Golden Barney!

When your team loses 101 games, you don't have very much to cheer for. Darwin Barney's defensive play was one of the few bright spots. He tied the major league record for consecutive errorless games at second base in a single season. Last night he was named the Gold Glove winner for the National League second baseman. Yeah, Darwin!

He's the first Cub to win the award since Derrek Lee in 2007 and the first Cub second baseman since Ryne Sandberg.  Ryno won it nine years in a row, from 1983 - 1991.  Once a guy starts winning a few in a row, it seems that reputation alone is enough to keep winning.  Brandon Phillips has won three of the previous four Gold Gloves at second.  The thought was that he may win it again this year, partly because of his previous wins.  But my boy Barney prevailed.

Here's a gold card to celebrate the gold glove.

Tile Tuesday: Allen & Ginter

Last week's Conlon tile was pretty plain looking.  Most of the cards has the exact same black design.  This week its another plain looking tile, but with white instead of black...Allen & Ginter.

Plain cards doesn't mean unpopular, though. Topps brought back the Allen and Ginter name in 2006 and it was immediate hit.  It has been one of their most popular brands ever since.  Count me among the likers.  I've got complete sets of each of year of Ginter.

My only complaint with Ginter is the ever growing number of relic cards.  The tile will give you a good look at the recent explosion of relics.  Here is how the number of Cubs relics has grown over the years...1..2..3..2..5..12..10.  That's 22 from the past two years, 13 from the first five.

Back to Three Bucks

For every big bucks Buck O'Neil, I've picked up a fistful of three buck autographs of guys like these...

....Sam Fuld.  Sam made a great catch for the Cubs late in 2007 season and became a cult hero among Cub fans.  He never did much more for the Cubs and ended up in Tampa in 2011 via the Matt Garza trade.  

...Kevin Orie was one of the many busts the Cubs tried out at third base.  His career didn't amount to much, but he has a nice signature, so he's got that going for him.

More Than Three Bucks for Buck

The autographs from yesterday were only a few bucks each.  Today's was more than that, but worth every buck I spent...

...for Buck O'Neil.  What a great looking picture of Buck against the brick wall of Wrigley Field.  The signature is shaky but readable.  The fact that O'Neil was 88 year sold when the card was signed might have something to do with the shakiness.

Buck was the first black coach in MLB history, serving as one of the many rotating coaches during the College of Coaches era.  Before coming to the Cubs he was a player and later manager in the Negro Leagues.  He was Ernie Banks' manager when Ernie was with the Kansas City Monarchs.  My guess is that was a factor when the Cubs hired him, first as a scout, and later as coach.

His appearance in Ken Burns' Baseball documentary brought him to national prominence.  For the rest of his life O'Neil was the unofficial spokesman for the Negro Leagues.

He died at the age of 94 in 2006.

Three Bucks Autographs

I've been on a bit of an autograph kick lately.  My goal is to have one autographed card for each Cub that had a certified autograph card sometime during his playing time with the Cubs.  I've already got most of the big names.  What I'm chasing now are the lesser guys from several years back.  Many of those cards can be had for only a few bucks.  When you see the players, you'll know why...

....Sean Gallagher.  He was one of two young pitching Seans the Cubs had (Marshall was the other).  The Cubs traded Gallagher to the A's in the Rich Harden trade.  It always makes me nervous to trade a young pitcher.  He went seven innings in his first start for the A's and gave up only two runs.  I thought, uh-oh.  But he then lost his next next six starts (though he only took the loss twice) and I was feeling better.

Kevin Hart's card has both an autograph and a jersey piece.  What a deal!  The Cubs sold high when they traded Hart to the Pirates just before the deadline in 2009.  At the time of the trade, he had won three starts in a row while lowering his ERA to 2.60.  Once he got to Pittsburgh, the bottom fell out.  He was 1-8 for the Bucs with an ERA of 6.92.

The Cubs picked Matt Karchner up from the White Sox for the 1998 stretch.  He cost the Cubs a class A prospect named Jon Garland.  This was not a good deal for the Cubs. Karchner spent the next two seasons between AAA and Chicago. Garland helped pitch the Sox to the 2005 World Championship.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

1989 Fun Fact Sticker Book

A couple oddballs for the Ernie and Billy collections...

These come from this 1989 book,

the Hall of Fame Fun and Fact Sticker book.

The stickers are smaller than baseball cards, measuring 2 1/8" by 1 5/8".  As you can see from the book cover, there were 100 of these.  There are a couple other Cubs in the book (Cap Anson and Mordecai Brown) but I didn't bother with them.

I was able to get both stickers together in a lot for a whole dollar.  I figured what the heck.

