My Favorite Baseball Player's Sunset Cards

 

-  He retired early in the 1989 season.  I was in attendance at Candlestick when he got on base safely for the last time (on a walk).  He failed to get on base safely in the last game of the series with the Giants.  Then he retired before the first game of a series against the Padres in San Diego.

-  I have the Donruss, Score, and Upper Deck.  Not the Fleer or the Topps.

-  Some say Schmidt is the best baseball player since Willie Mays.

Anyway, this subject was suggested by John, of Tigers fandom fame.

John's Big League Baseball Blog (johnsbigleaguebaseballblog.blogspot.com)    

Nihon to MLB Top Ten

Let's look at some Japanese imports.

Ichiro Suzuki

-  10x All-Star, 10 Gold Gloves, 2001 AL MVP

Shohei Ohtani

-  3x All-Star, 2x AL MVP

Yu Darvish

-  5x All-Star

Hideo Nomo

-  1x All-Star, threw 2 no-hitters

Hideki Matsui

-  2x All-Star, 2009 World Series MVP

Kaz Sasaki

-  2x All-Star, 2000 AL Rookie of the Year

Masahiro Tanaka

-  2x All-Star, 78 - 46

Koji Uehara

-  1x All-Star, 2013 ALCS MVP

Takashi Saito

-  1x All-Star, 84 Saves

Hiroki Kuroda

-  79 Wins, 115 ERA+

They Minored in Modesto

Catcher

Ted Simmons - Reds (Cardinals)

First Base

Mark McGwire - A's (Oakland A's)

Second Base

Joe Morgan - Colts (Colt .45s)

Third Base

Nolan Arenado - Nuts (Rockies)

Shortstop

Troy Tulowitzki - Nuts (Rockies)

Outfield

Rickey Henderson - A's (Oakland A's)

Dwayne Murphy - A's (Oakland A's)

Jose Canseco - A's (Oakland A's)

Designated Hitter

Reggie Jackson - Reds (Kansas City A's)

Starting Pitchers

John Denny - Reds (Cardinals)

Kevin Tapani - A's (Oakland A's)

Bob Forsch - Reds (Cardinals)

Matt Keough - A's (Oakland A's)

Rick Honeycutt - A's (Oakland A's)

Relief Pitchers

Rollie Fingers - Reds (Kansas City A's)

Al Hrabosky - Reds (Cardinals)

Pedro Borbon - Reds (Cardinals)

Jay Howell - A's (Oakland A's)

Tom Burgmeier - Colts (Colt .45s)

Bench

Mickey Tettleton - A's (Oakland A's)

Jason Giambi - A's (Oakland A's)

Tony Batista - A's (Oakland A's)

Miguel Tejada - A's (Oakland A's)

Joe Rudi

Charlie Blackmon - Nuts (Rockies)

Manager

Sparky Anderson - Reds (Cardinals)

Note:  The cards are all in my collection and the pics are from TCDB (per usual). 

Seinfeld Super Slam Winner

 

All hail, King George!

He swept Jerry in the title bout.  

I ranked the top contenders thusly:

Jerry

George

Elaine

Kramer

Newman

J. Peterman

Clearly, I was wrong. 

Seinfeld Super Slam Title Bout

 

He destroyed suede.  He stole marble rye.  He dated a virgin and a massage therapist. The Superman of observational comedy, Jerrrrrrry Seinfeld!

He saved a whale.  He killed his fiancee.  He wore boxers to gym class.  The man Marisa Tomei refers to as the one who got away - George Costannnnnnnnza!

Time Traveling

 

A small trade with Matty K.  brought me this duo:

The brand name and logo and licensing of the team logo, even if it could have been shown better.  Definitely an acceptable food issue card.

They only needed five games.  Just sayin'.  

Diamond Jesters (diamond-jesters.blogspot.com)

Seinfeld Super Slam Final Four

 

There were two sweeps last round:  Kramer and George.  

There was one tie, which I will settle myself.

Elaine vs J. Peterman:  Elaine wins.

1.  Jerry

Kramer

2.  George

Elaine

Seinfeld Super Slam Elite Eight

 

There were four unanimous winners in the second round:  Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and Newman.

Sidra got a vote against George - the only time through two rounds that a main character didn't win unanimously. 

There was one tie, which I will settle myself:

David Puddy vs Kenny Bania:  Puddy wins.  

1.  Jerry Seinfeld

Frank Costanza

2.  Cosmo Kramer

Newman

3.  George Costanza

David Puddy

4.  Elaine Benes

J. Peterman