IT'S HERE!!! Let the season begin. This is the year!!!!!!
But first, this is the view off of my deck this morning - the first day of spring break and opening day. Michigan weather sucks!!
On to happier things...To celebrate opening day, here is the Cubs all time opening day lineup.. The lineup features a majority of the players from the '60's and later. That seems odd to me, considering the long history of the Cubs. In fact, of the entire lineup, I have seen all but three (Hartnett, Grimm and Pafko) of them play (and I'm not that old).
Pitcher: Fergie Jenkins, 7 Opening Day starts
Catcher: Gabby Hartnett, 12 starts
First Base (since 1900): Charlie Grimm and Mark Grace, 12 starts
Second Base: Ryne Sandberg, 13 starts
Shortstop: Shawon Dunston, 11 starts
Third Base: Ron Santo, 13 starts
Left Field: Billy Williams, 10 starts
Center Field (since 1900): Andy Pafko, 7 starts
Right Field: Sammy Sosa, 12 starts
If it isn't the major league record, it has to be close. In their 133 year history the Cubs have played regular season games in 114 different ballparks. When they visit Citi Field on September 4, the number goes up by one. (By the way, why don't the Cubs go to New York sooner than the last month of the season?)
Their record in first games at new ballparks is 62-51-1. Last season they added two ballparks to the list, in Tampa and Washington, and they lost both first games. I hope things go better against the Mets.
I dug through all my Topps cards and found the Cubs pictured at several different stadiums:
New York
Polo Grounds - Jim Bolger, 1957
Shea Stadium - Ron Santo 1965
Yankee Stadium - Michael Barrett, 2006
Cincinnati
Riverfront Stadium - Mike Morgan, 1994
Great American Ballpark - Aramis Ramirez, 2008
Philadelphia
Connie Mack Stadium - Walt Moryn, 1957
Veterans Stadium - Tim Stoddard, 1984
San Francisco
Seals Stadium - Sammy Taylor, 1959
Candlestick Stadium - Ken Rudolph, 1974
AT&T Park - Nomar Garciaparra, 2005
The Cubs of 1969 are the team that got me hooked on the team and hooked on baseball cards. This year marks the 40th anniversary of their epic collapse. You wouldn't think it would be something worth commemorating, but for the first five months of the season, I was one happy little seven-year-old boy. September, well I have blacked that out of my memory. Damn Mets!
To mark the anniversary, I am going to create some updated cards of the team. I would like your help deciding which way to go.
Option one is to create cards with the 2009 Topps as a template. I want to give them a more modern feel, so I have tried to find action shots that mimic the action shot of today's cards. It is not easy to find good game photos in color from 40 years ago, but I did manage to find enough to create a ten card set. This is what the 2009 version would look like
Option two is to use the 1969 card template with updated, action photos. They would look like this:
Option three is to do both!
Option four is to scrap the idea. Why open scabbed over wounds?
What say ye?? Your opinions please. Thanks!
I'm also looking for some action shots of a couple more players from the team. If you have any sources, let me know. I need Bill Hands, Phil Regan, and Don Young. Thanks for your help.
More from the Fleer Cubs sets of the '80's
In 1983, Fleer used very few action shots on their cards. Of the 25 cards in the set, only five showed the players on the field. Most of the other pictures were taken at either Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia or at Dodger Stadium. And regardless of the coast, the poses were one of these three:
"Put Your Hand On Your Hip"
Bill Buckner and Jay Johnstone in LA,
Leon Durham and Junior Kennedy in Philly
"Go Sit By the Dugout"
Doug Bird, Bump Wills, and Gary Woods
"Just Stand There, I'll Zoom In"
Willie Hernandez at Dodger Stadium and everyone else (Larry Bowa, Mike Proly, Bill Campbell, Fergie Jenkins, Dick Tidrow, Lee Smith) at Veterans Stadium
This was not a very creative year for the Fleer boys behind the lens.
After my unusual find at Walmart this morning, I knew I had to go back this afternoon. As soon as things were wrapped up at school, I made a mad dash to the store to see what was going on. I started digging around the card aisle and found nothing new. I figured my early morning find was a fluke. But then, something in the very back caught my eye. I saw the Heritage logo on a box, or so I thought. It seemed like the logo. but when I picked up the box and looked closer, the logo was flipped. What was this??
I started reading the box. It said Topps Heritage Flip 2009. These were 2009 cards with 1960 players and pictures. The Heritage concept was flipped around! Have any of you heard about this product or seen any sell sheets? I totally missed it.
Well, I flipped out too. This was very cool. I only saw one box so I snagged it and was off to the checkout.
As soon as I got home I tore into the thing. Again, I struck Cubbie gold. There were four Cubs cards and a Walmart black card too. Take a look for yourself.
Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks. As a kid I never pulled one of these out of a pack, ever. Today, I got two!
George Altman, swinging for the fences
Moe Drabowsky, how can you not love a player named Moe!
Glen Hobbie, with kind of a dorky look on his face
And the sweetest card of all, an Ernie Banks black Walmart variation card
This has been my lucky day! Blog Bat Around V finished a week too soon. 2010 Heritage in the morning. Heritage Flip this afternoon. Today would have been a great day to write about. No foolin!!
