Blog Bat-Around: My one MLB appearance

The crowd at The Jake falls into a deafening silence. It pushes against my ears like two massive headphones from the seventies. The PA announcer breaks in, "Now batting for the Indians, Number 4, David Henderson. This is his Major League Debut."

A murmur begins behind home plate, a few random fans around the stadium clap slowly, as if unsure as to whether or not they should be clapping. Soon, a polite round of applause makes its way throughout the venue. It is as though I were Jack Nicklaus making a putt for par when I could have had an eagle. A breeze sweeps across the infield from third to second, kicking up swirls of dust. The fielders seem indifferent to my appearance at the plate.

I make my way from the on-deck circle to the plate without tripping over my own feet or, more likely, a blade of grass. I'm facing Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia or one of the myriad other former Tribers playing against the Indians this game. A smirk forms on the pitcher's mouth and he shakes his head, rolls his eyes, and gives a sigh. I adjust my helmet and put the bat back over my shoulder like I've been telling my own children to do for years. The pitcher winds up and I see his arm come over the top.

"STREEEEE-IIIIIKE!" the umpire yells from behind me. I can only assume from the sound of the catcher's glove that the ball actually left the pitcher's hand and traveled the distance to the glove behind and below me. I never saw it, that's for sure. I adjust my helmet again and take a few practice swings, as though showing the pitcher where I'd "like" the ball would make a hill of beans difference.

The pitcher winds and tosses another ball at me. I see this one, but the time my eyes tell my brain to tell my arms to swing, the ball is already on its way back from the catcher to the pitcher, the ump yelling out another, "STREEEE-IIIKE TWO!"

I take a step back out of the box, and tap the dirt from my cleats. Because even without moving an inch, I've managed to get dirt in the spikes. I think it's from trying to dig my own grave in the batter's box. I look at the pitcher as I get back in to the box and shrug my shoulders, hoping he understands that I'm just here to fulfill a dream of playing once, just once in the Bigs. He smiles and nods. I swing the bat to show him where I think I would like hit the ball. He nods again. Was that at me or the catcher? I don't know. The crowd behind me is booing and yelling things like, "What a bum! Get him outta there! Who is this guy anyway!?" There other things being yelled at me, too, but I'm not putting those down here.

All I ever wanted was to stand right where I'm standing, bat in hand, facing a professional ballplayer. I've made it, and no matter what anyone yells or says changes that now. I am the one at the plate, not them. I am the one blessed to be wearing the red, white and blue of an Indians uniform. I am the one whose name just boomed over the loudspeaker. I am the one hoping the pitcher doesn't suddenly decide I'd look better with one less head on my shoulders.

The pitcher shows me the ball, as if to say, "You see this? Watch it. Just keep your eye on it." He raises his eyebrows, asking if I understand. I smile and nod. I put the bat over my shoulder, bend my knees ever so slightly, point my toes at the plate, and dip my shoulder. He winds and comes over the top with what must be the slowest pitch ever thrown in MLB history, and I see it clearly. I raise my forward leg, step slightly toward the mound, and swing.

(Note: The above is fiction. It is my dream. And, what happens next makes no difference in my world. I've already had the best game of my life.)

Your Once in a Lifetime Appearance?

I feel like starting up another blog bat-around!  I don't know if one is currently in place or not, so forgive me if I am stepping on toes.

This round is entitled, "My Once in Lifetime" and what I'd like to hear is your dream MLB appearance.  Let's pretend that for one game, maybe even for one at-bat and one fielding turn, YOU got to be in the majors, the Big Show, the Bigs.  What team's uniform would you like to wear? What number would you want? What position would you play? Who would you like to face (both at the plate and in the field against you)?  What do you think would *really* happen during your one shot?  What would you *like* to happen during your one shot?

As always, leave a comment on this post and I'll keep a running tab to everyone's posts at the end of this one.  Here is your chance to make, break, change, or be history!

Oh, and if you aren't a blogger, feel free to leave your "Once in a Lifetime" in the comments here!

Current entries:
Steve at White Sox Cards
Nathan at Canadian Cardboard
Paul's Random Stuff
(thanks for the heads-up on Steve's link, BTW!)

