The Fun-Time Baseball Hall: Tiger Nominees Sought

Gents (and two ladies):

First, the move went well. We've been out and about with the holidays since getting into our home 10 days ago, but slowly settling in. Thanks for the well wishes.

Second, a month ago I discussed my plans to build my own little Hall of Fame. Over time, I'd like to first seek nominations for each team, followed by a post discussing the nominees and referring to a poll. Yes, I swiped this general concept from White Sox Cards but my plan is to go beyond just one team and circle the entire league.





This is my way of getting familiar with each team's history by forcing me to do some research. I also simply think it will be fun to see how my readers vote. This will be your Hall as well as my blog's Hall.

I discussed the general rules - such as considering a player's body of work for the particular team - and I will lay out the full rules for induction when I kick things off in a couple of days.

First up will be the Tigers.

For now, if anyone has a Tiger to nominate, go ahead and do that here. I believe I have all of the big names, but if you have a lesser known Tiger you think should be on the ballot, let me know (and feel free to list your big names too, just in case.)

See Ya, Latos: My New Favorite Red!

Send me your Mat Latos's'es's (Lati?) cards!

Just picked up a Yonder Alonso auto - despite knowing he might not be a Red for long. Oh well, I still dig it and will root for him.

Latos, however, is awesome and I think has a strong chance of being dominating for years (despite the hitter-friendly park).

I had grown weary of Edinson Volquez, as well.

In short, a lot to give up but I'm a fan of the deal for Cincinnati. Yay!


http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7362616/san-diego-padres-trade-mat-latos-cincinnati-reds-edinson-volquez-yonder-alonso-two-prospects

Discounted Blasters

While shopping for cleaning supplies at Walmart, preparing for our move tomorrow through Tuesday, I found two blasters discounted 25% - a Topps Chrome and an A&G 2011.

I didn't buy one but I was surprised to see the markdowns already. I expect that next year. Is anyone else seeing this?

Should I buy one?

Don't make me buy A&G!

Speaking of which, I'm still looking to trade plenty of my A&G for other needs.

Speaking of which, part deux, my cards are packed and unlikely to be available for four or five days, but rest assured I'll still be looking to: finish Kimball Champions, acquire more GQ paper frames, find more Heritage 2011 short prints and see what I need from Topps Chrome (once cards from an upcoming break arrive). In short, I'll be ready to deal again in another week or so.

If I owe you an e-mail, and I know of at least one blogger who asked about some cards, bear with me.

Life Happens

Just a quick update here for my blogger friends. If all goes well, we'll close on our new house on Friday and be moving Monday and Tuesday - and of course be preoccupied settling in (including getting a last-minute tree up for our daughter's sake) - and then immediately doing some light traveling around the holidays to visit family.

In other words, in another day or perhaps two I'll be closing up my card boxes to prep for the move. I wanted to apologize to anyone I'm talking trade with at the moment because if we don't wrap up those deals very soon, then they'll probably have to wait awhile.

It's been a scattered existence for awhile since we sold our home in June and have been in ohsocramped temporary quarters - and it's been more crazy as of late - so if anyone happens to be waiting on something from me, please let me know. I think I have all my bases (so to speak) covered but I just want to be sure.

In fact, even if we've just been talking trade, send me a reminder. I know I have a couple of pending deals and I do believe I have them properly logged, but it wouldn't hurt at this point to remind me just in case.

Meanwhile, my P.O. Box will be open and checked for another four months so if anyone is in the process of sending me cards, you're good. I'll get word out about the new address once we're officially in the place.

Enjoy the holidays.

Poll Reminder and a New Card Draft

Just a reminder to vote in the poll for a name for my upcoming team-by-team Hall of Fame thingamajig. I'm still ironing out some final details for the series but I think it will be fun to do.

Meanwhile, in the past couple of weeks, I've now wrapped drafts hosted by two bloggers featuring an array of cards from their personal collections. Now, I've signed up with a third over at Cardboard Heaven for $15. There aren't many spots left, so don't delay.

