Billy Idol Gets It

Why doesn't Jay?

Last night, right before I went up to bed, I checked the interwebs to see what doins where a happenin'. SCU directed me to the Nennth Inning (which I STILL cannot get onto my blog roll) and a discussion of book value taking place. I ususally stay out of these discussions. There isn't anything that I can say that Gellman hasn't already said, and said better. If you haven't read the post and discussion, you should. It's highly entertaining.

But it got me thinking, maybe I'm looking at this wrong. Maybe there's something I haven't thought of yet. I asked my self these questions because the whole argument seems like a no-brainer. I decided to ask my wife. This is that brief exchange:

Me: Hey Katie, what is something worth?

Wife: What is what worth?

Me: Anything. What is anything worth in general?

Wife: What someone will pay you for it.

Me: OK. What if I had a widget store, and a book that told me what the widgets were worth. Now, you like widgets and came into my store. You found a Widget that you like and my book told me to charge $30. But, you know you could get the same exact widget on Ebay for $7. What would you do?

Wife: I'd get it on Ebay.

Me: Right.

Wife: And, you probably wouldn't be in business for very long.

Me: I don't suppose I would.

Wife: I don't think you should say "worth"

Me: Huh?

Wife: Well, things are worth different things for different people. You should call it value. Your widget may be worth $30 to you, and you may not be willing to give it to me for less than $30. But the value is $7 because that's what I can buy it for. You should say value.

Me: I suppose I should.

Wife: And, your book is wrong.

Me: I guess it is.

Wife: Does this have something to do with baseball cards?

Me: Yes

Wife: I'm going to sleep now.

Me: Want to stay up for 2 more minutes?

Wife: Not really.

Me: OK.

I just wanted to post that because if Billy Idol gets it, and my wife gets it, how come Jay doesn't get it? I thought it might be somehow relevant that my wife (who could car less about baseball cards) inherantly understood the basic concept without thinking too hard about it.

My favorite line?..."your book is wrong"

My wife, like Martha Washington, is a hip, hip lady.

My Indispensable Card

Blog Bat A Round Part 2

Here it is on Wednesday, 2 minutes after midnight in Ohio, and I still haven’t contributed to the 2nd Bat A Round. I don’t now if I’ve already missed Gellman’s deadline. I’m hoping he meant midnight in California. The plan was to whip this out (‘scuse me while I whip this out) last weekend, but the Boss had other ideas. The Boss weighs 6 pounds, but damn if he isn’t convincing.

We have been charged with the simple task of displaying the centerpiece of our collection. I don’t know how easy it is for some of you. For me it turned out to be really easy. It took a while but when I realized what card it is, it was staring me in the face the whole time. A “How didn’t I think of this immediately?” type of thing.

Just to build a little suspense, I’ll go ahead and list a few of the cards that crossed my mind. Just for laughs, I dug out an old 1991 Beckett, to look up the “value” of some of these cards. As a bonus, I’ve scanned the cover of the issue.

Say what you want about Beckett, they nailed it with their cover of issue #71. One of the greatest players ever, in one of the greatest uni’s ever, displaying a swing that can make grown men weep tears of joy. Just fantastic don’t you think?

The first card I thought of was the 1984 Topps Mattingly. This card was the prize of my collection for a long time. I don’t recollect how I got it, just that I had it. I must assume that my mom tracked it down for me somehow. In 1991, the card was worth $28. I saw a lot of 2 go on ebay a few days ago for $6 plus shipping. I don’t know what the Hitman did in these past 17 years to deserve such a drastic drop in value, but he must have done something. What else could explain it?

Sorry, got off topic a little bit there.

1975 George Brett Rookie. This is still probably my favorite card because, like a lot of people, 1975 Topps is one of my favorite sets of all time. According to Beckett, my card was worth $160.

1974 Topps Willie McCovey error card. This card says Washington instead of San Diego. I didn’t realize that I had an error card until after the whole Billy Ripken furor.* I remember looking this card up in Beckett and realizing that I had the error when there were 2 different versions of it. I remember how excited I was that day.

