Opening Day

Sometimes you just have to go with a cliche.  I dipped into my collection of unopened packs for this one.  Hey, you've probably seen enough of this year's Opening Day anyway.  I expected to be underwhelmed but check it out.  This is about as good a pack as any.  All seven guys have been All-Stars at least once and two are sure Hall of Famers.  The two inserts were 1:4 and 1:8 packs.

 

 

2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers Royals to Twins

I really miss sets like this 2001 UD Hall of Famers.  I picked this one up for $8.00 shipped.  Lets look at them all.

Nice shot of George banging out one of his 3,154 hits

Not your protopical slugging 3rd baseman.  George is 6th all time in doubles.

Johnson has one of the all-time great nicknames, The Big Train.  He was scary good.

More than a quarter of his wins, 110, were shutouts.

The Big Train and Now Cool Papa.  He looks pretty young here.

Cool Papa was so fast it was said he could turn out the light switch and be in bed before the room got dark.

This is an outstanding group today.  Here's the second of Cooperstown's First Five.  

The numbers speak for themselves.

The greatness continues with two of the game's true gentlemen.

The Eye of the Tiger -- Mr. Tiger

Again, consistency is the mark of excellence.

I love shots of young Harmon with the Senators.  I don't know if I've ever seen this one.  His career total of sacrifice bunts?  Zero.

Harmon was a true slugger.  .256 BA, 573 HR.

2001 UD Hall of Famers Texas to Cincinnati

I really miss sets like this 2001 UD Hall of Famers.  I picked this one up for $8.00 shipped.  Lets look at them all.

The black Babe Ruth, I've always heard of this guy spoken with reverence.

"I played with Willie Mays and against Hank Aaron," Hall of Famer Monte Irvin once said. "They were tremendous players, but they were no Josh Gibson."

Nolan seems to be another guy that everyone likes.  His card values speak to that.  I like seeing him in a Rangers uniform.  Imagine what his win totals would be had he played for better teams.

His longevity is a testament to his work ethic.  Seven no-hitters is just sick.  And just imagine, he also had 12 one-hitters and 18 two-hitters.  37 games of two hits or less!

This photograph seems to capture Carlton Fisk's intensity.

With apologies to my South Side friends it's a shame Carlton didn't spend his entire career in Boston.  He seems the epitome of the New Englander.

Is it just me or is this guy under appreciated?

13 straight season of 100+ RBIs. --and not 101 or 102.  Check out 1932!

These next two photos are disappointing.

Bench and Fisk at catcher were to the 70's what Brooks Robinson and Ron Santo were at 3rd base during the 1960's.  That is, the best at their position in each league.  Bench was one of Ron Santo's biggest HOF boosters.

Maybe the heart of the Big Red Machine, Joe is certainly one of the All-Time greats at 2nd base.

Just so consistent in all areas as a Red.  This card doesn't show his outstanding base on balls totals.  Joe is 5th all-time.

Card of the Day

I admire those of you who make collecting goals and methodically work at achieving them.  My collecting, like my collection, is pretty disorganized.  A couple of years ago I had the idea to start collecting cards of Jewish players.  Here's a recent addition, my only card purchase this month.

Al "Flip" Rosen will most likely be in anyone's top 5 or so greatest Jewish baseball players.   This commemorative card is from the Topps' 1961 set.  It's not from his playing days but it is vintage.

Here's a relatively recent interview with Al:

2001 UD Hall of Famers -- Mets to Pirates

I really miss sets like this 2001 UD Hall of Famers.  I picked this one up for $8.00 shipped.  Lets look at them all.

Here's Tom Terrific looking very pleased.

14-2, 2.55 ERA in the 1981 strike year.  Tom pitched pretty well at age 39-40 for the White Sox.  These days you can make a lot of money going 31-22 and averaging 33 starts and 220 innings.

An aside here.  I know this isn't a set of every Hall of Fame member but as we go on I'm starting to notice the omissions.  The next team is a case in point.

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like this guy?

For a 3rd baseman Brooksie's numbers don't really pop.  As the first bullet point indicates he's in the Hall more for he defense and perhaps leadership.  Not that 2848 hits is anything to sneeze at.

This guy was a beast.  He saved his best for my Cubs, most hits, most home runs, most RBIs.  I'm sure he robbed a bunch of Cubs hitters of extra base hits as well.

Mike said if he had taken steroids he would have hit 800 home runs.  I believe him.  Upper Deck made him a .302 hitter.  Sorry Mike, it was a solid .267.

This photo was taken after Roberto's last regular season hit, his 3000th.

Outstanding  but his defensive numbers are up there as well.  No right fielder has more career assists.

The long time Mets broadcaster died last month at the age of 91.

Short but sweet.

If Ernie Banks is Mr. Cub, is Willie Stargell Mr. Pirate?

The Flying Dutchman was one of the original five.

Gaudy numbers.  1732 RBIs with only 101 HRs.