1998 Pacific Aurora Cubes

I have no idea how I acquired this particular item. If you are not familiar with it, it is a cube which comes pre-assembled. Yes, it is already put together (or the one I have was anyway), so it is impossible (or close enough to it) to store it with the other cards in my binders. I am going to have to buy something to keep it in, or use a card storage box to keep my card "box" in... Yeesh... On the plus side, though, it makes for a very cool conversation piece! It features several different poses of the player, a list of recent stats, bio info, a little player blurb, and the card number with copyright info. I know very little about the set, so I do not know if they came pre-assembled or if I am one of the "lucky" people who received a card that was put together then glued for the posterity of it all... I think it has a nice mix of action shots and posed stills. It is colorful with just enough foil to keep your attention without being too gaudy (close though).

If you collect and you don't have any of these, I recommend grabbing some from eBay or Beckett. Your collection will thank you! :-)

Let the stupid headlines begin...

Shall we start with the obvious: "Sox Rock Rockies" or "Sox Blow Socks Off the Rocks" maybe? Oh, I can see them now... Copy editors (or whoever chooses headlines) were chomping at the bit to see which "witty" headline they could spew forth before some other paper does the same. In fact, by the time this is posted, there will already be stupid headlines all over the place.

You would think, since the Indians are in the AL, that I would *want* the Botox Bosox to win. Uhh... No. Congratulations, Sox, I hope you get your butts kicked next year - by the Tribe or ANYONE else! :-)

2007 Goudey Game-Used

I got home the other day, and when I checked the mail, I had a padded envelope waiting on me... That's as close to Christmas and birthdays as it gets... :-) I had forgotten about even having cards out there that I had ordered, except for the McDowell mini-poster, and I knew enough time hadn't passed for that to arrive yet. So when I opened the envelope, I felt like Sid in "Toy Story:" "It Came! It finally came!" It was the 2007 Goudey Grady Sizemore Game-used card. I don't know why I was so jubilant about getting this card, other than it seems like I had paid for it some time ago, and here it was. As you are most likely aware by now (assuming you have been reading along), I love the Goudeys and to get a Triber such as Sizemore in a game-used version (green back) is very cool.

I think my only complaint about the card is the blurb on the back: "...on the front of this card is a piece of memorabilia ... used in an official (MLB) game." So, what's the complaint? It is generic. I could have a bat, a ball, a jersey, pants, or even a friggin jock strap on there for all I know. Come on, man, spend the few extra cents and make a custom back for each KIND of G-U material being featured, ya know? Oh well, I suppose that is one of the many reasons I do not (yet) head up a card company...

1981 Topps Scratch-offs

If memory serves, I've owned these cards since they came out in 1981. I am surprised that I never separated them at the perforations, and even more surprised that I didn't play the game on the cards! The idea behind these was like lottery tickets for kids (hmm, maybe I could sue Topps for my scratch-off ticket "hobby"). The cards were supposed to be broken apart at the perfs, then divided up into two teams. Nine players on each team from the AL would face off against nine players from the NL in a nine inning baseball game. As each team came to 'bat,' the collector would scratch off one spot. According to the rules on the back (paraphrasing), "Base runners advance one base on a ground out and single, two bases on a double, and three on a triple. There is no advancing on a fly out or strike out. There are no double or triple plays."

So, on the backs of the cards, you find place to write the line-up number of the player (Topps assumed that people would lose their place during a game, or perhaps in test marketing, people DID lose their places). The "top" card listed the rules of play. The "middle" card of the unbroken trio provided a scoreboard in which to record runs and hits. The "bottom" card contained various offers from Topps, like the plastic-shelved "Sports Card Locker" (which I owned at least two that I remember), or the "#445 Ball-Strike Indicator" - a perfect 'tool' for keeping up with you scratch-off game or when you were odd man out in a pick-up game and had to play ump... At least you could "look" official..

I find it funny that for all the explaining they do, as if we collectors don't know anything, no where on any card is it indicated whether the team is AL or NL. Now, I know, most people who collected would know that, but when the rules detail how to scratch off a circle, yet the card does not tell you which league the featured player is in, I really gotta wonder....

As for the photos themselves: I think some of these guys would have made great candidates for Thorzul's 1981 Topps competition (Which, Al Hrabosky won by the way). Cecil Cooper sports not only the 80's ultra-cool beard and 'stache, but he tops it off with those specs! Is it just me, or does Super Joe seem to be squinting in nearly every baseball card ever made of him? I'll have to do a study in a future post on that one.... Manning, on the other hand, has that usual, "Hey, I'm Rick Manning, and I am COOL" look.. LOL. Mike Hargrove has always looked like a manager/coach to me. Even in his rookie days, there is something about him that says, "I play, but my real dream is to manage..."

1967 Topps Pin-ups

There are/were 32 5"x7" thin paper photos in the 1967 Topps Pin-ups set. Of those 32, Wagner and Sam McDowell were the only Indians. I do not have the McDowell in hand yet, but I've got one coming in the mail! :-) These 5x7's are on SERIOUSLY thin paper. It would not take much to have these things rip, especially along the factory-made creases. The one I have is in pretty good shape, considering. Wagner's pose makes it hard to tell if he is happy to be having this picture taken or not. He almost pulls off a "Mona Lisa" with that smirk. The VERY light blue facsimile autograph is hard to see with the green grass, but overall, I think it's a nice oversized item.

Just for the record, there is a Joe Torre version of the '67 Poster/Pin-up out there, for anyone who is interested... There is also supposedly a version of the Roberto Clemente 5x7 that is not only unnumbered, but is printed on heavier stock. I bet it has serious creasing issues....ouch!