Blog Bat-Around ALL CALL! (16 Commissioners so far!)

Re-UPDATE: WOW! So far, we have 16 wannabe Commissioners! Thanks for the great response!  And, if you're like Bo and want to add more thoughts, drop me a line and I'll keep your thoughts together - even if you can't! HA!

About the "cautions:" I don't care what language you use in your post. This is 2010 and you're free to express yourself how you want.  However, we have many younger readers and some of them can't read posts until the post is cleared by their parents. I'm not the censorship police, but more like a self-governed warning label purveyor.  If I think your post has language that might not be for younger eyes, the I'll post a "caution" by your entry. Don't be offended, I'm just looking out for the littler ones. :-) (and if I miss one that has strong language, please let me know and I will add a cautionary remark)

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Hey folks! I don't know what version of the Blog Bat-Around we're on, or if there is an official method for announcing such a thing, but I thought I would start one up!

The topic: With Bud Selig supposedly retiring in 2012 (and assuming the end of the world doesn't follow soon afterward), if YOU were asked to become the next Baseball Commissioner, what would you do?  What changes would you like to make, what things would you leave as-is, what would you like to see as your legacy when your retirement time came?

How the Blog Bat-Around works:  Post your answer to the topic on your blog, then comment here with a link to your post.  I will update this post as entries come in so folks can find your thoughts!  I'll be posting my own thoughts before long, but wanted to get the word out there.

Blog Bat-Around Posts:

Matt (Project Baseball 1976) - http://baseball1976.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-next.html

Bo (Baseball Cards Come to Life) - http://borosny.blogspot.com/2010/09/if-i-become-commissioner.html and a follow-up: http://borosny.blogspot.com/2010/09/importance-of-good-team.html and a "last one - I promise:" http://borosny.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-of-6.html

Paul (Paul's Random Stuff) - http://wp.me/p6j5H-2fk

Steve (White Sox Cards) - http://whitesoxcards.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-commissioner.html

Mariner1 (Emerald City Diamond Gems) - http://emeraldcitydiamondgems.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-commissioner.html

Steve (1974 Topps) - http://1974topps.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-commissioner.html

Night Owl - http://nightowlcards.blogspot.com/2010/09/bombing-baseball-back-to-stone-age.html

Chris Harris (Stale Gum) - http://blog.stalegum.com/2010/09/my-blog-bat-around-post.html (caution: language)

Dan (The Other World) - http://dansotherworld.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-commissioner.html

JT (The Writer's Journey) - http://thewritersjourney.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/blog-bat-around-make-me-the-commish/

Jonathan (Nats Cards, and to whom I really am sending the cards I promised a few weeks ago!) - http://natscards.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/blog-bat-around-the-commish/

Matthew (Number 5 Type Collection - Sorry I missed this earlier, it had gone to spam for some reason) - http://number5typecollection.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-commish.html

Ryan (The Great Orioles Autograph Project) - http://greatoriolesautographproject.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-if-i-were-commissioner.html

Captain Canuck (Waxaholic) - http://waxaholic.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-bat-around-canucks-take.html (caution: some language)

Andrew (Attic Insulation) - http://waxpackpastime.blogspot.com/2010/09/if-i-were-commish.html (Andrew has changed the language, now "kid-friendly") 

Adam (Thoughts and Sox) - http://thoughtsandsox.blogspot.com/2010/09/if-i-were-commissioner-of-baseball.html (possible language)

My take on the Blog Bat-Around (If I were the Commish)

If I were the new commish... 

Some of these ideas were already bouncing around in my head, while others have been combined from other posts I've seen that meshed with things bouncing between my ears.  My ideas will not all be popular, but that's part of the fun.

Expand the MLB to 32 teams and reorganize the league into 8 divisions of four teams each.  The two additional teams would come from a place in the US where baseball pro baseball is basically out of reach.  I like the idea of Billings, Montana, as some have suggested.  I also like the thought of Calgary or Edmonton, Canada, but I don't think that is realistic.  Instead, I would go for Salt Lake City or the SoVa/NC/TN area (Greensboro/Winston-Salem, maybe).

