It Was Thirty Years Ago Today.

       Fans talk about "unbreakable" records all the time.  They talk about Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak as though no one could ever break it.  It is highly unlikely but statistically possible for someone to break Joltin' Joe's hallowed streak.  If you think back to the 80s - yes, a very long time ago now - folks used to say all the time how Lou Gehrig's 2130 game consecutive streak was "unbreakable." How in the 50+ years since he'd finally sat down that no one had even come close to playing that many games in a row.  It was taken as absolute certainty that it was a mark that would last forever. It's even written on his monument in Yankees stadium that it was a mark that "should stand for all time."  Enter Cal Ripken Jr. 

Oddly enough, Cal Ripken and Lou Gehrig are similar ballplayers in the fact that there is one thing about them that overshadows everything else about them.  For Lou, it was the sad fact that he got a rare disease and died so young.  But go look at his numbers, they are other worldly.  He is statistically one of the best if not the best hitting first baseman of all time.  But people remember his tragedy, not his talent.  And Cal and Lou run the same problem because of what Cal did; his streak became the defining feature of Cal Ripken Jr. and not the fact that he changed the position of shortstop forever.  Alex Rodriguez, Nomar, Jeter, all those guys, none of them would exist as shortstops if Cal Ripken didn't exist first. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cal was a humble guy who just went to work every day.  He also won ROY, 2 MVPs, and got 3000 hits and hit over 400 home runs while winning gold gloves and a bunch of silver sluggers.  This would be great for a corner outfielder but he did it all (mostly) as a shortstop.  We all remember his victory lap that night after the fifth inning and the non-stop standing ovation he got.  We all try to forget that Chris Berman was the TV announcer. A few years ago Cal reflected on that night and he was his normal humble self:

September 6, 2012:

Thank you, thank you. Just for the record, just because you stood up and clapped, I’m not taking a lap around the ball park again….Those days are over, thank you. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what to expect from these bronze statue ceremonies. Sure these statues are for pretty good Orioles baseball players, but at the same time a familiar kind of Orioles magic started to appear, the magic of the Oriole Way. A deep-rooted connection developed over generations, made up of people who dedicated their lives to baseball in Baltimore. Sure, it’s a game, right? Well, not to this group. Baseball was, and is, about excellence on and off the field; baseball was, and is, about teamwork; baseball was, and is, about community. Baseball, in the end, was and is about family, one big family, the Oriole family.

Speaking of families, I want to thank the Angelos family for their renewed connection with the rich history of the Orioles. Thank you so much, Mr. Angelos, thank you so much, Mrs. Angelos, John and Lou for creating and capturing that spirit of the Oriole way through these wonderful works of art. Thank you very much. I am honored to look out and see myself among the players whose sculptures stand here. Through these statues, we all are reminded what it means to be an Oriole: local ownership, local pride, representing Baltimore and the State of Maryland in the best possible way for the rest of the country and the world. And, I might add, being an Oriole is also about playing meaningful games in September. Congratulations to Buck Showalter and his Oriole team for a great and exciting season, we are all behind you.

Thank you, Brady, for your kind words. Good stuff, especially given you only had 24 hours notice. Thank you to Toby Mendez, the sculptor; you really captured the essence of each person.

And thank you to my wonderful family- Kelly, Rachel and Ryan- for allowing me to pursue a dream. To share my career with them and now be a part of their young journey in life, there is no better gift.

Thank you to my mom, and my brothers and my sister- Ellen, Fred and Billy- who helped shape me into the person I am.

You know, a special thanks goes out to Wild Bill. No, not Wild Bill Hagy, but my brother, Bill. He is always there for me. He was a great double play partner in the field and an equally a great partner in our business. You know him as a high-energy, funny person, but there is no one more committed and sensitive to the needs of others than Bill.

