1988 Starting Lineup Talking Baseball Mets Team Set

When I turned 13 in 1988, I think one of my birthday presents was the Starting Lineup Talking Baseball game.  The game was electronic and you could play the built-in teams or buy extra cartridges that had other teams.  The built-in teams were AL All-Stars and NL All-Stars, and there were cards of them; I've posted them before.  A cartridge would have three more teams, and I only had one cartridge, with the Phillies and Pirates, and the third team was the Mets.  I showed the Pirates once before too.  The All-Star teams had photos on the cards and the cards that came with the cartridges are drawings instead; not sure why.  Also, speaking of things I'm not sure about, I don't know why I have 25/20 of these cards.  For some reason I have two each of Roger McDowell, Jesse Orosco, Rafael Santana, Tim Teufel, and Mookie Wilson.

Bill Almon.

Wally Backman.

I won't have a lot to say about all these guys.  But I know both Bill Almon and Wally Backman from their days with other teams.  Almon was a Pirate before he was a Met, and then ended his career with the Phillies.  Backman also had some years with the Phillies, as they were working on their 1993 pennant run.  He left the Phils in 1992 though.

Gary Carter.

David Cone.

Here we have a couple more famous guys, in Gary Carter and David Cone.  Cone wasn't with the 1986 championship Mets but made up for it with 5 World Series wins after that.

Ron Darling.

Lenny Dykstra.

I always think the same thing when I think of Ron Darling.  I think it must have been before a World Series game, although it could have been for something else, the TV station was doing a Warren Zevon song parody in the pregame.  It was of "Werewolves of London."  The line about Ron Darling was, "I saw Ron Darling with a Chinese menu in his hand."  Lenny Dykstra doesn't need much further comment, I think.

Sid Fernandez.

Dwight Gooden.

According to the book "The Bad Guys Won" about the 1986 Mets season, Sid Fernandez is pretty dumb.  The book tells a story where he decides not to buy a house because he doesn't understand the concept of a mortgage.  Then there's Dwight Gooden.  Like Gary Carter above, those stars around him show that he was an All-Star.

Keith Hernandez.

Howard Johnson.

Keith Hernandez, of Seinfeld fame, and Howard Johnson, suspiciously powerful hitter.

Barry Lyons.

Dave Magadan.

I don't know anything to say about Barry Lyons.  Dave Magadan was well-known at the time for being a Future Star in the 1987 Topps set.

Lee Mazzilli.

Roger McDowell.

Roger McDowell is another who went on to the Phillies, as the closer before Mitch Williams showed up.  Mazzilli was one of the senior members of the 1986 Mets team, having debuted in the majors in 1976 in a first stint with the Mets.

Kevin McReynolds.

Jesse Orosco.

The worst of the '86 Mets were the "Scum Bunch," and Jesse Orosco was their leader.  I don't have much to say about Kevin McReynolds; he was with the Mets from '87-'91, and again to close out his career in '94.

Rafael Santana.

Darryl Strawberry.

Daryl Strawberry is also adorned with stars here, indicating that he was an All-Star.  Rafael Santana didn't have a long or storied career, and being with the '86 Mets seems like it's his career highlight.

Tim Teufel.

Mookie Wilson.

According to the book, Tim Teufel came to the Mets from the Twins.  The atmosphere in Minnesota was professional and supportive, and he had the shock of going from that to the crude and juvenile atmosphere of the Mets.  He was assimilated into the Mets' culture, being arrested after a bar fight in Houston on a road trip.  Mookie Wilson was an exception to the antics with those Mets; he later recorded a gospel album, for instance.

Thanks for reading!

Venn Diagram: 3 short-time Pirates, 3 1984 Fleer Update, 5 cards total

 I finally received my COMC box that I requested shipment of in July.  I won't get into how I haven't posted in months, and I'll just jump right into a post of 5 cards from the box.

Luis Tiant of the Pirates.

I posted once about folks I hadn't realized were ever Pirates.  I covered Bobby Shantz, Maury Wills, Amos Otis, and George Hendrick there. In the comments I was pointed to a post of Dime Box Nick, in which I learned of a few more.  I didn't want all of them for myself, but Luis Tiant was too good for me to pass up.

Goose Gossage of the Pirates.

