perhaps the most interesting card in my collection

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I really enjoy the history of baseball. I sat through and enjoyed thoroughly Ken Burns' Baseball. It ran probably 20 hours or so and I loved every minute of it.

Baseball is full of memorable moments. From the perfect games to the records broken. The home run races of 1961 and 1998. The years 1904 and 1994 in which a World Series was not played since it was introduced in 1903. Individual moments like the shot heard round the world. The catch. "The Giants won the pennant!!". Jackie Robinson taking the field in early 1947. Lou Gehrig's heartfelt and emotional farewell in 1939. The Babe's 'called shot'. The earthquake in 1989 before game three of the World Series. So many memories of a wonderful and glorious pastime.

Aside from the moments I have described above that are more than likely defining moments in many peoples lives who lived around the time they happened to witness them themselves, there have been a few moments that are oddities.

Canseco getting hit in the head by a fly ball that ends up fair and a home run. Larry Walker giving away a live ball to a fan. Merkle's boner. The list goes on.

One moment stands out for me as a real oddity that we will never see again.

Behold, Eddie Gaedel:

Eddie Gaedel played for the St. Louis Browns as a pinch hitter and had one major league at bat on August 19th 1951. He was 3 foot 7 and his jersey number was 1/8 and it is said that his strike zone was about a one inch square. As you can imagine he was walked on four pitches and was replaced with a pinch runner at first. He was also told that if he swung at any pitches he would be killed. I suppose Brown's owner Bill Veeck was serious. Here is a shot of him batting:

Eddie is known as the shortest player in history and has a 1.000 on-base percentage. His jersey is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Sure it may have been some dirty play to get a man on base to hopefully win the game (they didn't) but it sure made for a memorable moment in baseball history. It's moments like this and the ones mentioned above that stand as the reasons why I love this game and its rich and colorful history.


On another note, Kyle over at Juust A Bit Outside is holding a 8 box break with some interesting boxes. Check it out, its cheap ($15) and should be a lot of fun. Go now!

join now!

I say, I didn't see you there! Well, thanks for stopping by! I have but a few simple questions for you.

Do you like baseball cards?
Do you like Topps?
Do you like contests that are so easy it should be criminal??
Do you like FREE???

If you answered 'yes' to all four questions, I have the answer for you!


A contest!



That's right a contest. As some of you know, I love giving stuff away and I have thought of a really neat concept for a contest.

We who purchased many packs of Topps 2010 and 2011 know that they included an insert set each of those years showing off a card from each year of their history. Card Mom Threw Out and 60 Years of Topps, respectively. Well, I don't know about you but reprints while fun, don't capture the authenticity of actual old cardboard. So here it is:

Want a set of Topps' history for yourself? Want one card from every set from the years 1952 to 2011? If you do, then you're good to go! Entering the contest is easy. Follow my blog here if you don't already (there are 83 of you so far). Then simply leave a comment in this very post stating which year of Topps is your favorite, and a brief explanation as to why. It doesn't have to be a novel, I'm just curious as to what everyone's favorite set is. It'll be fun to see what design everyone likes best!

As far as the prize itself: one card from every year of Topps baseball. 1952 to 2011. No reprints, actual cards from that year. I would do 1951 as well but I rarely come across them. For the years 1986 to now, I did try and put at least a good player to represent that year. For all years before that, it may just be a common. A common that is over almost 30 years old though. Condition on older cards is good too. I am missing a few as of right this second but I will fill in the couple years I don't have at the show on Saturday. The cards pictured above are not what will be given away, I just needed a picture.

I will give one entry for following, one for the comment and if you feel like posting it, I'll have a third entry for that. I'll use the Random.org thingie to pick the winner. The cut-off will be Monday, when I do the Random Pack Monday post. I'll post the pack and announce the winner then. Speaking of which, I'll pick the pack this week, as I am getting low on packs to have you guys choose from.

Enter now! I can't wait to read your responses!

two more for the pile

Look who decided to show up to the party:

Larry Doby, I feel, is very under appreciated in the baseball community. While Jackie certainly did everything first, Larry was an excellent player, who's stats rival Mr. Robinson himself. Larry being the second African-American player in the MLB, and the first in the American League. He even went on to play in Japan for a year in 1962, becoming only the third player to do so around that time. Its not that people forget Larry's very important contribution to baseball and America as a whole, but he definitely lives in Robinson's shadow.

Then there is this guy:

This is the second 'bookend' to the 1954 set. Very interesting that Topps did this for Williams, and was a very nice 'thanks' to Ted, for signing on board to Topps products. I love the classic swing in the black and white shot of him here, so timeless.

I doubt I'll have any time to post over the next few days, so I just wanted to say Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone reading out there. Some of you have also emailed me about getting your Topps boxes in the mail. Here is a collective 'you're very welcome' to everyone and a huge thanks for the great support for what I'm doing over here.