially if you collected in the late 80's, you're probably familiar with the term "Broder cards."  Although they are far less common today, as baseball card collecting became a major business in the decade of Ronald Reagan, Michael Jackson, and hairspray, a wannabe photographer by the name of Rob Broder saw an opportunity to get his work into the public eye.  Broder snapped photographs at Major and minor league ballparks across the country and began to print his work as minimalist baseball cards, under various pseudonyms, and let them loose into a card-hungry market.  Card shows and shops across the country hawked Broder's work as "promos," when they were really more akin to counterfeit and lead to several cease and desists from the powers that be.

Though this strategy did not lead to success in the field of photography for Rob, he was able to make a lasting impression on the baseball card world.  To this day, his surname is used as a catch-all descriptor, applied to all manners of unlicensed cards produced without the approval of Major League Baseball and/or the MLB Players' Association.  I mean, there are certainly worse things to be remembered for, right?

However, this is all fairly common knowledge to the veteran card collector -  these oft-rounded corner oddballs have been lurking in or around our binders for a few decades now.  That said, did you know that trading cards are sort of a Broder family business?  That's right - Rob Broder was not the first of his clan to dabble in the baseball card market... but, we'll get back to that.

First, allow me to introduce you to Frank Ernaga, who, in turn, had one of the greatest Major League introductions of all-time.  Debuting for the Cubs in  May of 1957, the young outfielder homered in his very first at-bat, tripled in his second, and then drew a walk just for good measure.  The pitcher that day -  Hall of Famer Warren Spahn.  From there it was off to the races.

In his next start, Frank went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, and a walk in a 5-4 Cubs victory. Then, the very next day, he tripled in a pinch-hitting cameo.  All told, the wunderkind's first week in the Bigs produced an astounding five extra base hits (and two free passes) in just eight at-bats.  Surely the Cubbies had a special talent on their hands, eh? Of course, since you probably don't recognize his name, you likely have put it together that it was all downhill from here for Ernaga.

His propensity to strike out is what eventually did him in (16 K's in 52 career AB's) and Frank was back in the bushes by summertime.  After a September recall and a brief cup of joe in '58, that was all she wrote for Ernaga's MLB stat line.

Our shooting star trots home after hitting a home run during his 1st AB. Image courtesy of Lassen County Times.

After that debut for the ages, Frank found himself back in the PCL for a little more seasoning, playing for the Cubs-affiliated Portland Beavers.  It is in a Beavers uniform that Ernaga is pictured with in the photograph which kicks off this post.  Despite his initial smash, Frank was never pictured on a Major League card, due to his fleeting glory, and this Portland oddball represents his only baseball card appearance.  Thus, it has been a target for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection for many years and, after searching high and low, I was finally able to track down the slippery devil on Ebay last week.

This 2"x3", black and white oddity is printed on super thin cardstock, barely a step above index card quality.  Also, it's hard to tell in this scan, but we know that it was printed as part of a sheet, seeing as remnants of the cards on either side were left behind when Frank was sliced out.  Frank doesn't seemed too bummed about that - he is absolutely beaming in this posed sideline shot, even though the shadows are creeping across his face.

Overall, the simplistic card is extremely basic, devoid of even text.  The backside continues this minimalist theme:

No stats, no write-up, all we get is Frank's name, position, team affiliation. and the set information, type-written and centered in white space.  Based on the info presented, one can thus be forgiven for thinking that this oddball hails from 1957 and being distributed with bags of popcorn.  After all, cards of this very size and "design" were handed out in that very manner by teams across the Pacific Coast League in the mid-50's.  However, despite the simple design, there is actually more than meets the eye going on here.

Remember how we were talking about Rob Broder capitalizing on the trading card boom and how he wasn't the first in his family to enter the business?  Well, Frank Ernaga's only known baseball card is an example of the work of Rob's father, Ed Broder, who issued several semi-legitimate collector's issues during the 1970's.  Like father, like son.

Some of Ed's most famous work includes his sets based around the '74 Mets and the then-current lineups of the Nippon League; additionally, his portfolio included this PCL "Popcorn" set, which intentionally mimicked the originals, though it was released circa 1974  (it's like an unlicensed Heritage project).  Thankfully, his projects shined the spotlight on many forgotten players from the days of yore - i.e., Frank Ernaga and the player who accompanied him in my Ebay mailer:

Here we have a more forlorn-looking Portland Beaver- though, again, it's kind of hard to tell due to the shadows drawn across his face.  Maybe his mood is due to the fact that there's no one in the stands or because his Major League career would only amount to 32 games, from 1956-57, and an anemic .209/.243/.299 batting line.  This third baseman was a Chicago native and a teammate of Ernaga in both the Windy City and Portland and a fellow member of Ed Broder's Popcorn checklist:

The same seller who had Ernaga's Broder had whole heap of them for sale.  Before pulling my hair trigger on the purchase, I made sure to check out the rest of the bunch and, honestly, until I came across the listing for Ed Winceniak's (misspelled) single, I had no idea he was part of the set.  In fact, I had no idea that Ed had ever appeared on a baseball card of any type whatsoever.  Color me surprised!

