Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Suicide Squeeze Bunt

It wasn't really all that far in the past when I would look at a card and put it away.  Now, I didn't really study cards, I just gave them a cursory glance and that was it.  If it wasn't a relic or an auto or a serial numbered card, it was just a card.  I never left a stack of base cards on a card shop counter like some people do, but I didn't give them the time they deserved either.

A few years back I discovered the card blogging community and all that changed.  I learned to give cards more than a passing glance.  I learned that some cards even had backs that were worth a look.

This card is one of those cards that might have gone under appreciated if I hadn't taken the time to really study it.




This 1993 Ted Williams Jim Gilliam Barrier Breakers card is extraordinary.  It appears Jim Gilliam and the Dodgers batter were trying to pull off the old suicide squeeze play.  The wasn't your average squeeze play because Jim is already sliding into home as the batter attempted to bunt the ball.  Unfortunately for Jim and Dodger faithful, the ball appears to have been fouled straight up.  You can see it just above the batters head.  I'm curious about what happened on the play.  Did the catcher catch it?  Was it actually in fair territory and Gilliam scored?  If the catcher caught it in fair territory, did he double Gilliam off third?  It doesn't look like there were many witnesses in the stands that day.





Here is another play at the plate, albeit a far less interesting one.  Partly because it's Alex Rodriguez and partly because there isn't any mystery.  Rodriguez obviously slid in ahead of a poor throw by...someone.  I look at this and I like to think that the third baseman noticed Arod tagging up and leaving third too early.  He protests, his manager questions the ump and sure enough, they call Alex out!  Yay, eveyone is happy!  Almost everyone.




This is more of an "I'm at rest at the batting cage" card than a play at the plate.  It's a 2002 Fleer Rusty Greer card I've never seen before.  I really like the current day Rangers, but I miss scrappy Rusty Greer.  He ranks in the top 5 on my all-time favorite Rangers.  Rusty and the other cards came to me courtesy of the cluttered desk of Jack over at All Tribe Baseball.

Thank you Jack!


Double Dip

How about a contest double dip?

First, a little pub.

You've probably already seen the College World Series contest being held by Autographed Cards, but I'm here to give you a little more incentive to give it a shot.

Two years ago I took second place in the contest and got to choose some great prizes.  It's a great contest everyone should check out.  If you win, you'll be glad you did!

The icing on the cake, or second scoop on the cone as it were, is my latest good fortune.  Brian over at  Pirates Treasure Room is holding a contest for every series the Bucs play.  All you have to do is comment "Go Bucs!" on the appropriate post and your entered.   The catch is, he's giving away cards for the team the Bucs are playing so if you're a fan of that team, you really want those cards, but you have to root against your team!  It's treasonous!  Never fear dear reader, I DID not root against the Rangers and I NEVER will!

Fortunately for me, I won cards for a team I can give away and Brian still sent me some good Rangers stuff.




He included this 2012 Bowman Alexi Ogando gold parallel.




He also sent over this Michael Young gold parallel.

The Rangers were anything but gold last night as the Mariners put a 21-8 butt-kickin' on us.

Thanks to Brian for the prize package and don't forget to check out the great contest at Autographed Cards!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Are you kidding me?





I'm working another double shift.  It is work, but we have 4 televisions we use to monitor major news stations like CNN, Fox News, etc.

Someone "accidentally" hit the remote and it ended up on the Mariners-Rangers game.  I looked at the score.  I calmly took my glasses off, cleaned them, and looked at the score again.  Not wanting to panic, I took my glasses off again, wiped my eyes, and looked at the score once more. Maintaining my composure, I got up to get a closer look at the television.  I sat back down at my computer, opened up Google Chrome and went to look at the box score.

Sure enough, it was the 5th inning and the M's were up 17-0.  That's not a typo, 17 runs.

Holy cow.  We, and yes, I'm including myself with the team because it's MY team, sweep the Blue Jays and now we're getting run-ruled by the Mariners!!  Unacceptable.

Excuse me while I go to the clubhouse to turn over some post-game food tables.

The Long Awaited, Comprehensive Pinnacle Rangers Wantlist


This is my Pinnacle Texas Rangers Wantlist.

It shows all my needs for Rangers Pinnacle sets from 1992 to . It's possible I missed some sets and I don't list most parallels. If you have a parallel or something serial numbered, there is a good chance I need it. I will put cards that are in pending trades in red. Thanks!