*Funny story. In 8th grade I got a staph infection (osteomyelitis) in my right foot. No one is sure how. I damn near lost the thing (my foot). It was very painful, and as a double whammy, I was too young to make sure that I fully enjoyed the morphine I was on in the hospital. Well, when you're 14 and in the hospital, people just get you stuff. It’s like “OH, you have an infection? Here’s a Nintendo game. Feel better now?” Doesn’t make much sense but that’s what people do. Who was I to argue?**

Well, my friend, Mike Goebelbecker, got me a Cavs shirt. The first time I wore it I realized what it said. “Cleveland Cavalers” not “Cavaliers”. “Cavalers” That’s right. Some people made a shirt that got produced, distributed, and sold with the name spelled wrong. Can you believe that? I was ecstatic. As far as I was concerned, anything with an error was a goldmine. This was some limited edition, one of a kind error shirt and was probably worth a fortune. Fleer screwed a lot of kids up, man.

** I also have a friend, Doug Hart, who forgot his lunch money while I was still out of school. He decided to take up a collection. He ended up with $52. He bought his lunch but didn't know what to do with the rest. He came over to my house and just gave me this big wad of $1 bills like I was some kind of stripper of something. I guess he felt funny about keeping it. So, it was OK to misrepresent himself and take up a false colection if it's for a good cause (like lunch), but the stakes got too high and Doug felt a twinge of conscience. Isn't the morality of children wonderful?

Where was I? Oh yeah. Willie McCovey. The error was worth $25, which was $21 more than just the boring old regular card.

1986 Donruss Jose Canseco Rated Rookie. In Feb 1991, this card was worth $110. Apparently it was past it’s peak because it has that little down arrow next to it. As a kid, if you didn’t have this card…well...you were a dork. Sorry.

Since my return, I haven’t really picked up anything to get attached to. I have some cool cards, but nothing I would consider a centerpiece. Nothing that made me jump for joy when I got it. Not yet, anyway.

No, my centerpiece must come from my past collecting. Those cards I just listed are great. I’m glad I have them. They bring back great memories, but is any of them a centerpiece of a collection? So I asked myself what a centerpiece should be. I guess it came down to a card that is indispensable. A card that I wouldn’t give away or trade for anything. Are any of the cards I thought of like that? No, they aren’t. I’d trade any of them to someone who really wanted it. It probably sounds cheesy but I’d let go of any of them as long as I thought the person getting it was really going to appreciate it.

So, what do I have that I wouldn’t give away? When I figured out the right question, the answer was easy.

My 1990 Score Eric Davis. Beckett value 18 cents.

Eric Davis was awesome. He was my favorite player for a long time. People forget how good he was. Look him up on Baseball Reference (here, I did it for you). He had some monster years. But why this card? It’s because my cousin, Jim, got it for me. For Christmas. You’d have to understand how close we were. We were inseparable. We used to joke that we shared the same brain. There was no one in the world I loved more than my cousin Jim. And he’s probably the only person in the world who knew how much I loved Eric Davis, and thought of me when he saw that plaque with the 1990 Score Eric Davis card. He knew I’d love it. I knew the card itself wasn’t worth much, and I knew the plaque wasn’t worth anything either.

Thinking back on it, it’s pretty hilarious that someone, somewhere, decided to make plaques that held major leaguer’s cards and stuffed one with a 1990 Score card. But somehow, I always had the feeling that the sum was worth more than the parts. I don’t think I was wrong, either.

Tragically, Jim died this past summer in a horrible ballooning accident over the Grand Canyon. OK, that’s not true at all. But he did move to Charlotte. He’s still a cool dude. I'll see him at Christmas with his new daughter (we even had kids together). I'm going to bring a long this silly old plaque.

So there it is, the centerpiece of my collection. The one card I one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Unless it was a 2000 Bowman Draft Grady Sizemore Auto. A man has needs, you know?

What Makes a Collector?

“What makes a collector, Mr. Lebowski? Is it being willing to get the right cards, no matter what the cost?”

“Yeah, that and a big shoebox”

Gellman, over at SCU (If you have found this blog, I’m sure you know that blog) is asking for fellow card bloggers to contribute their stories about what they collect and why they collect it. I figured I’d write mine down and send it on over. Here it is.

I was always a baseball fan. I loved playing it, and I loved watching it. My dad was the coach of the high school varsity team. I remember as I kid I would go to practices and just hang out with the guys. They treated me like I was cool because of my dad, but I didn’t know that. I figured I WAS cool. That was so long ago I forget what it feels like. To be cool.

