Completely Arbitrary Anniversaries

This is my 537th post on the ol' Arbitrary, so how about a completely arbitrary anniversary?

I've been sorting through Twins, and today I was able to list all of my Kent Hrbek cards - I have 122 unique cards of Hrbie, and a fairly big stack of doubles to get with it. One of his cards mentioned that he was the all-time leader in MLB history for home runs indoors. It was most likely true in the early 90s, but he was passed at some point by Ken Griffey, Jr., who I think is the current leader in that department. I looked up a few other possible candidates for that title like David Ortiz, Jim Thome, Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, and Evan Longoria. Hrbek's 166 indoor homers surpasses them all! What a weird stat, though Hrbek playing his entire career in the Metrodome is a good reason why. Longoria has 133, ARod has 151, Thome only has 56 dome dingers...

Today is Ed Charles' birthday - not really an arbitrary anniversary for him! He is the Kansas City Athletics' all-time leader in games played and total bases, which is both a fairly random stat, and a testament to the consistent contributions he made on the field for some pretty bad teams in the early to mid 60s. Charles also played for the 1969 Miracle Mets and had key hits for the Mets in Game 2 of that series, as well as fielding a grounder that became the final out to even the Series at a game apiece.

 

Day Eleven - 1978 Topps Eddie Murray #36

Day 11: A Favorite Card From the 1970s

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the eleventh of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - It was coming down to Murray or another Topps All-Star Rookie, 1971 Topps Thurman Munson. I looked at this card and thought... "Do I want to be the one to tell Eddie I picked Munson's card instead?" The answer was no, I did not. This was one of the few cards that survived from my first round of collecting. I bought it at Shinders (a local card shop / newsstand) very late in my youth, if that makes sense. It was a rare occasion that I spent money on a single card instead of a set or a pack of new cards. But Eddie had just recently reached 3,000 hits and I was in the market for something special for one of my favorite players.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? Man, that is an impressive rookie campaign! I had forgotten about his brother Rich, but he has a couple cards as well. One of the more impressive things about Steady Eddie is that his rookie season was pretty much exactly the numbers you could pencil in for him for the next 15-20 years.

Here are some honorable mentions:

I already mentioned the 1971 Thurman Munson card, so I'll show some different ones here. Killebrew is fresh off his MVP season, and looks every bit of a Hall of Famer here. The 1970 set is starting to grow on me a bit, more than any other Topps set in the 70s, the photo is the focus. Of course, The Billy Cowan Halo card is a favorite. The Topps photographer had a stroke of genius setting this one up. Juan Marichal's final Topps card as a player is my favorite card featuring the Hall of Fame Hurler. It captures his unique delivery in the way that few cards had attempted before. Herb Washington's card is a little gimmicky, but that doesn't bother me. I should also mention that one of my favorite sets of the decade isn't from Topps, it's the 1976 SSPC set. I guess the SSPC sets and TCMA sets could be called oddball sets, but the often high quality photos (usually with no text on the front) and detailed copy on the backs really stand out.

Day Ten - 1965 Topps Tony Oliva #340

Day 10: A Favorite Card From the 1960s

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the tenth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - I thought picking just one card from the 1950s would be difficult, the 60s was also tricky. Tony O's first solo card of his career came on the heels of winning the A.L. Batting Title and being named rookie of the year. The 1965 set is my favorite design of the decade - I completed the O-Pee-Chee set, as well as the Heritage sets in 2014 that used the same look. This card in particular may be the one that pushed me over the edge to get all the Topps All-Star Rookie cards.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? Pretty impressive that winning the batting title and hitting .323 actually lowered Oliva's career average. If not for bad knees and a balky back, Tony O would be in Cooperstown already.

Oh so many honorable mentions!

Horizontal sets came back in 1960, then disappeared again. But Topps continued to churn out some great horizontal cardboard. Ryne Duren has a few awesome cards, where he's rocking shades in both the main photo and the inset. The triptychs in the 1962 set like the Killebrew above make for a very nice 10 card subset. The World Series sets are a personal favorite, and "SEALING YANKS' DOOM" will always get my attention.
I ranked the 50s, so let's do something similar for the 60s. 65 is my favorite, then 61, 64, 60, and 63. The rest are kind of bunched at the bottom of the list, but I think I just need to see some more from 62 to decide for sure. 67, 68 and 69 have some great cards, but lots of bad ones. All the hatless players make sad.

