Sock a what?: The Original Cleveland "Indian"

First, go here and grab a team in the June CCC/SMG Break. Seriously. The May break was sweet and we're looking for more solid pulls next month.

As for the post, did you know about the story that the Cleveland Indians might be named after a real guy? Seriously, look it up.

It goes back to the late 1800s and an amazing start by a rookie for the Cleveland Spiders, Louis Sockalexis. Sockalexis didn't stick (check out the reasons) and was out of the game almost as soon as he came into it. Supposedly the Naps (after Nap Lajoie) became the Indians to honor Sockalexis in the years after his death, but there is little to no documentary evidence from the 1910s to support the connection. Instead the Sockalexis as honored by the "Indians" name seems to be of more recent vintage for who knows what reasons (Ward Churchill and Robert Berkhofer might have a few things to say on the subject). At any rate it seems to be generally agreed that Sockalexis was among the first if not the first Native American ballplayer in the bigs, but the Topps T205 was his first card. 

Have a good one everybody and a good night Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Back in the Day: And Don't Forget the June Break!

First, go here and grab a team in the June CCC/SMG Break. Seriously. The May break was swimming and we're looking for more solid pulls next month.

Back in the day when I was young my guy was Dwight Gooden. We're talking the meat of the junk era, and I have binders full of Gooden junk back in the SC. Of all my Gooden cards, though, this remains my favorite.

I was never able to make it to Shea (this is Shea, right?) but this card put me there. We've got a young Doc who is literally larger than the game itself. Usually stadium shots emphasize the player's diminutive stature within a broader context but here the diamond and the stadium are a backdrop to the amazingness that was the mid-late 80s Gooden. And this shot was taken on the heels of '84. '85 was damn near immortal. 

What I'll never get about this card, though, is that it's not the base. It's one of those box bottom cards that were a staple of 80s junk glory.

No idea why this wasn't in the set. The shot is FAR superior to the base offerings in Topps, Donruss, or Fleer. It even conjures up the '72 Clemente with the exception that Gooden's looking up, like toward the heavens, while Clemente focuses on juggling the ball. I guess there was a time before the cocaine and the legal trouble when the game cam that easy to him.

Have a good one everybody and good night Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

CC Highlights: This Gift from???

First up don't forget to renew or sign on for the CCC/SMG June Group Break. SMG is doing the honors this time.

I am a total jerk. Total jerk. Work has been killing me for oh....about 2 months now and I've had my head up my a@@ about it. The group break yesterday was a great way to relax and reconnect with some cards.

Today I began the arduous task of packing up all those cards, addressing them, and getting them out. I have a stack of supplies I use for trades, etc., and among the things I save is cardboard inserts packing to reuse later.

Now, being an idiot I didn't see that one of them said "Open me." So I opened it some months after I was supposed to. This was inside:

Oh good Lord. The back says this is a "Fan pack standee" and it is very, very cool. For the moment I'm leaving it in 2D card form. The design is busy, but the photo is CC running at 100 mph, so there is a nice balance between design and photo that you just don't see every day. Even the blurry stands contribute to the feel of speed. Very, very well conveyed. 

And I'm such a jerk I'm not sure who to thank! Whoever you are, sir or madam, please leave a comment and take your praise!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Group Break Post-mortem: Thoughts, Opinions, Still Negotiating with the Videos

First, thanks again to everyone who participated. This was the first one and although the videography was shot in various and sundry locations (thanks compa!) things went really well. Still getting those last two videos up. Gotta put the Barry White and get the computer and camera back in the mood.

So...what about the boxes and the product?

The product
We got EXACTLY what we were promised: 2 letterman patches and an auto per box, beating those odds on box #6. In addition there were a a good many numbered subset cards that broke up the base.

In addition, the hits broke differently than what I went in expecting given the checklist. There WERE Yankees and Red Sox hits (the checklist is dominated by them) but the Padres, Dodgers, and Orioles (mostly led by Markakis) were the undisputed champs here. Given the number of guaranteed hits (3 per box) plus the extra jerseys, by my count 18 different teams were represented in the break hits. Aside from the Dodgers box that will live in infamy, that's pretty good distribution.

Many kudos go out to SMG for product selection.

The Hits

This product is about the hits so I'll dive right in. 

The manu-patches are solid. I know some people think they are a bit cheesy, but to each their own. They look nice and if you are a player collector they are a nice addition.

The jerseys are also solid, no complaints there.

The autos are sticker autos (boo), but the sticker works with the design OK so it's not as bad as one might think. AND the patch autos are on-patch, so that's a big plus.

My one beef is that some of the Lettermen patches and some of the base look like they were cut with a rusty switchblade. Among the base there are a few cards that came out with weird scratches. Again, nothing TOO bad and stuff we've all seen before, but a little aggravating nonetheless.

Value
I thought this was a great group break product. Everyone got a good bit of base and over half the participants walked away with hits. Overall money well spent. Congrats again SMG!

If I had the cash laying around I might be tempted to buy a box for myself, but since I'm a player/team collector I'm pretty much always going to feel my money is better sent on singles or group breaks.

Finally, don't forget the June break! SMG will be doing the honors this time around.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Icons Break: Box 6 to Rule Them All

To this point things have been fun. I think the Hamels auto in box 1 (congrats arfmax!!) was by far the best pull. A solid group break with some teams doing a lot better than others, as usually happens if you follow the JC breaks. It's been a while since I've bought wax for myself and with the number of group breaks out there I won't be doing so any time soon. Socialist box buying, er group breaks, is the way to go.

And now we have the last box, box 6. Yes, that's 3 patches (one more than the average). Yes, the middle one has some scribbling on it. Yes, this is the no doubt big hit (hence #6 gets its own post).

Markakis auto patch #ed 3/3. Big shout out to Ryan on that one! We also have a Bruce patch, an Oil Can patch, Young jersey, Martis auto, HanRam jersey. 2 autos, 2 jerseys, 3 patches. One box to rule them all indeed! Kick ass!

Videos and my thoughts to come later. For the moment many thanks to SMG for proposing this, and thanks to all of you for participating. Check out the June break!

*Edit*

Here are the first two videos. 

Box 1

Box 2

Computer and my video camera aren't talking right now to post the rest of the boxes, but hopefully they'll be on better terms tomorrow.

Icons Break: Boxes 2-5

This is where we hit the horse latitudes.

These are solid boxes but not great. Worth the $52 if I were to buy these for myself as opposed to a box break? You tell me.

Dig the Longo Patch (yeah Rays hit!), Markakis patch (he'll be playing a large part in our drama---just wait), Everth Cabrera auto is nice (although he's on the DL at the moment).

González patch, Lowrie patch, Papelbon jersey, Bobby Parnel auto (yeah auto!; but Bobby Parnell?); another Price #ed RC.

Soto Patch (congrats On Cards Autos!), Guillén jersey (there are you SMG), Greinke patch (another for the SMG), CC jersey (rock on!), Dexter Fowler auto (good pull, looks like it was done by his 2 y.o. kid)

To this point the Dodgers had NOTHING. They changed that dramatically here. Wang patch, Bills jersey, Kershaw patch, Kemp jersey, MacDonald auto. Collation anyone?

But there's one box left you say? Yes there is. Oh yes, there is...

Icons Break: Box 1

Welcome to the inaugural CCC SMG Group Break. Video will be up tonight. In the meantime, here are the hits and highlights from the first box. Oddballs like the poker player patch (wtf!?) will be randomed off. Hamels auto, Boggs jersey, Halladay jersey, Peavy jersey. Not bad for a first box!