I was pretty much strictly a Tribe fan and we would go to a few games every year. Somehow I would be convinced that Cleveland would be good. I don’t feel so bad about that because they fooled Sports Illustrated too. In 1986 is when I really started collecting.

To be honest I really don’t remember what got me started. Was it my friends who got me into it or vice versa? I guess it doesn’t really matter all that much. In 1986 I became a card collector. I know this because a have a whole boatload of those Topps cards with the black top. They are staggering in their creativity.

1986 is also significant in that it is the year Canseco hit the scene. Then he was joined by Mark McGwire. You had the Bash brothers and those awesome A’s teams of the late 80’s. It was the first time I paid any attention to a team other than the Indians. I always rationalized it by saying that I liked them because Tony Bernazard was my favorite player on Cleveland and now he was an A, but that was bull. I liked them because of Canseco and McGwire. And I liked Canseco and McGwire because their cards were worth a lot.

That’s right. When I started out as a kid, I was one of Gellman’s Second world Collectors. I would bust wax just to get the ‘hits’ and the ‘hits’ were whatever Beckett told me they were. I had no interest in anything else. I don’t remember if I got excited to get Indians or not, to tell you the truth. I never completed a set. I don’t remember ever WANTING to complete a set. I had no interest in a card unless it was worth money. I look back on it and it makes me sad.

Well, I collected for a few years and then I stopped around 1990, judging by my collection. Great. 1986-1990. The best years for collecting. Can anyone tell me where I can get some 1989 Topps?

I guess I stopped because I got to high school. I was a lot busier and lost interest. I suspect it’s because it didn’t make you any more popular with the girls so what was the point? If only someone would have told that girls are also not impressed my card tricks, or with the fact that I can do a Rubik's Cube in under a minute, college may have been a much more interesting time. (Why aren’t girls impressed by card tricks?)

Well, I must have picked up the occasional pack from time to time because my collection had a smattering of cards, but I don’t have any recollection of where they came from. I went to college. I went to dental school. I got married. I moved a few times. Yada, yada, yada…

And then something interesting happened. My dad basically said: “Mike, come on over and get all of your old crap out of my basement. And take you brother’s crap too.” So I did. Along with all of my boxes of forgotten baseball cards. What happened next? Well, I did what any other 33 year old husband with a pregnant wife would do. I decided that they needed to immediately be sort, sorted again, re-organized and re-sorted. Then they needed to be documented and put into a list that could be easily referred to. There was nothing more important than to finally accomplish this task. Complete and total baseball card collection organization, at last.

So, I did what anyone in my shoes would do. I ran out and bought a Beckett. I was very surprised to find out that my entire collection took up about 2 pages in a phone book sized Beckett. And, where the hell did all of the arrows go? What is all of this stuff? Why does 2005 take up 45 pages? Who the hell is Colby Ramus and why the hell would someone pay $100 for his Topps Chrome Update Black Refractor? What the hell is Chrome? What the hell is a refractor? Why is my set of 1988 Donruss worth less than my parents paid for it 20 years ago?

So, I found the blogs trying to find out what a refractor is. Seriously. I put refractor into google and a while later I was on Ben Henry’s blog. I thought about sending him an email asking him what a refractor is (I’m still not 100% sure, I think it’s just a shiny card). I linked to SCU and got a real kick out of Gellman. I decided that I would make my own blog, basically to try to answer some questions. I figured that if I just write a question, about 100 people will answer it immediately. That’s how the interwebs work, right? It has since morphed into the monstrosity you see before you. It’s a blog that offers no new information, no real insight, no competent product review, no unusual or interesting cards because I don’t have any yet. I’m not really interested in that stuff anyway. There are a lot of other bloggers that can do that WAY better than I can. I’m really just interested in cracking myself up, along with the few friends and family that have stumbled across this ridiculous thing. The only thing I can offer is that hopefully, anyone who reads this blog will chuckle a few times, even if it’s at me instead of with me.

So, what do I collect now? I’m not entirely sure. I’m a set collector because I want to put together sets. I think it would be fun and I’ve never done it before, but I don’t know if the sets I put together need to include all of the autos. Is there a ruling on this? I’m a high end collector because I love all or the autos and jerseys and low numbered cards. I get a real thrill when I get my hands on something rare, but I still love the base cards and am not wiling to give those up. I’m a team collector because I love the Indians and I always want more of their cards, but I don’t want to completely ignore the other teams either. I’m a player collector because I love sizemore, and Hafner, and Camacho, and Snyder, but I don’t want to pass up other cool cards just because they aren’t on the short list of players that I want.