Card Show Find: The Main Spark

I had a chance to pop in on my old favorite regular card show while traveling over Thanksgiving and found a few good buys, including some great shape 1978s as a chip away at my first childhood set. I also found a nice $1 box and grabbed a heapin' handful - and was thus discounted.

I'll feature a few of these over time, although posting may be sporadic or nil during our pre-holiday move to our new home.

One card I had actually never seen before features one of my all-time favorite baseball men. I had nearly named this blog after him in some way. This card is so generic, yet I love it. The non-descript hat, the scowl, the white sideburn...

This one is a bit rough but that seems to fit the man.

Sparky Anderson managed my favorite team during the time that I first found my love of baseball cards. (Click that there link for a bit more about that time of my life.)

Sparky was the king of baseball to me. As a whippersnapper, I read his autobiography, "The Main Spark". Sparky won a couple of World Series, of course, while he was in Cincinnati.

A few years later, Sparky ended up in Detroit, and won another World Series.

My family had always gone to Cincinnati when I was young, to see the Reds. That's how I became a lifelong fan. Later, in my teens, my Dad and I made the trip up to Detroit many times. Sparky was still king in my book.

Dad and I used to hang out after the games at Tiger Stadium where the visiting team would walk out to their bus. I had a few encounters with big league players as a result. Dave Stieb smiled. Jim Rice scowled.

But what I most remember is the night that Sparky Anderson drove by and gave us a nice wave.

When Sparky passed away last year, it was - well - it was just a particularly sad one to absorb.

Deck The Hall

Editor's Note: I've reworked the poll to give more choices. Thanks for the early input. Please vote again - the quick two of you who voted. You may vote for more than one choice. 

Gentlemen (and one lady):

A few days ago I mentioned I would be stea...er, borrowing, an idea from another blogger. White Sox Cards provided my inspiration.

I'd like to create my blog's own little Hall of Fame. (And, before I continue, please vote now in the poll for a name for this Hall. And, if you have a better idea, let me know. If I choose it, I'll send you a small prize.)

The reason for my Hall: Fun, of course, but also to force myself to learn more about the history of other teams - not just those I'm fairly intimately familiar with (Reds, Tigers, Cubs).

Over the course of a year, I will cover each team, running down a short list of achievements of the best players to ever suit up for said team. I will then ask for your votes.

I'd like to create exclusivity for induction.

* For teams in existence for 50 or more years, 5 players - the top vote-getters - will win first-ballot induction. For teams in existence 30-49 years, 3 players will be inducted. For all other teams, the ballots will be grouped and the top four will be inducted. In all cases, players must have received at least 75% of the vote to be inducted. So, if only one player for any given teams gets more than 75% of the vote, then only one player will be inducted. Thus, the percentage rule overrules the top vote-getter rule.

* Roughly one year after any given team is featured, a second-ballot will be held. Three more players will enter the Hall for each team more than 50 or more years old. Two more for teams 30-49 years old. One more for the newer expansion teams.

* In subsequent years, we'll probably go with a percentage for induction.

I will ask voters to consider a player's entire body of work for the specific team featured. If a player had a HOF career but played just 3 seasons with the team in question - perhaps they don't deserve induction to the team's Hall. Your call.

No baseball card element involved - strictly baseball and baseball-related activities.

I'm starting with the Tigers, one of my two favorite teams. They rank just a smidge behind my beloved Reds. I asked for nominations the other day. I'll be adding those names to others I've gathered. If you'd like to add anyone, let me know here.

And, if anyone has read this far and sees a rule tweak or two or inherent problem, feel free to let me know. Enjoy.

Unknown Origin: Robert Moses Grove

Two days after Thanksgiving, while traveling, I was able to dart by a card show outside of Chicago. It's the one I attended about three times between February, when I returned to collecting, and June, when we moved. I picked up some fun stuff, which I hope to share before too long.

And I got the below card. It was marked $1 but I technically got it for less as it was part of a larger gathering that the dealer cut me a break on. I like the look and the simplicity of this card.

Does anyone know anything about it? Set? Year? What not? Thanks in advance.

The Grass Is Always Greener With Vintage

Gaining focus.

