Page 13 At the Bat Rack Frankenset

  Rules -

9 different players

9 different card sets

9 different teams

player is at the bat rack (or bat pile) in or near the dugout

Have fun (most important)

PAGE THIRTEEN

. . . and the backs

109 - Tom Underwood 1982 Fleer

110 - Wade Boggs 1999 Fleer Tradition - Warning Track

111 - "MEAT" of the Mets 2017 Topps Update

112 - Greg Luzinski 1972 Topps

113 - Steve Garvey 1983 Fleer Album Stickers

114 - Justin Turner 2019 Stadium Club 

115 - Juan Gonzalez 2004 Topps Bazooka

116 - Walt Dropo 1979 TCMA Baseball History Series (the 50s)

117 - Rich Becker 1997 Leaf

Yet another page complete, thanks go out to gcrl for sending me that Garvey at some point. Juan Gone and the Mets cards are a bit of a stretch, but they are both right in front of or right next to the bat rack, it's just hard to see the bats themselves. I think the Luzinski is my favorite, bonus points for creativity in making the bat rack mobile in a rolling cart. How much farther can this Frankenset go? Who knows?

Ponce, Puerto Rico is Bat Rack City!

Ponce, Puerto Rico was founded in 1692 and is named after the great-grandson of Spanish Conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon. The Leones, you would think, would be a nod to that lineage - but the team's name actually was coined after the team owner was photographed cracking a whip like a lion tamer. The Leones were formed in 1938, and were champions 11 times. The team folded following the 2016 season. Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and the league had to combine some teams and contract others completely. Eduardo Perez (son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez) managed the team to its final championship season in the 2008/2009 season.

The team's Dirigente, (aka Manager) was future / former Cubs skipper Jim Essian in 1988/1989 when this set was produced. Essian had played in the league himself years earlier for Caguas, teaming up with Gary Carter, Willie Montanez, and Mike Schmidt to name a few. Essian was the Cubs' AA manager the same season he took the helm for the Leones.

"VIVE Y RESPETA AL COLECCIONISMO"

Live and Respect Collecting! I love that. The backs of these cards feature various things to live and respect, such as "sports," "Country," "Religion," and "Culture." 

The league was known for providing a place for players to hone their skills in the "off season" - many future MLB players find their way onto the Leones roster - how many of them are memorable to you?

The main reason I picked up this set was for the awesome bat rack cards. As I try to keep the bat rack frankenset going, it's heartening to see all the guys to help me out in a few pages down the line. Ponce is Bat Rack City, baby! Plus, I love adding some less common cards of future former Twins players like Junior Ortiz and Pedro Munoz. 

Last but not least is the big name in the set, Juan Gonzalez. Pictured here he is still a few months away from his MLB debut, but he had already picked up his nickname IGOR, which was based on his favorite wrestler, the Mighty Igor. He called himself "Igor the Great," his friends were willing to compromise and just called him Igor. 

Live and Respect the Culture everyone!

Day Twenty One - 1991 Leaf Juan Gonzalez #119

Day 21: A Card of a Rookie You Thought You Were "Investing" In

Taking the lead from Tony at Off-Hiatus Baseball Cards this will be the twenty-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 - first things first, I realize this is not a rookie card. When I was 9, I was given the 1991 Leaf set as a gift. I studied the backs of all the cards and Juan Gonzalez stuck out to me. Whenever I went to a card shop (I grew up with one shop two blocks from my house, and another one at the mall a ten minute bus ride away) after that, I was asking if they had any Juan Gonazlez cards. I did get his 1990 cards from Score and Upper Deck and Fleer - but I still credit this card as the one that got me started on collecting his cards.

Since these are basically one card posts, why not show the backs, too? It was Juan Gone's 89 and 90 minor league stats that really popped out at me. I think I would still be impressed today with a similar player's statline. Of course, I wouldn't really call my childhood collection of Gonzalez cards an example of prospecting - I wasn't collecting them with the intention of selling them later for big bucks, it was more about trying to get in on the ground floor. I missed out on Rickey Henderson rookies and Kirby Puckett rookies as a kid by virtue of not being old enough to read or form sentences... by the time I could do either, those cards were commanding premium prices. So Juan Gonzalez would be different! I went all in right away.

How about some honorable mentions:

Last year after the World Series, I went onto Baseball Reference and browsed the minor league leaderboards and randomly picked a few AA and A affiliates and looked for some new player collection candidates. The criteria were mostly arbitrary - I wanted to find players that were outperforming their peers, but also players that I would find interesting even if they ended being a bust. Again, I wasn't looking for gold in them thar Bowman hills, but just trying to get in on the ground floor. The Twin I selected was Fernando Romero - and I was disappointed to find that he didn't have any cards yet. 2017 Bowman is the first card released for him, so I snapped up one base card and one chrome base card at the last card show.

There was also a dealer with an autographed card of Romero, but was asking 12 bucks for it. So, I went on eBay and won auctions for these two for about 10 - and both of these are serial numbered! Getting in on the ground floor!

Juan Gonzalez: Kind of a Big Deal (Just One Pack edition)

Of all the boxes I purchased a couple weeks ago, this one was the most intriguing. It was the only one that still had the factory seal on it, which means it still has that super cool bonus inside . . .

Boom! That's pretty cool. Juan Gone was probably my favorite non-Twin in the 90s, finding this inside was probably the best case scenario.

Here's what I found in a single pack of 1998 Upper Deck Collector's Choice:

 Throwback uniforms, major league debut dates, this set has a really clean look and is full of fun surprises

Two inserts -- "Masked Marauders" features catchers, "Cover Glory" is a season highlights subset that leads off the set.

 League Leaders - great design!

 Some more base cards . . .

 Everybody's having a great time playing baseball.

 Hey - Canseco played with the A's again? Cool.

Several packs should have these stickers in them.... looking forward to busting the rest of the box!