Derek Jeter Week... Day 1

While watching last nights 18 inning Yankees win over the Cubs  at Wrigley Field, I saw that this coming Sunday the Yankees will be honoring legendary shortstop Derek Jeter prior to the game vs the Houston Astros.

I thought this week I'd honor Jeter by posting something each day to honor my favorite player to ever win the Yankee Pinstripes.




Up first is my post about Jeter back in 2010, where I declared him My favorite Yankee player of All-Time.




I'm continuously amazed every day how much Jeter gets vilified on Twitter/... he gave 100% each and every play in his 20 years in the big leagues, starting with his 1996 Rookie of the Year season that ended with the Yankees winning their first of FIVE World Series Championships with Jeter at shortstop.

I've  been watching baseball for over 50 years, and there simply haven't been any players who've played the game with more grace and dignity than Derek Jeter.


I hope you will share your best Jeter memories on your blogs this week,.., I'd really enjoy reading them.


If your on Twitter, use hashtag #Jeets16 on your posts this week.



You can find me on Twitter at @freehan11.


Play Ball!

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge... Day 20

Day 20 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a my favorite parallel card based on the parallel and not the card.




First off I must say that I'm not a chaser of parallel cards...if I happen to get one in a pack, or find one I like at a card show, and can afford, then Ill get the card,


I've had this James Shields  card for awhile, but went through a few parallel cards to make sure of today's challenge card.

                                                   
                                          2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary #311 James Shields


These cards are just awesome...hey, what's not to like about things with diamonds, right?


Whats cool about this card is when you hold the card up to light you see a beautiful array of colors in the background, with the Diamond edges sparkling to make a magnificent baseball card.



The picture is a good action shot of Shields delivering a pitch, and I like the Topps 60th Anniversary logo in the top left of the card, as well as the Rays team name plate, replaced with a Diamond look instead of the team logo.


I wish I owned a 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary celebration parallel card of a Tigers player, but, alas, I do not...in fact, I need to get the entire Tigers team set of these cards...another addition to my want list that I've added since doing this challenge.



Up next in the challenge is a card of a player you though you were "investing" in.



Until next post... PLAY BALL!

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge... Day 19

Day 19 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a favorite card from a country other than the United States.



I have never owned a baseball card from any other place than the United States...I have had O-Pee Chee Hockey cards from Canada, but not baseball cards.



I do have favorite foreign baseball players, such as Joey Votto from Canada, Roberto Clemente from Puerto Rico, and Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh.



For the challenge today I found a Oh baseball card from 1960, the year I was born, and that card is Oh's 1960 Japanese Menko Japanese Baseball card.

How awesome is this card...a young Oh posing in his famous batting stance...and, as for the card back, well, I have no idea what it says, but its pretty cool looking.



Playing for the famous Yomiuri Giants of the Central League, Oh is most famously known for hitting an amazing 868 home runs.



Oh began playing baseball in Japan in 1959, and until a young man named Ichiro came along was probably the most well known Japanese baseball player in America.


I'm most certainly going to try and acquire a Sadaharu Oh card, and getting this card from 1960 would be outstanding.


Up next in the challenge is a favorite parallel card based on the parallel, and not the card.


Play Ball!

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge... Day 18

Day 18 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a baseball card of a player who later became manager of your favorite team.



There are many ways, as a Detroit Tigers fan, to go here.


Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, Mayo Smith, Sparky Anderson, Phil Garner, Buddy Bell, and Alan Trammell all became manager of the Tigers after playing in the big leagues.



I decided to go with the current coach of the boys from the Motor City, former big league catcher Brad Ausmus and his 1999 Topps #304 card.





I really like this 1999 Topps card because the Olde English D home uniform and baseball cap are up front, and the gold edging on the card makes it look like a portrait.



Ausmus played 18 years in the big leagues, including two stints with my Tigers.

I have been critical of Ausmus in the past, mostly early last year when the team was really struggling after a miserable 2015 season.


The Tigers recovered well after that rough start, and had it not been to numerous injuries to key players I believe they would've played in the playoffs.




Up next in the challenge is a favorite card from outside the United States.... Play Ball!

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge ... Day 17

Day 17 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a baseball card from the first set you put together hand collated. 



At one point, before I sold them all off, I owned every single regular issued Topps Baseball Card between 1968 and 1980.



So, that makes this post about a baseball card from the 1968 Topps Set, which also happens to be my favorite All-Time baseball card set.



Just before the end of the '68 regular season ended Tigers skipper Mayo Smith started playing centerfielder Mickey Stanley at shortstop, in hopes that the move would allow veteran right fielder Al Kaline into the World Series.

                                           
                                             🌟🌟🌟 My 1968 Topps #129 Mickey Stanley 🌟🌟🌟





Kaline, known as Mr. Tiger, had been a Tigers mainstay since his rookie year in 1954, and Mayo knew that he had to get the future Hall of Famer into the Series.


