What do Ozzie Smith, Hank Aaron, and Oscar Gamble have in common?

Yeah, I didn't know either. Until I picked up this book, that is.

Okay, so that's not completely true. Let me explain. I've been reading this book for some writing ideas and terms. Why else would you read I baseball book right? I really didn't know that the three had anything in common until I did some research prompted by author Dave Martinez, who showed me the answer, which formulated the trivia question in the title. 

The answer? All three are members of the "Major League Baseballers from Alabama" club, and Ozzie and Hank (both HOFers) of Martinez' "All-Alabama Team."

I had asked Martinez on a whim if he had any good baseball stories come out of Alabama. He replied, saying this via email, used with permission: 

"To answer your question, I'm sorry I can't really share any stories about Alabama baseball. I'm from California and have never visited the region."

"I will say, however, that I've recently been doing research on the greatest baseball players from every state. While New York, Texas, and California all have great squads, I was most impressed by the All-Alabama Team, which would include: CF Willie Mays (Westfield), RF Hank Aaron (Mobile), 1B Willie McCovey (Mobile), 1B Mule Suttles ([West] Blocton), LF Monte Irvin (Haleburg), LF Billy Williams (LF), SS Ozzie Smith (Mobile), and SS/3B Joe Sewell (Titus). And that’s just among position players. On the mound, you have RHP Satchel Paige (Mobile), RHP Don Sutton (Clio), and RHP Early Wynn (Hartford). Those are all Hall of Famers."

I couldn't resist adding Ozzie Smith, Oscar Gamble (of my Blogger pic props), Virgil Trucks, Jimmy Key, and now-free-agented Timmy Hudson. Also, besides Mule Suttles, the town of West Blocton (near Tuscaloosa) was also the old stomping grounds for Mel Allen, the Yankees broadcaster, and Sammie Lee Hill, a football player from Stillman College (which I wrote an article on last summer)

As an aside, Martinez is also a SABR member, and maintains a website on top of that, which is worth a look. It can be found here: http://www.homerunweb.com/

Thanks to Dave for his help! You learn something every day, and this was definitely mine!

NLDS Post-Game thoughts/Trade with ToppsGuy

Did the Braves really just lose in the first round again?

From Annistonstar.com

Maybe I shouldn't be too shocked about the Braves' loss to the Dodgers Monday night. After all, they're still a very young team that was hit by a lot of injuries...you could say it was just a matter of time before they ran out of gas. Even Chipper Jones harbored no illusions about the Braves before the NLDS; he correctly predicted a series loss in 4 games, and got a team boycott for his first-pitch appearance in return.

One of the teams I'll be mildly rooting for the rest of the way is the Detroit Tigers, due to family-from-Michigan influences. One Tigers fan, ToppsGuy of the blog Baseball Cards and Life, and I made a trade a while back. Here are some of the results on my end:

Minor was the lone winning pitcher of the Dodgers series, and the former Vanderbilt Commodore twirled 6+ innings of 1-run ball. Mike has lowered his ERA each year since debuting in 2010; I think he'll be pretty solid next year.

Thanks to a recent Listia win, I can now play with Wes Helms on the Baseball Advance game (GameBoy Advance, y'all). He tends to strike out more than not, however.

Poorly-scanned Maddux parallel from 1993 Topps. Greg's brother Mike has expressed interest in the Cubs' managerial job. Considering their last two managers are Mike Quade and Dale Sveum, I suppose they could do worse.

 

Back of a Brian Jordan card, on which we learn a piece of obscure sports/teevee trivia; who knew Jordan was a "Young and the Restless" fan? Well, Wikipedia, obviously.

I have literally 7 doubles of this one card. It's getting ripe for a Bipping...

Nice insert card of B-Mac/Bench, albeit a bit grid-looking. Hm.

Ahh! Original and Archived Bob Watson cards! This was not the only Archives card ToppsGuy sent my way.

Yeah, the rest of these are Archives. Do you like how they handled this design? For dual rookie cards, Topps chopped off the other (or two or three other players) to get the one they wanted. 'cause no one really wanted to look at Kevin Pasley anymore.

 You know your facial hair is serious when cutting it off makes news. Could have also been a slow news day, though, too. I'll give you that.

I seriously have way too many Eddie Mathews reprint cards. I'd love it if Topps picked another vintage-card-era player to overproduce. Anytime!

Thanks to ToppsGuy for the card and the trade!

Trade With Fantastic Catch, Part 2

Back in the summer, I posted up the first part of some trades I've made with Wes of Fantastic Catch. I've been alternately too lazy or too busy (mostly the latter) to post these up, mostly because, alas, I have joined the online site Listia. As better writers have chronicled, Listia allows you to take other people's stuff (with computer money) for free (in real-life money). I haven't listed many cards yet, but if you're interested in some Miami Dolphins swag, find my auctions here.

