Strawberry's & More from Marc

Marc B sent me some cards recently and I am a grateful dude. These three cards of Darryl Strawberry all come from 2020 sets. The top two are from Donruss and are a throwback to their 1986 design. Because everyone knows the 34th anniversary of anything is a big deal.

These are Donruss Optic. One is regular and one is Holo Optic. One even has "Prizm" on the back. They are super shiny and whatever coating is on the top one didn't scan well; but the one before scanned much better. 

I've gotten now four 2020 Donruss cards as gifts from friends. This is amazing. 

Marc wasn't done. He also included the 2020 Allen & Ginter mini card. The border is elegant; beautiful. My favorite part about any A&G card is that all the numbers on the verso are spelled out.

But, in preparing this blog post, Marc sent MORE cards! There were two Darryl Strawberry cards, and then a bunch of Nationals card. I'm no longer actively collecting Nationals cards (was doing so for my nephews but they've stopped) but these are welcome and some of them are shiny! 

The Strawberry's are the base Donruss 2020 and, as well, the Holo Pink variation! My first truly Pink Card!

Dude! Marc! Thank you so much! All very welcome new cards to my collection!

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HOF Mike Piazza

October is National Pizza Month. Go eat pizza. Now. 

Mike Piazza (and some others) appeared in an episode of Married With Children (S9 EP11). I've never been in a movie or a TV show, but Oliver Platt played the role of a gay architect in the film Three to Tango and his character has my name. Have you had this happen? Where a character in a movie or TV show has your name? Or, have you yourself been in one? 

I haven't got anything else to say about him other than he's another HOF guy who ended his career with the A's. Like Frank Thomas the following year (2009) and kind of Tim Raines (2000, though Raines played a few games in 2001 and 2002, he didn't do enough to get another base card). 

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John Kruk: 1992 Upper Deck Team MVP Hologram

Three simple words: John. Kruk. Hologram.

This 54 card set issued by Upper Deck in 1992 features team MVPs. Kruk shared the MVP status bestowed by Upper Deck with relief pitcher Mitch Williams. I haven't gone team by team, but it seems like one position player and one pitcher was selected for inclusion. That's fair.

There were 26 teams back then. So I know you did the math really fast. That's 52. And I know what you're thinking, too: But the card set, you said, was 54? You wouldn't like lie to us, would you? What's the diff? Pray, do tell. 

Well, since you asked, Upper Deck issued cards numbered one and two in the set---especial---of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Terry Pendleton. Especial, and super creepy looking. Go check 'em out. 

Not quite sure what the image in the hologram is all about, but Kruk may be sliding into a base or doing a knees-bent push-up or plank, or, possibly, humping the ground. I'm not going to say anything else other than...

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Card from The Lost Collector

The Lost Collector sent me a card the other day. It's wordy. And one of the words isn't even a word, I don't think. It's the 2002 Topps Super Team Retrofractors featuring 1986 World Series Winning Mets Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez, and Dwight Gooden. This card is SN 1955/1986. It's a great card that joins the base of it, as well as Straw's other, regular, solo card. 

Thanks so much, AJ! I love this card and didn't even realize I didn't have it!

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HOF Roberto Alomaro

Roberto Alomar!! He earned 90.0% of the vote in his second year on the ballot in 2011. In 2010, he was given 73.7%. Just missing. He was a bright star when he came up with the Padres. He was clearly outshined in his first year or so by John Kruk, but after 1990, he decided he couldn't stand San Diego with out him and fled to Toronto. That's the really (un)true story. 

He had a 17 year career and seemed, frankly, transient. In those 17 years he played for seven different teams. His longest tenure was with the Toronto Blue Jays with whom he won two World Series. He was elected to 12 All-Star teams. He won 10 gold gloves and four silver sluggers. He was an All-Star game MVP and an ALCS MVP. A career .300 hitter, and lead the league in a standard batting state twice. In 1999 he scored 138 runs and had 13 Sacrifice Flies. That's it. His standard fielding has no bold stats. 

So, great job in getting into the Hall of Fame! I guess you were great!    

This is Alomar's 2005 Topps card. It's clearly a Spring Training card. It has the look of those classic 1970s cards but this is rather ugly. In fact, I think it looks awful. But what's curious about it is that he never played a game with them! He signed with them on January 20, 2005 and retired from baseball just two months later on March 19, 2005.  Remarkable! So, he played for seven teams, but was a member with eight. 

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John Kruk: 1992 Panini Stickers

1992 John Kruk! Quite a different thing to 1993 John Kruk! I think that's Darren Daulton in the background... just avoiding the jagged shark bite design on the left side of the sticker. 

This cold weather looking shot looks to be at Wrigley Field, no? So you thinking maybe April of 1991? Or, July after a cold front?

The Phillies did visit Chicago on April 15-17 of 1991. The weather on the 16th at game time was 54 degrees. And it was 50 degrees the following day. Brrrr. 

I don't have anything else to say. I kind of lost my momentum on this post reading the box scores. I did not know that George (formerly Jorge) Bell played for the Cubs. I gotta get out more! Bell liked Chicago so much after the 1991 season he signed with the White Sox and finished his career with two years on that team. 

How 'bout them Astros!

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Darryl Strawberry: 1993 Pinnacle Slugfest

Pinnacle apparently produced Sportflics cards which I never knew and by the time they started printing traditional cards I was out of the hobby. This is the 1993 Slugfest card which was a 30 card set issued that year. It was issued along with a Hometown Heroes subset which featured, I think, just seven cards. 

The hope on the back of the card!

Sadly Strawberry didn't have a good 1993 season. Or 1994. Or 1995. Etc. I tell you the smile on the back of the card is something awesome. Just beautiful! 

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