1985 Topps Baseball

Rack pack of 85 Topps. Will I pull a Clemens, Mac or Puckett??
You have to watch to find out!

Coming Soon: 1985 Topps Baseball Rack Pack

I know I've been away for a LONG time but I have something that is worth the wait. I scooped up a rack pack of '85 Topps for six bucks on the bay. I'll be doing a video break here and also a review for A Pack A Day. Could there be a Clemens or a McGwire rookie lurking inside there? Maybe some Puckett mojo? You'll have to stay tuned to find out...

1990 Fleer #8 Ron Hassey

#8 Ron Hassey
Random Thoughts: Like most of the cards from this set we've seen so far, Ron Hassey was a bench player who benefited from being a member of some great Oakland A's teams of the late 80's and early 90's. Hassey's biggest claim to fame is that he is the only catcher in major league history to catch two perfect games. He was also a pretty effective hitter when given significant playing time and was Bob Welch's personal catcher during his 27 win season of 1990. Hassey also happened to be catching when Dennis Eckersley gave up Kirk Gibson's epic home run in game one of the 1988 World Series.

Hassey first broke in with the Cleveland Indians in 1978. In 1980, he led all catchers with a .318 average and had 8 homers and 65 RBI. The next season he would catch a perfect game by Len Barker against Toronto. Hassey was part of the Indians blockbuster deal that sent himself and Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs to help in their '84 pennant drive in exchange for Joe Carter and Mel Hall. During that winter he was dealt again, this time to the Yankees where he had his best season hitting .296 with 13 homers in '85. Hassey would spend the next few seasons being traded back and forth from the Yankees and White Sox three times. He would wind up signing with Oakland before the '88 season and would stay there until '91 when he played his last year in the bigs with Montreal. There he would catch Dennis Martinez's perfecto against the Dodgers.

After his playing days, Hassey became the first base coach for the Colorado Rockies from 1993-95 and for the St. Louis Cardinals in '96. From 1997-2003 he served as a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. After managing the Carolina Mudcats in '04, Hassey served as bench coach for two seasons under Seattle Mariners manager Mike Hargrove.

The Card Itself: Typical card pose. Not much to see here.

Did You Know?: Hassey managed to lead the AL with 15 passed balls in 1985 despite only appearing in 92 games.

Where Are They Now?: He is currently managing the Jupiter Hammerheads, a single A farm team for the Florida Marlins.

'90 Fleer Counters:
HALL OF FAME: 1
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: 2
CY YOUNG: 1
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 2
ALL-STAR: 2
GOLD GLOVE: 0
SILVER SLUGGER: 1

A Goal's a Goal

Braves at Pirates 5/22 and 5/23/10

Sorry I've been away for so long but it's been an awesome summer for me so far. I've been doing everything but baseball cards lately. I'm also getting ready to move at the end of next month so posts may be a bit sparce until I get settled back in. Starting in August I have some really big stuff planned for the blog including loads of vintage junk wax. In the meantime, here's a couple Pirates games I went to last month. Enjoy.

Highlight of my friend's party in 3D PsychedelicVision.

Penn State Blue/White Tailgate '10

Chaos and shenanigans at last weekend's tailgate...

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Here's another Heritage blaster.

Punxy Phil Comes Out to Play

Looks like Phil decided to come out and enjoy the weather... in my backyard. =)

My First Golf Outing of the Year

This has nothing to do with baseball cards but I thought you might enjoy it nevertheless.

Tournament of Gimmicks Updated Bracket

Click to enlarge.And don't forget to vote in the final.

The Pirates Are in First Place

The Bucs are in first, Garrett Jones is leading the league in homers and all is right with the world. I love spring.

Hope Springs Eternal

I know I say this every year but I can't resist. THEPIRATESHAVEAREALLYGOODTEAMTHISYEARANDITHINKTHEYMIGHTWIN75GAMES. Sorry I had to get that out of my system. Even in this big market era of baseball, there is something magical about this time of year for every fan. I think it's great that two of the oldest National League franchises will be kicking things off today. Once again this year I will be chatting live in the comments during the Pirates/Dodgers opener at 1:30 PM EST. Feel free to join me...

Tournament of Gimmicks Final Four

Click here to vote in the Tournament of Gimmicks Final Four.

Tournament of Gimmicks Updated Bracket

Click to enlarge.

Tournament of Gimmicks Updated Bracket

Click to enlarge.

2010 Topps Series 2 Is Live!

So I was in Wally World doing some shopping earlier this evening and stopped by the card aisle. I couldn't believe but there it was, a Topps series 2 gravity feeder! I grabbed a bunch of packs and here's what I got...

Tournament of Gimmicks Sweet Sixteen Update

Here's a Sweet Sixteen update in the Beckett and Olbermann regions of the Tournament of Gimmicks. Includes interviews with Stale Gum's Chris Harris and Dave the Cardboard Junkie. You still have time to vote in the Sweet Sixteen if you haven't already...
BECKETT REGION
OLBERMANN REGION
BERGER REGION

My Team in Dayf's Heritage Blaster Fantasy Baseball League

So out of the blue dayf came up with a great spin on the fantasy baseball idea. It just so happened I had busted a Heritage blaster a few days ago and hadn't sorted the cards into my set yet so it was great timing. And talk about luck, I think I got a pretty kick ass team out of it too! Here's my lineup:

2 catchers (Victor Martinez, Kelly Shopach)
1 first baseman (Adrian Gonzalez)
1 second baseman (Dustin Pedroia)
1 shortstop (Jimmy Rollins)
1 third baseman (Pablo Sandoval)
3 outfielders (Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Brad Hawpe)
1 corner infielder 1B or 3B (Aramis Ramirez)
1 middle infielder 2B or SS (Troy Tulowitzki)
1 outfielder (Raul Ibanez)
1 utility any position or dh (Jacoby Ellsbury)
7 pitchers starters or relievers (Adam Wainwright, Josh Beckett, Rick Porcello, Tommy Hanson, Ross Ohlendorf, Cole Hamels, John Danks)
1 team card (Cardinals)
1 manager (Bob Geren)

I think I did pretty damn good for myself. This should kick ass!