Quick Thoughts on Zito

Barry Zito is going to the Giants for a whopping $126 million over 7 years. I have liked Zito since he came up with Oakland, but I wasn't really expecting him to get the richest contract for a pitcher in MLB history. At least Hampton is now off the hook. What I think I think:

1) As Solid as Zito has been, this is way too much money for too many years.

2) Giants needed to do something after losing Schmidt and getting outbid for every other free agent they targeted.

3) Assuming Zito stays healthy (big assumption) The Giants should have a damn good rotation in a year or two.

3a) The fact that he's rated most similar to Mike Hampton the past three years of his career should scare the hell out of the Giants.

4) At least the Giants invested in someone under 30 for once.

5) Maybe he can mellow out Barry.

5a) Peter King writes entirely too much about bad coffee.

6) At least now I won't have to hate him for becoming an evil Met.

Good Grief

It took three days for me to realize I misspelled the freakin' title.

Still no digital imaging capability, so no pics for you. Not yours.

Me gots scanner! Pics galore ensues!

Turkey Red Short Prints & Variations

Ok, still no scanner so here's a list of Turkey Red Shortprints for the 2005 and 2006 sets. Like many of their other old timey sets, Topps decided to continue the numbering scheme on these sets, picking up at #316 for the 2006 edition. As confusing as it might be to have several cards with a 'first year' label in the first set and a 'official MLB rookie card' label in the second set (oh yes I will gripe about this at a later date, don't you worry) but it makes a lot of sense for one simple reason: The 2005 and 2006 series designs are both are completely identical. Anyone who tries to sort through a pile of mixed year Topps Archives cards or through 2005 and 2006 Turkey Red Football will know what a collossal pain in the rear looking for the tiny copyright date on the back of the card can be just to differentiate between the different sets.

I'll post a list of variations for the set in the near future, maybe even with... *gasp* a SCAN of the cards! I haven't actually gotten desperate enough to start swiping scans from eBay yet, but give me time...

Topps Turkey Red Short Prints

1 Barry Bonds – Road Uni Variation
5 Roger Clemens
5 Roger Clemens - Orange Sky Variation
10 Sammy Sosa
10 Sammy Sosa - No Name Variation
16 Mike Piazza – Blue Jersey Variation
20 Manny Ramirez
25 Carlos Beltran
28 Rich Harden
30 Richie Sexson
55 Roy Oswalt
59 Wily Mo Pena
60 Magglio Ordonez
70 Jim Thome
75 Ichiro
75 Ichiro - No Name Variation
78 Troy Glaus
83 Eric Chavez – Night Sky Variation
85 Scott Rolen
87 Joe Mauer
90 Alfonso Soriano
100 Alex Rodriguez
100 Alex Rodriguez - Glove Variation
102 Adrian Beltre– Road Uni Variation
106 Miguel Tejada
110 Hideki Matsui
115 Curt Schilling
120 Vladimir Guerrero
120 Vladimir Guerrero - Swinging Variation
125 Randy Johnson – Night Sky Variation
130 Ivan Rodriguez – Batting Helmet Variation
132 Carlos Delgado
149 Jason Bay
150 Albert Pujols
155 Pedro Martinez
160 Johan Santana
160 Johan Santana - Throwing Variation
170 Tim Hudson
175 Nomar Garciaparra
181 Gustavo Chacin
184 Felix Hernandez
185 Zach Day
193 Jose Capellan
195 Steven White
199 Joel Guzman
214 Mike Gonzalez
220 Scott Kazmir
225 Mark Prior
225 Mark Prior – Blue Sky Variation
230 Derek Jeter
230 Derek Jeter – Night Sky Variation
233 Brandon Backe
266 Steve Finley
270 Todd Helton
270 Todd Helton – Night Sky Variation
316 Alex Rodriguez - Texas Rangers Variation
316 Alex Rodriguez - Seattle Mariners Variation
317 Jeff Francoeur
325 Magglio Ordonez
332 Joe Mauer
338 Jake Peavy
339 Carlos Delgado
339 Carlos Delgado - Toronto Blue Jays Variation
343 Richie Sexson - Milwaukee Brewers Variation
348 Preston Wilson - Florida Marlins Variation
350 Ichiro
351 Mike Piazza - New York Mets Variation
357 Chris Shelton
358 Chone Figgins
364 J.J. Hardy
375 Derrek Lee
390 Jim Edmonds
392 Morgan Ensberg
395 Greg Maddux
400 Barry Bonds
405 Johnny Damon
410 Andruw Jones
411 Jhonny Peralta
416 Josh Beckett
418 Noah Lowry
422 Felix Hernandez
430 David Ortiz
430 David Ortiz - Minnesota Twins Variation
444 Jose Reyes
449 Nick Swisher
450 Derek Jeter
451 Scott Kazmir
455 Ken Griffey Jr. - Seattle Mariners Variation
459 Xavier Nady
460 Randy Johnson - Houston Astros Variation
465 Ryan Howard
466 Tim Salmon
467 Mark Buehrle
476 Nick Johnson
476 Nick Johnson - New York Yankees Variation
481 Ryan Madson
489 Chase Utley
493 Tadahito Iguchi
497 Jorge Cantu
501 Alfonso Soriano
501 Alfonso Soriano - New York Yankees Variation
508 Tim Hudson - Oakland Athletics Variation
521 Ervin Santana
524 Adrian Gonzalez
528 Joe Crede
532 Scott Rolen
535 Mark Teixeira
541 Ronny Cedeno
561 Livan Hernandez - San Francisco Giants Variation
565 Jonny Gomes

