All I've Got of Him - Willson Contreras

 It's been over a month since he signed with the Cardinals and I guess I'm ready to finally get to this.  It was tough seeing him go, as he seemed to be the team leader on the field.  You couldn't argue against the intensity he brought to the field.  He was also one of the last remaining 2016 Cubs still with the team (Kyle Hendricks is the only one left now). But time marches on and Willson marched south to St. Louis.  He will be hard to replace.

I have a total of 165 cards of Contreras.  There are 152 regular cards, 12 relics, and one autograph.

 

These are probably my favorites of the bunch.  The 2017 Fire (left) captures his personality while the 2018 gives a glimpse of his intensity.

All I've Got of Him: Ken Holtzman

The Oscar Gamble post got me in a '69 Cubs mood.  I've done an "All I've Got of HIm" post on most of the main guys.  I haven't done Ernie Banks or Billy Williams because I have too many cards of each to make a decent looking tile.

The only other main player I haven't done is pitcher Ken Holtzman.  I wonder if the casual fan thinks of Holtzman as a 3-time world champ with the A's rather than I Cub? 

For me, Holtzman, a lefty like me, was a Cub who spent some time in exile before returning to his rightful place at Clark and Addison.

When he came to the majors in 1965, Holtzman was compared favorably to Sandy Koufax - both Jewish, lefties, hard-throwing.  He never attained the lofty heights of a Koufax, but he did have a very good career.

Career uighlights include:

• 174 wins
• 1601 strikeouts
• 2 no hitters
• World Series record of 4-1, ERA of 2.55

I've got a total of 23 Hotlzman cards.  There are nine Topps cards from his playing days, five more from other sets while he was active, and nine others from after he retired.

All I've Got of Him: Jake Arrieta

Yesterday, Joe Maddon was quoted saying that Jake Arrieta is "probably gone."  I guess that means that there won't be any more Jake Arrieta cards showing him as a Cub.

I'd like to seem his back with the Cubs, but I don't think he's worth the money he's asking.  He'll be 32 next season and his numbers have regressed the past two seasons.

Over his 4½ seasons with the Cubs he posted a record of 68-31 and an ERA of 2.78.  Toss in two no hitters, a 5-3 post season record, and a Cy Young Award and you've got a pretty good run.

From the various brands that I collect I've ended up with 82 different Arrieta cards.  The number of cards got a big bump the past two years, a combination of his Cy Young and the Cubs World Series title.  In fact, 70 of the 82 cards come from 2016 and 2017.  There are just two from 2014 and ten from 2015.

All I've Got of Him: Kyle Hendricks

I'm writing this before Game 1 on Friday begins and then have it scheduled to post on Saturday at 7:00 a.m.  Hopefully you are going to be looking at cards of the pitcher that dominated the Nationals as the Cubs took a 1-0 lead.

Right now I have 22 cards of Kyle Hendricks.  Of those, 15 are from 2017.  That means there were just seven from the previous three seasons.  I guess winning a league ERA title made him more collectible.

One thing you'll notice is missing from the tile is either an autographed card or a relic.  As far as I know Hendricks has yet to have one issued.  A good showing by him in the postseason this year may change that in 2018.

All I've Got of Him: Gene Michael

Gene Michael passed away yesterday, so I thought it would be appropriate to show all I've got of him.

Michael was hired by Dallas Green during the 1986 season.  Just two seasons removed from their division title of 1984, the team was beset by injuries in 1985 and still in a funk in 1986.  On June 13 Jim Frey was canned and Michael took his place.

At the time I thought it was a strange hire.  He was a Yankee guy, an American League guy.  But then so was Jim Frey.  If Green was looking for the same results, he ended up disappointed.  The team never recaptured the 1984 magic and Michael didn't make it through the entire 1987 season.

My collection consists of just four cards, two from Topps and two that are team-issued.

 

 

All I've Got of Him: Ron Santo 2

I did one of these for Ron Santo back in January, but I'm doing it again today.

When I make the tiles, the cards are inserted in alphabetical order by brands.  I decided to re-do the Ron Santo tile and this time the cards are in chronological order.  I think it's a better way to go, in that you can see his career progression.  You can also see how many cards came after his playing days.

For Santo, I've got 99 cards in the tile, nine cards per row.  His playing days go four cards into the sixth row, a total of 49 cards.  That means there are 50 from after he retired, which makes about almost an exact 50 / 50 split.

All I've Got of Him: Dexter Fowler

Yesterday Dexter Fowler returned to Wrigley Field for the first time as a Cardinal.  He get his World Series ring and lots of love from the fans and his former teammates,  Then he hits a home run to lead off the game.  Finally, the Cubs win.

It was a very good day at Wrigley.

I like Dexter Fowler and the energy he brings.  I thing the Cubs are missing that spark this year. I wish him well for the 144 games the Cardinals don't play against the Cubs.

In his short two year stay with the Cubs I picked up 19 of his cards.  Ten per year is a pretty high average for a guy who isn't a superstar.  I think he was in just about every brand I collect at least once over those two years.