At four bucks a pop(corn), I was able to cross two extremely obscure names cards off of my CATRC "needs" list, one of which on a card that I didn't even know existed.  Needless to say, I was one happy camper... of course, it probably didn't hurt that I was a little wine-drunk at the time too.   Normally, purchases I make while intoxicated don't seem so great in retrospect; but, I definitely do not regret this one.  Plus, despite my state, I was able to remember that I had a Xmas gift card leftover and charged the purchase to that Visa; so, they were basically free.  

Nevertheless, I probably shouldn't shop for baseball cards while drunk anymore... that situation has disastrous potential:

"Yea, I... *hiccup*... deserve this!"

Has anyone else ever purchased cards while tipsy?  Do you have any horror stories?  Does anyone else have a few of these original Broders?  How do you feel ab out these unlicensed, oddball trading cards?  Do you view them as legit cards or something akin to counterfeit?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Adding Ernaga and Winceniak to my CATRC binder now leaves me with 1,534 Cubs cards out of 2,075 all-time players - this is good for a 73.93% completion rate.  I'm nearly three quarters of the way through my lifetime quest!  

All I can say is thank goodness for Ed, Rob and their unlicensed Broder baseball cards.  Without their work, I'd have never been able to fill those slots.  Also, wine and Visa gift cards are pretty cool too. 

 

The Third Annual Obligatory Super Bowl Post

It's that time of year again - the "big game" is just around the corner and Minneapolis is now the focal point of the entire sports universe.  As is per annual tradition, the Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will make their eighth appearance in the championship game, taking on the underdog Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.  In the meantime, we sports fans all have to sit through insufferable amounts of articles, news segments, and fluff pieces about the game, as we have been since the conclusion of the AFC and NFC title bouts.

Also an annual tradition is the fact that I have absolutely no rooting interest in the match-up.  My Chicago Bears have been once in my lifetime (and that was a clunker) and it doesn't appear as though they'll be in the mix any time soon.  Also, while everyone loves to hate the Pats and their evil empire, I can't say that I lose sleep over Bill Belichik filling up his jewelry box.  However, I still like parties, copious amounts of junk food, halftime concerts, and commercials more akin to short, art films; thus, I will still be watching the tilt.  And, since I normally feel like I should find something to latch on with one of the competing clubs, for the past few years, I've used this annual exercise to figure out who to cheer for.

Since starting Wrigley Roster Jenga, I've reviewed the rosters for both, dueling franchises and thrown my support behind the team with the most ex-Bears on the sidelines:

The ways things stand, technically, the Patriots only have one former Monster of the Midway on their payroll and, barring total disaster, on the sidelines he will stay.  Brian Hoyer was signed, mid-season, to backup the juggernaut known as Tom Brady, after their much-ballyhooed trade of Jimmy Garrapolo to the 49'ers.  Funny enough, it was San Fran that released Hoyer to the open market to make room for the former Brady understudy.

Of course, before all of that drama, Hoyer was one of countless QB's that were chewed up and spit out by the Bears.  Brian appeared in six games (starting five) for the forgettable 2016 iteration of the team.

However, the Patriots do have two other former Bears among their ranks; that said, they will definitely not be appearing in the "big game," seeing as they are both parked with injuries. 

Tight end,  Marty Bennett, was brought in from the Packers, midseason, but only appeared in two games before a shoulder injury ended his season.  Meanwhile, linebacker, Shea McClellin, has missed the entire 2017 campaign due to concussion problems.  Both had tumultuous stints in the Windy City, Bennett from 2013-15 and McClellin from 2012-15; however, since both are inactive, they don't count towards this exercise.

That covers the New England roster; now, let's examine the lineup for Philadelphia:

There was one obvious connection - Alshon Jeffery.  The wide-receiver spent several years in the Second City as one of the only stars in the lackluster Marc Trestman/John Fox era and ranks among the best ball-catchers in club history (his 4,549 receiving yards ranks third, all-time).  However, the relationship eventually soured and after much hemming and hawing, Jeffery took his talents to the City of Brotherly Love this past off-season.

