Pharmacy Box Break (x2): Faceoff

Only yesterday I lamented how the state of retail card shopping was so bad that I couldn’t even find a repack. Had to pick up a last-minute bag of candy just in case we get trick-or-treaters in Pandemic-ville (we haven't), and lo and behold: Pharmacy Boxes!

I was unnaturally happy to find them. It helped that Night Owl already warned us to expect less (80 instead of 100 cards).

With two boxes, I thought that I’d amuse myself with a Starting 9 Faceoff; something I used to do all the time as a kid. It was fun to rip a few packs with friends, build your best squad, and then argue over which would win.

Before I get to that…

Hit? Yes. Seth Rosin auto. Rosin pitched in two Major League-seasons (2014 with the Rangers, and 2015 with the Phillies). He appeared in four games in the bigs and had an ERA of 12.00. It's numbered out of 710, so this was a major find.

Packs: 1991 Line Drive Pre-Rookie, 1991 Leaf (Series 1)

OK. Onto my game.

Box One – Starting Nine

1. LF Tim Raines R
2. 1B Jeff Bagwell R
3. RF Dave Parker L
4. CF Andre Dawson R
5. 3B David Freese R
6. C B.J. Surhoff L
7. SS Trea Turner R
8. 2B Johnny Ray S
9. SP Mike Mussina R

I like this team a lot. Mix of speed, power, defense. A Hall of Fame pitcher on the mound. Two lefties and a switch hitter provide some balance. This will be a tough squad to beat.

Box Two – Starting Nine

1. CF Kirby Puckett R
2. SS Alan Trammell R
3. LF Manny Ramirez R
4. RF Gary Sheffield R
5. 1B Cecil Fielder R
6. SS Dave Concepcion R
7. 2B Jeff Treadway L
8. C Terry Steinbach R
9. SP David Cone R

A righty-heavy lineup, but the middle of the order is going to mash. Treadway was legit the only second baseman in the bunch (but at least he’s a lefty).

First blush, I give the edge to Box One. If I go by career WAR – and though that might not be the best predictor, how much work am I really going to put into this? – Box One edges out Two, 430.3 to 405.3. Mussina/Ray being the difference makers over Cone/Treadway.

I’d pay to see that match up.

Prediction: Box One wins, 6-4.

Private Signings: Frank Thomas, Alec Mills

Playing a bit of catch-up…

Here are a couple private signing returns that came back during my recent hiatus. I’ll do a separate post with my 1981 Fleer Star Sticker set returns.

Frank Thomas (via rdaly42 on SCN)

I jumped at this one when I saw it pop up in the SportsCollectors.Net upcoming Private Signings listings. It was one of those that I originally clicked on assuming, “No way this will be in my price range.” I was very happy to be wrong.

“The Big Hurt” was always one of my favorite non-Yankees (unless, of course, you count his tenure in pinstripes from Mr. Baseball).

In fifth grade, my Upstate New York school took a field trip to the Hall of Fame. I’d been plenty of times before, but it was notable because one of my closest friends’ father was a chaperone. While everyone else came home with a souvenir pack of cards or a couple HOF plaque post cards, my friend got his father to spring for an autographed Frank Thomas 8x10. I was quite jealous.

Anyways… I’m thrilled to add him to the collection all these years later.

You all know Frank Thomas. You don’t need me to summarize his Hall of Fame career. Instead I’ll call out a few of his more random notables:

• Thomas was the only player in league history to have over 10,000 plate appearances without a single sacrifice bunt. The Big Hurt didn’t small ball.
• As early as 1995, Thomas advocated for testing MLB players for performance-enhancing drugs. “It means a lot to me because I did it the right way,” he said after hitting his 500^th career home run.
• He had seven straight 100 RBI, 100 walk, 20 homer, and .300 average seasons.
• Final career numbers: 521 home runs, a .301 batting average, and a .419 on-base percentage. Four Silver Sluggers and two MVPs (1993, 1994).

Alec Mills (via Chicagoland Sports)

Mills’ September 13^th no-hitter was one of the abbreviated season’s highlights. I was coaching a Little League team of 9- and 10-year-olds, and Mills was all the buzz on our Connecticut diamond the next day.

Mills, a 28-year-old former 22^nd round draft pick, had racked up 649 Minor League innings before his Big Show moment. It was only his 15^th MLB start, having previously gone no deeper than seven innings.

With a 90.1 mph fastball, he generated just five swinging strikes. His five strikeouts were the fewest in a no-hitter since 2013 (Henderson Alvarez, Marlins, 2013).

On the season, Mills posted a 5-5 record and 4.47 ERA over 11 starts.

The signing – my first through Chicagoland Sports – couldn’t have been easier. They supplied the card. I didn’t request the inscription (feeling that the Topps Now card spoke for itself), but he added it anyways. Score.