I hadn't known that Luis Tiant was ever a Pirate, but I did know about Goose Gossage.  I think the story of the airbrushing on his 1978 Topps card is well-known.  I looked into whether there were any cards (from the time, not modern cards) of him with the Buccos, and this one came up.  It's always good to have another old Hostess, too.

Pete Rose of the Expos.

Along the same lines, but without the Pittsburgh connection, is this 1984 Fleer Update of Pete Rose with the Expos.  Of course Pete Rose is an extremely problematic individual, and I wouldn't usually go out of my way to get another card of him.  But Pete Rose with the Expos is kind of like Reggie Jackson with the Orioles, and it feels like it needs commemoration in my collection.  For Reggie the best I have (at present) is the 1988 Score card.  This is a bit better to me since this is actually from the time that he was with the Expos.

Shane Rawley.

I got a couple more 1984 Fleer Update cards.  I went to a lot of Phillies games with Dad in the late 80s/early 90s.  This was the period firmly between their 1983 and 1993 pennants.  They were generally quite bad in that interval.  Shane Rawley was the ace of the pitching staff for a couple of years, around 1987.  He came to the Phils after time with the Mariners and Yankees, and finished his career in 1989 with the Twins.  He put together a 111-118 career record with a 4.02 ERA.

John Tudor of the Pirates.

So who is at the intersection of this Venn diagram?  Short-time Pirate John Tudor on a 1984 Fleer Update card.

 Thanks for reading!  We'll see if I can post a little more in the next couple of months.

Two more New York Giants: Ott and Fitzsimmons

I've posted a couple of times now about the movie Big Leaguer.  While it's not that great a movie and I don't want to make too much of it, I did order a handful of cards related to the movie and I've been posting them as they come in.  So today we have two more, Mel Ott and Fred "Fitz" Fitzsimmons.  There's a scene in the movie where they're telling the guy running the Giants spring camp to get more results, and he says that not everyone is going to be an Ott, Hubbell, or Fitzsimmons.  Hubbell was not only mentioned but was in the movie, and I posted some of his cards the other day.

Cramer Baseball Legends Mel Ott.

Mel Ott card back.

For Hubbell and Hans Lobert, I got 1940 Play Ball cards of them to go in the binder. Fitzsimmons, too, as you can see below. I looked at a 1940 Play Ball of Ott but decided I had spent enough money already. I have a few Ott cards already (1985 Topps Circle K, 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats, Pacific Legends, and Swell Baseball Greats), but I wanted one that was closer in its look to the 1940 Play Ball, while also being cheap. So here we have it, this Cramer Baseball Legends card, which is my fifth from that set.

1940 Play Ball "Fitz" Fitzsimmons.

Fitzsimmons card back.

I hadn't heard of Fitzsimmons before and had to look him up. He's actually here in the Play Ball set as a Brooklyn Dodger; he was with the Giants from 1925-1937, and then was with Brooklyn from 1937-1943. He had a solid career, with a 217-146 record with a 3.51 ERA. He actually went on the manage the Phillies for a couple of years, and was a longtime coach after that.

There's just one more card I have coming related to the movie, and that's a 1939 Milky Way card of Edward G. Robinson, which I've mentioned a couple of times.  I'll post that when it arrives with my COMC order, hopefully next month.  Thanks for reading!

Some more 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats: the 1950s

I posted some cards from the 1950s portion of the 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats set the other day.  When I went to put those cards away, I saw that there were some cards missing.  A little investigation showed that I had set some cards aside for a blog post.  The cards I'm showing here are the ones I had originally (several months ago) intended to show to represent the 1950s portion of the set.  But then, you know, pandemic and all, I forgot.  So between the two posts, I'm showing almost all of the cards from of the 50s from the set.

Jackie Robinson.

Roy Campanella.

I should have noticed something amiss.  I should have noticed that Jackie Robinson should have been there.  So here he is with his Brooklyn teammate Roy Campanella.  Back in the late 80s/early 90s when I was collecting, cards like this and Baseball Immortals and the like were the only way I could have cards of these greats.  I'm fortunate to have been able to add a couple of old cards of them to my collection lately.

Ernie Banks.

Mickey Mantle.

Ernie Banks and Mickey Mantle are here, and to my mind they show a limitation of the format, that it's hard to slot some of these players into just one decade.  Of course Banks and Mantle were huge in the 60s, too.  They both won two MVP awards in the 50s, and Mantle got a third in the 60s.  They both led their leagues in home runs and RBIs a few times, but in both cases, not after 1960.  So maybe the 50s is the right call for both of them, that while they continued to be great, they had the most impact in the 50s.

