The Original Rated Rookie?

I'm not entirely sure where or when Rated Rookie cards began their life, but the oldest one I remember seeing happens to be in the 1983 Donruss set. For some reason, my faulty brain is telling me that there were 6 of these in the set, but the only one I currently own is someone named Keith Creel. The classic Rated Rookie logo first appeared in the 1985 Donruss set (Danny Tartabull was King back then) and the 1984 cards first designated Rated Rookies on the fronts of cards, but here in 1983 there was just some plain bold text printed on the back that set the cards apart from the rest.

Unfortunately for Mr. Creel, he seems to be best known for making an appearance in a game that ended Don Mattingly's streak of seven consecutive games with a home run. Apparently you can purchase t-shirts (actually, don't click that... 32 dollars??!) with the classic logo on them, so that dream of walking around looking super-awesome in Rated Rookie gear, Jose Canseco style, and starting that band up with the logo printed on the kick drum head is probably dead. (My brother actually gets full credit with the kick drum head idea.) Somehow I keep envisioning a terrible ska band called The Rated Rookies.

Just Packs, Nothing Else...

I have a growing stack of packs set aside that I felt the need to use for blog fodder, and two of them are from one of my favorite sets, 2008 Topps Heritage. When done right, I think I like all of the Heritage/retro/vintage-based sets that I've seen that have become fairly popular in recent years. I definitely can't afford to collect them all, so I've narrowed my focus first to just this year's Topps line, based on the original 1959 Topps design. I've written about this stuff before, so I'll just get onto the packs. I actually purchased "Pack 2" last Sunday and "Pack 1" (which I completely forgot about) weeks ago.

Pack 1:
37 - Matt Capps (Capps seems to have the makings of a great closer, but he spent the last few months of the season on the DL and is also a Pirate.)
137 - Ross Ohlendorf RC (Ohlendorf became a Pirate as a result of the Xavier Nady trade and got some starts after September roster expansion.)
223 - St. Louis Cardinals (I always love the team photo cards. This is even better, because it's the 2006 Championship team. Wait a minute! This is a 2008 set. This is the same photo used on the 2007 cards, with the background hacked out of it. Night Owl Cards recently posted gripes about the team card photos, but this is kind of ridiculous. Maybe the 2007 Cardinals season really was that forgettable...)

366 - Alex Rodriguez Baseball Thrills (I'm fairly indifferent about A-Rod in general, but any time someone reaches a landmark like 500 HRs, I'm pretty impressed. Yes, even when it's Rafael Palmeiro.)
294 - Jay Payton
18 - Dontrelle Willis (Is his hat just crooked, or is this a factory defect? I don't quite understand where the Tigers logo is positioned.
)
HTCP10 - Ryan Howard Target Mini T205 (Mini cards are great, especially tobacco-shaped ones.)
3 - Eric Byrnes Black Back (Cards on Cards has a No Byrnes Ordinance that prohibits images of his likeness to be displayed.)

Pack 2:

243 - Dan Haren (Some cards in this set have these weird out of focus head shots that look like they were cropped by poor screen captures of a TV broadcast, perhaps a vintage TV even.)

229 - Chris Young (To contrast, other cards in the set have more modern studio photos for some reason.)
208 - Billy Butler (Butler is one of those players I would never remember if asked out of context. Actually, if someone asked me out of the blue, "is Billy Butler is a baseball player?" I would probably say, "I don't know.")
125 - Harvey Garcia RC (In this day and age, it's probably a bad sign when Harvey's Wikipedia entry is two sentences long.)
478 - Jason Bay (A former Portland Beaver who now plays for ESPN Boston.)
197 - Derrek Lee (I almost started to feel bad for the Cubs when I saw their Sports Illustrated cover tonight at a convenience store by my work. Almost...)
485 - Miguel Cabrera All-Star (SP) (I think this is only the third one of these All-Star cards that I've pulled. "Topps News" replaces "The Sporting News" that was on the original card designs.)