One Card: 1992 Donruss - Highlights #555, Nolan Ryan & Rich Gossage

Long time no blog. My apologies (who am I apologizing to?). I’ve been short on both time and cards of late, thus, no blog posts. And while I’ve had a few TTMs trickle in, nothing that I simply had to blog about.

I don’t have the luxury of a LCS and the dearth of product available through retail is well documented (I can’t even find Fairfield repacks these days). To top it off COMC has basically stopped shipping orders, so the well is dry. But I had an itch to open packs, and I have an itch to write something so… I’ll force it.

There is a sports memorabilia store at the local mall that doesn’t typically sell cards. But I took a stroll while my wife made a Sephora run, and noticed they had a few overpriced packs near the register.

Their inventory:

• 2020 Topps Big League (retail packs) -- $4
• 1988 Topps -- $2
• 1992 Donruss Series 1 -- $2
• 1992 Donruss Series 2 -- $2

I grabbed one of each of the two Donruss packs because I am that desperate to open something.

I pulled a Thome rookie, a Joe Carter Diamond Kings card, and a couple others that made me smile, but what I like about this set is the Highlights cards.

1991 was the first year I followed the goings-on of the MLB season. I have a false memory of watching the latter innings of Nolan Ryan’s 7^th no-hitter with my father. I’m now sure it’s a false memory, because the game would have ended after my bedtime. Must have watched the highlights.

I am certain that I watched Rickey Henderson break Lou Brock’s stolen base mark (the same day!).

Anyways, the highlights cards in Series 1 and 2 Donruss were a nice trip down memory lane. And I had no memory of this particular event:

The card features Hall of Famers Goose Gossage and Nolan Ryan, teammates in ’91, for the unlikely occurrence of reaching large, uneven numbers for their respective categories in the same game.

Ryan notched career win number 308, and Gossage career save 308 in the same game.

On July 23, 1991 – so the card tells us – Ryan went seven innings against the Boston Red Sox, departing with a 5-4 lead. Gossage came on with two outs in the eighth and nailed down the win.

For Goose, it was his first save in nearly two years – he pitched 1990 in Japan. It was his only save of the 1991 season, and he’d record just two more (one in 1993 with the A’s and one more in 1994 with the Mariners) before the second man to eclipse the 300 mark retired.

Ryan retired after the 1993 season with 324 wins

I love that Donruss highlighted this bizarre coincidence and squeezed two legends onto one piece of cardboard.

Two more 1981 Fleer Star Stickers: Bake McBride & Greg Luzinski

In my continued quest for a signed 1981 Fleer Star Sticker set, I've two new pickups to highlight.

Bake McBride via Private Signing

C'mon. Look at that card. Fantastic.

"Shake 'n Bake" played 11 (often injury-shortened) seasons for the Cardinals, Phillies, and Indians. He was the 1974 N.L. Rookie of the Year, a 1976 All-Star, and a World Series champion in 1980.

In that '74 ROY campaign, he slashed .303/.369/.394, stole 30 bases and scored 81 runs over 150 games. McBride hit over .300 the next two seasons as well, with a career-high .335 mark in 1976.

After struggling through 42 games with the Cardinals in 1977, he was dealt to the Phillies. He finished the season hitting .339 with 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases. He posted a career-best 87 RBI for the 1980 World Series champs.

Injuries forced McBride to retire at the age of 33. He retired with a .299 batting average, 1,153 hits, 63 home runs, and 183 stolen bases.

Greg Luzinski via Ebay

Another 1980 World Series champ.

Greg "The Bull" Luzinski was a four-time All-Star and the 1975 N.L. RBI leader. In each season from 1975 through 1978, he was finished in the Top 10 of the MVP vote.

Over 11 seasons with the Phillies, Luzinski slugged 223 home runs. He joined the Chicago White Sox after the 1980 title season and was resurgent in a designated hitter role. He hit 84 more home runs over four seasons with the ChiSox.

*** 

1981 Fleer Star Sticker Set Progress: 49 of 125 (39.2%)

Rollie Fingers TTM Success

Sent: 6/8/2020 | Received: 6/16/2020 | 8 days
1/1: 1981 Fleer Star Sticker
Address: Home (Las Vegas, NV) from SportsCollectors.Net

Another 1981 Fleer Star Sticker success, and a Hall of Famer to boot.

Fingers revolutionized the reliever role over a 17-year career with the Athletics, Padres, and Brewers. He helped usher in the age of the closer, and at the time of his retirement his 341 career saves were the most all time.

He is a three-time World Series champion, a seven-time All-Star, a four-time Rolaids Relief Man of the Year, and a three-time MLB saves leader.