Betcha he doesn't regret that decision.

The Eagles also feature a second former Bear on their active roster; but, my Bears All-Time Roster Collection does not feature his man.  As you can see above, I had to pilfer a scan of Corey Graham's only Bears card on COMC.

The NFL journeyman began his career with the Bears in 2007 and made the Pro Bowl with the team in 2011.  More recently, the free safety stole the spotlight with his interception of Vikings quarterback, Case Keenum, in NFC championship game, last week.  I'll have to make a note to track down some sort of cardboard representation for the guy in the near future.

And so, excluding the inactives, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots in the third annual obligatory Super Bowl post and, ordinarily, would thus earn my support for the big game on Sunday.  That being acknowledged, this year is a little bit different than the rest.

The Eagles won the exercise; however, they would still have my support over the Pats, regardless.  No, it's not because I hate Tom Brady (though his politics don't curry any favors with me), like most outside of the New England region.  The reason I will be rooting for the Eagles this weekend is because of my wife and in-laws.

You see, my wife and her family originally hail from Wilmington, Delaware -  a scant 32.5 miles away from our nation's first capitol.  As such, everyone in her clan is a rabid Eagles fan, including my wife herself.  Given that this is the first time that the team has made the Super Bowl since we've met, I'd have a damn hard time rooting against my own family (the holidays sure would be awkward) and the happiness of my better half (divorce is expensive).  So, with that in mind, the underdogs will have my full support come Super Bowl Sunday.

I guess this whole post was sort of pointless then... oh well.

via GIPHY

In conclusion, I ask you loyal readers, who will you be rooting for in the 52nd edition of the Super Bowl?  Will you be cheering for continued greatness from the ageless wonder from Boston?  Will you be joining me and and my family in pulling for the scrappy underdog from Pennsylvania?  Will you be secretly hoping for a giant meteor to take out U.S. Bank Stadium?  Also, in the likely event that your team didn't make the final two, do you have some sort of special method to figure out who you will root for, like my ex-Bear factor exercise?  Or do you just sit back with a beer and a brat and take everything as it comes?  Inquiring minds want to know.

No matter what, the bottom line is that we're now just three more weeks away from baseball and spring training camps.  Personally, I think that's the best part about Super Bowl weekend!

Chicks Dig the Long Ball... and So Do I

I'm a pretty quiet guy and I don't like to stir the pot all that much.  Furthermore, I am a polite people pleaser and generally go out of my way not to offend those around me.  That being said, I do have one opinion that is, apparently, quite controversial.  Whenever I mention this thought, I am generally met with wrinkled, contorted faces and visceral disgust... sometimes even outright anger.  For the most part, no one seems to understand why I feel the way that I do and also consider immediately banning me from their social circle.  But, I am who I am and I'm not going to hide it from the blogosphere any longer...

I absolutely LOVE black licorice!!

Of course, I am using a dose of hyperbole to get my point across; but, nevertheless, I am often met with disgust and confusion when I mention this particular candy preference to those I encounter.  My family has always painted me a freak for hoarding black licorice jelly beans at Easter time, my friends give me the awkward side eye when I purchase bags of "that old lady candy" at the movie theater, and even shots of Jagermeister at the bar elicit nothing but groans from fellow patrons.  What is it about the slate-colored confection that creates such hostility?

Though that may be, nothing will sway my tongue and I from how we feel.  With that in mind, a couple of weeks ago, my mouth began to water as I scrolled through Twitter feed:

Long Ball Licorice Contest Winner Announced @BabesLongBall @RosterJengahttps://t.co/8heIq3sXcA

— Andrew Chrisman (@sportscardinfo) January 6, 2018

Andrew from Sports Card Info - one of our hobby's premier online voices - partnered with rookie candy-maker, Long Ball Licorice, to offer a free sample of their product to one lucky re-tweeter.  With my great affection for the dried root of the licorice plant, I couldn't help but click those rotating arrows.  Lo and behold, I just so happened to win the drawing - I was as giddy as a school girl!

Long Ball Licorice is a new product that was launched late last summer.  Andre Chiavelli worked for many years at Yankee Stadium as an official vendor of memorabilia and baseball cards at the ballpark.  As the years went by, he couldn't help but notice the ubiquity and importance of concessions at the stadium.  Furthermore, as bans and local ordinances against chewing tobacco worked their way up from the local ballparks and into the MLB limelight, he saw an opportunity to pursue an idea which had been kicking around in the back of his head for a long time:  plug-style licorice.

