P-Tom deals some Metal Universe

Recently, I was reading over P-Tom's blog, Waiting 'til Next Year, when I saw that he listed 1997 Metal Universe on his Set Needs page.  I remember that nineteen years ago, I and my girlfriend at that time really like the Metal Universe cards, and had worked on completing the set. I knew that I had some duplicate stashed somewhere if I could find them.

Eureka, I found them and there were some of the cards that P-Tom needed.  We worked a deal for a stack of about a dozen Metal Universe cards.  P-Tom said he thought that he had some Metal Universe duplicates and that he would try to help me out in my search.  He wasn't sure how many he had and he also offered me some Giant and Athletic cards to complete the deal.

P-Tom wrote this blog about the cards sent to him.

Link for trade with Waiting 'til Next Year

P-Tom's cards arrive just the other day.  P-Tom sent me a great stack of cards.

 

Some of the cards include:

1997 Metal Universe

P-Tom sent a couple of 1997 Metal Universe cards from my want list.

1997 Metal Universe Gregg Jefferies Card #201

1997 Metal Universe Brian McRae Card #12

After acquiring these two cards from P-Tom, I need 19 more Metal Universe cards to complete the set.

 

P-Tom has also included the Metal Universe cards I need on his Metal Universe Cards want list page.

 

Metal Universe Want List

 

If anyone has any of these Metal Universe for trade, please let us know.

Topps 2016 Series One
 

I received a couple of former speedy Athletics from the Topps 2016 set.

 





Topps 2016 Billy Burns Card #224

 

Topps 2016 Card Coco Crisp #111

Billy Burns and Coco Crisp didn't make it through this season with the A's.  Burns was traded to the Royals in July and Crisp was sent to the Indians in August. 

 

Burns finished last season with 26 steals, which tied him with Royals Jarrod Dyson for third place in the American League.  Burns who played in only 125 games and didn't appear in his first game until the beginning of May. 

 

2016 was Crisp seventh season with the A's.  In 2011, he tied with Yankee outfielder Brett Gardner to lead the American League in stolen bases when he swiped 49 bases.  Crisp return to the Indians will give him another chance at postseason play.

 

1989 Bowman

1989 Bowman Card Mark McGwire Card #197

1989 Bowman Card Dennis Eckersley Card #190

 

Dennis Eckersley and Mark McGwire were mainstays for the 1988 American League Champion A's who loss to the Dodgers in the World Series.  Eckersley will be remember as the pitcher who gave up the game one two-run home run by Kirk Gibson giving the Dodgers a 5 - 4 win.  McGwire's game three 9th inning home run was the game winner in the only game that the A's won during that series, a 2 - 1 victory.  

 

A couple of Stadium Club cards 

1999 Stadium Club Eric Chavez Card #166

2001 Stadium Club Barry Zito Card # 175

Eric Chavez and Barry Zito were part of A's teams that won four American League Western Division Championships from 2000 through 2006.

Some young Athletic stars

1998 Collector's Choice Star Quest Ben Grieve Card #SQ15

2000 Pacific Paramount Ben Grieve Card # 169

Upper Deck Black Diamond Ben Grieve Card #62

2000 Skybox Ben Grieve Card #112

Fleer Tradition Ben Grieve Card #177

1995 Bowman Jason Giambi Card #13

2000 Topps Stars Jason Giambi Card #54

2002 Topps Ten Jason Giambi Card #67

 

Ben Grieve was the American League Rookie of the Year in  1998 and Jason Giambi won the 2000 American League Most Valuable Player award. 

 

A's Prospects

 

1998 Upper Deck Destination Stardom Ryan Christenson Card #DS32

1996 Topps Mark Bellhorn Card #22

1998 Leaf Rookie and Stars Blake Stein Card #301

2000 Bowman Chrome Jason Hart Card #159

2000 Bowman Chrome Mario Encarnacion Card #320

2001 Bowman Jose Ortiz Card #392

 

Giant Prospects

1996 Upper Deck Jay Canizaro Card #247

1999 Sports Illustrated Giant 2000 #54

1997 Upper Deck Jacob Cruz Card #232

 

A couple Studio Heritage Series

 

1992 Studio Heritage Series Jose Canseco Card #BC-4

1993 Studio Heritage Mark McGwire Series Card #4

 

The Heritage Series was an insert in the Donruss Studio product in the early 90s.  The card are portraits of current day players in their teams old uniforms.  These are cards of a couple young Athletic stars, Jose Canseco in a 1929 Philadelphia A's uniform and Mark McGwire in a 1910 Philadelphia A's uniform.

 

Some Barry Bonds

 

1998 Collector's Choice Star Quest Barry Bonds Card #SQ39

2000 Upper Deck Ovation Barry Bonds Card #25

 

P-Tom included a couple cards of beloved Giant and current Marlin hitting coach, Barry Bonds.

 

Home Run Champ Inserts

1993 Upper Deck SP Platinum Power Mark McGwire Card #PP13

2001 Fleer Focus Diamond Vision Barry Bonds Card #10 

 

These two insert cards were received.  Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris single season home run record in 1998 and Barry Bonds exceeded McGwire's total in 2001. 

 

P-Tom, thank you for these cards.

Nachos Grande Deal

Recently, I sent a short stack of 2015 Stadium Club baseball cards to Chris of Nachos Grande.  He returned some 2016 Allen & Ginter cards in trade.

 

He wrote this blog about the deal.

 

Trade with Nachos Grande

Some of the cards that Chris sent to me include:

 

A couple of Cubs who are helping the team as their fans hope that the Cubs will win their first World Series since 1908.