In 1981, his first season in Milwaukee, Fingers won the American League's (AL) Most Valuable Player Award and Cy Young Award. He went 6-3 and racked up 28 saves while posting a 1.04 ERA over 78 innings. He edged Rickey Henderson by nine votes, despite a WAR deficit of 1.5.

*** 

1981 Fleer Star Sticker Set Progress: 47 of 125 (37.6%)

TTM Success: Two 2019 Spring Training Returns

I have some catching up to do on TTM returns, so let’s go with a two-fer. Surprising June/July 2020 returns that were sent during Spring Training 2019.

Chad Green TTM Success

Sent: 2/19/2019 | Received: 6/22/2020 | 489 days
1/1: 2019 Topps
Address: c/o NY Yankees ST

Chad Green had a bizarre 2019. He was atrocious in April – allowing 14 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings – before being optioned to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Following the stint in Triple-A, Green returned to form, posting a 2.64 ERA the rest of the way. In the process, he served as both a middle-innings reliever and as an opener (making 15 starts) with the ability to pitch multiple innings when necessary. More likely than not, he’ll fill that role again in 2020.

Sal Romano TTM Success

Sent: 3/7/2019 | Received: 7/1/2020 | 482 days
2/2: 2018 Topps, 2019 Reds Team Set
Address: c/o Cincinnati Reds ST

If you’re a follower of SportsCollectors.net’s recent successes page, Sal Romano has been a popping up a lot, signing from his home – which surprise, surprise is one town over (I had no idea). Unable to find any of his cards, I figured I’d miss this boat.

Lo an behold, I couldn’t find carts because I sent them already; to Arizona last Spring. And they found their way home.

The Southington, CT native as had 41 starts and 67 appearances over three seasons with the Reds. Romano worked exclusively in relief last season, at the MLB level, and struggled to a 7.71 ERA (and 1.837 WHIP).

Gratitude for Free Cards | Thank You (x3)

Quick apology for my recent respite: Sorry. I’ve been busy of late. Good busy though. Most of my preoccupation is owed to a return to the Little League diamond.

Ages 8 and up in my neck of the woods have been welcomed back for an abbreviated summer season, so I'm coaching my older son Luke's team, the AAA Rangers.

Here in Connecticut, we’re one of the few states where Covid cases have been in decline. So with – no kidding – three pages of extra safety protocols, we’re back to playing baseball; we're back before MLB. It’s baseball with masks, restrictions on food (including gum and sunflower seeds), and a distanced dugout… but it’s baseball.

Back to cards...

Busy or no, I’m required to come back – if only – to express my thanks to a trio of bloggers and some generous goodies that have arrived in the mail recently. In the order I received them:

1. Thank you to Nick from Dime Boxes

I participated in three of Nick’s recent Free Stuff Friday giveaways and scored quite a few cool cards. I stuck mostly to the 70s (Ron Santo, Manny Sanguillen, Dock Ellis, Oscar Gamble) but strayed a couple of times off plan (Ron Washington, Satchel Paige).

The highlight, however, was this 1969 Deckle Edge Willie Mays.

I don’t have nearly enough Willie Mays in the collection – in fact the Willie Bloomquist-to-Willie Mays ratio in my collection is completely out of whack. 

2. Thank you to Jon from A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts

Again, jumped on a few Free Stuff Friday posts, and this time focused on (mostly) on cards for my eldest’s collection: two 1985 Hygrade Jackie Robinsons (he has a growing Jackie collection) and, of course, a few for his Yankees’ binders (Rizzuto x2 and Munson). The Jackie Robinsons aren't pictured as my son scooped them up and added him to his binder before I had a chance to snap a pic.

Plus, a couple odd balls for me…

I’m kind of a Christmas nut. Clark Griswold is a role model of mine. Love these.

3. Thank you to Greg from Night Owl Cards

I lucked into a Night Owl giveaway having earned an entry with a comment on a previous post. Greg offered up 16 prize packs that were so stuffed with cool items that I was paralyzed with indecision while a few items came off the board. I pulled myself together and came away with these four 1979 Topps Baseball Comics.

I’m not going to lie, these were not on my radar before I saw them up for grabs but I was charmed by their pop art-feel and now that they’ve arrived, I’m not at all disappointed with my selection. I may try to acquire the other 29. I love them.

He also added a trio of cards clearly clearly sourced by my recently added “Players I Collect” page. Thank you for that.

Didi goes to Luke’s collection and though the Carter is a dupe, the J.P. Richard card amazingly isn’t.


I’m under no delusions that I can offer any traffic or visibility to these three card-blogging giants, so I can’t steer any readers their way. Rather, I say again, thank you gentlemen. I am floored by your generosity. And as soon as I put together a few things that might interest you, I’ll send them your way.