The 1960 managers were a hint of things to come in 1965, Wes Covington's 1961 card is the '57 Valo of the 1960s, The Topps All-Star Rookie set looms large in 60s, even though Topps seemingly messed it up every year by missing one or more of the award winners... And Dave Ricketts was the most athletic hipster until James Harden.

I know I am only supposed to pick one card, so officially the answer is Tony O, but these are all winners in my book.

Day Nine - 1956 Topps Jackie Robinson #30

Day 9: A Favorite Card From the 1950s

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the ninth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - and let me tell you, this was an easy choice, but also a very difficult choice. There are so many great cards from the 1950s; classics and icons and hidden gems literally of all shapes and sizes. The 1956 set is definitely my favorite set of the decade, and this card in particular is stellar. This is my favorite Jackie Robinson card, so it was an easy choice for this challenge.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? A Dodger Immortal, indeed. This was his final Topps card from his playing career, but it doesn't show his full stat line. He retired when the Dodgers traded him to the Giants before the start of the 1957 season. Since his retirement came in December of 1956, it was early enough that Topps hadn't printed any cards of him for the 1957 set. I think I've seen a few customs out there using the 1957 design.

Here are some honorable mentions:

Yikes, where to begin? A quick and dirty ranking of the 50s Topps sets for me would be 56, 57, 59, 52, 54, 55, 53, 58. 51 gets an incomplete. I could probably make a case for any card from 1956 as an honorable mention, but I threw out a couple great defensive plays to counter Jackie's play at the plate. The 1952 set in my opinion is saved by the horizontal cards. Most of the vertical cards are very similar (not quite Donruss level boring), but the horizontal cards feel like carefully planned works of art. Vern Law's card makes him look like a giant. I had to include the Killebrew card as a shameless homer pick.

I think the 1957 set is the Stadium Club of the 50s. Yes, there's a border, but no other set from the 50s gives you more of the ballpark, or a bigger image. There are coloration issues, but I have to highlight the set in a post about favorites of the 1950s. The main reason that Elmer Valo isn't up there as the #1 pick is that I feel like a broken record about the greatness of his 1957 Topps card. Jackie is there because I love the card, and I haven't talked it to death. Bowman doesn't get as much love in this post, but a couple favorites might be the 1955 Eddie Waitkus card, the 1955 Aaron and Minoso cards are great as well. I have been focusing on Topps to this point, I should spend some time once I finish the 56 Topps set to stock up on Bowman.

I also want to point out that I am a little jealous of the Pirates - they've got so many great cards in the 1950s!

Day Eight - 1954 Topps Angel Scull #204

Day 8: A Card That Reminds You of a Family Member

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the eighth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - I shared a post about this card (well, the back of this card) in my first month of blogging. This was actually my first vintage card ever, and it was given to me by my brother. He used to work at a card shop / magazine / newsstand called Shinders in Minneapolis when I was a kid, and he'd often bring things home, either to share with me or rub in my face. He had a copy of his own, and he gave me this one for my birthday right around the time I stopped collecting the first time. I didn't appreciate it then as much as I do now.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? I will say that our affinity for this card is due in no small part to the unintended comedy of "Angel, a Cuban speed merchant," as a teenager that was especially funny to me. "Possessed of a powerful arm," was also a fantastic phrase. I've built up a decent vintage collection over the last few years, and this card was the foundation. 

Some Honorable Mentions:

Pretty much any 1987 Topps card would work, these remind me of my cousins in Ohio - my first ever trade was with some of these cards. Their Twins for my Reds! Tom Pagnozzi reminds me of my other cousin in Minnesota, I distinctly recall opening packs of 1992 Pinnacle and he pulled a Tom Pagnozzi. I may have confused Pagnozzi with Todd Zeile- I remember being jealous that my cousin found such an awesome card, which in hindsight was not quite so awesome. In 1989, my brother brought home a box of Donruss from his store for Christmas. No Ken Griffey, Jr. but there were plenty of Mark McLemores and Dante Bichettes. Finally, any vintage Reds remind me of my dad, even though he says he didn't collect cards as a kid - 1950s Topps would have been the cards that would have been around those days.

