Hats off to you, big guy. Congratulations on #300, even if it was against the Nationals. Actually, kind of poetic, isn’t it?
Daily Archives: June 4, 2009
1982 Fleer #1
1982 Fleer #183
Category: Former Expo
Position: P
Bio/Summary: I am going to admit I was not familiar with something like 75% of the players in this set, and Bahnsen is one of them. Checking his stats, he looked like a thoroughly serviceable starter and 1968 Rookie of the Year that converted to relief duty upon joining Montreal in 1977 (okay, one year of starting in there). His career rebounded a bit from the move, and he ended up moving over to California in 1982.
Rating: 5/10 – I don’t really know what to make of most of the 1982 Fleer cards and shots. On the one hand, it’s as bland a design as you can get – almost a non-design. At the same time, the photography has some really unique shots…someone once said that Fleer made the players more human, and I’d tend to agree. In this instance, rather than “baseball player”, I see a player chilling out onfield before the game, and what I think is a rare shot from Montreal’s stadium. I give it some extra points for that.
Category: Former Expo
Position: P
Bio/Summary: I am going to admit I was not familiar with something like 75% of the players in this set, and Bahnsen is one of them. Checking his stats, he looked like a thoroughly serviceable starter and 1968 Rookie of the Year that converted to relief duty upon joining Montreal in 1977 (okay, one year of starting in there). His career rebounded a bit from the move, and he ended up moving over to California in 1982.
Rating: 5/10 – I don’t really know what to make of most of the 1982 Fleer cards and shots. On the one hand, it’s as bland a design as you can get – almost a non-design. At the same time, the photography has some really unique shots…someone once said that Fleer made the players more human, and I’d tend to agree. In this instance, rather than “baseball player”, I see a player chilling out onfield before the game, and what I think is a rare shot from Montreal’s stadium. I give it some extra points for that.
1982 Fleer #184
Category: Expos Also-Ran
Position: P
Bio/Summary: Burris was a fairly mediocre starter that somehow managed to stick around 15 seasons, going 108-134 with a 4.17 career ERA (in a time when offense was lessened). Still, a career 1.415 WHIP and 92 ERA+? I guess that’s a bit above replacement level. I thought a lefty would be more likely to stick with those numbers, but here Ray is.
Rating: 4/10 – See what I mean about this set? I really want to like this card, but I just can’t get past the flash and the long shadows cast behind Burris. At the same time, again, it just looks like a normal guy rather than an untouchable deity. I like that.
Category: Expos Also-Ran
Position: P
Bio/Summary: Burris was a fairly mediocre starter that somehow managed to stick around 15 seasons, going 108-134 with a 4.17 career ERA (in a time when offense was lessened). Still, a career 1.415 WHIP and 92 ERA+? I guess that’s a bit above replacement level. I thought a lefty would be more likely to stick with those numbers, but here Ray is.
Rating: 4/10 – See what I mean about this set? I really want to like this card, but I just can’t get past the flash and the long shadows cast behind Burris. At the same time, again, it just looks like a normal guy rather than an untouchable deity. I like that.
1982 Fleer #s 185, 635, 638
Category: Expos Star
Position: C
Bio/Summary: What else is there to say about Gary? Let’s look at his 1982 season, as one could make an argument that it was the best of his career. He hit 29 homers and batted .293 with an .890 OPS. Very nice, especially for a catcher! That came out to a 146 OPS+. He also had a 134 OPS+ in high-leverage situations! Good stuff.
Rating: Parker and Valenzuela Cards: 6/10 – I’m kind of splitting the difference here. The Parker/Carter card is kind of nice aside from the Cobra’s copious amount of sweat, but I’m irritated that Carter isn’t the center of focus on the Valenzuela card yet gets tagged. He might as well be in the background.
Category: Expos Star
Position: C
Bio/Summary: What else is there to say about Gary? Let’s look at his 1982 season, as one could make an argument that it was the best of his career. He hit 29 homers and batted .293 with an .890 OPS. Very nice, especially for a catcher! That came out to a 146 OPS+. He also had a 134 OPS+ in high-leverage situations! Good stuff.
Rating: Parker and Valenzuela Cards: 6/10 – I’m kind of splitting the difference here. The Parker/Carter card is kind of nice aside from the Cobra’s copious amount of sweat, but I’m irritated that Carter isn’t the center of focus on the Valenzuela card yet gets tagged. He might as well be in the background.
Carter Card: 3/10 – Oh, man, I like Gary Carter a lot, and I really wanted his main set card to be a good one, but I just can’t let the blurry photography (believe me, I cleaned this up a lot) pass. Again, there is some humanity and soul to this shot, but the lousy composition blows it.
1982 Fleer #186
Category: Expos Lynchpin
Position: OF
Bio/Summary: What an odd story. Cromartie was a pretty good hitter who left the USA for greener (?) pastures in Japan in 1984, returning in 1991 for a swan song with the Royals. The guy was something of a Japanese legend. Back here in the States, though, he had a good 1982, knocking 14 homers with a .722 OPS. Not stellar for a corner outfielder, but also not bad at all. I guess he did better in Japan, though, and good for him.
