Thursday, January 23, 2020

Ineffective Phil


Chronicling the famous knuckleballer's brief time with the Blue Jays. 

There was a nice batch of oddballs in my most recent Goodwill find, including a bunch of Classic game cards from 1987 and 1988 that I hadn't seen much. This Phil Niekro card stood out the most, as I had no recollection of Niekro ever wearing a Blue Jays uniform in baseball card form or otherwise.


As it turns out, it wasn't such a great time for Phil! Can you imagine Niekro ever signing the back of this card? I will cherish it forever.

I believe there are three Niekro cards in this set, most likely representing each of the three teams he played for in his final season. I wonder if the stats were just too gruesome to look at.

6 comments :

  1. Wow.. you don't see that on cards anymore. Also, "Torondo" Blue Jays? lol.

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  2. haha, I missed the "Torondo" part. This card just keeps getting better and better.

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  3. I'm 99.9 percent sure this is the only card of Niekro as a Blue Jay. Top-tier short term stop here.

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  4. If he knows what it says on the back, I can't imagine him signing the front either. Though since he charges a fee to sign, maybe he'll do it if you pony up the bucks.

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  5. Wow what a great card. I hadn't noticed "torondo" eaither.

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  6. Ineffective or not... it's crazy to think that Phil was still throwing baseballs at the MLB level at the age of 48. I'm 47 and there are days when I can barely move.

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