Basically, I’m waiting for it to become narrowed down naturally, without having to make a conscious decision to eliminate a part of collecting. I think right now, Blogging is really one thing that’s keeping me interested, even if my posts have been erratic as of late. It forces me to look closer at my cards, and think about them in a way I never did before.

Thinking about it, I probably did the whole thing in reverse. When I was a kid I should have been all about busting wax and putting together sets and loving the cards for the cards. It would make more sense to care about what they are worth now that I have means. It would make more sense if I chased the expensive high end cards to display. Maybe eventually I will. But, as of right now, give me my base cards and my Shin Soo Choo with his ear flaps.

I know this is long and rambling (I can’t seem to help it). I hope this comes close to answering Gellman’s question. Usually I’d read through it a few times and try to edit it a little, but I’m plowing through it with very little time. So forgive my meanders and tangents.

Tribecards Cards: Part 2

Here it is, the much anticipated 2nd part to the critically acclaimed review of the free cards David and Indians Baseball Cards sent me.

8. Julio Franco – 1997 Topps

I just love this card. Look at that swing. Julio definitely did not get cheated on that one. In reality it’s probably a pop up. In my head, that sucker’s still flying.

9. Jim Thome – 1992 Topps

This card says Jim was signed by scout Tom Couston. I’ll bet Tom Couston got a big fat raise.

10. Steve Olin – 1993 Triple Play

It’s a damn shame what happened to Steve Olin and Tim Crews. For those who don’t know. They died during spring training when their fishing boat hit a dock in the dark. Bob Ojeda survived. I have the jersey from that year with a patch honoring Olin and Crews on the side. I love that jersey.

11. Phil Niekro – 1987 Donruss

Look at how old Phil Niekro is. He’s like Adam Sandler’s ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend in Big Daddy. One thing I like about this card is that you really get a good look at Phil’s knuckleball grip. Most of the time I hear that knuckleballers grip it with 3 fingers, instead of the 2 you see here. I Like that Niekro grips it with 2 fingers. Why? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s because that’s how I grip MY knuckleball. And, my knuckleball is absolutely hellacious. I’m not kidding. Tim Wakefield should give me a call.

12. Carlos Baerga – 1994 Donruss

Baerga was a big part of the Great Indians Revival of the mid 90s. Acquired in the Joe Carter for Sandy Alomar Jr trade, Baerga went on to hit the absolute holy hell out of the ball for 6-7 years. He was traded right before he hit the wall (for Jeff Kent who the Indians, of course, didn’t keep. No, we like Jose Viscaino.) Why did he hit the wall? Some say it was the coke. Others say it was the coke. We’ll probably never know who was right.

13. Cory Snyder – 1991 Topps

My love for Cory Snyder is no secret. Look at that dude. Look at that beautiful blond hair. It’s a shame he ever had to wear a hat. There is one thing on this card that may make me re-evaluate my entire perception of Cory as a blonde, California, surfer boy who happened to have a cannon for an arm and, on the rare occasions that he did hit the ball, could hit it to Mars. If you take a look at his teeth (I’m not sure how well it will show up. His front teeth are a little uneven. His very front left 2 teeth are a little higher than the others. This can be seen sometimes in pipe smokers where they are constantly biting on the end of the pipe. Could it really be? Cory Snyder, pipe smoking surfer? I’m not sure what I think about that possibility.

14. Fred Kendall – 1978 Topps

Fred Kendall came from the Padres to the Tribe in 1977 along with Johnny Grubb and Hector Torrez in exchange for George Hendrick. It’s hard to say, in hindsight, who the cornerstone of that blockbuster was. It probably wasn’t Fred. After 8 years with the Padres and a career avg in the neighborhood of .237, the Tribe decided that Fred Kendall was their man to don the tools of ignorance. And why not? As his card says, Fred caught 146 games for the Padres the year prior, more than any other backstop. Heck, he even launched two whole home runs. Sounds like the Indians of the late 70s type of player.

15. Jim Perry – 1975 Topps

I don’t have much to say about Jim Perry. I just wanted to make sure I got a 1975 Topps card in there. What a set.

