Rant #1: Craig Biggio.

       What the hell did Craig Biggio do to anyone?  Did he murder someone?  Did he kidnap the family of a baseball writer and then rape and torture them on a webcam for the world to see?  All Craig Biggio did for 20 years is show up at his job and do it at a level we should all aspire to.  He got on base more times than all of 17 players in the history of the game.  He scored more runs than everyone but 14 players.  He's 5th all time in doubles - do you know who else in in that top ten?  Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, George Brett, Napoleon Lajoie, Carl Yastrzemski, Honus Wagner, and Hank Aaron.  Maybe doubles aren't as sexy and home runs, but that is one hell of a list to be on.  He played catcher, second base, and center field.  Do you know how many other players have ever been regulars at those three positions in their careers?  None.  That's right, he played three of the four "up the middle" positions for entire seasons at a time.  I could go on and on, but just look at his numbers yourself, go on, I'll wait. 

Do you know what list you will not find Craig Biggio on?  Any list that includes steroid users or rumored steroid users.  Now, I am not a Houston Astros fan so I didn't follow his career every day, but I followed baseball pretty damn close for his entire tenure in the majors and never once did I hear even whispers.  I have seen several versions of the infamous Mitchell Report - mostly conjecture and nothing based on actual fact (because no one has ever seen it outside of the MLB offices) - and he's never on it.  A lot of rumors surround longtime teammate Jeff Bagwell so I guess he is guilty because he sat in the same dugout and clubhouse?  Rumors suddenly are contagious?  Perhaps Craig Biggio injected Ken Caminiti with the PEDs that won him the 1996 MVP and eventually led to his death?  Does the BBWAA have these incriminating photos circulating amongst themselves and they refuse to share them with the laymen fan?  I am still trying to piece all this together because the facts by themselves make little to no sense whatsoever. 

My eyes were opened to Craig Biggio, like a lot of fans, after reading Bill James' New Historical Abstract in 2001.  In it, he listed Biggio as the 35th best player of all time.  OF ALL TIME.  Now, lord knows James has been guilty of some hyperbole in his time, but he often uses it to make a point.  If you have never read the passage, I suggest you do.  Once again, I'll wait.  Click here if you can't read that link.

So Craig Biggio, who is comparable to first ballot Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Joe Morgan, Paul Molitor, Cal Ripken, and Brooks Robinson (and shoe-in Derek Jeter), has to wait until next year, his third on the ballot, because of second hand hearsay and unelected baseball writers who have decided to be judge and jury to a situation that they admit to not understanding.  I want to know where the spike in Craig Biggio's stats are? Where is his 50 home run season?  Where is his 30 pound weight gain with backne?  And as usual, where is his failed drug test?  The player I would compare him to is Charlie Gehringer, who they incidentally called The Mechanical Man.  Craig Biggio has the indignity of being a wonderful baseball player who was amazingly consistent who happened to play at the same time when some players used steroids.  The baseball writers hate players who are "merely" consistent and obviously have shown their aversion to PEDs and somehow, poor Craig Biggio has fallen through these two nasty cracks at once.  I hope when he is finally elected next year, his acceptance speech is simply him reading the names of the writers who didn't vote for him the last two years and then a gypsy curse to befoul all their houses. 

Monthiversary.

       I just noticed I have been at this for a month and I am very surprised...I have no attention span whatsoe...oooo look, cows! - sorry - Anyway, I have never been known for following through on things, so the fact that I have posted (almost) every day and found a small yet loyal audience is pretty amazing to me.  I don't know how long it will last, but hey, like a starry-eyed teenager, I think I have earned the right to celebrate my one month anniversary.  I am still getting my bloglegs under me and I appreciate all the support, encouragement, suggestions, etc.  And if anyone really hates the blog, thank you for keeping that to yourself. 

You may have noticed I tend to write very long, rambling posts, so I am going to try and see if I can reel myself in once in a while.  I have gone on at length about trimming my collection, consolidating all the fluff, etc.  I think I should start to accentuate the positive a little more.  I am going to start more frequently showing you some of my favorite cards, how I got them, and why they aren't going anywhere.  I creatively call this feature "Favorites."

Some people complain about jersey cards, but I think when they are done right, they are spectacular, and this one does it very right:

It is a 2004 Playoff Honors Quad Jersey card, featuring Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench, and Mike Piazza (it is also numbered /100, but I couldn't care less about that; I am not a fan of artificial scarcity).  As a failed catcher myself, I have always loved catchers, this badboy has four great ones, including two of my absolute very favorites.  This card has four Hall of Famers on it (three current, one future).  This card has four nice, differently colored jersey pieces, a fantastic aesthetic choice.  Face some hard truth, friends, this card is fucking cool.  My only problem with it is whether to put it with my Mike Piazza collection or my Gary Carter collection - the answer is that it goes into my Piazza collection strictly because he's shown on the Mets and Carter is shown on the Expos...the Mets trump all.  I bought this card on eBay five years ago after seeing it way overpriced at a show (marked $80- talked down to $60- I said no thanks).  My patience was rewarded when I got it for less than half of the price the dude at the show wanted for it ($28 including shipping).  I found this card again recently while sorting my long-neglected Piazza cards.  I thought it deserved some props.  I have about a dozen Piazza memorabilia cards that have someone else on it with him, this one is by far my favorite.