Every Card Has A Story

Collecting sports cards is about more than buying, selling, flipping and trying to make a profit.  If that’s all you are focused on, you are doing it wrong and you are going to burn out pretty quickly.  Is it possibly to buy a $3.00 pack of 2017 Topps, pull a Kris Bryant and make a quick hundo?  Sure, it’s possible.  Is it likely?  Nah.  If it were likely, the card wouldn’t be so valuable.  You have collectors who focus on certain teams, certain sets, certain players and even certain poses.  I know a guy who was collecting all cards that depicted a player signing an autograph on the card.  Sports cards bring so many options to the table.  You can be as niche as you want to be.  My favorite PC (Personal Collection) cards have meaning to me and hold a special place in my memory.  A lot of PC’s have that characteristic.  The cards may look like just common base cards or retro junk wax to many.  But to the collector, it’s more than just a piece of cardboard.  When it relates to a PC, every card tells a story.1982 Topps Danny Ainge – I have always been a multi sport collector.  I would buy whatever packs were available in my local grocery store.  I watched all sports and played them all on Nintendo and Super Nintendo.  I knew all the players and their stats from video games and television.  I have still never figured out who AW Second was on RBI 3 but he was really fast.  As I’ve also shared before, I really hit the ground running in 1989.  Any cards I have from before them were pick-ups from the local card shop (LCS) or in trades with friends.  As a multi-sport guy and loyal Larry Bird fan, imagine my surprise when I came across this gem at my LCS.  By 1989, Danny Ainge had won two championships and was a recent all-star…..in the NBA.  So, what was this card of him in a Toronto Blue Jays uniform?  I had to do some research because I was only 13 but lo and behold, Ainge was a former baseball player.  I knew Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan were multi sport guys.  I had even heard stories about Dave Winfield but I had no clue about Danny Ainge.  I would go on to learn that he made his MLB debut 2 years before he hit the NBA.  He would put up some Dwight Smith like numbers though with a career .220 average and 2 home runs.  Nevertheless, he played parts of 3 seasons in the major leagues.  This stuck with me.  As has this 1982 Topps card.1982/1983 Donruss Hubie Brooks – Every baseball card collector from the 80’s recognizes the name Hubie Brooks.  He had a solid 15 year career with 2 all-star games and 2 silver slugger awards to his name.  He was the third overall draft pick for the New York Mets in 1978 and put together very serviceable numbers while in the league.  However, his cards were never anything more than commons left for the shoe box.  But to me, there was a deeper connection with Hubie.  One of my best friends growing up, Munt (nickname), collected here and there during the 80’s but had not really taken up the hobby quite like me.  We did find an old box of cards in his closet one afternoon and decided to go through it.  He had a solid collection of cards but if he had 2,000 total, he had to have 500 Hubie Brooks.  As we were going through stacks, it seemed like every 3^rd or 4^th card was ole Hubert.  There was no rhyme or reason because he wasn’t a player either of us particularly followed.  He just happened to be mass inserted in packs over the years.  Even now, as I approach 40, when I stumble across a Hubie Brooks card in a shop or online, I’ll snap a picture and send it to him and we’ll share a laugh.  And of course, I have a few stashed away in my PC because I want to stumble across them when I’m 80 and have that same chuckle.1983 Donruss Julio Franco – Julio Franco is a popular name with baseball collectors from my era for different reasons than Hubie.  Julio had a very good career.  He played longer than any baseball player I can think of as he made his major league debut in 1982 and wrapped up his career in 2007 with the Atlanta Braves.  25 solid years of baseball!  He spent the occasional season in the Pacific League or Korea but he started and finished in the majors.  I don’t even know he is finished.  He could be a designated hitter in some obscure league now for all I know.  He was a career .298 hitter (so close to .300), hit 173 home runs and amassed 1,194 RBI.  He was also a 3x all-star, 5x silver slugger winner, the 1990 MLB All-Star Game MVP and the batting champ in 1991 with a .341 average.  He spent 2001-2005 with my Braves and became a fan favorite for his work effort and age defying play.  He went to the Mets in 2006 but came back to the Braves in 2007 to wrap up his career.  That summer, I was in the middle of my own softball career that was probably similar to the Pacific League of softball.  Julio had been injured and was rehabbing in Rome, GA.  After a Saturday tournament in Macon, my wife and I decided to head up to Rome for a Sunday game to try and catch Julio up close.  I also took this card to try and get it autographed.  It was a beautiful day for a game and we got to see Julio before the game but he told the fans that we would be signing after the game and wanted to warm up before.  We saw him get a few at bats and he was pulled in the 6^th inning.  