That plan, considered a huge risk then, got Kaline into the Series....he hit .379 in the Fall Classic, and allowed Stanley to move to shortstop...the position he played almost flawlessly on the way to the Tigers winning their first Championship since 1945.



Mickey Stanley won the Gold Glove Award in 1968 and would go on to win three more, in 1969, 1970, and 1973, ending his career with a lifetime .991 fielding percentage. 


Mickey spent his entire 15 year career in Detroit, and is one of the most beloved players in Tigers history for that performance in the '68 Series.



Up next in the challenge is a baseball card of a player who later became manager of your favorite team.



Play Ball!

Congrats $30 A Week!

Just a quick post to congratulate Robert at $30 A Week Habit on his completion of building a complete set of 1964 Topps Baseball Cards.


I can only imagine the patience it must have taken him, not to mention the time and money spent, on collecting every card in the set.


                                       
                             




I hope to one day accomplish a similar feet, as Id like to collect an entire set of 1960s Topps cards, as thats the year I was born.



Head over to the link above, as Robert is having a contest as he celebrates his amazing accomplishment.


PLAY BALL!

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge... Day 16

Day 16 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a  baseball card of a player you respect, but don't personally like.




This took some thought, but ultimately it's pretty simple.



The ballplayer who I respect for their baseball career, but am not fan of, is... Harold Reynolds.

                                       🌟🌟🌟 1988 Topps #485 Harold Reynolds 🌟🌟🌟




Harold Reynolds was a good baseball player, who, as the 2nd Baseman for the Seattle Mariners in the mid and late 1980s went to 2 All-Star games and won 3 Gold Glove Awards.


In 1987 Reynolds led the A.L in stolen bases, with 60, and in 1988 he led the A.L in triples, with 11.



Now, with all that said, I absolutely cringed every inning of the 2014 and 2015 World Series telecasts when Reynolds was in the FOX broadcasting booth.




●● On Twitter I follow Harold Reynolds Says, a great account that posts some of Reynolds quotes that make you wonder why this guy is getting paid by MLB to be on TV...

...here's a few HR beauties...



⚾  [Kershaw to the bullpen]

"He ain't throwing. You serious?"

[Camera shows Kershaw throwing]

⚾ [On why he discounts K/9 for relievers]

"They're not pitching nine innings."

⚾ [On Tim Tebow]

"You know who he reminds me of? Travis Hafner."


⚾   [On Ichiro] "If we're counting those as professional hits, we gotta count all of Pete Rose's minor league hits."



●●● This has continued with his commentary on MLB Tonight during the week on the MLB Network...he is painful to listen to when it comes to commentary on baseball games being played.



😒😒 As I'm finishing this post I have turned on the  MLB Network ... and...UGH! There's Harold Reynolds again ...time to change the channel. 😒😒



What he needs to do is just breakdown defensive plays in the infield area around second base...but that's about it, and baserunning and stealing bases would be fine as well.



Tomorrow's challenge is a baseball card from the first set you put together hand collated.

See ya next time.... Play  Ball!

May The Fourth Be With You, Baseball Style

Today across all galaxies it's Star Wars Day 2017, and to do my part, I thought I'd use baseball, my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers, and one of my favorite players to wear #4, former outfielder Bobby Higginson, 


So, have a great day, and...


                                              May the Fourth Be With You! 

#StarWarsDay 

My Favorite Bill Freehan Baseball Cards

I've wanted to do a post like this for a while, selecting my favorite baseball cards of my hero, former Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Freehan. 

I decided to finally do this post because of this awesome contest over at COLLECTING CUTCH blog.



While there's never a doubt about my favorite Bill Freehan baseball card  it was fun to try and figure out #2 through #10...hey, all my Freehan cards are special to me...how do I pick a top 10?


I don't own ever baseball card of Bill Freehan, but it's certainly something I'd love to achieve in my collecting lifetime.


I do own all of the cards in my Top 10...if I somehow come across a card I don't have, well, then my list might just change.


I finally decided on my Top 10, so here they are, my favorite baseball cards of my favorite baseball player, former Detroit Tigers All-Star catcher William Ashley Freehan.




⚾ #10  ... 1968 Topps Playing Cards #11 ⚾

Topps inserted 33 playing cards into packs of cards in 1968... check out this post on 1968 Topps Blog.

I really like this card...it would be rated higher but I never liked that Freehan got the Walk card.

●2017 Topps Heritage has inserted re-makes of these cards with current big league players.●





⚾ #9   ... 1970 Kelloggs 3-D  #57 of 78 ⚾

A 3-D baseball card...what's not for a 10 year old to love... How much cereal did I make my Mom buy until I finally got this card?





⚾ #8 ... 1972 Topps #120 ⚾

1972 is one of my favorite years of cards....I love the way T I G E R S comes right at you like a Hollywood Movie marquee...and...I never understood...why Bill is wearing that collared long sleeve thing under his home uniform?