Pinnacle Rangers Wantlist

1992 PINNACLE 
150 Julio Franco
156 Ivan Rodriguez
294 Nolan Ryan Sidelines
340 Kevin Reimer
394 Dickie Thon
405 Kevin Brown
451 Bobby Witt
482 Kenny Rogers
516 Jeff M. Robinson
618 Nolan Ryan Technician

1992 Pinnacle Rookies
14 Monty Fariss

1992 Pinnacle Team 2000
8 Ivan Rodriguez
26 Juan Gonzalez

1993 Pinnacle
21 Ivan Rodriguez
49 Jose Canseco
104 Julio Franco
161 Dean Palmer
191 Juan Gonzalez
257 Barry Manuel
269 David Hulse
301 Ivan Rodriguez Idols Carlton Fisk
356 Kevin Brown
381 Kenny Rogers
459 Rick Helling Draft Pic
493 Manuel Lee
496 Jeff Frye
546 Tom Henke
555 Doug Dascenzo
586 Robb Nenn
590 Matt Whiteside
597 Benji Gil
603 Daniel Smith

1993 Pinnacle Cooperstown
1 Nolan Ryan
1993 Pinnacle Home Run Club
1 Juan Gonzalez
10 Jose Canseco
25 Dean Palmer 
1993 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle
3 Ivan Rodriguez / Darren Daulton
8 Juan Gonzalez / Barry Bonds

1994 Pinnacle
42 Tom Henke
71 Kevin Brown
101 Dean Palmer
194 Benji Gil
221 Kenny Rogers
233 Darren Oliver

1994 Pinnacle The Naturals  
 4 Juan Gonzalez 

1995 Pinnacle  
278 Juan Gonzalez
288 Will Clark
327 Kenny Rogers
361 John Burkett
375 Mickey Tettleton

1995 Zenith  
 25 Dean Palmer 
 39 Ivan Rodriguez 
 40 Kenny Rogers 
 59 Juan Gonzalez 
 96 Rusty Greer 
 110 Will Clark

1996 Aficionado
69 Ivan Rodriguez

1996 Pinnacle
13 Jeff Frye
38 Juan Gonzalez
156 Will Clark
159 Dean Palmer
163 Juan Gonzalez

213 Will Clark
227 Dean Palmer
270 Will Clark
288 Benji Gil
302 Will Clark
348 Ken Hill
353 Darryl Hamilton

23 Ivan Rodriguez
57 Juan Gonzalez
83 Will Clark NAT
86 Dean Palmer NAT
90 Juan Gonzalez NAT

 113 Will Clark 
 127 Dean Palmer 
 170 Will Clark HH 
 186 Will Clark 300

32 Dean Palmer
54 Will Clark
61 Juan Gonzalez
78 Benji Gil

4 Darryl Hamilton
18 Juan Gonzalez

1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified
7 John Wetteland
19 Dean Palmer
56 Rusty Greer
69 Juan Gonzalez
79 Ivan Rodriguez
97 Will Clark
110 Danny Patterson
142 Juan Gonzalez

Complete

1997 Pinnacle FanFest
FF9 Juan Gonzalez
FF15 Ivan Rodriguez

1997 Pinnacle Inside
50 Dean Palmer
70 John Wetteland

1997 Pinnacle Mint
Complete

1997 Pinnacle NEW
63 Rusty Greer
93 Dean Palmer
107 Will Clark
185 Ivan Rodriguez EMW

1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified
7 John Wetteland
19 Dean Palmer
56 Rusty Greer
69 Juan Gonzalez
79 Ivan Rodriguez
110 Danny Patterson
142 Juan Gonzalez

1997 Zenith
13 Juan Gonzalez
15 Ivan Rodriguez

1997 Zenith 8 X 10
9 Ivan Rodriguez
15 Juan Gonzalez

1998 Pinnacle
33 Will Clark

1998 Pinnacle Insiders
63 Rusty Greer
67 Will Clark
79 Fernando Tatis

1998 Pinnacle Mint
Complete

1998 Pinnacle Plus
116 Juan Gonzalez
124 Rusty Greer
179 John Wetteland

11 Juan Gonzalez
43 Will Clark
86 Rusty Greer
120 Fernando Tatis

1998 Pinnacle Snapshots
TR1 Ivan Rodriguez
TR2 Fernando Tatis
TR3 Danny Patterson
TR4 Will Clark
TR5 Kevin Elster
TR6 Rusty Greer
TR7 Darren Oliver
TR8 John Burkett
TR9 Tom Goodwin
TR10 Roberto Kelly
TR11 Aaron Sele
TR12 Rick Helling
TR13 Mark McLemore
TR14 Lee Stevens
TR15 John Wetteland
TR16 Will Clark
TR17 Juan Gonzalez
TR18 Roger Pavlik