Day Seven - 1959 Topps Mudcat Grant #186 (IP Auto)

Day 7: A Card You Bought in Person and the Story Behind It

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the seventh of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - I made a post about this one back in January of 2016, when I attended TwinsFest. I was really bummed out that my favorite player Kennys Vargas was not going to be there (He was on the schedule when I purchased my ticket, but a few days later he was removed from the list), but I had plans to get Glen Perkins and Kurt Suzuki to sign some things, so the day was not a total wash. Suzuki was in the very first round of players on the day, so I was kind of wandering around the vendor tables aimlessly while I waited for Glen Perkins to arrive later in the day.
I assumed that Suzuki and Perkins would be the only autographs I would try to get at the show (they were the two players I actually brought things to sign), but out of curiosity I checked the schedule again, and I'm really glad I did. The line was already forming for the next group. It was then that I noticed that the table would include Jim "Mudcat" Grant, signing autographs for just $5!

The only problem-- All my vintage was at home. It's not like I carry all my cards with me everywhere I go. So, I had a very simple goal - to find the very best Mudcat Grant card of all-time (in under 10 minutes). I made a bee-line for one table in particular, having purchased vintage from this vendor many times before. No Luck! I went to two more tables before I found it staring right back at me.
Normally when I buy I card I already own, I kick myself for not updating my lists, or not checking them before buying. This time I did it on purpose. The 1959 Topps card is the only one that shows Grant as Mudcat instead of Jim. A fair consolation would have been his 1972 Topps card with the A's, but this was the one I wanted him to sign. I waited in line about 90 minutes to get Grant's auto. I was towards the end of the line that started forming about half an hour before the signing session started, and I joined it after A) realizing Grant was there and B) finding a card for him to sign.
But it was totally worth it. As the line snaked back and forth, I would get closer to the table, then farther away. He was a great sport, very patient with the adults. But you could tell that he preferred signing for kids much more. The kid in front of me was 6 years old (Mudcat asked him his age) and the two of them had a great short conversation. He'd been signing autographs for nearly an hour by that point, so I was glad that a younger collector was in front of me. When I got to him I didn't say much other than thanks for coming to Twinsfest and thanks very much for the autograph.  

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? This card might actually be an upgrade condition-wise over the card with my other '59s.

An Honorable mention:

I picked this card up on Saturday at my local card shop. I wanted to find a sorting tray, which I found out about from the Sport Card Collectors blog. I was able to get a tray for just a few bucks, and I was happy to get it at the shop instead of online. Not a particularly interesting story, but now I am having a really exciting week sorting cards!

Building 1964 Topps Venezuelan, Back to Front

I set a goal this year to make some serious progress on my 1964 Topps Venezuelan set, and so far I've been able to make steady progress. I would have liked to find some of these in person, but the fact is that these cards are just not very abundant in Minnesota. I've asked every dealer at the local shows and whenever I'm in a new shop I ask if they have any. No luck so far this year, so I've had to go to eBay to add cards to my set.  

The nice thing about eBay is that there are vendors online from Venezuela, so the availability of the cards is much higher.

I started the set back in 2015 , With a lot that was put together by my regular vintage vendor of all Twins players. For the most part, I've been building the set by trying to find similar lots of cards from the same team.

Now they've dried up for the most part, or the lots that remain are fairly expensive.

So instead I am cherry picking cards of particular interest that are roughly $10 or less. That's how I picked these 4 singles.

The best part -- no glue on the backs!

Johnny the #SuperTrader Maniac!

John from Johnny's Trading Spot wasted no time this week, sending a bubble mailer and a PWE right after it.

Some highlights from the mailer - I'm cataloging the "D" Twins players right now, I should know all of the Dozier cards I have and how many I am still looking for in the near future. It's very exciting!

There was a nice mix of big names and relative unknowns in the package. I'm surprised Guante wasn't a bigger deal, his name is Spanish for "Glove."

John also included this oddball felt mini Pennant in the mailer- It's a little bit longer than a standard card, so I'll have to get creative about where I can store it.

These were in the extra bonus PWE - thanks again for the trade John, I will send over some good stuff once I have accumulated enough for a decent mailer!

Day Six - 1964 Topps Pete Rose #125

Day 6: A Card You Spent More Than $10 to Get

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the sixth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick- When I came back to collecting in 2014, I wasn't sure what I would be trying to collect. As a kid I never collected cards that were older than me - - it was hard for me to find any (none of my friends had any older cards), and if I saw any in a card shop, I certainly didn't have the money to buy them. So now that I am a relative high roller compared to the 10 year old version of myself, I figured I could take a look at some of the vintage offerings at the shows and shops.
My dad grew up near Dayton, OH and the Cincinnati Reds were the favorite team of his youth, and of my cousins that still live in the area. Combine the love of the Rookie Cup (as I knew it from 1987 on) with an all-time great from my dad's favorite team, and this Pete Rose card became the first card I spent more than $10 to get. This card was a gateway to collecting vintage in general, and All-Star Rookies in particular.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? I'm still impressed by the fact that Rose hit 30 Triples in 1961 in the minor leagues. That's some serious "Hustle".