P.S. - A quick note to my heckler - I actually have three digital cameras, one has a dead battery and the other two take pictures that resemble snapshots of Jimmy Hoffa and Bigfoot at a Cubs World Series game. You should know better than to expect me to have anything cutting edge like a camera phone. Hell, I'm still playing Tecmo Super Bowl and NHL 95 on my old Super Nintendo!

Starting off on the right foot

Two posts in, and already I have technical difficulties.

This post was supposed to show off the card that started me on the road to ruin, a 1980 Topps Mike Schmidt, but my scanner is making some really interesting grindy noises so that's on hold for a while. Concidering both my printer and scanner were around during the Clinton Administration, perhaps it's time to invest in one of those newfangled printer/fax/scanner contraptions with the $50 replacement ink cartridges. For the time being, imagine an '80 Topps Schmidt that has spent far too much time in a little kid's back pocket.

In lieu of Schmidtty dog-eared goodness, here's an excellent article on Hall of Fame voting, by the man himself. I'm glad to see that at least one of the Veteran committee voters has had a change of heart and that maybe there will be someone actually elected this time around. Like Mike, I still can't figure out how Kaat isn't in already and it sure would be nice if some '80's stars like Rice, Hawk and Murph finally got their due. Seriously, if Sutter's a Hall of Famer, how can Goose Gossage and Lee Smith not be?

Hopefully I'll get my act together soon and will have some beautiful ratty old abused cards scanned and posted for your enjoyment and edification.

Update!

The dead scanner has been replaced with a fancy brand new Epson printer\scanner\copier\juicer\slicer\dicer\turnip twaddler\time machine combo platter so here for your amusement is the VERY FIRST CARD I EVER OWNED: (drumroll)





Beautiful, isn't it??

This was actually one of two 'first' cards for me as I first found this card in my grandparents' basement in an old desk along with an '80 Bob Horner. Bob was my favorite player growing up (along with Knucksie) so that card was my 'first card ever' for a while, at least until I brought the cards to school one day and someone swiped the Horner but left the Schmidt. Go figure.

Howdy

My name is Dayf, and I'm a cardaholic.

It has been said about me that I do not collect baseball cards so much as hoard them. My basement looks like Al Qaida set off a dirty bomb at the National Card Convention. I cherry picked packs for inserts long before it was cool. My doubles rival the inventory of many professional card sellers. If Topps bubble gum was heroin, I'd be the cast of Trainspotting. In short, I got too many damn baseball cards.

I admit, I have a problem. I also admit I'm not going to be doing anything to resolve that problem any time soon. So as long as I'm going to be an addict, I might as well be an attention whore as well and splash my debauchery on the intarwebs.

Since my drug of choice is manufactured by Topps, there will be a distinct slant toward their products on this blog. Quite frankly, I've never been all that interested in Upper Deck and their trendy shiny holgrams, give me the ratty old dog eared cards made out of actual paper and not some chemical compound any day. I'll mix it up from time to time and talk about other brands and sports and even non card related items since I have the attention span of a flea with ADD, but expect to see a lot of Topps baseball cards here.

