Ridiculous Cards - Clint Malarchuk

1991 Upper Deck - #368

This...rare...and...extremely...valuable 1991 Upper Deck Clint Malarchuk card isn't really too ridiculous on its own. Sure, it's not every day that you see a goalie 10 feet out of his crease "going high" on an opposing player. But the real reason I've chosen this card has to do with an article I stumbled across today. It's a brief article, but all you really need is the opening sentence:

"Clint Malarchuk, the former NHL goalie best known for having his jugular vein slashed by a skate in a 1989 game with Buffalo, is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the chin with a rifle".

That is easily the greatest sentence I've read in weeks. What did this guy's neck do to deserve this? Apparently this happened when he was out shooting rabbits, which must be quite a challenge. There's not much more to the article, but if you want to bother reading the other two paragraphs (or if you think I made this up) you can find them here.

Hockey is Here!

Tonight the NHL season kicks off and my local team, the Boston Bruins, open their season in Colorado taking on the Avalanche. I've always been a fan of the local team, but only begrudgingly so in this case, as the Bruins were the arch-nemesis of my favorite hockey team of all time, the Hartford Whalers, for years. I can't remember the last time I've been this excited for an NHL season to kick off, last year's Stanley Cup final was such a great matchup that I've been anxiously awaiting the start of this season all summer.

Will Patrice Bergeron be able to bounce back from the crushing hit and subsequent concussion that kept him off the ice for the better part of last year? Will the Bruins improve upon their admirable first round loss to the overpowering Montreal Canadiens last year? Will Joe Sakic, who's really getting up there at age 39, spark the Avs to a win?

By the way, how sweet is the photography on this Joe Sakic card? You gotta love Upper Deck...

2008 ALDS Champions

Congratulations to the Red Sox, especially Jed Lowrie, who had about as clutch a hit as you can get last night, despite a less than stellar stretch run to end the regular season. I have to be honest, Tampa Bay scares the hell out of me though...

1953 Topps Project - Post #30

#49 - Faye Throneberry - Boston Red Sox

Another month, another 1953 Topps project post. Today's subject is Faye Throneberry of the Boston Red Sox. I chose a Red Sox card in honor of the ALDS which kicks off tonight in California against the dreaded Angels. Unfortunately for Red Sox fans on the East Coast, the game won't be starting until 10 P.M. There are going to be a lot of tired 9 to 5 workers in the New England area tomorrow for sure...

Throneberry's career spanned 8 seasons, and he saw playing time with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators and wait...what's this?...the Los Angeles Angels in 1961. Nooooo!!! I couldn't have picked a worse card to feature today, if the Red Sox lose the series now I'll be convinced that I jinxed them with this damn post. Well, he appeared in only 24 games for the Angels that year and did not record a single home run, or even RBI, so I guess I feel a bit better.

Faye broke into the league in 1952 as a 20-year-old, but had a fairly uneventful career as you can see here. He passed away in 1999 at the age of 67. Hopefully his 1953 Topps card can bring some luck to the current Red Sox team. Go Sox!

Congratulations Milwaukee!

Another choke job of epic proportion for the Mets this year. There's no way to sugar coat it, it's got to feel pretty awful to be a Mets fan right now. An unfortunate way to say goodbye to Shea Stadium.

On the other hand, you've got to hand it to Milwaukee. How clutch has Ryan Braun been this week? It's hard for me to believe that the last time the Brewers made the playoffs I was only a couple of months old. I'll certainly be rooting for them in the NL, but does Sabathia have enough left in the tank? It's going to be a very interesting post-season...

Paul Konerko

The 1960 Topps Bill Mazeroski that I was surprised to find in my mailbox recently has gotten me thinking about finding a home for some cards that others would probably appreciate more than I do.

To start things off, here's a Paul Konerko bat card that I pulled out of one of the two hobby boxes of 2007 Bowman Heritage that I bought last year. I'm not a White Sox fan at all, and they're in the process of choking away their playoff hopes at the hands of the Cleveland Indians as I type this post.

Be the first to leave a comment and the card is yours. Just make sure you include an address I can send it to, or your email address so that I can contact you.

Card of the Month - September 2008

1960 Topps - #55 - Bill Mazeroski

I've chosen this card as September's card of the month for a few reasons. First of all, 1960 Topps is my favorite set from the decade. What's not to love about this set? Horizontal cards, color and black and white photos of the player, multi-colored block lettering for the player name...this is one great set.

Secondly, with the post season fast approaching, what better time to commemorate the greatest World Series home run ever hit? Anyone who calls themself a baseball fan already knows of Mazeroski's walk-off home run in game 7 of the 1960 World Series. This is the only walk-off home run to decide a World Series game 7 to date (Joe Carter won the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays with his game 6 walk-off), and best of all it prevented the New York Yankees from capturing yet another championship. What you may not know (I will admit that I didn't until writing this post) is that the 13-year-old who caught the ball allegedly traded it to Mazeroski for two cases of beer after the game. It now sits in Cooperstown.

Finally, and most importantly, this card symbolizes what I have come to love about the recent explosion of baseball card blogs over the last couple of years. Most of the blog owners and readers are incredibly generous, and it's resulted in a really great community for trading (and sometimes just giving). A while ago, a gentleman named Rob contacted me about a potential trade. A short while later, a package arrived in my mailbox containing a few 2007 Goudey base cards that I needed, the rest of the cards that I needed to complete my 1991-92 OPC Premier hockey set, and to my surprise, this Bill Mazeroski card! For someone who loves vintage cards it doesn't get much better than this, thank you Rob! Just an FYI, your package did not make it out until today (I can't conveniently send to Canada from work and it's been tough getting to the post office). This gift has inspired me to give away some cards myself, keep an eye out in the near future!

Ridiculous Cards - Tito Fuentes

1977 Topps #63 - Tito Fuentes

Sorry Tito, but the sweatband/hat combo is not working for you. Try to say "Tito Fuentes does not look like Sloth from the Goonies" with a straight face. You can't do it, can you?

Murcer vs. Ferguson

Bobby Murcer looks pretty pissed off. Wouldn't you be if Joe Ferguson was encroaching on your card like this?

1953 Topps Project - Post #29

#13 - Connie Marrero - Washington Senators

Conrado Eugenio (Ramos) Marrero, affectionately known as Connie, played for only 5 seasons in Major League Baseball. It wasn't that he was a poor pitcher, it's just that he was pretty damn old by the time he started his MLB career. Marrero wouldn't throw his first pitch for the Washington Senators until age 38.

Connie enjoyed a long career as a Cuban baseball player prior to coming to the bigs. He wasn't exactly blessed with a natural pitcher's physique, but despite his stature he was incredibly successful in Cuba. Marrero was not exactly a power pitcher either, and relied heavily on slower pitches like curveballs and even knuckleballs. In his 1947-48 Cuban League campaign, he set league records for shutouts in a season (8) and E.R.A. (1.12), and was awarded league MVP honors.

Even though Connie's better days were behind him by the time he began to play ball in the US, he managed a pretty decent 5 seasons with the Senators. He was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1951, and in 1952 he pitched his way to an 11-8 record with a 2.88 E.R.A.