262 - Hitters' Foes Black Back (Hiroki Kuroda basically replaced Penny in this trio this year. Now the Phillies have to deal with them. Night Owl Cards has given the Cards some love the past few days, so I felt obligated to post this card here. I'm not sure I have much of a rooting interest in the series, though. My Dodgers dislike roots back to the early 80s when the Yankees were my team by default because of my dad and there's something that bugs me about the Phillies that I just can't put my finger on. I think Matt Kemp, James Loney and... yes... Shane Victorino are exciting players, though, so it should be interesting to watch anyway.)

Rainy Tuesday Miscellany

On Friday I did a "Buy It Now" purchase on eBay that was a lucky find and really probably the biggest no-brainer online purchase I've ever made. 800 80's oddball Cardinals cards for 19.99 and free shipping. Did I really need another box of baseball cards taking up space in my small apartment? That's probably not the best question to ask right now. But this was right up my alley. And the cards came today, and I got not one but two (!) 660 count boxes of Cardinals cards and stickers, absolutely none from a regular old base set. And while I got my fair share of doubles (hello, other Cardinals team collectors!), this ended up being a whole lot better than advertised. Though, now I seem to have about 10 Cardinals team sets worth of 1988 Starting Lineup Talking Baseball, whatever that is (I can't seem to remember.) Now I have a Chef Boyardee card. This was definitely my favorite card in the entire lot. Just check out Todd's mustache and wonder how often SpaghettiOs got stuck in it. (Actually, I think that was a Franco-American product.) (And on another note: I had no idea Chef Boyardee was a real person.)

This card came from the era of the National League's ill-fated brief experiment with the Designated Hitter rule, apparently.

---

Congrats to the Tampa Bay Rays. Check that, my Tampa Bay Rays! We are officially finished with Ozzie Guillen face time for the season.

---


I got my football prize package from the Cardboard Junkie himself on Friday. Unfortunately, I'm too upset about the Ducks, the Eagles and the American game of football in general to talk about the loot I received at the moment. But what in the world is the story with this card? It has some crazy hole in it. And that's very odd considering it comes from a set that calls itself Pinnacle Mint Condition.

---

With tonight comes the first preseason game of the season for the Portland Trail Blazers. For this occasion, I am going to do something I haven't done in 15 years. You can read all about it at A Pack A Day. Be afraid, be slightly afraid...

Good Luck Ducks, Week 6

The Ducks are 4-1 and move on to Los Angeles to take on USC for their second consecutive road game. USC was dethroned last week by a relentless ground attack by a fairly pedestrian, but improving Oregon State team. (Doesn't that always seem to describe them?) USC will be expecting more of the same from Oregon, and they've even made changes up the middle to stop the run. I feel the Ducks are going to need a much more balanced game to keep USC on its toes. I'm strangely confident about this game, even facing all of the supposed NFL-bound talent that USC has and the fact that the Trojans are likely very angry and embarrassed after last week - which is pretty much the same feeling Oregon had coming into last week's 63-14 stomping of WSU.

I'm taking a break this week from the team-issued cards from the Rose Bowl season. Here's Bill Musgrave's Star Pics card from 1991. For some reason I always liked the really cheesy borders with piles of footballs all around (ditto for the basketball set.) Musgrave took over for Chris Miller at the helm of the Ducks in the late 80s and helped start the run of bowl appearances which was previously uncharted territory for a Ducks team. He didn't get much playing time in his six NFL seasons, but has gone on to coach for a number of teams. He's currently the QB coach for the Falcons.

I wonder if any of these players ever looked at these cards and got upset about the "WEAKNESSES" listed on the back.

A & G Blaster No. 3

Rather than heed my own advice, I opted not to quit while I was ahead and went straight for another blaster of Allen & Ginter last weekend. Unfortunately, with the playoffs starting this week I keep feeling like buying more baseball cards, so this madness may not end anytime soon. I did finally realize that Topps Updates & Highlights comes out this month rather than December as I had originally thought, so that may temporarily distract me from buying stuff that's probably a little pricier than my usual baseball card budget. (And yes, I realize how lame 2008 Topps base is. I have my reasons...)