Now granted, a blog about the obsessive compulsive behavior of an anonymous internet nerd... made by an amateur... perhaps of interest to only two or three people... may not seem very exiting to you, but quite frankly this is really just an excuse to post pictures of my collection. I mean, hell, everyone and their mother posts pics of their cats online, no one will mind me posting my '53 Mathews or '81 Niekro. Besides, since Topps refuses to post lists of all the short prints and variations they put in their heritage sets, a blog is a good way to plop it all in one spot so I don'thave to wade through 8 billion ads in a google search just to see which Turkey Red Preston Wilson is the short print.

Now, on with the show...

Allen & Ginter Full Size Inserts Wantlist

2008 World's Greatest Victories

WGV1 Kerri Strug
WGV2 Mark Spitz
WGV3 Jonas Salk
WGV4 Man Walks on the Moon
WGV8 Gary Carter and the '86 Mets
WGV9 The Battle of Gettysburg
WGV10 Deep Blue
WGV11 The Allied Forces
WGV12 Don Larsen
WGV13 Truman Defeats Dewey
WGV14 The American Revolution
WGV15 2004 ALCS
WGV16 The Battle of Thermopylae
WGV17 Brown v. Board of Education
WGV18 Team Orange
WGV19 Bill Mazeroski
WGV20 Cinderella


2009 Allen & Ginter's Highlight Sketches

AGHS1 Aaron Boone
AGHS2 Ken Griffey Jr.
AGHS3 Randy Johnson
AGHS7 Manny Ramirez
AGHS12 New York Yankees
AGHS13 David Wright
AGHS15 Jon Lester
AGHS16 Alex Rodriguez
AGHS17 Chipper Jones
AGHS18 Derek Jeter
AGHS19 Albert Pujols
AGHS24 Mariano Rivera
AGHS25 Evan Longoria


2010 Baseball Highlight Sketches

AGHS3 Derek Jeter
AGHS7 Carl Crawford
AGHS11 Andre Ethier


2011  Baseball Highlight Sketches

BHS-5 Albert Pujols
BHS-11 Trevor Hoffman
BHS-15 Aroldis Chapman
BHS-23 Mark Teixeira
BHS-24 Jason Heyward
BHS-25 Ichiro

Floating Fortresses

FF3 Henri Grace a Dieu
FF7 Mahmudiye
FF17 USS Texas
FF20 USS Pennsylvania

The Minds that Made the Future

MMF8 Granville Woods
MMF9 Elisha Otis
MMF15 Isaac Newton
MMF16 Marie Curie
MMF22 Ada Lovelace
MMF23 Florence Nightingale
MMF24 Nikola Tesla
MMF32 Robert Koch
MMF35 Jagadish Chandra Bose
MMF36 Aristotle

The Ascent of Man

COMPLETE


2012 Historical Turning Points Insert Set Checklist

HTP2 The Battle of Waterloo
HTP4 The Reformation
HTP11 Signing of the Magna Carta
HTP16 The French Revolution
HTP17 The Great Depression
HTP18 On the Origin of Species
HTP19 Sputnik I
HTP20 The Agricultural Revolution

World's Tallest Buildings Insert Set Checklist

WTB1 Burj Khalifa
WTB4 Willis Tower
WTB6 Empire State Building

Baseball Highlights Sketches Insert Set Checklist

BH-1 Roger Maris
BH-3 Ichiro
BH-6 Frank Thomas
BH-8 Derek Jeter
BH-9 Ryan Braun
BH-11 Nolan Ryan
BH-12 Justin Verlander
BH-13 Matt Moore
BH-14 Mickey Mantle
BH-18 Ozzie Smith
BH-19 Carlton Fisk
BH-20 Jose Bautista
BH-21 Willie Mays
BH-22 Joe DiMaggio
BH-24 Roberto Clemente

Murder in Willow Cove

People:
Bob Levinski
Chase McMurphy
Chuck Snider
Cynthia Pritchard
Dan Proot
Don Givens
Greg Keeley
Jack Guttman
Jackie Pritchard
Joey Furts
Kerry Fulder
Larry Mudlin
Price Laughton
Sheriff Dave Kring
Sigmund "Skip" Buttle
Trudy Givens
   
Evidence/Places:
Bloody rag
Bowling trophy
Footprints
Givens Residence
Klugman Residence
Second scrap of paper
Shattered display case
Skudlow Park Gazebo
Vacant Lot
Willow Cove High School