You know, my love for the Orioles was born from my Dad. As a kid, I remember Dad putting on his work clothes, his uniform, and the sheer joy that would come over him as a result. Why did that make him so happy? Well, in his address to the minor leaguers on the first day of spring training, he would say, “Welcome to the greatest organization in baseball. If you make it through our system, you will play in the big leagues. It might not be with the Orioles, but you will be a big leaguer.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every day he would walk around saying, “It’s great to be young and an Oriole.”

Cal, Sr. was mine and Billy’s Dad, but he also was a father figure to many others. Eddie, Jim, Brady, not you, Earl, sorry about that. You were Dad’s father figure and a father figure to many others as well. But as we now know Earl, Eddie was your favorite.

And the other father figures from this organization that I want us to remember: George Bamberger, Billy Hunter, Jimmy Williams, Bob Giordano, Billy Miller and Doc Edwards, because I will remember them.

These ceremonies at times have been extremely emotional, drawing from the real experiences of success and failure. We celebrate success, and we also at least find out who we are in failure. These are the life lessons that play out on the baseball field. These are the life lessons learned from men like Earl, Cal, Sr., Frank, Eddie, Brooks, Jim and so many more who wore the Oriole uniform. This is the Oriole Way.

Thank you.

 

 No Cal, thank you.

Playoff Brothers.

       Hey, we're back. That last few weeks of silence was Marcel Marceau's newest hit single, "Walkin' In The Wind." And now, here are the playoffs.  I am sure you are all sitting on the edge of your seat wondering who I am going to support this October.  The last couple of years, my choices have been the kiss of death, but I would feel remiss if I didn't share my usual insane thought processes.  This year, three of the teams that made the AL playoffs also happen to be the three teams who won the three World Series directly before the Mets did in 1986 and, much like the Amazin's, haven't won it since.  This wonderful bit of convolution is the key to my choices.

The Kansas City Royals won the Series in 1985 and sadly, stupefyingly, and horrifyingly haven't even been to the playoffs since.

That team starred a veteran George Brett at third and first base.  After winning the AL west like a million times between 1976 and 1984, the Royals the shocked the Cardinals in 1985 - with a little help from Don Denkinger, of course.  It is a long shot, but I would love to see KC take the title after a 29 year drought.

Everyone remembers the 1984 Detroit Tigers.

They were the team that just steamrolled everyone through the whole year, kind of like a baseball version of the '85 Bears.  They led wire to wire in the regular season and then lost only one game in the playoffs while taking the title.  Everyone remembers Jack Morris and Kirk Gibson from that team but no one ever remembers Lou Whitaker.  1984 was just another in a long line of gold glove silver slugger all star seasons from their second baseman.  Everyone has spent the last decade arguing about whether Jack Morris should be in Cooperstown when the real travesty is the fact that Whitaker got less than 5% of the vote early and dropped off the ballot when he (and Alan Trammell) should be in the Hall - probably more so than Morris.  Detroit has since seen a few horrible teams and a few playoff teams, even going to the Series in 2006, but they haven't won it all since that magical 1984 season.

Then in 1983, you had the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles in '83 were led by a young MVP shortstop named Cal Ripken.  You may have heard of him.  The 31 years since that title have seen more dark times than not for Baltimore.  The mid 90's team was a juggernaut that never quite got to the Series and since then, it has been all dark.  But this year they finally won the AL East title for the first time in 17 years.   I jumped on the O's bandwagon two years ago - mostly to stick it to the Yankees - and they immediately tanked.  So this time around I am putting them third on my love list, hoping that a little reverse psychology will help them out.  Of course, now that I have mentioned that out loud, it is a certain jinx.  I need to learn to keep my mouth shut.

Loyalty.

       I am going to judge you...not as a person, mind you, but as a fan.  I am not big on those insipid "rules for fans" articles you will get from hack sportswriters from time to time.  I find there are no "rules" per se for being a sports fan.  You can do what you want; sports is supposed to be a pastime, after all.  But, and we are talking a J-Lo sized but here, the fact that there are no rules does not mean I won't draw opinions from your choices as a fan and then apply them further upon you as a human being. 