All I've Got of Him: Rick Reuschel

Here's all I've got of Big Daddy.

Rick Reuschel was the ace of the staff for the second half of the Seventies.  That was good enough to see him in several sets besides the Topps set.  MSA, SSPC, Jewel, Hostess, and Kelloggs all included him.  He's had a couple of certified autographs including on with the Big Daddy inscription.  All of this plus a few others brings my Rick Reuschel count to 39 cards.

All I've Got of Him: Dave Martinez

Here's a look at all I've got of the Cubs' bench coach.

Dave Martinez spent parts of four different seasons with the Cubs.  He was a third round pick of the Cubs in the 1983 draft.  Three years later he made his MLB debut with the Cubs.  He was with them until being traded to the Expos during the 1988 season.  He later returned to the north side for part of the 2000 season.

After his playing days were done he was a coach in the Rays system and eventually landed the bench coach position for Joe Maddon.  When Maddon came to the Cubs, Martinez followed with him.

I really thought that I had more cards of him than I do.  My total is just eleven.  He spans most of the brands of the day, Donruss, Fleer, Score, and Topps, along with a Starting Lineup and Cubs team issued card.

All I've Got of Him: Jody Davis

On Wednesday the Cubs gave out championship rings to several former players.  Left to right is Scott Sanderson, Lee Smith, Steve Trout, Randy Hundley, Glenn Beckert, Jody Davis, Jose Cardenal, and Bobby Dernier.

I haven't done an "All I've Got of Him" for a while and thought I'd do it for one of these guys.  I settled on Jody Davis.  Jody was a fan favorite, and one of mine too, during his years as the Cubs catcher.  

From 1981 - 1988 he was a fixture behind the plate.  He was steady if not spectacular.  He also seemed to have a knack for getting a big hit at just the right time.  Those heroics led to a tradition of the Wrigley crowd chanting his name, "Jo-dee, Jo-dee, Jo-dee."

My collection includes a total of 62 cards of Jody, including three autographed cards.  His career coincided with the loss of the Topps monopoly, so I've got some Fleer, Donruss, Leaf, Score, Sportflics, and even one Upper Deck card of him, among others, in addition to a bunch of Topps.

All I've Got of Him: Ron Santo

I've done this with 27 other Cubs but have somehow overlooked taking a look at Ron Santo.

My collection stretches from his rookie card in the 1961 set to a card in the Wrigley Field insert set with this year's Topps set.  My total Santo run is 101 cards.  I don't have a player collection of him, so I'm sure that there are many more out there.

All I've Got of Him: Glenn Beckert

Here's a look at all of the cards I've got of another of the 1969 Cubs, second baseman Glenn Beckert.

His time with the Cubs spanned nine seasons, from 1964 - 1973.  For most of that time, the entire infield was the same four guys, Santo, Kessinger, Beckert, and Banks.   I think that is one of the reasons why the '69 team was so popular....most of the core guys were together for several years.  The 2016 team could be the same way, with the core being young and under team control for several more seasons.

Beckert was a four-time all star and won the Gold Glove in 1968.  His best season was probably 1971, when he hit .342 (which was only good enough for third in the NL).  I would place him as a second level star of his era.

He wasn't a superstar, but he was pretty good.  Pretty good got him in several of the other sets of the time, like Kelloggs, Dexter Press, Milton Bradley, Topps Stamps, and some of the Topps inserts.  I've ended up with 36 cards of him.

All I've Got of Him: Rich Hill

Three years for $48 million for a 36 year old?  Yikes!

A guy who was pitching in independent ball just a couple seasons ago sure hit paydirt.  The Dodgers keep shelling out dollars.

Rich Hill was originally Cubs property and came up in 2005.  There was all sorts of hype about his curveball.  I actually was at Wrigley Field when he made his debut, on June 15, 2005.  Greg Maddux started against the Marlins and got shelled.    He pitched an inning and got two strikeouts...and gave up three hits and two runs.

A few years later I saw him pitch in the second to last game of the 2007 season in Cincinnati.  The Cubs had clinched the division the day before, so the position players were mostly bench guys.  Hill pitched but the game was seen as a warmup to the playoffs.  He dominated, giving up just one hit in six innings of work.  In fact, the hit came in the sixth inning, so he was working on a no-no until then.

In the playoffs he gave up three runs in 3+ innings of work in game 3 as the Diamondbacks completed their sweep.

The next season he lost his command.  He pitched 19 innings for the Cubs and gave up 18 walks.  By early May he was sent to the minors where he continued walking batters at an unhealthy rate.  He was sold to the Orioles over the winter.  The Rich Hill Era in Chicago was over.

During his four years with the Cubs I ended up with 27 of his cards.  He was in quite a few products including Ginter, Baseball Heroes, Bowman, Fleer, Goudey, Heritage, Masterpieces, Opening Day, Topps, and Upper Deck.