Here's an honorable mention:

Just to bookend this post, I found this Roberto Clemente card at a vintage/nostalgia shop that was primarily selling retro video games, comic books, and board games. The vast majority of the cards were for Magic: The Gathering. They did have a glass case with sports cards, and Clemente stuck out. This is the most recent card purchase I've made for over $10.

Day Five - 2014 Topps Finest Kennys Vargas #RR3

Day 5: A Certified Autograph Card of One of Your Favorite Players

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the fifth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - I was so proud of being non-partisan in the first few posts - I didn't plan on making this a 30 Days of Twins baseball cards... Puckett was a no-brainer for me, though, and so is this card. It was only a matter of time before Kennys Vargas would show up. I picked up this card on eBay recently, I wasn't sure that I would ever get the chance. This is a redemption card numbered to 100 from 2014. Not a lot of 2014 cards of Kennys Vargas. He's in Bowman Sterling, Topps Heritage High Numbers, and as the Rookie Redemption #3 in Topps Finest - that's pretty much it! There may or may not be a couple minor league issue cards out there, but those are the only three from the big guys. This one had to be the pick because it's my favorite *current Twin; it is a rare card in the wild; and it's a little bit off the beaten path, which is always a plus for me.

*currently in AAA, but he's on the 40-Man!

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? I haven't shared this card on the blog previously, but I was really pumped when it came in the mail. I'm hoping that Vargas and/or Park gets called up soon, hopefully to jump start the stagnant Twins offense. The three man bench lacks offense right now. 

The seller even threw in the original redemption card, sweet!

Here are some honorable mentions:

Aparicio is not necessarily one of my favorite players, but he is a Hall of Famer and this is one of my favorite cards. Dawson has one of the more interesting looking signatures in baseball, even though this example is not his finest penmanship. Teke is one of my favorites, and Topps was smart to include him as a fan favorite. Of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to show another Hrbek on the horn card. His auto is a little sloppy this time around, he was probably eating a footlong meatball sandwich in his other hand... J/K Hrbie, you're the best!

Day Four - 1984 Fleer Update Kirby Puckett #U-93

Day Four: A Rookie Card of one of Your Favorite Players

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the fourth of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

 Here's my pick- big surprise, it's my favorite player from my childhood. This card more than any other was one I pined for as a kid, but thought I would never be able to afford. It brings up an interesting conversation, though... is this his rookie card, or is it his 1985 cards? There's only one major issue card of Kirby from 1984, and this is it. It came in the Update set, along with the first major issue card of Roger Clemens. The question then extends to whether or not the update or traded set is really a "major issue" set. Go back a couple years to 1982, and Cal Ripken, Jr. There are cards of Ripken in all the main sets, but a lot of people will point to the '82 Topps Traded card as the "true" rookie. It's definitely the most expensive of his rookie cards, and in my opinion the best looking one. He's not sharing any cardboard real estate with Bob Bonner or Jeff Schneider, either. A lot people count the 1987 Topps Barry Bonds as his rookie card, even though you can find Donruss, Fleer, and Topps sets from 1986 with Bonds cards.... Regardless of the debate on what is really truly a player's rookie card, I had to go with Puck. It was a White Whale card as a kid, and a fairly recognizable icon of the junk wax era.

 Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? I still want the 1983 Visalia Oaks Puckett card, that's gonna have to wait for me to inherit some money from a distant relative or something . . . It's hard to think of Puckett as a speedy singles hitter, but that's exactly the player the Twins drafted. 40 plus steals in his two minor league seasons. 


Here are some Honorable mentions:

This was a pretty easy choice to go with Puckett, but picking honorable mentions was actually tough. I thought about some old school favorites like Elmer Valo, Minnie Minoso, or Harmon Killebrew, but for the sake of symmetry I decided to just use standard card sizes. Big Dave and Rickey are both clear cut rookie cards, but again on the bottom row it's a bit of a question. Especially with Kepler. It's his Rookie season in MLB, but he's been featured on baseball cards for years leading up to this appearance on 2016 Stadium Club. 

What do you think, would you call this Jim Thome's rookie card? 