Pack 1:
259 - Francisco Rodriguez (first card out of the box if I hold it in the light a little, I can see roller marks. probably not a good sign.)
4 - Roy Halladay (he will be one of my fantasy keepers for the second straight year)
23 - A.J. Burnett Mini (ouch... first serious victim of roller damage)
293 - Pedro Feliz
109 - Joey Chestnut (has anyone noticed how his picture on the card looks nothing like the actual guy and looks more like something taken out of a Guide to Wholesome Eating circa 1950? I would have taken a picture of the card, but competitive eating is gross.)

297 - Max Scherzer RC (Max is a native St. Louisan who was drafted by the Cards out of high school but did not sign. now he's on the wrong team.)

Pack 2:
162 - Austin Kearns
207 - Yuniesky Betancourt (more printing lines only visible in light)
330 - Luke Hochevar RC (SP)
312 - Brandon Wood Mini (SP)
US15 - Casey Blake US Flag (this card seems to be about a millimeter wider than it should be)

10 - Deep Blue World's Greatest Victories
130 - Tim Wakefield
288 - Pete Weber

Pack 3:
258 - Eric Chavez
177 - Evan Longoria RC (more barely visible printing lines, but this is a nice card. he's already writing himself into baseball lore based on what he did yesterday.)
337 - Jason Schmidt (SP)
WDS2 - Tiger Shark World's Deadliest Sharks (that makes 2 shark cards in 3 blasters, 1 hobby pack and 1 retail pack, but they're both the same shark.)
US33 - Ryan Zimmerman US Flag
- Checklist 4 of 4
37 - Pedro Martinez

294 - Torii Hunter (wacky, but not nearly as wacky as his 2007 A&G picture)

Pack 4:
134 - Jason Varitek
77 - Joba Chamberlain (just a plain old non-autographed Joba)
339 - Jack Cust Mini (SP) (former Portland Beaver)
45 - Justin Morneau
16 - Hiroki Kuroda RC
284 - Daisuke Matsuzaka

Pack 5:

216 - Brett Myers (still watching last night's game on tape. hero or goat? it's looking more like hero at this point in my tape.)
25 - Aramis Ramirez (kind of a blah looking card of a guy I don't particularly like)
307 - Pat Neshek (SP) (I wonder how many of these cards he's signed already. he almost gives Channing Frye's blog a run for its money... almost.)
86 - Kelvim Escobar Mini
US21 - Chris Capuano US Flag (back-to-back starting pitchers for playoff teams that were injured for all of this season)
8 - Brian Bass RC
144 - Grand Canyon (the inanimate object count stands at 2, or 3 if you count Joey Chestnut's weird photo)

Pack 6:
86 - Kelvim Escobar (the larger, yet still injured version)
123 - Josh Willingham
182 - Nate McLouth Mini A&G Back

219 - Charles Dickens (I was forced to read A Tale of Two Cities at some point when I was in school and did not enjoy it. thanks for bringing up repressed childhood memories, Topps!)
285 - Brandon Phillips
299 - Rafael Furcal (aka Rafael 4-Call if you listen to Jon Miller)

Pack 7:
173 - Rick Ankiel (the lone Cardinal. and guess what? barely visible but still present printing lines!)
218 - John Maine
324 - Casey Kotchman (SP)
21 - Miguel Tejada Mini (somewhat mangled by the roller)
125 - John Lackey Mini (also somewhat mangled by the roller. Mutant Pack Alert... and each box has seemed to have one... two minis in this pack, eight cards total)

US5 - Chase Utley US Flag
- Crack the Ginter Code ad
- Checklist 3 of 4
262 - Mark Spitz
133 - Wild Bill Hickok (I think I saw him on the bus tonight)

Pack 8:
250 - Ichiro Suzuki

15 - B.J. Upton (go Rays!)
248 - Lastings Milledge
WL3 - Guy Verhofstadt Mini World's Leaders (the Prime Minister of Belgium)
212 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
119 - Billy Mitchell (Tchaikovsky totally kicks Mitchell's ass out of the pack and he ends up on the floor with no quarters left.)

Despite all my complaints, I only ended up with 3 cards that were damaged to the point where I actually wouldn't keep them as part of a set (if I was collecting such a thing.) Is it worth trying to return the cards? Probably not. The unfortunate thing is that they were all minis, though not any more rare parallel versions or anything.