As the game came to a close, the news started circulating that a car had picked up Julio from the clubhouse during the 7^th inning and he was gone.  We had been had.  I never held it against him personally because I understand the business and the demands on the athlete.  It was disappointing nonetheless.  I still keep the card in my PC to remind me that we don’t always get that personal contact and autograph so we have to enjoy it when we do, regardless of what player it is.1989 Donruss Ron Gant – It’s been well established that 1989 Donruss is my favorite set.  Well, Ron Gant is also my favorite Brave of all-time.  I wear #5 to this day because that was his number.  Ron Gant was my guy.  I have every card made of Ron Gant except for the obscure random inserts as far as I can tell.  My favorites have always been the 88 Score rookie and his 89 Donruss.  I think Ron was a very underrated player during his career.  He was a 30/30 club member in 1990 and 1991 with 30+ home runs and 30+ stolen bases and was a 2x all-star and silver slugger winner.  He hit 321 home runs over the course of his career, which is not too shabby.  He also won National League Comeback Player of the Year in 90 with 32 home runs, 84 RBI and 33 stolen bases.  One of the more memorable plays of Gant’s career came in the 1991 World Series.  In game 2 versus the Minnesota Twins, Kevin Tapani attempted a pick off of Gant on 1^st base and as he went back to first, Jackwad Kent Hrbek pulled his leg off of the base as he was tagging him and he was called out.  He had a horrible motorcycle accident in 1994 and his time would unfortunately come to an end for him.  They gave up on him to soon as he would also win the NL Comeback Player of the Year in 1995 and go to the All Star Game.  I checked off a bucket list item in 2012, I got to check an item off of my bucket list when I met him at a Braves game and had him autograph a card for me.  I saw him on one of the TV’s doing some pregame work for FoxSports and we went to the set and they were wrapping up.  He was more than happy to sign and pose for a picture.  In my excitement, I totally forgot to ask him if Hrbek really pulled him off the base.  I wanted to hear it straight from him but my giddiness overtook me.1989 Topps Steve Avery –  Another Braves player and another from the year I started collecting.  One aspect of Topps I liked was the Draft Pick cards because they showcased players in their amateur uniforms.  And apparently, they come in a few color variations as seen in the picture above (haha).  Sometimes it was college but in the case of Steve Avery, it was his high school uniform.  As a 12 year old, nothing was more exciting than imagining having my own baseball card when I was in high school.  I would later find out that you couldn’t get your own baseball card in high school with a 68 mile an hour fastball and a middling curve.  Bummer.  But back to Avery.  He was a highly touted young gun for the Braves as he would make his debut in 1990, just 2 years after graduating from High School.  He didn’t really disappoint with the Braves too much either but was always overshadowed by John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux.  That’s not really a knock but was just the hand he was dealt.  While with the Braves from 1990-1996, he would be the NLCS MVP in ’91, an All-Star in ’93, and ultimately a World Series Champion in ’95.  As for his NLCS MVP, he absolutely dominated the Pirates in the ’91 postseason.  He started 2 games against the Pirates in the ’91 playoffs and pitched 16 2/3 scoreless innings, picking up two 1-0 decisions.  He also pitched very well in the most famous game in Braves history, the ’92 NLCS Game 7.  He threw some relief innings in that nail biter.  He had some down moments as well in the postseason like getting shelled by the Pirates in Game 2 of the ’92 NLCS and was never able to get a win in either the ’91 or ’92 World Series.  He had arm problems late in 1993 that derailed his career for the most part as his pre and post injury records would indicate.  But overall, his time with the Braves is looked upon fondly.1990 Donruss Francisco Cabrera – Another early 90’s Brave worth mentioning.  I would guess that no one outside of Braves Country has a single Cabrera in their PC.  There may be a small percentage of Braves fans even.  But he will always have a spot in my PC because of two at bats.  One was magical.  Cabrera was a backup catcher and first baseman for the Braves from 1989 to 1993.  He had a very small stint with the Toronto Blue Jays but played 99% of his 5 year career with the Braves.  And his career was 99% uneventful.  He finished his career with a .254 average, 17 home runs and 62 RBI.  In 1991, with the Braves trailing the Dodgers by 2.5 games of the LA Dodgers, Frankie hit a 3 run bomb in the 9^th inning off of Rob Dibble to tie a game and eventually lead to a win that sparked a 29-12 finish for the Braves who would win the division by 1 game.  This capped the Worst to First season, bouncing back from a 65-97, 6^th place finish in 1990.  In 1991, the stakes were even higher.  After blowing a 3-1 series lead, the Braves found themselves in a must win Game 7 home game in the NLCS vs the Pirates.  