Rating: 3/10 – Apologies for some of the crud on the picture here…some dust got on the scanner. Again, crappy photo composition for what would have been a thoroughly decent shot. Oh, well. There are better cards in this team set.
Category: Expos Lynchpin
Position: OF
Bio/Summary: What an odd story. Cromartie was a pretty good hitter who left the USA for greener (?) pastures in Japan in 1984, returning in 1991 for a swan song with the Royals. The guy was something of a Japanese legend. Back here in the States, though, he had a good 1982, knocking 14 homers with a .722 OPS. Not stellar for a corner outfielder, but also not bad at all. I guess he did better in Japan, though, and good for him.
Rating: 3/10 – Apologies for some of the crud on the picture here…some dust got on the scanner. Again, crappy photo composition for what would have been a thoroughly decent shot. Oh, well. There are better cards in this team set.
Filed under 1982 Fleer
Nationals Star: Ryan Zimmerman #4
2006 eTopps #66
How Did I Get It?: Won it on eBay.
Did You Know?: In 2005, Zim was the only member of the Nationals to hit over .300 in at least 50 at bats.
Rating: 10/10 – This is my favorite Ryan Zimmerman card, bar none. I have some autographs and other great stuff in the pipeline, but I love the design of this card so much. It harks back to earlier days of collecting while also incorporating modern technology. This one sold me on eTopps as a viable model.
2007 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Star Materials #RZ
How Did I Get It?: Won it on eBay.
Did You Know?: Zimmerman’s mother Cheryl was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995, and has been in a wheelchair since 2000. Zimmerman has cited his mother’s condition as a substantial formative influence on his development.
Rating: 7/10 – Yeah, it’s game-used, but it’s a bit bland. It also doesn’t help that they selected a swatch that was too thick for the card, creasing the edge there.
2008 Topps Chrome #141
How Did I Get It?: Bought as a lot of Ryan Zimmerman cards on eBay.
Did You Know?: Ryan’s first home run in Nationals park in 2008 was also a walk-off homer, against the Braves’ Peter Moylan.
Rating: 6/10 – I chuckled a bit at the tongue sticking out, but it’s a shot I’ve seen a dozen times before and there’s not much to distinguish it. Plus, 2008 Topps. I don’t like it.
2007 UD Masterpieces #67
How Did I Get It?: Got it from checkoutmycards.net.
Did You Know?: On August 3, 2007, Zimmerman delivered his sixth walk-off game-winner in his first two seasons with a single to left, giving the Nationals a 3–2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rating: 4/10 – I’m not crazy about Masterpieces. I know a lot of people like them, and I can respect that, but it’s just not my thing. I think it’s the art style which, while miles better than Goudey, just puts me off. Way too dark, for one thing. At least this one is a bit better lit.
Filed under Nationals Stars
Failed Prospects #13: Everett Stull
Everett Stull
1995 Bowman #203
Position: P
Bio/Summary: You know, sometimes you can look at a prospect’s history and say, “yeah, no wonder they valued him so much”. Then there are times you look back and are absolutely baffled as to what the team saw in a guy. You can probably guess that Stull is the latter. Okay, he was serviceable at times, but for God’s sake he started his career in short season A with a 1.794 WHIP and a 5.43 ERA. Oh and did I mention 61 walks to 64 strikeous? I don’t see what the deal was. And he didn’t really get much better. 1996 in Harrisburg was probably the short window for when I would have considered him a prospect – 6-3 with a 3.15 (though the K/BB ratio was still bad). Let’s not forget he was a 24-year old in AA at that point! I don’t get it at all, and he didn’t either – he had an absolutely miserable career 67 ERA+ in four short ML seasons.
How Did I Get It?: Bought it off of eBay in 2003.
Did You Know?: Stull was selected in the third round of the 1992 draft – ahead of Craig Counsell, Doug Mirabelli, and Brad Clontz – not exactly elite company.
Rating: 2/10 – The Bowman sweaty shot returns! Only this time shot from the ground. And let’s not mention what a hot mess the 1995 Bowman design was – look at those borders. Yikes.
Filed under Expos Failed Prospects, Failed Prospects
Memory Lane: Javier Vazquez 2003 Donruss
I got back into this thing by a twist of fate. Oh, I had picked up an occasional pack here or there in the early 00s – a 2001 Heritage pack here, a 2002 Donruss pack there, but just for my own amusement, really. What hooked me back in was picking up a repack box at a K-Mart on a whim in the winter of 2003/2004 (I believe it was early December). My then-wife had had surgery and was convalescing at home, unable to really go out or do much of anything, so I was doing all the shopping. It was a rough period. I think I went to K-Mart for some socks, and found myself eyeing their copious baseball card offerings.
I didn’t want to spend too much, but I was interested in getting bang for the buck. I took the box out to the car and tore into right there, not even willing to wait for the trip home. And on the…I think third pack that I opened, I pulled an Ivan Rodriguez game-used card. I was instantly hooked. I had no idea this kind of thing was even out there. Many, many boxes would follow before I stopped in 2005 (an event that will also be covered).
The connection to this card is that that box had a pack of 2003 Donruss, and so 2003 Donruss represents that era for me…it was a time when I was only half-awake emotionally and mentally, but felt a stirring of something that meant a lot to me.
Filed under Memory Lane