19 Ivan Rodriguez
33 Rusty Greer
41 Will Clark
100 Fernando Tatis

10 Rusty Greer
23 Juan Gonzalez
35 Ivan Rodriguez



A Little Piece of History


You may be tempted to click off this post without reading all the way to the end, but if you do, you'll miss out on a very generous act by a fellow blogger.

Ryan over at The Great Orioles Autograph Project was witness to history when he was at the May 8th game between the Orioles and Rangers.





He saw Josh Hamilton hit a two run homer in the 1st inning off Jake Arrieta.





He saw Josh Hamilton hit a two run homer in the 3rd inning off Jake Arrieta.




He saw Josh Hamilton hit a two run homer in the 7th inning off Zach Phillips.




He saw Josh Hamilton hit a two run homer in the 8th inning off Darren O'Day.

He and his wife witnessed an event more rare than a perfect game.  I sent him an email after he posted about the 4 homer game and asked him if he wasn't a ticket stub collector, I would love to have one of the tickets.  Well, it just so happens that Ryan does collect his stubs, but his wife was more than happy to donate her ticket to me.  This generosity will soon be rewarded when I find something appropriate to send his/her way.




I generally throw my ticket stubs in a box, but I'll treat this one a lot better.

Thank you Ryan and Mrs. Ryan!  I truly appreciate you sending this to me!!


Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The Long Awaited, Comprehensive Leaf Rangers Wantlist

This is my Leaf Texas Rangers Wantlist.

It shows all my needs for Rangers Leaf sets from 1985 to 2005. It's possible I missed some sets and I don't list most parallels. If you have a parallel or something serial numbered, there is a good chance I need it. I will put cards that are in pending trades in red. Thanks!

Texas Rangers Leaf Wantlist




 1985 LEAF  
 9 Frank Tanana DK
 35 Mickey Rivers
 70 Gary Ward
 96 Larry Parrish
 174 Buddy Bell
 201 Pete O'Brien

1986 LEAF
20 Gary Ward DK
46 Oddibe McDowell
86 Toby Harrah
110 Larry Parrish
1987 Leaf
 7 Charlie Hough DK 
 51 Oddibe McDowell 
 225 Ruben Sierra 

1988 LEAF
11 Scott Fletcher DK
89 Charlie Hough
119 Larry Parrish
132 Pete O'Brien
154 Oddibe McDowell
155 Scott Fletcher
206 Ruben Sierra
236 Jerry Browne

1990 LEAF
21 Nolan Ryan
47 Kevin Brown
100 Rafael Palmeiro
152 Jeff Russell
179 Steve Buechele
205 Julio Franco
231 Pete Incaviglia
257 Ruben Sierra
264 Nolan Ryan CL
265 Nolan Ryan SPEC
337 Bobby Witt
363 Scott Coolbaugh
390 Charlie Hough
416 Mike Jeffcoat
442 Jeff Russell
469 Gary Pettis
495 Brad Arnsberg
521 Jack Daugherty

1991 LEAF
17 Jack Daugherty
97 Ruben Sierra
386 Mike Jeffcoat
401 Scott Chiamparino

1991 STUDIO
121 Kevin Belcher RC 
123 Julio Franco 
129 Ruben Sierra 

1992 LEAF
62 Juan Gonzalez
119 Julio Franco
173 Kenny Rogers
180 Dickie Thon
305 Bobby Witt
326 Kevin Brown
357 Geno Petralli
383 Ruben Sierra
440 Brian Downing

1992 LEAF Black Gold
41 Nolan Ryan
62 Juan Gonzalez
90 Jeff Russell
93 Kevin Reimer
119 Julio Franco
133 Nolan Ryan CL
173 Kenny Rogers
180 Dickie Thon
222 Jose Guzman
225 Dean Palmer
251 Jeff Huson
296 Rafael Palmeiro
305 Bobby Witt
326 Kevin Brown
354 Monty Fariss
357 Geno Petralli
383 Ruben Sierra
440 Brian Downing
511 Al Newman