I didn't scan them, but Wes also sent several Sports Illustrated clippings of the MLB season preview issue. The Braves surprised a lot of folks by beating out the Nats for the NL East this year, including SI.

Cards now, here we go:

Obverse and reverse of a Warren Spahn reprint card. Classic uniforms plus cartoons of a guy swinging at a pitch over his shoulder? Too good to resist.

Braves beards, past and present. Fun fact, courtesy of Wikipedia: Bob Wickman was good at throwing sinker pitches, which he credited a childhood farming accident (involving a fan?) with helping him to do.

This was a 1988 Topps Coin of half-smiling Dale Murphy from my and Weston's meetup last spring (first blogger-to-blogger one for me). You think he looks bored now, just be glad he's not on a cheap non-metal Topps Chip(z?).

Some nice photos for these cards. I really like the shot of Heyward sliding. J-Hey hasn't had near as many steals as last year, sitting at 2 with a handful of games to go, compared to last year when he had 21.

 Bo, Chip, and Murphy! Let's see the back of the Chipper card:

When you're a non-MLB licensed card manufacturer, you gotta do what it takes to fill up card backs. Apparently, that includes cutting and pasting from players' websites.

Now, this ought to be a good sign! (This particular bunch of cards was for my birthday back in, oh, February. I'm playing catchup.)

 Some 2013 parallels of fellow Alabama boy Hank Aaron. So far so great!

I really wish all blue parallels could be numbered cards, like these Opening Day parallels.

Up Close and Personal with David Justice? Sounds like something that would be on VH1. The Heritage insert below it is, in contrast, a neat idea (design-wise).

 A fantastic mess of Chipper Jones cards!

I feel like I have almost as many black OPC parallels as I do white base ones from that 2009 set. Most of these have in fact come from Wes.

Some more Hank Aaron goodness...

 And PC needs as well!

Eric O'Flaherty is about to be able to stop signing autographs in the clubhouse and get back on the field-according to the AJC he's recently started rehab from Tommy John surgery. Nevertheless, this is a pretty sig from what I believe was a through-the-mail autograph request.

 Why Allen and Ginter is not really that lame.

2010 Topps Pro Debut Freddie Freeman Blue parallel, numbered 148/369

It's so weird how pictures of athletes such as Freddie on cards can make them seem so young. Wearing #30 just yesterday, now he's getting ejected in games against the Brewers. That said, Carlos Gomez was rather a jerk.

Target red parallel of Jair Jurjenns! I almost never get these, so receiving this one was fantastic (pun completely intended)!

Salcedo and Simmons and (another) Freeman, oh my! Even a Matt Moore in there for my PC! A great way to round out the package, and a big thank you to Weston over at Fantastic Catch for the trades. Till next post, see you on Listia!

Capitol City Comics (and baseball cards): Montgomery pt. 2

What would you say is one of the best things about collecting baseball cards? I would probably say...going to card shops. This is the second card shop in Alabama I've been to (shoot, second one overall), and would you look at that, you can't even tell from the sign!

Capital City Comics has not only comics (though that's most of it): I was able to find Topps from the last 3 years, as well as some junk wax boxes and even a little vintage. I spent a grand total of one dollar, but feel like I got the better end of the deal. I was able to snag some pickups for trade partners, which is kind of where I'm at right now in collecting, for better or worse. The shop was a pretty good place to pick up some wax, and if you find yourself in Montgomery, Alabama anytime soon, it may be your best card shop option.

  

After checking out CCC, I had the chance to go with a family member to a mega-fan mancave. He runs a sports memorabilia website as well, and sells plenty of autographs and stuff on eBay. Visit his site if you're looking at getting any Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, College and Pro football, baseball, sports certified autographed memorabilia and tickets - it's http://www.viceauthenticsmemorabilia.com

One general question: for you autographers: what kind of pens do you like to use best? One I was recommended to use is the Uniball Jetpen (blue ink). But what do you use, for baseballs especially? Let me know what you think!

Look for some new trade posts coming up next!

Montgomery Biscuits Game/Autographs: What I did and who I got

A week before preparing to leave for Harvard, I was in Montgomery, Alabama with my family. We stayed with cousins, and found time to go to a Montgomery Biscuits game. I was also able to check out a card shop and visit the man cave of a friend who owns this sports memorabilia site, which you should really check out sometime.

First, the Biscuits game. I don't think I ever sat down for more than a few minutes. The ballpark is laid out so that my doing that was perfectly okay, too. There are basically no outfield seats, so you can hang out there as long as you want. Here's a photo from the Biscuits' website giving you an idea of the park layout:

When players weren't busy you know, playing, I went after them to ask for autos, or was recruiting my relatives to help me accomplish this. Here were some of the signatures I got:

Austin Hubbard was one of the Biscuits' relievers warming up that night. I caught him talking to some other fans and he tried signing an old ball, then said, "Let me just replace this one." The result was the official MiLB ball above.