Mainly Robin Roberts.

Bob Lemon, Don Newcombe, and Robin Roberts card back.

If I told you that a Sportflics card had Robin Roberts, Don Newcombe, and Bob Lemon on it, you wouldn't necessarily know who the scan of the card would pick up.  The image that came out was mainly Robin Roberts, which I'm glad about.  I've said a number of times that he was Dad's favorite when he was growing up.  I feel like I'm almost done collecting overall, but I definitely want to pick up one more good Robin Roberts card before I stop.  (I have a couple more goals, but I do need to add another solid Robin Roberts card.)

That's all for now!  Thanks for reading!

Some Carl Hubbell cards

In a recent post I mentioned the movie Big Leaguer, which I saw many years ago on cable, and then looked it up recently and watched it again.  It was mainly about the New York Giants and I guess they wanted a baseball player to have a bit part, so they got Carl Hubbell.

1940 Play Ball Carl Hubbell.

1940 Play Ball Carl Hubbell card back.

I'll put a few cards in my binder related to the movie, and I already posted the 1940 Play Ball of Hans Lobert.  I also ordered, but haven't received yet, a 1939 Milky Way Edward G. Robinson, who played Lobert.  Then while writing the previous post I thought I could get a good Hubbell, too, and it came in the mail this past weekend.  So this is my 4th from the 1940 Play Ball set; I posted the other three recently (Lobert, Jimmie Foxx, and Bucky Harris).

Baseball Immortals Carl Hubbell.

1986 Sportflics Decade Greats Carl Hubbell.

Of course a look through the old collection shows that I already had a couple of Hubbells, but not as good as the 1940 Play Ball.  One of these is a Baseball Immortals.  I bought the whole set of Baseball Immortals around 1983 or so; the set wasn't completed yet I guess, as they kept issuing new cards for a few years after that.  But I don't even have all of my circa-1983 set, as I must have traded a few here and there back in the day (or been careless and lost or destroyed a handful).  Then I have this 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats card; I've made a couple of posts of cards of that set, and will keep doing so as they're great nostalgia cards.

 The movie itself is only so good, but I like commemorating things that I've seen in my binder, and it's always good to have an excuse to pick up another old Play Ball card.  Thanks for reading!

1986 Sportflics Decade Greats: the 1950s

 I posted once before about picking up the 1986 Sportflics Decade Greats set.  As the name suggests, the cards are arranged by decade.  They start with the 30s, and I posted a handful of the cards representing the 30s and 40s.  I've meant to get back to this, and today here are some of the cards of the 50s.

An image mainly of Mickey Vernon.

Best first basemen of the 50s.

Sportflics of course sometimes did solo cards of players and sometimes leveraged their format for greater impact, and here we have a 3-in-1 card of the best first basemen of the 50s:  Gil Hodges, Ted Kluszewski, and Mickey Vernon.  Speaking for myself at least, you never know which image you'll get when scanning Sportflics, and what showed up here was an image that was largely Mickey Vernon in his Senators cap.

Ralph Kiner.

Stan Musial.

Although the 1950s Pirates weren't very good, finishing either 7th or 8th each year from 1950-1957 (although things picked up after that), I wanted to represent them here.  Above, Ted Kluszewski is mentioned as being a Pirate on the card back, but he's pictured as a Red.  Here we have a better representation in Ralph Kiner.  I think the effect of the scan is funny, making him look like one of those 1938 Goudey cards with the big head.  The Cardinals were actually only a little better than the Pirates in the 50s, in a bit of a lull between winning multiple World Series in the 40s and in the 60s.  Here we have their great, Stan Musial.

Warren Spahn.

Eddie Mathews.

By contrast, a perennial contender in the 50s was the Braves, and they did take home a World Series in 1957.  I've said many times on this blog that the Phillies winning the 1980 World Series was a formative experience for me, happening just as I was turning 5 years old.  That team rhymes a bit with those Braves of the 50s, with the great left-handed pitcher (Warren Spahn or Steve Carlton) and the 500-home-run hitting third baseman (Eddie Mathews or Mike Schmidt).  There isn't an analogue of a young Hank Aaron on those Phillies, though.