The book isn't listed in the Standard Catalog, so I've got the entire checklist below, in case you're looking for a player or team that you collect.

44	Hank Aaron
72	Grover Alexander
5	Cap Anson
18	Luis Aparicio
20	Dave Bancroft
6	Ernie Banks
94	Ed Barrow
55	Roger Bresnahan
7	Dan Brouthers
60	Mordecai Brown
33	Jesse Burkett
54	Roy Campanella
38	Max Carey
90	Alexander Cartwright
97	Happy Chandler
46	Roberto Clemente
37	Ty Cobb
56	Mickey Cochrane
23	Jimmy Collins
98	Jocko Conlan
9	Roger Connor
50	Sam Crawford
19	Joe Cronin
64	Candy Cummings
26	Ray Dandridge
31	Ed Delahanty
63	Martin Dihigo
39	Joe DiMaggio
11	Bobby Doerr
100	Billy Evans
57	Buck Ewing
61	Red Faber
62	Bob Feller
53	Elmer Flick
70	Whitey Ford
13	Frankie Frisch
80	Pud Galvin
1	Lou Gehrig
92	Warren Giles
76	Lefty Gomez
74	Lefty Grove
34	Chick Hafey
43	Billy Hamilton
52	Harry Hooper
71	Waite Hoyt
99	Cal Hubbard
75	Carl Hubbell
82	Catfish Hunter
32	Monte Irvin
16	Hughie Jennings
96	Ban Johnson
51	Willie Keeler
24	George Kell
35	Joe Kelley
8	George Kelly
48	Chuck Klein
79	Sandy Koufax
10	Nap Lajoie
95	Kenesaw Landis
68	Bob Lemon
58	Ernie Lombardi
85	Connie Mack
40	Mickey Mantle
36	Heinie Manush
17	Rabbit Maranville
66	Rube Marquard
25	Eddie Mathews
65	Christy Mathewson
87	Joe McCarthy
4	Willie McCovey
89	John McGraw
88	Bill McKechnie
3	Johnny Mize
30	Stan Musial
49	Mel Ott
67	Herb Pennock
78	Eddie Plank
91	Branch Rickey
69	Eppa Rixey
12	Jackie Robinson
86	Wilbert Robinson
83	Red Ruffing
47	Babe Ruth
22	Joe Sewell
84	Warren Spahn
41	Tris Speaker
27	Willie Stargell
2	Bill Terry
73	Dazzy Vance
21	Arky Vaughan
14	Honus Wagner
77	Ed Walsh
42	Lloyd Waner
45	Paul Waner
81	Hoyt Wilhelm
28	Ted Williams
29	Billy Williams
15	George Wright
93	Tom Yawkey
59	Cy Young

Des Plaines Illinois

I bought this Post 1962 card of Ed Bouchee because of this part of the card...

Home: Des Plaines, Illinois.  Like Ed, I lived in Des Plaines, too.  I spent 12 years in Des Plaines and my two older sons probably consider it their hometown.

I actually knew Ed a little, and wrote about it here.

I've always wondered how he ended up in Des Plaines.  As far as I can tell, the only connection he had to the Chicago area was from his time with the Cubs.   Bouchee grew up in Washington and then played for the Phillies before coming to the Cubs.

He had some legal trouble in Washington, so he may not have felt welcomed back home.  Once traded from the Phillies to the Cubs during the 1960 season, he may not have wanted to stay in Philly anymore, either.

The Cubs spring 1961 roster book already lists Des Plaines as his hometown, so it looks like he moved his family to the area pretty quickly after the trade.  You can see on the card that the Mets took him in the 1962 expansion draft, but he kept his home in Des Plaines.  By 1963 his career was over.

After baseball, he worked as a warehouse supervisor and also took up officiating.  After retiring, he eventually left Des Plaines and moved to the warmer climate of Gilbert, Arizona.  I left Des Plaines for the not so warm climate of Michigan.

Missing Something on the Final Moyer

He had a nice run, but Jamie Moyer's career is finally over.  Topps was nice enough to include a card of him in the Update set.

Unfortunately, something is missing from the back, though.  Take a look.

I don't think I've seen this before on a Topps card....incomplete career stats.  Instead of going back to his debut with the Cubs in 1986, Topps starts with his 1995 stats.  Last year they were able to squeeze in his entire career.

But I guess they didn't want to go with a small font on the 2012 card.  What a shame.  The guy has a career that lasted 26 years, but Topps couldn't deviate from its template and put in his entire career.  Boo!

This is Moyer's first card as a major leaguer, issued by the Cubs in 1986.  Who would have thought that his career wouldn't end until 2012.  I sure didn't.