       If you have been paying attention at all, you will know that I am a New York Mets fan.  Being a Mets fan is, um, difficult at times.  But they are my team, through (the rarely) thick and (very very) thin.  Liking the Mets is not always easy, but it shows a tremendous amount of patience and fortitude if you are a true Mets fan.  On the other hand, being a Yankees fan requires very little, other than the lack of a soul and a self important attitude based upon entitlement.  The two do not mesh.  If you say you are a Mets fan, I know you aren't a Yankees fan.  If you say you are a Yankees fan, I know that you are both a jerk and that you pity the Mets, and really, that's fine.  But if you say you are a Yankees fan who roots for the Mets, I know you are a milquetoast (at best) and if you say you are a Mets fan who roots for the Yankees, I question your entire understanding of how life works.

       There is a radio talk show host who does AM drive in New York on WFAN, so as not to give him too much exposure, let's just call him Graig Garton.  For full disclosure, I have listened to this blowhard for about a dozen years and know him from back in his 101.5 days, and he was unmistakeably awful then.  But after the Don Imus fiasco five years ago, WFAN made the unfathomable choice of giving this jackass a bigger audience.  While his grating voice and sub-moronic IQ are obvious drawbacks to his job, the worst thing he does is around this time of year is he switches his allegiances from the Mets to the Yankees, opening what he calls the Church of Mets Fans for Yankees. This makes as much sense as "Jews for Jesus" - there is a word for that, we call it "Christians."  There is also a word for Mets Fans for Yankees, and that word is "Yankees Fan."  Packers fans don't root for the Bears, Bruins fans don't root for the Canadiens, Dodgers fans don't root for the Giants, Celtics fans do not root for the Lakers, and Mets fans do not root for the Yankees.  Period.  It is not a law or a rule, it is just the way it is.  Period.

       OK, I am on a complete ranting tangent here and I need to focus back to the point at hand.  Yes, I am a Mets fan and a baseball fan.  No, I will never root for the Yankees, ever.  Even in 2001, I was not rooting for the Yankees and was quite thrilled when they lost.  But, once playoff time comes around, when the Mets are out of it (which has been often in the last five years), I do take temporary rooting interest in a team, usually the one playing against the Yankees or, more recently, the Phillies (and when the Yankees and Phillies played each other?  I rooted for mother nature and football season).  This year I am rooting openly - and a little early this year, as well - for the Orioles.

The Orioles and their fans deserve better than they have gotten the last 15 years or so.  Peter Angelos is a carpetbagging bastard of the highest order.  He took what was once one of the gems of the American League and polished it into a turd.

There was once a concept of "The Oriole Way" which shows how seriously they took fine baseball in Baltimore and that they have gotten away from that shows how low they have sunk.

I have never had a beef with the Orioles or their fans.  I am too young to remember 1969 and since we beat them that year, really, what kind of grudge could I hold anyway?  Even when I was at Camden Yards and some drunk lady practically accosted me when the Mets lost to the Orioles, I didn't use that incident against their fans.  This was a few years ago when the O's were losing 90-100 games a year, why kick someone when they are down?  Besides, I understand - being drunk at a Mets game is pretty much required. 
 
I like what Buck Showalter has done with this ragtag bunch. I like that he got screwed over by the Yankees and has a chance to stick it to them. It would make for a good story if he is able to win the AL East with this team and a great story if he can not only win the East, but keep the Yankees out of the playoffs all together.  He'll need help from the Rays and the A's for that.

I wish I had a page of some contemporary Orioles to show you, but most of my modern O's go to Kevin at Orioles Card "O" the Day.  You'll have to go there to see Adam Jones or Nick Markakis cards.

So while my Mets sputter down the stretch to the tune of a 4-21 post All Star Break home record, I will continue to watch the games.  I will continue to wear my Mets hat - even in public.  I will root for David Wright to post great numbers and for R.A. Dickey to win 20.  But I will also be rooting for the Orioles to dethrone the Yankees.  I will be rooting for more Yankees injuries.  I will be rooting for the Rays and A's to keep up their end of the bargain and shut the Yanks out of even a Wild Card.  And any Mets fan who roots for the Yankees?  Shame on you.