The DH position would be an optional position in both AL and NL, determined at the time of roster announcement (that is, before the game starts).  Once announced, the team would not be allowed to change their mind during the game for any reason.

Replay would be used like it was in the LLWS.  Each coach would get one challenge, and a 5th ump would be in the booth and could call for replay usage.  Replays would be for home runs, fair/foul, and outs.  Balls and strikes would remain with the home plate ump and/or base umps in the case of check-swings.

Pete Rose would be reinstated immediately. He would be eligible for the BBHOF as a player.  Players and managers currently banned but have since passed on will automatically be reinstated upon their death and therefore eligible for HOF status.

Salary caps with penalties for abuse/overages in the way of discounted tickets/concessions and/or retribution to be spread among the other teams in the MLB.  Frankly, I would have to have more info on how this would be implemented.  This would probably be the biggest, most difficult item on the agenda. 

I have also considered instituting a "no confidence" voting mechanism where the ticket holders (both season and single-game) could issue such a vote against the team's current ownership.  Should the current owners receive 75% of the "no confidence" vote by the end of the season, the owners would then be REQUIRED to offer the team for sale for a fair market value and be required to relinquish the team should a valid buyer be found.  As with salary caps, more research would be needed in the actual implementation of this aspect.

Interleague play would be phased out.  I have never been a fan of it.

The regular season would last 160 games.  Schedules would be arranged such that teams would play equal numbers of home and away games (I haven't done the math, but I think this is feasible with the expanded league).

The All-Star game would no longer determine home-field advantage and instead would return to an exhibition game.  There would need to be an offsetting incentive for players to want to play in the game, so I would have to evaluate several scenarios in which incentives or enticements would be incorporated.

Games would be played until there is a winner.  If you gotta use your shortstop as a pitcher, so be it.

Games would last nine innings at a minimum (except for weather, in which current rules apply).  None of this 7-inning game-length talk. That is ridiculous.  Besides, how many games ALREADY go beyond nine innings?  Cutting back to 7 would not be worth messing with.

Blog Bat Around: Why I Blog (a day or two late)

I suppose it is rather appropriate that I start working on my "Why I Blog" Bat-around post a day or two AFTER the deadline. It seems many of my posts appear in that fashion - a day or two later than I had hoped. As for me, that's not only par for the course, but also keeps me blogging in the first place. Perhaps I will eventually get back to that, but for now, follow along on a rather bizarre journey into the 'why' I blog (not only on here, but on the myriad of other sites, too).

I started 'blogging' back before there was even such a term or even the formalized concept. Back in 1993 or 1994, I had one of those static web pages that my ISP provided for me. I started out with several pages of information that never really seemed to change much. And then I had a thought: Why not update my page as often as possible, preferably daily? That lasted about two days. Frankly, no one was reading my personal page and updating it was an exercise in notepad, FTP, and holding my tongue juuuuust right.

Skip ahead a couple years. I was changing ISPs but still wanted some of the content to be saved. I created one of those Tripod pages. The content consisted of Indians-related baseball card information and some random thoughts from the space between my ears. I hated Tripod. That was a pain. And then came Blogger.

My original blog (poppedinmyhead) was started because I wanted a place to post all the things I had been storing on Tripod. Mainly, that consisted of a baseball card-related item or two, a list of things college students should know about the Pre-Raphealite Brotherhood, a list of keywords from an old Commodore 64 'game' called "Little Computer People" and whatever else popped in my head (hence the name of the blog).

Because I collect Indians cards, I found it hard to find places that just listed Tribe cards. Mainly, I was interested in checklists of the cards I needed, but did not KNOW that I needed. I spent a lot of time searching and searching. I started "Indians Baseball Cards" because I wanted to provide a place for fellow Indians collectors to get information about the little cardboard rectangles of their favorite team. The very first posts I did were checklists compiled from various sources. And then I strayed.

I started blogging anything about the Indians, and then anything about the hobby, and then whatever randomness seemed to fit into my card-collecting habit.

So, now that you have a history, let's talk about the meat of it - WHY do I blog about pictures of people on little bits of cardboard?