1992 Leaf Gold Previews
25 Nolan Ryan
28 Dean Palmer


1992 Studio
243 Jose Guzman
246 Ivan Rodriguez
248 Nolan Ryan
250 Dickie Thon

1993 LEAF
137 Jeff Huson 
170 Juan Gonzalez 
202 Kevin Brown 
204 Bobby Witt 
278 Tom Henke 
309 Craig Lefferts 
407 Charlie Leibrandt 
426 Gary Redus 
443 Dan Peltier 
508 Matt Whiteside RC 
542 Doug Strange 
550 Roger Pavlik 

1993 Leaf Fasttrack  
5 Juan Gonzalez
15 Ivan Rodriguez

1993 Leaf Gold All-Stars
R1 Ivan Rodriguez & Darren Daulton
R16 Juan Gonzalez & Barry Bonds
R19 Nolan Ryan & Greg Maddux
R9 Tony Gwynn & Jose Canseco

1993 Leaf Gold All-Stars Update
U2 Ivan Rodriguez & Darren Daulton

1993 Studio
21 Kevin Brown 
71 Nolan Ryan 
103 Julio Franco 
133 Ivan Rodriguez 
210 Dean Palmer

1994 LEAF
249 Jose Canseco
261 Cris Carpenter

1994 LEAF LIMITED
 70 Jose Canseco
 71 Will Clark
 72 Juan Gonzalez
 73 Dean Palmer
 74 Ivan Rodriguez

1994 LEAF LIMITED ROOKIES
 47R Rick Helling

1995 LEAF
21 Dean Palmer
107 Ivan Rodriguez
202 Juan Gonzalez
222 Kenny Rogers
253 Benji Gil
322 Mark McLemore
355 John Dettmer
363 Mickey Tettleton
371 Kevin Gross
376 Otis Nixon
392 Bob Tewksbury

1995 Leaf Limited
20 Will Clark
47 Benji Gil
73 Rusty Greer
88 Mickey Tettleton
131 Ivan Rodriguez
136 Kenny Rogers
176 Juan Gonzalez

1995 Leaf Limited Bat Patrol
 11 Will Clark

1995 Leaf Limited Gold
8 Will Clark

1996 LEAF  
Complete

1996 LEAF LIMITED
1 Ivan Rodriguez

1996 LEAF PREFERRED
21 Ivan Rodriguez
43 Juan Gonzalez
76 Will Clark
96 Dean Palmer

1996 Leaf Signatures
2 Juan Gonzalez
40 Ivan Rodriguez
72 Will Clark
83 Dean Palmer
104 Rusty Greer

1996 Studio
42 Will Clark
97 Rusty Greer
139 Ivan Rodriguez

1997 LEAF
7 Will Clark
62 Mickey Tettleton
101 Juan Gonzalez
160 Darren Oliver
194 Ivan Rodriguez
214 John Wetteland
243 John Burkett
271 Mark McLemore
287 Benji Gil
309 Roger Pavlik
353 Juan Gonzalez
384 Ivan Rodriguez
387 Rusty Greer

1998 Leaf
73 Kevin Brown

1998 Leaf Fractal Foundation
1 Rusty Greer
52 Ivan Rodriguez
55 Will Clark
73 Kevin Brown
103 Lee Stevens
173 Juan Gonzalez GLS
189 Fernando Tatis GLR

1998 Leaf Rookies & Stars  
 22 Will Clark 
 36 Juan Gonzalez 
 49 Ivan Rodriguez 
 76 Rusty Greer 
 154 Juan Gonzalez PT SP 
 167 Rusty Greer TLU SP 
 199 Fernando Tatis SP 

2001 Leaf Certified Materials
1 Alex Rodriguez
9 Ivan Rodriguez
47 Rafael Palmeiro
89 Rusty Greer
91 Gabe Kapler

2001 Leaf Limited
52 Gabe Kapler
81 Rusty Greer
106 Rafael Palmeiro
108 Alex Rodriguez
130 Ivan Rodriguez
163 Rafael Palmeiro LUM/500
174 Ivan Rodriguez LUM/500
228 Carlos Pena
248 Juan Moreno RC
264 Craig Monroe RC
300 Justin Duchscherer RC
304 Travis Hafner AU RC
315 Mark Teixeira AU/500 RC

