Getting Choked up Right now a Little

Not to worry, nothing to be sad about, but Bud Harrelson is a little choked up right now. This was part of a surprise package from Jim AKA gcrl from cards as i see them.

It was a formidable stack of cards, including 2018 issues like the Felix Jorge refractor rookie you see above.

A big selection of Jacque Jones cards! Jones was an essential part of the early 2000 Twins teams, often serving as Minnesota's Right Fielder and Leadoff man.

Torii Hunter was the heir apparent to Kirby Puckett in Center Field, and he filled in admirably. He played several seasons away from MN once he became a free agent, but he returned in 2015 for one last season with the team that drafted him, playing for his old teammate Paul Molitor.

Some vintage and nearly vintage Twins made the trip as well.

Maximum Jacksons represented in this mailer.

There was even a pair of hits! Hometown Hero and longtime closer Glen Perkins,

and Rule V find Ryan Pressly, who has been featured on precious few cards over the years.

Thanks very much Jim, this is excellent karma for the Dodgers! Good luck in the Series.

Pirates Week - National Sunglasses Day

It's Pirates Week! And today is National Sunglasses Day so that fits right into my collecting wheelhouse.

Jay Bell was a fan of the flipdown shades. Orlando Merced has a kind of mixed metaphor going on with shades and a throwback uni combined. Topps Rookie All-Star Carlos Garcia turns two with four eyes, while Nate McLouth is being stared down by a wild animal on the outfield wall. Starling Marte contemplates who to invite to the next Marte Par-tay.

Harvey Haddix was a key member of the 1960 Pirate Championship team, and was back as a coach in 1979 and beyond. It wouldn't be a post about Pirates wearing glasses without Kent Tekulve.

Teke was similar to guys like Andrew Miller or Chris Devenski out of the pen. He could come into a game in any situation, and his side arm delivery would cause all kinds of problems for opposing hitters.

The patron saint of Shades!

Santa Johnny Makes a May Delivery

John from Johnny's Trading Spot sent out a flurry of packages labeled "Christmas in July" and going through these cards was as fun as watching Gardy throw batting practice!

The package was mostly Twins, including a big stack of rookie cards.

There were even a handful of pre-rookie minor league cards as well, including Justin Morneau when he was still a catcher.

Some great 1980's oddballs to meet everyone's needs. Gaetti is sporting a beard, which was not his usual look - maybe this was a playoff beard?

The late 90s and early 2000s cards were greatly appreciated, as I was not actively collecting at the time. Brent Hoard? It's a misnomer as this is now the only card I have of him... I must not be much of a Hoard-er.

2018 was well represented also - Buxton is a parallel.

In addition to Twins, John sent over a brick of Diamond Kings!

There was also a stack of sunglasses and bat rack cards for my mini collections and a handful of player collection guys like Kenny Lofton.

Thanks so much for your generosity John, I've been working on a return package from the last barrage, I'll be looking to add on to it before sending it out now.

A Very Special Future's So Bright Fridays

The Future's So Bright - Darell Porter's Gotta Wear Shades.

These guys know what's up - the sun. From which we need eye protection!

But Big Bart knows that even the Moon can be too bright, if the timing is juuust right.

Topps NOW, you so crazy.

Shine On, You Crazy Diamond Stars

Happy National Sunglasses Day!

Fortunately, I have a mini-collection for just such an occasion. Please soak in the sun and celebrate responsibly.

The Center Square is an O-Pee-Chee Steve Trout that I just reeled in today from a follow up PWE from blog reader Scott (The Marlins fan). I'll share some more of the cards he sent my way soon. 

Future's So Bright Fridays - the 70s

Here's the return of a semi irregular feature - you may know that I dig the vintage cards that feature sunglasses. Let me share some of that cardboard brilliance with you.

Ray Lamb is famous for being the guy the Dodgers gave the jersey number 42 after Jackie Robinson retired. He wore #42 in high school and figured it would be no biggie.
"When the season was over, the clubhouse guy came over and said, 'Hey, we're going to retire your number, so we have to give you a new one,' and I asked him, 'Did I have that good of a year?' " 

 Bradley had a great season in 1971 - he went 15-15 with an ERA under 3. He hurled 6 shutouts, a career high. The future definitely seemed bright for Bradley. He won another 15 games in '72, and 13 in 1973. In 1972, the White Sox deployed a three man rotation (!!!) featuring Bradley, Stan Bahnsen, and Wilbur Wood. Needless to say, Bradley pitched a lot of innings. Bradley's Rotator Cuff suffered a serious injury in San Francisco a few years later, and had to retire. He ended up coaching collegiate baseball, building up the Jacksonville FL university program and had an impressive record over 12 years.

They can't all be pitchers. "No Neck" Williams played in the outfield for Chicago in the late 60s and for Cleveland in the early 70s. He was known as a fan favorite for his gritty, hustling play in the outfield and timely hitting. He rarely struck out, and was difficult to double up, though he stole few bases in his career.

"Future's So Bright . . . " Fridays

Time for another irregular feature on this Arbitrary and Subjective blog. One of the genres I collect is players with sunglasses. In this feature, we take a look at cards from the 60s, 70s, and beyond with killer shades.

 Ryne Duren and his L.A. teammate Eli Grba are the patron saints of shades.

 Er, even little Duren dons dark glasses.

 Lowell Palmer continued the tradition in the early 1970s.

  Teke carried the torch from the late 70s and into the 1980s.