To give you a little perspective on just how long Moyer was in the majors, I've got the Mindset List from Beloit College.  Each year they put together a list of things that reflects the world view of the incoming freshman.  This is the 2008 list, for students born the year Moyer made his MLB debut, 1986.  Read it and feel old!

1. Desi Arnaz, Orson Welles, Roy Orbison, Ted Bundy, Ayatollah Khomeini and Cary Grant have always been dead.
2. Here's Johnny! is a scary greeting from Jack Nicholson, not a warm welcome from Ed McMahon.
3. The Energizer bunny has always been going, and going, and going.
4. Large fine-print ads for prescription drugs have always appeared in magazines.
5. Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less.
6. They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice.
7. Baby Jessica could be a classmate.
8. Parents may have been reading The Bourne Supremacy or It as they rocked them in their cradles.
9. Alan Greenspan has always been setting the nation's financial direction.
10. The U.S. has always been a Prozac nation.
11. They have always enjoyed the comfort of pleather.
12. Harry has always known Sally.
13. They never saw Roseanne Rosannadanna live on Saturday Night Live.
14. There has always been a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
15. They never ate a McSub at McD's.
16. There has always been a Comedy Channel.
17. Bill and Ted have always been on an excellent adventure.
18. They were never tempted by smokeless cigarettes.
19. Robert Downey, Jr. has always been in trouble.
20. Martha Stewart has always been cooking up something with someone.
21. They have always been comfortable with gay characters on television.
22. Mike Tyson has always been a contender.
23. The government has always been proposing we go to Mars, and it has always been deemed too expensive.
24. There have never been any Playboy Clubs.
25. There have always been night games at Wrigley Field.
26. Rogaine has always been available for the follicularly challenged.
27. They never saw USA Today or the Christian Science Monitor as a TV news program.
28. Computers have always suffered from viruses.
29. We have always been mapping the human genome.
30. Politicians have always used rock music for theme songs.
31. Network television has always struggled to keep up with cable.
32. O'Hare has always been the most delay-plagued airport in the U.S.
33. Ivan Boesky has never sold stock.
34. Toll-free 800 phone numbers have always spelled out catchy phrases.
35. Bethlehem has never been a place of peace at Christmas.
36. Episcopal women bishops have always threatened the foundation of the Anglican Church.
37. Svelte Oprah has always dominated afternoon television; who was Phil Donahue anyway?
38. They never flew on People Express.
39. AZT has always been used to treat AIDS.
40. The international community has always been installing or removing the leader of Haiti.
41. Oliver North has always been a talk show host and news commentator.
42. They have suffered through airport security systems since they were in strollers.
43. They have done most of their search for the right college online.
44. Aspirin has always been used to reduce the risk of a heart attack.
45. They were spared the TV ads for Zamfir and his panpipes.
46. Castro has always been an aging politician in a suit.
47. There have always been non-stop flights around the world without refueling.
48. Cher hasn't aged a day.
49. M.A.S.H. was a game: Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House.

Tile Tuesday: The Conlon Collection

From 1991 through 1995, the Sporting News and Megacards put out the Conlon Collection.  The cards featured the works of sports photographer Charles Conlon.  A total of 1430 cards were issued.  For the first four years, the cards featured an identical design and were in sets of 330 cards.  They were numbered consecutively, from 1 - 1320.

In 1995 a change was made to both the design (the cards were green instead of black, and glossy) and in number.  The set was going to be released in two series of 110 cards.  The second series never saw the light of day, and so the set ended with 1430 cards.

I like the cards enough that I've purchased the entire run.  The first three years are easy and inexpensive.  The 2004 set is tougher and the 2005 is a real pain.  I think I waited almost a year for a set of the 2005s to show up at an affordable price, and I was able to get the entire set in an unopened package.

There are 88 different cards that featured Cubs players.  We get cards of Hall of Fame guys like Gabby Hartnett, Dizzy Dean, and Mordicai Brown and cards of anonymous players like Art Nehf and Curt Davis.  It's a very eclectic set.

If you want to get a better look at the cards, click on the Conlon logo below the tile and it will take you to my Photobucket page.

More OPC Billy Williams

My next two Billy Williams OPC cards have arrived, from 1970 and 1971.

The 1970 front is identical to the Topps card...

 but the back isn't.

You can see how OPC used the blue box only for the player's personal information.  The write up was with a white background.  My guess is that was done due to the smaller font necessary to get both the English and French text included.  I do like that the cartoon has the words written by the cartoonist.  They did drop the little speech bubble; not enough room for dual language, I suppose.

The 1971 card again has an identical front.

The back, though, has more differences than any other OPC set.

Pretty much the entire design was changed.  That was quite a bit of work for OPC to make all those changes.  Probably more than they wanted, since no back was ever so different again.