I turned 40 this year. Not a big deal, a lot of people turn 40 (and have already done so many moons ago). Though I am now 40, my brain still sees me as being somewhere between 13 and 25. And because my passion for collecting Indians cards never died (though it has waxed and waned throughout the years), I wanted a place that I could write out my thoughts about the hobby I've held on to since I was 5 or 6 years old.

I am a writer at heart. I've only had two things 'published' - one in a college literary magazine and the other on a card-collecting online magazine. Nonetheless, I love writing. Blogging about Indians baseball cards (or anything related... or not related) gives me a way to take all the thought I have in my head and let them out. And, if I am going to let them out, why not share them with anyone that happens to come along, right? In addition to poppedinmyhead and tribecards, I am a contributing member on "A Pack A Day" and "A Pack To Be Named Later." I love blogging on those sites because they allow me to write about cards I would not normally write about on here.

Here's the best part of blogging, though: Friends and fellow collectors. I have made some great friends through posting my random thoughts about Indians cards on here. I live in a very rural area on a farm. Let's just say there are very few collectors out here. Through blogging, I have traded cards with folks 35 miles down the road and folks in England and Canada and across the United States. Some of those trades were actual trades, while others were cards I sent off as part of giveaways.

I love giving away the cards that don't fit into my collecting criteria. And, since my criteria is basically "Indians cards or items I don't already have," well, as you can imagine, I have a LOT of things that I end up with that don't fit. My children have only a glancing interest in baseball cards. So, what better way to share than to give the cards away? And what better way to give them away than by blogging?

It's not always easy to come with a topic (which is why sometimes it's a day or three of five between posts), but in the back of my mind, I know there are things I still have yet to finish. I can always post a new checklist, a new scan of cards from my collection, or a new giveaway. When I started blogging, I told myself that I would post whatever I wanted to (on here), and that I would do it for my own enjoyment. If no one comes by to read it, I would be bummed out, but I wouldn't let that stop me from blogging. And so, I blog.

Did I even answer the question? I got a little sidetracked, I think.

Round, Round, Bat Around, I Bat Around, yeah

My favorite memory of acquiring cards happens to come from my childhood days. When I saw the topic for the 5th Blog Bat Around, I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn't remember exactly where I was going - literally. Follow along, and you'll soon understand.

When I was a child, my grandparents lived in Cleveland. More specifically, they lived in Lakewood. It is from them that I got my love for the Indians. It is strange to say that, since so far as I know neither of my grandparents (these are my Dad's parents) gave a rip about the Indians. But, I adored my grandfather and because he LIVED in Cleveland, well, that was good enough enough for me.

My earliest memories take me back to a time when I was probably 11 or 12, as far as card collecting goes anyway. As I reflected back on my youth, I could picture the road my brother and I would take to get to the hobby shop. We would leave my grandparents' house, take a left and walk down to where the road curved. That curve came to a "T" and we would take a right and head for "the big road." We would carefully cross "the big road," and enter a world of trains, model cars, dollhouses, and baseball cards. I pictured it perfectly in my mind.

I can see this so vividly in my mind that it was the only thing I had to go on when looking for its location on Google. I could not remember my grandparents' address, or even the street they lived on. I called my mother, and all she could remember was that they lived "off Detroit Avenue." Close enough. I began my search. I zoomed in and out, moving the map anywhere, everywhere, looking for my grandparents' house.

Eventually, I gave up. I decided instead to look for hobby shops in Cleveland. Several popped up and TWO in Lakewood! But, they were on/near Detroit Ave, and I was convinced that my grandparents lived NORTH of that road. As I zoomed out, though, I saw it! The curve in the road! And suddenly, when I saw the name of the nearby road to the SOUTH(Winton), I remembered that was the name of the street where they lived!



Sitting, just as I had remembered, was the little dot signifying "Wings Hobby Shop."


I can still see it the way it was back then (I have no idea if it is still laid out this way or not): Walk in the front door and the baseball card display was on the left. On the right, shelves of models and books. Against the far wall on the right (again, as you entered) were glass cases full of model train cars, and behind them were shelves of pieces and parts for trains. I also remember racetracks, model cars, remote control cars, you name it.

But of course, I was there for the baseball cards.