⚾  #7 ... 2005 Upper Deck Trilo3y Generations Past Lumber #06/75

This card has a piece of one of Bill Freehan's bats in it...I want to find and trade for card #11 one day.




⚾ #6 ... 1970 Topps #335 ⚾

Love this card!

I always tried...no matter it be on the sandlots, in Little League, or playing softball in the Navy... to stand in the batters box like my hero...I'm not sure it ever worked.

Another cool thing about this card is that you can see the MLB Logo patch on Freehan's road left jersey sleeve...created for the 1969 big league baseball season in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Professional Baseball.




⚾ #5  2005 Upper Deck Autographed Bill Freeham AUTO FACTS/ FR #541/599 ⚾

I love everything about this card, from the beautiful Freehan signature, the awesome photo of Freehan, and the great Olde English D Tigers logo.

Again, if I could ever find card #11 I would be giddy!





⚾ #4 ... 2005 Upper Deck SPORTS Legendary Cut Bill Freehan  RELIC #11/25 ⚾

My favorite non-traditional Freehan card!

A pice of a road Freehan jersey....and that great Freehan autograph....and it's #11 of 25!

I'm not sure, but I think the part of the road jersey has to be from his name plate of the back of the jersey...and it's either from 1972-73-74-75-76, because the Tigers wore plain road grey uniforms on the road prior to the 1972 season.




⚾ #3 ... 1968 Topps The Sporting News '68 All-Star Selection #375 ⚾

The 1968 set is my favorite set of Topps Baseball Cards because the Tigers won the World Series that year, and this is my favorite card from '68.


Freehan was selected to play in 11 All-Star games, he's posing during Spring Training, wearing his home uniform, and has a wonderful smile on his face.

The American League players got red stars, the N.L. players got blue.



⚾ #2 ... 1973 Topps #460 ⚾

This is the only Topps card of Bill Freehan in action....I always wondered why Bill was trying to tag out the Yankees player with his glove...he's holding the baseball in his right hand...thats what makes this my 2nd favorite Freehan card.


The game was played at Yankee Stadium, in 1972...Freehan is wearing the new road multi colored road uniform the team started wearing in 1972... it's a play at the plate...you can see the fans in the background wondering if he'll score...it all makes for a magnificent baseball card.



And....now... My favorite Bill Freehan baseball card...

⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾  my 1963 Topps #466 Bill Freehan Rookie Card ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾

Ive told this story many times...although I collected every Freehan baseball card as a kid, I never knew about this card until around 1977 or 1978...it took me about three years and moving to Florida to find the card.



It was very difficult back in the 1970s to find cards that you didn't get out of packs or traded for with friends.

There were no price guides around until the late 1970s, Baseball Card shows basically didn't exist...I went to my first card show around 1978 or 1979...and they didn't have the card, or know about it..it's a high numbered card... and it's from the same set as the Pete Rose rookie card.


I found the Freehan RC at my first Florida card show in 1981...well, the guy had one, but it was at his card shop, and I got it the following Monday...it cost me $10 then, and it was worth every penny!


I want to get the card graded one day, but I have a limited income, and spending  $75 fir that isn't easily done for me...and I'd like to start acquiring more 1966 Freehan RCs.



Well, there it is, my Top 10 Bill Freehan baseball cards...I had a great time doing this, weather I win the contest over at COLLECTING CUTCH or not.


I do look forward to reading all the posts the collectors will write....reading about fans love of baseball cards is one of my favorite things to do.


In closing... below is a picture of a 30 card wall display that I found sometime in the 1980s...the cards in it have been there the entire 30+ years...I know, I need to get them into separate holders, but they represent my youth...all the card packs I opened, all the cards I collected growing up.

Play Ball! ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾

30 Day Baseball Card Challenge... Day 15

Day 15 of the 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge is a baseball card that you like from the 2010s.


Michael Stanton... to my wife, that's still his name, always will be... not Giancarlo, no, it's Mike.

The reason is simple...we saw him come up through the minors as Mike...she called him Michael, as he was spending a brief 50+ games early in the 2010 season for the Jacksonville Suns, smashing 2 home runs at a game we were at, many more in other games we saw, making a fan...two fans, for life.



Today's challenge is a baseball card that you like from the 2010s... I knew it would be a card of Michael Stanton.

                                  🌟🌟🌟 2011 Topps Heritage #288 Mike Stanton 🌟🌟🌟


The 2011 Topps Heritage is a nod to the magnificent 1962 Topps Baseball Card Set, including that great Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy of  the bottom left of the card.




Giancarlo Stanton  is another in a long line of big league baseball players who came through JAX playing Double-A baseball in the 36 years I lived there, and I try to collect as many Stanton cards as I can.


We have several Stanton cards, it could've been any event of them really, including cards of his that are in the 2010 Suns team set.

Michael has quite a few RC out there....I like most of them, especially when they show him hitting one of his famous tape measure homers.




Next up in the challenge... a card of a player you respect but don't like...oh, my, this should be interesting.



Play Ball!