These cards bring my Billy OPC total to four, with three more left to go.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 10,879 Cubs cards from 71 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades. 

1950s/1960s: 1954 Topps #60 Frank Baumholtz  Like so many players from his generation, Baumholtz came to the major leagues at an older age due to military service in World War II.  He was a 28 year old rookie for the Reds in 1947.  The Cubs picked him up a couple years later, and by 1954 he was an aging part time outfielder.  He played in 90 games and hit .297

1970s: 1979 Topps #716 Scot Thompson  Do you suppose Thompson is so sad looking because he knew the picture was going to end up on an ugly, black and white rookie card?  He was the Cubs first round draft pick in the 1974 draft and he made it to the majors at the end of the '78 season.  He hit .417 in 19 games, so there was lots of optimism about him when the 1979 season opened.  He had a decent rookie season, hitting .289 in 128 games.  He didn't hit for any power, though, with only two homers.

1980s: 1988 Fleer Glossy #414 Jody Davis  This is a nice action shot of Davis tagging out some Cardinal.  I can't tell exactly who the Cardinal is, but he is wearing one of those big arm bands with the picture patch.  The 1988 season was Jody's last with the Cubs.  The wear and tear of being an everyday catcher had caught up with him and his numbers were dropping.  He played in only 88 games for the Cubs before he was traded to the Braves at the tail end of the season.

1990s: 1990 Big #109 Mitch Williams   I liked these Big cards!  Wild Thing was riding high into the 1990 season, having helped pitch the Cubs to the division crown in 1989.  But a knee injury limited him to 59 games.  He was 1-8 and saved only 16 games.

2000s: 2005 Donruss Elite Turn Of the Century #157 Ernie Banks  This card is from my player collection.  There's an overused picture of Ernie from 1969, but at least Donruss got the Cubs logo correct, using the one with the small blue circle that was the Cubs primary logo in the late '60s and most of the '70s.

Excited About Rafael Dolis' Autograph

Why on earth am I excited about getting this update card, with Rafael Dolis' autograph?

It certainly isn't his 2012 record of 2-4, or his ERA of 6.39 that's got me excited.

Actually, it isn't Rafael at all.  It's the seller that I bought the card from that made my day.  First, the card was listed as a BIN for only $1.99.  On card autographs for a couple bucks, what a deal.  But even better than the price was the shipping.  Look at how the card arrived...

....Blue tape sealing up the toploader!!  I've been on the blue tape kick for a couple years, now.  Why?  Because it peals off so easily and leaves no residue behind. The toploader can be reused without a sticky mess left on it.

Go green...recycle...use the blue.

Barney Rainbow Grows

Topps decided to include Gold bordered cards of all 660 from the base plus the 330 update cards in the update set. They are all numbered /2012. In the past the gold borders were included in series one and two. I'm not sure why the waited until the update set this year.

I'm not bothering with the golds for the entire Cubs team. All I need is the Darwin Barney card to add to the rainbow. That makes a total of ten different versions of the Fabulous Flying Barney.

Here's all ten together

 

2012 Update Extras

In addition to the 16 Cubs base cards from yesterday, there were another seven Cubs in the insert sets.

Golden Moments

Two Cubs made the list, Ernie Banks (his 500th Home Run) and Starlin Castro (two hits on June 14, 2012 to help the Cubs beat the Brewers in extra innings).

Golden Greats

 

Mr. Cub and the Hawk (fresh from being pulled out of the ivy) were included.

Blockbusters

Ryne Sandberg is in this subset, but I wouldn't exactly call Larry Bowa and Ryne Sandberg for Ivan DeJesus a blockbuster trade.  It was Dallas Green looking for a field leader (Bowa) and getting a prospect, too (Sandberg) while the Phillies got a younger shortstop with better range.

Minis

 

Ryan Dempster is in the base update set as a Ranger, but the minis must be printed much earlier, so he's still with the Cubs.   Bryan LaHair got the mini set as a consolation prize instead of an All Star card.

2012 Update Cubs

My update cards have arrived!

There were 24 different cards in my Cubs update package, and I'll have them all over the next couple days.

Today, its the base cards and the gold sparkles.  There were eight different Cubs cards in the 330 card update set.

Two Cubs, Starlin Castro and Bryan LaHair, made the All Star team, but just Castro got an All Star card.

 

Shawn Camp and Jeff Russell did a nice job out of the bullpen this year, a bullpen that saw plenty of work.

The other five cards are of guys that probably won't be on the Cubs opening day roster in 2013.

 

They're either rookies that need more time in the minors....

....utility role vets....

 

...or roster-filling no-names.

Here are the golden sparkle versions...