Day Three - 2014 Topps Heritage Greg Holland #498 (SP)

Day 3: A Card From The First Set You Tried To Complete

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the third of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick- you might be saying, 2014? Really? Well, to be honest, as a kid I really wasn't a set builder. When I returned to the hobby in 2014, the idea of putting together a set (something I never gave much effort or thought towards as a kid) seemed really appealing. Toss in a classic design, and high quality cardstock and I was sold. Oh. Why Greg Holland? A couple reasons. First, this seemed like a throwback pose, it reminded me of the original 1965 Topps set. Also, this was one of the last batch of cards that I added to the set, one of the dreaded Short Prints!

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? The cartoon is still there, they did a decent job of emulating the 1965 backs, even with all the extra small print that the modern era deems necessary. 

Here are some honorable mentions:

Another Holland Short Print- Derek seems to get what the whole Heritage set is all about. Jimmy Rollins has one of my favorite cards in the set - another classic / callback pose, and there's a sweet scoreboard with ads in the background. I was so pumped about completing the regular set that I also purchased the "High Numbers" set, which included the somewhat odd visual of The Shark from the other side of the Bay. At that point I was all in, so I also built the minor league set. I wonder if that Bryant kid is going to do anything interesting in the future....

Day Two - 1954 Topps Ed & John O'Brien #139

Day 2: A Card With More Than One Player On It

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the second of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - This was the first time* Topps put more than one player on one of their cards. They hadn't started putting team cards in the set yet, so up to this point every Topps card featured just one player. The O'Brien brothers were twins, both basketball and baseball stars at Seattle University. In 1953 the brothers were signed by Branch Rickey for $25,000 apiece to come play for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Eddie was the short stop, Johnny the 2nd baseman. In 1954, both brothers served in the military, and returned to the Pirates and played sporadically for several more seasons. Eddie and Johnny returned to Seattle after their playing days - Eddie became the Seattle U. Athletic director and head Baseball Coach. In 2011, the University named their Athletics building the Ed and John O'Brien Center.

You may be wondering how it was that the 1954 Set, which is only 250 cards, had room for a pair of bonus babies like the O'Briens. At this point of the 1950s, there was still quite the competition from Bowman, as the two card giants fought over exclusive rights to the players. Topps had Ted Williams, but Bowman had Mickey Mantle - as well as Bob Feller, Roy Campanella, and several others. Topps filled its set with a combination of Managers, Coaches, and young players that had just started out (Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Al Kaline to name just a few).

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? Great info from the backs on 1954 Topps, and they found a nice way to share the stats between the two brothers.

Here are some honorable mentions:

Topps was the master of these in the 1960s - Alliterations like "Power Plus" or "Twin Terrors," as well as some favorite key phrases like "Fence Busters" or "Manager's Dream." In the 80s, the torch was passed onto Donruss and Fleer. Fleer's Super Star Specials became a personal favorite.

*Did you know that in 1948 Topps released several different multi sport and non-sport sets called Topps Magic Photos? The baseball series included a few cards with multiple players, some featuring the 1948 World Series, and one of Cubs Hall of Famers Tinker and Evers.

Day One - 2017 Topps Series 1 Tyler Naquin #203

Day 1: A Card From the Current Year With A Photo You Like

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the first of 30 posts, using the prompts provided. I won't necessarily post one every day, but I will do one for each card, toss in a few "insights" (as insightful as I can be, anyway), and usually include an honorable mention or two, just because I'm like that.

Here's my pick - I thought about waiting until Stadium Club comes out before picking a favorite, but I am convinced that this one is still going to be high on the list. What you're looking at is rookie Tyler Naquin heading home for a walk off inside the park home run. Fransisco Lindor is matching him stride for stride to kick off the celebration.You can see the fans in the first two rows, all on their feet, giddy and elated. Naquin had hit a walk off sacrifice fly the night before, so this was his way of increasing the excitement so his game winning RBI don't get stale or boring. It was win number 70 for Cleveland, and they rode the excitement and energy from that win all the way to game seven of the World Series.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too?

source

When I saw this card, I recognized the context immediately, though the image I associate with Naquin's walk off is throwing up horns after his head first slide into home.


Here are a couple honorable mentions-- I'm guessing that Stadium Club will offer a few more candidates for favorite photos of 2017 releases.

Great view of Oakland Coliseum. (p.s. - I think this was the May 22nd game Hahn started vs. NYY)

Another great moment- Team U.S.A. won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, thanks in no small part to plays like this one. All the mini U.S. flags in the background are a nice touch.