The Weekly Clean-Up

 

-  So I watched some baseball for the first time in a while.  Watched most of the post-season games that were on Fox or TBS actually.  I noticed that teams shift against pull hitting a lot more than they used to.  On the broadcasting side, there's now an annoying habit of showing other people during a plate appearance.  Dug-out, bullpen, whatever - let's see how many different players we can look at while only two matter.  At first I thought this was a TBS problem, but then I noticed Fox doing it too.  I hate it.   

-  So I received some free cards from Jeff (Wax Pack Wonders).      

 

Eight Scherzers and two Arenados.  

Nolan with the bat (four Silver Sluggers) and the glove (seven Gold Gloves).  

Scherzer pitching (three Cy Young Awards).

Scherzer smiling at the Swedish ambassador's daughter.  #Washington

Scherzer finishing second in the NL in ERA to a Dodger.  

See what Jeff did there?  Same team, but three different uniforms.  

Wax Pack Wonders:

https://waxpackwonders.blogspot.com

-  Happy Halloween!  

-  My last plug of Save Second Base.  Check out the women, comment on the posts, and so forth.  (I've volunteered for Race for the Cure the last several years, but I might be limited to donating this year.  I guess I'll see what November is like.)    

https://collectingcutch.blogspot.com

-  Then Sean Connery died, and Plenty O'Toole isn't happy.

Addresses Please

 Okay. I need addresses for the following people:

John Sharp 

Jon / Penny Sleeve 

Unknown

Sport Card Collector

morganyud at protonmail dot com

Halloween Quadrapalooza! (Thursday)

Football only.

U.S. and Canada only.

People who send me their mailing addresses only.

This is the last day.  

If you haven't claimed a prize pack, it's now or never.    

Today's Prize Pack

A Zombie pack, with a Monster insert.

Zombie -  A player who is past his prime and playing for a team other than the one with which he is  usually associated.  He's not himself anymore.  

Monster - A player I don't like.

The first THREE eligible entrants will receive one of these.   Just post a Halloween-related comment please.

Entry Deadline:  Noon on October 30.   

 

          

Halloween Quadrapalooza! (Wednesday)

Football only.

U.S. and Canada only.

People willing to send me their mailing addresses only.

This the the third of four days.  

I am offering a prize pack each day based on a horror movie theme. 

If you haven't claimed a prize this week, post a Halloween-related comment for your entry.  Or wait for tomorrow.   

Today's Prize Pack

A Low Budget pack, with a Monster insert.  

Low Budget -  A card from an inexpensive set.  Pro Set and Rookies and Stars are featured heavily, so if you prefer one of those or if you want to avoid one of them, say so in your comment.  Good players at least. 

Monster -  A player I don't like.      

The first THREE eligible entrants win a pack. 

Entry Deadline:  Noon on October 29  (Pacific)

Halloween Quadrapalooza! (Tuesday)

Football only.

U.S. and Canada only.

People who send me their mailing addresses only.

This is the second of four days.

Each day I offer a prize pack based on a horror movie theme.

I do not reveal the themes in advance.

Only one prize pack per person for the entire week.

Today's Prize Pack

A Scary Sub-Genre pack, with a Monster insert.

Scary Sub-Genre card -  A card from an insert set or sub-set:  Topps Attax, Adrenalyn, Peak Performance, etc.  If you request one of these three, I'll see what I can do. Unless somebody else requests it first. 

Monster -  A player I don't like. 

The first THREE eligible entrants will be getting one of these.  

Entry Deadline: Noon on October 28. (Pacific)

Halloween Quadrapalooza! (Monday)

Football only.

U.S. and Canada only.

People who are willing to send me their mailing addresses only.

There will be four days for this give-away.  

Each day, I will offer cards based on a horror movie theme. 

I will not reveal future days' themes in advance. 

Only one prize pack per person for the entire week. 

Today's Prize

A Ghost pack, with a Monster insert.

Ghost cards are cards of players who had already retired. 

Monsters are players I don't like.

The first THREE eligible entrants can get one of these.  Just post a Halloween-related comment and be willing to forfeit your soul chance at a different prize.  