It's one of my top collecting goals moving forward. This year, I jumped all over the map after returning to the hobby following a three-decade nap. I sampled bits and pieces of nearly everything new.

I couldn't focus. I couldn't find my collecting wheelhouse.

The year wore on and I struggled to complete sets I liked. I changed my mind a few times about what I liked. I got a bit disorganized.

I waffled on Heritage before buying all-in and truly falling for it. I sort of liked Lineage but couldn't get past the simpleton backs. Still, I went full force collecting the retired guys in Lineage.

I had to cut corners somewhere so I soon backed away from the much beloved Allen & Ginter. I hung on to a few favorite players and chased inserts - many that I love. I still have plenty of A&G for trade.

Topps Chrome came along and I was hooked again. The feel of these cards lured me in but not so next year. Too expensive. I have other thoughts about where to allocate my collecting dollars.

To sum up the year: Series 1 (yay), Heritage (YAY!), Gypsy Queen (paper frames!), Series 2 (looks familiar but sure), Lineage (boo), A&G (meh), Kimball Champions (YAY!), sampling Bowman (ick), Topps Chrome (yay), Update (hey, it's cheap)... on and on it went.

But at some point, it occurred to me that while I enjoy many new baseball cards - I get a bigger thrill out of and working on completing the sets of my youth (1976-83) and finding baseball cards pre-dating those years - specifically quality vintage cards from my player and team collections.

This is where the ever-generous SewingMachineGuy comes into the picture. Look at what he included just for the heck of it - with a few cards I had requested!

James Raymond Greengrass (born Oct. 24, 1927) played five seasons, from 1952 until 1956, for the Reds (known as the Redlegs for part of his tenure) and Phillies. He hit a lifetime .269, 69 home runs and 282 RBIs.

Glorious vintage Cincinnati Red! This is a friggin' 1953 baseball card! In terms of vintage, it is like nothing I've owned before.

SewingMachineGuy again demonstrated extreme generosity. Just a few months ago, he threw in a George Kell autographed card, for cripe sake! Mr. Greengrass capped an already great packet of cards - that including three short prints to help me move closer on the Upper Deck Masterpieces '08 set

Mr. Greengrass came at just the right time. (Is there ever a wrong time for glorious vintage?)

He came to wake me up to what I knew all along. Vintage is king. Fact is, I just feel better when I spend money on quality old cards. That speaks volumes. 

He came to slap me around and remind me about the importance of focus. Thanks Mr. Greengrass and, oh yes, Mr. French.

The Fun-Time Baseball Hall: Nominees For Tigers, Reds Sought

The Hall of Fame news today, and a recent post from White Sox Cards, have led me to undertake a new venture on this here blog. I shall call it the "The Hall of Potch" or "The Potch Hall of Fame" or if anyone has a more creative name - and that shant be hard - please include in the comments.

In short, I'd like to solicit Hall votes from the sports card blogosphere. I will choose a team, solicit Hall nominees from said team and then feature short write-ups about the nominees - followed by a voting period. This is about baseball and baseball-related activities (announcing, for example). For each team's first ballot, the Potch Hall will induct the top 5 vote getters; then (six months later) another 5, then six months later, those getting 75% of the vote will be inducted. At that point, it will be an annual event.

NOTE: I'm still considering how to handle this for expansion teams. The induction process will be drastically different for these relatively new teams and they'll be combined in some form as well.

Please nominate players in the comments. Players must have been away from said team for at least five years. Players can include anyone from the team in question's long history.

To start, I'm seeking nominees for the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. I realize that there are some obvious names you might not want to run through (Cobb, Bench, etc.) so don't necessarily worry about naming everyone. Those big names will obviously make the ballot. But, if there's a player you think might be lesser known/unsung, feel free to name that player.


Mainly, I thought this project would prompt me to look up some details - and learn more - about the great players to suit up for my favorite baseball teams - and perhaps my not-so-favorites. It's a labour of love, as UB40 might say, thus I apologize if this is something others have done before me. Please consider it flattery.

More will follow about the voting process once we have a slate of nominees.