After two and a half years of development, the chaw substitute became a reality in 2017 and is now sitting on my kitchen table, courtesy of the generosity of Andrew and Andre:

As you can see from the business card that came along with my freebie, Chiavelli was able to secure the likeness of Babe Ruth as a sort of mascot for his new passion project.  It was during his tenure at the second iteration of "the house that Ruth built" that Andre made the acquaintance of and formed a lasting friendship with Linda Ruth Tosetti, the granddaughter of "Sultan of Swat."  Through this connection, he was able to secure the official license of the Babe Ruth Estate and the aptly named Long Ball Licorice had it's face - it was a perfect match.

Sidenote - this business card will likely be stashed in my oddball baseball card collection.  It's simply too cool to be ignored.

Here's a look at the bag which contains my prize - it has a lovely, ornate design, evocative of the rough and tumble days of early twentieth century baseball, along with George Herman Ruth's mug.  It's a good thing I was able to control myself long enough to take a picture of the package for posterity before I tore open the seal!

For the heck of it, you can take a gander at the back of the pouch, as well.  Along with a motivational quote from the baby-faced "Colossus of Clout" himself, you have the corresponding web address for Longball Licorice.  My favorite part of the whole package though is the fact that the government-mandated nutrition facts are labeled as "box score."  I got a nice chuckle out of that detail-oriented joke - it's the little things that make great things!

Now, while I may have been able to harness my hunger long enough to snap a quick pic of the pack before I tore into it, I can't say the same about the actual product itself...

Here's what remains of the 3.5 oz licorice bar, or plug as it is technically called.  Over the past handful of days, my lovely wife and I have been ripping hefty chunks out of the pliable brick and plopping them in our mouths.  I have been taking a piece and parking it in my cheek, a la smokeless tobacco, allowing the flavor to smoothly melt into my mouth.  Meanwhile, my wife has been attacking it head-on, taking a bite and chewing right into it for more immediate gratification.  Either method works, as the licorice is both soft and hearty, with a strong and pleasant flavor that leaves you wanting more.  Personally, I've had to fight myself from downing the whole thing in one sitting.

I know this sounds like some sort of sponsored endorsement, but I assure you that it is not; I just really, really, really enjoy black licorice!  However, if you're like most people that I've encountered (except my better half, who's one in a million) and dark licorice repels you in the manner of like-sided magnetic poles, there is another option:

Andre's creation also features a red raspberry variant, called Round Tripper Red, and red licorice seems to be almost universally loved.  I was offered my choice of either for my contest win, but there was little doubt that I was going to opt for the onyx-shaded stuff.  So, if you're one of those who scoffs at the notion of black licorice, I'm sure the crimson-colored version is quite tasty, probably even better than Red Vines or Super Ropes.  I know it's of high quality.

Right now, distribution of the candy appears to be limited to the Longball Licorice website and Amazon.  That said, it appears as though the plan is to expand to ballparks across America, in the coming year, so keep your eyes peeled when you hit your local stadium this spring.  Candy store distribution is also on the horizon.

If you're looking for a substitute for Red Man, or if you just simply enjoy candy, I cannot recommend this product enough.  I'll put it this way - Alexander the Great was known for supplying his troops with rations of liquorice root and, thus, I'm sure he would have been all over Long Ball (it's resealable pouch travels well, after all).  Here's hoping Mr. Chiavelli's variation takes over the world, Alex-style!

These licorice products are good, but Long Ball knocks them outta the park! (Good god, that was corny...)

As far as licorice goes, Long Ball is light years ahead of Good and Plenty, Black Jack chewing gum, Twizzlers, allsorts, Crows or any other incarnation of the stuff that you can think of - put that in your licorice pipe and smoke it!

To conclude, I have to ask, how do you feel about black licorice?  Are you one of those who would turn up their nose should I offer to share my bag of Snaps?  Or, does this review have you salivating, uncontrollably, all over your smart phone screen?  Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.  And, most importantly, thank you to Andrew, Sports Card Info, Andre Chiavelli and Long Ball Licorice for coming together to offer such a generous giveaway - it made my day, several times over!

With all that out of the way, I think I've sad all I can say... so, it's time to cram another piece of Long Ball in my yap.

DisCarded

After a few weeks of uninspired inactivity, I'm back here on the blogosphere and ready to ramble.  With the mostly frigid temperatures, freezing rain, and black ice here in Chicago, perhaps SAD (seasonal affective disorder) has been the reason why I haven't felt motivated to do much of anything.  Additionally, with the broken hot stove and nearly completely frozen free-agent market, I might also be suffering from a case of TAD (transactional affective disorder).  Either way, surrounded by constant, toothless rumors and rumblings about Yu Darvish and god awful weather conditions, I really haven't wanted to do much of anything, especially writing about sports.