Entry deadline:  Noon on October 27 (Pacific).

   

Best Baseball Card Sets of the 1980s

So this is the companion post to Worst Baseball Card Sets of the 1980s.  Just a reminder: major releases only, base cards only. Let's get to it.

10.  1986 Topps:  A front design that stands out from previous Topps releases.  I like it, though I can see how others might not.

9.  1986 Fleer:  Kind of similar to '86 Topps - good front design but not much else.  

8.  1985 Donruss:  Decent front design, with the year as a nice bonus.  Also, a white background for the stats section. 

7.  1989 Fleer:  One of my favorite front designs of the decade. 

6.  1986 Donruss:  Another one of my favorite front designs of the decade.  Again with the white background for the stats section, but this time with a better outer color than '85.    

5.  1984 Topps:  Decent front design.  A lot of action shots (with a head shot bonus). 

4.  1983 Topps:  Decent front design.  A lot of action shots.  Similar to '84 Topps, which might explain why they're adjacent in the rankings.. 

3.  1989 Score:  I like the front design.  A lot of action shots.  Color photo on the back and a white background for the stats.  

2.  1989 Upper Deck:  I like the front design.  Decent posed to action shot ratio.  Largish color photo on the back.  White background for the stats. 

1.  1988 Score:  I like the front design (which looks even better in a group).  The set is dominated by action shots, and to a lesser extent, pseudo action shots.  Color photo on the back and a white background for the stats.  

 

These rankings are indisputable!  Until I change my mind.

Cardbarrel Order

Dinner at Derek Jeter's house.

So I got 42 cards this time.  One of my more organized batches, with each card being a 2017 Topps Fire retired player, a Cy Young Award winner, or a football player trying to play baseball.  

     

-  1969 for Lonborg.

-  Perry is 1979.  I keep toying with the idea of doing a Padres page, but the guys I want seem to fit other categories.   

-  Wilson is 2018.

-  Tebow is 2019.  I think he's the better prospect at this point.  

So that's that.  

You Down Wit O.P.E.

Yeah you know me.  

So the madre visited on Tuesday and she brought down a few boxes of baseball cards from my youth.  It's nearly all overproduction era (O.P.E.)  cards, with just a few that are a bit older. 

-   Random 1979 Topps card, which is several years before I started collecting.

-  Carter returned to the Expos for his final season.

-  There are a few Future Stars and a bit more All-Star Rookies.

-  There's also a Shawon Dunston Rifleman.

-  A few of these No-Hit Club cards, including an Orioles shared one. 

-  Apparently Tom Glavine was a legit hockey player. 

-  A lot of Rated Rookies.  

-  Rickey breaking Brock's steals record. 

-  RJ was 24 - 24 with a 4.03 ERA when this card came out.    

-  Eight Darren Daultons, but Julie has 'em all.  

-  A decent stack of dupes, including Omar Vizquel as a Mariner. 

-  Some guys on wrong teams:  Dave Righetti as a Giant, Willie Randolph as a Brewer, Pedro Guerrero as a Cardinal, Dennis Eckersley as a Cub.  

So yeah - some O.P.E. cards might be showing up in give-aways soon.  Ha.  

The Weekly Clean-Up

-  So the MLB play-offs were going better than the previous round, but sheesh.

  

-  I received a gift from a lady friend.    

The starting center fielder on my all-time team was a nice bonus.  

The card I had asked for was a custom In Memoriam Lyman Bostock.  

The maker runs a blog:  https://whentoppshadballs.blogspot.com

Julie's blog if you wish to see the card:

https://acrackedbat.blogspot.com/2020/09/gio-1970s-series-2-with-side-of-contest.html

-  So I watched the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.  Didn't get much done for a few days.  But I made it to the post office on Friday, so somebody should finally get his Ten On the Tenth cards in a few days.             

-  I see pink.  Seems like a good time to mention Collecting Cutch and Save Second Base.

https://collectingcutch.blogspot.com

-  Also on Friday (yesterday), I received another Cardbarrel order.  So I'll be showing some of those cards soon.