Rays in '08

Cards on Cards is pleased to announce that we proudly endorse the Tampa Bay Rays for World Series Champions in 2008. In these tumultuous times, Cards on Cards has made the difficult to decision to cross party lines and endorse an American League team despite our history for voting for National League candidates. Rest assured, while our beliefs do not typically fall in line with those of the American League, our feeling is that we need to inject some new blood into this stale system and uplift the spirit of the game as a whole. While we certainly still disagree on many key views of the American League members, including their Right-To-DH views, we have the utmost confidence that these upstart Rays will represent the game in the way it should be played.

This was a tough decision, and with all things considered, we just could not endorse the Milwaukee Brewers. While they embrace many of the fundamentals that the National League represents, we just could not look past the shirt-untucking antics that have befallen the team of late, not to mention the personal attacks of Rickie Weeks on our beloved Cardinals.

[P.S. - Ken Griffey Jeter?]

Cards Cards From Tribe Cards: The Shiny Stuff

As promised, here's part 2 of the bounty of treasures sent my way from IBC. A. Again, you should check out his blog and the contest that was held. Rumor has it that there may be more of this sort of thing in the future.

First up, two Allen & Ginter cards from past sets that I never bought anything from - Chris Carpenter (2007) and Jason Isringhausen (2006). The cards pretty much look exactly the same as this year's version, which is a good thing. It also reminds me that I need other cards from those sets, which is probably not so good. Someday I'll get on those wantlists so I know what to tell you folks that e-mail me about trading. (Blind trades are fun, though... hint hint.)

2004 MLB Showdown Jeff Fassero - Is it a card... or is it a game? It could be a playing card, but there's no number or suit anywhere. Fassero does get +2 for CONTROL, which could be a good thing but could also mean he can barely reach the plate as I have no reference point for this set.

2007 Ultra Adam Wainwright - Ultra seems like the most timeless set of all the sets that still exist from way back when (the early 90's) and hasn't seemed to have changed a bit. But I'm just basing this on the card designs alone. Full bleed photos are great, even when they feature the slightly off-putting combination of the home hat and road uniform, which you'll only see in spring training from St. Louis. Have I ever mentioned here that I strongly dislike the high percentage of spring training photos on baseball cards through the years? The players with little-to-no major league game experience I can understand, but...

2008 Bowman Prospects Kyle Mura - I've never heard of this guy, so it's time to check the baseball-reference.com. Mura is a 23 year old righty-starter that made it up to AA Springfield this season. I can't find a whole lot about him other than that he was a 42nd round pick in 2006, so it seems like him being up at AA is pretty good progression for him so far. I'll have to keep an eye on him.

2008 Bowman Gold Yadier Molina - Ooh, it's a shiny gold TV set. If you turn it on its side, anyway. But if you do that, Yadi will look strange and sideways.

2002 Fleer Box Score Jim Edmonds - I'm not sure what the concept is behind this set, as there is no box score on it. I received other cards with box scores on them that were not called "Box Score" something-or-other, but this doesn't even have stats on the back and just features a tiny blurb. It's an Edmonds card I didn't have, though, and I'm always happy to get those.

2005 Fleer Patchworks Albert Pujols - This is a pretty nice card for being one of those busy background cards.

1999 Ultra Gold Medallion Edition Willie McGee - Willie! Hell yeah! That's pretty much exactly what I said outloud when I saw this. And it's gold Willie, too. 1999 was Willie's last season in the league. At one point there was a fairly serious campaign going on ("Retire 51") to get McGee's number retired in St. Louis, but now I see that retire51.com actually points to a similar effort to honor Bernie Williams. The team, for what it's worth, seems to be taking a McGwire-like stance with 51, as no one gets to wear the number but it's not officially retired. They say they will retire numbers if a player makes it to the Hall of Fame, but I don't think Willie is headed there. McGwire is another story, but I won't get into that now.




Ozzie cards I don't have! Here we have 2003 Fleer Fall Classic, a 2002 Topps Archives (1987 Topps design, of course), 2005 SP Legendary Cuts and the stuck-in-shiny-jail look of 1996 Pinnacle Summit. Any Ozzie card I didn't already own scores huge points in my book.

2002 Ultra Darryl Kile - Finally, here's DK, looking on at some game action from the dugout.