The Braves trailed the Pirates 3-0 in the bottom of the 9^th inning and all hope seemed lost.  Terry Pendleton led off the inning with a double and David Justice reached on an error by Jose Lind, Gold Glove winner at 2^nd in 1992.  Sid Bream was then walked to load the bases.  Ron Gant then came up and hit a sacrifice fly that scored Pendleton to make the game 3-1.  Damon Berryhill followed it up with a walk and once again loaded the bases.  After a Brian Hunter pop out, the Braves had bases loaded with 2 outs and the season on the line.  With the pitchers spot due up, Bobby Cox turned to Francisco Cabrera.  It was a necessary move but not one that gave Brave’s fans a lot of comfort.  Cabrera had a total of 10 at bats that season and he hit .167 in ’89, .214 in ’90 and .277 in ’92.  Nervous is an understatement.  But with a 2-0 count, he came through with a laser over the shortstop’s head that scored Justice and EVENTUALLY Sid Bream and the Braves would win.  Unbelievable is also an understatement.  His card is in my PC because of 2 hits in his career.1990 Donruss Diamond Kings Ken Griffey Jr. – This was is pretty simple.  I loved Ken Griffey Gr. and I did a lot of trading at school.  At 13, kids were also mean to each other sometimes.  There were ongoing feuds among boys all the time for one reason or another.  I can’t remember what sparked this particular one but I remember the outcome.  I had this ’90 Donruss in my book bag one morning at school and one of the gentlemen I was currently feuding with waiting until I went to get my breakfast tray.  He went into my book bad and ripped the ’90 Donruss in half.  At the time, it was a $2 dollar card, which was pretty good for a youngster.  I can still remember finding that damaged card and seething.  I learned some valuable lessons that day.  I later replaced the card and is one of the only sub $1.00 cards I keep in a top loader these days.  I’m not damaging this one!1990 Kmart Superstars Jose Canseco – In the early days of my collecting, I bought everything.  Toys R Us, Purina, Jimmy Dean, Kmart, Revco, you name it, I would put it in my collection.  I had envisioned that these would one day hold more value because they were “limited”.  These could be the 90’s version of the T-Cards!  Wow was I wrong.  But I held on to most of them because they are so different than the cards that were offered at every convenience store in the country.  This one was one of my favorites because in 1989, I dressed up as Jose Canseco for a presentation in my English class.  We had to pick someone that we admired and write about them and present as them.  Looking back on it now, I could have picked someone better to admire in those days.1992 Classic Best John Lynch – This was another set that I had to have at the time.  I bought a ton of this at Wal Mart.  For one, there was that extremely long shot chance of pulling a Mike Schmidt autograph.  Chipper Jones was also in the set.  I had the idea that if a rookie card was good then a minor league card would be even better.  Again, my speculation was off base.  I kept several of these cards though for many years.  Later in the 90’s, I rifled through them to see what players hit or missed and I stumbled across this John Lynch.  By that time he had been to a Pro-Bowl and was on his way to a Super Bowl in what would become a great NFL career.  He was selected to the Pro-Bowl 9 times, won a Super Bowl and was a 3 time All Pro.  He is in the Ring of Honor for both Tampa Bay and Denver.  I think he chose the right career path because his 2 year stint in the minors produced a 1-3 record.  But in this card, he even looks like a football player.  He would not have been someone I would charge if he beaned me.  Another unique part of the card is that it’s showing him doing what looks to be some infield work as a hitter.  Much like Danny Ainge, I hung on to this because it showcased him in a sport that he eventually left to star in another.1992 Pro Line Brian Jordan – The final card on the list is one of yet another two sport athlete.  But this guy fell somewhere between Bo Jackson and Danny Ainge.  He was more like Deion Sanders in that he played both sports at the same time and later played them for both of my Atlanta Teams, the Braves and Falcons.  Unlike Deion, he didn’t do it at the major league and NFL level at the same time and he never won a championship.  But he was a great athlete and performed well in both sports.  And this card showcased him in his Falcons jersey on a football card holding a bat in a baseball stadium.  Classic crossover.  He was drafted in 1988 by the St. Louis Cardinals and in 1989 by the Buffalo Bills.  For the Falcons, he was a hard hitting safety that led the team in tackles while playing minor league ball for the Cardinals.  He would eventually give up football to dedicate his time exclusively to Baseball.  He had a very serviceable 15 year career in baseball and made the all star game in 1999.  He continues to work in Braves broadcasting and is a well liked figure in Atlanta sports.

We all have our own PC guidelines and to each their own.  I will never judge someone on what they like to collect because we all have our reasons.  For some, it’s Francisco Cabrera.  For others, it’s actually a player we’ve all heard of.  Whoever it is, just keep collecting!

J-Dub