I looked in the glass case, pouring over the cards sitting before me. I wish I could say I saw Mantle and Gehrig or even Pinson and Feller. But my clouded memory blurs all the cards in the case except for two:



The first is the very first baseball card I ever spent money on: 1951 Bowman Dale Mitchell. It cost me 25 cents. It did not have the crease in it. I did that years later myself. I remember asking the guy at the counter how old the card was, and when he told me, I was amazed that cards could be "that old!" Hard to believe that I bought the card in the late 70's/early 80's (making it already 30 years old) and when the card was MADE, cards had already been around for more than 50 years. I was one clueless kid.

The second card is a 1970 Topps Alvin Dark. I bought it on a subsequent trip to the hobby shop. In my memory, it was at least a year later. In reality, it was probably later that same day. It was the first 1970 Topps I remember ever seeing. I think, though again my clouded memory may be playing tricks on me, I bought several packs of cards that day along with the Dark card.

Over the next several years of trips we made to my grandparents' house, my brother and I would always take money to the hobby shop. I think I was more interested in going than my brother ever was. At the time, I thought the trek to the store was at least a good couple of miles. After doing a "directions to here," however, it was a mere half-mile walk.

I remember flipping cards with friends many years later. I remember hauling my card collection to the various houses and dorms I lived in throughout my collegiate career. I remember "rediscovering" the cards that had been packed away after I got married.

But the most vivid and sentimental memories I have of acquiring cards are those walks with my younger brother down a suburban street to the hobby shop on the other side of "the big road," Detroit Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio.

sidenote: I always thought Dark looked like one of the kids in that "Been Farming Long?" poster from several years ago.

Blog bat-Around #4 - True Value?

Yeah, I am WAY late with this, but I've missed the other two bat-arounds and decided I needed to get back into the fray (not the group, though they are quite good).

The question posed is this: which set will increase in value (or at least maintain it) in ten years?

My answer is simple: Oddball cards.


My explanation: The first cards out there were rooted in tobacco, then bubble gum, cereal, sodas, you name it. Oddball cards will be harder and harder to generate because of the crazy licensing issues the MLB has, and the MLBPA as well.

In the past, when a company wanted to make baseball items, if they didn't licensing rights to logos and such, they just airbrushed the logos off. the player's name, position and team would still be seen on the card.


Today, if you were to do something similar, you could face lawsuits based on the fact that you used the name of the player without express written permission and used the team name without express written permission. heck, I'm not even sure you'd be safe using the player's image at all without permission of the MLBPA these days.


So, how does that affect the future value of such cards? Oddballs have generally held pretty good value based on their novelty and inherent rarity. they are not produced in as many quantities as big company cards, so they are harder to come by. Some are regional and can only be gained through the mail, trading, online buying.

Though not necessarily 'baseball,' the Bill Clinton 3-card set produced by/for the Hot Springs, AR, Chamber of commerce/visitor's bureau, is a good example. You had to be at certain events to get them, or know the right people (I fall into the latter category, having done computer/network work for my area US Congressman). Of course, now you can find these cards on eBay and I think you can still buy them i certain places in Arkansas. Aside from that, though, they are a hard find.


As time marches forward, oddball items like Pepsi Lid Liners, Milk Bone All-stars, tattoos, and even Post cereal cards will be harder and harder to find. This inherently drives the value upward because more and more people will pay more and more for those items.

I also think that as the players who are/were featured on such items age and pass on from this life, those items will continue to gain value. I don't know why it is that something should become more valuable once the person on that item is dead, but that is how the world of collectibles seems to work. the same will hold true for the oddball item.


I personally love oddball cards (or what can be loosely referred to as cards). The photography is usually the equivalent of having taken the photo myself (or worse), and they usually come in various shapes and sizes. I would venture to say that making such diecut items is fairly expensive these days, which might also explain the decline in custom-shaped cards. Though mainstream, Pacific was great at the diecut oddball card. I wold love to see another company make tree ornaments, 3d boxes, etc, the way pacific did...

I hope the days of the oddball cards are not behind us, but I am afraid they are just that. In the wake of their disappearance will be their value among those who appreciate the art, humor, and creativity of their makers.