Cooperstown.

       By my early teens, my mother was out of ideas.  She raised me, my older brother, and my younger sister by herself - my father put the absent in absentee father by disappearing before my eighth birthday, never to return.  To her credit, she could have given up at any time and never did.  I was always precocious and hard to handle, but when the double whammy of my brother leaving the house to join the army and puberty hit, I became borderline incorrigible. My mother grew up with four sisters and didn't exactly know what to do with a boy. It was my mother who took me to baseball games as a child and now at age 13, when she was trying anything to reach out to me, she decided to take me to Cooperstown.  This was a grand idea as it was pretty close by (we live in northern New Jersey close to New York...how close?..like 400-yards-from-the-border close) and it combined my two favorite nerdy things: baseball and museums.  The first trip went so well, it became a yearly tradition.  We went four or five times in my teens and they are some of my most cherished late-childhood memories.  My last trip took place somewhere around my 17th birthday.  Through the years, I had always wanted to return.  My brother and I talked about it and talked about it but never went.  For four years, I dated a woman from Syracuse with family in Watertown, Rochester, and Buffalo, so I was constantly in upstate New York, yet somehow I never got around to going with her either. 

       So last month, when I was suffering from a nasty case of cabin fever, I got the brilliant idea of driving up to Cooperstown.  I find spontaneity the best, so when this idea came on that Saturday morning, I got in the car and just went.  After a long winding two hour drive, I was there.

That scan shows my ticket and brochure.  The bottom ticket there is from one of my childhood trips in 1992, but it has the "junior" discount, so I think that is my sister's ticket and not mine.  It has been in my Hall of Fame binder for 20 years and I just noticed that.  Either that, or my mother somehow convinced the guy back then that her gigantic 16 year old son was a "junior".

I also took some great pictures in the museum with my cell phone.  Do you think I have any idea how to get pictures off of my phone and onto my computer?  Nope.  I tried for two days with no success, so you will just have to imagine how much fun I had in the museum. Besides, this is a card blog, not a repository for my pseudo-vacation photos.

OK, trips like this require a pocket check, so let's do it:

Now, aside from the museum, the strip of Main Street in Cooperstown has about a dozen sports memorabilia and card stores.  It is basically the baseball geek mecca.  I had left without my wantlists or anything, so I was flying blind, but I picked up some good stuff.  The receipt there is from one of the shops.  The Cooperstown Bat brochure is for a gift I want to buy for my uncle.  I even found two dollars stuck in the CB Brochure there - score!  I also had to buy a hat in the museum gift shop since I left the house without one and I chose the one day of the year it actually snowed this winter to drive north.

So what cards did I score?  Aside from the usual bevy of Mets (which will show up in another post) and, oddly, some Saints (which already got a shout out in a recent post) I filled in some holes in some pages and player collections and I will, appropriately, show the Hall of Famers I got here.

Working on a budget, as usual, I picked up some nicely worn and loved vintage cards.  That 1971 Bench set me back a whole quarter - but I knew my Bench collection was heavy on faux-vintage, so I had to have it.
 
From the same pile came they 1971 Kaline, which totally matches that 1966 in dinged cornerness.

Breaking with the pattern here, I did not buy that 1971, but that handsome 1974. And who rocked better sideburns, year after year, than Stretch?  I used to own the "Wash. Nat. League" error version; it was a cornerstone of my long neglected error and variation collection.  I still need one more vintage McCovey to finish this page - that Topps Archives card belongs with my Rookie All Stars.  You can see how organization is not my strong suit...moving on.

I found a bunch of these Ripken '94 Score cards I didn't know existed in one shop.  I grabbed nine of them and made this page, I decided to break up the longways and uprightways cards for a little variety.

When Topps went through their reprint-a-famous-player's-cards-every-year phase, Nolan Ryan was one of those players (also see Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle).  I had long known I only had eight of those cards.  Much like the McCovey, I put X in the center square and picked up that 1975 reprint for this page.
 