So, I’ll just share this incredible idea I had the other day. I’m not sure where it came from, but there it was. And, here it is:

I want to open up a pizza joint and call it Pizza Champs. OK? Stay with me here. Now, the commercial would be a bunch of people holding hands, Hands Across America style. And then there’s this dude dressed up like a slice of pizza, and maybe another like a pepperoni roll or a stromboli or something. These guys are front and center. OK? Got it? Alright. Now everyone is just swaying and singing: “All we are saaaayyying. Is git Pizza Chaaaaamps. All we are saaaaayyyying. Is git Pizza Chaaaaamps.” Over and over like that John Lennon song. Man, it has the potential to really get in your head. I’d even bet it’s already scrolling through some of your heads. AND, YOU HAVEN’T EVEN HEARD IT YET! You’re just imagining it. It’s that vivid.

Sometimes I’m so smart I scare myself. That would be a goldmine.

16. Danny Peoples – 1997 Bowman

Man, what the hell happened to this guy? I remember when they drafted him, he was almost some kind of can’t miss. I forgot all about him. Looks like he spent 6 seasons in the Tribe’s minor league system, made it as far as AAA, and that was that.

Think about how hard it is to make the majors. I’ll bet Danny Peoples is the best ballplayer in the history of his high school. There are people who are absolutely astounded that he didn’t make it. Danny Peoples probably played baseball better than I’ve ever done ANYTHING in my entire life. And, he couldn’t make it. And there are thousands just like Danny Peoples. That’s how hard it is to just make it to the majors for a cup of coffee. Think about that the next time to tell someone that a player “sucks”.

17. Kenny Lofton – 2008 Topps

Look how red it is. Great looking card. Why Kenny Lofton didn’t play ball this year I’ll never know. I just can’t believe there wasn’t a team that could use him. There will always be a special place in my heart for Lofton.

I hope I can eventually separate Lofton’s memory from Joel Skinner holding him up at 3rd base last year during the ALCS. Nobody will ever convince me that we wouldn’t have won if Skinner had just sent him. WHY DIDN’T YOU SEND HIM?!

18. Grady Sizemore – 2008 Upper Deck Starquest

Another really shiny and fun to look at card, regardless of the fact that he probably just fouled out to the third baseman. Let’s see what the back says.

“…the outfielder was just one of six players in the American League to accumulate 20 dingers and 20 stolen bases” You know who else accumulated 20 dingers? Jeffrey Dahmer. In his fridge. At least I think he probably did. I doubt he ever made it to 20 stolen bases though, so Grady’s still got that on him.

19. Shawon Dunston – 1998 Topps

I don’t have any idea what just happened to Shawon, but he sure looks happy about it. I’m not familiar with 98 Topps so I don’t know if they all have this gold border or if this is some kind of gold parallel. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to find out, but I’ll do that later. If this is a gold parallel, it will immediately go into a penny sleeve and a fireproof box as part of Grady’s college fund. I’m sure it’s worth $10-$15. I’ll have to check with Beckett. (For those who aren’t sure, I’m definitely kidding)

20. Ryan Morris- 2008 Bowman Chrome

I don’t know much about this Kid. He’s been with the Tribe since 2006 but has yet to make it past A ball. This last year and a half has been with the Lake County Captains, who coincidentally play about 5 minutes from where I grew up. Of course they didn’t exist when I was there, but hey…no big deal. So far he’s put up descent but not outstanding numbers. The scouting report on the back of the card states that he “shows excellent competitive nature on the mound.” I’m not sure exactly what that means. I think it might mean he’ll put it in your ear if you piss him off. At least I hope that’s what it means. I’ll be rooting for Ryan.

21. Cliff Lee – 2007 Topps

How awesome was Cliff Lee this year? What a great season. This card talks about how Cliff and Johan Santana are the only 2 pitchers with 32 starts and 14 wins each season since 2004. Mark Shapiro assures us that Cliff is so durable because he takes care of his body. Not long after this card was released, Cliff pulled a quad, started off terrible, was sent to the minors, relegated to the bullpen, and left off the postseason roster. I’m not sure if this card had anything to do with it.

I like this card because of the high leg kick. It’s just a great action shot. And, because his full name is, apparently, Clipson Phiter Lee. That’s a hell of a name.

I'll be back for another installment of this hilarious series soon (infant son willing). I'm hoping to also get up a post for Gellman's project, but I don't know if I can make the deadline. I think I have enough for one more before the weekend.