2001 Leaf Rookies and Stars
142 Carlos Pena
163 Juan Moreno RC
176 Craig Monroe RC
221 Mark Teixeira RC
233 Justin Duchscherer RC
243 Travis Hafner RC
246 Mike Young

2002 Leaf
49 Alex Rodriguez
121 Chan Ho Park
146 Frank Catalanotto
147 Gabe Kapler
149 Rafael Palmeiro
158 Justin Duchscherer RC SP
179 Mark Teixeira RC SP
186 Ryan Ludwick RC SP

2002 Leaf Certified
1 Alex Rodriguez
14 Doug Davis
77 Juan Gonzalez
122 Rafael Palmeiro
135 Ivan Rodriguez
158 Ryan Ludwick NG Bat
177 Hank Blalock NG Jsy
182 Mark Teixeira NG Jsy
187 Travis Hafner NG Jsy

2002 Leaf Rookies and Stars  
 43B Carlos Pena SP
 97 Chan Ho Park
 98 Alex Rodriguez 
 99 Juan Gonzalez 
 100 Rafael Palmeiro 
 102 Rusty Greer
 103 Kenny Rogers 
 104 Hank Blalock
 105 Mark Teixeira
 133A Sammy Sosa SP
 286 Juan Gonzalez 96 MVP
 295 Ivan Rodriguez 99 MVP
 296 Ivan Rodriguez 92-01 GLV
 337 Travis Hughes RS SP RC
 338 Kevin Mench RS SP

2002 Studio
38 Chan Ho Park
112 Gabe Kapler
118 Rafael Palmeiro
133 Doug Davis
167 Alex Rodriguez
195 Ivan Rodriguez
199 Juan Gonzalez
208 Hank Blalock ROO
225 Travis Hughes ROO RC
247 Mark Teixeira ROO

2003 Leaf  
111 Herbert Perry

2003 Leaf Certified Materials
185 Alex Rodriguez
186 Rafael Palmeiro
187 Hank Blalock
188 Mark Teixeira
189 Juan Gonzalez
190 Kevin Mench
191 Nolan Ryan

2003 Leaf  Limited
3 Alex Rodriguez
10 Juan Gonzalez
37 Juan Gonzalez
47 Mark Teixeira
55 Rafeal Palmeiro 
101 Ivan Rodriguez 
117 Rafeal Palmeiro
120 Mark Teixeira 
132 Alex Rodriguez

2004 Leaf  
88 Hank Blalock 
245 Rosman Garcia PROS 
284 Alex Rodriguez TC

2004 Leaf Certified Cuts  
187 Mark Teixeira
188 Hank Blalock
189 Michael Young
190 Laynce Nix
191 Alfonso Soriano
192 Kevin Mench
193 Adrian Gonzalez

2004 Leaf Certified Materials
10 Alfonso Soriano
70 Hank Blalock
134 Mark Teixeira
195 Ramon Nivar
197 Michael Young
198 Laynce Nix
208 Alex Rodriguez SP
211 Rafael Palmeiro SP
224 Nolan Ryan LGD
264 Nick Regilio NG AU RC
297 Edwin Moreno NG AU RC

2004 Leaf Limited  
5 Alfonso Soriano
40 Hank Blalock H 
83 Kenny Rogers 
91 Laynce Nix 
102 Mark Teixeira 
106 Michael Young 
162 Alex Rodriguez
172 Juan Gonzalez 
180 Rafael Palmeiro 
246 Hank Blalock A

2005 Leaf
216 Edwin Moreno PROS 
299 Hank Blalock TC

2005 Leaf Century  
9 Hank Blalock
12 Alfonso Soriano
37 Kenny Rogers
83 Francisco Cordero
110 Michael Young
159 Adrian Gonzalez
173 Laynce Nix
188 Mark Teixeira

2005 Leaf Certified Materials
7 Alfonso Soriano
95 Laynce Nix
105 Mark Teixeira
109 Michael Young
126 Richard Hidalgo
151 Hank Blalock
168 David Dellucci
179 Ivan Rodriguez
184 Rafael Palmeiro
202 Agustin Montero

2005 Leaf Limited
33 Francisco Cordero 
38 Michael Young 
53 Hank Blalock 
107 Alfonso Soriano 
112 Mark Teixeira 
171 Rafael Palmeiro SP