2016 Allen & Ginter Anthony Rizzo Card #260 

 

Anthony Rizzo is having another great season with the Cubs.  In 2016, he made third All-Star team and currently for the National League he is tied for eighth in home runs (with 29) and third in RBI (with 98).

  

2016 Allen & Ginter Jason Heyward Card #156 

 

Jason Hayward joined the Cubs this past off season as a free agent signee. He has struggled at the plate this year (his batting average is .223) but his outfield defense (while playing both rightfield and centerfield) has solidified the team's defense as he has over 250 chances for the season with only two errors.

 

A couple of Giants whose play has helped keep the Giants (barely) in a pennant race with the Dodgers and to be one of the two teams in the National League play-in game. 

 

2016 Allen & Ginter Brandon Crawford Card #171 

 

Brandon Crawford has played in 141 of the Giants 144 game, tops for the team, and his 79 RBI also leads the team.  Crawford's 12 home runs, ties him for second on the Giants, with Buster Posey, behind team leader Brandon Belt's 15 home runs. 

2016 Allen & Ginter Jeff Samardzija Card #167 

 

Jeff Samardzija was a free agent signee for the Giants this past off season.  He has joined with Madison Bumgarner, and Johnny Cueto as the top three hurlers in the Giants starting rotation.  Samardzija, with 29 starts, joins Cueto, who also has 29 starts (tying them for second in the National League) as Bumgarner is tied for the league lead with 30 starts (tied with National's Max Scherzer). 

 

Jason Velander has returned to his old form and is having a great season helping the Tigers stay in the race as an entry in the American League play-in game.  The Tigers currently trail the Blue Jays and Orioles by two games to make the play-in game.

2016 Allen & Ginter Justin Verlander Card #4 

 

Verlander currently has 14 wins.  He has pitched 200 innings, currently ranked third in the American League as Red Sox David Price leads the league with 205 innings pitched.  Verlander has struck out 216 batters, a total that is second in the league, trailing only Rays Chris Archer, who has 217 strikeouts.

 

Adam Jones is in his ninth season as the Orioles starting centerfielder.  The Orioles are currently tied for second with the Blue Jays, in the American League Eastern Division, two games behind the Red Sox.  Currently, the Orioles join the Blue Jays as the two American League play-in teams.  Jones is in the news this week with USA Today's Bob Nightengale article.

 



2016 Allen & Ginter Adam Jones Card #88 

 

For the season, Jones has hit 27 home run, ranking him fourth on the Orioles, who lead the American League with 231 home runs. Jones joins four other Orioles who have hit more than 24 home runs. 

 

Thanks for the trade, Chris!

Reds No. 14

At a card show earlier this spring I pull an All-Star Classics Box Score card from a dime box.  The card was for the 1975 All-Star game.  I liked the card because it pictured Cardinal great Lou Brock and I figured that I would add the it to my collection of Lou Brock cards.

2005 UD All-Star Classics Box Scores Card #ASB-8

 

I had never seen a card like this and research found that it was an insert in the 2005 UD All-Star Classics set.  The front of the card has the box score from the 1975 All-Star game.  The game was played in Milwaukee County Stadium.  (The next All-Star game in Milwaukee was the infamous 7 - 7 tie at Miller Park that lead to Commissioner Bud Selig's decision to award home field advantage to the World Series to the champion of the league that won the All-Star game).  

 

The National League won the 1975 game 6 - 3.  It was the National League's 13th win in 14 All-Star games in a time when they dominated the All-Star game as they won 19 of 20 All-Star games between 1963 and 1982.  (Good thing for the American League that home field advantage for the World Series wasn't decided by the winner of those years All-Star game).

 

In reviewing the box score on the card the leadoff batter for the National League was noted as Reds No. 14.  All the other players from the game's box score are identified but name except for one, Reds No. 14.

 



 

 

Reds No. 14 had two hits in four at-bats as he played the entire game except for the bottom of the ninth inning when he was replaced in left field by Expo 1975 Rookie of the Year and future Hall of Fame catcher, Gary Carter. 

 

Why couldn't the name of Reds No. 14 be used on this card.  It goes back to the claim made by Major League baseball that Reds No. 14 bet on major league baseball games. 

 

The August 23, 1989 agreement Reds No. 14 made with then Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti, reads:

 

Therefore, the Commissioner, recognizing the benefits to Baseball from a resolution of this matter, orders and directs that Peter Edward Rose be subject to the following disciplinary sanctions, and Peter Edward Rose, recognizing the sole and exclusive authority of the Commissioner and that it is in his interest to resolve this matter without further proceedings, agrees to accept the following disciplinary sanctions imposed by the Commissioner.

Peter Edward Rose is hereby declared permanently ineligible in accordance with Major League Rule 21 and placed on the Ineligible List.

 

Major League Rule 21 states: "Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever upon any ballgame game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible."

 

I guess if you are on the Major League baseball's ineligible list you can't have your name listed on any baseball card when permission for the issuance of the card is granted Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.  That permission is normally mentioned in the tiny print on the bottom of a baseball card and that permission was granted for the 2005 UD All-Star Classics Box Scores Card.

 

I remembered that Reds No. 14's son, Pete Rose Jr. had a baseball card in the 1998 Topps set.

 

1998 Topps Pete Rose Jr. Card #240 

 

I figured that card might mention Pete Rose Jr's father by name.  Nope, not the case.  The card only mentions that Pete Jr. copied his dad's crouch in his first AB.  Topps received permission from Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. to print this card. 

   

 

 

Reds No. 14 name is used on 2016 Donruss cards issued by Panini.  However, permission from Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. was not granted for these cards but instead Panini is Official Licensed product of Major League Players Association.

      

2016 Donruss Pete Rose Card #187A

 

 

2016 Donruss 1982 Pete Rose Card 82-46