2013 Civilizations of Ages Past Set Checklist

COMPLETE

Curious Cases Set Checklist
COMPLETE

Martial Mastery Set Checklist
COMPLETE

One Little Corner Set Checklist

COMPLETE

Palaces and Strongholds Set Checklist

COMPLETE

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Air Supremacy

AS-18 MiG-15

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Coincidence

AGC-03 1895 Car Crash in Ohio
AGC-11 4th of July: Jefferson, Adams, and Monroe

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Festivals Fairs
COMPLETE

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Fields of Yore

COMPLETE

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Natural Wonder
COMPLETE

2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball World's Capitals
COMPLETE

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Ancient Armory
COMPLETE

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Great Scott
COMPLETE

Keys to the City 

KTC-8 The Space Needle - Seattle
KTC-9 Welcome Sign - Las Vegas

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball Menagerie of the Mind

COMPLETE

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball What Once Was Believed
COMPLETE

2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Baseball What Once Would Be
COMPLETE

2016 Natural Wonders

NW-1 NW-3 NW-5 NW-8 NW-9 NW-10 NW-11 NW-19 NW-20

2016 Baseball Legends

BL-1 BL-3 BL-6 BL-7 BL-9 BL-10 BL-11 BL-12 BL-14 BL-16 BL-17 BL-18 BL-19 BL-21 BL-24 BL-25

2016 Mascots in the Wild

MIW-2 MIW-3 MIW-5 MIW-7 MIW-8 MIW-9


2017 Revolutionary Battles

RB-1 Battle of Lexington
RB-2 Battle of Bunker Hill
RB-5 Battle of Trenton
RB-8 Battle of Cowpens

2017 Sport Fish and Fishing Lures

SFL-5 Salmon
SFL-7 Trout
SFL-11 Spotted Sea Trout
SFL-14 Giant Trevally
SFL-15 Bluefin Tuna
SFL-16 Yellowfin Tuna
SFL-19 Barracuda

2017 World's Fair

WF-7 Diesel Engine Exposition Universelle
WF-12 Unisphere 1964/1965 World's Fair
WF-15 Ferris Wheel World's Columbian Exposition
WF-16 Biosphere Expo 67
WF-17 Statue of Liberty Exposition Universelle
WF-19 Habitat 67 Expo 67


2018 Baseball Equipment of the Ages

BEA-1 Vintage Glove
BEA-2 "The Catch" Glove
BEA-8 Batting Gloves
BEA-11 Vintage Baseball
BEA-20 Rosin Bag
BEA-21 Batting Shin Guards
BEA-22 Catching Shin Guards
BEA-26 Radar Gun
BEA-28 Eye Black
BEA-29 Baseball Sweater


2018 Magnificent Moons

MM-3 Io
MM-7 Phobos
MM-10 Ganymede


2018 World's Greatest Beaches

WGB-4 Roatan
WGB-7 Venice Beach
WGB-9 Cozumel


2019 Incredible Equipment Set Checklist

IE-1 Thor's Hammer
IE-2 Robin Hood's Bow
IE-3 Pecos Bill's Lasso
IE-4 Paul Bunyan's Axe
IE-5 Old Stormalong's Harpoon
IE-6 David's Slingshot
IE-7 Rosie the Riveter's Work Gloves
IE-8 Don Quixote's Lance
IE-9 William Tell's Crossbow
IE-10 Achilles's ArmorIE-11 Hermes's Sandals
IE-12 King Arthur's Sword
IE-13 Heracles's Club
IE-14 Merlin's Staff
IE-16 Cupid's Bow
IE-17 Santa's Sleigh
IE-18 Pied Piper's Pipe
IE-19 Odin's Throne
IE-20 Johnny Kaw's Scythe


2019 Mares and Stallions Set Checklist

MS-1 Arabian Horse
MS-2 Quarter Horse
MS-3 Thoroughbred Horse
MS-4 Tennessee Walking Horse
MS-5 Morgan Horse
MS-6 American Paint Horse
MS-7 Appaloosa
MS-8 Miniature HorseMS-9 Andalusian Horse
MS-10 Kentucky Mountain Horse
MS-11 Clydesdale
MS-12 Cleveland Bay Horse
MS-13 Irish Cob Horse
MS-14 Mustang Horse
MS-15 Holsteiner Horse


