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

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.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Here's another Heritage blaster.

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.

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!

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

I needed to take a break from the Tournament of Gimmicks so I picked up another blaster of Heritage.

2010 Topps Heritage Baseball

Another blaster of Heritage.

Tournament of Gimmicks Update

Update on second round action in the Beckett and Olbermann regions and interviews with Stale Gum's Chris Harris and Dave from Cardboard Junkie. Don't forget you still have time to vote in the second round.
BURDICK REGION
OLBERMANN REGION
BERGER REGION

Tournament of Gimmicks Round Two

It's time for the second round in the Beckett Region of the Tournament of Gimmicks. Vote for your least favorite card gimmicks in the sidebar on the right. And don't forget about the Burdick, Olbermann and Berger regions.

Beckett Region Round Two Game 1
1)"Jon Smoltz vs 9)Aurora Cubes
The "Jon" Smoltz card thumped Topps D3 in the first round while Pacific Aurora Cubes was in a tough fight with Finest's fractured base sets before pulling away late.

Beckett Region Round Two Game 2
4)Alex Gordon vs 12)'01 UD Sweet Spot Ichiro Jersey
Alex Gordon, picked by many to win the entire tournament, is fresh from a big win over Finest's peel-off protectors. But Gordon may have trouble with the Ichiro "jersey" which just upset one of the most famous cards of all time, the '33 Goudey Nap Lajoie.

Beckett Region Round Two Game 3
6)"Franken-cuts" vs 3)Topps U&H Joba "Astros"
"Franken-cuts" trounced the '99 Topps Mac/Sosa varitaions handily while the Joba "Astros" card ran all over "All" Hrabosky.

Beckett Region Round Two Game 4
7)2010 UD Double Takes vs 2)Poley Walnuts


2010 UD Double Takes crushed Sportflics but will face a stiff test from Poley Walnuts which easily defeated eTopps.

Tournament of Gimmicks Second Round

The second round in the Tournament of Gimmicks has officially begun! Cast your vote on the sidebar to the right. You have until 11:59 PM EST Saturday to vote. Don't forget about the Burdick, Olbermann and Berger regions as well.

Tournament of Gimmicks First Round Results

BURDICK REGION

1) 2008 Topps #FS1 Kazuo Uzuki 78
16) 1994 Score Rookie/Traded September Call-Up Redemption Card 7

8) 2009 Upper Deck #885 Ken Griffey, Jr. 20X 20
9) 2007 Topps Alex Rodriguez Road to 500 64


4) 2008 Topps Updates & Highlights "Upside-Down" Longoria, Bruce, and Fukudome 68
13) 1992-92 Triple Play 17

5) 2010 Yankee Pie-In-The-Face 62
12) 2001 Donruss "1999" & "2000" Retroactive 23


6) 1997-98 Pinnacle Mint 41
11) 2009 Topps Heritage #102 Adrian Gonzalez "Rangers" 32

3) 1989 Fleer #616 Billy Ripken "Fuck Face" 52
14) 1995-98 Leaf Materials inserts 21


7) 2008 Topps Heritage #201 Johan Santana "Mets" 27
10) 1998 Pinnacle Multi-Stat-Backs 46

2) Manufactured Letter Patches 54
15) 1994 Upper Deck Diamond Collection 19

OLBERMANN REGION

1) 2008 Topps #661 Johan Santana "No-Hitter" 61
16) 1982 Fleer #576 John Littlefield RevNeg 15

8) 2005-08 Topps Barry Bonds Home Run History 57
9) Allen & Ginter Rip Cards 22


2) 2008 Upper Deck Documentary 45
15) 1995 Stadium Club Ring Leader Phone Cards 28

7) 1998-2000 Topps TEK 34
10) 2007 Topps Generation Now 45


3) 2009 Topps Heritage #83 Derek Jeter "Red Sox" 39
14) 1997 Pinnacle Inside (Cards in a can) 38

6) 2008 Upper Deck Predictors #PP7 Hillary Clinton (Morgana) 57
11) Pacific Card-supials 20


4) 2007 Topps #40 Jeter/Bush/Mantle 41
13) 2008 Topps #234 Red Sox "Rudy Giuliani" 36

5) 1998 Zenith "Dare-to-Tear" 31
12) 2001 Pacific Manny Ramirez "Corked Bat" 46

BECKETT REGION

1) 2008 Topps Heritage #440 "Jon" Smoltz 22
16) 1995 Topps D3 12

8) 1996 Finest (Fractured Base Sets) 11
9) 1998 Pacific Aurora Cubes 17


4) 2006 Topps #297 Alex Gordon 26
13) 1995-99 Finest peel-off protectors 13

5) 1933 Goudey #106 Napoleon Lajoie 8
12) 2001 Sweet Spot #JIS Ichiro "Game-Used" Jersey 18


6) 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights #312 Joba Chamberlain "Astros" 22
11) 1982 Fleer #438 "All" Hrabosky 5' 1" 8

3) "Franken-Cuts" 20
14) 1999 Topps #220 & #461 Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa 11


7) 2010 Upper Deck Double-Take Variations 27
10) Sportflics 5

2) 2007 Topps Updates & Highlights #SQ1 Poley Walnuts 26
15) eTopps 14

BERGER REGION

1) 2008/09 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy 37
16) 1988 Topps Bigs 5

8) 2008 Bowman Chrome #155 Kosuke Fukudome No AU 21
9) 2008 Topps Kosuke Fukudome “Japan” 20


4) 2007-08 Topps Moments and Milestones 22
13) 2008 Topps #AS Arnold Schwarzenegger 21

5) Topps Target Throwback/Wal-Mart All Black Blasters 26
12) 2009 Topps Heritage #70 “Thom” Glavine 16


6)1998-2000 Skybox “Gangsta” Text 19
11) 1997-98 Leaf Fractal Matrix 11

3) 2001 Donruss Elite Extra Edition $5.99 Redemption Cards 26
14) 2006 Topps #RC1 Alay Soler 4


7) 1898 Upper Deck #413 Dale Murphy RevNeg 13
10) 2007 Topps Update & Highlights #100 Jacoby Ellsbury 17

2) 2010 Topps Milton Bradley “Scoreboard Abe” 22
15) 1969 Topps #653 Aurelio Rodriguez 8

Tournament of Gimmicks Update

Here's a wrap up of the Beckett and Olbermann regions and an interview with tournament and Stale Gum founder Chris Harris.

Tournament of Gimmicks Update: Olbermann Region

Here's a live update of the Olbermann Region. Second round begins Thursday!
BURDICK REGION
OLBERMANN REGION
BERGER REGION

Tournament of Gimmicks Update: Beckett Region

Here's a live update of the Beckett Region. REMEMBER, THERE'S STILL TIME TO VOTE FOR THE WORST BASEBALL CARD GIMMICKS OF ALL TIME!
BURDICK REGION
OLBERMANN REGION
BERGER REGION