I have long been obsessed with Babe Ruth's pitching career.  And if there is one player that has more faux vintage cards than the Babe, I don't know who it is.  Yet somehow, I did not have the Babe in a pitching pose on a card...until now.  I have no idea why I didn't put it in the middle, where it belongs.

Last but not least, I had recently reorganized a few players pages and I recalled that Fergie could have a nifty stripe of the three teams he is best known for if I somehow scored a third Rangers card.  When I saw that 1976 Topps with the palm trees, how could I resist even if I didn't "need" it.  Turns out, it makes this page look pretty awesome.

Aesthetics.

       I was going to call this post "A for Aesthetics" but I want to keep this thing simple (and I would never want to endorse Sue Grafton novels, directly or otherwise).  Everyone seems to be down with the concept of this blog and I appreciate all the well wishes and encouragement.  But I also want to assure you all, there is more to all this than just slapping nine cards in a page and calling it a day.  Each page needs to not only represent the player, set, or concept, but it has to look good doing it.  At least, that is the goal.


Here is a page of Stan Musial modern retro vintage cards:
 
All very different looking cards; some are very busy and modern, some are more staid designs and/or reprints.  All of them live together well on the page.  All the photos make sense where they are placed. 


Here is a page of Wally Joyner that illustrates this concept even better.  Different sets and photos all arranged well:


If he's looking up, he's on the bottom.  If he's looking right, he's on the left, and so on.  To look good is to feel good. Its got a couple of rookie cards and some OG Upper Deck in there too.  So in my binders, at least, Wally Joyner is the equal of Stan Musial, if not greater.


I do like the break up the monotony of page after page of player after player with some themes.  


Nomar is one of my favorite players of all time.  He has an astounding four pages in my retired binder.  I went with an all fielding page here:


I really like to do this with catchers.  As a failed former catcher myself (with the bad joints to prove it), I like to highlight the tools of ignorance, behold the recently retired Jason Varitek.


I do have binders that collect sets as well as players.  I find Allen and Ginter to be both awesome to rip open and collect, yet hard to work with in my nine card structure.


I mean, these '09s look nice, but page after page of similar looking A&G cards gets tiresome, so I tried to break it up with some bat-on-shoulder solidarity in '06...

...and some horizontally-oriented '07s.




I'll do this with players too.  I have two or three pages of Cal Ripken Jr. and since he has a little under a bazllion cards, I was able to cobble together a longways page:



I am certainly the demographic Topps is after with all their old timey sets and players, because I can't get enough of them:
 
Though it is a sad statement that this is the least busy of all the Topps Triple Threads sets.

While I am on the subject, it is soapbox time.  I try not to complain too much about cards since this is my hobby and all, but I cannot ignore Topps and their recent quality slip.  It is not just the monopoly that has led to this sad state, they were well on their way down before that.  I have a fantastic example here.  These are the 2002 Topps 206s:


Great pictures, well colored, the subject pops off the background, high quality stuff, pays homage to the original set, looks great.


And these are the 2009 Topps 206s, a mere 7 years later:
 
Mediocre pictures, horrible photoshop effects, awful over saturated backgrounds, inconsistent and lazy coloring of subjects, looks like a high school art project...and what the hell is going on with that Lou Gehrig?  He had ALS, not Down's Syndrome. Whatever happened in those seven years, design and quality control took a long looooooong step down. 
 
/soapbox


As a palate cleanser, here's one more good example, from the HoF binder; Goose Gossage in all his goosey-ness, lots of teams represented, lots of sets represented, mustache very well represented, the pictures all nicely arranged:



And here...well, here is one of my Hank Aaron pages, it's all over the place...

...it needs a little work, though Night Owl should appreciate the original well-loved 1975 cards from my brother's collection.  

       And to those who asked, I will be working on the wantlists and gotlists sometime this weekend, or next month, I am in no rush, but thanks for inquiring, I am aware they need to be posted.  And once again, thanks to everyone who has come to look at my little blog and especially those who have taken the time to comment.