2019 The History of Flight Set Checklist

HOF-1 Wright Flyer
HOF-2 A Vlaicu III
HOF-3 Demoiselle Monoplane
HOF-4 Supermarine S.6B
HOF-5 Me 262
HOF-6 Sikorsky R-4
HOF-7 B-17 Flying Fortress
HOF-8 DH 106 CometHOF-9 Boeing 707
HOF-10 Bell X-1
HOF-11 Harrier Jet
HOF-12 SR-71
HOF-13 Concorde Jet
HOF-14 Shuttle Discovery
HOF-15 Shuttle Endeavour

Vintage Oddball Sets wantlist

1960 Leaf
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 29 30 31 32 33 34 37 38 39 40 41 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
51 52 54 55 57 59 60 61 62 63 65 66 67 70 71 72 73 74 75
76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125
126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144

1971 Fleer World Series
04 05 06 07 14 16 17 21 22 23 25
27 29 31 32 33 34 36 37 38 39 40 41 43 46 47 48 49
51 54 55 56 59 60 61 62 65 66 67 68 71 72 73 74 75
76 77

1961 Post
have 42 107 111 176

1962 Post
have 6 8 23 133 145 147

1963 Post
have 56 66 106 149 156 157 166 177

1970 Kellogg's
have 11 52

1971 Kellogg's
have 54

1972 Kellogg's
have 6 9 14 24 27 28 30 33 39 41 51

1972 Kellogg's All Time Greats
have 6 10

1973 Kellogg's
have 29 37 39 42

1974 Kellogg's
have 3 8 10 12 14 19 25 27 29 31 33 37 38 39 44 47 48 50 53 54

1975 Kellogg's
have 10 13 25 50 52 109

1976 Kellogg's
have 13 20 21 22 35 43

1977 Kellogg's
have 11 17 19 25 26 31 39 42 43 44 46 54 55

1978 Kellogg's
have 7 10 57 89

1979 Kellogg's
22 Rose
29 Seaver

1980 Kellogg's
have 27 31 35 36 48 51

1981 Kellogg's
1 10 15 16 17 22
37
57 63 65

1982 Kellogg's
3 4 8 11 12 14 16 18 21 25
27 28 30 42 43 50
51 64

1983 Kellogg's
1 2 3 4 6 8 9 14 15 18 21
29 31 39
58

1991 Kellogg's
1 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 15

1992 Kellogg's
2 3 5 7 9

1975 Hostess
have 4 8t 32t 48 104 110t 128 130 132 135 150

1976 Hostess
have 63 80 121

1977 Hostess
have 3 17 18 32 46t 98 100 104 122 123

1978 Hostess
have 8 15 21 39 58 61 72 79 80 81 90

1979 Hostess
have 5 68 

 

1981 Perma-Graphics Credit Cards

have 009 025 028

Trade Bait

2002 Stadium Club relic
2005 Bazooka relic
2001 Topps Heritage
1996 Donruss Longball Leaders 2906/5000
1997 Topps Gallery Player's Private issue one of 250
1993 Hostess Baseballs
1990 Hills Hit Men
1990 Big League Statz bootleg card
1987 Fleer Headliners
1988 Fleer Stickers
1989 Donruss Action All Stars

1998 UD Retro Time Capsule
1993 Pinnacle Slugfest
1995 Fleer Headliner
2000 Upper Deck Power Rally
1999 Pacific Crown Collection Latinos
2000 Pacific Crown Royale
1998 Pacific Invincible
1999 Pacific Private Stock
2000 SPX
1995 Stadium Club Trans Action
2000 Pros and Prospects
1993 Classic
2001 Fleer Premium
1999 HoloGrFX
1995 Collector's Choice Crash the Game
2001 Fleer Platinum Series 1
2001 Platinum Series 2
1998 Pinnacle
1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond
1998 Pacific Paramount
1997 Pinnacle Express
2000 Topps Stars
2000 Pacific

Not scanned:

Topps
1989 500
1991 All Star 390
1992 All Star 401
1990 Bowman 460

Upper Deck
1992 Diamond Skills 649
1994 140
1995 Collector's Choice 415

Donruss
1988 302
1989 91
1989 40/40 club 643
1989 MVP BC-5
1990 125
1991 536
1991 Grand Slammers 4
1992 548
1998 198
1993 Leaf 241

Fleer
1987 389
1988 276
1990 3
1990 Decade 629
1991 5
1991 Lightning Bolt 6 of 12
1995 281

Score
1988 45
1989 Highlight 655
1991 All Star 398
1992 500


Updated 12/18/07