Until yesterday, that is.  While the Brewers threw a few logs on into the fire (Yelich and Cain) and the temperatures in Chicago started to rise into the fifties, I - in turn - found a muse.  All it took was a long, leisurely walk.

After losing my car keys on Thursday morning, I was forced to cop a ride to work.  While the little buggers were eventually found, I still did not have access to my automobile when it came time to leave.  When I noticed the mercury rising to darn near spring-like temperatures, my frustration dissipated and a nice, long stroll home actually began to sound quite nice.  So, I set off on my two-mile trek, enjoying the weather and clearing my mind - free of distractions.

Then, about half a mile in to my trek, something shiny caught my eye:

Could that possibly be?  Is that a lonely, discarded trading card, sitting abandoned by the curb?  How sad!

 

Why, yes it is!  That's a 2017 Donruss Optic football card, featuring Washington tight-end, Jordan Reed.

 My mind began to wander, how did poor Mr. Reed end up in the proverbial gutter?  It's not like this is junk wax cardboard from thirty years ago either - Optic is a higher end, collectible product that seems fairly popular among football collectors.  Yet, here it is, left forgotten on the dead leaves and dirty ground along Cicero Avenue.  Even more surprising, despite being left to the elements, outside of some caked dirt, the card was in pretty good condition.

Of course, I put the disregarded pasteboard into my coat pocket and continued on my merry way with a smile on my face.  I didn't make it far though.  Not even ten feet down the sidewalk, another bit of glimmering refuse commanded my attention:

Could it be?  ANOTHER poor card, cast aside? 

Yes indeed - this one spotlighting the recently-retired Carson Palmer, longtime quarterback of the Arizona Cardinals.  Again, minus some mud, the card was also in fairly decent condition.  Wild.

Then - because I'm super good at pattern recognition - I paused and took in my surroundings.  It was then that I noticed that there were several more of these orphaned, chrome goodies, strewn up and down the side of the rush hour congested thoroughfare:

There were some big names in this haphazardly discarded field of football cards!

Unfortunately, as you might be able to tell, as I went further and further down the roadway, the cards' conditions increasingly worsened...

By the time I got to the last couple, the cards appeared to have been sheered in half, with only the photographic front resting in the grassy area:

Was this caused by natural degradation in a wet and unprotected environment?  After all, on the southside, we've had snow, fifty degree temps, rain, more freezing temperatures, and a subsequent warm-up in just the last week.  Lord knows that's going to reek havoc on paper products left exposed to the schizo elements of a Chicago winter!

With nine cards total discovered during my impromptu scavenger hunt, I ended up with two full packs (plus an extra single) of 2017 Donruss Optic football.   Well, that and a bunch of question:

1. Did someone open some packs or a blaster of this product and immediately cast aside their non-hits as unwanted litter?  Base cards are an unwanted hinderence to the "sick hitz" crowd.
2. Was some poor kid robbed of his newly-purchases cards due to a strong gust of Windy City breeze and an opened car window?
3. Was some collector so uncontrollably excited by the announced return of the XFL (😒) that they immediately disposed of their NFL memorabilia on the side of the road?
4. Did anyone notice the weird gangly guy walking up and down Cicero Ave., stopping and stooping to pick up random bits of garbage and then taking pictures of the junk?  What a weirdo!

 Overall, what do you think was the impetus behind this hasty disposal?

via GIPHY

In the end, I had quite a bit of fun, running around and discovering free trading cards scattered all over the block - I felt like a kid in the middle of a surprise Easter egg hunt.  Even if most of the "eggs" were nearly completely thrashed and none of the discoveries were Bears players, it was still highly entertaining to this crazy card collector.  I must admit, afterwards, I was no longer frustrated about having lost my keys and being forced to walk home (the rest of the way decidedly card-less, though).

As an aside, this is actually the second time that I've come across cast-off cards in the wild, since I began this humble blog.  The first time occurred more than a year and a half ago and the circumstances surrounding that discovery were much scarier!

To conclude, I have to ask you loyal readers, what would you have done in this situation?  Would you have stopped and gathered up the dis-carded cards in full view of a busy, major thoroughfare/  Would you have kept right on walking, either due to insecurity or the fact that the cards were, erm, less than pristine?  Perhaps you would have picked them up just to assist mother earth out and clean up some litter?  An inquiring mind wishes to know.

Also, an inquiring mind wants to know what Yu Darvish's plans are...