Saturday, May 30, 2015

Caught Stealing Home: HOFers, Manny Being Manny, and more!

Quite some time ago now, I received cards from Stealing Home. The note said, "Here's hoping none of these are dupes." I know that at least some of them are not dupes, and a couple I'm not sure about. But, dupes or not, I am always thrilled to get some Tribecards in the mail!

Let's take a look at what's in here:


Phil Niekro 1988 Red Classic - I've always been a fan of the Classic cards. On the back, it says, "Phil begins the 1987 season with the Cleveland Indians in quest for his lifelong desire to be in a World Series." Unfortunately, that dream never came to be, however, 10 years after joining the Indians, he would be inducted into the BBHOF. Not a bad run!

Manny Ramirez 1996 Topps Gallery "The Modernists" - Ah, just before "Manny was being Manny," he was a kid with amazing potential. The back of the card reads, "Ramirez is perched on the precipice of greatness." He was part of the mid-90's Indians resurgence, making both World Series appearances and hauling in a slew of awards as a Triber.

Julio Franco 1989 Topps All-Star - Before there was Manny and rest of the 90's killer Indians team, the Tribe suffered through the 80's. Even then, though, we had players like Julio Franco. In '88, he had a 21-game hitting streaking that was later followed up by a 22-game hitting streak. He was part of the '97 team that made it to the World Series as well. Franco still remains an all-time Tribe fan favorite.

CC Sabathia 2011 Topps Lineage Diamond Platinum All-Star Rookie - Wow, that's a mouthful! Sabathia dominated from the mound. This card showcases his 2001 rookie year in which he "finished second to Ichiro in ROY voting." Yeah, you read that correctly: a pitcher gets 2nd billing for ROY. And, you see who he lost to, right? Freakin' Ichiro. Not bad way to end your rookie year at all!

Manny Ramirez 1994 Gold Leaf Rookie - Ramirez is one of those players that folks knew was going to be good. He was batting over .300 in the minors when he came up in '93. Only managing a .170 AVG in 22 games, that came with a double, two home runs, and 5 RBIs. The pot was just starting to boil.

Carlos Santana 2013 Topps Chasing History - This card celebrates Santana's ability to knock it out of the park from either side of the plate. In 2011, he hit 27 home runs batting switch. I'm sure there are stats somewhere that show which home runs came from which side of the plate.

Dennis Eckersley 2001 Topps Archives '76 - This card is iconic Eck. This reprint of his 1976 rookie card shows a determined young man poised to rip on in there. Of course, hindsight being what it is, we know where things went from here - an amazing career and the HOF. I love that I have the actual card and here is the Archives version. This is a very cool card. Except the back. Sorry, but who had the idea to print such a dark green background with black text!? Ah well.

Carlos Santana 2010 Topps Black - One of the more interesting chase sets from Topps, this subset featured the same images as the base, but the backgrounds are all blacked out. If memory serves, these were Walmart exclusives. He may have fallen a bit short his first day as a pro, but he rested and came back to hit a double, a home run, and pick up three RsBI. (Haha, yes, I did the RBI thing on purpose.)

Zach McAllister - 2012 Topps - Ah, this card features the official MLB "RC" logo. After an embroiled brouhaha over what is or is not considered "rookie" card status, the MLB decided they would call the shots. It's all very stupid in my book, but then again, they didn't ask me. In any case, McAllister has been on-again, off-again with the Tribe over his 5-year career thus far. He's been moved to the bullpen and that seems to suit him (and the team) well so far.

Thank you so much, Stealing Home for these cool Tribecards!! 

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