Yes, that's John Kruk's biography in the background.

Two visiting pitchers with the Jacksonville Suns, Grant Dayton and Scott McGough, signed a panel on the same ball. Dayton is actually an Auburn alumnus, and worked out with Tim Hudson in the offseason. I didn't get the chance to ask him what he thought about Huddy's injury/hopeful return, though.

So why is this ball in the nice case (purchased at the Biscuit Basket team store)? Biscuits RF Todd Glaesmann made a catch near the wall in an early inning of the second game we saw. He flipped the ball up into the outfield, where only a handful of people were standing. And my brother caught it! This is the same ball, and though not evident in the photo, the pitch had some movement, as the ball is scarred in multiple places. After the game, my bro and uncle got the ball signed by Glaesmann. Pretty sweet!

The rest of the second game, I watched prospect Enny Romero (the only 40-man roster member on the Biscuits) pitch a good game against the Suns. We sat behind home plate, and once a Romero pitch flashed "100 mph" on the scoreboard. The relief pitcher with the radar gun, however, informed me it was only 96. Still some gas. I also chatted some with an A's scout (who told me he scouted Paul Konerko back in the day).

One prospect the Biscuits reliever with the radar gun mentioned was Kyle Hendricks, a Dartmouth alum. At last check, Hendricks was in Triple A with the Cubs affiliate. Might want to keep an eye on the guy-he went 10-3 with the Smokies. 

Where better to close than with my last autograph? On the ball from Austin Hubbard, I got 1B Cameron Seitzer, who was signing for a bunch of little kids on his way to the locker room. 

All in all, it was a great trip. Next post, I'll cover where I went the next day. Look for a quickie review of Capitol City Comics and sports memorabilia lessons from a seller.

New Blog Look

Let me know what you think about the white space! :) Harvard post 2 is below.

What I learned at Harvard, pt. 2: Tour of Fenway

Don't look now, but the Braves are leading the NL East, with the Nationals 13 games out at the time of this posting. Can they hold the lead? Poor Chipper Jones quit Twitter a couple of weeks ago-what a fine last season this might have been for him!

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Let me start with a P.S. of sorts to my last post. There were a lot of talented writers at the Harvard Journalism Academy; the vast majority were from the greater Boston area. One other writer was not, however, and wrote three articles, one on the front page of our print product. I've added her blog to my blogroll. Give it a look sometime!

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While at Cambridge, I had the chance to visit the park of another first-place Eastern Division team: Fenway Park of the Red Sox. Previously, the closest I had gotten to Fenway was those little bags of outfield dirt they send in their team fan packs. And that dirt's of dubious authenticity too. So what better way to spend a Saturday morning than trying to catch a glimpse of the actual park? Not to mention I hadn't been to an MLB stadium before then....

Rather than taking shots of the stadium facade, I contented myself during the wait for the tour to start by photographing the t-shirt jerseys for sale. At the time I was in town, Peavy was the new pick-up. He'll be starting for the fourth time as a Red Sock tonight, with a 1-1, 5.00 line since the trade.

 I eyed these for a second. But $10 for 17 cards? Meh.

This was amusing. A wall of green monsters!

Most baseball followers have probably seen the Boston bombing memorial jersey on the road with the Sox this season. It's twin is the first display you see walking down into the stadium. As the tour guide we had said, though, it's the kind of memorial you never wanted to see. I thought it was great to see the Red Sox find what I consider a classy way to pay tribute to the lives lost in April.

This was what I saw after walking through the tunnel into the seating section. The field, as you can see, was being prepared for a Justin Timberlake concert later that evening. (Okay, you probably can't tell it was Justin Timberlake specifically...you know what I mean.)

The decades-old grandstand seats were pretty cool, and seemed to be in pretty good condition notwithstanding. That said, the view was a bit worse off than in the other seats.

Okay, the view wasn't that bad.

The next stop? Top of the left-field wall.

The view from there...

And the Green Monster seats! It was a fantastic section, but a bit sour to learn that waiting lists and prices for these are ridiculous.

This was in the Red Sox mini-hall of fame. I overheard more than one person ask if this was the real one, as we walked by plaques of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and company.

And the press box! This was the assigned seating chart. I found it interesting that the Japanese media in particular had several assigned reporters, but I guess it takes a team to cover the life and career of Koji Uehara. If I were a Japanese sportswriter, I know I'd enjoy hanging out at Fenway, though.

Random chairs above the left field-level seats (?). I thought the little ladder was a nice touch.

Speaking of which, here's a shot of the only MLB ladder in fair territory. If a ball hits it, it's still in play.

And a final photo of the field, as seen from the press box.

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All in all, it was a great trip-I enjoyed Cambridge/Boston, and I know I'll jump at the next chance I get to come back!