Luis Aparacio and Nellie Fox.

Best Double Play Duo of the 50s.

The White Sox didn't win a World Series in the 50s but they were a contender, with a pennant in 1959 and several 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the AL.  They're represented well here with Hall of Fame infield combo Nellie Fox and Luis Aparacio.  There's also a card (not pictured) of Hall of Fame pitcher Early Wynn, who finished the decade with the White Sox.  Other players representing the 50s in the set that I'm not showing are Duke Snider and Yogi Berra (and a few more, which will be featured in another post).

This is really a great set with a lot of beautiful photos.  I think it's Sportflics at its best.  Thanks for reading!

Book Post: Electric October

The book Electric October came out in 2017, and I think I've seen at least a couple of cardblog posts about it.  A friend gifted me a copy for my birthday either last year or maybe the year before, and in our lockdown (or maybe a bit after lockdown was relaxed) I found the time to read it.  The book focuses on 6 lives, at it says.  What it calls the most exciting World Series, that of 1947, came down to some key moments from some less famous, or not famous at all, baseball folks.

1940 Play Ball Bucky Harris.

Bucky Harris card back.

It's hard to make the case that the 6 lives are all people who otherwise wouldn't be known for much, as the book tries to make out, since one of them is a Hall-of-Famer.  Bucky Harris certainly isn't the most famous Hall-of-Famer, but still people may well have heard of him.  He won the World Series twice as manager, bringing the Washington Senators their first title in 1924, and then winning the 1947 series with the Yankees.  His Senators also lost the World Series to the Pirates in 1925.  I mentioned the other day when I showed my 1940 Play Ball Hans Lobert card that I would be showing another from that set soon, and here it is.  This is my third card from the set with one more (Carl Hubbell) on the way.  I'm tempted to get more as I think it's a beautiful set, but it's surely an extremely foolish endeavor to think about getting all of them.  I might stop at the four I have.

The Wiz Snuffy Stirnweiss.

The Wiz Snuffy Stirnweiss card back.

Another of the main players was 1945 AL batting champ Snuffy Stirnweiss.  According to the book, Stirnweiss had a chip on his shoulder about having won the batting title when many players were doing military service.  I chose to represent him with this The Wiz Yankees of the 50s card; I have a couple other of these Wiz cards, both of John Candelaria (for his time with the Mets and with the Yankees in the 80s).  Stirnweiss died in a tragic train accident in the late 50s.

1970 Fleer Laughlin World Series Al Gionfriddo.

Fleer Laughlin card back.

Another of the players was "little guy" Al Gionfriddo of the Dodgers.  He is best known for a catch which may have robbed Joe DiMaggio of a home run in the World Series.  Gionfriddo never played in the majors again after that World Series.  This is my first Laughlin card, although I do have some later Fleer Laughlin sticker backs (I guess they can be considered cards, but to me they're stickers); it's a welcome addition to my collection.

1960 Topps Cookie Lavagetto.

Cookie Lavagetto card back.

Another of the prominent figures in the story of the 1947 World Series is Brooklyn player Cookie Lavagetto.  Part of the story of the book is how some players are welcome to stay around after their playing days are over while others aren't.  Lavagetto was a popular guy and went on to be a big-league manager, shown here with the Senators.

Of the six main characters of the book, I haven't mentioned Yankees pitcher Bill Bevens yet.  I didn't find any cards I liked of him (some of the cards had his name misspelled, which I don't like).  Bevens is shown as a contrast to Lavagetto in that he would have liked to keep working in baseball but was never offered anything after that 1947 World Series.  The final character is Dodgers manager Burt Shotton.  I bought a card of him from the Target All-Time Dodgers set, but it's in my COMC shipment that won't be arriving until at least October.  I'm happy to get the Target Dodgers represented in my collection.

Overall, while I enjoyed the book I also don't especially recommend it.  It's quite well-written and the author makes a good narrative crafted around Harris, Shotton, Lavagetto, Gionfriddo, Stirnweiss, and Bevens, but in the end it's just a story of a World Series between two teams that I don't especially care for.  The later Dodger championship teams would be of much more interest to me, and some Yankee losses might be more up my alley.  But a story about the Yankees winning yet another World Series can only be made so compelling to me.

Thanks for reading!  I'm really on a roll, having made three posts in three days after 4+ months off from blogging.