All I've Got of Them: The Other Williams'

I have the same problem with Billy Williams as I do with Ernie Banks...other Cub players with the same last name.  In fact, with Billy the problem is five times worse....there are five other Williams in my collection besides Billy.

You could probably name two of them...

...Mitch Williams and Jerome Williams.

But the other three, no.  We're talking seriously hard-core fans to come up with them.  In fact, I have just one card for each of the three.

This one was from this year's Heritage Minor, so there is a very slight chance you'd remember Ryan Williams.

 

If you said you knew Cy Williams and Dana Williams....I don't believe you!

I've got a total of 34 other Williams in my collection.  The cards in the tile are arranged alphabetically by their first name.

All I've Got of Him: The Other Banks

I have all of my Cubs cards scanned.  The file names include the year, brand, and last name of the player.  Using this system gets me into a little trouble each time I search for Ernie Banks cards.  Searching for the last name Banks brings up more than just Ernie.  It also brings up the other Banks, Willie.

I've inadvertently included Willie cards in an Ernie tile because I forget to get Willie out.  Yesterday I did the opposite. I made a tile of just the Willie cards.  I hope I didn't skip over any of his cards.

I've come up with 24 different Willie Banks cards in my collection.  For a guy that was with the Cubs for just parts of two seasons, that is alot of cards.  Willie's time at Wrigley was 1994 and 1995, the tail end of the junk wax era.  That is the reason for so many cards.... too many cards of a guy that was 8-13 with an ERA north of 6.  

Ernie was Mr. Cub.  Willie was Mr. Flub.

All I've Got of Him: The 2016 NL MVP

I might as well show all I've got of Kris Bryant since last night he became the Cubs first NL MVP since Sammy Sosa in 1998.

MLB Network tried to make the presentation dramatic, but it was useless.  Bryant was a landslide winner, getting 29 of the 30 first place votes.

Bryant was very humble after he won, too.  I really like the way he conducts himself both on and off the field.  Though the last two NL MVPs are from Las Vegas, he and Bryce Harper seem to be exact opposites of one another.  I'll gladly take Bryant.

I've already got 73 of his cards and I'm sure that number will continue to skyrocket each year for the next several.

All I've Got of Him: Dexter Fowler

Dexter Fowler seems like a really good guy.  His teammates seem to like him a lot.  When he was re-signed by the Cubs during spring training and then made a surprise appearance at camp, the reaction of the players showed how happy they were to have him back.

He's a pretty good player too.  When he got on, the Cubs seemed to do well.  And hitting a home run to open game seven of the World Series was awesome.

It looks like he'll be gone to free agency again this winter and I doubt he'll go without offers like he did last winter.  The Cubs will miss his lead-off bat and his presence in the clubhouse.

Fowler wrote an interesting article for The Players Tribune.  After reading it I think you'll appreciate Dexter, too.

My Dexter card total is 15 cards.  I'm sure that there may have been more if he had signed with the Cubs over the winter instead of at spring training.  I'm guessing that there may only be a few more (like from the World Series set Topps is putting out) before he ends up with another team.

All I've Got of Him: Kyle Schwarber

Game 6 is tonight and Schwarber will be back in the lineup as the DH.  In a kind of weird way, not have home field advantage meant that Schwarber could be in the lineup four times instead of three.  With the Cubs needing these last two games, having his bat will make a huge difference.

I've got a pretty impressive number of Schwarber cards, especially when you consider that the first is from last year.  His 2015 post-season had Topps drooling and he was in just about every set and most inserts.

My total is 41 cards and you can expect that number to grow significantly with next year's cards.

All I've Got of Him: Phil Cavarretta

He played first base for the Cubs in the World Series.

He wore #44

He was very good.

He isn't Anthony Rizzo.

Long before Rizzo wore #44 at first, Phil Cavarretta did.  In fact, after he left the Cubs in the mid-Fifties, the number was unofficially retired until Burt Hooton wore it in 1971.

A local boy made good, the north side native spent 20 years with the Cubs (and another two with the Sox).  He was a three-time All Star and was the NL MVP in 1945.

His career ended long before I started collecting, but I've ended up with a decent number of his cards.  Several are from his playing days, most with Bowman, and a couple Topps.  I've also got reprints from a few oddball brands.  And there are a few from modern sets.  All together I've got sixteen Cavarretta cards.

All I've Got of Him: Randy Hundley

While I'm waiting for the NLCS I figured I might as well show the other half of the Cubs 1965 steal deal with the Giants.

Randy Hundley started his Cubs career with a bang.  In 1966 he set a National League record for games caught by a rookie, 149 games.  In 1967 he set the record for fewest errors by a catcher with more than 150 games, just four errors.  In 1968 he established a new standard for NL catchers by appearing in 160 games.    He didn't set any records in 1969 and was beginning to wear out.  Injuries in 1970 and 1971 cost him most of both seasons and he was never the same.

He was well-liked by teammates and fans and had a bit more name recognition than Bill Hands.  Because of that, I've got more of his cards, both from his playing days and after he retired.  My Randy Hundley count is 33 cards